Setting: Possession
Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 2:21 am
During the 1960s, magical regions which have come to be called "Warps" began spontaneously, and the rate at which they appear has been increasing.
A warp contains the same general sort of terrain as the area did before, but is much larger internally and its internal layout is continuously changing and harder to navigate- for example, vegetation might become thicker, hills steeper or streats more confusingly arranged. Furthermore, people who enter a warp seem to be transported to near the middle of it.
At some point between entering and escaping a warp, anyone who gets lost in one will be "Warped". When a person is Warped, they seem to be subjected to unpredictable and sometimes bizarre alterations to their memories, personality and/or body. But all three of these things, and especially their personality, will normally remain more-or-less recognizable. Sometimes, a Warped person will also gain superpowers or (especially if they are engineers) futuristic engineering knowledge; some people enter Warps intentionally in the hope of getting powers or technology. The changes have been becoming increasingly dramatic since the 60s, the superpowers more common and more powerful, and the technology more advanced.
At some point days or years, and generally at least months, after escaping a warp, a person's original, unwarped mind will "wake up". This "Original" will have no memories or experiences from after the Warping. From then on, the Original and Warped will have to share a body. Exactly how this works varies from person to person; some are awake alternate days. Some switch out unpredictably or in response to specific stimuli. Some struggle over control of the body when they disagree. Some function in other ways.
Generally, governments try to secure and maintain control over Warps, and ensure that people only go through if they're going to use any powers or tech either in service of the government or of people who have paid the government a lot of money. Often people are not allowed into Warps unless they are either soldiers or engineers. In less politically stable parts of the world, there are Warped supervillain-warlords. Some criminal organizations also have control over secret Warps which they sell access to, and of course people continue to sometimes walk into newly formed Warps by accident.
Public opinion on Warped includes "basically the people they were before but with a magic affliction and possibly superpowers", "potentially dangerous and untrustworthy alien entities possessing people", "potentially dangerous and untrustworthy newly created people stuck in other peoples' bodies" and "people from alternate timelines stuck in lives almost but not quite their own". In fact the latter is true; a Warped is an otherworldly alt of the Original whose mind and body are copied onto that of the Original.
So far no Warped has come through with magic which could be learned by others, although a few have had magic which could be transmitted by more difficult means such as (several different sorts of) vampirism. None of these conditions have yet become widespread.
A warp contains the same general sort of terrain as the area did before, but is much larger internally and its internal layout is continuously changing and harder to navigate- for example, vegetation might become thicker, hills steeper or streats more confusingly arranged. Furthermore, people who enter a warp seem to be transported to near the middle of it.
At some point between entering and escaping a warp, anyone who gets lost in one will be "Warped". When a person is Warped, they seem to be subjected to unpredictable and sometimes bizarre alterations to their memories, personality and/or body. But all three of these things, and especially their personality, will normally remain more-or-less recognizable. Sometimes, a Warped person will also gain superpowers or (especially if they are engineers) futuristic engineering knowledge; some people enter Warps intentionally in the hope of getting powers or technology. The changes have been becoming increasingly dramatic since the 60s, the superpowers more common and more powerful, and the technology more advanced.
At some point days or years, and generally at least months, after escaping a warp, a person's original, unwarped mind will "wake up". This "Original" will have no memories or experiences from after the Warping. From then on, the Original and Warped will have to share a body. Exactly how this works varies from person to person; some are awake alternate days. Some switch out unpredictably or in response to specific stimuli. Some struggle over control of the body when they disagree. Some function in other ways.
Generally, governments try to secure and maintain control over Warps, and ensure that people only go through if they're going to use any powers or tech either in service of the government or of people who have paid the government a lot of money. Often people are not allowed into Warps unless they are either soldiers or engineers. In less politically stable parts of the world, there are Warped supervillain-warlords. Some criminal organizations also have control over secret Warps which they sell access to, and of course people continue to sometimes walk into newly formed Warps by accident.
Public opinion on Warped includes "basically the people they were before but with a magic affliction and possibly superpowers", "potentially dangerous and untrustworthy alien entities possessing people", "potentially dangerous and untrustworthy newly created people stuck in other peoples' bodies" and "people from alternate timelines stuck in lives almost but not quite their own". In fact the latter is true; a Warped is an otherworldly alt of the Original whose mind and body are copied onto that of the Original.
So far no Warped has come through with magic which could be learned by others, although a few have had magic which could be transmitted by more difficult means such as (several different sorts of) vampirism. None of these conditions have yet become widespread.