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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by Mr Zoat, Jan 27, 2019.

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  1. Threadmarks: Maladaptive (part 4)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    22nd July 2012
    09:03 GMT -5


    "…where the laws of physics can just change whenever they feel like it!"

    Kara's diatribe ends and she takes a deep breath. But there's no red glow from her eyes and she hasn't crushed anything.

    "Technically, the laws of physics aren't changing. You're just-."

    "Yes, I… Know. I'm just seeing a new subset. But this.. isn't something Krypton had to deal with. There aren't any meta-kryptonians. And we haven't had any wizards for centuries."

    "You had wizards?"

    "Supposedly. Back in our ancient history. But… I don't know if they actually used magic or just science more advanced than what their contemporaries had."

    I think for a moment.

    "When Krypton was at its most extroverted, did you encounter any aliens who used magic?"

    She shakes her head. "One species with minor telepathic abilities, which we studied and learned to replicate technologically."

    "You-? Have you told Ted about that? Because-."

    "Yes, but the Thinker's Cap is already more advanced than what we had. The difference is that everyone who worked on it understood how and why it worked."

    "Still stuck on that?"

    "It's not that we're stuck, it's that we have a working device that we don't fully understand. If it's supposed to induce telepathy, how is it giving Bobo the ability to communicate in complex sentences? I'm not entirely comfortable with how enthusiastic humans are about finding uses for devices they don't completely understand."

    "Do you understand every device you use?"

    She blinks.

    "Yes."

    "And on Krypton?"

    "Not all of them; I was still in school. But everything I used on a regular basis."

    "Huh. I'm impressed. Was that an approach that was debated, or did it just seem natural to every kryptonian?"

    "Kryptonians prac-. Practiced oligarchical democracy. We debate everything. But I don't remember any serious debate over.. basic knowledge." She frowns in bewilderment. "How do you even..? Live like that?"

    "We accept the cargo cult."

    "I don't think I understand exactly what that means. Why would anyone worship cargo?"

    I bow my head, smiling. Of course a species like the Kryptonians wouldn't have an equivalent phrase. "To use a light switch, you need to be able to work the light switch. To use it for something, you need to know that pressing the button will switch the light from on to off or off to on. A person who's never seen a light switch before can work that out without any knowledge of the underlying mechanisms. But without that knowledge, if the filament in the bulb breaks and the light no longer works, all they're left with is the idea that they're not pressing the button in the right way."

    "Or they could just study the bulb."

    "Building an understanding of electrical theory from a device when they can only study the exterior and don't have the underlying knowledge?"

    She hesitates as she realises the difficulty.

    "Then you've got things like the Windows operating system. When my computer crashes… I mean, back on Earth Prime, I'd just restart it and assume that would fix the problem. I had no idea what the problem was or why restarting the computer fixed it…" I shrug. "But it did. And then you've got the problem that magic can literally work like that."

    "It's amazing you developed science at all."

    "As the Sivanas are so fond of insisting, just because it's magic that doesn't mean that you can't study it scientifically."

    "Unless you're an-" She puts her right hand on her chest. "-alien, and can't do magic at all."

    "What about that.. Torquasm stuff you were learning with Angelika?"

    "That's not the same thing at all. Torquasm is just learning to take control of mechanisms in our mind which and I see what you mean."

    "Finding it useful?"

    She nods.

    "Yeah. I'm.. sleeping better, and… I'm not good at it yet, but… It really puts things in… Perspective, I guess."

    "Have you spoken to Lantern Yat?"

    "No." She frowns thoughtfully. "I think he's a bit young to benefit from it."

    "No, I meant… In the sense of there being a planet of other members of your species still out there. Or… Him not having a model of how to be kryptonian in an advanced civilisation."

    "He's the one who can fly faster than light. But I suppose it would be interesting to hear what their civilisation is like; how it's changed since they left Krypton."

    "You could visit. Kal-El's never been all that interested: the cultural separation is just too great. But… For you…"

    "I'm not.. planning on restarting Kryptonian civilisation. I'm happy here."

    "You're happy?"

    She nods, smiling. "I actually am. No more gold kryptonite, interesting work, friends… I even put on the House El colors during the war with the Sheeda."

    "I know; I've got a picture. But… You know what else yellow sunlight exposure does to kryptonians?"

    "What?"

    "Longevity. We won't need to clone replacement organs for you. As long as you come back every so often, you'll keep going for a very long time."

    "So I need a long term goal. A really long term goal."

    "You don't need to pick one in a hurry, but… Yes. If you plan on staying in Sol."

    "I… Guess… Kordtech is doing a lot of work with magic. It could be interesting to become the first kryptonian in thousands of years to use magic."

    I nod. "You've got time to work it out."

    "Okay, that's enough about me. What are you up to?"

    "Taking it easy in preparation for a full medical investigation. Oh, and we had a car with no self-drive system drive itself to its destination yesterday."

    "How?"

    "We don’t know yet, but it's not an isolated incident. There has been a significant increase worldwide in technological devices behaving oddly over the past few weeks, and I want to look into it. Are you available to help me?"
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2021
  2. Idkusername

    Idkusername Versed in the lewd.

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    Missing period.

    He -> she
     
  3. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Though be careful for hostile locals.

    They do not like aliens or their Kryptonian cousins.

    Heck, in one comic Superman managed to live till the end of the universe.

    And in the Red Son comics he apparently lived billions of years into the future.

    Although he was weakening due to the red sun.

    This is making me think that the title of the episode may refer to Paul not adapting all that well to his new state, instead of some machine entity not adapting to existence.

    Heck, it may be both.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2021
  4. néocorvinus

    néocorvinus Versed in the lewd.

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    Could someone remind me what happened to nazi Kara?
     
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  5. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Technically she's not Kara.

    She's a half human half Kryptonian hybrid that received her Kryptonian parts when she was around ten years old and later Karl, or Overman, adopted her.

    Her name is Angelika.

    After the Crisis episodes she chose to stay on Earth 16 so she can learn to be more tolerant of other races, sexualities, religions etc.

    I think she may be planning on going back to change her world one day.
     
  6. Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    What did we say about calling them that?
    Thank you, corrected.
     
  7. Chojin Patriarch

    Chojin Patriarch Veteran Lurker

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    Well, that's good. Last thing we need is a super-powered tantrum. As for her complaint? Say it with me: Earth Bullshit™. While she may not know it, and OL presumably isn't about to tell her, The White Light Entity sharing space with Earth makes it a strange world. "Let's keep it that way." - Elijah Snow

    Any public ones, certainly. Given the link below, they were talented at hiding themselves, after all.

    You have heard Clarke's Law, Kara? And its corollary about sufficiently understood magic? Just think of Magic as the fifth fundamental force of the Universe, and let the soothing understanding flow over you... :p You are living with crazy people.

    Well, as OL's found, magic-using worlds aren't common, after all. But only one world with exotic abilities? Then again, that's 'exotic abilities' by Kryptonian standards, and given what some forms of stellar radiation can do for them...

    Some manner of organic radio-transceiver in their brain, I suppose? That seems like the most practical way to do it. Little bits of quartz or similar that naturally form in their neural structure... Skeletal structures that could act as emission and receiving points...

    Well, we haven't evolved much further than, "Ook, Shiny thing! Poke it!" To some degree... Even our best science is guesswork based on experimentation and observation.

    Because of course she does. It must feel like a modern human living in the Neolithic days, chipping flint to make sharp edges and tying them to sticks...

    Yes, but you were Science Caste (if that was a thing in this universe's Krypton.) Of course a nerdy young lady like you would want to know how everything worked, you were born for it.

    It's called 'force of personality'. One charismatic person convinces others something is this way or should be that. Before long, the people they convince are too deep in to back out without feeling foolish and Bam! You have an entire hypothetical field of pseudoscience! Then the challenge becomes turning that from pseudoscience into real science...

    Well, humans naturally want to believe things. Is it so surprising?

    And when the aforementioned 'force of personality' gets involved, things get nuts. Say one guy suggests beating drums to appease the 'spirits of light'. Another tried to top that by declaring blood must be spilled. Humans are good at escalating crazy...

    And probably thinking things about Ted not being much more evolved than Bobo... :D

    Well, that's a funny story... Ever heard the one about a million monkeys with a million typewriters? Yeah. It worked like that. One thing humans are also good at? Experimenting.

    Then you're just trying to do the wrong kind of magic. It's like trying to run a Windows 10 App on a Commodore 64. The base mechanics are too different. The same applies for Human souls and Kryptonian souls.

    Yes, not so different, is it? After all, what is human magic training but conditioning the caster's brain to access a certain part it usually wouldn't? A part that can manipulate magical energies... Like training an unfamiliar muscle. That not everybody has.

    She's not all Zen yet, but someday, maybe.

    ...Isn't he technically only a year or two younger than you? Physically speaking, not chronologically.

    Hey, get the right stellar radiation in you, maybe you could go superluminal too. Without the aid of a Power Ring. :rolleyes: Of course, then the problem would be a risk of exploding from overload...

    Besides, Daxam would represent all the worst parts of Kryptonian society for her, I suspect. Rampant Xenophobia first amongst them.

    Ha! You'll be righteously punching villainous faces yet, 'Supergirl'... Admit it, it was fun, wasn't it?

    Oh, many wonderful things. :D Just wait until you manage to discover the self-replication power. Imagine shooting little Karas out of your fingertips!
    Kara: :eek: "What?"

    Oh, you have no idea... Try potentially living for 85,300 years, or more. Though that is an atypical case...

    Or simply developing a whole new kind of Kryptonian magic, rather than try to rediscover old ways. It's not like you need to rush it, after all. I'm sure the Kryptonian Virtual Intelligences could offer tips.
    It is Paragon timeline that has the Kryptonian moonbase, right?

    ...Did you just pull a Commander Shephard dialogue option? You know the kind. The ones where you're tired of asking about a detail and just want to move on...

    Hey, you can introduce her to Vulcan! And Hephaestus, if he's shown up to look in on it. You know Vulcan would have given him a call for a consultation if he felt it necessary...

    Ah, Kara. Still so naive in the ways of Earth, after all this time? I guess she's getting a bigger dose of Earth Bullshit™ than most aliens do, since she's living here full-time. Just imagine the stories other visitors are spreading out there even now. Man, Earth is going to get a reputation for being gonads-to-the-wall crazy long before any kind of Space Fleet gets going... :p Just imagine how early explorers are going to play into it...
     
  8. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I think they could go light speed in the comics.

    Though I'm not if she meant being capable of light speed due to the ring or some innate power.

    And another lived to see the universe end, which he was preventing it from ending until the last living thing, a Mesopotamian god, died.

    And Red Son apparently lived for billions of years.

     
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  9. Katillno

    Katillno Verified Nobu fan

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    Wait a second is the metal being born?
     
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  10. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    Seeing as it's n52, which Zoat dislikes and doesn’t use, aside from a few characters, it probably isn't that.
     
  11. w34v3r

    w34v3r Versed in the lewd.

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    Yes, and that makes no sense.

    First you can't suppress physiology, not if you want people to move and breathe. The bigger they are the more strength they need to just move around and function. Humanite's powers can't be suppressed without killing them, or rendering them an invalid at least. Even if the collars can be tuned to precisely limit strength like that a bigger heavier person is still going to need more power at their beck and call just to live. So they'd still need to be significantly stronger than the 'normal humans'.

    Second it doesn't protect against abilities that aren't consciously controlled, so a mage could have warded themselves/set contingencies, several meta-types have bodies that are flat out destructive or nearly uncontainable even in passive mode. Hell some metas just flat don't have nerves.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2021
  12. theaceoffire

    theaceoffire Versed in the lewd.

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    Interesting!

    I had actually assumed that the first car discovered was being manipulated by a person with telepathy and a strong sense of humor, since there are versions of telepathy that relied genetics rather than magic and it would address the various issues mentioned in the story.

    Now it looks more like the introduction of the Silver, or someone becoming the Avatar of the machine Kingdom.

    Neat!
     
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  13. FeepingCreature

    FeepingCreature Not too sore, are you?

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    It's because we're a race of violent brutes, dear. Technology (and counting magic here for now) is a red queen race. Even if you're willing to wait until you perfectly understand the function of that newfangled technology, Stick With Sharpened Rock At The Front, some other human will enthusiastically throw it at you in the meantime. In a combative species like that, you need an operative understanding immediately, because everyone around you is always looking for their next edge over you, and you at least need to be able to counter them. Hence almost nobody knows how magic works, but everyone knows that you kill vampires with a wooden stake and protect yourself against demons with a circle of salt. Operational understanding.
     
  14. PJCG

    PJCG Getting sticky.

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    True.
    Magic's real though...
     
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  15. WereDragon

    WereDragon Bookwyrm

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    ’Need’ is stretching things. Humans can, and in the vast majority of cases are, perfectly happy with the ‘goal’ of enjoying themselves.
    The idea that you must have some grand ambition is a recent western cultural trend, not something fundamental to intelligent life.
     
  16. Caerwen

    Caerwen Know what you're doing yet?

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    Maybe it's not Christine. It's Maximum Overdrive.
     
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  17. The Froggy Ninja

    The Froggy Ninja The Blade Will Never Die

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  18. Khornelius

    Khornelius Overlord of the Underworld

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    If aliens want to know what humans are like they should be shown the ‘Humans are Space Orks’ videos from YouTube. Then again in this universe humans will probably get that reputation eventually.
     
  19. Mastigos2

    Mastigos2 Versed in the lewd.

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    Similarly the idea that it will be terrible to outlive all your friends runs into the issue of still being energetic enough to go out and make new friends. And just generally live your day to day life. Frankly you'll probably lose more friends to people moving away or shifting schedules than death.
     
  20. Pinklestia

    Pinklestia Well worn.

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    Why I do like the idea of "technophath" and time travelers more than supernatural?

    Ah yes.

    SCIENCE!
     
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  21. Emizaquel

    Emizaquel What is a self?

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    Could it be OL leaking enough orange light to cause things to realise their desires even if they technically shouldn't be able to?
     
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  22. Radix

    Radix Not too sore, are you?

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    Yeah. I see no need for a goal to focus on. Plenty of people lived throughout histoey just maintaining their day to day lives.

    I think this viewpoint is a consequence of Paragon's... distorted perceptipn of reality. He focuses on desires and is fuled by it, so focuses om desires. He cant seem to really conceive of contentment with your situation, or at least he cant see it as anything but bad.
     
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  23. Zig

    Zig Not too sore, are you?

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    Yes this is a story about an orange lantern, not a gray lantern.
     
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  24. NightmareWarden

    NightmareWarden Versed in the lewd.

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    “appears”

    “left me alone”

    Good for Kara. I wonder which branch of magic would benefit the most from higher mathematics.
     
  25. Assblaster5000

    Assblaster5000 I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    If I had to hazard a guess then I'd go with Order magic since it's a bit hard to get more ordered than mathematics baring some conceptual wankery, so I'd imagine that would work out the best for her. Other than that... something to do with manipulating spacetime could fit maybe?

    Really if it's a magic system where knowing how to do high-end math in your head and having a solid grasp of physics makes you better at it than it ought to work well for her. As an example she would kick all kinds of ass with the Human magic system from Highschool DxD since it's all about using scientific principles and advanced math to achieve a result.
     
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  26. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    And maybe something from Fullmetal Alchemist, since it requires scientific knowledge.
     
  27. Cuchulin

    Cuchulin Versed in the lewd.

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    Numerology or Astrology?
     
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  28. Stsword

    Stsword Versed in the lewd.

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    Good news bad news.

    DC does in fact have mathemagicians.

    However, they are the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons who work with the Anti-Life Equation.

    So you know, less than ideal that.

    There's Elphias Levi's technomagic though.
     
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  29. Darko

    Darko Connoisseur.

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    I remember the term mathmagician being used in the Red Son comics when describing one of Luthor's descendants.

    There's also potentially the Life Equation.
     
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  30. Threadmarks: Maladaptive (part 5)
    Mr Zoat

    Mr Zoat Dedicated ragequitter

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    22nd July 2012
    11:03 GMT -6


    "Do you think it's poltergeists?!"

    Ted sounds weirdly happy about the idea as we watch the disused robotic assembly line whir while the robots try to assemble a car out of thin air.

    "Poltergeist activity is a sort of reverse psychometry, so unless the people here were obsessively interested in their jobs… These robots aren't enchanted, are they?"

    "Oh, no, we stopped using this site before we switched into magitech. I only found out this was even happening because we sent in a maintenance team a few days ago."

    "What for? Did they set off an alarm?"

    "No. We only have alarms on the outside, and security assumed that someone in head office was… Ah, 'playing' with the robots."

    I gaze levelly at him, and he looks away.

    "One time. Ollie wanted to know if we could make custom trucks, so I sent people to check up on the place... Point is, the security recordings say it started a few days ago. It's not all the time, but they're not drawing any power from the grid." He frowns. "Actually, that could be a big money saver if we can work out why it's happening."

    Kara blinks as she shifts her vision back to normal.

    "They might not be drawing power, but there's electrical activity inside them. They're at normal working temperature, and…" She shakes her head. "I can't see anything to explain this. Do they work all day?"

    "Yep." Ted squints at the production line. "And now I'm trying to work out what they're trying to make."

    "Do they shut down at the end of the working day?"

    "No, but… This place did shift work. The lines never really shut down."

    "The car in Coast City drove its usual route from home to work. These robots are clearly trying to make something. What was the last thing they made?"

    "Golf carts."

    "Do you have the… Blank panels? The components?"

    "No, but I've got the specifications." He turns to me, smiling. "You actually want me to try them out?"

    "I'd.. like to have a few magicians take a look first. But that's probably going to be part of it. Whatever this is… It doesn't appear to be hostile." Hm. "Do these robots have some sort of safety measure to shut them down if someone gets in the way?"

    "It's more if there's an obstruction that doesn't match the shape of what they're supposed to receive. We generally assume that the railings and warning lights are enough to stop people getting in the way while they're running."

    "Kara, would you mind sticking your hand in the way?"

    She raises her right eyebrow.

    "Is there something wrong with your hand?"

    "I'm supposed to be taking it easy. And you're a lot more mystically inert than I am."

    "I'm also vulnerable to magic."

    "They're robots animated by magic. The plasma cutters are still mundane."

    She shrugs, flying over the railing and standing between a couple of robot arms. She then rolls back her right sleeve and then shoves her bare arm in the-.

    The robot arm halts before it touches her, then an alarm buzzes.

    Ted looks around, frowning. "That's the 'line obstructed' alarm. It's not supposed to be plugged in either."

    "Try moving your hand into it."

    A frown flicks in my direction, but she moves her hand towards it-. And it backs up.

    "Definitely not hostile, then."

    Ted frowns. "Why's it doing that? I'd have expected it to keep working regardless of what was in the way-."

    "Can I come out now?"

    "Yes." I sigh. "Do you have the schematics on hand? It's probably-"

    Kara gets out of the way, and after a momentary delay the robot goes back to miming working.

    "-quicker if I fabricate the parts rather than ordering them from your supplier or going through the store rooms. Can you spare a few wizards?"

    "Well... Most of my workforce aren't researchers. I should be able to get some of them interested, but you know more Atlantean researchers than I do."

    "The… Problem is that there are only so many researchers to go around. Between the revolution, studying the Dream and the people N.E.M.O. has recruited, there's going to be a shortage until we can set up new schools to train new researchers. At this point, we're down to asking the better disciplined street wizards to take a look. And half of them would just summon up a demon and ask them if they knew anything."

    Ted looks decidedly uncomfortable. "Yeeeeaaaah, I have enough protesters without getting involved in literal demon magic."

    "If it came down to it I could just ask Mammon. That would be far safer."

    Kara considers the machines for a moment.

    "What about the Justice League?"

    I shrug. "This is weird, but so far there aren't any reports of people being significantly hurt. And it's not common. The League has four magicians, none of whom are researchers. I'll forward what we know to them, but this isn't really a League thing yet. Unless you're… Seeing something I'm not?"

    She shakes her head.

    "Is magic the only thing this could be?"

    "Metahuman abilities need a carrier signal of some sort, and I'm not detecting anything by ring scan. You can't hack something that doesn't have power, nanotech is fragile and can be detected, microtech is easy to detect… There are only so many things it could be."

    Ted perks up slightly. "'How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?'"

    Kara looks blank. "I don't think you've ever said that."

    "I'm gunna start."

    "Do you need this factory back quickly?"

    "It's not super-urgent, but I'd like it back."

    "Because it seems to me that while we can wait on a full explanation, we need a way to stop it affecting machinery going forward. So… I'll try and find out whether warded machinery can be affected, and…"

    Ah.

    "I know a man who can eliminate mundane explanations fairly reliably."
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2021
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