Mesmer Lass
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Mesmer Lass | |
| Player: | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 10 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Petra van Heysen |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | human |
| Age: | 21 |
| Height: | 5'6" |
| Weight: | 160 lb |
| Eye Color: | brown |
| Hair Color: | black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | World Citizen (37th C) |
| Occupation: | Warden |
| Place of Birth: | Utrecht, Holland |
| Base of Operations: | Earth |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Telepathy, Willpower | |
| Known Abilities | |
| yogic body control | |
| Equipment | |
| none | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Character History
In 3266, an experimental wide-area tesseract device imploded at the University of Utrecht in Holland, seemingly wiping half the city off the face of the Earth. Further investigation revealed that the area of space had in fact pinched off like a bubble into its own little pocket dimension, and work started to solve the Utrecht Equation, the 4-dimensional tensor problem that would return the missing half of the city.
Conditions inside the bubble were harsh. Temperature fluctuations caused by a standing wave on the bubble's surface created a 42 hour day/night cycle with temperatures ranging from -20 C (6 F) to 45 C (138 F). Electromagnetic activity directly affected the minds of those inside producing feelings of unease and paranoia. And the practical problems became apparent - cut off from the outside world and its supply of food, medicine, and consumer goods, the citizens would have to adapt to recycle whatever materials they could find in the city and make sure that any technical knowledge they possessed stayed alive.
Human beings are resourceful, and adapted to their new conditions. Within the first few years, a core group of leaders emerged from the University's various faculties. The "Wardens", as they became known, taught the survivors to rely on their innate human skills of mind and body to weather the conditions they were subjected to. Emphasis was placed on managing emotional responses like fear, anxiety, and the dwindling hope of rescue with the cold light of reason. Descartes, the university's most famous alumni was upheld as a paragon of reason for the people to aspire to.
Generations passed within the bubble, and the memories of the outside world became remote. The society that evolved within was austere and puritanical, with strict sexual mores to prevent overpopulation that would further stress the city's limited resources. The group of Wardens who lead the people in their daily meditations instigated a selective breeding programme to foster the latent telepathic gifts into full activity.
Outside, the Utrecht Equation and the tale of the bottle city inside the collapsed tesseract remained something of a curiosity. Mathematicians tackled the problem from multiple angles without success, until 3699 when it was finally cracked by Nemesis 12 using a previously untried quantum computing trick.
Petra van Heysen had just completed her Warden training when her world was broken apart. Confronted with the grey mess of the 37th Century Earth and solar system, she resolved to teach its people self-discipline and the correct adherence to rationality that had sustained her people for generations. To this end she has allied herself with the sueprhuman activists known as the Celestial Bodies, and taken the name Mesmer Lass.
She has accompanied them back in time to the 21st Century, and is so far less than impressed.
Affiliations
Mesmer Lass is a reserve member of the 37th Century chapter of the Celestial Bodies.
Personality
Petra is a haughty and judgemental individual. Chosen as a leader in her native world, she is used to being obeyed unquestioningly, and does not take argument well, whether it is spoken or just thought. She typically finds the inhabitants of the outside world undisciplined in their thoughts and actions, and is not afraid to tell them so.
Petra is a strongly felt atheist, and will be quite harsh and dismissive to anyone harbouring religious or superstitious beliefs.
Powers
Mesmer Lass has fully unlocked the latent telepathic potential present in all humans. She can read the minds of others, from their conscious thoughts to deeper-seated feelings, and can project her own thoughts into the minds of others, either singly, or as a broadcast to mulitple targets.
Due to intensely disciplined yogic training, she is able to control her body's autonomous functions such as heartrate, breathing and skin temperature. She can pass for dead quite easily, neutralise her pain receptors, or generate a temperature differential of up to 10 degrees across the palm of her hand merely by concentrating.
By combining these two abilities, Mesmer Lass can control the autonomous functions of others. She commonly uses this power to numb allies, diminishing all physical sensation so that they feel less pain in combat. She can also use this ability offensively to increase the pain sensitivity of an enemy, or increase their sensitivity to light and sound to temporarily disable them.
Her telepathic broadcasts and almost superhuman willpower allow her to assume mental control over a few targets, forcing them to follow her commands as best they can.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Mesmer Lass has no physical powers to speak of, and has trouble dealing with mindless opponents such as robots or magical constructs.
