Girl Genius - The Spark

The Spark

The Spark is the center of the fictional Girl Genius universe. It is what makes the mad scientists of the story what they are; people say someone is a Spark if he or she has the Spark. It is a rare, often hereditary, trait found mostly within a small number of families — most of the common population that "break through" are either relatively weak or lack the education to make full use of their talents.

Most of the time, those who carry the Spark seem no different from anyone else, but they are capable of entering a state of hyperfocus (sometimes called "the madness place") that greatly enhances their charisma, comprehension and intuition – all too often at the cost of all their rationality or common sense. In short, they can become fanatically obsessive savants at the drop of a hat (though stimulants can easily induce it) – and it is not at all uncommon for some to act as such almost constantly.

On top of that, the first time a Spark enters hyperfocus is, with few documented occurrences to the contrary, traumatic. Most are almost immediately killed by their breakthrough creations or by rioting townsfolk. A fair number become incurably insane. Though the average Spark is smart enough to make the impossible possible, their tunnel vision rarely permits understanding the consequences of their actions. It's noted on at least one occasion that many Sparks meet their doom because "they're smart enough to build death-rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves".

Though a Spark requires tools and materials to work, there seems to be nothing beyond their capabilities if they desire it enough. Every stereotype accredited to mad scientists is possible for them, from resurrecting the dead to changing animals into people to creating life from scratch. Mechanisms of astounding complexity and capability are common, many beyond the reach of modern science. Foremost among these creations are weapons of unbelievable power. However, when these capabilities are paired with their lack of rational thought, the results are devastating.

There are some "minor" sparks, who are not as dangerous or as destructive as the stereotypical spark, but they are usually amongst those who are slain by mobs (for various reasons) or forced into servitude of other sparks. One exception to this was the traveling circus of "fake sparks" that took in Agatha. It turned out that a good portion of the circus folk were actual "minor" sparks (like the one who was trying to invent a "calming pie" to calm someone down after they are hit in the face with said pie).

Most of those who survive quickly gain minions through sheer charisma, and eventually gather tremendous support unless killed by rival Sparks. Those that survive this process of attrition become the power players of their fictional world, and if they successfully reproduce they begin lineages that are nothing less than royalty – right down to personal heraldic sigils: the Heterodyne Trilobite, the Sturmvoraus Sword-and-Gear, and the Wulfenbach Winged Rook, for example. However, this does little to satisfy their obsessions, and they spend most of their time dueling rivals when not engaging in dangerous experiments — which is what makes the world of Girl Genius one of unending conflict and cataclysm. They are thus almost always generally despised. Many dub them "madboys" or "madgirls" (but never when one is within earshot).