Handlewithcare
Versed in the lewd.
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2019
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No need for that.
Paul sometimes has to make more than just cake to keep things interesting.
So one day he will also be known...as THE MUFFIN MAN!
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No need for that.
Paul sometimes has to make more than just cake to keep things interesting.
Thank you, corrected....and there's an unpleasant-looking knife...
Double space there.
Of course not. Even a warlock-breed would die after a few weeks without water.
Mr Zoat I am really curious of how the following things look in your -14 universe:
- The Vega system
- Larfleeze
- The Maltusians and their descendants (Guardians, Zamarons)
- Thaal Sinestro
- Hell
- Heaven
- Hades and his domain
- Brainiac 2
- Darkseid
Yeah, see, the Amazons practised divine eugenics. If Zeus likes putting it about, why not take advantage and create a people of demigods? They ended up getting more and more powerful, and things escalated.Hades, along with his siblings, is most likely dead, or in Kronus's stomach, since the Olympians apparently lost the war there.
Brainiac 2 is a radical technophile on a planet of primitivists.
Yeah, see, the Amazons practised divine eugenics. If Zeus likes putting it about, why not take advantage and create a people of demigods? They ended up getting more and more powerful, and things escalated.
They did, but much like how the Olympians didn't kill all of the Titans, so the Titans didn't kill all of their own children.So the -14 Amazon's created a new pantheon of gods to replace the Olympians?
I thought Lamprey said that the Olympians lost the war when he called the Trident the 'Trident of Oceanus', and called the Olympians 'low born'
They did, but much like how the Olympians didn't kill all of the Titans, so the Titans didn't kill all of their own children.
Uxas left Apokolips upon his brother's ascension and has been running a fast food restaurant with Suli ever since.
Sheeda SI?
Pied Piper, sometimes Flash Rogue and, in the much-maligned Countdown, the man who played the song that destroyed Apokolips.
And sometimes, you just need to look someone in the eye as they expound upon their creations."Ah… Right."
The young man comes into the office I'm using in the Weatherly Building on Sullivan Street, Metropolis, just about managing to avoid catching his briefcase in the door as he closes it. While the charity Lex set up to handle this sort of thing generally conducts interviews -such as they are- by video link or on-site visit, it has nonetheless proved sensible to actually have somewhere physical in which to base operations. And to allow the occasional meeting with someone who… Is between workspaces.
Talk about an intimidating interviewer, eh?"Mister Rathaway, thank you for coming." He's standing a little way away with his briefcase clasped like a shield. "Would you like to..? Take a seat?"
"Thank-thank you." He stiffly comes forward to sit in front of my desk, running his right hand through his hair. "Sorry, I just… Wasn't expecting you-. To-to do the interview personally."
It would be a safe bet the he receives a lot of it. Ranging from death threats to romantic offers to desperate, lunatic ramblings, I would expect."Oh, I usually don't. But I like to stick my nose in to things I'm attached to every so often, just to check what's going on. And unlike my fan mail, I can't outsource this to the genomorphs."
"You.. outsource fan mail?"
And the latter definitely makes the most sense. They can also bring to his attention anything of significant interest. Like the aforementioned ramblings that seem likely to be acted on..."Flash probably could handle all of his if he really wanted to, but for someone like me it's just not possible. So I could either ignore it, set up some sort of automatic boilerplate letter, or have my in-house hive mind write what I'd have written if I'd read it."
"Huh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I mean-."
I'm guessing that advice included 'Don't wear your 'work clothes' to the interview.'"So while I didn't actually write your reply, I did check it before taking this meeting, and I'm very glad that you took g-dwarf four seven eight's advice." I gesture to him with both hands. "So why don't you show me your work?"
He nods, still visibly off-balance, and lays his briefcase on the desk before popping the catches and opening it up.
That's putting it mildly. Good to see him trying to go straight."I was born deaf. I've got-" He turns his head to the left, reaching up with his right hand to pull his hair back from ear and revealing a small scar. "-an implant now, but I was wearing a hearing aid in junior school." I nod, and he drops his hand and faces me again. "Getting.. the implant… Growing up having to plug myself in when I wanted to hear anything, that made me very interested in how sound works, and all of the applications it has. Sound has an emotional impact on people, not just in… Reminding them of things, but in actually… Reliably, measurably affecting their mental state. That's… That's what I got my Master's for, and now I'm looking for sponsorship to develop the technology commercially."
Well, everyone he tested it on, at least. So, Humans. What about other sapient life-forms?"That's what we're here for." I smile. "What can your technology do now, and what are you hoping to be able to do with it?"
"At the moment I've got a device the size of a flute that can… Make people extremely suggestible when they hear the music it plays. Only while it's playing, but it works on just about… Everyone. Ah."
Something to be investigated, I suppose. But I doubt it would work on any Apokoliptian who has a God-Name. Their innate resistance to magic would probably work on it.I nod. "I was assuming that you would have tested it exclusively on humans."
"Sound energy is kinetic energy transmitted by vibrations. If a person can hear, then they should be susceptible, but that only applies to humans. I don't know how your species would be affected."
Not subtle, certainly. Besides the obvious music, that is."What degree of control does it grant the musician?"
"That depends. A short burst of sound can… Make a person make a sudden movement with.. their arm, without knowing why their arm is acting up. An ongoing song can make a group of people stand still or walk somewhere, but it's pretty obvious that they're not acting of their own volition."
Remarkable. And very, very useful in some cases, I bet."How do people feel about being controlled after they… Wake up?"
"Usually, if it's their first time they're a little scared, but obviously I let all the volunteers know what was going to happen in advance. As far as I've been able to tell, there's no lasting effect from the control; it's completely limited to controlling physical actions."
Man, dude hit the jackpot of exotic science capabilities, didn't he?"And the effect only lasts as long as they can hear the sound?"
"A few seconds after it stops, then they snap back immediately."
What if you commanded your targets to hit themselves? To walk into walls repeatedly? Anything can be lethal, with effort or lateral thinking.I nod. "That's got some obvious applications as a low lethality police weapon."
"It's not low-lethality, it's zero lethality. This isn't a sonic cannon, Mister Grayven."
That last one's a bit of a stretch, I'll give him that."There's no such thing as a zero lethality anything. What does it do to people with a hearing-impairment? Or synesthesia? Or when the one playing it doesn't notice that the person they've ordered to walk is reaching the edge of a cliff?"
"I… The sonic waves can vibrate bone, so unless they're deaf due to damage to their auditory cortex it shouldn't matter. I had one of my assistants test it on me and it still worked. Synesthesia or.. a cyst on the auditory cortex, it.. should just fail to work. And with the cliff thing that's not the music that's killing them."
Which would make it far more attractive to police and security applications. Especially if it can be applied to specific people, not a blanket 'sleepy-time' effect that can put an entire city block out..."It's less dangerous than a firearm or taser. I just want to make sure that you understand that if your end product gets sold as a weapon, someone will eventually die from it. Of course, weaponising this technology is far easier than doing anything else with it."
"That's… That's kind of why I'm here? I'd like funding to investigate other uses. To see if there's a sound for making angry people calm, or making people more alert or attentive."
He's not an idiot, Grayven...I smile. "Stranger things exist. Do you have a full written proposal? With costings?"
He nods and pulls out a binder, laying it down next to his briefcase. "Of course I did. I want to get this approved. I don't wanna get tossed off the lot because I didn't read the requirements."
Says the man who dressed in a green cloak and tights and fought the Flash..."You'd be amazed how many people don't." I take the document and begin skimming it. "And the thing is, due to the sort of person we're trying to attract, we actually can't just throw them out if they can't put a written proposal together." He frowns. "I mean, don't get me wrong, this definitely helps, but these grants are intended for potentially violently destructive would-be supervillains. Half of our staff are qualified psychotherapists for a reason."
"I'm-. I'm not a… Supervillain."
Heh. But it does raise an interesting question...I look up from his document and raise my eyebrows.
"Sure thing, Pied Piper."
"Oh, Jesus, the rats were just a test-run. I wasn't actually-."
Ignominious? 'Beneath you'? That's the kind of thinking Grayven wants his employees to avoid..."Ah! You didn't mention that. It's far easier to get approval for Jain-friendly pest control than for anything involving humans. Can you make instruments that just work on vermin?"
"Yes, I could make one… Shaped like a dog whistle. It would be… 'Call' or 'flee' only, but it wouldn't be hard to make. It just seems… Kinda…"
Sounds like he's hired, eh?"If you can reliably remove all the rats from a major city, not only will you get enough money not to need our help, but you'll reduce the spread of infectious diseases. I'll be happy to recommend that we accept you on-" I tap the folder against the desk. "-the basis of this alone, but in purely self-interested terms that may be the best route for you. Obviously our.. colleagues in LexCorps will be delighted to help you with the business side, if you choose to make use of-"
...Oh, now what?Lantern Grayven, we have a problem.
"-them." I push my chair back. "Excuse me."
"Look, up in the sky!""Ah..?"
I stroll over to the window. We're only just past morning rush hour, and there are plenty of people in the streets below. They're.. pointing upwards, phones out. I look up as well, but I can't see anything from here.
The excrement has impacted the rotary cooling device! Repeat...Sinestro?
I believe it's the-
Red beams flicker down, punching through buildings and people with equal abandon!
...Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck... Right timing, wrong timeline!
If not, hide.I turn back to Mr. Rathaway as I take my weapons out of subspace and summon my drones.
"You have a prototype in that case?"
Let's hope it can affect Sheeda like it does modern Humans... For all they know, it drives them berserk.He nods, pulling out a flute and nervously bringing it to his lips as I take my sword out of subspace.
"Keep it with you. You're going to need it."
And then I hear the screaming start.
I turn back to Mr. Rathaway as I take my weapons out of subspace and summon my drones.
Looks like it's time for the Harrowing.Red beams flicker down, punching through buildings and people with equal abandon!
Needs a full stop.
Weapons out of subspace and then sword out of subspace. Seems a bit odd. Maybe the second one could be "as I lift my sword".
Thank you, corrected.
Again, I haven't put the level of thought into this that you seem to think I have.What's the situation with New Genesis like in universe -14?
Were the Titans overthrown by the new pantheon the Amazons created with those demigods on -14?
Thank you, corrected.Weapons out of subspace and then sword out of subspace. Seems a bit odd. Maybe the second one could be "as I lift my sword".
Wait, if the Sheeda are actually preforming The Harrowings for resources, why are they using entropic weapons?
But a grand chapter as always Zoat.
Because they're really effective.Wait, if the Sheeda are actually preforming The Harrowings for resources, why are they using entropic weapons?
Why are the Sheeda so obsessed with harvesting past Earth for resources? If they have all this fancy hypertech why not just go and Harrow alien worlds instead of keeping all of their eggs in one basket?
They're advanced, but they appear to not have any space travel tech,