Blocking a telepath

I am not sure if I should post it here. Well I've come across a problem. My protagonist has her mind read by psychic. She realizes her mind is being toyed with when she starts getting nudged into thinking things oddly. She reacts by thinking thoughts that disgust the psychic into stopping.

She latter finds herself in a similar situation but with someone who isn't so sensitive does the same thing and gets the following response "thanks for the show" the attack continues. I've had the idea she would get of it by shutting her mind off it sound a bit too half assed. I need an explanation that makes sense and isn't simply hand waved as magic or meditation.

I should think this over. I feel lazy for posting this.

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.

98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 97 bottles of beer on the wall.

^{and so on}  97 bottles of beer on the wall, 97 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 96 bottles of beer on the wall.

96 bottles of beer on the wall, 96 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 95 bottles of beer on the wall.

95 bottles of beer on the wall, 95 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 94 bottles of beer on the wall.

94 bottles of beer on the wall, 94 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 93 bottles of beer on the wall.

93 bottles of beer on the wall, 93 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 92 bottles of beer on the wall.

92 bottles of beer on the wall, 92 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 91 bottles of beer on the wall.

91 bottles of beer on the wall, 91 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 90 bottles of beer on the wall.

90 bottles of beer on the wall, 90 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 89 bottles of beer on the wall.

89 bottles of beer on the wall, 89 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 88 bottles of beer on the wall.

88 bottles of beer on the wall, 88 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 87 bottles of beer on the wall.

87 bottles of beer on the wall, 87 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 86 bottles of beer on the wall.

86 bottles of beer on the wall, 86 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 85 bottles of beer on the wall.

85 bottles of beer on the wall, 85 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 84 bottles of beer on the wall.

84 bottles of beer on the wall, 84 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 83 bottles of beer on the wall.

83 bottles of beer on the wall, 83 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 82 bottles of beer on the wall.

82 bottles of beer on the wall, 82 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 81 bottles of beer on the wall.

81 bottles of beer on the wall, 81 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 80 bottles of beer on the wall.

80 bottles of beer on the wall, 80 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 79 bottles of beer on the wall.

79 bottles of beer on the wall, 79 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 78 bottles of beer on the wall.

78 bottles of beer on the wall, 78 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 77 bottles of beer on the wall.

77 bottles of beer on the wall, 77 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 76 bottles of beer on the wall.

76 bottles of beer on the wall, 76 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 75 bottles of beer on the wall.

75 bottles of beer on the wall, 75 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 74 bottles of beer on the wall.

74 bottles of beer on the wall, 74 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 73 bottles of beer on the wall.

73 bottles of beer on the wall, 73 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 72 bottles of beer on the wall.

72 bottles of beer on the wall, 72 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 71 bottles of beer on the wall.

71 bottles of beer on the wall, 71 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 70 bottles of beer on the wall.

70 bottles of beer on the wall, 70 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 69 bottles of beer on the wall.

69 bottles of beer on the wall, 69 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 68 bottles of beer on the wall.

68 bottles of beer on the wall, 68 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 67 bottles of beer on the wall.

67 bottles of beer on the wall, 67 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 66 bottles of beer on the wall.

66 bottles of beer on the wall, 66 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 65 bottles of beer on the wall.

65 bottles of beer on the wall, 65 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 64 bottles of beer on the wall.

64 bottles of beer on the wall, 64 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 63 bottles of beer on the wall.

63 bottles of beer on the wall, 63 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 62 bottles of beer on the wall.

62 bottles of beer on the wall, 62 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 61 bottles of beer on the wall.

61 bottles of beer on the wall, 61 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 60 bottles of beer on the wall.

60 bottles of beer on the wall, 60 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 59 bottles of beer on the wall.

59 bottles of beer on the wall, 59 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 58 bottles of beer on the wall.

58 bottles of beer on the wall, 58 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 57 bottles of beer on the wall.

57 bottles of beer on the wall, 57 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 56 bottles of beer on the wall.

56 bottles of beer on the wall, 56 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 55 bottles of beer on the wall.

55 bottles of beer on the wall, 55 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 54 bottles of beer on the wall.

54 bottles of beer on the wall, 54 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 53 bottles of beer on the wall.

53 bottles of beer on the wall, 53 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 52 bottles of beer on the wall.

52 bottles of beer on the wall, 52 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 51 bottles of beer on the wall.

51 bottles of beer on the wall, 51 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 50 bottles of beer on the wall.

50 bottles of beer on the wall, 50 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 49 bottles of beer on the wall.

49 bottles of beer on the wall, 49 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 48 bottles of beer on the wall.

48 bottles of beer on the wall, 48 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 47 bottles of beer on the wall.

47 bottles of beer on the wall, 47 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 46 bottles of beer on the wall.

46 bottles of beer on the wall, 46 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 45 bottles of beer on the wall.

45 bottles of beer on the wall, 45 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 44 bottles of beer on the wall.

44 bottles of beer on the wall, 44 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 43 bottles of beer on the wall.

43 bottles of beer on the wall, 43 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 42 bottles of beer on the wall.

42 bottles of beer on the wall, 42 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 41 bottles of beer on the wall.

41 bottles of beer on the wall, 41 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 40 bottles of beer on the wall.

40 bottles of beer on the wall, 40 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 39 bottles of beer on the wall.

39 bottles of beer on the wall, 39 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 38 bottles of beer on the wall.

38 bottles of beer on the wall, 38 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 37 bottles of beer on the wall.

37 bottles of beer on the wall, 37 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 36 bottles of beer on the wall.

36 bottles of beer on the wall, 36 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 35 bottles of beer on the wall.

35 bottles of beer on the wall, 35 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 34 bottles of beer on the wall.

34 bottles of beer on the wall, 34 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 33 bottles of beer on the wall.

33 bottles of beer on the wall, 33 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 32 bottles of beer on the wall.

32 bottles of beer on the wall, 32 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 31 bottles of beer on the wall.

31 bottles of beer on the wall, 31 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 30 bottles of beer on the wall.

30 bottles of beer on the wall, 30 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 29 bottles of beer on the wall.

29 bottles of beer on the wall, 29 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 28 bottles of beer on the wall.

28 bottles of beer on the wall, 28 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 27 bottles of beer on the wall.

27 bottles of beer on the wall, 27 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 26 bottles of beer on the wall.

26 bottles of beer on the wall, 26 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 25 bottles of beer on the wall.

25 bottles of beer on the wall, 25 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 24 bottles of beer on the wall.

24 bottles of beer on the wall, 24 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 23 bottles of beer on the wall.

23 bottles of beer on the wall, 23 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 22 bottles of beer on the wall.

22 bottles of beer on the wall, 22 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 21 bottles of beer on the wall.

21 bottles of beer on the wall, 21 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 20 bottles of beer on the wall.

20 bottles of beer on the wall, 20 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 19 bottles of beer on the wall.

19 bottles of beer on the wall, 19 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 18 bottles of beer on the wall.

18 bottles of beer on the wall, 18 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 17 bottles of beer on the wall.

17 bottles of beer on the wall, 17 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 16 bottles of beer on the wall.

16 bottles of beer on the wall, 16 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 15 bottles of beer on the wall.

15 bottles of beer on the wall, 15 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 14 bottles of beer on the wall.

14 bottles of beer on the wall, 14 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 13 bottles of beer on the wall.

13 bottles of beer on the wall, 13 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 12 bottles of beer on the wall.

12 bottles of beer on the wall, 12 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 11 bottles of beer on the wall.

11 bottles of beer on the wall, 11 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 10 bottles of beer on the wall.

10 bottles of beer on the wall, 10 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 9 bottles of beer on the wall.

9 bottles of beer on the wall, 9 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 8 bottles of beer on the wall.

8 bottles of beer on the wall, 8 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 7 bottles of beer on the wall.

7 bottles of beer on the wall, 7 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 6 bottles of beer on the wall.

6 bottles of beer on the wall, 6 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 5 bottles of beer on the wall.

5 bottles of beer on the wall, 5 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 4 bottles of beer on the wall.

4 bottles of beer on the wall, 4 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 3 bottles of beer on the wall.

3 bottles of beer on the wall, 3 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 2 bottles of beer on the wall.

2 bottles of beer on the wall, 2 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 1 bottle of beer on the wall.

1 bottle of beer on the wall, 1 bottle of beer. Take one down and pass it around, no more bottles of beer on the wall.

Perhaps the door opens both ways; when she perceives the assault, she can use the link to attack them back.

edited 3rd Oct '13 1:46:27 PM by KillerClowns

I like that idea. I've often thought about a story where someone stymies a telepath by getting an annoying song stuck in their head. Or maybe, depending on the specifics of how the telepathy works, maybe she could slam her own head against a wall or something and hope the pain feedback stuns the attacker long enough to...um, something.

I would actually suggest The Song That Never Ends. Just as tedious, but far more catchy. The telepath would be forced to kill himself to get it out of his head.

edited 3rd Oct '13 5:46:11 PM by Tiamatty

That tactic has actually been used in a Mercedes Lackey book; the character sang They Might Be Giants songs while a telepath was trying to read their mind...the logic was, TMBG songs are so random one has to actively concentrate on the lyrics to remember them, so nothing else can be thought about. Other than TMBG lyrics of course.

Also, since the telepath was a faerie and ignorant of pop culture, that poor faerie ended up getting the worst of it.

I believe the book was titled Chrome Borne.

If the Justice League show taught me anything, its that a very catchy tune can shield you from the worst a telepath can throw at you.

Now I actually kinda want to write a scene of a telepath weaponizing catchy songs to distract people. "Here, have some Justin Bieber. You, spend the rest of the day trying to get Katy Perry out of your head." Maybe use it as a form of torture.

The telepath might be able to deal with having the songs in his/her head because s/he has to constantly deal with hearing the songs other people get stuck in their heads. "Come on, you think this is the first time I've had someone around me thinking about some Garth Brooks song? I spent two hours in a car with someone who had a song by the Olsen Twins stuck in her head. I guarantee you, there is no song you can think of that will be worse than that."

Cue my heart will go on...

Instead of going with obnoxious pop music, go in the opposite direction with a Merzbow "song." Here's a link in case you're curious... and don't say I didn't warn you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGzrL8J0t-c

Personally I've always found the idea that humming an annoying song would completely disarm a telepath to be kind of silly. You'd think that any telepath worth two beans would be able to force their way in your head one way or the other, with the only thing stopping them from doing so is their own restraint.

It was what I was thinking. The said psychic isn't doing this for the first time so he must had encountered this. Annoying songs only work temporally there's no chance of making him go mad. The first asaillent was thwarted by repeative thoughts about bot flies and similar charming subject matter. This time they've sent someone far more experienced.

I've had a crazy idea. Another telepath hacks into his mind while he's too distracted to notice. Someone reads her mind, this repeats five times the last psychic this is sent back to the first and makes his brain go lopsided from the amount of thoughts flying around. It's a bit over the top and lazy I guess.

Well, it depends on what "telepathy" actually consists of here. If they can just skim off surface thoughts, then yeah, forcing a song into the front of your brain shouldn't defeat them, but could create enough static to confuse them or at least buy you some time. Also, actions with little/no conscious component (breathing, the reflexes of many martial artists) wouldn't be greatly effected. Obviously, if they can do what Marvel/DC telepaths can do, you're going to be in for a much rougher time.

Though the fourth season of Being Human gave me an idea- would it be possible to throw a memory (preferably a very traumatic one) at a psychic to wrongfoot them? After all, you've lived with it for however long, but they haven't- in fact, if you're desperate, you could invent one on the spot by, say, stabbing yourself.

Bah. Thoughts not coherent at this time of day.

"She reacts by thinking thoughts that disgust the psychic into stopping."

If your psychic cannot read thoughts beyond what they are thinking now, you can have her suddenly imagining worst possible things imaginable, the creepiest, most insane and depraved stuff in Lovecraftian fashion, and not just texts, but images, sounds, feelings. If the age rating of your story allows it, describe it in detail. Have her immerse herfelf into that. That stuff may hit a psychic pretty hard.

Another tactic might be to empty the mind- zen master style. With nothing to read, the psychic might as well go home. And such a state doesnt prevent the person from doing normal things. With enough training, an expert in meditation can undertake any action without forming any surface thoughts.

Then again, a pistol serves as a pretty good defense as well....

Reminds me of something from a Marvel comic. Peter Wisdom, a spy, was being held in a room that was full of a gas that reacted to strong emotions to cause pain. There was a telepath with him, who was calmly dredging up traumatic memories to torment Wisdom with. Finally, he brought up Wisdom's worst memory - one where he slaughtered a bunch of terrorists . . . and their families. This was the exact memory Wisdom was waiting for the telepath to bring up, because the telepath was shocked and horrified at the brutality with which Wisdom killed them, and that caused the gas to kill him. Wisdom, meanwhile, was completely calm.

It was a pretty cool scene.

Grab the nearest tin-foil hat.

Strike up a conversation with the new voice in your head.

Do mental maths.

Will yourself into a psychotic haze.

Be a hardcore fan of something and launch into a passionate mental rant about it! It's not mindless but if you care about a trivial thing that much it'll take over your mind to a greater extent than an Ear Worm. You can't be on a site about fiction and not mention that, geez.

Psychic Static is pretty common just as a trope so it's probably common enough in a world with telepaths that any expert would have learned to bypass it. If psychic static works to outright block mind-reading, then telepathy is probably dealing with surface conscious thoughts, so it makes sense that shutting off conscious thought would block it... but that'd mean that they're not going to get information you're thinking about in the first place. They could do various tricks to make people think of specific things though. If mind-reading can go deeper than surface thoughts but static just makes a lot of distracting noise as they do it, a skilled psychic could believably just shut out that sort of noise, so you'd have to try to actively get them to stop. If they outright delve into your mind you might be able to harm their psyches directly to force a retreat. Solutions also depend on what resources she has... like, if she isn't pushed back into her mind to stop him, just break his nose, or bite into a hot pepper if they're not in the same room. If she has allies not under attack it's easier to smack him than try to overpower him with psychic might. If she's not in the middle of physical combat she could also. Read a book. Think hard on every sentence. Immerse herself in the world it offers. It doesn't have to be disgusting if it convinces the guy he can't get important information out of her... and if he starts getting into the story then he's out of whatever battle while her allies get to do stuff without his interference.

Er but if you're doing what you yourself consider lazy and aren't thinking about it, a half-assed idea is pretty much what you expect to get, isn't it.

edited 5th Oct '13 10:50:02 AM by greedling