((Here it is, the Ask A Nova thread! Use anonymous-type characters to represent the questions of curious baselines. This is the only section of the OpNet forum which is considered to be viewable by non-novas.))

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OMG!!! I'm the first to ask a question! This is soooooo cool.

Anyway, my friends and I were talking in school today about how novas work and I wanted to ask...

Do you think that your powers are scientific or that you draw on unknown forces like magic or the fabric of Dimension X or something?

How does this work? Can any of us answer? I guess I will:

Thanks for your question, StarletRose9901.

It's been established through research that via their node a nova manipulates ambient quantum potential. Since it can be measured and predicted scientifically, it's science and not magic.

Science fiction author Robert Heinlein stated that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." While our nodes are organic and not technological, the same idea applies. There's science underlying what happens, even if we can't completely explain it all yet.

Does anyone else want to take a shot at this one too?

I beg to differ.

There are several things that a node is capable of, several of these, as Flicker said, cannot be explained. To attach the label of: "Since we can't explain it we'll still call it science." is silly to me. No offense to you of course Flicker, your opinions are of course just as welcome as mine.

The node, according to science is capable of manipulating the weak and strong nuclear forces as well as principal forces like Electromagnetism and Gravity. The basis of quantum mechanics.

However, several powers novas are capable of are not, and are nowhere near in the ballpark of quantum physics. Hell, they aren't even in the same sport. The science angle is just there to help humans and novas understand something that, without science, their minds couldn't grasp. Face it, as a species humanity (and the novas who stem from that species) do not have a good track record with understanding things that they perceive as different, or shocking (civil war, The Crusades, the Native American slaughter). It's a label so you can all agree on it and play nice with each other.

My 'powers' are not a gift of science. My 'powers' are not from Dimension X.

They simply are. There is not science for what I've become.

I'm roughly between Flicker and Revenant, in that I don't think of what I can do as powers, so much as they are merely just part of who and what I became post-eruption. But I don't entirely agree with the idea that what I can do is without basis in science, however, either.

Quantum manipulation seems like a blanket term for what novas are capable of; a way of saying "one day we'll be able to fully explain it even though we can't at this time." Which, I concede, might very well be the case. Imagining that a biological organ such as the M-R Node is capable of commanding reality at the quantum level, that it is a definable process in the same definition as oxygenation of the blood, is hard for many people to wrap their heads around, including some novas.

But at the same time, any process that can be repeated with comparable results with each repetition generally has some roots in science. I don't, for example, spontaneously create water every time I try to burn something. My accuracy and degree of control increases with practice and focus as well; it's not as though once I start burning something I have no idea how to shut it off or have difficulty reigning it back in after the first few tries.

I'm not a student of mysticism so I can't honestly comment on how closely what I do mimics what practitioners would label as true magick. But I'm not calling upon the power of eldritch creatures or following any rites or rituals, so feel free to make your own assumptions.

Well StarletRose9901, I definitely feel like my powers are scientific in nature, but then I'm one of those novas whose powers are decidedly scientific (if not fully explainable) in nature, and I'm sure that influences my opinion in this area. In my case every one of my own "powers" boils down to a manipulation of either gravity or radiation, and so scientists and doctors can very precisely measure, study, and describe them in great detail.
I realize however that this simply isn't the case with many others who have erupted, and I don't pretend to have an answer for why this should be.

Having said all of that I feel I must point out that the word "science" means simply "to know". And since we don't really know how or why novas can do what they can do I suppose that I'd have to say that, "no", our powers are not "scientific" in nature. But in this regard, neither is the weather, since "science" doesn't understand that either.

I don't know if that's at all helpful, but it's the best answer I could come up with.

who nova fight win

"English, do you speak it motherfucker!?"


Heh, I love that movie. But dude, seriously, WHAT?

VileBill! Kick ass dude. It's so cool that you actually post here. I was wondering hombre', when you hawk the black shit up does it like actually come up from your stomach and stuff? Do you have like special glands that produce it or something?

Ominous, and vague enough that it might reasonably refer to any group or individual.

Okay, according to the docs I got me an extra organ now that create's the Nasty Black. They are totally baffled by the fucker though because I puke up about a gallon of that shit at a time and I can do it over and over again. So, I got a body part for it but that body part can't be working as fast as it does.

So, like most nova shit out there my body says, "Fuck you Dr. Man!"

This thread is fucking dumb. Everyone knows novas don't exist.

Maybe you don't exist.

To whomever:

What is your most memorable interaction with a 'fan?'

You're an imbecile.

They dressed me up and put lipstick all over my face. And then tried to ride me.

They were eight-year-olds, before your mind goes in odd directions.

What?

Okay, I have to be honest here... Has this OP been in sensory deprivation since 1999?

I had a boy in my Biology 101 who decided that I appreciated his continued attention, despite my clear rejections. It led to a three-month mediation with the Provost, myself and him, by the end. I don't remember his name, but I do remember that his attempt to stalk me ended when I dropped him in the deep end of the Harvard swimming pool. Before you worry, I did it from just above the water, and I lingered to be sure that he didn't drown.

He's alive and well today, as far as I know. I believe he transferred to Stanford during the Winter break.

My wife recently left me and I was just curious, are any of you ladies single and looking?

Client #9
New York

Only if you can keep up with me.

I'd answer these questions...

But I don't exist.

Governor?

Damm, I'm in H.S. and even I caught that. Ouch. I hope when I get older that I get the good press and not the bad shit like that. I will though, everybody's gonna love me.

Good strategy, Chief. Why settle for fucking a different Calvin Klein model every night, ladies, when you could have Client #9? Client #9, who went so far out of his way to expand upon his many virtues and make his offering seem like something so much more than some pathetic come-on by a scrub divorcee desperate to validate his seemingly meaningless existence?

You know that he's the ex-governor of New York, right?

My mistake, kid. Sorry, I should have responded more appropriately. Would "cocksucker" have been more accurate? "Garbage wrapped in skin"? "Rapist of the public trust", perhaps?

I really need to brush up on my honorifics.

Anyone here got them super computer powers? We could find out who this sad fuck is and really have some fun.


Hey, all you normal folks, ol Bill loves reading your shit but not if you are such a dumb motherfucker. C'mon, keep it interesting!

Client #9, the Governor of New York was the same guy, who as state Attorney General, went after corporations and their CEO's that spoke out against him. He even told one CEO, who defended a friend being investigated by the AG, "I will drive a steak through your heart!" while pointing his finger at him. What a hypocrite!

As a New York resident, I have several choice phrases for him.

-Finger hookers, not Wall Street

-The New York Governor...Bringing prostitution to its knees, one hooker at a time.

-I was investigated by the former New York Governor, and all I got was this lousy $10 Hooker.

Hi, this question is for Fianna.

Fianna, do you still like animals? I heard that your still working at the zoo, is this true? Do you resent the tiger that hurt you?

Thanks for your answers.

T-bone, New York strip, or porterhouse?

Hello, and thanks for the question!

Yes, I still volunteer at the zoo, and I still love animals. Scientists and conservationists are always trying to learn more about the lives and behaviors of the creatures who share our planet, and it's hard for me to resent Rajah for doing what comes naturally to him. Illness, pain, and fear can make anyone lash out, and I just happened to be within claws' reach. Unfortunately for the tiger, so was he.

He's recovered, and so have I, and I'm looking forward to working with him under better circumstances.

New Your strip of course.

Excellent bedside manner, Doc. You realize this is the public part of the forums right? What other opinions does a renown pediatrician have to share about hookers and fingering?

These are actually quips that I ran across on a political parody website. I thought that I would share some of the funnier ones with you guys.

Common Revenant, laugh a little. It's not everyday a governor is caught up in a sex scandal.

It's hard to laugh when I'm not a slightest bit surprised by it. Humanity (meaning all baselines and novas) are inherently vile and self serving. We are flawed and weak and greedy, caring more about ourselves than those of others.

He is just a man after all. Seeing the difference between the call girl and his wife, it's understandable why he fell from grace.

Besides in this day and age, unless your a nova caught in a sex scandal, it just isn't news and people don't care.