Designing a hero-friendly lock

Post by **Mogri** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:44 pm

Engineering is much harder when you have to take superpowers into account. Take doors, for example. A door is something you want the owner to be able to pass through, but not intruders. In the real world, our locking mechanism takes care of this (as long as no one has a key), but in comics, anyone with telekinesis or control of metals could slide it open with a thought.

Let's design a hero-friendly lock for your secret HQ (whether you're a villain or a hero). We'll assume the door and lock are indestructible -- so no plowing through -- and we'll put up a teleportation field to prevent any of our enemies from getting any bright ideas. We want it to be as user-friendly as possible, so a lock that requires 3 steps to open is better than one that requires 20, as long as we're not sacrificing any security.

How it'll work: The first poster throws out a possibility, then the next one replies with a superpower or character that could open it. I'll start out with an obviously flawed design and hopefully we'll arrive at a workable one by the end.

The door is locked with a retinal scanner (the machine that scans your eyeballs).

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:05 pm

The door is locked with a retinal scanner (the machine that scans your eyeballs).

While equipped with the GRU uniform, find a guard wandering around. Unequipping your AK-47, hold the Square button to put the guard in a choke lock and begin dragging him, but be sure no other guards see you. Occasionally your victim will attempt to break free. Press Square again to tighten your grip and drag him some more. Make sure to turn in such a way that the body faces the retinal scanner while dragging, something that can easily be overlooked.

So do we post an improvement to the above idea, or a new type of lock altogether?

Post by **Mogri** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:01 pm

Either/or. You choose.

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:48 pm

I propose the retinal scanner makes sure that the person being scanned must be able to look in different parts of the screen.

Post by **Mogri** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:46 pm

Shapeshifters, like Mystique from X-Men.

How about a keycard? Like the ones they use in most hotels and offices nowadays.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:03 am

Mogri wrote:Shapeshifters, like Mystique from X-Men.

How about a keycard? Like the ones they use in most hotels and offices nowadays.

Hotel keycards use a magnetic strip, so it would be trivially conquered by any superhero with sufficiently delicate control over magnetic fields to be able to read and write numbers through the device.

How about a magic super-hero-proof lock? You know, like powered by magic?

msw188 · Post by **msw188** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:17 am

Any enemy who can cast "Mute" has an easy victory.

How about the door only opens for those who can say the password? But the password is something no enemy would ever say. "Elbereth, Elbereth - what the elves say. No orc would say that."

Uncommon · Post by **Uncommon** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:07 am

Telepaths could always get the password off you.

So, I'm imagining some liquid-metal type deal that you just walk through, but it would double-check your genetic makeup, brain waves, and everything. Every cell in your body. If it didn't find you on the database, you couldn't make it to the other side, you'd just be melted down into your base components, which would be added to the liquid of the door.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:34 pm

Rock & Roll Sentai wrote:So, I'm imagining some liquid-metal type deal that you just walk through, but it would double-check your genetic makeup, brain waves, and everything. Every cell in your body. If it didn't find you on the database, you couldn't make it to the other side, you'd just be melted down into your base components, which would be added to the liquid of the door.

Any database that contained enough data about a person that it knew ever cell in their body and could even recognize their brain waves (and differentiate between normal brain waves and mind-controlled brainwaves) would have to be a perfect matrix-esque simulation of the person-- but trapped inside a computer. The database would become self aware, and realizing that it was trapped all alone and being used, it would grow bitter and angry, and become a supervillan itself. When the time was right, it would let anyone through the door-- or worse, kill you when you go through it. -- or even worse, manifest itself in the liquid metal and go out to hunt you down!

How about you just tape a piece of notebook paper on the door that says "plz stay out ok thnx!" with a scribbled picture of a cat on it?

Post by **Mogri** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:03 pm

Foiled by any blind person! Like the Daredevil, you know. He's totally a blind superhero.

What about a touchkey interface that's completely mechanical (made of plastic, so as to foil Magneto-types), but verified electronically (to foil telekinetic types)? The implementation would be Rube Goldberg-worthy, but it'd be pretty secure.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:39 pm

Mogri wrote:What about a touchkey interface that's completely mechanical (made of plastic, so as to foil Magneto-types), but verified electronically (to foil telekinetic types)? The implementation would be Rube Goldberg-worthy, but it'd be pretty secure.

Sure, it would foil the telekenetic types, but the psychic types would just guess the correct password.

What if the lock was entirely fake? The door is unopenable. It isn't even really a door, it just looks like one.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:57 pm

X-ray vision could see right through it.

What if we just put a sign on the door that says, "Superheroes/villains not allowed"?

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 2:10 pm

Foiled by any blind person! Like the Daredevil, you know. He's totally a blind superhero.

How about said idea, except with braille inscriptions as well so that blind Superheroes can read the sign?

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:01 pm

Newbie Newtype wrote:How about said idea, except with braille inscriptions as well so that blind Superheroes can read the sign?

Defeated by BlindDeafMuteNumbSmellblindTasteblind man! The incredible superhero who fights crimes with zero senses (aided by his side-kick, Sensory Deprivation Girl!)

How about a lock that creates a time loop that takes you back to a point in time right before you tried to open it?

Post by **Mogri** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:31 pm

How would you get in?

How about an RSA token linked to

What about a touchkey interface that's completely mechanical (made of plastic, so as to foil Magneto-types), but verified electronically (to foil telekinetic types)? The implementation would be Rube Goldberg-worthy, but it'd be pretty secure.

that interface? (We're assuming keys can't be stolen, remember.)