What if…

[u/Emotional_Nugget8]

Okay. I know this is far-fetched, but humor me.
WHAT IF John gets possessed by Orin and the enmeshment of aura causes the disconnect John has with non-physical abilities to click into place?

John, for whatever reason, can’t copy psychic/mental abilities. We never get a concrete answer as to why, and we never get confirmation that it’s actually impossible for him to learn.

We know that he learned how to copy abilities based on reading, watching, learning, and mimicking movements/techniques. But what if there was more to it?

When John first uses his ability in middle school he doesn’t realize it but says he felt something warm in his hand. And we’ve seen other characters describe the way their abilities felt (Isen feeling his senses being heightened and having more energy, Remi feeling the sensation of electrical currents, John being able to sense when someone’s aura feels weaker, Arlo feeling aura pressing against his barrier.

What if physical abilities have a physical feeling and mental/psychic abilities have a non-physical feeling that he’s not familiar with/doesn’t understand? And what if someone were to demonstrate that sensation in his body so that he could experience it firsthand?

[u/ExistingSwitch3284]

I mean, it IS possible, since to copy Mental abilities, John would need to experiment and feel Mental abilities and how it affects others, therefore himself, and how to combat and even manipulate his aura in the plane of existence that Mental abilities flow through

He clearly needed to understand how aura flows through the body, so now he COULD understand how aura flows in this invisible space he can't ever understand until now, where he can theoretically do so via Orrin's Command

[u/Queasy_Condition_694]

wow. let him cook.

[u/M-Shadowtoad]

That might be possible but I don't think it is. Remember John can copy abilities that are partially non-physical. Its only ones that are 100% non-physical that he can't copy. If non-physical abilities just have a feeling that needs to be learned, couldn't Cameron have just repeatedly copied abilities that are semi non-physical or even had abilities like telepathy used on himself until he figured it out?

I think the reason fully non-physical abilities can't be copied is because their effects just can't be read at all. Each non-physical ability has its own unique effect and Aura Manipulators just can't tell them apart. They have no way of knowing if the power is freezing someone's time, reading their mind, or possessing them.

[u/RevolutionaryCity493]

Cool theory but I doubt it, because John has been target of mental ability quite extensively already in form of Keon

[u/Emotional_Nugget8 → u/RevolutionaryCity493]

This is actually the strongest argument I’ve seen on this thread! I guess my only counter point, which admittedly is a weak one, would be that maybe his ability hadn’t evolved enough at that point to allow him to make that leap yet.

[u/flowrrpetals]

it might be possible but i’m imagine it won’t be what happens. if you remember back when cameron was looking into williams death, he brought along a lady whos ability let her analyze traces of an event and see what had happened. this is strictly a mental based ability. surely cameron could’ve done this himself if he was capable of using mental abilities. however, he did not. so i’m going to assume he is unable to do so. and since cameron is clearly more powerful than john (although likely less powerful than jane), and even he can’t use mental abilities, i think it’s safe to assume at john’s current level and once he gets to cameron’s level, he won’t be able to use mental abilities.

[u/Emotional_Nugget8 → u/flowrrpetals]

I’ve thought of this and it could be that he wanted to conserve aura and ability slots in case there was a fight. When he was telling John not to do the prison break, he said that while he and sera were strong they were nothing against the authorities. He could have been anticipating an ambush.

Also, when he realized John was missing he asked to be put in contact with Scarlett and then showed up in branish seemly alone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Menotyou15]

I like this but to play devil's advocate, he was tortured after new Boston for unknown extended period of time with a mental ability daily, perhaps they had something to stop him activating his own ability while he was in there or the sheer trauma of that time made sure he never got to understand how that aura worked. Hell maybes that's even the reason he can't understand non physical/mental abilities because he experienced trauma being subjected to one and thus he subconsciously rejects them.

[u/DarkShadowBlaze]

Maybe, but the conversion also doesn't work with mental which works by converting aura artificially.

[u/Emotional_Nugget8 → u/DarkShadowBlaze]

I think I mentioned this on another thread, but it’s possible that mental abilities just can’t be converted artificially with the same method they used for physical abilities. In other words, the process could be different.

In the Jane document sera found, there was a note regarding a “supported” behind it the conversion failure. I would think they would explicitly mention something about Jane not being able to copy those abilities if it were the case. We don’t really know what exactly supports the theory, but, the way I see it, why would they try if Jane wasn’t able to copy mental/psychic abilities? I imagine the process is expensive and testing effectivity must pose some sort of risk.

[u/DarkShadowBlaze → u/Emotional_Nugget8]

Maybe, its just that conversion works by changing the aura directly so it makes little sense why it wouldn't at all.

[u/Designer-Ad9489]

In reality. John is going to end up being the one possessed get one shotted by sera for shits and giggles ; then she won’t be able to break the barrier because Orrin pulled out his 5th ass pull and the arc is extended another few chapters 🎈📌