he mad

[whydoyoushine]

[There's a livestream of a bit of ranting and some holding cells that cuts off before Zed speaks.]

Someone give me a good reason I shouldn't just blast everyone with darkness and be done with it.

Comments

[professorwolf]

Because then people would know you aren't human. That tends to go over badly unless you have your escape plan all worked out to perfection, and even then, you're, er, still likely to be hunted. It will make a huge mess.

Where are you? How did you wind up there, do you know?

[whydoyoushine]

No, see, I've got it all figured out. My overlay blew out his voice a few years back, so I tell them I traded it to a demon of rock for power, and if they want to see the demon, that's when I take my Shadow form...

[This is unusually creative for a guy who claims to have no imagination. He's learning.]

And some guys with guns stuffed me into a van. I didn't blast them then--you're welcome.

[professorwolf]

That won't help, Zed. Even if you're showing off powers that came from a demon, those are still powers and it will go badly. Please keep your magic under control. We don't want or need a witch-hunt here. Humans are-- they're twitchy about magic. They don't like things they don't understand, and it's quite likely that people will die if they start trying to root out all the people with powers.

[whydoyoushine]

But it's a demon! Get a priest in here to give me a clean bill of health after and the problem's solved.

[professorwolf]

It's entirely likely that these people won't believe you, Zed. They'll assume it's something else, whether magic or mutation or even aliens. It isn't worth the risk.

[whydoyoushine]

But sometimes, the risk is what makes it fun.

[professorwolf]

Take your risks at a time when the only person who might get tortured or killed for them is you. Right now is not that time.

[whydoyoushine]

Hey, if they start outright torturing people I'm not gonna just sit back and let that happen.

[professorwolf]

I don't disagree, necessarily. But that's why I'd rather you not start showing your powers. It might lead to that, and you can't stop them all.

[whydoyoushine]

If they turn off the lights, I'm not showing them anything. It'll be too dark to see, and I'd just make it darker.

[professorwolf]

The evidence will be there when they turn the light back on, Zed. Any show of powers, whether they see them directly or not, could be dangerous. Please, please keep it under control unless absolutely necessary.

[whydoyoushine]

So the lights won't come back on. I'll leave the darkness there; they'll think it's some kind of power outage.

[professorwolf]

The lights will come back on eventually, and then the damage will be done. You will only be postponing the inevitable. Please, Zed, think further ahead than the next hour or so. Consequences are unavoidable here, no matter how long you leave the lights out.

[whydoyoushine]

Look, it's not like they'd be able to trace it to me. Just a freak blackout.

[professorwolf]

You're expecting them to basically be stupid, Zed. They aren't, I assure you.

[whydoyoushine]

They were stupid enough to think they can contain me.

[professorwolf]

You're mistaking ignorance for stupidity. They aren't the same thing at all. The authorities not knowing what you're capable of when you're a stranger to this world doesn't make them stupid, and I dare say once they learn of the things you can do, they'll find ways to counter them.

[whydoyoushine]

[Stop him? Like by turning on a string of Christmas lights to distract him?]

I'm too good to be countered.

[professorwolf]

Perhaps. But you don't know what these people can do here, so if you simply assume they are harmless, you'll be doing the same thing you're accusing them of doing. I doubt you want to do that, or you'll have to call yourself "stupid", too.

[whydoyoushine]

[How dare you use his own logic against him?]

Come on, it's the eighties.

Worst they can do is throw a fax machine at me.

[professorwolf]

[He will totally use Zed's own logic against him. And anything else handy, too.]

It's not our eighties. Mine didn't have aliens. Yours had rainbow trains. We don't know what they have and don't have here.

[whydoyoushine]

I've got all my overlay's knowledge, though. There's that, he doesn't remember anything worth all this fuss.