Chojin Patriarch
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On the other hand, if she could break Crane of his little habit of testing his formulae on himself, or on other people without permission, he may well be able to make breakthroughs in his studies of fear. Wonder what Batman would think of that rehabilitation?28th October 2012
17:28 GMT +3
"…psychiatrists to experience their patients' condition. Fewer avail themselves of the opportunity than choose to experience nightmares, and I doubt that either will ever be truly popular."
Hephaestaean nods at Melinoë's description. 'Nightmares and Madness' is never going to be a super-popular domain, but there are things she could be doing with it that she isn't. Actually allowing cursing, for a start. I wasn't keen due to the fact that magic regulation is a sensitive enough topic already and I wanted her to at least be able to connect with some people, even if they were weirdoes like Dr. Crane.
Good to see him taking advantage of his new domains.Hephaestaean makes eye contact with me for a moment while his other limbs leaf through Melinoë's written records. They have cameras, so… It looks like he's capable of multithreading his thought processes now. Sorting huge quantities of data will be child's play. We weren't sure he'd get 'data'…
"Unless you allowed it to be weaponised, which Paul advised you not to do."
Americans, huh? Still, worth hashing this out now, rather than when some loony wizard-wannabe forges literal magic bullets of animal transformation, or something silly...The National Rifle Association is already suing to get a ruling saying that magic ammunition is covered by the 2nd Amendment, and given the changes that the Sheeda caused they'll probably get it. Regular small arms ammunition was not reliable against Sheeda armour, even if the shooter could hit them. The original lawsuit was trying to get offensive spells covered as well, but it was clear fairly early on that that wasn't going to work. Though…
There's a reason most RPGs (such as D&D and its derivatives) put hard restrictions on what spellcasters can do compared to martial classes. It only takes a short time for the latter to become irrelevant in combat scenarios, much less outside of them.A gun is a gun. A weapon. Something like a knife is a tool. Just about every kitchen on the planet has at least one sharp knife, and most will have more. Yes, you can stab someone with one, but there are plenty of other daily uses. Same with saws, nails, hammers…
When someone learns magic, even if they don't learn any purely offensive spells, they've learned something that effectively lets them smith a gun in a minute or two with no equipment. Not a great gun, but it'll still kill people. Electricians could probably rig up a taser if they has access to a toolkit and some wire, but they don't learn how to throw lightning.
I don't even want to imagine the shouting matches. Especially in countries with particularly strict religious practices and opinions about 'magic'.Legislatures around the world are interesting places right now.
"Do you intend to command me otherwise?"
Ah, OL. Making more work for everyone. Still, I suppose they enjoy actually doing things, rather than sitting around looking moody."Not at the present time. You are active in your domain; I do not intend to second guess you. My main query for you regards your work with your father. Nothing about your domain relates to justice or judgement."
"Father needed more judges and my brother and I were available."
Since even the original once-mortal judges are snowed under with work, I guess."Would you object to those responsibilities being passed to other people?"
"No. But it would take a considerable amount of time to train someone in the forms of Father's court."
Hardly who you need to take it up with. But perhaps Phaeste will pass that on to Hades."I think it is worth retasking Dike and Eunomia. It is unlikely that mortal judges will turn to us for guidance within the foreseeable future, and Erebos has a substantial backlog now."
"My lord, have you considered promoting the older shades? Those with long exposure of Lord Hades' court would make up in experience what they lack in divine magic."
At least he knows the old adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Hades has things well in hand, no need to go sticking his nose in.He nods. "That may be wise, but it remains Hades's decision. This is his domain, and I will not intrude on the details of his rulership." He returns his full attention to Melinoë. "You may take your leave; I will return your notes to you once I have copied them."
Melinoë nods and turns away, not looking at me as she heads back towards her court.
I suspect Hecate would be quite vocal in her reminders about freeing, or at least paroling, the remaining Titans."Paul." He waits until Melinoë closes the door to his borrowed office. With so many deities gathered here to make this happen, I imagine that he decided to stay put until he'd been able to meet them in his new official capacity. Or perhaps so that he can deal with Tartarus's inmates. "How goes it?"
"Slight problem. Captain Marvel can't transform. Zeus was one of his sponsors-."
If he can't, then the Wizard will have to make other arrangements. Let's hope he's amenable to revising his alias.He nods. "And with Zeus rendered mortal, that power is no longer available. Has it affected anyone else?"
"The two friends with whom he shares his power. I'm… Not aware of Zeus personally sponsoring anyone else. I don't suppose that you're able to sort him out, are you?"
Putting it a lot more politely than he did."Not without breaking my word to Zeus and granting someone else his station. What steps have you taken?"
"I asked another person with similar abilities to see if they could transform him. They can't. I asked Zeus, and he.. didn't have any helpful suggestions."
Ah, that Zeus is that predictable."He asked you to suck his penis, didn't he?"
"And now Marvel is going to talk to the man who Zeus delegated the job to."
Hey, now. Hephaestus is one of the few good ones, remember?Hephaestaean grimaces. "Because of course Zeus couldn't pay attention to a mortal champion himself. In ages past such things were a major source of interest amongst the Olympians." He shakes his head. "Now many barely pay attention to their own domains, indulging themselves rather than doing their duty."
I remember a forge on a hillside of-.
And that's the kind of attitude you want in your deities."I know that expression." I see a red light behind his left eyeball. I guess that's some sort of analytical system. "Even though I only had a handful of worshippers, I answered the prayers of the Amazons and I went to smithing trade shows. I even wrote a few articles in trade magazines. I didn't try to convert people, because who cares what some old smith from a Greek island hardly anyone has heard of? I could have done more, but I was still doing my duty."
In other words, he'll see that all honest worshippers of the Olympians will be bound for Erebos? I bet the events of recent years have seen people reconsidering their choices."One other problem. I take it that you're happy with Hades's work?"
Hephaestaean nods. "I intend to make this 'safe harbour for the souls' a major part of our bidding for the souls of mankind."
...Oh, yeah. Ditching Aprhodite would set an awkward precedent, wouldn't it?"What's your plan for when Persephone asks for a divorce?"
"… Oh."
And to be fair, that 'habitual abandonment' is spending time with her mother Demeter to ensure she doesn't bring on an eternal winter."You divorced yourself from Aphrodite, but you could do that on the grounds of infidelity. Same with Hera and Zeus. But you didn't state that as the reason. So it looks like you've just taken the authority to divorce people for yourself. Persephone has never been happy in her marriage, but she's been faithful and so has Hades. Unless I've missed something-."
"The only grounds for divorce would be her habitual abandonment of her husband, and that would require him to ask for one. Which he will not do."
...Or Zeus. So... Lay down rules. Set down restrictions on what the Gods can do, both relating to their domains and beyond them?"But does the King of Olympus need a cause?"
"He should. I came to the throne by power, but I took that power because I believe that my cause is just. If I rule by power alone then I'm no better than Cronus."
And, to be fair, this is based largely on a guess as to what Persephone is up to.I shrug. "I agree, but my opinion matters little. Persephone doesn't know me, and while Hades likes me he doesn't like me enough to forget the love of his life and mother of his children."
"Do you have any advice?"
Great, yet another 'find the NPC' quest."Establish a constitution defining your powers and responsibilities and stick to it. But that's for the future. Right now…" I shrug again. "Not… Really. I don't think there's a good answer. Any advice on the Captain Marvel issue?"
"Zeus derived his ease at conjuring lightning from the arcane smithing of the cyclopes. They dislike the company of gods, though you may be better able to barter with them I we could. I have no idea where they live in the modern era, though if you intend to seek them out I suggest asking Gaea."
...Worse, a whole checklist of 'find the NPC' quests. At least he has a major advantage with his fast-travel abilities.I nod. "Will do. Anything I can do to help you?"
"Seek out Olympians across the world and inform them of what has happened. Win them over, if you can." Two arms blur, molecule-printing… A book, into the space on his borrowed desk. "Here's a list of the names I know of and descriptions of their habits. Some you know, some you do not."
No undoing it now, Hephaestaean. I doubt Sparky was much happier than you are about the paperwork when he nobbled Cronus.The print finished in seconds, and I drop the resulting tomb into subspace.
"Will do. Good luck with your new duties."
"I may well need it."
Such is the result of something like overthrowing a bad king: sorting out what happens after. Though even if he knew about this in advance, I doubt Phaeste would have said no to the upgrade, would he? At any rate, now there's a reasonably clear path for OL to follow up on concerning Captain Marvel. Let's hope he stops to check in with Cap before he goes haring off, just in case the Wizard has his own plans.
Tense mismatch. So, 'finishes'?The print finished in seconds, and I drop the resulting tome into subspace.