@john.dixon

[baum]

[ God, he really wishes he could post anonymously. Why isn't that a thing? At least it's just text. Anyway, alright. Introductions. ]

Hey everyone. My name's John Dixon. I just came in with the new arrivals, so sorry in advance for the dumb questions. Anyone who's been here a while is probably so used to this, you don't think about it anymore. At least I hope that's how it works. So: superpowers.

That's new to me. That's comic books and movies where I'm from.

The empathy thing, when you touch someone. Is there a way to turn that off? Short of just never touching anyone again, because in the safehouse, that's more complex than you'd think.

[ If it's done deliberately, fine. He still doesn't like it, but it's not terrible if he knows it's coming. He'd like to avoid getting taken by surprise. ]

And the other powers, the [ how does he even... ] blue ones. In our chests.

You all have them. How did you train yourself to use them?

Last thing, unrelated: I'm looking for work. I'm good with computers, building hardware and software engineering. I can fix pretty much anything (as long as I have the tools, which I don't yet). But honestly at this point I don't care if you just need an errand boy, as long as it pays.

Thanks.

Comments

@ian.fowler

[wittingly]

How old are you? And are you okay with part time?

@hafid.alghul

[batricide]

No.
Wear gloves.

[baum]

17
And yeah. Right now I just want to be earning.

[ So that he can find a route out of the safehouse.

Maybe it's somewhat related. ]

[baum]

That's the only option?
Okay
Well, good to know.

What about the other powers?

[wittingly]

Alright
I'm an engineer as my day job, but where I'll need you is probably a few evenings or weekends. Rey is opening up a new workshop from the ground up and I plan on teaching some classes there, plus I do side projects like the safehouse work you saw earlier

It would mainly be supply runs or programming, since I can't exactly do that with magic

Are you interested at all in learning, or do you have your eyes on another field long term?

@lance.sweets

[lifetothefullest]

As far as I know, there's no way to turn off the empathy bond and so you have to avoid contact entirely if you don't want to use it. Memory sharing through the bond can be controlled, though it can also happen by accident.

As far as practicing your power goes, have you discovered what yours is and want to learn more about how to use it, or are you trying to find out how to activate it for the first time?

[baum]

Oh, yeah I saw Rey's post. I actually talked to her, I'm interested in that place

I'd work with you. Honestly, this is my field long term

[ Mechanics. Engineering, programming, any of that. The more the better, given what he needs to be prepared to do.

Some day. Assuming he ever gets out of here. ]

I'll be a quick study.

[baum]

Memory sharing

[ See now, he hadn't even got that far.

That's worse. That's so much worse. Gloves, it is. ]

How do you control that? Is there a method, or is it just practice?


My power seems like it's always on. Best as I can tell. I don't really know how it works, but I'd like to.

[wittingly]

Cool
I used to teach it at UC Berkeley, I actually mostly switched to teaching before my world went to shit. They don't really do college here anymore, or at least not the same way, so mentorship is the next best alternative to get my fix.

The sleep pods and the workshop classes are gonna be more basic, but I've been getting into Implant integration technology lately if that interests you sometime down the road. It's a pretty fucking interesting mix of mechatronics and biomedical engineering.

@ellie.miller

[notathreat]

Yep
just gloves. It's not so bad if you're not freaking out or anything but it's still not cool to spring on somebody if they're not expecting it

Like Lance said, you can control the memory thing if you practice. They usually only jump out if you're already thinking about something specific and can't get it out of your head.

As for the power thing, that's mostly practice. It seems like the more you use them the stronger they get and the better control you have

[baum]

[ Oh, he's immediately glad to know this guy. This is some kind of luck. ]

Implant integration? You bet it does

Part of me hates those things [ a pretty big part, but let's not go there ] but their execution is fantastic. I thought it'd take me a minute to get used to how computers work here, but it's seamless. Are you thinking about hardware or software?

[baum]

Yeah, I don't want to spring it on anyone. Practice isn't exactly what I was hoping for on that front.

[ Because that means he'll have to let it happen. Repeatedly.

He's gonna invest in gloves. ]

On the power thing, though, that's good to know. How long did it take for you to feel comfortable with yours?
Assuming it's not something you had before you came here.

[lifetothefullest]

I've had success controlling it by being aware of what I'm thinking about while using the empathy bond. A brief recollection of a memory doesn't usually do anything, but if you're thinking a lot about a particular memory, that's what typically causes you to share it. In my experience, anyway.

Are you glowing all the time along with it?

[That seems like the most pressing issue to figure out first, though he's still curious about what the power might actually be.]

@demi.tomato

[wrend]

empathy bond only happens with others like us
touching natives to this place is perfectly fine

[wittingly]

Yeah, no kidding about the mixed feelings. The installation was invasive and nonconsensual, but the things they're capable of are mind-blowing.

I'm doing a little bit of both, actually. I just designed some new implant-reactive projection tech that Giles Bell is going to be producing in a couple months once the licensing goes through. Basically like a hologram face mask using the same method as those invasive fucking commercial ads that pop out at you everywhere you walk. You have to have the hardware to wear it, but making it actually tap into all nearby implants & project a face involved a surprisingly complex amount of software fiddling.

I think most things you do that are above, like, automatically opening doors in complexity requires some knowledge about both areas.

[baum]

Okay, that's good to know. Doesn't help me with the safehouse, but at least it means it's not everywhere.

You gonna join the chorus telling me gloves are the only answer?

@stephen.strange, private

[rehandle]

It looks like you're covered for work, but Red Wings is always open for Displaced employees if you need income while you're working toward something full time.

As for training, trial and error was my original approach, though there have been people here who are experienced in training powered people. The best thing to do if you'd like guidance is find out if there's anybody here with a similar ability to the one you find yourself with. They're all so different that it's difficult to generalise on best practice.

[baum]

No, not all the time
But if I focus on it, try to follow what I'm sensing? Then I glow

You gonna tell me there's no way to turn that off, either?

[notathreat]

It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but yeah it can get intense

[More practice means more control, and all that jazz. But she remembers how it was on arrival, how scary that possibility seemed, before she got to know who she could trust.]

Took a little practice, but it's different for everybody. Think of it like
riding a horse or something
It's easier once you understand what it feels like and what it can and can't do

[wrend]

no
you get used to the whole feelings when you touch people bullcrap
doesn't bother me any

[lifetothefullest]

Honestly, I don't know. I'm not familiar with any powers that work that way, but that doesn't mean someone else won't be.

Unless you mean the glow, in which case yeah, unfortunately we can't turn that off either. If you want to hide it when you use your powers--on purpose or accidentally--then the easiest way to do that is to wear thicker clothing, but with how hot is is right now that hasn't been especially practical.

[Which he's annoyed about, since that's his preferred tactic.]

[baum]

I didn't figure Red Wings was an option. Isn't that a bar?

[ Maybe he's naive, or they just don't care. Anyway, he's not turning anything down; the sooner he can be out of the safehouse and behind his own locks, the better. ]

I can sense electromagnetic fields. Which sounds cool, except that they're literally everywhere.
You know any experts?

[baum]

Yeah? How long did that take

It's intense, I'm not a fan.

[ He cares less about what he might feel than what others might pick up from him. Especially if memories are involved. He needs to get his head around that. ]

[wrend]

i got here batch before yours
so a few weeks ago

[rehandle]

It's a bar, yes. Displaced owned and operated.

[ As for the rest... Funny he should ask. ]

I live with somebody whose power relates to electromagnetism. I'll ask him if he's happy to discuss it.

I also have a power that lets me sense something that's literally everywhere.