Touched

⮱ ***Note:** This article is about the group. For the episode, see Touched (episode).*

## Appearances

### Debut

"Touched"

**Touched**, also known as **empathically enhanced** or **spore**, is a term used to refer to those affected with "turns," or supernatural abilities. They are an underclass who acquired unique powers on August 3, 1896, during an event that was instantly forgotten.

Three years later, the Victorian London society sees the Touched as victims of "afflictions," a "goldmine" to be explored, or even "wicked" people to be punished. Zephyr Navine has described that, while not all Touched are fortunate in the nature of their turns, more suffer from society's perception than their own debilitation. Although not exclusively, the Touched are primarily comprised of women, causing this phenomenon to be known as a "feminine plague" that supposedly did not affect any man of stature.

## History

On the Monday of August 3, 1896, the Galanthi flew over London and emitted a bright-colored exhaust. These spots of light touched and affected many people, even causing some of them to faint. After the Galanthi disappeared, those who witnessed it didn't remember the incident anymore, except Maladie. Those touched by the exhaust acquired supernatural abilities, with no cases reported with anyone outside of London at the time.

Three years later, many of the Touched live in St. Romaulda's Orphanage, kept under Lavinia Bidlow's philanthropy. The doctor Horatio Cousens also attend the Orphanage with his turn of healing. Residents Amalia True and Penance Adair are responsible for seeking more of the Touched to shelter them in their group.

A council meeting discusses the Prime Minister's public position on the Touched, but they did not reach a decision. Lord Gilbert Massen declares that an official debate on the subject should wait until they understand the nature of the "attack," referring to the day of the turn.

One night at the opera, it's revealed that Touched people are affected by Mary Brighton's turn, whose hopeful singing connects with other Touched who listens to it. Their attention is immediately driven to her, and Penance describes the feeling as reaching into her and communicating that they belong. After Maladie captures Mary, Penance and Amalia plan to rescue her and use her song to find more of the Touched.

Lavinia invites a group of Touched girls from the Orphanage for a monthly charitable fete hold at the Bidlow Estate. She expects that a few attractive girls showing off their turns and their good manners to society's elite will hopefully alter society's perception of the Touched. Lavinia tells the group that the mission is to amuse, not alarm the guests. She also requests for each of them to wear a blue ribbon to identify them.

One of the few places employing Touched people is the Ferryman's Club, where they form a long line to audition. According to Hugo Swann, requests for membership into the sex club have doubled since Maladie's attack on the opera house, declaring that "horror and fascination go arm and arm."

Amalia eventually rescues Mary, who sings her song in Candlemas Park. A device created by Penance amplifies her voice through the city, affecting many more of the Touched, though she is suddenly shot by Winemar Kroos. After Mary's death, Bonfire Annie leads a crowd of Touched seeking residence in the Orphanage.

A house in 12 Linkers Lane advertises itself as the Orphanage, but instead it's a trap to attract vulnerable Touched people. The frontwoman staying at the house killed her own daughter for being Touched. A logbook lists the many victims of this scheme, including Elisabetta Cassini, who is taken to Dr. Edmund Hague's procedure chair after reaching the address. Bearing a large scar on her head, Beth joins a line of workers excavating the Galanthi.

With the Certification Act, the police begins receiving Touched for an obligatory registration. Along with a demonstration of their turns, each individual should inform their name, address, and employer. Additionally, the Blue Badge Act determines that the Touched have to wear a blue ribbon whenever they are in public, under penalty of a month in prison.

In the future, those affected by Galanthi spores were referred as "empathically enhanced" or simply "spores." They had parts of their minds activated so they could comprehend the Galanthi language and technology. Zephyr noted that the spores didn't usually give random powers or affect everyone they hit, though she wasn't sure why the event in 1896 was different.

## Examples

Some known members of the Touched and their apparent turns are:

* Penance Adair — energy perception
* Lucy Best — breaker touch
* Bettina
* Augustus Bidlow — corvid mind exchange
* Désirée Blodgett — confession inducement
* Mary Brighton — empathic singing
* Masie Butterfield-Worth — skin color shifting
* Annie Carbey — fire manipulation
* William Carter — blindness inducement
* Elisabetta Cassini — gravity manipulation
* Primrose Chattoway — gigantism
* Colonel — perception manipulation
* Maudie Cooper
* Horatio Cousens — healing
* Isaiah Cousens — dream viewing
* Ida Davies — temporal intuition
* Dominique — temporal intuition
* George — thorn protrusion
* Greta
* Myrtle Haplisch — omnilingualism
* Nimble Jack — shield creation
* Harriet Kaur — glass transmutation
* Knitter — empathically enhanced
* Winemar Kroos — bullet generation
* Lady Whisper — psychic communication
* Fannie Lee — enhanced density
* Su Ping Lim — enhanced strength
* Maladie — pain empowerment
* Maud
* Lillie Massen
* Zephyr Navine — precognition
* Cornelia Norman — telekinesis
* Nicolas Perbal — water walking
* Ronald — freezing
* Adeilia Shaw — vocal replication
* Ada Walker — dizziness inducement
* Wendy — enhanced flexibility
* Alderton Musgrove's niece — levitation
* Unnamed woman — plant growth
* Unnamed woman — enhanced endurance
* Unnamed woman — glowing skin
* Unnamed woman — water transmutation
* Unnamed woman — telekinesis
* Unnamed woman — arthropodal transformation

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 *The Nevers* — "True." HBO, May 16, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 *The Nevers* — "Touched." HBO, April 11, 2021.
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 *The Nevers* — "Exposure." HBO, April 18, 2021.
4. ↑ HBO Max, "The Nevers: Official Trailer | HBO". *YouTube*, March 23, 2021.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 *The Nevers* — "Ignition." HBO, April 25, 2021.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 *The Nevers* — "Hanged." HBO, May 9, 2021.
7. ↑ *The Nevers* — "Alright, Okay, You Win." Tubi, February 15, 2023.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *The Nevers* — "Undertaking." HBO, May 2, 2021.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 HBO, "The Nevers: Uncover Their Power." *YouTube*, April 12, 2021.