| From: | Joshua M. Nypaver zznypaverj@*****.winthrop.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Road rage in Shadowrun |
| Date: | Thu, 30 Mar 2000 00:48:48 -0600 |
SEATTLE-For Jonathan Summers last Tuesday started off as every other day.
He was sitting in morning rush hour traffic when suddenly he realized that
his car was filling with a thick mist.
"I didn't know what was happening, I mean the car just started to fill with
some kind of gas, I was terrified. I opened all my windows as quickly as I
could. Fortunately, I was stopped in traffic at the time, I couldn't see
through the stuff," said Summers.
It turned out that Summers was a victim of a new urban threat. It is a new
twist, of an old urban nightmare that has been around for over sixty years
now always growing more intense in its fervor.
It's road rage, only perpetrated by magicians, known on the streets as Wiz
Rage. It is becoming more common in urban centers as the magically active
population has risen.
"We're seeing a lot more mages, and other magic users, retaliating for real
or imagined wrongs done to them by other drivers by using magic," said Sgt.
Harrelson, an employee of Lone Star.
While it's not yet widespread, it is happening more and more often.
Janet Campbell was driving along 15th street in downtown Seattle when she
accidentally almost collided with another car in her blind spot. Little did
she know that the driver of the other car was magically adept.
"Suddenly all this. this. goo appeared all over the place. It was slimy and
sticky and smelled funny. I had to pull over and get out. I eventually had
to get my car professionally cleaned," said Campbell.
"The biggest problem we have is that it's hard to pinpoint just who placed
the spell on you. It's not like we require magicians to carry special tags
or anything like that," said Harrelson.
One mage, a self-professed shadowrunner, who asked only to be identified as
"Sparks", said that it's just harmless fun.
"I mean if someone tanks me off or cuts me off while I'm out driving or
riding with my friends yeah I might chose to toss a spell at them. But I
only use harmless illusions. It's not like I'm hurting anyone tossing
fireballs," said "Sparks".
John Walks-With-the-Sun, a spokesman for the Seattle chapter of the Shamanic
United Nation, a magical society, disagrees.
"Mages need to learn that they should only use their gifts in situations
where they believe that an equal amount of force would be justified. If they
don't believe that someone should be slapped for cutting them off in
traffic, they should be unwilling to toss a spell," he said.
Contrary to some views, there have been victims of this crime.
Kendra Engilsbee was driving her car along Interstate 5 in Seattle when
suddenly a magician cast a confusion spell on her.
"The world turned from normal to a mix of colors that all clashed with each
other. I wanted to pull over but I could no longer tell my right from my
left, up from down," said Engilsbee
She ended up plowing into another car and killing the driver.
"I felt horrible, but I couldn't help it. Lone Star was going to convict me
but luckily one of the officers on the scene called the Division of
Paranormal Investigation and some guy chanted over me. Apparently he could
tell that what I said was true."
"There has been a drastic increase in cases where startled victims of Wiz
Rage have hit other drivers causing damages, injury, and death," said
Harrelson.
Another consideration is in insurance matters. Engilsbee hasn't been able
to file a claim with her insurance.
"They said that they have a clause preventing compensation for magically
provoked attacks. So I had to pay for everything, my car, my medical bills
and my time off for work," said Engilsbee.
The mages that caused Engilsbee's accident is still at large and wanted for
questioning by Lone Star.
JOSH
