Re: [BNW] Sci-fi or Supernatural?

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

At 03:40 PM 24/01/01 -0500, you wrote:
>First, I've looked through a few months of the mailing list's archives (Good
>luck finding work, Matt!!) and there were a few posts that implied that
>delta powers are of supernatural (as opposed to super-science or "natural"
>mutations) origin.  Sure, that seems likely for the Bargainers, and
>presumably the Covenants, but what about the rest?  Is there evidence that
>the Gadgeteer or Blaster are "supernatural" in origin?  Were there any
>Deltas prior to WWI?

The Bargainers book lays out a theory behind what the Bargainers are, and 
inspires interesting thoughts about what the rest of the Deltas are as 
well...   As for actual "facts", those have been held pretty closely to 
Matt's chest since the beginning.

Having not really finished ready my Primers book (BAD encafONE!) and not 
yet purchased my Crescent City box set ("Uh..  I have *how* much in this 
week!?!" <shudder>), I can't say for that stuff, so I'm going to just do 
what I've historically always done, and that's blather on about my *own* 
thoughts.. ;)

First of all, of course, *all* Deltas are "super"-"natural"...  It just 
kinda depends on what your baseline for "natural" is, doesn't it? ;)

But really, I don't think that Deltas are supernatural in the sense of 
"wave your hands, there is no logic, stir in some ideas and >poof< instant 
Delta".  In other words, they don't just *exist*, they *exist* for some 
*reason*.

What no one really knows is the *reason* -- and that's one of the 
possibilities the Bargainer's book mentions.

It's not even necessarily wrong -- it's just not complete.  It looks at 
their own particular point of view of the world and says "yeah and verily, 
this is the whole twooth!"...

So, Deltas are very likely to be explained in some scientific* way, within 
the context of the game.  What it will require is a pretty big paradigm 
shift in the science of the Brave New World.

(* Well, it *is* just a game, so that should be "pseudo-scientific", I 
suppose...)

(Hmm... consider the name: Brave New World...  just after the cusp of 
decision, the precipice of choice and action, and beyond, to take into 
account the results of decisions made long ago....)

Personally, I think that it's *way* to simple to posit that they are all 
caused by the same thing (or the same class of things)...  Perhaps it is 
simply the expression of evolution, an activation of inert sections of 
long-forgotten DNA that the Gods seeded into humanity* long ago, should the 
need ever arise to create an army (or because they were bored...

(*There is an interesting question:  do we have any *animal* Deltas?  Why 
or why not?  Is there something inherently special about the human species 
that makes them susceptible or deserving of transcendance?)

The one thing that was hinted about from the beginning of BNW and 
more-or-less generally accepted is that a near death (or perhaps even 
actual death) situation seems to be the trigger, the root cause, the spark 
which ignites the change...

Why?

Is it that in the final moments, when the soul detaches from the body, some 
*else* can enter?  What if it talked like George, walked like George, made 
love like George but was really something *else*, something that simply 
wore George like a badly-fit suit, something that stretched out the 
George-suit to fit over its own abilities and behaviours?

Or perhaps that point of death is the point which is closest to the realm 
of the Gods and yet still in the realm of the humans, a point at which the 
veil separating one domain from the other is thin enough that a godling or 
force of nature can reach out and influence that travelling soul, send it 
spinning back down into the all-too-earthly plane, forever changed for 
being touched by a higher being...

Or perhaps evolution is the wrong model... Perhaps our DNA is alive, in a 
sense that very few have ever grasped, perhaps it is a living meme, an idea 
with a will to reproduce and continue its existence, and when put under a 
particularly peculiar stress, adapts, changes, mutates *itself* to defeat 
its environment.  ("The mitochondria are.. /alive/!"  -- Paradise Eve)...

Or perhaps it is the water we drink.  Or a shift in the atmosphere.  Or 
sunspots.  Yeah, it could be the sunspots...

>Second, have we learned anything more about vampires?  Any ideas whether
>they are just a "weird" sort of Delta that popped up this century due to
>popular familiarity with that archetype?  Or are they really a separate form
>of supernatural critter that has been around for centuries?

Since the reports of vampires I've received all seemed to be centered in 
the Atlanta area (although rumours have it they are expanding...), I'd say 
that it has something to do with the environment there.  One of the other 
common factors that seems to be influencing the development of many Deltas 
is the area in which they lived and/or died.  In particular, the outbreak 
of very peculiar Deltas in WWII which very gruesomely reflected their 
deadly environments suggest such a connection...

Then again, not every Flyer was dropped out of a 100th-story apartment...

Q:  If you drop a Flyer, which side does he/she land on?
A:  Flutter-side up!

>While I'm definitely interested in those specific topics, I guess the
>underlying issue is that I'm trying to get a feel for how "mystical" (for
>lack of a better word) the canon setting is supposed to be.  Most of the
>core book gave me a somewhat gritty, somewhat cinematic action feel, with a
>high-tech/science bent, but there were a scattering of things that clearly
>imply a more supernatural thriller approach (the Faith skill, Bargainers,
>Vamps, etc.).  To what extent is the "modern" or "high-tech" feeling
>actually just a mask for underlying supernatural stuff, or vice versa, or do
>they both co-exist?  Is a Gadgeteer a super-scientist, or an alchemist with
>delusions about being a scientist?  Is a vampire a supernatural demon made
>flesh, or a mutant human who read too many horror stories before awakening
>as a Delta?

The answer, frustratingly perhaps, is "it depends".  The core setting is 
fraught with uncertainty, with the only sureties being found in the 
dictatorship that surrounds the United States, and the fact that if you 
find yourself on one side of that dictatorship you will find yourself 
running for your life, and on the other side, you will find yourself hunting.

In fact, that might be the point:  the reason the dictatorship thrived in a 
nation that has traditionally been viewed as fiercely independent and 
individualistic may be the simple fact that it offered a form of stability 
amidst an utter chaos and uncertainty of the Delta.

"Delta" is the Greek letter used to represent (in the modern world) the 
concept of "change".  And people (often) fear (radical) change, and will 
cling to whatever makes them feel safe, like Linus gripping his blanket for 
security.  It doesn't make sense necessarily what they cling to (like a 
doorframe, or a pillar, or a person's leg), but they will do so for fear of 
change.

And what is the biggest change in life?  Arguably, it is death, and people 
fear that as well...

And Deltas are created out of death...   In fact, I'm started to get afraid 
of us...

(rant.... rave... spew...)