Conduits

For a moment there was nothing, and then he started to show me things...

This article contains spoilers concerning inFamous 2. Read at your own risk.

A group of Conduits led by Cole MacGrath, with their abilities unlocked.

Conduits or Bioterrorists are a sub-species of humans who possess superhuman abilities afforded to them by the "Conduit gene". Conduits can be present in both humans and animals, and their abilities can range from manipulation of a certain forms of energy or matter, to flight, enhanced senses and strength, or other physical and mental enhancements. Normal humans, either out of fear, jealousy, or prejudice often detest and reject Conduits, calling them "freaks", "deviants", or "bioterrorists" and, on many accounts, physically abusing them or those suspected to be one.

History

Origins

The Conduit Gene (as seen from Cole's amplified Radar Pulse)

Conduits are the result of a rare mutation in human beings. This ostensibly named "Conduit gene" is naturally occurring. Those with the Conduit gene usually have no powers at birth and may live their whole lives without realizing what they are, with a few ways of identifying Conduit potential. There are rare exceptions to this, but these demonstrated abilities are minor. The gene was a distinctive part of the human anatomy, and can only be seen by a select few. They appear yellow in color, and are located in the torso, near the spinal cord of an individual.

As evidenced by several audio surveillance tapes of Kessler from Dead Drops, several animals such as rats can also hold the Conduit gene. Animals were used as test subjects for the Ray Sphere, which resulted in very unstable results, or worse, the death of the subject.

Activation

A Conduits abilities can be activated by multiple ways, these being:

Ray Sphere

The Ray Sphere was a device used by transferring the neuro-electric energy from a group of people to concentrate it into a human individual to unlock his/her powers. Though it will unlock the dormant abilities of the Conduit, it will kill the catalysts, and worse, cause a catastrophic explosion. Conduits that are caught within the explosion will have their abilities unlocked, though lesser in some form as to those in the center. Power can also be gained from the very inside of the Ray Sphere, a powerful vortex of energy.
(Known products of the process: Cole MacGrath, Joseph Bertrand III, Nix, Alden Tate, Sasha,'John White.)

Power Transfer Device

The Transfer Device used by Bertrand can be used to transfer powers between two Conduits, or to force a human to gain powers (the method works unstably on multiple recipients). Several products of the experiments are often mentally unstable, either going berserk or experiencing trauma. In addition, most of the experiments may end up halved, meaning some experiments only obtain half of the designated abilities they were supposed to receive.
(Known products of the process: The factions of Vermaak 88 and the Department of Unified Protection)

Ray Field Energy Exposure

Prolonged exposure to Ray Field Energy could unlock a Conduit's abilities. This method was also capable of highly advancing a Conduits abilities, and granting additional offsets, such as enhanced smell senses, infrared vision and neuro-electricity. The Beast, a powerful Conduit, was able to unlock other Conduits' powers using this method, by unleashing Ray Field blasts over the cities he attacked, as well as advancing other Conduits' abilities such as Cole MacGrath's Radar Pulse.
(Known products of the process: David Warner, Brooke Augustine. )

Forced Mutation

A Conduit's abilities can be unlocked through a more grotesque and less effective way. Through the use of his powers, Joseph Bertrand was able to turn bearers of the gene, brought to him by his enforcers, into grotesque monsters who've lost all their sanity. They were created out of Bertrand's plan to induce fear into the normal humans, and he allows them to roam free in the city to create chaos.
(Known products of the process: The faction of the Corrupted.)

Naturally

A Conduit is able to unlock his/her powers naturally. However, as evidenced, it appears that although a Conduit can unlock his/her ability this way, the power will not appear until an event occurs that causes pressure on the Conduit. Abigail Walker's powers appeared after she had a fight in school with a girl, Eugene Sims had his powers shown after being repeatedly bullied at school and Henry Daughtry was a criminal always followed by the police. This method was extremely rare although it became common after time, possibly because Ray Field Radiation mutated after the activation of the RFI to destroy the sickness and instantly activate the powers of any Conduit who catches it.
(Known products of the process: Delsin Rowe, Abigail Walker, Eugene Sims, Henry Daughtry.)

Other

There were some rare methods as how Conduits unlocked their abilities. Joseph Bertrand III unlocked Lucy Kuo's powers by removing all of the blood from her body and replacing it with another unidentified liquid, which unlocked her powers.
(Known products of the process: Lucy Kuo.)

Mutations

The activation of the Conduit gene sometimes seems to affect the very physiology of the Conduit, whether its a minor change like Cole or a full mutation like David. For example Kuo's eyes change color and her hair gains a blue tint while Nix has red skin. Other mutations are more extreme such as Sasha who is unnaturally pale, bald and has a tongue split into several tendrils. The most severe case is that of David Warner who has gained significant size, blue skin and two extra arms after being exposed to the Ray Sphere several times. Cole is a unique example, as he only gained blue eyes as his appearance will only change if he is evil, hinting at a connection between the Conduits body and powers with their overall mentality.

General Abilities

Conduits are known to process several abilities beyond their unique 'superpower'.

• Enhanced Strength: Most, if not all Conduits possess the ability physically exert themselves with ease. Delsin demonstrates this when he easily removes his brother's arm from Abigail. He could also hit and kick harder than humanly possible, allowing him to kick a downed enemy several feet through the air. This trait also allows them to fight off several heavily armed opponents without tiring, even while being near death. They also gain greater strength when tapping into their powers, which charges them on a molecular level and causes them to generate greater force and cause greater damage. When this happens, they generate an aura that possesses the traits of their element.
• Particle Charge Manipulation: Conduits can generate great amounts of energy and force between molecules and particles around them, on them, or even part of them, allowing them to generate greater kinetic energy and other forces. This allows them to perform greater physical feats than humans.
• Enhanced Durability: Conduits are far more resistant to physical harm than a normal person.
• Enhanced Stamina: Conduits tire slower than a normal person, but not indefinitely.
• Healing Factor : Conduits heal faster than the normal person, allowing them to fully heal and recover in minutes, especially when exposed to their element. Their healing takes place on a molecular level, instantly re-materializing any part of their anatomy that is damaged. This causes them to be unable to succumb to regular injuries and an exponential amount of damage would be required in order to be killed. Conduits' healing only takes effect after a minute. Exposure to their element makes their healing fully repair them in a millisecond. It would seem that clothing they wear is also repaired as they show no sign of damage after a conduit uses their fast healing even if torn through. Their healing generates an aura with the traits of their element.

Developing

Once a Conduit's powers are unlocked, said power will then develop, which usually requires a catalyst. There are several ways to develop powers. These are:

The Ray Sphere

Even after a Conduit's powers have been unlocked, further use of the Ray Sphere will improve one's abilities, enhancing endurance and strength, or granting a new power, or both.
(Known practitioners: Evil Cole MacGrath )

Blast Shards

Collecting and absorbing a set amount of Blast Shards will improve one's power, though the number of shards needed will rise accordingly. Blast Shards are useful although they are considered a very slow way to develop a Conduit's powers.
(Known practitioners: Delsin Rowe , Cole MacGrath .)

Exercising Powers

A Conduit is capable of developing his powers by exercising his/her powers in different ways. This technique, while it cannot grant new abilities, grants different variations of unlocked abilities, as well as permenant upgrades to abilities.
(Known practitioners: Cole MacGrath, Abigail Walker.)

Blast Cores

Blast Cores can be used to quickly develop new abilities though in turn it will render the Conduit unconscious for a set amount of time (until the introduction of Core Relays which allow a Conduit to absorb the raw energy of a Blast Core without going unconscious). Due to the efficiency of Blast Cores, they are scarce and very valuable, which caused Conduits to fight over them (including Cole MacGrath, the Vermaak 88 and Joseph Bertrand III).
(Known practitioners: Delsin Rowe , Cole MacGrath, Joseph Bertrand III.)

Exposure to Element

Conduits can develop their powers by absorbing their elements or energy relating to their elements. The amount needed can vary, as Cole MacGrath originally developed his powers by passing eleciticity enough to power up half a district of a city, while Delsin Rowe developed Neon by absorbing a much smaller amount.
(Known practitioners: Delsin Rowe , Cole MacGrath .)

Coping

In very rare occasions, a Conduit is able to develop his/her powers by having their body try to cope with tough situations to survive. Abigail Walker was able to practice this as she was able to develop her powers over time by coping with near-fatal conditions. A rat that Kessler was experimenting on was also able to develop wings in order to allow the rat to escape.
(Known practitioners: Abigail Walker. )

Power Combination

Cole and Kuo, combining their powers.

Some of Wolfe's notes talked about the theory that two Conduits, compatible ones, might be able to combine their powers.
― Lucy Kuo, during her time with Cole MacGrath as she tested her powers.

According to Dr. Sebastian Wolfe, the abilities of two Conduits can help produce better and more satisfactory results in terms of combat efficiency. Cole was able to exhibit this during his time with Kuo and Nix. The former (Kuo) was able to combine powers with Cole by utilizing her control over ice and his electrokinesis power, being able to freeze enemies and turn them into ice blocks. The latter (Nix) was able to combine powers with Cole by utilizing her control over fire and flammable substances such as oil to restrain enemy units, and give Cole an opportunity to blast them with his abilities.

Later on, Cole is able to gain one of the two Conduit's abilities through the Power Transfer Device, which in turn, helps maximize the synchronization between Cole and the selected Conduit.

Effects on Society

Cole MacGrath

Main article: Cole MacGrath Cole MacGrath was one of the earliest known Conduits to the public's eyes, and was thus the subject to a lot of criticism. Although the truth about him was suppressed at the beginning by the Government in an attempt to keep Conduits a secret, Cole soon became well known as "The Demon of Empire City", and the truth behind powers was exposed, with Cole holding the responsibility of the Conduits' image, either making the people love them, or fear them. Long after Cole's death, a lot of Conduit criticism was made on Conduits depending on Cole's image. Brooke Augustine used Cole's image to make the people fear Conduits by referencing the destruction caused by him. There were still a few people who knew the truth about Cole, including the city of New Marias which proclaimed Cole their patriot saint and placed his Amp in front of their church. 

The Militia, The Corrupted, Vermaak 88 And Joseph Bertrand III

Main article: Militia

Conduits are not a part of the divine plan! They are a product of science, fueled by man's greed and the whisper of the Devil into our ears, Cole!
― Bertrand's opinion.

The Militia apprehend those who they deem "deviants".

An independent party at the city of New Marais known as the Militia, has been created as a movement against all of the Conduits, led by Joseph Bertrand III. They would use force to gather civilians that they deem are Conduits, and then send them to Bertrand who would secretly turn them into monsters who the Militia would fight to look like heroes to the people's eyes.

This setup was made by Bertrand to ensure that normal humans would hate Conduits, by making them believe all Conduits were like monsters. This was in Bertrand's much greater plan, which was to make people hate Conduits which in turn made the world leaders see how powerful they are. This would allow Bertrand to sell dangerous, mentally-ill Conduit to the world leaders which would create a Human-against-Conduit world war, which would include all innocent Conduits being treated just like the mentally-ill Conduits.

Department of Unified Protection

A DUP Conduit check point.

Main article: Department of Unified Protection

We are living in a world of either them or us, and we MUST survive.
― Brooke Augustine to Abigail Walker.

Years after the Empire Event and the activation of the RFI, the Department of Unified Protection (D.U.P. for short) was formed to capture all Conduits, re-branded as Bioterrorists, to throw them into their security base, Curdun Cay. This was, however, a disguise for the DUP's real purpose; instead of protecting humans from Conduits, the DUP was actually aimed to protect the Conduits from humans. The humans which have come to hate Conduits out of fear after the incident with the Beast.

The DUP was formed after Brooke Augustine, which was both military and Conduit, had to decide on which side she would stand after being confronted by the Military with her new found powers and another young Conduit. In a heap of pressure, Augustine created a third choice by encasing the Conduit in concrete, thus earning the government's trust. The DUP was thus formed to house all captured Conduits to protect them from a world that hates them and sees them as a disease.

After 6 years, the goverment believed that all Conduits had been captured, and thus saw no use of the DUP. The goverment ordered Augustine to hand over the work to them, and stopped funding the DUP. To make the government believe that the DUP was still needed, Augustine orchestrated a plan to unleash four trained Conduits (Henry Daughtry, Abigail Walker, Eugene Sims and Celia Penderghast) to cause chaos on Seattle, and thus show the goverment that she and her men are still needed.

Delsin Rowe, Abigail Walker and Eugene Sims

I'm not gonna be like them, okay? I'm gonna be different, I'm not there doing what they're doing, I'm gonna be like Super Man.
― Delsin Rowe about Conduits

A Conduit named Delsin Rowe had arrived to Seattle in order to steal Augustine's Concrete powers to heal his tribe which was slowly dying because of Augustine interrogating them. During his time there, Delsin met Abigail whom was set by Augustine to cause havoc, and instead influenced her to become a good person. Later on Delsin encounters Eugene and once again influences him to protect normal humans and aid him in his search for Augustine. Henry Daughrty later flees the city instead of causing havoc, and eventually Celia decides not to cause chaos as well after seeing how Delsin was proving that humans and Conduits could co-exist, thus ruining Augustine's plan. After a long-fought battle, Delsin defeats Augustine using her power and the DUP shatters, and a new era begins of humans living with Conduits in peace.

Lesser Conduits

There are several Conduits that appear to have lesser abilities, and perform less efficiently than most major Conduits, often acting as leaders of a small group of enemies patrolling an area. There are several different variants, from several different factions, each with their own distinctive traits and powers.

Reapers

Several Golem Conduits, approaching Cole at Eagle Point Penitentiary.

• Reaper Conduit: Unusually taller than most of their fellow Reapers, this Conduit is able to teleport short distances, and cause fissures across the ground, nearly able to level any surface he can stand on. They also have the ability to transform into pedestrians, gaining the ability to speak, which acts as a disguise for them. Their attire is a black and white hoodie, similar in form with its fellow Reapers, and uses a rifle to go along with his abilities.

Dust Men

• Armored Conduit: A large Conduit with collected scrap metal strapped across his back, he is able to summon several Scrap Crabs to assist him in combat. Other than that, he utilizes an RPG-7 when taking on enemies.
• Golem Conduit: A Dust Man, who has collected several pieces of scrap metal, forming them into a large protective husk, resembling a metal golem. The husk can perform several attacks, such as blast scrap metal similar to a mini-gun, and also generate small metal boulders.

First Sons

• Aura Conduit: A tall unit clad in armor and apparatuses, this Conduit is able to generate a giant "aura" around himself, which aids him greatly both offensively and defensively.
• Cloaking Conduit: A Conduit with the same appearance as the above Conduit, he is able to use cloaking, rendering himself invisible from his enemies. He's paired his ability with a shotgun, which is very effective when he gets too close.

Conduit factions

There are factions that are composed of all Conduits, though they function and possess powers of the same level as the lesser Conduits. The powers and appearance of each individual members in the faction vary, and most often, small troops of the faction are lead by a stronger Conduit.

So far, only two factions are primarily Conduits: Vermaak 88 and the Corrupted. Listed below are the stronger, specifically named, variants of the factions.

Vermaak 88

The Devourer and the Titan, two stronger variants of the Corrupted and Vermaak 88 respectively.

• Crusher: A large and brutal ice soldier, this Conduit is able to cause ice to spike off the ground in almost any direction, be it straight or scattered. He is also able to use some form of telekinesis, as he is able to carry the ice blocks made by his attacks, and throw it to his designated target.
• Titan: An even larger brute whose whole body has become completely encased in ice, this Conduit is able to generate large ice spikes and generate and throw blocks of ice to enemies. He is also capable of spraying a harmful fluid-like ice onto enemies. This Conduit may also regenerate lost body parts.

Corrupted

• Ravager: A large grotesque variation of the Corrupted, this monster is able to spew a corrosive green fluid, similar to most of the Corrupted. It is also able to burrow underground, and charges at its enemies very violently. This Conduit may also pin down it's targets and finish them off.
• Hive Lord: A stronger variant of the Ravager, the Hive Lord is able to summon several Spikers from pods unearthed by it, and is also capable of the abilities a Ravager can perform.
• Devourer: A giant turtle-like monster, which has a very thick shell that deflects most harmful projectiles. This monster can spew giant portions of the green fluid the Corrupted all seem to bear, and also uses a long tongue to eat civilians and hostiles.

Government-made Conduits

Two Conduits created by the military fighting David Warner.

Created by the government and military as a counter-measure in case their first asset, Cole MacGrath, rebelled. These Conduits were brutishly large and strong, with bald heads and brown-ish skin. These Conduits' abilities were forced out, via extensive experimentation. However they were removed from their isolation tanks (used to house them during their treatment) prematurely at the instruction of Moya Jones when David Warner attacked the USS George Washington in search of Cole MacGrath. Many of these conduits died during the fight with David and it is unknown if any of them survived the battle.

Types

There are two types of Conduits, these being Prime Conduits and, as mentioned above, Lesser Conduits. The Prime Conduits are Conduits capable of being activated and wield unique powers while Lesser Conduits are Conduits that can't be activated, but can wield given powers by having powers transferred to them, the prime example being the DUP. The issue is that, while Lesser Conduits are not as dangerous as Prime Conduits, they can still be detected to hold the gene by a Blast Shard test (by seeing if a Blast Shards reacts to a person, it can be determined if he/she is a Conduit or not).

Major Conduits

Listed here are several of the major Conduits who harbor a much more immense power than most other Conduits.

• Abigail Walker
• Alden Tate
• Brooke Augustine
• Celia Penderghast
• Cole MacGrath/Kessler
• David Warner
• Delsin Rowe
• Eugene Sims
• Hank Daughtry
• John White/The Beast
• Joseph Bertrand
• Lucy Kuo
• Nix
• Sasha

Known Conduit Abilities

• Carpentry Manipulation
• Concrete Manipulation
• Cryokinesis
• Electrokinesis/Electromagnetism
• Energy Manipulation
• Flight
• Glass Manipulation
• Gravity Manipulation
• Magnetic Manipulation
• Masonry Manipulation
• Metal Manipulation
• Mirror Manipulation
• Napalm Manipulation
• Neon Manipulation
• Organic Manipulation
• Paper Manipulation
• Plant Manipulation
• Power Absorption
• Power Development
• Pressurized Water Manipulation
• Pyrokinesis
• Shadow Manipulation
• Shape Shifting
• Smoke Manipulation
• Steam Manipulation
• Steel Manipulation
• Street Manipulation
• Tar Manipulation
• Telekinesis
• Teleportation
• Telepathy
• Time Travel
• Video Manipulation
• Wire Manipulation

Trivia

• The word "conduit" is sometimes used to refer to a person who channels something.
• A conduit, in terms of electricity, is a structure containing one or more ducts.
• A conduit is a general term for a means of conveying something from one location to another or between persons, like a telephone.
• So far, only John White and Cole MacGrath (after being given the power by John) can see the Conduit gene within an individual. How the NSA were able to deduce Kuo and John as carriers of the gene is so far unknown.
  • However, the Militia also seemed to be aware of civilians who bear the Conduit gene, as they apprehend most of them and send them to Bertrand. How they are able to see the gene is so far unknown, although it was said in one of Dr. Wolfe's Dead Drops that Bertrand had Wolfe work on a sort of "Conduit tracking device". It is unknown if Dr. Wolfe finished this project.
  • In inFamous: Second Son, the government has developed a test that takes a sample of blood from a person to scan for the Conduit gene. The DUP has a machine that administers the test at checkpoints throughout Seattle. Additionally mobile radar stations and drones powered by Blast Cores and Blast Shards respectively are used to detect and locate conduit energy in humans.
• Draining a Conduit in inFamous will be attributed to the "Dark Feast" stunt and restraining one will be attributed to the "Tough Collar" stunt. The EXP award is the same as when performed on a regular enemy unit.
• In Zeke's story in InFamous: Festival of Blood a Conduit's blood is capable of resurrecting vampires from the dead.
• In a UCG story made by Sucker Punch, Cole mentions the idea that Vampires may be a special type of Conduit. This would make them the first type of Conduit to exist as the first vampires dated back long before the events of the first InFamous.
• Conduits appear to have an enhanced resistance and endurance to physical injuries and damage, even before their powers are activated. Here are the known events that imply their enhanced resistance:
  • Cole MacGrath was, before gaining his powers, once hit by a truck with an impact that would have killed any man, running over Cole's legs. Despite this, he was able to recover with only a few bruises, after one night in the hospital.
  • John White was able to survive being very close, but not in, the Blast Radius of the Empire City Blast. After the explosion, he was able to walk into the center and pick up the Ray Sphere, and escape. However, most who were close to the Blast died from the explosion. He was also able to withstand a beating done by one of the First Sons' henchmen for a set amount of time before passing out.
  • Lucy Kuo managed to survive a car crash and the explosion that followed, without any major injuries. However, the crash killed Dr. Sebastian Wolfe.
  • Even though Conduits can gain powers from Ray Field energy, they can also contract the Plague, as seen by the Conduit that John created and several civilians that Cole encounters in New Marais. A possible reason for this is that it requires special exposure to Ray Field Energy to activate powers, and the passive catching of it via the Plague still proves fatal. Activated Conduits on the other hand, do not catch the Plague and can actually absorb the energy from other people.
• It was revealed that the DUP "renames" Conduits into Bioterrorists since the death of Cole MacGrath, possibly to make it easier to cover up their deeds to the public. In game, Bioterrorist is also spelled Bio-Terrorist. Despite this, most promotional material still spells it as Bioterroist. The reason for the change in-game is unknown.
• According to the Conduit Rights League, Conduits may "change the landscape of medicine forever," and many scientists believe reverse engineering a Conduit's healing factor and applying it to humans and drugs.
  • It also states that through learning more about their matter and energy manipulation powers, humans could revolutionize physics, chemistry, manufacturing, and with said powers can enhance human experience, entertainment, and self exploration.
• It is unknown exactly how the Conduits survived the Ray Field Inhibitor as every Conduit on the planet was supposedly wiped out by it, there is an explanation presented in-game: The Ray Field Plague survived and mutated so that instead of killing people who aren't Conduits it instead turned people into Conduits. It's also speculated, that when Zeke hit the RFI with the AMP in InFamous 2, it somehow damaged the device, causing certain Conduits to be missed. However, no official canonical explanation is given.
• Conduits appear to age slower than normal humans once their powers are activated. Kessler, who was in his mid/late-thirties, traveled back to at least the 1950's, and took over the First Sons while Alden Tate was still a child. Years later in the first InFAMOUS, Tate is shown to be in his sixties while Kessler who would've been nearly a century looked roughly the same age as Alden.
  • However one of John White's dead drops reporting his findings on Kessler states that he'd led the First Sons for decades but always vanishes for long periods of time. Since Kessler could time travel it's possible he was travelling forward in time and was mistaken to have been nearly a century old to those not aware of his abilities.
• Conduits share many similarities with Mutants from Marvel, more specifically, the X-Men, since both of them share unique supernatural powers and both of them are feared, hated, detested and rejected for this reason. A common similarity given between Conduits/Bioterrorists and Mutants, is the plot given at the end of InFamous 2, and Second Son and the plotline of M Day. Where in, the majority of Conduits were killed via the RFI while in M-Day "98%" of Mutants had either lost their powers or died due to Scarlet Witch. While in X-Men it was eventually explained that certain, more powerful mutants got to keep their powers, there are only vague hints dropped in Second Son as to why there are still Conduits after the RFI went off, let alone Conduits from before the RFI like Augustine or Cecilia.

References

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