"Electricity is misunderstood. People think it's this wild, angry, uncontrollable force and they're mostly wrong. It's powerful, because it doesn't bend to any other force exerted on the earth. It defies gravity and temperature, and it has no constraint from human society. Nothing we do is strong enough to completely withstand and stop lightning; it only redirects it." And even then not all the time. But she likes the unpredictability of it, and the thrumming, almost pulse-like feel of the planet's electromagnetic field.

"It's very much like a song, really. It...if you can hear it, the earth hums. Electromagnetic current hums. Like a fluorescent tube." Not many peole hear those, either.

As to the side-effects, Noriko is less enthusiastic about sharing them. "If I'm not careful, my brain can start firing faster than the rest of me can keep up. And I always have energy--constantly. You know Restless Legs Syndrome? That to what happens to me sometimes is like a water drop, compared to an ocean." It's not a forgettable sight. "Thankfully the gauntlets and a lot of exercise usually keep me in check."