Free of Lavinia’s control, Emily Fisher has to come to terms with how to use her gift while pursuing Stephen Nash’s murderers. Just when is it fair to influence people to say and do things they wouldn’t do otherwise? What is fair use, and what misuse? And how would that apply to someone with a different gift, say like Alex Bancroft’s? This isn’t just a philosophical problem for Emily, as she’s about to encounter a tragic example of misuse, one with deadly consequences. Follow Emily’s quest for the “Abusers and the abused,” chapter 36 of Prophecies and Penalties, my weekly serial about a murder at a very unusual Vermont religious commune. If you’ve not already been reading this story, don’t start with the current chapter whatever you do! Start from the beginning.
The ethics of Mesmer’s treatment of patients using animal magnetism were equally debatable. Was he offering a valuable psychiatric service, or taking advantage of sexual hysteria?
Sillyverse 
Emily’s dilemma matches Neve’s. I wonder how we (the creators of characters with these similar ‘gifts’) might deal with it were we to be so endowed.
I’m disturbed at thinking how I would probably have misused such a gift at a younger age. For that matter, since I don’t know what temptations I would confront, would I successfully manage it now?