What would your walls say if they could talk? Seer had a ‘fun’ childhood.
8 Comments
Bergman
on July 23, 2018 at 3:53 pm
How do laws in that universe treat involuntary powers use like that, versus laws on searches and eavesdropping? For example, someone with 20/5 vision might be able to see something that most people need binoculars to see — the use of binoculars to look in a window might be an unreasonable invasion of privacy, but for someone with normal vision that can see that far, just glancing that way from a public sidewalk could see everything happening in the room behind that window.
So how do the courts treat someone like Seer, who can see the evidence of a crime in plain view, despite it being invisible to others? Can she testify about what she sees? Does she need a warrant? Can she be prosecuted for being a Peeping Tom?
Scott
on July 24, 2018 at 10:42 am
There isn’t much of a legal precedent – yet. To date i haven’t had any mind reading abilities. There’s an obscure villain that can influence minds.
Paragon is the only person that can trully fly, and over time she became regulated by the FAA as a small vehicle and has to file flight plans when travelling over 5 miles. Though its rarely enforced.
There are many laws regarding powers dangerous to others when its a demonstrable danger that can not be controlled.
Seer has testified as PI and as an eye witness. But her abilities have not been accepted as evidence. Mainly due to fears of appeals.
Bergman
on July 24, 2018 at 6:08 pm
Making Paragon get a pilot license or file flight plans would be illegal a couple of different ways under US laws in our world, and if the Paragons are the only fliers, it would be unlikely that their world would be too different.
First, a law aimed at a single individual would likely qualify as the sort of discrimination judges really love to land on like the wrath of god. It violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution to make a law or enforce an existing one against a single person or definable sub-group.
Second, there are Constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement that are judged by the courts on a basis of weighing public interest against that freedom. A good example is comparing how much damage that a highway system full of bad or untrained drivers can do with a car or truck against that right. So operating a motor vehicle requires licenses, but requiring a license to walk would be struck down almost instantly by the courts. In many cases, bicycle licensing has been struck down that way.
I’d imagine the law is rare;y enforced because the government knows full well that if they annoy Paragon enough to challenge it in court, any non-corrupt judge that hears the case will strike the law down on the spot.
Scott
on July 24, 2018 at 6:57 pm
Rights of humans with abilities are not equally protected in this world. It began with the Geneva accords following WWII. Humans that match certain criteria are classified as weapons. This has led to discrimination and curtailing of freedom in many countries. The David Act, named after Hardcase’s brother David, allows the US government to restrict the freedoms of individuals considered to be a danger to others. The Paragon has been a controversial figure in government circles since the late 50s, and they’ve not hesitated to pass laws aimed at curtailing their influence. I have lots of this background stuff, and some of it may come to play in the comic.
Deoxy
on July 24, 2018 at 10:07 am
This is a person who needs to live in a brand new, constructed-just-for-them house. Preferably with their own hands, even. So much no fun.
danuttall
on July 25, 2018 at 10:57 am
So when she touches her wooden banister and the hardwood floors, she gets flashes of the trees they came from: various wolves marking territory at the bases (gross), woodpeckers looking for grubs by pecking at the trunks (stop the hammering!), squirrels and martins running up and down the trunks (so cute! until a martin catches a squirrel), various birds nesting in the branches (what a mess!), reliving the forest fires and droughts that they survived and the chain saws they did not. That is still not a respite.
danuttall
on July 25, 2018 at 11:04 am
So now she experiences what the trees that made up her hardwood floors and banister went through: wolves marking territory at the base of the trunks (gross), insects invading under the bark, either from below or from being laid directly under the bark (make her skin crawl, feels like it anyway), woodpeckers repeatedly pecking at the trunks looking for insects to eat (stop the hammering!), various birds making nests and raising chicks on its branches (what a mess), the forest fires and droughts they survived and the chain saws they did not. Somehow that does not feel like it would make things any easier for her.
Deoxy
on July 27, 2018 at 6:44 pm
So far, her powers have all centered on other PEOPLE, not just whatever happened to the object EVER.
Also, plastics would likely solve most of those problems.
How do laws in that universe treat involuntary powers use like that, versus laws on searches and eavesdropping? For example, someone with 20/5 vision might be able to see something that most people need binoculars to see — the use of binoculars to look in a window might be an unreasonable invasion of privacy, but for someone with normal vision that can see that far, just glancing that way from a public sidewalk could see everything happening in the room behind that window.
So how do the courts treat someone like Seer, who can see the evidence of a crime in plain view, despite it being invisible to others? Can she testify about what she sees? Does she need a warrant? Can she be prosecuted for being a Peeping Tom?
There isn’t much of a legal precedent – yet. To date i haven’t had any mind reading abilities. There’s an obscure villain that can influence minds.
Paragon is the only person that can trully fly, and over time she became regulated by the FAA as a small vehicle and has to file flight plans when travelling over 5 miles. Though its rarely enforced.
There are many laws regarding powers dangerous to others when its a demonstrable danger that can not be controlled.
Seer has testified as PI and as an eye witness. But her abilities have not been accepted as evidence. Mainly due to fears of appeals.
Making Paragon get a pilot license or file flight plans would be illegal a couple of different ways under US laws in our world, and if the Paragons are the only fliers, it would be unlikely that their world would be too different.
First, a law aimed at a single individual would likely qualify as the sort of discrimination judges really love to land on like the wrath of god. It violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution to make a law or enforce an existing one against a single person or definable sub-group.
Second, there are Constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement that are judged by the courts on a basis of weighing public interest against that freedom. A good example is comparing how much damage that a highway system full of bad or untrained drivers can do with a car or truck against that right. So operating a motor vehicle requires licenses, but requiring a license to walk would be struck down almost instantly by the courts. In many cases, bicycle licensing has been struck down that way.
I’d imagine the law is rare;y enforced because the government knows full well that if they annoy Paragon enough to challenge it in court, any non-corrupt judge that hears the case will strike the law down on the spot.
Rights of humans with abilities are not equally protected in this world. It began with the Geneva accords following WWII. Humans that match certain criteria are classified as weapons. This has led to discrimination and curtailing of freedom in many countries. The David Act, named after Hardcase’s brother David, allows the US government to restrict the freedoms of individuals considered to be a danger to others. The Paragon has been a controversial figure in government circles since the late 50s, and they’ve not hesitated to pass laws aimed at curtailing their influence. I have lots of this background stuff, and some of it may come to play in the comic.
This is a person who needs to live in a brand new, constructed-just-for-them house. Preferably with their own hands, even. So much no fun.
So when she touches her wooden banister and the hardwood floors, she gets flashes of the trees they came from: various wolves marking territory at the bases (gross), woodpeckers looking for grubs by pecking at the trunks (stop the hammering!), squirrels and martins running up and down the trunks (so cute! until a martin catches a squirrel), various birds nesting in the branches (what a mess!), reliving the forest fires and droughts that they survived and the chain saws they did not. That is still not a respite.
So now she experiences what the trees that made up her hardwood floors and banister went through: wolves marking territory at the base of the trunks (gross), insects invading under the bark, either from below or from being laid directly under the bark (make her skin crawl, feels like it anyway), woodpeckers repeatedly pecking at the trunks looking for insects to eat (stop the hammering!), various birds making nests and raising chicks on its branches (what a mess), the forest fires and droughts they survived and the chain saws they did not. Somehow that does not feel like it would make things any easier for her.
So far, her powers have all centered on other PEOPLE, not just whatever happened to the object EVER.
Also, plastics would likely solve most of those problems.