With the self-biomod snippet that I've been working on and just posted, I've been thinking a lot about why handwavium operates the way that it does, and I thought I'd throw the ideas out to see what people thought of them. First....is everyone willing to agree that there appears to be some psionic component to the material? From the way the stuff has been portrayed in the stories we've written so far, it seems to react very much to what a person wants...which means it's got access to a mind somehow. I suppose it could be some sort of intelligence on its own, but linking into the users makes as much sense. It would also help explain the quirkiness; instead of linking into the conscious mind, it linked into the subconscious instead and picked whatever random thoughts/ideas/images were floating through at the time.
One interesting thing to consider as well - a psionic component would help explain its tropism to fen. It can sense fen will use it. In fact, viewing handwavium as an organism, fen are simply handwavium's method of making more handwavium. Creating weird science and spaceships are simply a reproductive cost.
This could also explain why some people are better at using it than others; they resonate more with the psionic component. Familiarity and practice also help, of course. For someone like the Professor, whose thoughts are probably always doing the equivalent of shouting about Mad Science and who uses the stuff daily, handwavium will do the equivalent of sit up and beg. Oh, even he can't get rid of the quirkiness (some detractors might say that he actually makes it worse, but we'll ignore them). Even someone who focuses very tightly on a single idea or project can get distracted, and the subconscious mind is always there ready to throw a monkey-wrench into the works. This also explains specialties - some people are just better at concentrating on certain ideas than others. The Professor does classical Mad Science - strange gadgets and lots of lightning crackling around and so on. My character, the Jason, isn't a Mad in the classical sense, but he is really the biomod equivalent. Other specialties would depend on the personalities of the people using the handwavium.
I can see the normal use of handwavium as a 'talk' between the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the handwavium.
CM: I want you to make me a spaceship. Like this! (gives a list of what it wants done to the car that was just coated in the stuff). *mental nudge*
HW: Um....I dunno. Seems rather boring. *goes poking through mental files, trying to find out exactly what this guy wants, to shut him up*
SM: *time for dinner* *thoughts of Outback...leads into music/singing, "Tie me kangaroo down, mate..."*
HW: Hmmm. *car gets engine and AI. Engine runs on Fosters, and the AI has an Aussie accent*
With a specialist, it's a bit more forceful. Using the Professor as an example:
CM: We're making an orbital mind control laser! *lots of arm waving* MUAHAHAHA! *Mental equivalent of dragging someone along*
HW: *Sweatdrop* All right already! Geez. *mental review of what's wanted*
SM: *lightning* *mad laughter* *Girl in bikini*
HW: Hmmm.
CM: *Mental bap with a newspaper* Stay in theme!
HW: Ok, ok! Oy. *adds lots of crackling lightning around the device when it fires. And sneaks in lightning that forms the image of said girl in bikini now and then*
For personal biomodding, the conscious mind is mostly cut out of the loop. It's a direct talk between the subconscious and the handwavium, though if the person goes into it knowing it's going to happen, they can at least try to influence it before the main talk hits.
CM: Um....I wouldn't mind losing some weight. And getting my allergies fixed. Please? *goes to sleep*
HW: *rubs hands together* *shuffles through mental files, watches dreams* What to do, what to do? No allergies....that's doable. But more fun if I do this, too, maybe. *pulls out sheet of paper showing a lizard*
SM: *rather slow-sounding voice - not used to being the one speaking* I...dunno.
HW: Aww, c'mon! It'll be fun! We can add wings, even! *rips wings off the picture of a bat, and tapes them onto the lizard* See!
SM: Uh.....well....he does like dragons.
HW: And even better - he'll use lots of calories, so will lose weight like this! *goes merrily on its way, while the SM occasionally pokes at it, trying to get it to behave*
I was trying to figure out how the biomod I did would affect my character. Since he's a biomod specialist to start, I figure that the daily practice would at least let his subconscious be a little more forceful. But that only goes so far...
CM: *grumbles* Old and sick. Wanna be healthy again. *snore*
HW: *tilts his head to the side* Hmmm. not-old/healthy. Can do... *starts to rummage around for templates to use* *pulls out image of user, at age four*
SM: Not that! Too young!
HW: Hmmm. *pulls out image of Ranma's girl half* This?
SM: *starts to giggle* Nonono....BAD idea....
HW: *grumps* Hard to please. *pulls out image of Son Goku from the start of Dragonball* How about this?
SM: *blinks* SURE! I like him.
HW: *rubs hands together* Finally!
SM: Only....
HW: *whines* Now what?
SM: No spiky hair. HATE hair that won't stay down.
HW: Hrm. All right. Anything else is OK?
SM: *nods happily* Sure! *ignores whole problem of potential weremonkey-dom, mindless rages, et al.*
So....thoughts? Discussion?
One interesting thing to consider as well - a psionic component would help explain its tropism to fen. It can sense fen will use it. In fact, viewing handwavium as an organism, fen are simply handwavium's method of making more handwavium. Creating weird science and spaceships are simply a reproductive cost.
This could also explain why some people are better at using it than others; they resonate more with the psionic component. Familiarity and practice also help, of course. For someone like the Professor, whose thoughts are probably always doing the equivalent of shouting about Mad Science and who uses the stuff daily, handwavium will do the equivalent of sit up and beg. Oh, even he can't get rid of the quirkiness (some detractors might say that he actually makes it worse, but we'll ignore them). Even someone who focuses very tightly on a single idea or project can get distracted, and the subconscious mind is always there ready to throw a monkey-wrench into the works. This also explains specialties - some people are just better at concentrating on certain ideas than others. The Professor does classical Mad Science - strange gadgets and lots of lightning crackling around and so on. My character, the Jason, isn't a Mad in the classical sense, but he is really the biomod equivalent. Other specialties would depend on the personalities of the people using the handwavium.
I can see the normal use of handwavium as a 'talk' between the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the handwavium.
CM: I want you to make me a spaceship. Like this! (gives a list of what it wants done to the car that was just coated in the stuff). *mental nudge*
HW: Um....I dunno. Seems rather boring. *goes poking through mental files, trying to find out exactly what this guy wants, to shut him up*
SM: *time for dinner* *thoughts of Outback...leads into music/singing, "Tie me kangaroo down, mate..."*
HW: Hmmm. *car gets engine and AI. Engine runs on Fosters, and the AI has an Aussie accent*
With a specialist, it's a bit more forceful. Using the Professor as an example:
CM: We're making an orbital mind control laser! *lots of arm waving* MUAHAHAHA! *Mental equivalent of dragging someone along*
HW: *Sweatdrop* All right already! Geez. *mental review of what's wanted*
SM: *lightning* *mad laughter* *Girl in bikini*
HW: Hmmm.
CM: *Mental bap with a newspaper* Stay in theme!
HW: Ok, ok! Oy. *adds lots of crackling lightning around the device when it fires. And sneaks in lightning that forms the image of said girl in bikini now and then*
For personal biomodding, the conscious mind is mostly cut out of the loop. It's a direct talk between the subconscious and the handwavium, though if the person goes into it knowing it's going to happen, they can at least try to influence it before the main talk hits.
CM: Um....I wouldn't mind losing some weight. And getting my allergies fixed. Please? *goes to sleep*
HW: *rubs hands together* *shuffles through mental files, watches dreams* What to do, what to do? No allergies....that's doable. But more fun if I do this, too, maybe. *pulls out sheet of paper showing a lizard*
SM: *rather slow-sounding voice - not used to being the one speaking* I...dunno.
HW: Aww, c'mon! It'll be fun! We can add wings, even! *rips wings off the picture of a bat, and tapes them onto the lizard* See!
SM: Uh.....well....he does like dragons.
HW: And even better - he'll use lots of calories, so will lose weight like this! *goes merrily on its way, while the SM occasionally pokes at it, trying to get it to behave*
I was trying to figure out how the biomod I did would affect my character. Since he's a biomod specialist to start, I figure that the daily practice would at least let his subconscious be a little more forceful. But that only goes so far...
CM: *grumbles* Old and sick. Wanna be healthy again. *snore*
HW: *tilts his head to the side* Hmmm. not-old/healthy. Can do... *starts to rummage around for templates to use* *pulls out image of user, at age four*
SM: Not that! Too young!
HW: Hmmm. *pulls out image of Ranma's girl half* This?
SM: *starts to giggle* Nonono....BAD idea....
HW: *grumps* Hard to please. *pulls out image of Son Goku from the start of Dragonball* How about this?
SM: *blinks* SURE! I like him.
HW: *rubs hands together* Finally!
SM: Only....
HW: *whines* Now what?
SM: No spiky hair. HATE hair that won't stay down.
HW: Hrm. All right. Anything else is OK?
SM: *nods happily* Sure! *ignores whole problem of potential weremonkey-dom, mindless rages, et al.*
So....thoughts? Discussion?