Some Paradox Spirits

by Anders Sandberg (nv91-asa@nada.kth.se)

HTML by Will Franqui (wfranqui@nmsu.edu)

I have thought about whether Paradox produces "unnatural effects" (like mages seeing in darkness, electricity flowing backwards, etc.) or not. On one hand, Paradox is a breach of the tapestry of reality, and when it heals the result can be chaotic and strange. But it might also be a force restoring order to reality, and work only inside it. My current idea is that paradox on lower levels is completely mental and internal to the mage, but when it becomes too great, physical changes ensue.

In the spirit of this, I have designed a few Paradox spirits, which do their dirty work using coincidental magick. Hope they can be useful:

Alias: This paradox spirit will look like a loved one or something the mage owns and cares for, like a pet or a important tome. It will discreetly appear in a pressed situation, and when the mage mistakes it for the real thing, consequences ensue. Sometimes it appears as a friend in dire need, and lure the mage into a dangerous situation.

Impossibility (Correspondence): This spirit will manifest as a visual contradiction, like an impossible figure in the air or something far away obscuring nearby objects for the mage. It is a purely visual hallucination or an illusion. It will appear at an inopportune moment and try to get the attention of the mage when he really needs to concentrate, or perhaps make him slip or lose his orientation.

Live Wires (Forces): This spirit will wait until the mage touches an electric device. Suddenly the device goes on, and the mage is electrocuted. The spirit can create electric discharges using forces and control any electric or electronic device.

Supervisor (Prime): Supervisor follows the mage as a ripple in the Prime, looking for any use of magick. When it happens, Supervisor observes it. It can be regarded as a sleeper for purposes of paradox.

Squealer (Spirit): Squealer follows the mage around, and will notify all supernatural beings of the presence of the mage. Quite quickly the mage will have an entourage of "little nasties", and even normal people will notice him. Sneaking up on people will be impossible, since they feel something at the nape of their neck and turn around.

Glitch (Matter): Glitch is a small paradox spirit which is immensely irritating. It will use Matter to dissolve parts of mechanisms or make them change size slightly. A watch will stop, brakes will fail, a hard drive will crash when it is absolutely essential for the mage that it works.

Dream (Mind): The spirit will wait until the mage is asleep, and then trap the mind of the mage in a dream realm. From the outside the mage will seem to be soundly asleep, but he doesn't wake up when disturbed. The spirit, which may look like anything in its realm, keeps the mage imprisoned until he dies. The only way to wake up is for the mage to escape, or for somebody else to free him from the realm.

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Anders Sandberg / nv91-asa@nada.kth.se