Grrl Power #1033 – Field of Supers
The universe is like a onion lasagna, see? Or a 7-layer dip. Actually, a 20+ layer dip. Except instead of layers it’s fields, and the fields all overlap and intersect. So it’s like a 20+ layer dip in a 4-dimensional blender, but they’re still discrete layers-slash-fields, except when they’re not as I think some of the fields can become other fields temporarily and maybe in the spaces that they transition is where all the left socks go. Clear? Everyone a science expert now?
Honestly I have no idea how the fields interact, or if the giant corn chip coming down to scoop up the field-dip is god or if god is the guy throwing the party. All I know is that a 20+ layer dip sounds like too many layers until you consider that some of the layers could be barbacoa or goat-cheese. But then you’re like “well, you’re still about 9 layers shy” and you’re thinking “what if one of the layers was sliced up hot dogs and another layer was just mustard, and the bottom layer is actually a 7 layer lasagna?”
If you can’t tell, I’m not sure what else to add to this page. Super powers in the Grrl-verse require a hitherto undiscovered quantum field and Deus might have a touch of megalomania.
New incentive is up! Dabbler decided to get out of the pool, in slow motion (see the bonus comic at Patreon), possibly with added “physics.”
Cue Mele Kalikimaka.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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Better some not-fully-understood aspect of quantum mechanics than some 11th-dimensional Shai-Hulud putting power-granting tumors in peoples’ brains.
Also, it can’t actually be some sort of universal aspect of physics, since apparently super powers are ONLY native to Earth-born humans.
Maybe it IS something in the water.
could also be that humans developed an innate ability to manipulate the fundamental forces due to [fill in the trope of choice; Example: We live on a death world, constantly bombarded with radiation, sprinkled with the cast off super technology refuse from more advanced civilizations that developed and got to space faster because of lower gravity, less radiation, less planet quakes, storms, etc.]
And whats to say other species out there HAVEN’T developed super powers? We just haven’t met them yet…or didn’t recognize what they can do as a super power because we don’t know what “normal” is for that matter…like the flame head astral transfer mask face from the attempted abduction of Max.
Easy “explanation”:
We already find dark matter this strange mystery everywhere. The bigger mystery is “why isn’t it here” <- Real fact
Earth is the one area that doesn't have dark matter to stunt superion development. <- Potential Grrlverse fact
Your “real fact” isn’t a real fact. There is no mystery of “why isn’t dark matter here.” You may be confused by the fact that we haven’t “directly” detected dark matter, but the whole reason it is called dark matter is that it does not interact significantly with other matter except through gravitation. There is a possibility that it might interact through some relatively weak mechanism, which is why scientists have bothered to look for it directly, but when these searches turn up nothing, it doesn’t mean that the dark matter is missing, just that it can’t be detected by those methods.
It’s not that ‘we have detected that Dark Matter is not here’, as your first fact would imply. Rather, it’s that ‘we have not detected that Dark Matter is here’.
The second of those two statements only implies the first if we have a means of detection sensitive enough to pick up the concentrations of DM that we can infer to be present elsewhere in space, but (as yet) we do not. Hence, Not Proven rather than Proven Not.
Valid point.
That said, either of which is solved by answering, “Well, why isn’t it *here*?”
Either we find a reason it’s not here, or we find it is here but it’s not “here-here”, as if it doesn’t functionally interact with matter, it’s not “here-here” even if it’s physically in close proximity.
My bets are either on some interstellar particle that’s pushed away by our bubble of solar winds, or gravity bleed-over from parallel universes.
As and when we can produce detectors sensitive enough to pick up the incredibly weak effects of DM over the ‘noise’ of everything else going on in our vicinity, we’ll be able to determine that either-or. At our current level of capability, there’s too much interference from the ‘normal’ matter – the effect of Dark Matter at the expected concentrations is far less than the measurement uncertainty.
Alari sure seem to have some pretty “super” powers, compared to bog standard humans. Regeneration (that did not appear to be based on blood magic), flight, short-range teleportation, probably a couple of others that I’m forgetting. The off-world tourists & mercs exhibited some interesting innate abilities. Seems like many species’ baseline abilities exceed human.
The thing with humans might mostly be a more pronounced dichotomy – the ‘typical’ humans are capable of training up to Math-level competence, but have no across-the-board special abilities. Supers get a comparatively huge amount of inborn ability, bringing the population average to about the same as other Worlds.
You are forgetting earths high above average charm levels.
Still worse, Midichlorians, which are just psionic space herpes.
It’s not a tumor!
huh, I think my comment got lost.
Maybe we just arn’t seeing alien super powers for what they are…like flame head, astral body hopping, mask person from the Maxima kidnapping attempt.
Might also have something to do with living on a planet with heavier gravity, more storms, planet quakes, radiation, etc. than “galactic norm”…
Which would have kept up if Cora and the bounty hunters hadn’t revealed that at least high level supers are earth specific.
You could be correct. It might be that some alien races interact with this field naturally and all members of a single species interact with it in the same way, creating a species trait that would not be looked on as a “superpower.” Humans are in some way “broken” in that only a small number interact with the field at all and this interaction is chaotic, creating different effects with different individuals. And this broken nature allows humans who can interact with the field to be able to do so on a much stronger level than non-human species.
It could be a ‘zero sum game’ situation. Usually all members of a species will have a small piece of the whole energy field. On Earth only one in a million have access to the field, so each one gets to funnel a million times the energy of most other species.
(Unfortunately, if this became known, it could lead to a ‘Highlander’ situation.)
Someone’s been reading Stross
Think it was a reference to Worm/Ward, superhero webnovels.
The supers don’t seem traumatized enough for that to be the case anyway.
I’m sorry Maxi, but would please quietly accomany thes nice young men in their clean white coats?
(((Who are coming to take you away…..)))
Hmm, maybe “God Save the Queen” instead?
Apocalypse Dick eh?
I swear Maxima, got a one track mind *shakes head*
Is “apocalypse dick” on anyone’s Maxima Bingo Card ..?
If not, I’m getting the vibe that something she says before this encounter is over might qualify. I guess, to actually cross it off, you have to make her say it yourself? Dabbler might recognize this as an opportunity to try & push the right button(s).
Well one theory on Gravity has it originating in an associated dimension of the universe which is why it’s so weak compared to electromagnetism and the other fundamental forces.
So what if “Superions” originate from another such associated dimension and Earth is one of the few places where it can easily enter the main universe we live in.
Imagine if you could visit there…
I think that is built on a thorough misunderstand about the meaning of “dimension”.
A dimension is not a place you can go to, a dimension it is the unit in which you measure how close you are to your destination. Some event can be 5 meters or 5 minutes away, because those are dimensions. You cannot go to “distance” or take a vacation to “time”, it is quite literally absurd.
I understand that is so with most dimensions associated with our universe.
Yet it didn’t stop scientists imagining such a visit as part of M-Theory. It helped them visualise the universe being a Membrane.
Plus comics, Sci-Fi and fantasy have always been a little more fanciful about such dimensions, after all there is: Subspace, Hyperspace, the Warp, The Dreaming, etc.
If not I require a cutaway where dabbler adds it to her card as the ‘bonus space’ XD
“Card of Holding”
I laughed.
At both “Deus Superion” and “That would be gauche”.
I could just hear the tone he said it in from the paper
After thinking about it a bit, how would Max not know his last name? Didn’t they bump uglies at one 0point?
Might?
“Also, that didn’t fit on the business cards” -Deus Superion, mentally, probably.
I was thinking the exact same thing. Though the word Superion would be in gold embossed foil ink. The card would probably also work as a usb drive that takes you to a list of of his accomplishments and a dating bio.
It would also make for a very unbalanced PowerPoint attribution.
Gotta check every part of the optics.
Still, way better than Midichlorians.
Apocalypse Dick sounds like a minor character in The Boys.
Now I really have to wonder if his last name really is that overblown, or if he’s really just setting Maxima off for fun at this point.
He does have to get her back for the 3k suit, after all.
Probably not originally. Easy enough to get your name changed though.
Unless he had particularly Chuunibyou parents but he somehow managed to live up to the name they gave him anyway.
“Astral Seepage”
Can we blame that on Olestra too?
And here I thought his name was Deus X. Machina. You know, like the company and the big double scar on his face.
Well, we knew he didn’t match the description of the Superd. Not sure what superions are supposed to look like.
Dabbler being busy with “make Max say” bingo card…
I wouldn’t be surprise if Deus didn’t have one of those himself!
Not an official one, he just likes to play by himself as a hobby.
[ SPOILER ALERT ]
Dues is going to win. The day will come when he will just smile and calmly state “Bingo!”
[ /spoiler alert ]
So Science,Magic and Psionic’s are all part of the same universal field theory? makes sense. Some one inform
N Tyson.
Even IRL, magic is just the ability to mentally affect the energies that make up the universe around us. Metaphysics :)
Science is what the universe does when no one that matters is looking.
There is another field only covering Muon and half of Tau? Love to know what that is labelled as.
So Taco Bell’s cosmic 7 layer dip might actually be hazardous in this world even more than it is in real life.
I must be a real super, because I get nothing from the 7 Layer Dip except fed.
Ohh, right, the wrecking trucks by letting them hit my body thing, I already am a Super.
Last panel is just great. Also if anyone is allowed to name themselves that, it’s Deus. Can’t really think of any other character that can say they’ve earned the right to use Superion in their name.
Also has Deus’ full name ever actually come up in the comic before?
To be honest, I always thought that Deus’ full name was Deus X. Machina. He owns Machina Industries after all.
I think Machina Industries is named that because the author couldn’t resist the pun
given where we are I think spandex is more appropriate and fun. gives the theory room to stretch and accentuates the curves. it also gives all the physicists permanent wedges.
I’m wondering what the high priestess is going to do now that we know another name of her savior. is she getting a book together? the Names of Dues?
Question is, how far through the nine billion does that take us to?
.000005% I think. might have the decimal off a bit.
Max said a mouthful in the last panel there…!
Aw, she said “Super” and “God” (Kami) in succession, but didn’t say Guru afterwards.
Came here to comment on the awesome detail that is Deus’ tie knot.
If you want to learn how to do it, look up “Trinity knot tie”
Would’ve followed it with “Master” and “Force,” myself.
It seems that the trinity knot is his favourite:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-186-fingers-to-maximum-steepleage/
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-407-pseudohistory/
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-839-demographics-and-dinner/
just to name a few.
And the question mark is the source/origin of orbs?
No way Deus would take such a long pretentious name.
Signing contracts, autographs and women’s breasts would take too much of his time. Though I am sure he’d take time for the later.
I know Deus is set up to be a ‘bad guy’ in the story, and that he’s personally had (asshole) people killed, and indirectly had other (presumably not quite so assholish) people killed in the war he’s fighting to expand his empire… but damn, I really like him.
It appears that much like Evil Atom from Evil Incorporated, he’s decided that he could get away with being far more evil if he did it legally.
That and it seems that he enjoys pushing all of Max’s buttons whenever they’re around each other. I know they had a relationship, but did they ever bang? Is max in Deus’ art book?
If Max is in the book that would make her and Harem eskimo sisters. I’d like to see someone bring up that idea around Max.
My bet is that Max and Deus had some some flirtation with heavy sexual chemistry in the past, possibly while Max was still in the military. This would have been followed shortly by an “OMG, I almost had sex with him. I need all the showers.” moment.
Is Max telling me she DIDN’T know his full name? Alright. I know he definitely changed his name, but now I REALLY want to what his original name was. It better be something incredibly mundane. Like Kevin Smith or something.
Yeah, I find it rather strange that she wouldn’t be aware of his full name. He seems to be a rather notable public figure, it’d be like not know Elon’s last name is Musk or something.
He “calls himself Deus“, which suggests it’s not his legal name.
If Arthur C. Clarke says, “Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic” then it should also be true that “Sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from Science.”
Yes the Clark corollaries cover this.
Sufficiently mastered magic is indistinguishable from a super power –Dabbler
…said Terry Pratchett.
Yup.
https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081205
Barry Gehm’s corollary:
“Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.”
The Florence Ambrose corollary: Any technology, no matter how simple, is magic to those that do not understand it. I have people around me that are this way around computers.
Any science which is distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
well, some universes (or multiverses) have a power source for superpower, so it makes sense here would have one too, dedicating a quantum field is a really nice touch. I know a little about the quantum field theory, and is really interesting. the standard model of particles tries to explain most of the universe (well, except gravity, that son of a big-bang refuses to cooperate) but adding magic to it makes it really more interesting.
ps: quantum field interaction is as difficult to grasp as quantum particle interactions… there is a reason why it’s called quantum physics (well, there is another reason, it’s because it works with discrete quantities, aka quanta, but you understand the point, right?)
Deus reveal that psions are using Astral seepage is actually huge.
Remember the following the demons got access to infernal “magic” with a pact with astrals and psions are the current top of the foodchain of ftl(Syndey’s portals and her talk with Cora) and at the moment there are a ton of demons on earth.
This means the following: At the moment earth contains the highly sacrificial resources reQuired to build top of the bill ftl, because it’s filled with psions.
Ugh…
This explains nothing.
I’m done. Wake me in 3 weeks when the exposition is over and we’re back to the plot.
next week, all characters will be represented by eggplants
He really should have named the field the Deus Field.
Then all superpowers could simply be explained as Deus Ex.
I’ll see myself out now.
He really should have named it the Deus Field. That way any super powers could be explained as being Deus Ex.
I’ll see myself out now.
well done. outstanding even.
Is this the grrlverse version of midichlorians?
I do think it’s a bit surprising that highly advanced species, particularly those with access to and understanding of the thaumion and psion fields, wouldn’t at least postulate the existence of others. But perhaps it’s access to such tech and energies that reduces the motive to go looking.
Maybe Earth is just lucky, for its inhabitants to randomly just develop the ability to tap into this unknown field. Or maybe there are other species with knowledge of it, but they’ve all just ascended, and declined to share such knowledge. Or maybe Earth’s supers are the result of one of those species using or sharing that knowledge. Maybe Sydney’s orbs do actually tap into the same field, making her a genuine super, just via a technological aid, rather than natural ability.
As much as I dislike how people gravitate towards conservation of detail, perhaps Sydney’s orbs are the reason Earth has supers.
“As much as I dislike how people gravitate towards conservation of detail, perhaps Sydney’s orbs are the reason Earth has supers.”
This seems to invite a truly terrible pun – So they’re being empowered by the Halo effect of her orbs?
We evolved after the orbs extinctified the dinosaurs.
Perhaps
A) Orb owner dies in an accident.
B) Orbs follow directive to re-evolve the owner and restore from backup.
C) Orbs muck with planetary evolution, altering lemurs to be slightly smarter monkeys. Also change devil squids toward the same purpose.
D) Orbs also predispose the apes to the develop the fibonnaci genetics for super-ness, and to want to have sex with everything.
E) Orbs decide Sydney is close enough.
F) Eventually, Sydney meets the devil squid of her dreams.
G) ????
H) Profit
If we needed any further proof that Deus is a 12 year old’s SI proxy, this is it.
I’m increasingly positive that he’s gotten refill boy to refill the maxima geode….
*sigh* over a month of the Magic Mzungu who is smarter, more powerful, and all the rest than any poor African. he DESERVES to steal everything, and it’s foolish to resist. When Shathak was growing up there’s a reason secondary education warned against that particular toxic myth. But DaveB has spent a couple months wallowing in that disgusting myth with no end in sight. Oh, except maybe another Magic Mzungu might deign to be Africa’s White Saviour.
I hoped for better, but this is fast becoming an astonishingly disgustingly racist piece of scrap strip
He’s smarter than the Americans too. What’s your point?
You just had to it, didn’t you? Make that steaming pile of douche even more off-putting
Superion be reminding me of Nuklear Age. It had an artificial super-hero by that name. Fun book if you like Brian Clevinger’s style of humor.
I’m still saying it will turn out Sydney’s Orbs are the reason for Supers
Oh good, someone else has the same theory that I do.
The orbs (and specifically their time on earth since Chicxulub) is what causes supers. Leakage.
Also, how did Max not already know Deus’s last name?
You know… with how much money he has, the fees for a legal name change are pennies to him. He could name himself whatever he wants. Just saying Mr. Superion has a good villain/hero ring to it. XP
Hey Dave, sounds like you’re a mite hungry, go have dinner.