Testing The Babysitter By Gary J. Beharry

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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: Testing The Babysitter By Gary J. Beharry

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Of course, there are some plot quibbles. For one thing, for much less energy than flying cutlery, a cerebral artery can easily be torn, or--let's face it--the PK equivalent of a finger poke into the brain could drop a person like a blow to the head with a sledge hammer.

Why do they have to throw objects? One of the reasons for this that I truly fear. . .is television.
Larry Niven, of course, pointed out that his telekinetic A.R.M. agent, Gil Hamilton, could kill someone by squeezing their heart (disrupting the rhythm, or maybe just pinching an artery) ... if they got within reach of his imaginary arm. But the babysitter and Derek are both children of the visual media, so they do what they THINK is effective.

David Cronenberg's 'scanners' were supposed to be telepaths, but were able to affect the cardiac rhythm (and apparently blood pressure -- exploding heads / eyeballs / veins, anyone) of their targets (and in the non-Cronenberg sequels seemed to be more telekines than telepaths, with the obligatory throwing-stuff-around replacing Cronenberg's (sometimes) subtler effects.

Even in Marvel comics, characters who could just kill people by affecting blood flow (using telekinesis, magnetic fields (acting on iron atoms in the blood), or projected force fields) STILL mainly throw large objects around. But at least they acknowledge that the less-flashy tactics are possible.

RM

(Hmm. I just thought of a nasty magical tactic for someone in mist form, particularly when applied to someone who tends to rely on raw power...)
Last edited by Robert_Moriyama on March 08, 2008, 05:33:30 PM, edited 1 time in total.
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: Testing The Babysitter By Gary J. Beharry

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

(Hmm. I just thought of a nasty magical tactic for someone in mist form, particularly when applied to someone who tends to rely on raw power...)
What, the old "get breathed in and then do nasty stuff on the inside" tactic?
Yes... of course, I'm not sure that Morgenstern NEEDS to breathe, what with being undead and all...

:-[
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Jack London (1876-1916)
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