Activation and deactivation
| Activation and deactivation | |
|---|---|
 Janice tells Matt Parkman Jr. to turn on the television. | |
| Held by: | Matt Parkman, Jr. |
| Ability to: | Activate and deactivate nearby systems |
Activation and deactivation is the ability to activate and deactivate various mechanisms, both electronic and biological.
Characters
- Matt Parkman, Jr. is the only known character to have this ability. (Cold Snap)
Limits
Matt Parkman, Jr. can activate and deactivate electronic devices near him, switching them on or off. He can also activate evolved human abilities by touch.
Hiro and Ando first realize that Matt, Jr. has an ability when he uses it to switch the television in his house on and off. Even when the television set is unplugged, Matt Jr. is able to turn it on by touching it. Similarly, he activates several electronic toys by touching them.
When the house is attacked, Matt partially restores Hiro's ability by touching him. The touch only restored the time-stopping aspect of Hiro's ability; he was unable to teleport or time travel. He has since regained the ability to time travel and teleport, but it took awhile to regain control over that. Hiro also experienced negative side effects from the restored ability. Mohinder later claimed that Hiro's body was rejecting his newly restored abilities and Hiro was diagnosed with a brain tumor that is killing him. This suggests that Matt's ability cannot give abilities to previously powerless people, and also causes an evolved human to regain their powers with certain biological risks.
Matt's power affects an automobile and a truck at short range; the baby is able to switch them on or off without reaching out of his car seat to touch the vehicle itself. The truck driver finds that he is able to start his truck again when Hiro and Ando move the "magic baby" back to their own vehicle (Turn and Face the Strange), showing that the range of young Matt's ability is about ten meters. [1]
Hiro and Ando also discover that Matt's mood affects his ability: when he is unhappy, he deactivates the vehicles; when happy, he activates them. Young Matt later activates some nearby toy cars when united with his father. (Turn and Face the Strange)
Examples
-
Matt Parkman, Jr. activates toys such as a monkey doll... -
...a toy plane... -
...and a toy robot. -
-
Matt uses his power to operate the Nissan Cube... -
...as well as an electronic cart in a Valumart store... -
...and a forklift... -
...which he enjoys playing and causes havoc with.
(Baby Power) -
In an irate mood, Matt stops the Nissan Cube... -
-
When Ando makes a face that makes him happy, Matt reactivates the Nissan Cube... -
...and later, after being united with his father, activates some toy cars.
(Turn and Face the Strange)
See Also
- For the similar ability to amplify abilities, see supercharging.
- For the similar ability to interact with electronics, see technopathy.
Please refer to Theory:Activation and deactivation for fan-created theories and other speculation.