Megan plot hole

[killersquirrel59]

I'm rereading Steelheart and Firefight in preparation for the release of Calamity and keep hitting the same plot hole in Steelheart. How did Prof not know Megan was an Epic? I get that she was able to fool the douser with her weird reality bending powers, but the inability to use Prof's "technology" in the forms of the Tensers and the Harmsway should have been a dead giveaway for an experienced Gifter like Prof. 

 

Edit: I get that Prof might not have realized this immediately, since he doesn't interact with other epics often (unless you count killing them), but after Conflux confirms the idea, how did he not figure it out, even if he couldn't tell anyone but Tia?

Edited January 14, 2016 by killersquirrel59

[Khyrindor]

She just said that it made her feel sick, and that she didn't want to use it. 

[killersquirrel59]

And why was that not immediately suspicious?

 

Furthermore, how is the fact that Gifting doesn't work on Epics not common knowledge, at least among the High Epics? Conflux talked about how his first master was furious at the fact that he couldn't take his powers, and that he has been passed from master to master, being sold when one discovered he couldn't take his powers. This implies that the idea of kidnapping and enslaving Gifters is a reasonable and common thing in this world. As such, how has this limitation not become common knowledge, at least for those who study such things?

[Edgedancer]

I'm rereading Steelheart and Firefight in preparation for the release of Calamity and keep hitting the same plot hole in Steelheart. How did Prof not know Megan was an Epic? I get that she was able to fool the douser with her weird reality bending powers, but the inability to use Prof's "technology" in the forms of the Tensers and the Harmsway should have been a dead giveaway for an experienced Gifter like Prof. 

 

Edit: I get that Prof might not have realized this immediately, since he doesn't interact with other epics often (unless you count killing them), but after Conflux confirms the idea, how did he not figure it out, even if he couldn't tell anyone but Tia?

Firefight

Prof had an entire team of Epics at one point. Honestly, there is not a single reason apart from a plot necessary idiot ball for Prof to not immediately spot Megan as an Epic.

Then again, between Steelheart hiring a teenager as his bodyguard, no one getting suspicious at said bodyguard going missing, her getting into Prof's personal cell,

her having incredibly useful powers that still count as "minor" corruption wise, Regalia not catching on to the "I want you to take my Epic powers away" point and Prof reconstructing the exact circumstances needed for her to face her weakness (as well as it being something physical and easy to face)

things kind of tend to align in the way most favourable for her anyway. Maybe she also has propability altering powers along with her parallel universe illusion?

[Voidus]

Gifters are pretty rare  and information dissemination is not exactly great in the Reckonerverse, otherwise they would have discovered certain information about Weaknesses even longer ago. Plus a Gifter that is suitable for being sold would be potentially rarer. You need one with great utility but little in the way of personal combat abilities, that's a pretty niche powerset, the subset of Epics with that kind of power who is also a Gifter would be pretty minuscule.

Additionally once Conflux says that I think there's a later point where Prof says that he did suspect Megan of being an Epic.

[KaIadin]

Additionally once Conflux says that I think there's a later point where Prof says that he did suspect Megan of being an Epic.

Yeah he also might not have wanted to

use his Epic powers

 

[Edgedancer]

Gifters are pretty rare  and information dissemination is not exactly great in the Reckonerverse, otherwise they would have discovered certain information about Weaknesses even longer ago. Plus a Gifter that is suitable for being sold would be potentially rarer. You need one with great utility but little in the way of personal combat abilities, that's a pretty niche powerset, the subset of Epics with that kind of power who is also a Gifter would be pretty minuscule.

Additionally once Conflux says that I think there's a later point where Prof says that he did suspect Megan of being an Epic.

That's a reason for why the general public doesn't know but it doesn't really explain why Prof never figured it out before given that (Firefight)

Prof does have a confirmed history of working together with other Epics and as such has no reason for never having tried to gift to an Epic, plus he does know that gifted powers and motivator tech cause interference, further strenghtening the giant arrow pointing at the conclusion.

[Voidus]

That's a reason for why the general public doesn't know but it doesn't really explain why Prof never figured it out before given that (Firefight)

Prof does have a confirmed history of working together with other Epics and as such has no reason for never having tried to gift to an Epic, plus he does know that gifted powers and motivator tech cause interference, further strenghtening the giant arrow pointing at the conclusion.

Depends how corrupted he was at the time, if he was in full corrupted mode then I can see him not trying to give his potential rivals more power.

[Edgedancer]

Depends how corrupted he was at the time, if he was in full corrupted mode then I can see him not trying to give his potential rivals more power.

He specifically described them as a group trying to be superheroes before their eventual fall, so I'd say they were at the very least allies, and even if he didn't consider giving them powers constatly necessary, given that they can presumably hold their own, that's no reason for never having at least tried.

[Cruxer]

Also, I think it's valid to mention that there's no place in the books that states that ANYONE can be gifted an ability. It could be that there are also regular people who, for whatever reason, cannot even use a transference epic's powers. If that's the case, which I think it is, then there's nothing really wrong with this plot piece. 

[Blackhoof]

Well I recall a line where Conflux revealed that Epics cannot be gifted to, and Prof seemed surprised and troubled. While maybe he should have known, he didn't seem to.

[natc]

It's likely Prof himself is the only gifter Prof knew personally, so while he perhaps noticed such a trend the sample size of one person failing to gift to his few former friends who were coincidentally all epics isn't that impressive.

Besides, it also didn't work on Megan, who with known (falsified) non-epic condition could also reinforce the coincidental nature for Prof as well, rather than raising suspicion. Depends on how you read the data really.

But then a second gifter (Conflux) attested to the same shortcoming in their ability and suddenly it's too uncanny to be a coincidence.

Edited January 19, 2016 by natc

[Paranoid King]

I just always saw it as that Prof thought some people just couldn't be gifted. Just like some people are better at using gifted powers than others, some people can't use them at all. He encountered several people who couldn't be gifted, he just never made the connection that it was epics that he couldn't gift. When Conflux explained it to him, he understood, but didn't think to apply it to Megan, because she was dead and he didn't want to dwell on it too much.

[The Invested Beard]

Off topic, but plothole is a great insult.

 

"Way to go plothole."

 

On topic:

 

It's likely Prof himself is the only gifter Prof knew personally, so while he perhaps noticed such a trend the sample size of one person failing to gift to his few former friends who were coincidentally all epics isn't that impressive.

Besides, it also didn't work on Megan, who with known (falsified) non-epic condition could also reinforce the coincidental nature for Prof as well, rather than raising suspicion. Depends on how you read the data really.


But then a second gifter (Conflux) attested to the same shortcoming in their ability and suddenly it's too uncanny to be a coincidence.

 

I'm thinking this is the best explanation.

[Yata]

It's likely Prof himself is the only gifter Prof knew personally, so while he perhaps noticed such a trend the sample size of one person failing to gift to his few former friends who were coincidentally all epics isn't that impressive.

Besides, it also didn't work on Megan, who with known (falsified) non-epic condition could also reinforce the coincidental nature for Prof as well, rather than raising suspicion. Depends on how you read the data really.

But then a second gifter (Conflux) attested to the same shortcoming in their ability and suddenly it's too uncanny to be a coincidence.

And while Prof passed his time only with other Epics, He probably never discovered to be a Gifter, until for some luckly/unluckly case, he gifted some of his powers to some not-Epic.

He may discovered his Gifter nature only many time later.

[StormyAngel]

Keep in mind that Prof probably would be focused on keeping his own secret (that he's an epic), and so wouldn't even be thinking in that direction when the "technology" didn't work for Megan.

 

Maybe later when Conflux brought it up he should of thought of it, but they had a lot going on right then. Come to think of it, wasn't Megan "dead" at that point anyway?

[xland44]

This isn't a plothole. Prof explicitly mentioned that he had never tried gifting his powers to another Epic. Also, he communicated as little as possible with other Epics and tried to hide his powers, so asking another gifter would be impossible. Prior to David's effect by joining the Reckoners, the Reckoners only targeted weak Epics, and they didn't bother talking with them, they only attempted to kill them.

 

Considering these facts, it makes sense that Prof wouldn't know she's an Epic. He heard for the first time that gifters can't give powers to Epics only after Megan "died," so prior to that he most likely assumed that it just doesn't work on certain people.