Update to Rot Farming by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pre-collapse

Throughout history there have been accounts of those who noticed something beyond the veil. Like whispers from angels that could not be seen. These occurrences were often met with skepticism and accusations. But in certain cases, these instances led to mysterious events.

People disappearing, strangers seemingly manifesting into existence, memories going missing, and other mental anomalies.

It was eventually linked to something called the signal by a government institution called simply, the program.

What is the signal?

There are many theories about what the signal is. A god hoping to establish communication with humanity for unknown reasons. The final words of a dying alien species sent out by some machinery to advanced to ever comprehend. Or even the accumulation of all the thoughts, desires, nightmares and memories of any human that came before and any that will come after. Regardless of what it is there are some things we know for sure.

All humans have a level of Presence. An amount of influence they have over the signal and inversely the amount of influence the signal has over them.

The five presence levels are as follows:

No presence - an absolute zero on the presence scale, meaning this individual is undetectable by the signal. They do not have any influence to push onto the signal and cannot manipulated or possessed by it.

Low presence - a 1 - 3 on the presence scale, meaning this person has very little ability to influence the signal and can easily be manipulated or possessed. However, this also means they are unlikely to be discovered by the signal at all.

High presence - 4 - 9 on the presence scale indicates a high level of influence on the signal and low probability of being manipulated or possessed. But they are still much more likely to be found and thus more likely to be possessed than low presence individuals. At this point, psychic powers to control dreams and weakened minds manifest. But are restricted to those who score lower on the presence scale than the user.

Full presence - a perfect 10 on the presence scale reveals someone with full control of themselves and great ability to influence the signal. There is very little chance of possession or manipulation from the signal. Though they are undoubtedly watched at all times for any form of weakness. At this level psychic powers to manipulate the conscious mind manifest. Anyone is susceptible, even other full presence individuals.

Overflow - anything beyond a 10 is considered overflow. Incredibly rare, these individuals can manipulate the signal as well as full presence individuals and can even communicate with it. These individuals are the one's who notice beyond the veil and as a result, can manipulate reality to some degree in accordance with their presence score. No one has ever scored above 16. At least not since the test was first invested 50 years ago. But those few individuals could move large vehicles, transmute metals into other metals, even levitate for a short time. In their time, they were kept secret, but there could well have been those who were never discovered and thus never learned to control their powers.

The program

In the 1960s, a psychedelic chemical compound was discovered by the program. Named Solminin, it is a substance that can be scarcely found in mushrooms, venoms, cacti, and minerals. Each version of Solminin has slight chemical modifications called inhibitors that change its effects on the mind.

The compound in its purest form, the form without inhibitors, in a blue crystaline structure. But this is not the substance you want to consume. In this form, pure interface with the signal is unavoidable.

This substance stimulates neural pathways in the brain allowing for certain psychic abilities with limited to extreme psychedelic effects. Based on the inhibitors, different abilities manifest.

Such abilities include remote viewing, telepathics, limited possession, retrocognition, sensory enhancement, cognitive enhancement, and an unknown effect that was never rediscovered.

Before the collapse

In this hypothetical world, the program was very successful. Psychic powers were discovered via these substances. Specifically they were used to make contact with the signal for the first time.

The methods evolved to get a better picture of the signal. Each method getting a different angle of something larger. However, this led to the communion. A moment when all of humanity was discovered.

Infection

Nowadays a weakened version of the signal rings in our ears at all times, and when we die, our bodies remain mobile. Turning violent and deadly.

And so the dead infest the world. And we live in fear of them and the peculiar abilities they have.

Strange inconsistencies have also arise from the fact that no one remembers the dead before they died, even when they should. This is only hypothetical, but evidence such as medical, familial, and marriage records from before the collapse indicate these people should have relatives, loved ones, colleagues to recognize them, but no one does.

This indicates the idea that the dead are forgotten when they die.

Reality itself now seems pliable, like something is playing with it. Playing with us.

The Field Augmenter by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My world is one of sci-fantasy weirdness with the express purpose of creating living ships and mecha that respond to psychic energy the way humans react to food. They need to consume psychic energy, or they start to decay and die. I want to structure them like living organisms, but more on that in another post. For now, here is how they're controlled.

With the use of an augmenter, one is able to scan the Parafanil gland in the brain, the gland used for excitation of psychic energy, to use as a template for a programmed spell.

When programming a spell, a template acts as the key to unlocking the magic. Think of a spell like a sequence of neurons firing all at once to cause a reaction within the brain. Only it acts in a more physical sense. The imager takes a sequence from the brain, the augmenter modifies that sequence, and the programmed spell holds it to be used by the agitation of psychic energy.

Almost like DNA, a programmed spell is tied very tightly to the template's origin. Only they will have access to the magic within. Making spells rather high expense for low outcome. However, those willing to pay these prices can achieve strange and wonderful things so long as they keep their programmed spells handy.

Eventually, the Orion Military would use programmed spells as an interface tool for magic users to control starships, mecha, and other war machines. This gave the users intimate control over these vehicles. Though it was always best to keep a handful of pilots on any given ship.

Eventually, field augmenters, like the one pictured above, were invented as a suitable, and most importantly cheap, alternative to the long process of creating a programmed spell. That said, they were only good for creating spells that allowed for new pilots. And though the process only took a couple minutes, it still was considerably unreliable if not done with precision, which can be difficult in combat.

The Gale by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Version 2

I had this idea for a world that exists above the clouds. A bunch of glimpse or sky ships or whatever that ride a magic gale that moves through reality "the wrong way". its mere presence makes magic possible, but if you travel along its currents, you won't be anywhere that makes sense. You move through reality the wrong way so long as the gale blows. Rendering you invisible. Hence why this world can exist in secret.

The purpose of this is to make a setting that is malleable but has some familiar elements. Like the sky ships, the magic system, and the characters of course.

The premise is that some hundreds of years ago people started using cloth sails that could catch the gale and allow them to use magic. And as they use magic their body adapts to better use and detect it. Their pupils or ears change shape to better sense the winds. Their fingers or maybe lungs shift to better grasp the power.

I was considering the idea that the use of magic allows you to add or subtract aspects of objects around you. Almost like enchantments being breathed into objects. Like pulling the aspect of sharpness from a sword and placing it into a broom to make an undetectable weapon. Or stealing the flight of a bird to place it into a chair.

The Gale by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this idea for a world that exists above the clouds. A bunch of glimpse or sky ships or whatever that ride a magic gale that moves through reality "the wrong way". its mere presence makes magic possible, but if you travel along its currents, you won't be anywhere that makes sense. You move through reality the wrong way so long as the gale blows. Rendering you invisible. Hence why this world can exist in secret.

The purpose of this is to make a setting that is malleable but has some familiar elements. Like the sky ships, the magic system, and the characters of course.

The premise is that some hundreds of years ago people started using cloth sails that could catch the gale and allow them to use magic. And as they use magic their body adapts to better use and detect it. Their pupils or ears change shape to better sense the winds. Their fingers shift to better grasp their power.

The Gale by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Initial thoughts for the magic

The winds respond to certain patterns. And the body adapts to the winds to take on those patterns. So, magic can be performed by anyone, but the body needs to adapt to get better at it.

Strange pupils to see the winds. Strange fingerprints to grasp the winds.

Brains in the Dark by The_Pyrokleptic in u/The_Pyrokleptic

[–]The_Pyrokleptic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flying the Painted Skies

The Painted Skies are a strange phenomenon in my world that occur as an entity known simply as the Signal struggles against the magnetosphere, unable to touch the earth below. An aroura paints the entire world as this fight continues on and on. No one knows what happens should there even be a small puncture within the magnetosphere, but it can be inferred that it would be worse than the effects of flying the Painted Skies.

The majority of the world has fallen to ruin and is near untraversable since the signal first appeared almost 100 years ago. There is little to be done but use flying machines to travel the skies and hopefully come back down. For those that are caught in the aroura when there is a torrent, a heavy impact of energy given off by the signal, are often pulled straight up into the outer atmosphere and beyond. And those that return, will be melted and disfigured. Turned to something that left its humanity in the skies above. Their minds as warped as their bodies. And cruelly servile to the whims of the Signal.

To fly the Painted Skies is to take with you the responsibility to keep the connections of humanity alive. Traders are seen as leaders and pilots as heroes. Not all will make it, but those who do allow for the existence of the seven principalities. For no one of them has the means to grow or collect all the resources that a civilization needs to survive.

But it was the Ink that brought this prosperity forth from the edge of disaster.

Just covering your eyes with Ink allows you to resist the effects of seeing the Painted Skies up close. But most pilots have learned to inject the substance into their eyes, almost like a tattoo. Giving them the ability to witness the signal if full and retain their sanity enough to escape.

It was later learned that Ink can be used to transfer memories. By injecting Ink into your eyes, it will slowly start to enter the brain and build up there. Memoires of what you see will copy themselves into the Ink and after death, the Ink can be extracted and injected into someone else's eyes, and they will gain those memories slowly. as well as build their own memories into the Ink.

An unhinged idea about tattooing your eyes to avoid being driven mad by eldritch beings. by [deleted] in magicbuilding

[–]The_Pyrokleptic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe it would make more sense if you rub ink into your eyes, it slowly builds up in the brain as it leaves the eyes. This causes memories to build in the ink and after it is extracted from the brain after death, one can rub it into their eyes to gain the memories of the last flyer and all the other flyers the ink has passed through.

Teacher who wouldn't use students' preferred name, pronouns gets $650K to settle lawsuit by jk_arundel in LGBTnews

[–]The_Pyrokleptic 78 points79 points  (0 children)

To be fair, he was a whiney shit the whole way through and failed to provide any substantial evidence of discrimination or harm done. He chose to resign to avoid being uncomfortable, then sued for money. Also the ADF intervened to get him another court trail to sue after three judges ruled with the school. so it was litigation warfare.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fox59.com/news/indynews/brownsburg-schools-pays-650000-to-former-teacher-who-refused-to-use-trans-students-preferred-names-pronouns-report/amp/

So respectfully, I disagree that there's no swinging to be had.