Subject: The canon-protection and SEP Field can be reconciled.
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Posted on: 2013-06-05 23:53:00 UTC
That would just cause there to be three layers of non-detection, which I've done my best to outline below.
Layer 1: The canonical influence.
The continuum is rejecting the badfic, and will keep anything connected to itself from preventing the destruction of said badfic. OCs would be able to pierce this field, since 1) strictly speaking, it doesn't exist as a force or a physical substance, and is only an effect the continuum has on its natives and 2) the OCs are not part of the original canon of the continuum, and would thus be less able to be affected by its less specific effects.
Layer 1 is also incredibly passive, and can be pierced for even a central canon character if they are disturbed or directly interacted with.
Layer 2: Disguises.
The disguise causes the being affected by the disguise to take on the characteristics of a being native to a certain continuum. This would allow the OCs to merely dismiss the Agents as background characters if said OC noticed the Agents' presence. Typically, the PPC Agents would choose a species that would either 1) blend in with the surroundings, or 2) plausibly kill the OCs and/or burst out shouting and waving things. There can be overlap, of course.
Layer 2 cannot be pierced unless use of a D.O.R.K.S., equipment malfunction, or related occurrences cause the disguise to be dropped, or more specific or situational causes, i.e. a character with a canonical ability to see through disguises, such as Bionicle's Axonn.
Layers 1 and 2 are not optional and have always been part of the PPC methodology, since Layer 1 is involuntary and Layer 2 is required by the PPC for its field agents.
Layer 3: the Somebody Else's Problem Field. Native to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy continuum, the SEP Field will hide anything inside its scope from view unless it is going to cause a problem for the viewer. One would not expect to see three orcs angrily ranting about continuity or writing on a clipboard, so one simply does not.
The SEP Field can even hold up against OCs, though Sues and Stus may be speshul enough to detect its presence. (The Field will usually conceal the fact that an SEP Field is being used, because the use of unfamiliar technology is usually not a direct problem, and thus is under the Field's purview.)
Layer 3 can be pierced when an Agent directly creates a problem for a character, such as when they interfere with said character's story, dragging them off to charge for Suvian activity, and subsequently killing them. However, since it is technological in nature, it is prone to the same limits as any piece of technology, especially in continua hostile to technological activity. It is usually stored in portable form in an Agent's flash patch, though the flash patch SEP Field is weak enough that it only activates while within a badfic. The flash patch did not originally contain the SEP Field at all, but the technology was adapted several years ago to increase safety for field agents once it was noticed how prone field agents are to ranting, shouting, and otherwise doing things that would draw attention to themselves.
Subject 23 encountering the Agents can be explained by way of Layers 1 and 3 being pierced. Layer 1 was pierced by Xanthus making a scene, and subsequently drawing the attention of several canon characters. Layer 3 was pierced by Subject 23's ability to detect and disable technology that would be used against him, coupled with his extant Suvian power. Layer 2 held, but since the three agents were members of continuum-native species, and only changed their clothes, it wasn't much help in concealing them.
I think I missed something, but this looks about right..