Superhuman Detectors

[Wardsman]

I suppose a sensor could detect bio-electricity, the way some marine animals are able to. That'd work at least for all life that has a nervous system. But probably not for microorganisms or plant life, so you'd also need to cover unique signs that those types of life would create.

How is that different from an electrical field from mechanical or geophysical sources?

An auroa generates a stronger electric current than your body.

 

Bio thermal signatures are comparatively weak when compared to other sources.

 

My favorite is when they encounter something very alien that shouldn't be alive, but exhibits "life signs".

[Matt the Bruins]

Dammit JimWardsman, I'm a graphic designer, not an electrician!

 

I don't know, but as animals with electroreception don't seem to chase after undersea cables I'm guessing there must be something to distinguish them. Maybe specific ranges of voltage, or amperage, or the pattern of the oscillating field.

[BoloOfEarth]

Yes! Yes, I ****ing HATE THAT! If you're detecting signs of heat (body heat, or concentrated heat spots that suggest equipment of some kind in operation), or movement, or even chemical indications (levels or changes in atmospheric composition--probably in an enclosed space--to suggest something or someone is breathing...then, yeah, maybe.

 

But "Life Signs" as used in way too much SF treats living creatures as if they generate some unique radiation that can be easily detected.

 

They're able to do that through the complicated technical process of Director and Writer Fiat.

 

"Okay, I need the ship to know how many people are down on the planet's surface.  Without, y'know, five minutes of on-screen explanation." 

 

"Just say they scan for life signs.  I'll bet 95% of the viewers won't care about the technical feasibility.  And of the other 5%, a bunch of them will come up with pseudo-scientific explanations.  We can point to one of those and say, 'Yeah, that's what we meant.'" 

 

"Sounds good.  Make it so."

 

I say this all with tongue planted firmly in cheek.  Really, SF shows and superhero RPGs alike generally have a hard time standing up to realistic scrutiny.

 

Player:  "How does this mutant detector work?  I mean, how does it scan someone's DNA from across the room?  Realistically, that would be impossible."

 

GM:  "Good question.  Like how your character flies using 'light powers.'  Or how Rich's character can design and build a new gadget in like half a second.  Or how Pete's character can sense danger he can't even see or hear.  Or how Clark's character gets god-like power from a yellow sun..."

 

Player:  "Um... yeah.  Never mind."

[BoloOfEarth]

Upon reading that, my apologies.  Guess being sick brings out the cynic in me.

[pinecone]

New plot...Malachite designs a micro organism with psychic powers..."midichlorians" then he markets a mutant detctor, that also detects the custom lifeform. He can then give supers "mutant cooties"...

[Armitage]

 

Player:  "How does this mutant detector work?  I mean, how does it scan someone's DNA from across the room?  Realistically, that would be impossible."

 

 

 

It's been stated a few times that in the Marvel Universe, mutants possess a unique telepathic signature, and that's what devices like Cerebro detect.  Of course, telepathy-based technology is a whole other can of worms.

[bubba smith]

that is true

[Wardsman]

It's been stated a few times that in the Marvel Universe, mutants possess a unique telepathic signature, and that's what devices like Cerebro detect.  Of course, telepathy-based technology is a whole other can of worms.

 

In our mutant campaign the 80's I categorically rejected that nonsense! Why would a mutant brick have different psi signature?

[Christopher R Taylor]

But "Life Signs" as used in way too much SF treats living creatures as if they generate some unique radiation that can be easily detected.

 

I always understood that to be shorthand for a big combination of different things that typically indicate living organisms, such as gasses, movement, heat, radioactive signature, movement, waste, etc.