Instructor: RainTurtle
Date: August 4, 2004 (Wednesday)
<Aphanas> Hi, Spot
<RainTurtle> Good evening, ladies and gentlement. Welcome to another seminar in our series of Aeon Trinity Psi-Order conferences
* Bobrobyn likes the name
<RainTurtle> (Aeon) Trinity is a role-playing game about psionics, but the (fictional) psi-orders make a convenient way to subdivide the real-world psionic abilities
<RainTurtle> Tonight, we have the Orgotek Conference
<RainTurtle> In the Trinity gameworld, Orgotek is both a psi-Order and a megacorporation, based in North America
<RainTurtle> Their psionic activities deal with electricity, electronics, magnetism, and light.
<RainTurtle> The typical Orgotek character is the Computer Geek par Excellence.
* Aodh grins
<RainTurtle> Our topic, therefore, is “messing about with electronics and magnetism”
<RainTurtle> What are we dealing with? “Psi” is often compared to electromagnetism
<RainTurtle> In fact, every so often, there are claims made that psi is a part of electromagnetism
<RainTurtle> Some querant or researcher or another has a “brilliant” insight – “Aha! This must function by means of bioelectricity! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?!”
<Aphanas> Heh…
<RainTurtle> The answer, of course, is that someone has thought of it before.
<RainTurtle> Many someones.
<RainTurtle> Many times.
<RainTurtle> Increasingly panicky Soviet scientists dearly wanted to prove psi to be electromagnetic, and for good reason.
<RainTurtle> The reason is very simple: Stalin wanted psi to be explained with (then) current Physics, so that it could be seen to be within the materialist worldview….
<RainTurtle> …and Stalin tended to be…ehem….a bit rough on scientists who failed to come up with the answer he wanted
<RainTurtle> (Schroeder and Ostrander; Ebon; et al)
<Aodh> *cut to scene of torture*
<RainTurtle> Unfortunately, there were some inconvenient facts that got in the way.
<RainTurtle> A couple of the more troubling ones included the distances over which certain effects were accomplished without apparent decline in strength or clarity; the failure of the Faraday cage to disrupt the effects; and the failure of lead and ice to interfere.
<RainTurtle> If psi proves to be electromagnetic after all, the Physics guys have some massive re-writes to do.
<RainTurtle> Psi does affect electrical devices, magnetic fields, and the like.
<RainTurtle> Messing up watches and computer monitors and so on is pretty common among psionicists.
<RainTurtle> Of course, every so often, you’ll see someone claim to be a gifted/natural/born-on electrokinetic.
<RainTurtle> When pressed for details, the idea of “electrokinesis” ranges from “a light bulb burned out when I turned it on” to “I get electrical shocks when I touch things, and sometimes I accidentally zap someone”
<RainTurtle> Light bulbs do burn out eventually, and as for the latter, check out the nifty concept of “static electricity”.
<RainTurtle> Physics, people. It’s a good thing
<Aphanas> (hehe…)
<Bobrobyn> heh
<RainTurtle> (The Soviet dudes were able to satisfy Stalin for a while with some nifty and easily-demonstrated telepathy effects)
<RainTurtle> Questions, so far?
<Aodh> (“Uhm. I get tingling sensations when I do psi!” )
<ChaoticMind> how far did the soviets get in discovering the nature of psi?
* Bobrobyn has a question
<RainTurtle> Nature of? The established quite a few things that it is not. They have not established for sure what it is. They tend to call it “bioplasma” for its simularity to some plasma effects
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn?
<FrozenFlames> yes, i knew of a few of that, but not all, you always have all these limitless facts, lol
<Bobrobyn> How do you shield against screwing up electronics (I have a floppy disc problem )
<RainTurtle> We’re not quite at the how to part yet.
* FrozenFlames raises hand
<RainTurtle> Frozen?
* Aodh raises hand
<FrozenFlames> what if i want something to STRENGTHEN my screwing up of electronics
<FrozenFlames> (don’t ask)
<FrozenFlames> like an amplifier
<RainTurtle> refer to above comment
<RainTurtle> Aodh?
<Aodh> Hehe. Would things such as TV’s shutting on and off in high-emotion situations, computers doing that sort of thing etc. qualify as ‘electrokinetic’ geisting? If not, what would?
<RainTurtle> yes
<Aodh> Okies
<RainTurtle> As long as “electrokinetic” remains in quotation marks.. But those are examples of “geisting”, assuming it happens more than once. A single incident is more doubtful
<Aodh> Heh, yeh. I just meant Em field, electrical appliance, etc specific geisting.
<FrozenFlames> apparently annie has a had messing up of home theature systems Aodh, lol
<FrozenFlames> i think 2 times even
<RainTurtle> *nods to Aodh*
<RainTurtle> Any other questions about the background of the topic?
<Aphanas> *shakes head*
<RainTurtle> For the practical side of this class, you are assumed to be able to ground, center, and move psi around…including puffing and otherwise sending psi outward in a controlled manner
<RainTurtle> If you can make a decent construct, it is probably close enough
<RainTurtle> Anyone trying all the exercises during the seminar is in for a workout
<RainTurtle> Have a snack handy (at your desk/table/console where you are sitting, not in the next room or downstairs)
<RainTurtle> Orange juice is your friend
* Bobrobyn goes to find snack
* ChaoticMind loves gold fishes
<FrozenFlames> is there something that is as good as orange juice?
<FrozenFlames> something else?
<RainTurtle> Any of you who wish to take part in more than the discussion will require the following equipment, listed in groups according to separate exercises:
<Aodh> Most fruit juices. Bananas are great,
<Aodh> *great.
<FrozenFlames> ty
<RainTurtle> magnet, string threaded in a sewing needle (or metal paperclip dangling on a string)
<Aodh> A lees healthy helper is chocolate but as long as you aren’t gorging you should be fine.
<RainTurtle> a floppy disk with a small program…one that works but that you don’t need anymore
<FrozenFlames> well i would say just plain sugar, but other vitamines and minerals would help greatly, correct?
<Aodh> (Yep)
<Aodh> (Pottasium is also something important hence teh fruits)
<RainTurtle> a multimeter or a small electrical device, preferably battery-operated…and preferably something that if you kill it, it won’t get you in trouble
<RainTurtle> a radiometer
<RainTurtle> …
<RainTurtle> Some of these are kind of obscure. don’t worry; you can take part on one exercise without the others.
<RainTurtle> And, as usual, feel free to sit out any or all of the exercises
<RainTurtle> ….
<RainTurtle> Apparently there is some confusion about the snack question
* Bobrobyn comes back with some fruit loops
<Bobrobyn> hehe
<RainTurtle> First of all, for future reference: as a courtesy to the other attendees in the conference, please keep side-discussions between sections in the “questions?” parts, to make the seminar easier to follow
* Aodh nods
<RainTurtle> The reason that Orange Juice is so highly regarded as a “snack” is that it is absorbed quickly, lacking much in the way of fats or proteins. If you have symptoms of “having pushed too hard” you need to fix it fast
<RainTurtle> In a pinch, yes, chocolate and so on is better than nothing, but it might not work fast enough
* ChaoticMind raises hand
* FrozenFlames apologizes
<RainTurtle> It is not a question of comfort, so much as survival. Messing up can kill you.
<RainTurtle> Soda Pop will do, as will “hard candies” (those semi-clear round “boring” kind like life-savers and humbugs). Diet pop will not help
<RainTurtle> CM?
<ChaoticMind> would anything with electrolites work then?
* Bobrobyn raises hand
<RainTurtle> Electrolytes and sugar. Those “sportsdrinks” (yech!) will do admirably
* FrozenFlames has one question about sports drinks
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn?
<Bobrobyn> Would Coke and Fruit Loops work?
<RainTurtle> Assuming the Coke to be the regular kind, rather than “diet”, yes
<RainTurtle> *shudders*
<RainTurtle> Frozen?
<Bobrobyn> K, thanks.
<FrozenFlames> things like gatorade are different then “energy” drinks that contain things like gaurine, taurine, etc., which is better? and do you know whether gatorade or powerade is better for this (they are actually very different aside from the electrolites)
<RainTurtle> If you have a choice, what you’re looking for are the ones without the proteins and amino acids
<RainTurtle> Gatorade → water, sugar, assorted salts, and really disgusting “flavourings”
* RainTurtle does not enjoy such things….can you tell?
<Aphanas> Heh… never would have guessed.
<FrozenFlames> lol
<RainTurtle> Any further questions about snacks, equipment, or suchlike?
<FrozenFlames> i’ll stick with adrenaline rush by sobe….
* FrozenFlames has no more questions and thanks Rain for the patience…
<Bobrobyn> lol
<RainTurtle> heh
* Bobrobyn hands rain a virtual stress ball
<RainTurtle> Frozen: what is “adrenaline rush by sobe”?
<RainTurtle> Coke _with_ Froot Loops (sic) is reasonably acceptable because the amount of sugar you’re taking in will allow for the caffeine’s effects….but caffeine itself will make the problem worse, by forcing your body to burn more calories
<RainTurtle> As a rule, keeping away from caffeinated drinks is safer.
<Bobrobyn> Okay.
<RainTurtle> And, for the record, caffeine is a psychotropic drug. As such, don’t be surprised if it affects your psionic activity
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Jael> none here.
<Aphanas> None here at the moment… will have to try not having any caffeine for a bit and see what happens though… that could be interesting.
* Bobrobyn shakes head
<FrozenFlames> sorry rain, i was afk
<FrozenFlames> it is an energy drink by sobe, its actually pretty good for you, minus the amount of caffine contained in an average cup of coffe
<FrozenFlames> tons of B6 or 12 or something
<RainTurtle> Fair enough. Thanks…Was a bit concerned that it might be more like “Jolt”, which could kill you in the kind of situation we’re talking about
<FrozenFlames> no, definately not
<FrozenFlames> check out the back sometime
<RainTurtle> “Messing with Magnets”
<RainTurtle> We’ll start the exercises with a bit of messing with magnets.
<RainTurtle> Credit where credit is due, the idea for playing with these (although not quite the same method) was from one of Winged Wolf’s classes on which I sat in a couple years ago
<RainTurtle> Put your magnet on the desk, preferably in such a place as will not cause damage to your computer or any disks or recordings
<RainTurtle> Thread the string through the eye of the needle or the loop of the paperclip
<RainTurtle> Hang the thread from something so that the needle dangles freely. An overhanging shelf is ideal.
<RainTurtle> You might need to move the exercise to the floor, and dangle the needle from a chair…
<RainTurtle> Now move the magnet around, so that it is close enough to the needle to pull the thread into a diagonal line, instead of straight down
<RainTurtle> You want the magnet to pull the needle to one side of where it would normall hang.
<RainTurtle> To start out, a weak pull is good: the magnet just close enough to attract the needle.
<RainTurtle> Later, after you’ve had some practice, a stronger pull is good: a stronger magnet or a shorter distance between the magnet and the needle
<RainTurtle> Now that the equipment is set up, your objective is to mess it up
<RainTurtle> disrupt the magnetic field by puffing psi through it
<RainTurtle> If you like to use images to direct things, try the “staticky snowstorm” picture from old-fashioned televisions, if you can remember back that far…
<RainTurtle> …or spray of bits of metal chaff like the kind used as countermeasures against missiles
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Aodh> (Heh, you can just add a channel which doesn’t come in to your TV’s viewable channels and check it normally for that effect to some degree)
* Bobrobyn raises hand
<Aphanas> None here.
<Bobrobyn> would trying to use Telekinesis to move the needle contradict what we’re trying to do?
<RainTurtle> “What we’re trying to do” is telekinesis
<Bobrobyn> Oh, lol
* Bobrobyn nods
* Bobrobyn notes that he then had some success
<RainTurtle> The same method can be used to erase or corrupt data from a floopy disk.
<RainTurtle> floppy, rather
* Aodh looks for a floopy disk
<Aodh> (:P)
<RainTurtle> 😀
* Aodh eats floopy disk, “Nummy!” =D
<RainTurtle> First, make sure the disk contains nothing that you want to keep.
<RainTurtle> Then, check to see if the file on it works
<RainTurtle> (If it doesn’t, checking your effectiveness on this exercise will be difficult)
<Jael> heh…
<RainTurtle> Hold the disk in your hands and puff the same kind of “disruptive” psi-stuff through it.
<RainTurtle> Lots of oomph
<RainTurtle> When you figure it has been sufficiently zapped, try the program again
* FrozenFlames raises hand
<RainTurtle> (First time you do this, you will likely need to repeat several times…..Lots of oomph)
<RainTurtle> Frozen?
<FrozenFlames> any suggestions on increasing oomph and power?
<FrozenFlames> and is this possible with a CD (compactdisk)
<RainTurtle> CDs are recorded by a different process. This would not work for them, as far as I know. It does work on cassette tapes, though. Magnetic stuff
<RainTurtle> Increasing “power and oomph”? Put more through it, for longer….
<FrozenFlames> what about VHS?
<RainTurtle> If you generally lack oomphness, you might find the “generate as you go” approach more to your taste
<FrozenFlames> (and i meant some kinda of method, like increasing oomph by doing the canclization of tightening a muscle)
<RainTurtle> Is VHS not a cassette tape?
<FrozenFlames> i suppose, my bad
<FrozenFlames> last question, sorry. is it possible to do this by simply programming a psiball and making it nice and powerful/dense?
<RainTurtle> Faking basic emotions such as fear can help, and that cancelling muscle contractions is effective, if slow
<RainTurtle> If you’re in the habit of making puffy psiballs, go ahead
<FrozenFlames> so that would be yes? thanks
<RainTurtle> Any other questions?
* Bobrobyn raises hand
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn?
<Bobrobyn> What do you mean by “puffy psiball”
<RainTurtle> Psiballs that puff…like the Wolf in the “Three Little Pigs” I guess
<RainTurtle> Somewhat more difficult, is to imprint a program onto a disk, while holding the disk between your hands
<RainTurtle> This is basically a show-off thing; it is so much easier to use a computer for this task, that there is probably no practical use for the psionic version other than as a technical exercise, or to be able to say “Hey, look what I can do!”
<RainTurtle> Choose a simple program.
<RainTurtle> When I tried this, 16 lines of BASIC took something like an hour
<RainTurtle> The approach I used is kind of hard to explain, because I went mainly on “instinct”. I presume that at least part of the experience was imaginary, but it seemed like a series of “ones and zeros” kind of thing being pushed into the disk’s field.
<RainTurtle> I expect it would be simpler to “pretend” to type the program in, while puffing psi into the disk, picturing both keyboard and computer desktop
<RainTurtle> (Don’t expect to be able to move, much less walk, after your first successful attempt at this….have a snack ready right there)
<RainTurtle> A similar idea plays with photosensitive film, as the film for a Polaroid camera
<RainTurtle> Ted Serios (Jegers; Bartlett; et al) is probably the best-known practitioner of “thoughtography”.
<RainTurtle> By concentrating on the transfer of an image to the film –with oomph of course– to make a picture on the photosensitive film
<RainTurtle> The pictures are often fuzzy and vague, but it is a pretty neat effect to play with
<RainTurtle> Cover the camera’s shutter, to be sure to avoid the possibility of outside light affecting the film
<RainTurtle> Questions on the little side-topics?
<FrozenFlames> is “somewhat” more difficult an extreme understatment like i’m feeling it is?
<RainTurtle> yes
<FrozenFlames> heh…just checking
<RainTurtle> The (fictional) Orgotek play with light as well as electricity, so this is as good a time as any to mention the flaring of constructs
<RainTurtle> Flaring constructs simply means to make them visible to the eye, and to the camera….by giving off light,glowing
<RainTurtle> Contrary to the initial impressions of new psionics students, constructs are very rarely visible
<RainTurtle> Most perfectly-correct, entirely-functional constructs are invisible or nearly so
<RainTurtle> Flaring requires a large amount of oomph, but quantity alone won’t do it
<RainTurtle> For deliberate flares, the programming of the construct seems to be most important.
<RainTurtle> It helps to make the construct fairly dense (but it doesn’t need to be a force-bubble….pk is not required to flare)
<RainTurtle> Some folks find that using emotion –faked or otherwise– to add oomph is helpful
<RainTurtle> To get a handy image, use a flashlight in a dim or darkened room to make a “shadow picture” on the wall, of your upturned hand “holding” the main spot of light.
<RainTurtle> Pick a colour, and program the construct to emit light in that colour
<RainTurtle> Moving psi into the visible spectrum is possible; therefore it is probably possible to move it to other parts of the spectrum
<RainTurtle> (Actually, it must be, because psi can give off heat, too)
<RainTurtle> Might want to keep your colours on the red side of the spectrum….burning yourself with ultraviolet and gamma rays can’t be good
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Aphanas> None that are coming immediately to mind…
<RainTurtle> For those who are easily amused, and can afford to keep buying multimeters, playing with these is fun
<RainTurtle> I recommend the analog kind, rather than digital, for two reasons
<RainTurtle> 1) it is more fun to watch the pointy thing
<RainTurtle> 2) they are generally cheaper
* Jael raises her hand
<RainTurtle> El-cheapo voltmeters are also usable
<RainTurtle> Jael?
<Jael> When flaring, is it possible that your fcd might decide to use a different color than the one you’re wanting? (I’m thinking of the way visualizations of colors can be different.)
<RainTurtle> Yes, that is possible. Uncommon, but it does happen
<Jael> *nods*
<Jael> thanks
<RainTurtle> When in doubt, FCD tends to default to “white” or to whatever colour he thinks your “aura” ought to be
<RainTurtle> no prob
<Jael> interesting.
<RainTurtle> Playing with voltmeters and such is where the lowly psi-shape comes into its own
<RainTurtle> Make a nice dense psi-shape with crisp boundaries. Add some PK if you feel like it
* RainTurtle feels like she’s doing a cooking show
<Aphanas> (Heh…)
<Bobrobyn> lol
<RainTurtle> Poke the end of the voltmeter or the wands of the multimeter into the middle of the shape.
<RainTurtle> If you are using a small electrical device other than these measuring instruments, push psi into the battery- or cord- place, and turn the thing on. A tape-recorder, for example, no batteries and not plugged in: send a nice thick stream of psi into it. You might want to actually hold the cord when doing so
<RainTurtle> (this was an accidental thing, originally….didn’t realise I’d forgotten to plug the thing in, until later….)
<RainTurtle> Pushing a bunch of psi into a battery, such as for the flash of a camera, can recharge it briefly….a useful tidbit, sometimes
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Jael> *shakes head*
* Aphanas raises hand…
<RainTurtle> Aphanas?
<FrozenFlames> how much psi is required to run a tape recorder? i figure quite alot right?
* Bobrobyn raises hand
<Aphanas> Just a confirmation, I think: If one is wanting to specifically play with an EM effect and a voltmeter, I presume that one should concentrate on creating an EM field around the psi-shape, not programming that states “move the needle using the psi shape” (to keep standard macroTK from simply grabbing the needle and moving it)?
<RainTurtle> That’s right. Although, it must be admitted, that for novices, getting it to move at all by any psionic means is sufficiently amusing not to worry about the details
<Aphanas> *nods* Thanks…
<RainTurtle> Frozen: a fair amount, but not as much as, for example, a force-bubble
<RainTurtle> 🙂
<FrozenFlames> wow, really? ok, cool
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn?
<FrozenFlames> i woulda figured way more than a forcebubble
* FrozenFlames has one more question
<Bobrobyn> opps, sorry I forgot.
<RainTurtle> *shrugs*
<RainTurtle> Frozen?
<FrozenFlames> Do you push all the energy in and then turn it on? Or push a bit of energy in and then while keeping a constant stream in, turn it on? And how long would this last? (would keeping it on for 2 minutes be extremely draining?)
<RainTurtle> When in doubt, turn it on first, actually. It won’t be as dramatic, but it is more efficient
<RainTurtle> How long it lasts depends on your stamina
<RainTurtle> Radiometer…(thanks to the late Bevy Jaegers for the idea)
<RainTurtle> Think of a Radiometer as a psiwheel in reverse
<RainTurtle> The idea is to stop it from spinning
<RainTurtle> You might do this directly, by pushing the flags in the opposite direction to their spin (telekinetically, that is….they are enclosed, and “normal” methods don’t work, unless you interfere with the light source)
<RainTurtle> Or, try the fluffy-sounding mess-with-the-light method
<RainTurtle> The explanation is simple; the implimentation is not
<RainTurtle> Set a hedge-shield around the radiometer, programmed to make it “invisible” and/or to refract the light away from it.
<Aphanas> Hmm… interesting idea.
<RainTurtle> No, it is unlikely to refract all the light, but it can refract enough to stop the flags
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Aphanas> I have a small comment on the radiometer methods…
<Jael> None here, but nifty idea on the radiometer
<RainTurtle> Aphanas?
<Aphanas> I actually had the best luck stopping radiometers when I tried making the air seem “thicker” like molasses around the flags… The image was that it was trying to push through water, or some such heavy substance.
<RainTurtle> Very cool…refraction from a different angle
<Aphanas> 🙂
<Jael>
<RainTurtle> Lastly, we couldn’t do an Orgotek seminar without mention of video games
<Jael>
<RainTurtle> www.psiarcade.com/garden for example
<RainTurtle> To affect computer games, you have a few standard options:
<RainTurtle> 1) microPK, such as the calm-to-entranced concentration on the desired end result, with oomph
<RainTurtle> 2) cursing at the thing while telling it what to do (*shrugs* Cursing in Swedish worked for a buddy of mine….)
<Aphanas> Hehe…
<Jael> (hehe)
<Bobrobyn> hehehe
<RainTurtle> 3) Extending your consciousness into the computer itself and poking around (we do not have time to go into this in detail tonight, so just mentioning it in passing)
<RainTurtle> 4) Cybering the puter….whispering sweet nothings…
<Aphanas> (lol)
<RainTurtle> #4 is the one used in some formal long-term studies
<RainTurtle> *shrugs again*
<RainTurtle> Questions?
<Jael> none here
* Bobrobyn raises hand
<Aphanas> (*nods* We actually tell our customers at work to think nice thoughts at their computers, because they tend to work better we’ve noticed).
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn?
<RainTurtle> (It works…)
<Bobrobyn> Will you get into #3 in another seminar sometime. (thats the one I’m really interested in )
<RainTurtle> (that is why those studies are conducted)
<Bobrobyn> *will
<Aphanas> (*nods*)
<RainTurtle> Bobrobyn: Maybe
<Bobrobyn> cool.
<RainTurtle> It is the more “advanced” version of imprinting disks
<Bobrobyn> *nods*
<Bobrobyn> Thanks RT for the seminar *raises hand* one more question?
<RainTurtle> Go ahead
<Bobrobyn> How would you shield against effecting electronics?
<RainTurtle> It took some trial-and-error. A moderately dense filter-Shield, programmed to protect the puter from my own field, rather than the other way around, works to some degree
<RainTurtle> A simpler buffer shield….Marshmallow programmed to keep the field contained also works
<Bobrobyn> Thanks, I’ll have to try that sometime *nods*.
<RainTurtle> Putting a little anti-psi protective shield around my watch actually worked, too….I still can’t wear it, but at least it can stay in my databook
<Aphanas> 🙂
<Bobrobyn> Would that work for floppy discs?
<RainTurtle> ← has killed a lot of watches
<RainTurtle> It should, Bobrobyn, but I have not yet tried it
<RainTurtle> The idea is a basic defensive combat shield, inside out
<RainTurtle> For example, a mirror with the reflection inward….or a mirror around the disk facing outward
<RainTurtle> Instead of defending your field, you are defending something else from your field