September QnA (Patreon)

Quick questions, quick answers. Some are from here, some are from the Patreon discord, and some are from older sources:

 How do you take care of the Rat-King? Are they comfortable like they are?

The filters for Rat King's liquid bath needs to be changed once a week for comfort but can last a lot longer if needed. Nutrition is added monthly, and comes prepared in tablet form. The housing is made to be self-sufficient and is very durable. The Rat-King is comfortable and they do not remember any other existence. All their senses are telepathic in nature.

Why did you decide to write Fallen hero?

I came up with the story because I was interested in the question of how telepathy would affect a person's sense of self, and wanted to explore identity, gender and what makes people do bad things for reasons they deem good. I might get into this in more detail later if people are interested in process talk.

 What is one thing that was supposed to go one way but you started writing and now it's completely different? 

Herald's entire arc. Also, Chen.

What happened to the former Rangers?

There are several heroes who used to be Rangers in the past. While I won't go into detail of all of them, here are the fates of some that Sidestep worked with/knew about:

Marshal Hood: Deceased 2007. He was an Alpha level boost with petrokinetic (earth manipulation) powers.

Sentinel: Retired 2013 and is happily married. He and his family live in a small town in the mountains. While he is retired, he still helps out with rescue work, and during emergencies in the local communities. He's an Alpha level boost with wind control powers and flight.

Anathema: Deceased 2013. An Alpha level double boost with invulnerability and acid generation.

Sunstream: Resigned 2011, about six months after the nanosurge and disappeared soon afterwards. Sidestep didn't know the details. She wrote Ortega a resignation letter, and Ortega never spoke about what was in it. Sunstream was a Beta level boost with light-based powers. She could illuminate, cause blackouts, and with concentration even create lasers, though that took a lot out of her.

Ashfall: During Sidesteps active years, Ashfall was another close associate of the Rangers. He had the goal of eventually proving himself and becoming one. After Heartbreak, he moved away from Los Doablos, and is now a Ranger in San Francisco going under the name Pyroclast. He's a Beta level boost with the power to turn himself into an ash/dust cloud. In that form he is capable of flight, and able to raise his internal temperature to a substantial degree.

Who is the best liar of the Rangers?

Ortega, but nobody thinks that.

Whose the worst roommate of all the rangers? Include sidestep era rangers if possible

Argent, hands down. There are reasons why she lives alone.

Is Steel able to swim with all those prosthetics or do they weight him down in water?

It would depend on the loadout, but generally, no. He would have to take measures to stop that.

If Sidestep revealed how ReGenes are treated, would the public care? 

Depends on how it is revealed. You may have the chance to find out. It might also be part of the plans for some characters.

Did Charge and Dr. Mortum ever fight?

Not directly. Dr. Mortum tried to avoid being a Rangers level issue, they were aware of each other, but didn't come in direct conflict.

What was Sidestep's relationship with Sentinel?

You will be able to detail that later, it can vary.

Who gives Ortega his tip-offs about Hollow Ground? 

Ortega has a contact in the staff, one who is very good at keeping their head down and their eyes open. Said staff has not personally met HG, but deduce when they are there from the amount of fuss created.

Has Hollow Ground and Dr. Mortum met?

Dr. Mortum does some work for Hollow ground, and yes, they have met in person.

How does the Los Diablos Rangers rank when it comes to power?

The Los Diablos Rangers cell is one of the top 3 in the country. Exact ranking varies depending on the views of the ranker. Seattle and San Francisco are the other two contenders.

Does Herald own Sidestep merch?

Yes he does. Not a massive collection, but a few choice pieces. 

When Sidestep has nightmares, are their neighbors okay? 

Sidesteps neighbors are not okay. A lot of them have moved out. The nightmares can leak, and yes, this might happen to RO's if Sidestep spends a bad night there.

Can we get to take care of Ortega?

Ortega is VERY hard to take care of. Do your best. Might not work.

What kind of drunks are the Rangers?

Ortega can be many types of drunk, mostly volatile. Chen is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Herald only drinks socially and Argent stays clear of the stuff.

Is the ReGene tattoo process instantaneous and painless? Does the colors matter? Why do they have blue skin?

Yes, it is painless and quick, ReGenes don't remember getting them, there is no healing afterwards. The color is tied to their powers, as are certain themes in the patterns. The blue skin of the ReGenes is due to the farm adding colloidal silver to their food. It is an essential step to reinforce their inhumanity since it is a permanent change. It helps assuring they do not see themselves as people, and that the rest of the staff doesn't either.

Will the barcode be read eventually?

Yes, but reading is not the hard part. Decoding the code is.

Do all ReGenes ultimately look the same?  Aside from the skin, but like hair and eye color, face structure, body structure?

No, they vary very much. There's a diverse genetic pool the Farm is playing around with in the vain hope of finding the ones that can handle the boost drug the best.

What will the consequence of killing Blaze be? Will his team have a serious vendetta against villain Step?

There will be consequences (I won't tell them all),  and if you do kill Blaze it is likely you will have to face the rest of his team in book three. Not to mention the fallout it might cause with Steel if he finds out.

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So, this was the September QnA, feel free to add questions in the comments here, and I will get around to answering them in October. That is unless they are interesting enough that I want to make an entire post, then they might pup up earlier. Note that not all questions were answered, certain ones were very spoilery and will be in a post of their own for the ones that have access to said spoilers.