Skills

1. #1selective

   Keys: LOGIC

   Logic urges you to analyze the living daylights out of the situation. It enables you to piece evidence together, detect inconsistencies in statements, and impress everyone with your astonishing conclusions.

   LOGIC - Start with the biggest letters in order to learn the characteristics of the style. Then work your way down. LOGIC - No objections. It's mathematically impossible to achieve a classless society. Everyone knows this. LOGIC - Let's think about this -- logically. Why would nothing be terrifying if it's, well, nothing?

2. #2selective

   Keys: ENCYCLOPEDIA

   Encyclopedia makes you a know-it-all, turning your mind into a database of facts. It enables you to draw on these facts innately, offering a wealth of background knowledge to all things related and unrelated to the situation. Who knows when the history of cigarette brands will provide the breakthrough you need – or when knowledge of pre-Revolutionary guns might save a life?

   ENCYCLOPEDIA - Revachol is the disgraced former capital of the world, divided into zones of control under foreign occupation -- half a century after a failed world revolution. She is central to our moment in time. ENCYCLOPEDIA - That's a Kiejl A9/90 Armistice mass-produced muzzleloader. Ascetic, frugal, one of the most common firearms in the world. ENCYCLOPEDIA - Sapormat 'Sport' Knezhinisky is well into his third decade as president of the SRV. Outside Samara he's known for three things: Brutal repression of internal dissent, monumental corruption, and a near-pathological obsession with physical fitness.

3. #3selective

   Keys: RHETORIC

   Rhetoric urges you to debate, make intellectual discourse, nitpick – and win. It enables you to break down arguments and hear what people are really saying. You’ll spot fallacies as soon as they’re used.

   RHETORIC - He doesn't actually think the challenge is unique. He thinks it's frustrating, annoying and harder than he thought. RHETORIC - Everything is political. RHETORIC - The weary tone is the surest indicator that the lieutenant is being sarcastic. RHETORIC - There is no gift. It must be repeated: there is no Gift. It is meant as obvious sarcasm. Do not ask what The Gift is. Do not ask what the Remote Viewers Division is.

4. #4selective

   Keys: DRAMA

   Drama urges you to treat the world as a stage – and on it, to perform. It will enable you to lie, to concoct the most elaborate and wonderful stories; to take on ingenious personas and perform acts of stagecraft in an entertaining amalgam of fourberie and deceit! As well, it enables you to see through would-be actors and their false antics. If they lie, you’ll know. Immediately. Only Drama uses "my liege" or "sire", that little sly bag.

   DRAMA - His eyes dart from left to right. This man isn't lying, but he is hiding something. DRAMA - Believeth in thyself, my liege! 'Twas all a clever ruse. DRAMA - It's the voice of someone who has something to hide my liege. DRAMA - He speaks the truth, my liege.

5. #5selective

   Keys: CONCEPTUALIZATION

   Conceptualization has a special role it wants you to play in this world - an Artist. It enables you to make fresh associations, to delve into world-concepts from Jan Kaarp’s postmodernist karperie, to Revachol’s arabesque architectural style dideridada, and even the concept of HARDCORE – and then, importantly, to add your own contribution to these works.

   CONCEPTUALIZATION - ...like whorls of floorboards. The design looks organic, influenced by highly resistant wood materials, like Lignum Vitae and ebony perhaps. CONCEPTUALIZATION - Great gears are grinding to a halt. The machine is powering down. She's all out of jolt. CONCEPTUALIZATION - He isn't even drawn right. CONCEPTUALIZATION - It's the contrast between the cheery, chemical yellow and the rigor mortis. As if the cheery guy didn't know he was dead or the dead guy didn't care that he was. Either way, you get the sense the forces of future are at work here.

6. #6selective

   Keys: VISUAL CALCULUS

   Visual Calculus verses you not only in the laws of the state, but the laws of nature. It enables you to create virtual geometry models in your mind’s eye. You’ll see trajectories, sizes, designs, heights and weights with mathematical precision.

   VISUAL CALCULUS - The shards face outward. Whatever broke this window came from the inside. It is too large for a bullet yet too small for a piece of furniture. You're looking for something heavy and larger than your fist. VISUAL CALCULUS - A young woman in her twenties. There is care, effort, and a smile, you think -- although that is not something you can read from someone's handwriting. VISUAL CALCULUS - The shot would have been a small miracle: 5% likelihood. There is an extremely narrow field of view from the bay to the window, between Rue de Saint Ghislaine 10 and 33A. The angle would have been extreme and access to the islets is questionable... VISUAL CALCULUS - You see the same two neon lit shapes -- a man and a woman. Only now a red thread bisects the room, pointing from the antenna outside, to the cupboard on the wall.

7. #7selective

   Keys: VOLITION

   Volition urges you to be a good guy – to others and to yourself. It enables you to resist temptation: be it in a bottle, between a pair of legs, or at the end of an iron barrel which promises oblivion. Volition gives you the will to finish what you started, improving your morale.

   VOLITION - You clearly have issues you need to address. VOLITION - Stop. There's no need for this. It's in your power to change the subject. VOLITION - This is your tiny chance for redemption. Apologize. VOLITION - You don't have time for this nonsense. You've got safe boring things to do. VOLITION - Or -- you could not do that. No one is making you. VOLITION - Just let it all out. This might be your last chance.

8. #8selective

   Keys: INLAND EMPIRE

   Inland Empire is the unfiltered wellspring of imagination, emotion, and foreboding. It enables you to grope your way through invisible dimensions of reality, gaining insight into that which sight can’t see. What’s really going on? What do these enigmatic riddles mean for the world-fate?

   INLAND EMPIRE - Rust peels off the bent iron posts of the swing. The wind whistles through the skeleton of the small house behind you. There's desolation... everywhere. INLAND EMPIRE - In there she is alone, trapped in a world of blue and red lights. INLAND EMPIRE - Something mysterious is going on here... INLAND EMPIRE - That's not right at all. Thoughts don't exist in the brain, they float through the air! Your brain is but a fish swimming through them... INLAND EMPIRE - A little rhyme jingling in your mind's attic... "Of the future, of the past/ Of all that is not made to last"... INLAND EMPIRE - You're all alone out there, wandering a blasted heath, calling out to the night, but there is no reply, except for the buzzing of invisible machines...

9. #9selective

   Keys: EMPATHY

   Empathy breaks into the souls of others and forces you to feel what’s inside. It enables you to notice social cues others may miss: perhaps a hidden sadness you could coax out a little more, a strange joy from someone who should be bereaved, or a hidden resentment that could return to harm you later.

   EMPATHY - That was disdain in his eyes. Even now he is purposefully ignoring you. Looks like he's not a fan. EMPATHY - He feels bad about it. About his eyes mostly, just having bad eyesight -- probably from a young age. Whatever you do, do not console him. EMPATHY - You left him hanging on an Ace's High?! What is wrong with you, you sharpshooting asshole? EMPATHY - He feels uncomfortable with this conversation. He doesn't know what to add. EMPATHY - He's not dissatisfied with you, but with himself. EMPATHY - There is a hint of pity in her eyes. EMPATHY - People just don't know how to accept gifts, especially taxidermy. He likes it. He likes the bird. It solves his broken bird problem.

10. #10selective

    Keys: AUTHORITY

    Authority urges you to assert and reassert your dominance over those around you. It enables you to understand the power dynamics of groups of thugs, know how far you can push a perpetrator, and how to establish control of situations.

    AUTHORITY - Retreat is not a winning tactic. AUTHORITY - Do not go along with this. AUTHORITY - She speaks with the authority of a leader. Hers is the final word around here. AUTHORITY - He hates the Union, but grudgingly recognizes its power over him -- so he's directing his frustration at you instead. Retaliate! AUTHORITY - This is the look of a man who's defeated. He knows he's out of excuses. AUTHORITY - What happened? Did your balls shrivel up? You had plenty of chances to get off this road, but no, you let this guy keep talking. Then when the time came to make your choice you tried to split the difference. Weak. AUTHORITY - It's safe to assume this is their leader. Or at least he thinks he is.

11. #11selective

    Keys: ESPRIT

    Esprit is the very spirit of your sphere: the (you)-geist. It enables you to understand your souled sisters and brothers – not only by picking up subtle signals, but by witnessing flash-sideways scenes as they play out somewhere around you.

    ESPRIT DE CORPS - You, your friends, your family. Everyone you had ever known. This was you. ESPRIT DE CORPS - Across the city, the lieutenant stops to consider a smoke break. He shrugs off the urge: maybe tonight. His absence is palpable. Too late now. ESPRIT DE CORPS - The lieutenant, elsewhere in Revachol, runs a finger over the rough mesh of a stereo. He is deep in thought. He needs to be here for this. ESPRIT DE CORPS - Three figures on the spring ice. One, a shortish man, is standing with his shoulders slightly hunched. Another, a young woman, tries her best to ignore the third, a middle-aged man with bloated cheeks, who's screaming at her with all his might... ESPRIT DE CORPS - Wanna hear what's stupid? Somewhere in a one room apartment on Boogie Street a young man shows Patrol Officer Tillbrook his genital warts, asking if they're cancer.

12. #12selective

    Keys: SUGGESTION

    Suggestion urges a soft-power approach. It makes you affable to everyone and more resistant to their charms in turn. If people think they want what you want, you’ve already won. This skill enables you to implant ideas into the minds of others. You can make people like you more. You can make them turn on each other, too.

    SUGGESTION - It's really in her best interest to listen to you. You know how the world works. SUGGESTION - Not a big fan of skepticism, this one. SUGGESTION - He's not sorry about his behavior for your sake. Now that you have money, he really wants to make sure you're not angry with him. SUGGESTION - Whatever he may feel about you, he can't miss the opportunity to throw you a look of what he assumes is shared understanding. Go with it. SUGGESTION - Flattery is the way. SUGGESTION - Perfect, all you have to do is pretend to have taste. This will be your weapon. SUGGESTION - He would be appreciative if you did not further chase this line of inquire in front of the women.

13. #13selective

    Keys: ENDURANCE

    Endurance is your metabolism and circulatory system. It improves your physical health. It enables to survive the world around you, take a few knocks to the head and shake off a few cardiac arrests. Who cares if you can’t aim a gun, if you can take a few bullets?

    ENDURANCE - More cardio? Let's do this. ENDURANCE - This was mostly about the fucking cardio. Massive cardio here. You'll live 'til 90! Or you'll get a heart attack from running. ENDURANCE - This man seems to be experiencing a mild to medium level of congestive heart problems, either due to narrowing of the arteries or high blood pressure. ENDURANCE - Maybe you were wrong. She's endured for at least four decades in this world. ENDURANCE - Walks are fucking great cardio. Very stable fat-burner. Aerobic exercise. ENDURANCE - This will keep you nice and warm out there. Good choice, if a bit goofy looking... ENDURANCE - I'm satisfied. Are you satisfied? Because I am.

14. #14selective

    Keys: PAIN THRESHOLD

    Pain Threshold ignores damage so you can push on, bloodied and crawling, to the bitterest end. It enables you to negate damage you would otherwise take. Even mental pain – heartache and loneliness. In fact, these things can become a thrill you seek out and perversely revel in.

    PAIN THRESHOLD - You can take this. It's not nearly as bad as the last time. PAIN THRESHOLD - This is bad. Feels like sharp stones grinding in your chest and keeping you from moving. PAIN THRESHOLD - Almost snapped your neck... but I fucking got this. No pain... no pain... PAIN THRESHOLD - You can take this! Blossom like a pain-flower. PAIN THRESHOLD - It hurts, but keep your cool. You've got this. PAIN THRESHOLD - The pain flows over your entire body like an awful shock. A grim knowing rises from within -- half of your body must be gone.

15. #15selective

    Keys: PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT

    Physical Instrument is not only your muscles and your skeleton – it is your ability to use them effectively. It enables you to do push-ups, sit-ups, knock-out punches, and 360-degree spin-kicks. It’s a one size fits all solution to thriving and surviving in a physical world.

    PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Suddenly your biceps coil up. Your elbow is sharp and cocked for a punch. PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Doesn't matter! The flow of events is already passing you by! The woman said something, now the man's saying something... KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, SON! PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU?!?! Are you going to CRY now, son? PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - No, that would be silly. Your body isn't for thinking. It's for robust, wholesome things. Things like discus, javelin, and 400 meter hurdles. Mmm... discus. PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Son, you've really let yourself go -- it's a disgrace. But Coach Physical Instrument is going to get you back in prime condition. Even if it takes a million push-ups!

16. #16selective

    Keys: ELECTROCHEMISTRY

    Electrochemistry is the animal within you, the beast longing to be unleashed to indulge and enjoy. It enables you to better investigate lurid matters – if you need to understand a chemical breakdown, or talk to someone blasted out of their mind, or understand sexual dynamics, Electrochemistry is there to guide you.

    ELECTROCHEMISTRY - The best cure for a headache is, of course, morphine. They won't have that, so cigarettes will have to do. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - This is a good place for a nice sad drink. Uncork a velvety bottle of red wine and think about life for a moment. Really philosophise. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Sexual euphoria... increased sensitivity to stimulation... if you didn't know better, you'd say this plasm stuff sounds a lot like being on amphetamines.. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Oh yeah, we're talking about white-hot communist sex, baby. ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No. You can figure it out. Replace it! Replace the alcohol with amphetamine. Or GBL! Fuck it -- morphine! Graffito removal agent! Anything. It'll buy you time. All you need is time.

17. #17selective

    Keys: SHIVERS

    Shivers come when the temperature drops and you become more keenly aware of your surroundings. It enables you to hear the city itself, to truly belong to the streets. It is a supra-natural ability; old wrongs play out in present time, scenes across the city happen in front of you. But who is speaking to you?

    SHIVERS - On Clinton Street, near the Boogie Street Diamond, a small truck rattles down an alleyway. It stops by a rusted trash container. Two men, their faces rough and swollen, jump out. They look at the container, despondently. CSM is written on their backs... SHIVERS - A traffic jam. Rain thrumming on the roofs of motor vehicles. Inside, drivers watch water streaming down their windshields. The statue of a king shudders, he too is cold. The canal bridge has been raised. SHIVERS - Under the night sky the great district sleeps: A dark chessboard of wooden houses in the rain, 80,000 living souls inside. Firetraps as far as the eye can see -- from Main Street to Precinct 41 atop the motorway, to Boogie Street glowing on the rainswept horizon...

18. #18selective

    Keys: HALF LIGHT

    Half Light is your fight-or-flight response. It enables you to sense the way situations are about to turn. It injects palpable fear into your heart – fear that urges you act before it’s too late to act ever again; fear that makes you frighten others.

    HALF LIGHT - Your muscles tense up. The vision in your dead angle darkens. You feel the sudden urge to push your hand into his soft gut. HALF LIGHT - What you want is a GOD DAMN DRINK. How is that so hard to understand? HALF LIGHT - THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE. HALF LIGHT - You suddenly feel afraid of the chair. It looks like blood is peeling off it... HALF LIGHT - Kill them. They broke it. HALF LIGHT - Look at his shit-eating grin... He knows there's nothing you can do to him. He's bullying you and you are helpless. Kill him. Kill him now. He won't see death coming.

19. #19selective

    Keys: HAND/EYE COORDINATION

    Hand/Eye Coordination loves the interaction between you and things that fly in the air. It enables you to catch coins, shoot straight, and understand firearms intimately. Want to know the precise make and mark of a pistol? Hand/Eye Coordination’s got you. Want to shoot someone with it? Ditto.

    HAND/EYE COORDINATION - A miss. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - That's an Ister 50. A Zsiemsk-made monstrosity. It'll blow your head clean off. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Firearm! A Glace 08, or a .38 calibre pistol -- either is small enough for you to have missed. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - This does look like an embrasure, a slit made for shooting out of. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - Chalk powder. Absorbs moisture and keeps your grip firm. HAND/EYE COORDINATION - The kid moves his hands like a basketball player dribbling fast.

20. #20selective

    Keys: PERCEPTION

    Perception wants you to be open to the world – with eyes, ears, and nose working at full capacity. It enables you to take in what others don’t notice. The little wad of bills hid away in the sugar bowl; the odor of a perp, hiding beneath the floor boards; the gulp of a person, after claiming they’ve nothing to hide.

    PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Her eyes are brown and her face is speckled with birthmarks. She can't be more than 28. PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - He wears a wide leather belt around his waist and a gun holster under his arm. PERCEPTION (TASTE) - Tastes like soap. Unsurprisingly. PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - "Eat shit, pig!", "FUCKED BY THE CUNN" and "Saint-G" with a crown have been scribbled on it. "Jennie is a WHORE" and "Baise cette mailbox!" also. PERCEPTION (SMELL) - He smells of heavy motor oils. And his breath -- of high-tar content cigarettes. Probably Astra Whites. PERCEPTION (HEARING) - Waves crashing in the distance, the sound of sea below the window.

21. #21selective

    Keys: REACTION SPEED

    Reaction Speed is the agility of your body and mind. It is instinct. It enables you to dodge punches, knives, bullets. Also suckers punches of the verbal kind. You’ll be more streetwise, never lost for words or lacking a witty comeback. Your mental alacrity lets you connect little details on the fly, working in tandem with your Intellect skills.

    REACTION SPEED - That melody is oddly familiar... Why does it feel like some gang-related thing? REACTION SPEED - A punch is not imminent, but it's being cocked. Hard. REACTION SPEED - Yeah -- streetwise. Zoom right past, do it on your own terms. REACTION SPEED - Wait... did he push himself to prove he can pull his weight and doesn't need hand-outs? REACTION SPEED - No, you don't. Just back up, cancel this. REACTION SPEED - His fingers are twitching. That's a draw reflex. He's about to draw.

22. #22selective

    Keys: SAVOIR FAIRE

    Savoir Faire urges you to be better than you are: it urges you to be disco. Slip by others in Samaran boxing style, then tumble out the back with unexpected acrobatics. It enables you to move silent footsteps, to groove to a good beat, and to lift useful stuff off perps without them noticing. It also makes you cooler.

    SAVOIR FAIRE - An acrobatic maneuver would solve this situation. Nothing can go wrong with a good maneuver. SAVOIR FAIRE - This is a cool moment. It needs a cool thing to be said. SAVOIR FAIRE - Try the jump? Up there, on the roof! It'll be worth it. Else there is little choice but to figure out a way to deal with the man... SAVOIR FAIRE - Cool. Let's do this swindle. This tare swindle. SAVOIR FAIRE - Nothing is inaccessible.

23. #23selective

    Keys: INTERFACING

    Interfacing wants you to connect to machines: to use and improve them, because that makes you a better human organism. It enables you to understand interactions with machines – be that how to repair the motor of a Kineema motor carriage, how to analyze the way a suspect used a pen, or how to re-figure electrical circuits. It even lets you steal keys off a keyring without being noticed.

    INTERFACING - This particular lorry is a FALN A-Z 'Tempo', a model infamous for its irritating design mistake: the slippery-smooth throttles. INTERFACING - There's no picking this lock. The owner has put special care into it. It's a recessed design. INTERFACING - This is the Rehm Prefect, radiocomputer model number RC7024, equipped with a Feld mainframe and a Rehm-compatible Interim printer. INTERFACING - This is wrong, machines shouldn't behave like that. INTERFACING - The legendary Kvalsund multitool! This is prybar version 2.0 -- for professionals, like you.

24. #24selective

    Keys: COMPOSURE

    Composure wants you to not crack: or, at least, it wants you to not crack in front of other people. It enables you to put up a strong front. It keeps your emotions hidden from the world and helps you to read the body language of others – to sense the cracks in their own composure. As well, it keeps you looking good while you do it.

    COMPOSURE - He keeps the language unemotional but it's in there -- disappointment. COMPOSURE - The colour has drained from his face. COMPOSURE - You're not dressed for this weather. You should get an overcoat, or a cloak. COMPOSURE - Now, chin up. You've got this. COMPOSURE - Remember: Where most people go wrong is in thinking they have to hide what they don't know... COMPOSURE - He isn't bluffing. He appears invigorated, as though he's truly experiencing life for the first time. COMPOSURE - A distended pause. A slight chill of embarrassment. She isn't sure what to say.

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