Superhuman Ability Modules

Superhuman Ability Modules, known as SAMs, are an open-source project that allow the creation and sale of superpowers, which is possible due to the nature of the New Real's creation. The development and study of SAMs and SAM users is known as Metathaumatics.

While rules toward balancing the capabilities of SAMs generally do not exist, there are some guidelines in place.
 * Nullify is the default SAM which all people in the New Real have if they have not purchased another SAM, and it's powers cannot be overridden by any other Virtue's effects.
 * Omnipotence, Nigh Omnipotence, Omniscience and any other power which could be expected to have no limits is scientifically impossible, for a number of reasons ranging from quantum physics to the techniques used in the construction of the New Real.
 * Mind Control and any other power which could be expected to override free will is neurologically impossible, due to the nature of the conscious and unconscious mind.

Bug Catcher wants to battle!
There is a central bug-reporting database for SAMs, accessible via the afternet. A relatively large percentage of computer terminal usage at the Library of Virtually Everything is by SAM users who don't own a computer.

How do SAMs work?
The New Real is less of a "real world" and more of a dream world with a skeleton of mathematical equations. These guidelines of physics are derived from the Laws of Physics in the Old Real.

As a result, the SAM API can influence reality in the same way a lucid dreamer can do things in dreams not seen in the waking world of the Old Real.

SAM Types
The SAM API is not limited to providing the kind of powers easily categorized in a Superpower Wiki.

Some SAMs are rumored to be Lexes (Latin for "words"; singular form, "word", is "Lexis"), custom and one-of-a-kind reality hacks created by either Leonardo da Vinci or another member of the Illuminated Brotherhood, which could predate most other SAMs by decades or even centuries and have been ported to use the SAM API only relatively recently. Each Lexis provides a high degree of control over things related to what it is named after, within conscious sensory range of the user. For example, while Borderline is specifically meant to provide Boundary Manipulation, it does so not by targeting things the SAM defines as boundaries, but by targeting things that the user unconsciously views as boundaries.

Aside from Lexes, there are several Superhuman Ability Modules being developed, including...
 * Trinkets, which are portable or stationary items with no moving parts, that are linked to the SAM API and can thus act like magical items.
 * Facets, which consist of an ability derived from a Psychoneurogram of a person and which are part of a chart of abilities known as the Crystallic Table as well as a chart of "character classes" known as the Divine Tapestry.
 * Gizmos, which are mechanical and/or electrical items whose mechanisms are linked to the SAM API, and can thus act like fantastical inventions.
 * Widgets, which are a user interface that overlays onto the New Real as part of eXtended Reality.
 * Mobs, which are sophiological avatars for pets that can be applied after catching a "Mobling" in the wild. Due to regulations, having a pet requires a license and having more than one pet is a privilege, not a right. Catching Moblings to gain a Mob Form for your pet allows a bit of variety without overdoing how many animal friends you have.
 * Anthems, which consist of an object or entity called an "Instrument" which can be utilized to cause effects which are only loosely limited in scope.
 * Virtues, which are the most well-known SAM type, due to encompassing Nullify and all other "typical superpowers".
 * Vices, which are identical in structure to Virtues but have "mature" purposes and expire after 4 hours.

Avatars
Biological avatars are a modern name for a very old concept. Ancient Egyptian resurrections were the first to apply a name for the biologically-immortal bodies which were only momentarily retained after resurrection; the word Khet, derived from an Ancient Egyptian term meaning "a person's physical body as part of their soul", was repurposed to describe the biological body. While Khet is a common name still, the most common name currently used for a biological body is a Sapiens (from "Homo sapiens").

A Sophiological Avatar will often come with minor abilities and visual attributes, which are used to classify "species" of avatars like Furries, Vampires or Toons. Such abilities, which have been referred to as Quirks since the 16th Century, are like pseudo-SAMs due to being based on ideas rather than biological traits. People have been trying to understand the means by which a Sapiens is able to affect the New Real with mental output beyond placebo effect for centuries, with mysteries such as the Evil Eye or True Names only recently having made any progress toward explanations.

A sophiological avatar which was built by request is known as a Semblance, while an avatar formed from a person's psyche ("Soulsearching") is known as a Soul.

SAM Usage & Creation Code of Ethics
SAM users are held to a standard of morality similar to the Hippocratic Oath, although this only applies to "powers" like Virtues, Vices, Songs and Facets. Creation of "powers" has much tighter restrictions that require a SAM programmer to get a specialized legal degree to produce "unlocked" SAMs, and without this law degree a SAM only functions for 4 hours after being activated before it reverts to being a copy of Nullify.

Both usage and creation of Artifacts, Gizmos, and Widgets are mostly unregulated.

Size Shifting
Size shifting with Superhuman Ability Modules is restricted to one of three sizes...


 * Small Scale, in which the size of an object is 1/20th the size of Default Scale.
 * Default Scale, in which the size of an object is unaltered.
 * Large Scale, in which the size of an object is 20 times the size of Default Scale.

Due to the square-cube law, the Large Scale would weigh far too much if density remained the same. Densities of Sophiological avatars decrease at Large Scale to enable a size-shifted object or avatar to operate as they would at Default Scale, while densities also decrease at Small Scale to make falls from tables or hands less dangerous.