|
|
GuildWars 2, the follow-up to the popular MMORPG GuildWars, in development now for several months, has been slowly divulging elements of the game. Over that time, the developers disclosed seven of the eight professions in the core game, leaving the fans to wonder about the last and whether it would be the popular Mesmer profession. To give some justification for that premise, it was disclosed that one of the characters in one of the published GW2 novels was a mesmer. Well, now the suspense is over. The eighth and final profession available for characters has been announced and it is (cue the drum roll) indeed the Mesmer.
However, the Mesmer in GW2 is a far cry from the dominating profession it is in GW. The Mesmer in GW2 is a spellcaster that operates primarily as an illusionist, with some additional abilities tied to the establishment and manipulation of their illusions. I’m not sure I quite care for this take, because, while illusions are a part of what a Mesmer can do, they weren’t the major part of the GW skill set. (I much preferred using the Dominate skills as opposed to the Illusion or Inspiration skills.) I do like that the Mesmers are able to use pistols as a weapon, however: it gives them a definite rogue-ish feel to them.
Now, given that the new game system is highly dependent on character placement on the battlefield, I was suspecting the Mesmer would be more of a commander type, aiding the other characters through inspiration magic, perhaps being a combination of the Mesmer and the Paragon professions from GW. However, at least this incarnation allows a Mesmer to stand on their own without requiring them to always need a group around them to operate effectively.
Star Trek & The Legion of Super Heroes #3
The team-up comic is now in its third issue and only now have the heroes of both worlds met. And, of course, they do so by getting into a fight. Its largely a pointless battle, what with Brainiac 5 being invulnerable to phasers because of force field belt, and the other superheros being more than a match for un-powered humans (or Vulcans) even though they are carrying powerful energy weapons. And just one example of that is Saturn Girl using her telepathic powers to make Lt. Uhura drop her phaser.
Fortunately for all involved, the smartest members of each team quickly come to the realization that they all were not enemies, which is a good thing as quickly after, the real enemies arrive: the Fatal Five of the Legion (in powers and weapons) cast as creatures from Star Trek (Gorn, Orion, etc.: the Emerald Eye is wielded by a green Orion woman.) The two teams naturally work together to defeat them.
The Incredibles
The comic series based after the movie “The Incredibles” is now being reprinted in magazine format. I don’t know the schedule but soon the Dash vs. Mesmerella storyline will come out.
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047577/]
Atomic scientist Doctor Carl Meacham (Rex Reason) is selected to join a very secret scientific research organization, based on his ability to assemble a device beyond any human science. What he discovers is more than just baffling, and the people running the organization are strange, including the leader, Exeter (Jeff Morrow). Even more strange, the other scientists are acting oddly, with a few exceptions like Doctor Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue), Doctor Carlson and Doctor Engelborg, but even those exceptions are acting conspiratorially.
But things don’t stay that way: as Doctors Meacham and Adams flee in a small airplane, a spaceship rises from beneath the manor where the research was located, destroying all evidence of the aliens’ existence on Earth, including the other scientists who fled before the manor was destroyed. As for Meacham and Adams, they are brought on board the spaceship where they are told the truth: Exeter and his companions are from the planet Metaluna, here on Earth seeking scientific answers to aid in the defense of their planet.
Brought to Metaluna, it is obvious that the planet is close to destruction, and there is nothing the two scientists can do to help. Even the leader of Metaluna seems to understand that, and intends to move the population of the planet to Earth. Disaster strikes before that can happen, and Exeter manages to return the two scientists back to Earth before perishing himself.
And where is the mind control? While not a major plot point, it was used by the Metalunans to make the scientists more cooperative, with a corresponding loss of some of their intelligence. It was that loss that caused Exeter to resist using that technique on several of the scientists, including the Mecham and Adams, which is probably why they escaped the original destruction of the manor.
Commentary: While this movie combines elements of a mystery and a travelogue, with a little bit of horror thrown in, there is one thing it is lacking: a real story with any kind of defined character development or much sense of real conflict. I guess that’s why the whole ‘Metalunan mutant’ monster element was thrown in, but its too little, too late.
However, it is still visually very intriguing, especially for the time it was made. The use of comets as missiles against the planet of Metaluna as a military tactic is one that is both physically sound and remarkably prescient: Robert Heinlein wrote about something similar is “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”. Its enough that asteroids can strike the planet by accident, but quite another if they’re guided missiles.
Trivia: If Doctor Carlson’s appearance seems familiar, despite the few times seen on screen, it is that the actor, Russell Johnson, is more famous as the Professor on “Gilligan’s Island”.
Just a short notice: Salon Magazine, an online magazine / website, just published a list of 20 classic spy movies. Includes among them (and placed very high on the list) were two that feature hypnosis. Those two are “The Manchurian Candidate” and “The Ipcress File”. As I know very little about the other movies in the list, I can only say that I highly agree with their placement both on the list and their rankings (3rd and 2nd, respectively) within it.
An experiment on the effectiveness of hypnotism by radio was conducted in Boston and Springfield, Mass, by WBZ. Prof. Gerald M. P. Fitzgibbons, who stood at a microphone in Springfield, 100 miles from Boston, tried to mesmerize two men who sat in the studio of the Hotel Brunswick, Boston. The test failed to convince the psychologists, brain specialists, physicians, radio experts and newspapermen who witnessed it, but was called a success by Prof. Fitzgibbons.
Two of the three subjects, one a former Northampton neighbor of President Coolidge, appeared at times to have been hypnotized by the Professor. The third subject, Aaron Dashoff, of Fall River, a student at Harvard, sitting with the other subjects, exposed himself to the same hypnotic influence, unknown to the professor and the other subjects. He assert he was entirely unaffected.
The witnesses were certain that the student did his best to concentrate on the message of Prof. Fitzgibbons. He sat with his eyes closed, complying with the orders that were coming from the loudspeakers, but when addressed said he had not been affected at any time. The physicians afterward stated they were doubtful as to the genuineness of the hypnosis into which the other two subjects declared that had been thrown.
The rest of the article further describes the event, adding that several others in other cities also participated. From the accounts, it certainly seems as though many of the people who participated were hypnotized. There are three pictures of the event: in the large one on the cover, two of the subjects definitely appear to be in a trance, while one of the other two shows them in catalepsy, stretched between two chairs. (The third is of the hypnotist.)
Here it was that Marshall and Hall apparently were overcome by the will of the hypnotist and succumbed to slumber. Their bodies were relaxed, their heads drooped forward and their arms hung loosely. But Dashoff seemed entirely unaffected.
Of course, relaxation is not the best demonstration of a hypnotic state.
The subjects were then told by the Professor that they were to have a humorous dream, and in a few moments Hall and Marshall commenced to laugh heartily.
He told them next that they were in the South and that huge mosquitoes were pursuing them and buzzing around their hears. And again these same two subjects responded properly. They thrashed their arms about them, endeavoring to chase away mind-made mosquitoes.
From the photographs and the descriptions, it certainly appears the two subjects were hypnotized, despite the comments of the witnessing physicians. (Do I detect a faint whiff of denial-ism here?)
The doctors’ statement, summed up, follows:
“It has been a most interesting experiment for us. We regret that the speed with which the suggestions were made, the consciousness that the message by Prof. Fitzgibbons one gone could not be recalled, gave us a rather unsatisfactory opportunity to determine the genuineness of the demonstration with a finality which might have been expected.”
Its uncertain what more the physicians were looking for here: the two subjects both visually demonstrated a number of hypnotic phenomena, including the catalepsy. I have to wonder just how well versed these attending physicians were familiar with hypnosis.
Commentary: First off, when I first saw the magazine for sale, I thought it described an event more along the lines of what Polgar had done, which was to broadcast the full induction over public airwaves, with the intent of hypnotizing the entire audience (who wanted to be hypnotized.) However, while on first glance it appears to be just a limited demonstration of remote hypnosis, the later paragraphs indicate it was broadcast more generally with reports of more successes in other cities.
|
|
