Aberrant: Stargate Universe - How to dance a razor's edge.

[Omar]

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"So do we become pseudo-gods or go mad of Taint first?" Olivia asked, her voice sardonic. Her arms slipped into the crossed position and her expression was as dry as her voice. "You're telling us we're either on the path to spanking the Gou'ald like whiny children or to complete madness? It just seems so crazy - be a god or go mad. Is there any middle ground?"

"Some will go mad, others will become like gods. Of course, to achieve the kind of power, can take hundreds, if not thousands of years. Most of us, even with our longer lifespans, will not live long enough to become instruments of creation." Omar's face turned to a frown. "Sadly, Taint will drive many of us mad, long before that. Our legacy will be in our children, who will be born Nova's and immune to taint. Of course, a cure for taint, would solve that problem."

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So what powers you have don't have to be related at all? I could go from having Flight to Teleporting like Nightcrawler to throwing Ice balls around like Iceman? By the way those are comic book characters if you don't get the reference."

"Strangely, powers tend to evolve according to subconscious signals. They seem to follow a 'theme' of sorts. People who can toss fireballs, would tend to develop other powers based on fire. Someone who can shapeshift, might pick up the ability to produce clones."

[Rorx]

Oh great, you've just let loose the news of another security risk we pose. Not only will the Command be worrying about our powers and the Taint we may pick up, now they'll be starting to think about sterilising us so we don't have superpowered kids around the place.

"Ah, ok. So although we might be able to do anything, most of us, or most of the powers we develop will be along similar lines to what we can already do. Well, that's food for thought at least."

[Forge]

Who watches the fuckin' Watchmen?

Vinny had stayed silent and attentive during the rest of the Q&A, staunch in his anger and refusing to further participate.

Dr. Vin-hattan. *snort* more like fuckin' Rorschach

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Omar

"No. There is no limit to our powers. One day, we might be able to create our own universes accoring to our whims." Omar's face was set and serious.

Steve's poker face got a little strained. *100 Billion? Did I say 100 Billion? Or was that Trillion, with a T? What he's saying is no amount of money even starts to describe our potential.*

*...OK, big guy, you definitely have my attention.*

Originally Posted By: Olivia Jenings-Izumi

"So do we become pseudo-gods or go mad of Taint first?" Olivia asked, her voice sardonic. Her arms slipped into the crossed position and her expression was as dry as her voice. "You're telling us we're either on the path to spanking the Gou'ald like whiny children or to complete madness? It just seems so crazy - be a god or go mad. Is there any middle ground?"

*You say 'god or mad' like that's a bad thing. Who gives a crap about 'middle ground?'*

Originally Posted By: Omar

"Some will go mad, others will become like gods...."

*There, now that's what I'm talking about. I become a god, Olivia's boyfriend goes mad. Sorry babe, them's the breaks, the important part is making sure they happen to someone else.*

Originally Posted By: Omar

"...Of course, to achieve the kind of power, can take hundreds, if not thousands of years. Most of us, even with our longer lifespans, will not live long enough to become instruments of creation."

*There, now that ISN'T what I'm talking about. Thousands of years???*

Originally Posted By: Omar

"...Omar's face turned to a frown. "Sadly, Taint will drive many of us mad, long before that. Our legacy will be in our children, who will be born Nova's and immune to taint. Of course, a cure for taint, would solve that problem."

*...*

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"Strangely, powers tend to evolve according to subconscious signals. They seem to follow a 'theme' of sorts. People who can toss fireballs, would tend to develop other powers based on fire. Someone who can shapeshift, might pick up the ability to produce clones."

*And people who are sneaky and good at manipulating people tend to develop powers that let them do more of that sort of thing. So that means... oh my. *

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Originally Posted By: Omar

"Strangely, powers tend to evolve according to subconscious signals. They seem to follow a 'theme' of sorts. People who can toss fireballs, would tend to develop other powers based on fire. Someone who can shapeshift, might pick up the ability to produce clones."

So I've got lots more 'weakest link in the field' to expect, Olivia sighed to herself. "Could we move to recovering energy? That would be super-handy." She smiled as she said it; she'd never had a problem with it before, but there was always a first time for anything, she was sure.

[Omar]

,,

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Could we move to recovering energy? That would be super-handy.

Omar gave her a big smile. She was quite beautiful and he wondered why he had not noticed before.

"The quantum energies in your body are not limitless. They will drain as you use them. When you have used them up, you will feel drained and listless. That state will reverse itself as your..internal batteries recharge. Sometimes though, you will be in a situation where you have only a small amount of time to get energy to power your abilities. That is where a 'rapid recovery' comes in handy."

Looking around, he waited until most of them were looking at him. "The cells in your body...fahracites, can be forced to increase the rate at which energy returns by physically pushing your cells to drain more ambient quantum energy from the universe around you. It does carry a taint risk, so try to use it in circumstances where your life will depend on a few extra drops of juice."

"Any questions?"

[Rorx]

"Is there any way of using less energy, I supose getting more efficient at your powers, and how fast would you expect to get back to full from empty?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Wow, that's a nice smile, Olivia noted. He suddenly seemed more friendly, and she felt herself relax a bit more. He was still a big guy, too big for her to be completely comfortable, but that was everything here with a dick, honestly. Well, except Steve. He was just so attractive it hurt.

"And, are there any drugs or activities that can make the recovery of energy occur faster without the risk of Taint?" Olivia asked. "I know that sounds kind of scifi-y, but it sounds like wherever you came from had a more advanced understanding of the fahracites, so I was hopeful you could at least give our eggheads something to work toward."

[Courier]

Steve nodded his approval and support for his teammates and said, "Good questions everyone... and this will sound silly, but what about batteries? Can we store juice externally?"

[Omar]

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"Is there any way of using less energy, I supose getting more efficient at your powers, and how fast would you expect to get back to full from empty?"

"How fast you recover depends on several factors. First, The more fahracytes you have, the quicker you will recover. Second, you will recover more when sleeping or at rest, than you will doing everyday activities." *I have to remember that they don't have a node in their brain.

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And, are there any drugs or activities that can make the recovery of energy occur faster without the risk of Taint?" Olivia asked. "I know that sounds kind of scifi-y, but it sounds like wherever you came from had a more advanced understanding of the fahracites, so I was hopeful you could at least give our eggheads something to work toward."

"No. There are no drugs that can increase your recovery. Where we came from, there were some chemicals that aided or hindered Novas in using their powers. One was useful in training, and another made your powers stronger. Unfortunately, we would need to harvest fahracytes from a concentrated source in order to develope these drugs." *I am the only one with a node, and I'm not going to die so they can develope these things.

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Good questions everyone... and this will sound silly, but what about batteries? Can we store juice externally?"

"Yes, but the person who created this substance is not in this reality. We called it Eufiber. It might be possible to create a synthetic substitute, but a sample of the original would be needed." *I could get it for them. But that would mean that I have been hiding things from the SGC. Would it be worth it?

[Rorx]

Gwyn nodded as the others added their own questions and at Omar's replies, "It sounds like we just need to make sure we don't use too much at a time so we have some reserves to call on in an emergency. You mentioned sleep and resting, would learning to meditate help at all?"

[Adrian Moss]

"Meditation is a good idea. Can we through excercising our ability to harvest ambient energy get better at it? For long term missions were sleep is not really much of an option, we need extended use options."

"For that matter, as mentioned earlier, is it possible to use less for a smaller payout? Sometimes Vinny might not need to kill every Jaffa in the room, just the one standing by the kill switch."

[Omar]

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You mentioned sleep and resting, would learning to meditate help at all?

"Meditation will definitely help."

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Meditation is a good idea. Can we through excercising our ability to harvest ambient energy get better at it? For long term missions were sleep is not really much of an option, we need extended use options."

"For that matter, as mentioned earlier, is it possible to use less for a smaller payout? Sometimes Vinny might not need to kill every Jaffa in the room, just the one standing by the kill switch."

"Your fahracytes can grow in number as you use your powers more. Probably through repeated rapid revovery usage or constant draining and recharging. But be wary of excercising that option: A large enough number will put stress on the surrounding tissues and will cause taint." Their cells are spread out like Kyria..Will I be the only one affected by a large node.

"No, not normally. Though it is possible through practice, to lessen the amount you would spend for a particular power." Omar looked over at Vinny. "As for Vinny being able to change what his power does...no. He can powermax and add stuff to it, but it will always explode when he uses it. The same goes for all our powers. He could, if he chooses, weaken it so it does not do as much damage: It is as simple as holding back a portion of the power fed into the ability. Like pulling a punch."

[Rorx]

Gwyn resolved to reread the mediation books he had looked out back while doing Karate.

"So our best bet is to try to learn to be more efficient in using our powers and learn meditation to try to recover more in a shorter time?"

"And as for avoiding Taint, we need to avoid doing powermaxes unless really vital, and try to figure out how to switch all our powers off. Indeed it's probably best if we don't use any powers at all unless we need to on operation?"

[Omar]

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So our best bet is to try to learn to be more efficient in using our powers and learn meditation to try to recover more in a shorter time?"

"That would be helpful, especially when going on long missions." Oamr hoped they were starting to understand.

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And as for avoiding Taint, we need to avoid doing powermaxes unless really vital, and try to figure out how to switch all our powers off. Indeed it's probably best if we don't use any powers at all unless we need to on operation?"

"Ther were two schools of thought on that. One took your advice and the other didn't. Interestingly enough, the second group became more powerful than the first, but they also had more taint." Omar paused to think.

"I prefer a balance between the two. I don't see a little taint as harmful and will powermax on occasion, I will also not shy away from using my powers."

[Rorx]

Gwyn seems relieved by Omar's reply, "Ok, so using our powers should be alright and will help improve our powers, but keep the powermaxes for missions when we need them?"

As Olivia and Caine know Gwyn loves to fly.

[Adrian Moss]

"What is the level of danger of using your powers a lot, racking up taint, and then not caring that you rack up more and more? Were is the balance? Or is each person's balancing point unique?"

With there being so few of them, it was unlikely the government would dump too many resources into finding a cure for taint. If they tainted out, they would have to be put down, but by that time would any of them care to hold back on their powers? It was hard to tell, but Caine was gaining this nightmare of being the last Specialist left in the SGC, underpowered as he was. His credo was to not burn out your people, but what was to stop them from burning out themselves deliberately?

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Adrian Moss

"What is the level of danger of using your powers a lot, racking up taint, and then not caring that you rack up more and more? Were is the balance? Or is each person's balancing point unique?"

Steve thought, *Be my guest. I think we already have a good idea on how 'bad' things can be and I have no desire to explore the matter.*

[Rorx]

Gwyn had a brief moment of inspirationand turns to the two Major's and Livy, "Sorry to interupt, but I just had a thought that might be of interest to the Majors and Olivia. You guys don't seem to have a theme for your powers, since you have no active powers, perhaps that means that you could, I don't know meditate or something, and effectively choose a theme and powers from scratch."

He turns back to Omar, "Would that be possible from your experience or what you have heard in other universes?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia barely kept the irritation off her face as her teammate obliquely implied that she was unfocused. He didn't mean it that way, she told herself, looking to Omar, her expression showing her interest in his answer.

[Omar]

Quote:

"What is the level of danger of using your powers a lot, racking up taint, and then not caring that you rack up more and more? Were is the balance? Or is each person's balancing point unique?"

"From simply using your powers, probably not high. As you gain taint, it can cause mental problems that can further increase your taint." Omar was happy that they asked so many questions. He was sure that Andrew would do a better job. "Simply put, you will have to find your own level. Some people don't mind exchanging a little power for a few mild aberrations, others are not willing to risk it."

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Sorry to interupt, but I just had a thought that might be of interest to the Majors and Olivia. You guys don't seem to have a theme for your powers, since you have no active powers, perhaps that means that you could, I don't know meditate or something, and effectively choose a theme and powers from scratch."

He turns back to Omar, "Would that be possible from your experience or what you have heard in other universes?"

"If it were that easy, I would be able to fly and fire laser beams from my eyes." Omar said with a chuckle. "No, it is a subconscious sort of thing. We never really could understand why certain people manifested certain powers. Regardless of whether you have a power, you will exceed a variety of human norms- strength, endurance, intellect, beauty and many others. Also, our increased appetites are a byproduct of the tremendous energies we channel."

[Rorx]

Gwyn frowns at Omar's responce, "Hang on, my point was that these guys seem to have the boosted norms to some degree or other, but no powers to set a theme, unlike you who does have powers and hence some kind of theme that would limit what other powers you are likely to develop. Or are you saying that either the type of boosting they have partially defines the theme or that they do already have a theme that may not have manifested itself in actual powers yet?"

[Forge]

Leather boy is a chatty fuck...

Speaking of food, when do we get lunch? Fuckin' starving.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I actually have powers, things I can do," Olivia said, trying not to sound cross. One's just lame. Or rather, it's been a pain in the butt more than it's been helpful, so far. "So far, I seem to collect data and remember it, which I guess makes me a walking database. If that's what I do best, is that my 'theme'?"

The concept of her powers being limited by her subconscious sounded like nonsense to her. If they were capable of so much power, why couldn't they do anything they wanted?

Suddenly aware of being hungry, she pulled out a power bar and broke off a piece. Still listening to Omar, she offered some to her teammates.

[Forge]

As if acting on his own desires, she had pulled out food. To twist the knife further, she had offered to share. Normally the sight of those standard issue pieces of high calorie fodder would hold no appeal, but the day's activities had sent his appetite on a rampage like some deranged Unas.

Fate is a fuckin' ass-tard.

Vinny glared daggers all-around, ready to be done with the lecture.

[Adrian Moss]

Caine took a piece and handed it around. He even took out a second bar and added that to the cycle.

"I still don't really know what 'powers' I have. I have the memories of various people running around in my head. That translates into some pretty useful skills and some mildly bothersome memories of things I didn't do, or people I don't know but that I've done things with."

"Since the two weeks after the device, I haven't noticed much change. Does this take time, or does that happen rapidly?"

[Omar]

Quote:

Hang on, my point was that these guys seem to have the boosted norms to some degree or other, but no powers to set a theme, unlike you who does have powers and hence some kind of theme that would limit what other powers you are likely to develop. Or are you saying that either the type of boosting they have partially defines the theme or that they do already have a theme that may not have manifested itself in actual powers yet?"

"Enhanced abilites are part of it, yes. There are some who never develope powers, but who's abilites hold to a certain theme. An example would be that of a super-charismatic and attractive salesman, who uses his abilities to sell people worthless trinkets at riduculous prices, and afterwards, the people he ripped off will praise him for his generosity and recommend him to their friends." Omar was getting hungry as well, and he gladly accepted the food being passed around.

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"I actually have powers, things I can do," Olivia said, trying not to sound cross. One's just lame. Or rather, it's been a pain in the butt more than it's been helpful, so far. "So far, I seem to collect data and remember it, which I guess makes me a walking database. If that's what I do best, is that my 'theme'?"

"Yes. And it is a very powerful ability that you have Specialist Jenings. One hyper-intelligent Nova, in a research lab, can do more to benefit mankind, than 10 bullet-proof speedsters like me or quantum-mortar throwers like Capt. Wright put together."

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"I still don't really know what 'powers' I have. I have the memories of various people running around in my head. That translates into some pretty useful skills and some mildly bothersome memories of things I didn't do, or people I don't know but that I've done things with."

"Since the two weeks after the device, I haven't noticed much change. Does this take time, or does that happen rapidly?"

"I don't know what to tell you regarding your powers, but they sound like they can be of good use." Omar was not really sure what Caine was taking about, other than a mild form of ambient uncontrollable telepathy. He'd speak to him later about these abilities...in private. "As for the evolution of our powers, it really depends on internal and external factors. Sometimes, rapid changes occure; especially at eruption. Later changes are more gradual, but can also happen quickly in some cases."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Originally Posted By: Omar

"Yes. And it is a very powerful ability that you have Specialist Jenings. One hyper-intelligent Nova, in a research lab, can do more to benefit mankind, than 10 bullet-proof speedsters like me or quantum-mortar throwers like Capt. Wright put together."

Olivia smiled as her dusky skin darkened, pleasantly surprised by the comment that both complimented her and validated her personal philosophy. "I'm afraid I don't do that kind of research," she admitted shyly, "but your point is taken." He's not as bad as I thought from the earlier comments, she thought, pleased that her belief that most people were basically good was once again proven true.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Omar

"If it were that easy, I would be able to fly and fire laser beams from my eyes." Omar said with a chuckle. "No, it is a subconscious sort of thing. We never really could understand why certain people manifested certain powers. Regardless of whether you have a power, you will exceed a variety of human norms- strength, endurance, intellect, beauty and many others. Also, our increased appetites are a byproduct of the tremendous energies we channel."

Steve thought about this for a bit while he shared some of the food going around then spoke up,

"So... power-wise, we can do what we think we can do... but more than human-strength or beauty isn't in that category? If I work at it hard enough, I could get super-strength?"

[Omar]

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"So... power-wise, we can do what we think we can do... but more than human-strength or beauty isn't in that category? If I work at it hard enough, I could get super-strength?"

"It is not that easy." Omar chuckles. "The powers and abilities we manifest are, in a way, expressons of who we are."

Omar looks straight at Steve. "You need to look inside for the answer to that question."

[Courier]

Steve gave a thought filled grunt.

*How about it Steve? How much time do you spend in the gym compared to people watching, money thinking, and people thinking?*

*Going special made me stronger... so maybe it's a menu option but just really far down the list.*

*If you could double your strength or your beauty, which would you do?*

*...OK, make that really far down the list.*

[Rorx]

Gwyn smiles at Omar's comment and looks around at the hungry Specialists, "And on that Zen note Captain, perhaps we should break back to the Alpha site for lunch?"

[Adrian Moss]

"Good call Jones. Captain, why don't we call a break. Give the students a chance to digest what's been put on the table."

"Team, let's move out."

[Omar]

Omar gives the Major a nod, and follows.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan had been following along, listening and making mental notes where approriate. He moved up next to Omar. "Glad to have someone on the team ho knows about how it all works."

[Rorx]

"Major, before we go a quick question, what's my flight status here at the Alpha site?"

[Adrian Moss]

"We know you can fly pretty much unassisted, but keep the altitude under 10km because I'm a cautious bastard when it comes to my people passing out and falling from heaven. Keep the radius out to around four kilometers. If something happens I want to be able to get to you fast."

"Beyond that, fly as fast as you want. If you pick an obstacle course, let me know were."

[Rorx]

Gwyn grins at the Major's responce, "Yes Sir, I'll keep it to 2km, I don't want to be short of air for using the radio. I'll keep within 4km of the route from here to the Alpha Site, and check around for any useful sites on the way. See you back at the Alpha Site."

With a respectable salute in the general direction of the various officers about he takes off, straight up at 200km/h. He soon reaches the 2km limit he self imposed and rapidly spirals out to the 4km radius suggested by Major Caine. He then spirals back in but at only 500m altitude, once he is back over the site of the meeting he heads off to the Alpha site and repeats the procedure there before landing. Once there he goes straight to lunch, grabbing a Specialist size meal for a change.

[Omar]

Quote:

"Glad to have someone on the team ho knows about how it all works."

"Thank you sir. I felt it was necessary. There are few things more dangerous than an untrained Nova. There is still much for you to learn, but it can wait."

Omar watches as Gwyn launches himself into the sky. He grins at the others before his expression changes briefly to one of concentration.

Click to reveal.. ( Powermax)

(19:18:56) ChatBot: (Omar_Khudikias) rolls 2d10 and gets 7,3. [1 sux]

Adding success to double speed:

(19:21:22) ChatBot: (Omar_Khudikias) rolls 6d10 and gets 7,9,6,10,7,8. [5 sux]

WP: 5/6
QP: 18/22

Omar smiles again: "Last one to the food- starves." Omar takes off at 1000 kph, leaving a gust of wind in his wake.