thanatos wrote:But the reason the rifle doesn't work properly in Arcana's core universes is because magic probably permeates everything there more thoroughly and actually interferes with the normal laws of physics. It would essentially mean that every Gifted person is always using his magic, even if only subconsciously. Once Gadriel compensated for this, once she withdrew all the magic in and around the rifle, it worked. And her horrifying realization was that Sharona does not need to add it's Talents to operate their weapons whereas Arcana does.
I doubt that could be her horrifying realization as everyone who has come into contact with Sharonan weaponry already knew that. That's not a new horrifying realization. (It is an old and alarming bit of information, but it wouldn't have newly horrified Gadriel then, during the demonstration).
If anything knowledge that magic permeation screws up the mechanical weapons of Sharona should be reassuring, not horrifying. She already knew Talents got less capable as you moved towards Arcana, but until this demonstration there was still a specter of Sharona being able to equip mass formation of non-talented soldiers with guns and artillery; and keep most of their military effectiveness if they push forward; despite the loss of Talents. This should be especially reassuring once confirmation that Gifts and spells are similarly weakened as you move towards Sharona; the fact that guns, not just Talents, are affected means both sides are similarly unable to effectively advance to close to the other's home universe; Sharon through their utilization of non-Gifted, non-Talented, weapons
doesn't have the feared/expected advantage there.
I think her actual realization has to be something more related to how their magic works. But I'm not sure what.