Scarlet's mysteron sense

[Sasha Metcalfe]

it seems, a i watch the dvds through again, that his ability to sense mysterons dissappears in the last half of the series. There are many times it would have come in handy, but he is clueless. The one that jumped out at me first was in The Trap. He was quite close to the mysteron agent for over a day, yet didn't notice him until he was at gunpoint?

thinking on this I came up with a theory that works for me at least.
Starting ( i think) with Heart of New York we see Captain Black teleport objects - himself in his car. We hadn't seen that before. So, maybe the agents are developing new powers and figured out a way to block Scarlet's 'radar.'

i didn't see this dicussed anywhere else on the boards, holler if i'm wrong.

Sasha

[Doc Denim]

Hi there!

Nice to see such an active interest in things OCS!

Actually, yes, this is a thing that has been discussed before, and something that bothered me personally until I worked out a reasonable explanation that I could personally accept - it's not a popular one and far from universally agreed. More details under 'Origins of the Mysterons thread - though you may have caught up with it since this post appeared.

In the meantime, here's a relevant bit of cut and paste:

Doc Denim has previously postulated:

I think once the construct is ‘tasked’, the Mysterons sort of sit back and watch the show play out - still in a passive sort of contact with the construct, but not necessarily feeding it minute by minute instruction. I think that can in large part account for Scarlet’s on-again, off-again sixth sense, assuming, and I do, that he’s got a ‘role’ as a passive data collector for the Mysterons: i.e. - if he’s ‘sending’, and the other reconstruction is ‘receiving’, then there will be a certain amount of ‘interference’ if Scarlet and the construct are in close proximity. However, if the construct is running on ‘autopilot’ so to speak, Scarlet can be standing right next to one and not know it. Scarlet also seems to have the most acute premonitions, or attacks of nausea when he’s around big, inanimate Mysteron reconstructions - like the Angel aircraft in Seek and Destroy, or Delta Tango in Winged Assassin; the Mysterons themselves are in the driver’s seat in those instances, and the ‘influence’ is a more constant ‘hands-on’ job for them in those cases.

Just a a bit of food for thought.

Enjoy!

Doc Denim

[gojohnniegogo]

woah, long time no posts by me....

perhaps with the passage of time his sixth sense just wore off? Admittedly not a fun or creative explanation, and of course there is the running order to consider. But still plausible!

[Intensity Angel]

Maybe his sixth sense depends on the amount of electrical activity in his brain or nervous system.

[Carrie]

Doc Denim, that is a very well thought out and interesting theory, and I applaud you.

Personally, I think it's more likely that the writers sort of 'forgot' about that ability.....either that or the the continuity girl, or boy, went sick.....or is that me being slightly cynical?

[Sasha Metcalfe]

In the meantime, here's a relevant bit of cut and paste:

Doc Denim has previously postulated:

I think once the construct is ‘tasked’, the Mysterons sort of sit back and watch the show play out - still in a passive sort of contact with the construct, but not necessarily feeding it minute by minute instruction. I think that can in large part account for Scarlet’s on-again, off-again sixth sense, assuming, and I do, that he’s got a ‘role’ as a passive data collector for the Mysterons: i.e. - if he’s ‘sending’, and the other reconstruction is ‘receiving’, then there will be a certain amount of ‘interference’ if Scarlet and the construct are in close proximity. However, if the construct is running on ‘autopilot’ so to speak, Scarlet can be standing right next to one and not know it. Scarlet also seems to have the most acute premonitions, or attacks of nausea when he’s around big, inanimate Mysteron reconstructions - like the Angel aircraft in Seek and Destroy, or Delta Tango in Winged Assassin; the Mysterons themselves are in the driver’s seat in those instances, and the ‘influence’ is a more constant ‘hands-on’ job for them in those cases.

Just a a bit of food for thought.

Enjoy!

Doc Denim[/quote]

I really like this explination, but about the 50th time I was watching Flight 104 I suddenly realized that it fails here.

The Mysterons are controlling the plane that Scarlet & co are on, and Scarlet never even suspects it.

I think its a shame that it stopped being used as part of the plot, I find it an interesting addition to his abilities. I often wonder that he didn't spend his time trying to hone his mysteron abilities. hey, Captain Black can teleport things, THAT would be keen to work on. Maybe Scarlet could, maybe he couldn't, but did he ever even try to find out? Any fanfic along this vein? It would certainly make him even more effective agaisnt the mysterons if he were to sharpen the abilities he has and see if he has any others.

Sasha

[Intensity Angel]

Maybe a spiritual person could help him home his skills but could it be that in his desparation to find out what the Mysterons have planned, he puts his mind under pressure and that inhibits his 6th sense. This seems to fit as with several episodes he's trying to work out the Mysterons plot and his sense dosen't kick in when he's near a Mysteron agent i.e Shadow Of Fear hunting down Breck. But in Seek and Destroy when he and Captain Blue are protecting Destiny Angel, his 6th sense is working brilliantly and alerts him to the Mysteronized jets that are miles away.

[Doc Denim]

Hey Sasha!

Actually, I did consider this point as well - and I think it's rather supportive of the entire notion - here's another bit of cut and paste from the same discussion as the first:

Doc Denim has also previously scribbled:

In the instance of Flight 104 (which has been chatted about a lot lately) the plane itself wasn’t a reconstruction that Scarlet could have ‘picked up on’. (Someone might have noticed a wrecked plane too.) The Mysteron’s influence in that case was confined to the cockpit controls and was perhaps just far enough out of Scarlet’s immediate proximity for him to have noticed it.

Had Flight 104 been destroyed and reconstructed, the theory wouldn't hold water - but there's no evidence that the plane wasn't the original aircraft. It also bothered me a great deal that Scarlet and Blue (and other passengers) seemed not to notice that there was no flight crew until well into the flight - the boys would have found it extremely odd not to have gotten that mandatory pre-flight safety chat. I have also chosen to believe that at take-off the crew may well have been onboard - and could have been teleported off of the plane once the flight was airborne - they were found drugged but otherwise unharmed back at the airport a bit later - and again, no evidence that they'd been killed or reconstructed. Perhaps it was a bit of 'peaceful' Mysteron character shining through.

Enjoy!

Doc Denim

[Sasha Metcalfe]

that is an excellent point, and something i missed entirely.
i do wonder why sometimes they just take something over and why they decide othertimes to destroy/remake things.

maybe some days a different, more peaceful, mysteron is in charge of harrassing the earth.

Sasha

[Intensity Angel]

I think they're toying. By showing off their skills, they make themselves look big and at the same time, they're trying to intimidate Spectrum.

[Doc Denim]

Hello again - quick reply there Sasha!

As to why do the Mysterons only sometimes destroy and reconstruct - well - I actually wrote this into a fan fic a while ago - here's the relevant extract from Operation Minerva, Ch 6 - a conversation between Scarlet and two new recruits, Lt. Teal and Roan:

“Flight 104, sir?” Teal queried. The entire Lake Toma incident was considered textbook evidence, these days. It was a studied case at Koala Base, a lesson obviously not lost on all recruits.

“I wouldn’t necessarily be here otherwise, Lieutenant.”

The suggestion seemed to make Roan feel better. Though he frowned again after another moment of reflection. “So I should thank the Mysterons for saving my life instead?”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Disquieting, isn’t it?”

“And the second possible reason, Captain?” Teal went on, to keep his current partner from dwelling on it.

“It’s far more speculative. Something that Doctor Conrad was hypothesizing about, since you’ve mentioned Flight 104. He’s a brilliant theoretical physicist, you may recall.”

“I’m not sure that was in the book, but I’ll take your word on it, sir.”

“He can do in his head the kind of math that makes my brain hurt just to look at. He has a number of theories about the Mysterons and their ability to recreate exact duplicates of their victims or target objects. One of them is that it just may not be as easy as it seems for them to make a reconstruction. They use unknown resources and a process that we don’t understand, but is obviously possible to do. Doctor Conrad thinks it may be a difficult and somehow expensive process for them, in terms that we simply don’t yet comprehend. He’s working on it.”

“So....” Teal speculated aloud, following that train of reasoning. “Another reconstruction---like Roan here---was maybe more than they needed or wanted to pay for?”

Scarlet shrugged. “Throwing my voice had to be cheaper and easier.”

Roan’s troubled look went to consternation. “I’m not sure I like it either way, Captain.” Roan picked up the scanner again and activated it, muttering under his breath. “I’m either too dangerous to take along or I’m not worth the trouble....”

So - it could well be a matter of interpretation - is it something altruistic on the part of the Mysterons, or is it something they do as a matter of conserving matter and energy - and in a manner that still moves them towards their objective and also keeps Spectrum guessing?

Again - enjoy!

Doc Denim

[Sasha Metcalfe]

hm. hadn't really thought about that either.
it could be too 'expensive' for them to do all the time.

which makes me wonder how 'expensive' Scarlet's mysteron sense is to him. maybe if he has been shot/blown up a few too many times in a row his other sense falters. I assume we don't see ALL of his adventures.

now you have me wanting to read that story.
got a link?

[Intensity Angel]

What? Another story to be read?

Oops, none of my business, sorry.

I was just thinking, what if the Mysterons require humans? Prehaps they use human souls or energy to power themselves? And that scanner thing in the first episode was to see if Humans were a compatible energy source.

Just a wild theory but still a theory.

[Doc Denim]

The tale is listed on the Fan-fic pages - but here's the link to the first bit - you can continue on after that...be warned - it's Long!

http://www.spectrum-headquarters.com/fa ... ologue.htm

(and not quite finished yet either - but we're getting there - another half chapter to go....) Mass apology to those who are ever so patiently waiting

Doc Denim (as she ducks and runs)

[Intensity Angel]

Nooo!! Don't run, I've got a x-mas story that is already 40 pages long and still growing.

Don't feel bad on yourself. it's cool.