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So we've hade the possibility of Aisha getting a Call Bead put forward by Joe himself but do we have any information about what she would be able to do with nearly unrestricted access to her passenger/shard/snark/agent?
I mean permanent memory erasure is the obvious thing but a. They have Lethe Water already and b. That just isn't scary enough, especially as Armsmaster is already considering it as a function of the mythical cluster that formed the Celestial Forge.
So: dynamic partial memory erasure; you can see and interact with her but you only remember as much about her as she wants. So you can have an entire conversation with her and remember what she said but never be able to give a valid description of her.
Or maybe making people forget Lethe even though they remember Aisha. Good for pranking the PRT.
Maybe even do the reverse and unlock everyone's trigger memories? That would put the cat among the pigeons, especially when vial capes can't describe the memory properly…
What else?
The Shards are giant eldritch supercomputers that are only using a fraction of a percent of their true abilities in order to facilitate their "host" parahuman.
Aisha's Shard effectively monitors and modifies cognitive associations instantly on a world-wide scale.
I know we tend to focus on Aisha's memory deletion but her power is really cognitive association modification. Like, there is a woman standing in front of you with a bloody knife but you can't link that with the stab wound in your chest. Without parahuman support you can't even consciously recognize that there is someone in the room with you.
So flipping the switch toward "increased association" could result in incredibly fast learning. Mastery of skills in days instead of years. With the right tech, matrix-style downloads of "I know kung-fu" or "I'm a helicopter pilot now". [Given how excited the Shards are about Apeiron, Aisha's Shard might already be making her hypercompetent.]
Disassociation could result in general dementia and confusion. Selective and targeted dissociation could mimic Bonesaw's prion's effects.
Possibly control of the autonomic nervous system. Prana-Bindu levels of control of muscular, nervous, and endocrine systems. Making someone forget how to breath.
Misassociation could be interesting. Trigger PTSD every time Armsmaster wants to Tinker. Replicate Heartbreaker's emotion control. Hardwire a compulsion into Coil to preserve endangered species. Make kids get more enjoyment from homework than videogames. Cause the members of the E88 to associate the true divinely-appointed "Master Race" with increased levels of melanin.
Aisha could be the key to de-programming Heartbreaker's victim. She could also be vitally important (even if only by scientific observation) to creating effective therapies for traumatized victims of Grey Boy, Bonesaw, etc.
Now I'm curious. Aisha's Shard seems to function similar to those of the Heartbreaker cluster. Convergent Evolution? WoG?
