theory [Calamity Spoilers] On the Ownership of Power

[skaa]

I know I'm supposed to be on a 17th Shard break, but a recent reply to my Transfersion thread has forced me to elaborate on the concept of "power ownership" that I used in my Transfersion theory. This concept covers Epic powers in general, so I'm (re-)posting my thoughts on it in a separate thread.

One thing I haven't seen discussed here is how Megan prevented Calamity from taking away her powers, as well as how Prof regained his powers after Calamity removed it. After reading these scenes, as well as thinking about the concepts of Gifting and Assuming, I think it's apparent that there are levels of power ownership.

Here's my speculative list of ownership levels from lowest to highest, including how I think one advances from his current level to a higher level:

Level 0: You did not receive any power. Advance by being Gifted.

Level 1: You received power, but it retreated from you, either via Epic Downfall (i.e. your weakness was triggered) or when the one who Gifted you takes the power back. Recover from Epic Downfall by escaping your weakness. If you are below Level 5, you may advance to Level 5 by using the weakness of the one who Gifted you.

Level 2: Some, but not all, of your powers are not working properly. Usually a sign that your Epic Downfall was partially triggered. Level 1 conditions apply. (I was thinking of naming this Level 1.5. What do you guys think?)

Level 3: Your power only has weak effects. Advance by using your powers more.

Level 4: You can use your power at full strength, but the Downfall Avoidance of your power becomes more intense. Advance by sending yourself to Level 1 or Level 2 before using the weakness of the one who Gifted you.

Level 5: You are now resistant to the Downfall Avoidance Rule, but you might revert to Level 4 if you use your power too much. Advance by fully accepting your power as part of yourself.

Level 6: Highest level of ownership. Epic Downfall can send you back to Level 1 or Level 2, but after escaping you will return to Level 6

I base Level 6 on the scene where Megan finally freed herself from the darkness for good, back when she "defied" Larcener:

"I don't understand it either. It was strange, David--in that moment, with him sucking my abilities out in that wave of ice, I realized...that the powers are as much me now as my personality." She closed her eyes. "I realized I couldn't give them to him. If I did, I'd become a coward."

Note that for the first half of the series, Prof was at Level 4 while Megan was at Level 3 (though she's Level 4 just after resurrection). When Prof Gifts his powers, he usually only lets the Reckoners have his powers at Level 3, and he always takes the powers back when no longer needed. Calamity, on the other hand, is at Level 6 and he Gifts powers already at Level 4.

What do these levels entail? First, it appears that the powers can detect an Epic's level of ownership, as well as the chain of transfersion from him, to the one who Gifted him, to the one who Gifted the Gifter, etc. As long as the Epic has not reached Level 6 (total ownership), his power will defer to the next Epic in the chain of transfersion with a higher level of ownership. By that I mean the power will readily pull back either at the whim of that higher owner or automatically in reaction to that higher owner's weakness (as per the Downfall Avoidance Rule).

Here are some things explained by these ownership levels:

• Megan reached Level 5 by first facing her weakness (moving temporarily to Level 1) and then using Calamity's weakness by selflessly trying to save someone. This was also the same thing that David did. Prof was sent to Level 1 without his consent, but that didn't really matter. The important thing was that he was at Level 1 when he tried to help David, and that was enough to send him to Level 5. Level 6, actually. See here.
   
• Calamity being at Level 6 is the reason why the darkness still affected Megan even after she reached Level 5 (but only when she used her powers too much).
   
• Megan reached Level 6 before David did (he reached it just before he turned the space station to steel), but it's possible that Dawnslight reached it way before anyone except Calamity. That's why he could freely use his powers without succumbing to the darkness.
   
• Strangely enough, Obliteration implied he's been at Level 6 for five years now. I'm speculating that his fear was of a crazy religious nature, perhaps the idea that God was using him to bring about Armaggedon. Coupled with another crazy notion that he can save people's souls by sending them to heaven before they have the chance to commit grave sins, Obliteration could have reached Level 5 by murdering innocent civilians in the name of his "holy task" via non-Epic methods (a conventional bomb, maybe?). Level 6 was probably reached when he blew up Houston.
   
• The reason why most Gifters can retrieve the powers they Gift is because the people on the receiving end often have a low level of ownership compared to the Gifter.
   
• The Diggers went crazy after using Digzone's power to create the Newcago's underground tunnels, but they seemed sane enough at the start. I think they were at Level 3 at the start, but prolonged use of the powers sent them to Level 4. Digzone himself was most probably at Level 4. Because the Diggers now owned the powers as much as Digzone, their power started skipping Digzone and deferred to the next Epic in the chain: Calamity. Hence, the descent into madness (which was simply the Rending).
   
• All other Gifters would have the same issue as Digzone. This is why Prof said that a person "changes" when Prof gives too much of his power to that person. I speculate that he Gifted too much of his powers to someone during his early exploratory days, and that someone became a Level 4 Epic. At that point, Prof no longer could take back the power because he was Level 4 himself, and he might have had to kill that person.

Edited March 19, 2016 by skaa

[timasp]

Didn't prof recover his power by using the epic technology suit?

[skaa]

Didn't prof recover his power by using the epic technology suit?

 

Yeah, but not because of the reason you might be thinking. Motivators from an Epic don't normally work after Larcener/Calamity "Assumes" the Epic's powers. That's why Calamity reacted the way he did to Prof appearing with his own motivators strapped to his chest:

 

"Useless!" Calamity said. "If I reclaimed them, that shouldn't work. It...I..." He looked, befuddled, at the forcefield on the wall, which glowed green.

 

Then notice what David said shortly afterwards:

 

"I didn't bring you back," I said. "You faced it, Prof." I suddenly understood--in strapping on the motivators and trying to take up his powers again after what had happened, he'd faced them. He'd come to risk failure. He'd done it.

He'd claimed the powers...Prof's powers were now his, and not Calamity's. The motivator boxes were meaningless.

 

So basically, by risking failure (which was Prof's weakness) in order to help David (an act of heroism which was Calamity's weakness), Prof leaped from Level 1 to Level 5 in the power ownership scale. Actually, David implied that Prof went straight to Level 6. Which makes sense, since Prof probably had to accept his powers in order to do what he did. I'll edit the OP to make that clear (and to fix some typos ).

 

The point is that the motivators themselves were useless. It is the act of trying to use them that changed Prof's level of ownership.

Edited March 19, 2016 by skaa