“‘This’ he said, ‘is a stele.’ He touched it to an inked mark just below his shoulder, a curious shape almost like a star. Two arms of the star jutted out from the rest of the mark, unconnected. ‘And this,’ he said, ‘is what happens when Shadowhunters are wounded.’
With the tip of the stele, he traced a line connecting the two arms of the star. When he lowered his hand, the mark was shining as if it had been etched with phosphorescent ink. As Clary watched, it sank into his skin, like a weighted object sinking into water. It left behind a ghostly reminder: a pale, thin scar, almost invisible. …
‘That was an iratze, a healing rune,’ Jace said. ‘Finishing the rune with the stele activates it.’ He shoved the slim wand into his belt and shrugged his jacket back on.” (93-94)
In the Mortal Instruments the characters use steles to gain powers. Steles are used to draw runes onto people’s skin using a special tool. The runes are similar to tattoos but they give the character a special power with each different design giving the character a different power. Some of the powers include painless instant healing, speed, and clairvoyant sight among others. The stele is designed based on the users preference and can appear in many different styles. They can have more than rune at a time, but they are temporary which means that the power that the rune gives them is also temporary.
Our group decided that although the powers produced by the runes are not feasible, some people do experience some changes when they get a normal tattoo. Tattoos can act as placebos and cause people to experience changes. For example, if someone has a scar that reminds them of a tragic event and they cover it with a tattoo it can help them cope mentally and emotionally (Moore). Tattoos can also be used simply as a reminder of sorts or motivation to live a happier and healthier life and can have a profound effect on a person’s life if they believe in it. Also, some cultures, like in Southeast Asia, use tattoos for protection, both spiritually and physically. Tattoos have been used among warriors as well as among monks (Yantra Tattooing).
At the University of California at San Diego electrical engineer Todd Coleman is developing a temporary tattoo that can be used to control machinery. The “tattoos” are barely visible when worn; they are about as thick as a human hair and are made out of material that can stretch and wrinkle like skin. When placed on a person’s forehead the tattoos are able to detect electrical signals linked with brain waves. They are powered by solar power and have antennas to transmit information. When placed on the throat the tattoo is able to detect what the person is simply thinking about saying and is able to translate that electrically. This will help people who lost the ability to speak to communicate with others (Choi).
This new technology is similar to the steles and runes because in a way the temporary tattoos do give people superpowers. They give people the power of mind control over machinery. They are also both temporary. However, they are also different in several ways. The runes are obvious and visible whereas the temporary tattoos are designed to be discrete and almost invisible. Also the temporary tattoos have limited abilities; they can only be used to control machines. But the runes are able to give the user many different powers.
Each member in our group participated in the research for both parts two and three of the project. For the writeups we split them up so that a different person wrote each one.
Choi, Charles Q. "LATEST." Txchnologist. N.p., 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://txchnologist.com/post/43496630304/temporary-tattoos-could-make-electronic-telepathy>.
Knight, Michele. "Psychic tools: what are runes?" The UK's Favourite Psychic. Michele Knight, 1 Apr.
2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.micheleknight.co.uk/articles/psychic-readings/
psychic-tools-what-are-runes/>.
Moore, Jennifer. "Healing Tattoos Interview." Tattoo Medicine. johndturner.com, 7 May 1999. Web. 5
Oct. 2013. <http://spirittattooing.com/articles-interviews/healing/>.
"Mortal Instruments: City of Bones." Blog spot. Blog spot, n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DauQgLARkfg/UlYBGdAF9EI/AAAAAAAAAAg/vGVLp6HiCXw/s320/TMI+Rune.jpg>.
"Runic Tattoos." Runes. Alphabet of Mystery. Sunny way, 4 Sept. 2008. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoos.html>.
"Yantra Tattooing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia, 4 May 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Yantra_tattooing>.
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