View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
Cam is watching a new recording of Atriama, tail swishing in the gap in his couch, and doesn't stop to pause the show when he feels a summons go by.
+ Show First Post
wormcan
Lots of people want this. It ranges from parahuman teams with members who might be able to damage it down through industrial applications of indestructibility and people who just want a piece because it's cool. This last group is universally frowned upon as having offensively poor taste.
The Protectorate asks for the most samples, of course; the enormous North American hero team has the most comprehensive access to allied capes. They strongly recommend that Cam either be selective about sending it only to heroes or be very clear that use of this material falls under the Endbringer truce. There could be any number of powers capable of using this resource as a stoppable force multiplier. But the truce is regarded as inviolable; if Cam declares that this is only to be used against Endbringers and the Protectorate publicly agrees then other groups will follow.
The Protectorate asks for the most samples, of course; the enormous North American hero team has the most comprehensive access to allied capes. They strongly recommend that Cam either be selective about sending it only to heroes or be very clear that use of this material falls under the Endbringer truce. There could be any number of powers capable of using this resource as a stoppable force multiplier. But the truce is regarded as inviolable; if Cam declares that this is only to be used against Endbringers and the Protectorate publicly agrees then other groups will follow.
from_scratch
People who just want a piece can have it for obscene amounts of money! And, yes, Endbringer truce. The website is now emblazoned with this assertion.
wormcan
The thing about obscene amounts of money is that materials costs tend to go down when there are powers that can duplicate things.
...most things. The results of the testing are disappointing. Aside from being physically indestructible against as much pressure as anyone can bring to bear, the cores are also immune to direct use of most powers. Bad news for the people who want Cam to not be the only source of this stuff, and really bad news for those who want the Endbringers destroyed. A few capes with relevant abilities still manage to get rich selling non-core layers.
It's especially in demand among tinkers, some of whom have started moving to Japan. On purpose.
...most things. The results of the testing are disappointing. Aside from being physically indestructible against as much pressure as anyone can bring to bear, the cores are also immune to direct use of most powers. Bad news for the people who want Cam to not be the only source of this stuff, and really bad news for those who want the Endbringers destroyed. A few capes with relevant abilities still manage to get rich selling non-core layers.
It's especially in demand among tinkers, some of whom have started moving to Japan. On purpose.
from_scratch
Why, hello, Tinkers. If Cam likes your projects you get all the parts you want, doesn't that sound nice?
wormcan
Well, the word got around, they said this deal is insane, man. Suddenly there are more tinkers relocating, though it's limited to those willing to conform to Cam's stated opinions about the projects he likes. Tokyo doesn't quite become a cape city again overnight—there's only one of Cam and he can only supply esoteric materials so fast—but there's a lot of competition for his attention. Non-tinker parahumans have less of an immediate motive to move, but capes tend to congregate wherever capes already are. They'll follow.
The Japanese citizenry is not happy about this. Their disapproval translates to much stricter control of capes than there is in Europe or America, where fighting in the streets is normal, or Russia where a parahuman organization effectively runs the place. But it turns out it's hard to keep capes in line, so Tokyo winds up with the same kind of villain problem that other cape cities have, if on a smaller scale.
The Japanese citizenry is not happy about this. Their disapproval translates to much stricter control of capes than there is in Europe or America, where fighting in the streets is normal, or Russia where a parahuman organization effectively runs the place. But it turns out it's hard to keep capes in line, so Tokyo winds up with the same kind of villain problem that other cape cities have, if on a smaller scale.
from_scratch
Oh dear. That won't do at all.
Does anyone of importance have a problem with Cam unmasking villains with his scary powers, finding them at home, drugging them, and handing them over to the authorities?
Does anyone of importance have a problem with Cam unmasking villains with his scary powers, finding them at home, drugging them, and handing them over to the authorities?
wormcan
Nope, not at all. It'll go a long way toward improving toleration of parahumans.
(It does stem the flow of new capes. Cam is relatively predictable as to whom he'll unmask, but few are willing to take the risk that they'll get on his bad side somehow. Fewer new capes is hardly a problem, as most relevant people see it.)
(It does stem the flow of new capes. Cam is relatively predictable as to whom he'll unmask, but few are willing to take the risk that they'll get on his bad side somehow. Fewer new capes is hardly a problem, as most relevant people see it.)
from_scratch
Well, if Cam really likes your project, he can be convinced to ship overseas.
wormcan
On which subject, Cam receives an email from one of his government contacts. Some shipping company wants in on the distribution—well, a lot of them do, but this one seems unusually prosocial and good to contract with—and a representative would like to meet with Cam to streamline the sending things overseas as much as possible.
from_scratch
Well, wanting Cam's individual time is not a super good sign, but he can schedule them half an hour.
wormcan
"It's for a good reason," he explains on arrival. "Gabriel Vega, I'm with Oceanic Trans-Pacific. Our scheme involves you a bit more directly than most.
You've demonstrated range, while raising Kyushu if nothing else; is there a reason you're exporting things at all instead of creating them already arrived?"
You've demonstrated range, while raising Kyushu if nothing else; is there a reason you're exporting things at all instead of creating them already arrived?"
from_scratch
"Don't want to accidentally drop them on things or what have you, need to know where they're going."
wormcan
"Those both sound easily solvable. Long-distance communication does exist, and is much easier than sending things across oceans."
wormcan
"Exact distance measurements, then? If all ordinary information fails, OTP has been known to contract with parahumans. Speed is valuable, even more so when the things being sent include otherwise-unavailable hepatitis cures."
from_scratch
"Exact direction and distance would do, but that's going to vary with things like tidal forces pulling the continents around by enough that I might put something through a warehouse wall, or someone who was unwisely anywhere near the premises when I appeared the things."
wormcan
"Last problem is easily solved with communication. The former could be handled, maybe with getting a margin of error by making objects appear afloat. I'm almost surprised no one has suggested this kind of thing yet."
from_scratch
"I suppose I could appear things with parachutes if I knew enough about the air traffic and bypass most intersection problems that way. It's just fiddly and most of my help is firmly Japan-based."
wormcan
"We're setting up operations here too, more typical ones as well as the long-distance conjuration.
The local government is happy to have us here, I suspect mostly as a sign that Japan is economically relevant again. Though sponsoring a police department fundraiser may have helped. Is there anything you're hoping to accomplish here that we might be able to help with? We aim to have our presence always be an improvement for the relevant cities wherever possible, and I like what I've seen of your goals so far."
The local government is happy to have us here, I suspect mostly as a sign that Japan is economically relevant again. Though sponsoring a police department fundraiser may have helped. Is there anything you're hoping to accomplish here that we might be able to help with? We aim to have our presence always be an improvement for the relevant cities wherever possible, and I like what I've seen of your goals so far."
from_scratch
"Oh, jumping everybody's tech level until the only remarkable thing about me and it is that I can conjure it up at the drop of a hat, relieving all forms of material scarcity for the entire population of the world, I really want to terraform Mars but don't have the gap in my schedule yet, that sort of thing."
wormcan
"Not things I'm much of in a position to speed up very much, then. Good luck, I suppose, for what that's worth."
from_scratch
"I would definitely appreciate sufficiently precise intel about where to drop the hepatitis vaccines and so on, though, that's definitely somewhere you can help. I don't even mind if you profit off of it as long as every vaccine finds a patient etcetera. You will want to be sure nobody outcompetes you on the profit margin - no exclusivity contracts."
wormcan
"That can only go to other cities where we're already established—mostly the American West Coast—but distribution is easy enough.
As for what to appear where, can you do variety or is it one thing at a time? If it would help, our people on the receiving end can assemble some of whatever's needed at the arrival stations at the time, so you can simply duplicate it."
As for what to appear where, can you do variety or is it one thing at a time? If it would help, our people on the receiving end can assemble some of whatever's needed at the arrival stations at the time, so you can simply duplicate it."
from_scratch
"I can do variety. Having a thing to duplicate onsite doesn't help, but I can do a big care package of thirty different things off a list with only a little more trouble and time than lots of one thing."