Phantasm

Biodata

Nature and Properties

Forms

• Phantasms have no standard physical form. Known examples include a body-wrapping strap, a giant candle, tailoring tools, a remote control, and an intangible rumor 4 9 32 33.
• Some closely resemble ordinary objects. Experienced Hunters nevertheless experience a sixth-sense intuition around them, particularly when a Phantasm is active 47.
• Chai Si observes that apparent craftsmanship and material quality tend to correspond to value and usefulness. Cheap-looking Phantasms generally have more limited functions, though those functions can still be practical 32.

Effects and Instructions

• Their effects range from modest improvements, such as raising a person’s IQ by five points, to rejuvenation and changes to history 4 9 13.
• Some form of item description generally appears near a Phantasm in the Nest. Candle Tears’ instructions are presented as a museum exhibit description 9 26.
• Power does not imply unrestricted use. Candle Tears can reverse history and restore a lost life, but its description states that it cannot be used to attack 26.
• Certain Phantasms can affect people who do not know they possess one. The subway driver carrying Rumor unknowingly combines information into a story he immediately believes 34 36.

Intelligence

• Rumor demonstrates limited intelligence, speech, and self-preservation. It attempts to protect itself when Chai Si threatens its host 36 37.
• Chai Si describes this intelligence as unusually valuable for a Phantasm, but distinguishes it from the greater intelligence and self-awareness of a resident 37.
• Rumor can commandeer its host’s speech organs. Chai Si nevertheless concludes that it cannot control the host’s bodily movements 37 42.

Lifespan Outside the Nest

• Phantasms eventually expire and disappear after leaving the Nest; they do not accumulate permanently in the human world 32.
• The remote-control Phantasm has a six-month lifespan outside the Nest. This short duration leads Chai Si to value it at only $20,000 32.
• Their eventual disappearance sustains demand for Hunters to retrieve replacements 32.

Acquisition and Handling

Retrieval

• False Image Hunters enter the Nest to obtain Phantasms for use or sale. Wealthy political and business figures in Blackmoor City pay high prices for them 13.
• Access depends on individual Pathways. Hunters cannot simply return together through a shared passage, complicating the removal of enormous objects such as Candle Tears 9.
• Phantasms can be acquired at recurring supply points. Hunters visit the Vending Machine on Ninety-Ninth Street and generally follow a first-come, first-served order 43.
• Possession attracts competition. Jonah’s group is hired to obtain Mai Minghe’s Phantasm, and he warns that his fellow Hunters may still attack her for it 13.
• Some residents also seek Phantasms, although Jonah says such residents are relatively uncommon 11.

Detection

• Huang Li possesses a Nest-acquired ability to sense Phantasms within a radius of roughly five kilometers. Her detection establishes their presence but does not precisely locate them 16.
• Movement can make a detection fleeting. Chai Si uses a momentary reading to deduce that the stolen Phantasm is traveling on a subway train 16 17.
• Experienced Hunters can recognize the danger of an active Phantasm without seeing an obvious supernatural effect. Jin Xueli alarms an entire bar by carrying an active soda Phantasm inside 47.

Transfer and Ownership

• Transfer methods vary with the Phantasm. Rumor changes hosts through a spoken exchange: the holder says, “I have a rumor to tell you,” and the recipient replies, “I heard a rumor” 41.
• Rumor retains records of previous hosts’ rumors unless a host deletes them, allowing a new owner to consult earlier uses 42.
• Consumable Phantasms may retain value after partial use. Jin Xueli sells the remaining half-can of her soda to another Hunter 47.

Known Phantasms

Economic and Political Significance

Trade and Private Power

• Independent Hunters may depend on selling nearly everything they find. Before obtaining Candle Tears, Jin Xueli’s acquisitions have all been low-grade, leaving her little room to be selective 6.
• Wei Xilai’s four Phantasms laid the foundation for his world-leading business empire. Their eventual importance exceeded what their original sellers had recognized 33.
• Prices vary sharply: Jin Xueli pays $12,000 for the Purple-Can Soda, while Caironan considers the tailoring tools worth more than his faction, valued by Chai Si in the tens of millions 33 45.

Secrecy and Regulation

• The author’s worldbuilding explanation states that 99.9% of humanity does not know the Nest, Phantasms, or Hunters exist 50.
• Random, rare, intensely personal Pathways prevent governments from reliably organizing access to the Nest or monitoring what Hunters retrieve. Individual Phantasms can nevertheless reach official hands 50.
• Public regulation faces secrecy, legislative scrutiny, Hunter resistance, and opposition from wealthy interests that benefit from private access 50.

Notable Quotes

“Phantasms have countless effects, from raising your IQ by five points to defying fate and changing your destiny.”
— Jonah 13

“They are genies that grant your wishes, and gods deaf to pleas...”
— Nest 173 Radio host 6