trans_9 | Magic and Mystical: Interviews

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Magic and Mystical: Interviews

Nothing felt quite so good as to have a project on its way. If this one features slightly less graphical and arbitrary annihilation of all sense and reason to the universe so that his will and desires may stand paramount in all creation, it's no less important or relevant for all that.

Aibghalien has set aside a few of what appear to be practice areas for interviews and assessments, hoping these are large enough to use for any demonstrations necessary. If not, the courtyard outside allows plenty of space for particularly pyrotechnical displays.

[OOC: Those willing to help interview may start their own threads for people to comment on (but Abby would like to get your own lists!) If your character would have come, but you aren't able to thread it out for any reason, just put the information in the Handwaved thread for later compilation.]

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Once the handshake finished, Simon plopped back down in Lagann's seat. "Well. A lot of machines need some kind of energy to run, some kind of power source. Lagann, here, though..." He pats the edge of the cockpit. "Runs on willpower, and that's where its weapons come from, too."

"...even where I come from, it's an odd occurrence. I'm just wondering if this...willpower manifestation is something that would be of use for something other than operating a robot."

"Willpower," he repeated, not because he failed to understand the word but because he had never heard of something quite like this before. "Could you qualify that? I can imagine many possible ways in which that happens but I would like to be certain I understand it precisely."

Simon rubs his chin a bit. "Basically... As long as I've got enough fighting spirit, I can do most anything I put my mind to."

"I... see. Would a demonstration be possible?" After all, there wasn't exactly a direct confrontation to inspire fighting spirit at the moment.

Simon nods. "I can give it a shot. Shouldn't be too hard," he answered, settling down in the seat. He gripped the controls, maneuvering Lagann backwards several feet before concentrating - Lagann's face mimicked his own, an expression of determination. A small green aura kicked up around them as the machine's forearms were replaced by drills, and the circular structure on its forehead sprouted one.

That... Well, to be frank, besides the aura, that appeared to him not substantially different than any other display of transformation technology. This called for a grossly unfair test.

"Would you be willing to attempt to penetrate a barrier utilizing that device?"

The aura becan to fade once the drills sprouted, and Simon nodded, looking just a little cocky. "Definitely. Smashing through obstacles is my forte."

Aibghalien spoke a few words, made an arcane pass or two, then pointed at a space in midair.

"It is invisible, but it defines a 40x40 plane directly to my side."

He stepped back, allowing Simon free reign at the wall of force (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfForce.htm). Under ordinary circumstances the wall was literally indestructible outside of a couple of particular spells, but Aibghalien was willing to give Simon the chance to prove his statement about being able to do anything.

Simon nods, then closes the hatch around himself. Lagann steps up, feeling around with one arm until the telltale sign of impact is there. The drills spin up, and all three impact the field.

For a time, they spin in vain.

Simon's aura begins to kick up again, excess energy bleeding off the drills as they spin...

Hmm. Perhaps he'd made this test a bit too unfair. It was uncommon in his experience, but possible, that a full exertion of capabilities could be impossible to perform outside of genuine necessity. Pitched combat or life-threatening disasters, for example. Simon, after all, had no motivation to get through the wall beyond satisfying Aibghalien's own curiosity.

Still, confirming that fact would be useful itself, so for the moment he continued to watch.

While it's true that the best capability of Simon's power came out of such situations, this was still a test of his ability to overcome barriers - and if he was good at anything, it was knocking those down.

The green energy that leaks off grows greater, and one can hear a yell coming from Simon that's getting louder as time goes on.

Simon... was starting to remind him vaguely of a companion of his from prior times. And that reminder stopped him from ending the demonstration. Instead, he took a prudent step back even as he continued to watch with interest.

Quite the prudent step indeed, as with one final increase of yelling volume and another burst of green energy, the barrier shattered, and Lagann staggered forward. The drills spun down, and the cockpit hatch opened as the drills retracted. Simon gave the pointy-eared man a lopsided grin. "How's that?"

Luckily the barrier had no literal physical existence to pepper the area with shrapnel. Aibghalien held one eyebrow arched for a long moment as he attempted to reconcile the demonstration with known or conceivable laws of energy.

After a few working theories came to mind, he smiled. "Exactly what I'd asked for, and certainly food for thought."

Don't think too hard about what just happened, elf-guy. Logic and reason have no place in what Simon does.

There's a sigh, and Simon flops back into his seat. "Alright. As I said before, that willpower-energy stuff was mostly used to power robots at home, though a few vehicles utilized it as well."

Everything has underlying logic and reason! And only the application of study and experimentation can uncover them!

"What level of tiredness or exhaustion are you currently at?" he inquired, continuing to take mental notes.

That...was a good question. "I feel a little winded, like if I'd ran a short distance, but that's not quite normal," he answered, looking at his hand. "At least, compared to previous instances..."

"Well, this is a testing environment. I would imagine your willpower would be more focused and easier to draw upon under actual combat conditions." He nodded thoughtfully as he paced around the spot where the wall of force had stood not long ago, peering at it as if he could see something that wasn't there.

"Oh," Simon answers, adjusting a bit in his seat to a more lounge-like position. "That makes a lot of sense, yeah." The man's pacing was a bit odd, however. A few moments pass before Simon's curiosity gets the better of him.

"...what're you doing?"

"Examining the lingering magical auras to better understand what exactly transpired here," he said. "Your ability did not register as magical, but as only certain magics are capable of penetrating a wall of force, I am attempting to reverse-engineer an understanding of your power by analysis of the effects."

"Ohhh..." was Simon's answer, but his tone and the blank stare on his face made it rather obvious that the explanation went way over his head. Gonna have to dumb that down, Abby.

"If you punched down a brick wall, you would leave brick and mortar debris," the elf clarified. "You punched down a magic wall, so you leave magical residue. I'm looking at it to see what I can learn from it."

"Oh! Okay." The leftovers would be marks of energy that would appear to be quite malleable - used to enhance evolution. A sort of all-purpose energy, to put it one way.

And the elf stroked his chin as he considered the residue. "Interesting. I'd love to observe you in an actual exertion rather than a manufactured event."

Simon chuckles a bit sheepishly. "Yeah...admittedly, things are a bit more impressive in an actual fight." Just a little.

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