Electromagnetic Optical Inversion/Exclusion

by Doctor Jonathan Adams, Son of Ether
March 25, 1998
 

The human eye is an amazing organ, capable of incredible discernment of variations in light and color. Used in tandem, they create the illusion of three-dimensional space. For all of their elegant simplicity, however, they are capable of being deceived, and in turn deceiving their user. Optical illusions have existed for as long as there have been eyes to see them. Desert travelers, desperate for water, would see an oasis on the horizon, and hurry toward it, only to find more dunes, as far as the eye could see. Nowadays, Science simply invents more sophisticated means of deception. The modern Scientist, using an ordinary Electromagnetic Field Inducer, can alter the path light takes once it reflects off of his body. By attaching the device, faced forward, to his person, he can cause the eyes of a subject before him to receive the light reflected from his body in a transposed manner. The practical upshot of this being that the subject now views the Scientist as though left is right, and vice versa, and reacts to the Scientist’s actions accordingly. If the Scientist throws a punch, the subject will tend to dodge into the blow, instead of away from it.

Another manipulation of the human eye involves the “blind spot”, that point where the optic nerve meets the eyeball. By using a focused Electromagnetic Field Inducer, the Scientist can alter light in a manner which pinpoints all the light reflected off of himself onto the subject’s blind spot. This Effect causes no damage to the eyes, but does render the Scientist effectively invisible to the subject. The Scientist should try to remain in front of the subject, as he may still be seen out of the corner of the subject’s eye.
 

GAME NOTES

(Second Edition.) By using Forces ••, the Mage reverses the light reflected off of him and received by the victim. Any Dodge, Brawl, Melee, Firearms, or other applicable rolls, are increased in difficulty against the Mage by the number of successes scored on the Effect roll. The Mage’s difficulties for similar tasks are reduced by a like amount. Time • and symmetrical attire can make the Effect coincidental by timing it to the moment the subject blinks. The subject simply believes that his opponent is both an incredible fighter and phenomenal at dodging. If the subject begins to suspect that something is up, he may make a Perception + Alertness roll, difficulty 8, to piece together what is happening and adjust to his situation. If he succeeds, he reduces his penalty by one. Each turn, he may continue rolling, with each successful roll reducing his penalty by another one, as he adapts. If he botches at any time in this process, he is so addled by trying to reverse the Mage’s image in his head, that he adds a point of penalty and can no longer roll to reduce its effect upon him. The subject may have to split his dice pool in order to try this. Adding both Entropy •• and Time • to the Effect can increase the subject’s confusion by reversing the Effect back and forth at random intervals, always timed to the subject’s eye blinks. The added Entropy also increases the difficulty of the subject’s Perception roll to 9.

To achieve optical exclusion using Life • and Correspondence •, the Mage targets the blind spots of the subject’s eyes. Time • lets the Mage postpone the Effect until the subject blinks, helping to make the Effect coincidental. Finally, Forces •• guides the reflected light onto the targeted blind spots. No matter where the subject looks, the light reflected off of the Mage will fall upon the subject’s blind spot. Making the Effect coincidental depends heavily whether or not the Mage can truly disappear from the subject’s view, even momentarily, and whether anyone else is around.

1998 Derek D. Bass
 

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