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See, there’s this part of the brain that people who study parahumans call the Corona Pollentia, not to be confused with the Corona Radiata. It’s a part of the brain that’s different in parahumans, and it’s the part that’s used to manage powers, when the powers can be managed.

Bonesaw to Taylor, Snare 13.9

The Corona Pollentia is the part of the brain that adapts to and controls the 'powers' that parahumans develop and display.[1]

Overview[]

Corona Pollentia[]

The Corona Pollentia is the part of the brain that is adapted to and connects the powers that come from individual Entity Shards.[2] With the appearance of this formation, usually accompanied by a dream,[1][3] the subject becomes able to trigger.[4] The Corona Pollentia is a startlingly common feature, even in unpowered people.[5]

Gemma[]

The Gemma is the part of the Corona Pollentia that controls the active use of a parahumans' abilities and powers, the same way there are parts of the brain that allow regular humans to coordinate and move their hands. Artificial Gemmas were known to give powers that were maladapted to stressful engagements.[6]

Size, Location, and Integration[]

The size, shape, and location of the Corona and the Gemma changes from parahuman to parahuman. Usually, it starts as 1-1.6 inch-sized body settled between the frontal and the parietal lobes.

During the trigger event, Corona gets a spurt of development. It is a partial reason for people blacking out. Corona expands slightly, veins swell.[7] Although it is still hard to distinguish a small but active Corona from bigger but inactive.

Young triggers have more pronounced Corona Pollentia with a noticeable effect called 'dimpling,' as if it is pressed down into the brain, and, sometimes, expanded webbing, enveloping the brain.[5]

It is possible to get an impression of power expression from how Corona Pollentia is integrated with the brain. E.g. strong frontal lobe connection indicates Thinker-type perception powers, and Masters would get a stronger emphasis on the cerebellum.[5]

Power Removal[]

For most surgeons, lobotomizing the Corona in criminals is impractical for two reasons outside of ethical concerns: the location and shape of the Corona can vary depending on the powers and how they work, and the obvious difficulty of gaining expertise in this area.[8] According to the experienced Bonesaw, surgically removing the Corona of a powered individual does not remove their powers. The powers still work on the own: they just become instinctive and uncontrollable for the individual instead.[9] However, she does believe she can perform surgery on one's Corona to temporarily disable their powers.[10]

As a possible countermeasure for clients that renege on their deal with Cauldron, Doctor Mother claims they have an in-house cape that can allow them to remove powers if necessary.[11] Wildbow speculates her claim is real because of the Slug: as an example, he can choose to edit the brain of an affected individual so that a spoken key word or phrase will permanently remove their powers. He can also set a spoken key word or phrase that temporarily removes that individual's powers.[12][13][14]

An unpowered Taylor speculated sometime after Contessa disabled her with two bullets to the head that her power was removed after this disabling by either Cauldron's in-house cape or brain surgery done via Contessa, Bonesaw, or Panacea.[15] However, it should be noted that the Irregulars already killed the Slug[16] and that Bonesaw stated earlier that removing the Corona does not remove powers.[9] Indeed, Wildbow only confirms that Taylor is gone.[17][18] He also intended to make Taylor's ending ambiguous:[18][19] he has described interpretations where Taylor is in a coma[18] or deceased.[20][18]

Trivia[]

  • In Latin, "Corona" translates to "crown", whereas "pollentia" is a conjugation of "pollens", meaning "strong" or "mighty". Therefore, "Corona Pollentia" may be translated as "crown of might", referring to its status as the source of a parahuman's powers.
    • This differentiates it from the Corona radiata, a real life brain structure.
  • Cauldron vials trigger powers regardless of whether or not the subject has a Corona Pollentia. In those that already have one, there is a greater chance of deviant powers. In those that do not have a Corona Pollentia, one develops as they trigger.[21]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Various elements that were unique to every individual served as a signal that the passenger could reach out to in an attempt at reconnecting with a host. DNA, electromagnetic patterns, patterns she could barely measure with instruments, all contributed, none was absolute. Once the connection was established, powers were possible as well. A moment of trauma sped the process along considerably. Her initial assumption had been that coming to life would be enough for the clones.

    The Corona Pollentia was developing as the originals did, drawing from DNA to form as a lobe in the brain, right from the outset. The dreams formed the connections between the corona and the clone. The bonds were forming too quickly and easily. - Excerpt from Interlude 25
  2. It forms the connections and readies every tool that could be needed, poised so that the tips are molecular-fine, extending into reality. - Excerpt from Interlude 12.f
  3. The assistant is half-asleep as Grasping Self forms the connection. His brain patterns form wavelengths and the wavelengths match Grasping Self’s consolidation of information for one eighth of one of the assistant’s seconds.

    The dream is vivid, the process feels as though it is prolonged- to the assistant, it is hours of clear recollections.

    The recollections are systematically wiped clean, but the impact of is not.

    Days pass. Weeks. Grasping Self waits for an opportunity to connect.

    Months pass. The assistant pursues side interests, studying the dreams.

    Grasping Self is not concerned. When the connection is made, edits and alterations can be performed to ensure this does not pose any unusual complication. At this point in time, the assistant has knowledge but no power to utilize it. Later, the assistant will have the power, but will no longer hold the knowledge. -Excerpt from Interlude 12.f
  4. If a shard can give any power classification, depending on the trigger,
    Wildbow:For the record, some shards can, but not all. Some shards are almost always going to just trigger Master, for example, and you just won't trigger unless you're in a state of mind that lends itself into a frequency match for the scan-manton snap (as Bonesaw describes in 11.h). - Alternative powers. Wildbow, Reddit.com, 2017-06-17
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 “Corona Pollentia,” I said. “She has powers.”

    [...]

    “They take different forms. There aren’t hard and fast rules. But I’ve heard that if you trigger young, it takes more of a hold, with more… it’s called dimpling. Like a hand is actually pressing it down into the brain. That right there looks like dimpling.”

    [...]

    “You get more cloudiness in some kinds of scans where it expands out into the webbing around the brain, but we’re not getting that. It’s been way too long since I studied this,” I said. “The corona starts as a single marker, like a quarter-sized knot in wood, or a ball the size of a golf ball, pushed between the two lobes. Then when we trigger, it surges into life. It’s part of the reason we black out. It expands slightly, veins swell. But most of the time an unactivated corona is hard to tell apart from an activated one, and a surprising number of people have unactivated ones. Sometimes you look at them and the larger veins or structures suggest what the power is linked to.”

    “What does this tell us?” Chris asked.

    “She triggered young. It’s deeper set. People who had a corona for a long time don’t get dimpling, I’m pretty sure. Looking at the veins, where it seems to have reached out…
    [...]
    ...Cerebellum is senses, seeing, hearing, coordination of movement.”

    “That makes me think of Mama Mathers,” Sveta said.

    “If thinkers had an emphasis, I think it leans more toward frontal lobe. This could be a perception power, I guess.” - Excerpt from Torch 7.6
  6. The deviations, the ones who didn’t take to the formula, tended to fall into certain categories. There were those who had some minor physical or mental changes; they were little different from the most extreme deviations that appeared in typical trigger cases. Such deviations occurred a mere eighth of a percent of the time. They weren’t what he was thinking of.

    The formula wasn’t exact. Though they learned more every day, there were still unknowns regarding powers. Whatever connection the agents formed with individuals before or during a trigger event, it didn’t manifest as strongly through the formula. When the subject was stressed, their body engaged by that distress, the connection grew weaker. - Excerpt from Interlude 21.x
  7. But the entity can still see fallout effects. There are parallels in memory storage. Not many, but there may be glimmers where the subject is capable of perceiving the information stored in the shard as the connections are formed.

    For good measure, the entity breaks up one shard cluster, tunes it, then codes the effect into each and every shard. It studies the host species further, refines, attunes.

    It takes time, but the entity forms a sufficient safeguard. The host species will forget any significant details.

    The broken shard is cast off, joining countless others. It will bond to a host. The entity looks forward, checking.

    After the target planet has revolved thirty-three times around its star, this shard will connect to a host.
    [...]
    This time, the shard settles in the male, then immediately shifts to the more distressed female.

    Insinuation. The shard connects to the host’s neural network.

    The bond is created.

    The shard opens the connection as the stress peaks, and the host doubles over in pain, bewildered, stunned. The shard then forms tendrils that contact each individual in the area. It retains traces of the entity’s tampering, of the studies in psychology, awareness and memory, and is quick to adapt. It finds a manner in which it can operate, then alters itself, solidifying into a particular state. The remainder of the functions are discarded, the ones in the shard itself are rendered inert to conserve power, while the ones in the host fall away, are consumed by the shard. The host’s neural network changes once more.

    The female disappears from the awareness of the hostile ones that surround it.

    The entity looks to the future, to see if this is sustainable, efficient. - excerpt from Interlude 26
  8. She ran her fingers over my exposed scalp, massaging it, as if she were feeling the shape of my head. “The size, shape and location of the Corona and the Gemma changes from parahuman to parahuman, but it tends to sit between the frontal and the parietal lobe. Beneath the ‘crown’ of the head, if you will. They can’t really lobotomize the Corona in criminals. Some of that’s because the location and shape of the Corona depends on the powers and how they work, and trial and error doesn’t work with the scary bad guys who can melt flesh or breathe lasers.” - Snare 13.9
  9. 9.0 9.1 And the other reason you can’t just carve out the Corona? If you do, the powers still work on their own. The person just can’t control them. It becomes instinctive, instead.” - Snare 13.9
  10. She tilted my head back and felt around the edges of my mask, trying to find the part where she could pull it off. “I’m really good at figuring out where the Corona and the Gemma are. I can even guess most of the time, if I know what powers the person has. And I can pry it wide open, make it so the powers can’t be turned off, or I can temporarily disable it, or modify it. The powder I blew into your face? It has the same prions I put in the darts I shot your friends with. Cripples the Gemma, but it leaves your powers intact. Can’t experiment with your abilities if I’ve fried your whole Corona Pollentia, right? Right.” - Snare 13.9
  11. “What kind of countermeasures? Would you kill me?”

    “We try to avoid murder in the course of doing business, not just because of the moral issues, but because it draws attention. For leaks, our usual procedure is to discredit the individual in question and deploy our in-house division of parahumans to drive them into hiding, remove their powers or both.”
    [...]
    “We’ll see. In terms of cost, Cauldron requires that the client pay two-thirds of the total amount in advance, and pay the rest over a six year period or default.”

    “Meaning you employ those countermeasures you talked about.”

    “Revoking your powers in the worst case scenario, yes.”

    “Is that revoking of powers a part of the process of however you give people the powers, or is it something that one of your in-house capes does?”

    The Doctor was typing on the computer. Without taking her eyes from the screen, she said, “The latter. You don’t need to worry about someone using a loophole or flaw in the process to take away your abilities.” - Interlude 12.5
  12. Wildbow: Reneging on Cauldron favors - probably a firm reminder. Very firm if it's ~that~ against the spirit of the deal. "What we gave you we can take away. There's a new cape in this city with a key word or phrase that will temporarily take away your connection to your power. They now have license to use it if they run into you, and they'll retain that license until you make it up to us. If you don't shape up and follow through on your commitments, you will lose those powers permanently, and we'll tell your enemies where you are, should you try to run."

    Jicker: harsh, but fair

    Forgery: Huh, I didn't expect their first response being an empty threat like "We can say a word and your power disappears".

    Wildbow: Empty?

    Forgery: Wait, can Cauldron powers be removed with a single word?

    Wildbow: If the person has been slugged.
    [...]
    Forgery: I thought Slug was just the amnesia maker?

    Wildbow: Slug edits brains. Took away memories, set in blocks, set up the Nemesis weakpoints... - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  13. When characters start willfully disengaging from the commitments made to Cauldron, then Cauldron is liable to start applying heavier pressure. They maintain the ability to drop the hammer on the player - a visit from Contessa or Number Man, but they would always prefer to get people back on course, instead. We might see scenarios like…
    [...]
    • “We always knew you would be hard to manage, so we took precautions,” the voice says on the phone. “While you were unconscious after getting your powers, we implanted a key phrase in your head. One of our agents in the city now has that phrase, and they can use it to turn off your power at an inopportune time. What we gave you we can take away.” The threat becomes one of the powers being turned off for good. - WD Cauldron
  14. Jicker: if Cauldron is investing in these capes, it's better to get them back on track if possible

    Wildbow: It's better

    Jicker: at least, that was my line of thinking

    Wildbow: But if they're being total asshats with no sign of redemption, or if there's risk they blab, remove. - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  15. Her hand touched her forehead, and she felt a pair of soft spots, each barely wider across than a dime. She ran her hand over her short hair. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she could guess. Bullets to disable her, surgery to seal her power away.

    Cauldron, apparently, did have a means of locking powers away. Or maybe it was Contessa, doing the work, or perhaps she’d simply been kept alive, carted to Panacea or Bonesaw, who could fix things up.

    But dwelling on those things wasn’t healthy, and it was pointless in the end. She’d likely never get a serious answer. She only had the two dimples or holes in her skull, the sole apparent casualty of some kind of brain surgery. - Interlude: End
  16. There were cheers. I looked at my phone, and I could see the weirdly pretty man. Chains stretched out from the armless, legless figure’s stumps, extending to the high ceiling and the floor, suspending him fifteen or so feet in the air. Dead, or close enough it barely mattered.

    I could also make out Mantellum, at the center of the crowd. He stood beneath the guy they’d strung up, blood running off of the shroud that seemed to flow from his back and the edges of his face. His expression was hard to read, but the fact that he seemed to be luxuriating in the blood rather than avoiding it… it didn’t put him in my good books.

    It looks like we’ve got a full-on riot here,” Imp commented. “Armless dude’s good as dead, they’re splitting up the crowd, so anyone that’s not inside the circle has a few guys who can deal with the ghost janitor.” - Venom 29.5
  17. ViVaVl29: Dropped ward a couple months ago. Just want to know do we ever definitively find out Taylor’s situation?

    Wildbow: In Glow-Worm, it's stated outright that she's gone. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Wildbow: The conclusion is Taylor in a coma, trapped in her own head, with no voluntary control over her body. This is what Contessa meant when she said that Taylor would decide whether she found peace or didn't.

    It's why Tattletale said she'd look after Taylor, and why she wanted to drive the point home for relative strangers who were there as guests. It's why Alec was there, and why her dad was alive, when he had every reason to be dead.

    Brain surgery with a bullet isn't really possible, come on. The real ending is that Taylor is effectively dead but not dead, and has to live with the consequences of her decisions, in a pseudo-afterlife. This ties into the themes of the story. Powerlessness and consequences.

    Intending to make this clearer in the rewrite. Floored me that it didn't come across for most.
    [...]
    /just kidding. Or am I?
    [...]
    The ending is what you want/need it to be. I meant it to be ambiguous, it missed the mark.

    Wildbow: I personally find it rather amusing that some people have gotten on Worm's case for having a 'happy ending', when the main character died.

    Done. Gone from this world. Mourned. Finally getting to meet the loved ones she lost. Left to deliberations over her actions in her former life, and the suffering or peace she's due, depending on the final decisions.

    Maybe it says something about the tone of the story that the main character getting taken out of action is a happy ending.
    [...]
    AKA: finished, gone from the world, mourned, reuniting with lost loved ones, facing a final judgement that will see if she finds peace or torment waiting for her there.

    Some readers interpret it as literal death (and Tattletale was saying Dinah needed to be convinced that she was responsible or partially responsible), with Taylor in the literal afterlife. Some see it as a metaphorical death. But it's a kind of death nonetheless. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit / on OG Myth-Weavers, archived on Spacebattles
  19. Blonk: Isn't Taylor living on Earth Alphe? She went to meet her alt-mom and everything.

    Wildbow: Afterlife
    [...]
    Or coma.
    [...]
    Or alive but severely brain damaged and hallucinating.
    [...]
    Or alive but on Aleph.

    Kite: and here I thought this whole time Contessa was just super nice and fixed it for her
    [...]
    but she was talking her out back and shooting her old yeller style and...
    is it fair to assume Wildbow is trolling us

    Wildbow: It's intentionally vague, and is whichever option you're least happy with, Kite. - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  20. iamnotokaywitthis: If, say, Taylor Hebert popped up in the City post-GM, how would the world react?

    On one hand, she forcefully subverted thousands of parahumans to combat Scion. She's a Master, and Canary got sent to the Birdcage just for being one. She sacrificed lives like chess pieces for the greater good. On the other hand, it's fucking Scion, and Taylor managed to beat him, saving countless lives.

    If Taylor were to show up in the City, would the Wardens consider her hero or villain?

    Wildbow: "Look at this corpse, two bullets in the head. How tragic. Too bad the face is unrecognizable with the exit wounds. Crime's getting so bad in the city these days. I'll call the coroner, you want to order lunch?" - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  21. - Excerpt from Snare 13.9
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