Day 3

[from Project Nero]

The human phenomenon known as "Focus" has persisted throughout recorded history. It is thought that this mysterious power is what allowed homo sapiens to survive, diversify, and ultimately becoming the dominant life force on the planet. However, the exact biological mechanisms behind it are as yet unknown, and numerous studies have failed to identify what causes this power to manifest itself, or why only humanity is blessed with it. Focus is thus deemed by most modern civilizations to be a form of magic, or a gift from the gods.

What is known is that, once a person has turned sixteen, they are able to unlock an ability beyond what an Unfocused human is capable of. This ability is itself usually known as "a Focus". To unlock this power, one must consume a quantity of liquid taken from a "Focus Spring", a special natural spring of which hundreds are known to exist. In modern Focus rituals, this consumption is undertaken at the person's house on their sixteenth birthday, rather than at a Spring itself. The traditional dosage is 100ml, though for most people, anywhere between 50-75ml is sufficient.

Focuses were once thought to be unique to each living human, however in modern times it is known that even with the millions of possible Focuses that can be unlocked, it is almost inevitable that at least one other human, living or dead, will share that same Focus. Some cultures believe that a person's Focus is retained between reincarnations; others believe that two people with the same Focus are natural soul-mates. While there are a handful of recorded instances of the latter, neither theory has ever been definitely proven.

The Focus that a person receives does not appear to follow any logical pattern. Focuses are not passed down through family lines, and are not usually linked to the life the person had led prior to unlocking their Focus. The Focus a person receives is thus thought to be completely random.

Focuses vary in power, restrictions, and other specifics. While there is a proven correlation between the power of a Focus and the restrictions governing its use, this correlation is weak and there are numerous outliers. For example, one man's Focus may be the ability to jump ten feet in the air, while another's may be to jump fifteen feet but only at night. A third may be able to jump twenty feet without restriction.

Even after it has been unlocked, a person's Focus is unknown to them, however, in the immediate aftermath of the ritual many experience a "strange and sudden urge" to perform an action which, when performed, reveals their Focus. For example, one whose Focus is the ability to walk up walls may have a sudden, inexplicable urge to walk up the wall in front of them. Discovering the person's Focus in this way is usually treated as a second part of the ritual, and the traditional advice given to newly-Focused people is simply: "do whatever comes naturally".

A number of Focuses have destructive capabilities, and it is estimated that around 100 people are killed every year worldwide by people using their Focuses for the first time. However, newly-Focused individuals are immune from prosecution for any crimes they may accidentally commit upon first using their Focus, and almost all insurers cover ritual-related damage as standard.

As with almost anything in modern human society, Focuses can be misused. Many criminals use their Focuses to help them either commit their crimes or escape from the law, and there are numerous accounts of people using their Focuses to facilitate crimes ranging from fraud and deception to theft, kidnap and murder. For some of these individuals, the nature of their abilities makes apprehending or incarcerating them extremely difficult, and in some countries (but not Vale) a "Focused homicide" is punishable by death. Famous Focused fugitives include Rachel "Cammy" Adams, who evaded Vale authorities throughout the 1950s, Eduardo Conceição, who started the Great Santa Lupe fire that killed over 400 people, and the modern-day gangster and hitman known as Nero, who as of the time of writing has been evading authorities in Port Elizabeth for over two years.

In rare cases, people may choose not to undergo the ritual; those who do not are known as the Unfocused. In exceptionally rare circumstances, a person may have no Focus at all or be unable to complete the ritual. Attitudes towards the Unfocused vary between societies. Some treat lack of Focus as being akin to a physical disability; others shun those without Focuses and make outcasts of them; still others believe that having no Focus means that God has deemed them perfect as they are, and revere them. In Vale, for the most part, public perception of the Unfocused has shifted towards the positive within the last century and they now enjoy legal equality. Efforts are underway to make it illegal to force a person to undertake the Focus ritual against their will.