‘It’s a matter of proximity,’ said Garovel. ‘The distance over which you can create your iron is exactly the same as the distance over which you can destroy it. Obviously, you can’t create something from a hundred kilometers away, so you wouldn’t be able to destroy it from that distance, either.’
“Hmm...”
‘Think of it as if you’re always standing at the center of a giant bubble. That bubble is your “sphere of influence,” so to speak. Anywhere within that space, you can create and subsequently destroy your iron.’
“Okay...” Hector annihilated the crude sword he had been using and crossed his arms. “So then... if someone is standing within my range, could I create metal inside their body?”
‘Ah. You’re thinking if you could materialize iron directly into a servant’s brain, you could kill them instantly, right?’
“...Yeah, pretty much.”
‘As far as I know, that’s not possible. I definitely would’ve told you to do it earlier if I thought it was.’
“Why isn’t it possible? Er, why don’t you think it is?”
‘Because the mass that you’re creating has to accumulate before taking form. And it can’t do that within a space already occupied by a solid object. There’s too much physical resistance for the atoms and molecules to gather properly. Within a gas or a liquid, though, it’s fine. There’s not enough resistance there to cause a problem.’
“Mm...” He wiped his brow. Even in the shade, he’d been sweating for a while.
‘That’s the idea, anyway. Emergence is always a bit of a wild card, but I’ve never heard of a materialization user who could do that.’
“But, umm... haven’t I already done that, kind of?”
‘What’re you talking about?’
“I’ve cut into flesh with my metal before. I know I have. I mean, it didn’t start inside the body, but once the metal went through, it kept going and came out the other side. Doesn’t that sort of count? Or...?”
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
Something missing here...
ReplyDelete"you wouldn’t be [able to] destroy [it?] from that distance"
Finally, the explanation all the commenters have been waiting for. ^^
Gases and liquids are cool though? So could Hector just materialize iron in the bloodstream and stealth kill someone by stroke? I think I remember you saying that it's awfully difficult to the point of impossibility. There's also some "empty" space in the body. How about lungs, there's usually just air in there, could he materialize iron in the lungs?
I think the explanation is lacking a bit. Sure, it makes sense to limit Hector's powers, instant kills don't make for interesting fights. But I'd find it more convincing if Hector's ability was limited to just being able to materialize iron where he can see it or at least be able to imagine the space where it should materialize. Making the deciding factor the aggregate state of the space around it doesn't really make sense. Atoms are mostly empty space anyway.
I don't want to be rude or anything, you probably did a lot of research on this one (you always do). While the explanation might work, I think it would make more sense to limit his ability to the space he can see or imagine. The abilities are very mind-heavy anyway with meditation and imagining and stuff, so I can't help but think that this explanation makes more sense in a way.
I'm sorry if I don't make much sense, I have a lot of trouble putting my thoughts into words right now.
I think I caught a typo.
ReplyDelete"Think of it as you’re always standing at..."
Got it, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAtoms are mostly empty space, yes, but that's precisely NOT the point that Garovel is addressing here. He's saying the problem ISN'T the atoms, but rather the formation of complex structures from them.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I know you don't mean to be rude. No worries. And Hector and Garovel haven't finished their conversation, either. :)
So Colt's power is emptying spaces
ReplyDeleteand Hector's is filling them with metal
I see a Dynamic Duo attack in the near future
Mh, I see. I guess that makes sense. I can't really imagine it -- my knowledge of chemistry doesn't really cover a situation where you start out with a few atoms and create more of them. So would two metal atoms be "attracted" to each other, meaning they'd bond on their own or would you need to force them to bond? I mean, metals have few valence electrons and when they bond, all atoms basically give up their valence electrons so they can be in the lowest energy state. I guess what I'm trying to say is that metal atoms probably want to bond with each other, so making them bond wouldn't be hard. Manipulating the shape probably would be.
ReplyDeleteWell, now I'm really confused.
Anyway, Hector's last question here reminded me of something else. If he has a fully formed sword, sticking it in something solid obviously isn't a problem. But could he manipulate the metal of the sword while inside the solid substance? If it's just a question of forming structures, he could bond the new atoms to the metal that's already there. I can't really think of a situation where that would be useful, but I'm wondering anyway...
Also... what if someone swallowed a piece of Hector's metal? Could he destroy it while it's inside the person?
Hmm. I will say that the formation of Hector's metal doesn't occur merely because of the natural attraction that the atoms have with another. It's something that HE does with his power, not something that happens on its own.
ReplyDeleteThat next question is basically what Hector is asking, so it'll be addressed on the next page.
And yeah, if they ingested it, he could still destroy it as long as they were within his range.
Thanks for answerning all the questions here and on the next pages. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking them.
ReplyDeleteMy evil sense is tingling with the following plan A:
ReplyDelete1) create iron
2) change it into a form to be digestible (alloy)
3) Feed food to people
4) annihilate iron
Those are of course the simple steps. Both middle points need to be addressed more thoroughly for the plan to work. For instance, the digestible form can vary – it can be in a form of a fertilizer that is applied to fields anyway. It would likely need to be in some kind of chelate complexes anyway, so there's that.
But once you have Hectors iron flowing through people's veins he could be a truly bad guy. Annihilating "his" iron in people would lead to them suffering anaemia at least and death at worst.
My evil sense is tingling with the following plan B:
1) Create iron in smallest size possible
2) Saturate environment with it
Disrupts many natural chemical processes. Binds atmospheric oxygen.
My evil sense is tingling with the following plan C:
1) Supply smelters with Hectors iron
Effect: Out-compete other smelteries which have to buy regular iron.
Effect: Hectors iron is used in buildings. Annihilating it will lead to stress and/or collapse of building.
(Huh. This time the login worked.)
for extra EVIL IN plan a, don't destroy the iron..... EXPAND ON IT! MWHAHAHAHAHA!!
ReplyDeleteHmm interesting breakdown of Hector's power. *turns page*
ReplyDeleteSo... what happens if he materializes iron and blocks the blood vessels in the Brain?
ReplyDeleteSeems effective.
Hmm, if Hector is forming his iron from spactial matter, wouldn't that kind of fuck up space a little? Because say he's creating iron in the middle of a field or whatever, something in the universe would have to either change form to become his iron or he'd make a rip in space. You cannot add or take away from what already exists. And if so, it would have to be something of the same density, or it wouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteSorry to bug you, I absolutely love this story and hope you don't think I'm an ass or anything. And my favorite character is and always will be Hector. Hectoooooooor, talk to me in that adorable stutter of youuuuurssssss.
He doesn't abuse spacetime nearly as much as destruction users do.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, they'll totally make a black hole eventually. And when that happens, I will laugh.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering for awhile now why he doesn't just decapitate enemy servants or materialize sharp objects in front of their eyes while they're moving too fast to dodge.
ReplyDelete