"I just don't understand where it's getting the information. If it can read my bots I can make you a pet bot that believes its little heart out that there are fairies and claps its hands, but separately I have an infosec problem."

"...well, if you had made it seem that impossible earlier I may not have been able to believe hard enough. I can't actually get any information from this arm, though, I do not have the faintest clue how it works."

"It might just be reading the bots. I haven't made a true AI, but I'm only sure of that because I ask the central software every couple of days and it always says no."

"I think if the bots were actual intelligences this would probably not have worked. I'm pretty sure having a new limb counts as sufficient squinting."

"So your power can read non-mind things about the environment. That's potentially huge. ...Oh god we've been standing here doing powers tests for way too long." Lorica takes a flying leap to the next roof.

They follow, giggling. "Sorry."

"Not your fault. Pros column: power testing is a legit pastime."

"Right? I wonder if my power would be considered an exception to the Manton effect."

"You can make live stuff?"

"I meant more in that it draws information from both living and non-living sources, in different ways. Haven't been able to voluntarily produce anything alive, though."

"I don't think that constitutes an exception. My stuff is all strictly inorganic but it can take inputs from whatever."

"Yeah, fair enough, I guess."

"Have you been able to involuntarily produce things alive?"

"...Huh?"

Sigh. "When I triggered, I was in—a bad spot. The first thing I created was some—one? To get me out of there."

"Yeah, that one I have been trying to reproduce, for a long time. ...I was a bit delirious at the time, that probably helped."

"Yeah."

"Breaking out of unconscious expectations is consistently the hardest part of using my power. That may be so obvious as to not be worth stating. But."

"It seems like it'd be a major obstacle. You could maybe be profitably paired with some kind of Master, if they could doublethink well enough or just have broader range than your power sweeps for."

"Broader range?"

"Like - your power can't literally be sweeping the globe to check what everyone thinks. I'd be surprised if it swept farther than visual range or a few blocks. If you made friends with someone who directly affected beliefs and wanted to tell them what the deal was, and they happened to be able to stand outside your 'range' and keep you in theirs..."

"One, pretty sure it's something like 'visual range,' since my visual range, or something approximately like it, is my limit when creating. Two, that sounds really tactically useful. Three, I may not be as wary of people detecting what I'm thinking as you but my reaction to imagining letting someone else mess with my mind like that is utter terror, so tactical usefulness may not be the most relevant criterion here."

"Yeah, don't blame you, but I know I'm an outlier so I thought it bore mentioning."