Shadow Ops: Difference between revisions

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* [[The Magic Versus Technology War]]: The conflict between the SOC inside the Source and the Goblin "Defender" tribes. The Caliphate is engaged in a magic vs. technology ''civil'' war because their interpretation of Islamic law holds that anyone with magical abilities is to be executed immediately, resulting in constant running battles between government military-police and the "djiin-born" rebels.

* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: The black-skinned demonic entities who appear to be behind both the suddenly-violent magic-wielding Native American rebels in the US southwest, and also seem to be backing the more violent Goblin Defender tribes. Their precise motivations and purpose are unclear.

* [[Might Makes Right]]: The [[Not So Different|only difference]] between SOC and the Selfers. The SOC has mind-stablizing drugs, state-of-the-art weapons, and most importantly, the US Armed Forces' tried-and-true methods of turning teenage dropouts into skilled killers. "[[Arc Words|Skill Beats Will.]]"

* [[The Mole]]: {{spoiler|Wavesign}}.

* [[Moral Myopia]]: Initially, Britton condemns the SOC for treating Latents as threats to be shot on sight instead of people, but when he manifests a proscribed ability he proceeds to freak out and run, {{spoiler|in the process killing two people by ''accident'' - one of them being his own father.}} At this point he has a breakdown over his myopia.

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* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Britton tends to cause as much trouble as he fixes, starting with accidentally {{spoiler|killing his father and a police officer}} with uncontrolled gates, and culminating in {{spoiler|letting Scylla loose}}.

* [[No One Gets Left Behind]]: Britton refusing to leave anyone behind during the botched recon mission to one of the Goblin camps. Fitzsimmons gets infuriated when Britton risks his life to save him, because Britton is too valuable a weapon.

* [[Not So Different]]: In the end, Britton realizes that this is the case with the Selfers and the SOC - both kill to enforce their will, neither have any care for innocent people caught in the crossfire, and the SOC are simply [[Might Makes Right|better killers]].

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: {{spoiler|Wavesign}}.

* [[One-Man Army]]: Shadow Coven is explicitly described as being made up of magic users who fill this role. Downer can create countless elementals that act on their own, Truelove can animate any dead body, Richards can control entire legions of animals, and Britton's gate abilities give him incredible destructive potential and mobility.

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** Except for the fact that everyone with powers can ''also'' [[Power Nullifier|suppress]] the powers of others if they bother to learn how.

* [[Origin Story]]: ''Control Point'' comes off as this for Britton and his companions in general.

* [[Our Goblins Are ~~Different~~]]: Goblins are natives of the Source who are far more likely to turn up Latent. They resemble small humanoids with enormous heads, pointy ears, and long noses.

* [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder]]: Goblins are natives of the Source who are far more likely to turn up Latent. They resemble small humanoids with enormous heads, pointy ears, and long noses.

* [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Scylla. When others are talking about her, they say that she killed about twenty or thirty people the last time she got loose. When {{spoiler|Britton}} sets her free, she {{spoiler|destroys the entire FOB perimeter defenses, killing hundreds of people, with about as much trouble as crushing ants}}.

** Britton is one as well, once he fully understands how to use his powers. Between instant teleportation to wherever he wants to go, the ease by which he can [[Portal Cut]] (see below), insane mobility, and the ability to use his gates as shields and means to attack from unexpected directions, he can cause tremendous destruction with just a bit of creativity.

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* [[Supernatural Sensitivity]]: Latents can sense magic in each other.

* [[Super Registration Act]]: A core element of the story is how the laws surrounding use of magic affects people, and how just/unjust the legal oppression/conscription of magic-users is. Britton doubts whether it is justified, and steadily shifts to opposing it outright, while Harlequin strongly believes in the necessity of the SOC and controlling magic-users, despite the flaws in the system.

* [[Take a Third Option]]: {{spoiler|Britton}} eventually does this after realizing Selfers and SOC are [[Not So Different]] - both kill to enforce their will, the SOC are just [[Might Makes Right|better killers]]. His solution is {{spoiler|a return to his original ethics as a [[Band of Brothers|non-magical soldier]] - the first step being [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|"Don't Kill If You Don't Have To"]]; convincing Swift to spare a helpless Harlequin.}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Britton''': ''We came here to escape. We've done that. Killing more people won't accomplish anything. That's what Selfers do. We're not Selfers, Swift. We're not SOC. We're the real good guys, and it's time we started acting like it. I'm through with magic as a bludgeon. It stops here.}}}}

* [[There Are No Therapists]]: The Covens are a [[Dysfunction Junction]] of [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]] ''[[Child Soldier|Child Soldiers]]''. A few good therapists could have prevented the entire plot. Problem is, a therapist could do absolutely bupkis under SOC operational standards - psychological stability and chattel slavery are pretty much mutually exclusive.