Pardon me, mind if I interrupt the spam? ;)
I decided to post this and see if anyone gets any ideas and wishes to
continue. It's a similar thing to the first Wild Card novels, but
hopefully less grim. ^_- I was thinking a collection of short stories in
this 'created'setting would be nice. (Puck is MINE! if we do. ;)
Just seeing if it generates any interest. At the least it might steer
things to generating more storywriting topics on the FFML.
A chance to create new characters of your own devising anyway. ;)
----
Power Point

     At the start of the 1980's a physicist by the name of Trebor
Young came upon an oddity in one of his experiments related to the
understanding the forces of electromagnetism. He knew he was not a
genius, or even very good, in his profession, but he had a dogged
determination into discovering the truth of whatever fascinated
him.
     This oddity did, for he could not immediately discover why he
was getting his results, there were no errors, and because the
machinery was his and unique, he couldn't compare the results with
anything. 
     For whenever he came close to his machine, it registered a
flux in the electromagnetic field. As too with anyone else that
came too close. None of the animals he brought to the machine
produced these results; only humans. Also, no measure of insulation
prevented the flux, which should have been impossible for it was a
minor flux and should have been stopped. Eventually, over the
period of a year, the problem consumed him and became his primary
focus, much to the annoyance to his colleges.
     But by the mid-80's, the computational powers of computers had
increased tremendously and with access to some of the best
supercomputers he slipped in a few theories to test. To say that
Young was slowly dropping into insanity would not be accurate; he
was consumed with his Flux but had learned to hide it so no one
suspected. Indeed, his work improved as his mind became keener,
throwing out the stray thoughts that hinder most peoples work.
Wilder and more complex his theory became, until only Young
understood his own invented brand of mathematics.
     On August 23, 1990, something clicked and Young, despite his
by-now brilliant theories known only to himself, was stunned. The
even more powerful supercomputers verified what they could, but the
excited physicist needed proof.
     But not at the place he worked.
     He sold everything he owned, and moved to North Dakota where
he bought an isolated house near the small town of Hardpoint.
     For almost ten years he worked in his basement, often
communicating via modem for new theories that might help his own.
There were few.
     What Young thought he had discovered was the effects of the
human soul. And with his theories, believed he could, possibly,
increase his soul's power! He didn't know what would happen, but at
this point he didn't care.
     On December 31, 1999, at 11:30pm he started the machine he had
created. Half and hour later, and feeling he was introducing a new
millennium for humanity, Trebor Young smiled with great
satisfaction and turned on his creation with himself in the center
of effect.

     Most of this information was sent to various scientists via e-
mail by Dr. Young himself that very night, if he had not we would
not have known the reasons for the disaster that fell upon the late
physicist and the other victims of his thoughtless action.
     By several means, satellites, terrified eye witnesses, etc. we
definitely know the physical effects that occurred after the device
was triggered: A grey sphere grew from where the doctor last stood,
and completely enveloped the house within milliseconds. It remained
a sphere until it was half a mile in radius, then it stopped
expanding vertically but continued horizontally, and hit Hardpoint.
     Hardpoint had a population of about 5,000 people. By the time
the sphere stopped expanding only about 1,000 survivors remained.
The area of effect had grown at a consistent rate until it began
claiming victims, then it slowed as more and more people entered
it, but not slow enough. Until it consumed a certain amount of
people, it only slowed to just faster than the average human could
run. 
     Then stopped cold, leaving the horrified survivors, who had
been celebrating the new millennium, staring at a vast, gray, oval
sphere that had wiped out most of their community. 
     It existed for approximately a day. 
     The town and the surrounding area were evacuated before then.
And a good thing they were, for when the bubble imploded, it left
only hard vacuum behind in the large area it had once occupied. It
destroyed the rest of the town and the shockwave deafening, even
twenty miles away.
     Why it stopped in the first place is unknown, but there are
many theories. The most popular was that the sphere was the bloated
'soul' of Dr. Young, changed into something no one had never seen
before or believed possible. The energies that 'inflated' the
sphere, and thus the growth, were from that another dimension
hinted to in Dr. Young's last e-mail. The mass it consumed was
irrelevant, however, the people of Hardpoint were not. It
assimilated their 'souls' into itself, slowing the expansion. A
compelling argument was the way the sphere seemed to reach for the
town. When it imploded, all the mass became the same form of energy
as the sphere was made of and 'exploded' into another plane of
being, one which is being tentatively explored by a few people who
have been affected by the only side-effect known to be caused by
the tragedy at Hardpoint.
     For around the globe, on every New Years since that day, a
very few people...change. Mostly around North America, why is
uncertain, but no area of the globe is untouched. More changed when
the sphere was created, but a few more appear every New Years.
     These people, and there is no telling who will be affected,
gain abilities that sound straight out of the comic books, or old
myths and legends.
     One of those affected took momentary control over all TV
signals and made an announcement to 'label' those with different
power levels. He never did so again, the strain was too much and
exhausted his energies past the point of recovery. Unfortunately,
these names have stuck so everyone today uses them. 
     Lowest level are the 'slights': people who do not change and
gain very low-power abilities and can usually remain undetected. 
     Medium level are the 'avatars': these people change into a
semi-energy form, usually somewhat close to their own, and they do
not age while in this other form. The more powerful of these people
can use some of their power while still 'normal' but normally
change to do so.
     High levels belong to two sub-classes: 'Demi-gods' and 'Gods'.
     Both share this: their human form alters(Demis only slightly),
and are believed to be immortal. Demi-gods are very powerful, in
one case several avatars ganged up on a Federal agent who had
become a Demi. They lost quickly.
     The Gods are almost another class entirely. Powerful to the
extreme and thankfully, very, very rare. Those affected are almost
not human anymore, and you can normally tell if someone is a God on
close inspection, unless they take percautions. They can even give
lower-class powers to others, but this is highly unusual. No one,
except perhaps another God, can take on an medium-class or
experienced God.
     It is said that only a God can take on a God. I believe it
after witnessing the destruction Henry Jones, aka the AntiChrist,
unleashed and he was new to his powers as well. Fortunately, the
normally neutral and somewhat mischievous Canadian God, Puck(as in
Shakespeare) helped with the problem, being more experienced with
his own powers but never using them at the needed level until then.
Several law enforcement Demi's helped him, and the job was over
before the few other Gods who cared came. Puck's only complaint was
that people were calling him Oberon or Loki as a result of the
AntiChrist's death. In his favor, he didn't have much choice over
the matter.
     With their powers so varied and so wildly different in
strength, it has been hard for laws to be drawn up for these
affected individuals. Like Puck once said after the AntiChrist
issue, "Laws? LAWS?? HAHAHAHAHA! Sure, sure! Just remember, all you
government officials, you may become a Slight or even a God
yourself next year. I suggest being very, very careful in your
discriminations; you may piss yourself off later if you don't!"
     It was a valid point, however scarcastically he phrased it.
And amazingly the politicians took it to heart, letting people
adjust to the fact that some people posess these powers now. Most
Points(the general name for the afflicted) are trying to fit into
society, some are the usual abberations in human nature. The ones
with the most trouble are Avatars, but even they seem to be getting
along.    
     There is normally little overall trouble with the Point-
affected. The Demi's and, more importantly, the Gods do not want
people to fear them overmuch and, if they have to, enforce the
peace if things get rough in their territories and there is Point
involvement. 
     When that does occur, despite their oft-different methods,
they are very effective.
     In the first few years, however, things were very chaotic...


Lemmie know what you think, private or public, you decide.

Twister.

| Twister (also known as Darren Steffler ;)
| 		     e-mail at twister@tendo-dojo.ranma.net
| Big Heapum Fan of: Ranma 1/2, Bubblegum Crisis, Dirty Pair, Gundam, and
| 		     the rest of the known anime universe.