Walking Techbane: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"I hate computers! Why do they always blow up when I use them?"''|''[[Freeman's Mind]], Episode 4''}}

[[Mr. Fixit|Some people]] are just naturally good with technology, while others [[Hopeless with Tech|can barely surf the Internet]]. And then there are those who go beyond the "use the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder" crowd, and can cause a computer to [[Explosive Instrumentation|catch fire and explode]] while ''trying to turn it on'', or even by ''[[Walking Wasteland|standing next to it]]''. That's the Walking Techbane in a nutshell.

[[Mr. Fixit|Some people]] are just naturally good with technology, while others [[Hopeless with Tech|can barely surf the Internet]]. And then there are those who go beyond the "use the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder" crowd, and can cause a computer to [[Explosive Instrumentation|catch fire and explode]] while ''trying to turn it on'', or even by ''[[Walking Wasteland|standing next to it]]''. That's the '''Walking Techbane''' in a nutshell.

For added irony, sometimes the Walking Techbane ''wants'' to be good with technology, but is prevented from doing so by the apparent plague of gremlins that follows them whenever they try to work anything with moving parts. In this case, they may overlap with [[Bungling Inventor]].

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== Film ==

* In the ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' film, characters joke that paleontologist Alan Grant is a [[Walking Techbane]] when he seems to cause a computer monitor to burst into static whenever he points to it. Lampshaded later when the park shuts down for reasons unrelated to him, and he immediately asks what (presumably crucial component) he just touched.

* In the ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' film, characters joke that paleontologist Alan Grant is a Walking Techbane when he seems to cause a computer monitor to burst into static whenever he points to it. Lampshaded later when the park shuts down for reasons unrelated to him, and he immediately asks what (presumably crucial component) he just touched.

* ''[[The Philadelphia Experiment]]'' has this occur to a character as a result of getting shocked by a high power generator involved in a [[Time Travel]] accident. As he walks around, he shorts out nearby electronics and attracts thunderstorms to himself.

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* Wobbler in Terry Pratchett's ''[[Johnny Maxwell Trilogy]]''... sometimes. In the first book he's a fairly skilled [[Playful Hacker]], but by the second he can't turn his computer on without it smelling of burning plastic.

* This overlaps with [[Science vs. Magic]], but a ghost character in [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''SERRATED Edge'' series was told to stay away from Tannim's tapes because [[Our Ghosts Are Different|ghosts in that 'verse has a devastating effect on electromagnetic items]]. He eventually prevented a [[Big Bad]]'s getaway by walking through a plane's navigation board, rendering it completely useless.

* Charles de Lint's Newford series has Sophie, whose faerie blood makes her a [[Walking Techbane]]. Her wristwatch runs backwards, and her friends won't let her near their computers.

* Charles de Lint's Newford series has Sophie, whose faerie blood makes her a Walking Techbane. Her wristwatch runs backwards, and her friends won't let her near their computers.

* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'', single wizards can't cause this, but an entire school of them can.

** It's never explicitly stated whether the tech-messing is done by the mere presence of so many mages or one of the many anti-Muggle charms on the school grounds.

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== Tabletop Games ==

* The [[Tabletop Games|tabletop game]] ''[[Deadlands]]'' includes this in the form of the Hindrance "All Thumbs". For added points, in the part of the book players aren't supposed to read, there's {{spoiler|the "Bollixed" status, which can be randomly generated as a drawback for a [[Player Character]] that wants to start as a [[Badass]]. Bollixed characters actually act as conduits for ''literal'' gremlins, which infest every mechanical device the character touches. And multiply. Exponentially.}} For maximum comedy? Even a [[Mad Scientist]] can be a [[Walking Techbane]].

* The [[Tabletop Games|tabletop game]] ''[[Deadlands]]'' includes this in the form of the Hindrance "All Thumbs". For added points, in the part of the book players aren't supposed to read, there's {{spoiler|the "Bollixed" status, which can be randomly generated as a drawback for a [[Player Character]] that wants to start as a [[Badass]]. Bollixed characters actually act as conduits for ''literal'' gremlins, which infest every mechanical device the character touches. And multiply. Exponentially.}} For maximum comedy? Even a [[Mad Scientist]] can be a Walking Techbane.

* In ''[[Shadowrun]]'' characters can pick up a flaw called "Gremlins" that does this. Of course they are getting extra build points so it might be an even trade depending on the character.

** The same name is used for the Physical Limitation that adds up to Techbane in [[Champions|''Urban Fantasy Hero''.]]

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** Magic items in the hand of a technologist just lose their power, but technological items malfunctions in the hands of mages - their innate "magic affinity" play havoc on the exact scientific rules of nature, affecting the items that rely on those. There are three main ways this is depicted in the game: if you want to ride the railway, you have to answer several questions regarding your stance on magic (if you're of a magical race, if you're a particularly adept mage, if you know volatile spells or carry potent magic items, etc); failing to do so tend to result in spectacular train wrecks. Tech weapons, devices and drugs affect magical targets much less. And finally, equipping technological items on a mage increases their chance of critical failure, with a higher increase the higher their magical aptitude, and the complexity of the item. Equip princess Raven (an elven mage of quite some power) with a pyrotechnic bow and a range of tech gear, and she runs a very real risk of lopping her arm or head off. With a BOW.

* In ''[[Phantasy Star]] 2'', Josh Kain was a mechanic who found that everything he tried to repair would end up exploding spectacularly. He made the best of this and switched careers to hunting and smashing rogue robots.

* You can become your own [[Walking Techbane]] in ''[[Deus Ex]]'' by enabling the "iamwarren" (Warren being the games development lead) cheat code - which makes literally anything computerized fizzle and die when you walk within five feet of it.

* You can become your own Walking Techbane in ''[[Deus Ex]]'' by enabling the "iamwarren" (Warren being the games development lead) cheat code - which makes literally anything computerized fizzle and die when you walk within five feet of it.

* Alicia, the title character of the game ''[[Bullet Witch]]'' seems to be one of these specifically for aircraft. Any time she's on an aircraft, ''something'' happens to cause it to ~~crash -- it~~ happens twice in the course of the game, and she's convinced not to attempt it a third time. {{spoiler|She also died in a plane crash before the game even started.}}

* Alicia, the title character of the game ''[[Bullet Witch]]'' seems to be one of these specifically for aircraft. Any time she's on an aircraft, ''something'' happens to cause it to crash—it happens twice in the course of the game, and she's convinced not to attempt it a third time. {{spoiler|She also died in a plane crash before the game even started.}}

* Cole McGrath, the hero in ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]'', becomes a walking techbane at the beginning of the game. His [[Shock and Awe|electrical powers]] work well enough around electrical devices ([[Mundane Utility|enough to recharge batteries if need be]]), but devices with certain chemical components get very unstable around him: he can't sit in a car without it breaking down, and one attempt to handle a gun results in it exploding. And [[No Hugging, No Kissing|let's not get started on his girlfriend...]]

* Cyan/Cayenne from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' is terrified of (though fascinated by) machinery, though the first time you meet him he jumps into a suit of Magitek armor and (eventually) pilots it without too much problem; at one point has a great deal of difficulty ''stepping on a simple pressure switch''.

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* Physicist Wolfgang Pauli, one of the fathers of modern chemistry, frequently saw experiments explode or fail whenever he came near them. On one occasion, an experiment in a university failed, and the scientists figured it couldn't be Pauli, he was nowhere around, he was on his way to Zurich. Except, as it turned out, he ''was'' in town... waiting for a train connection. [[The Other Wiki]] [[wikipedia:Pauli effect|elaborates]].

** Actually, theoretical scientists in general can be classed as such.

* There's an elaborate mock-theory known as quantum bogodynamics which deals with the emission and absorption of bogons (the elementary particle of bogosity) and which is supposed to explain how some people can cause computers to spontaneously malfunction by mere ~~presence -- and~~ how others can make such malfunctions disappear.

* There's an elaborate mock-theory known as quantum bogodynamics which deals with the emission and absorption of bogons (the elementary particle of bogosity) and which is supposed to explain how some people can cause computers to spontaneously malfunction by mere presence—and how others can make such malfunctions disappear.

* There are people who have an unusually strong electro-magnetic field and end up destroying cellphones and other small electronics.

** A likely explanation for [http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/02/12-year-old-magneto-man-breaks-every-computer-he-touches/ this guy].