Micromort

John Morte says he has the power to detect free-floating micromorts, small units of risk related probability. However, micromorts are so small that it is impossible to confirm if he is truthful or delusional.

In theory, people accumulate micromorts by engaging in high-risk behavior, but John cannot detect micromorts that have already adhered to someone. If his claims are true, he can (in theory) see through the "fog of war" and navigate battlefields with a greatly reduced chance of harm. He has refused to test this ability, however, claiming danger rooms are full of micromorts despite assurances regarding safety protocols.

Micro (one in a million) Mort (chance of death). Activities that increase the death risk by roughly one micromort, and their associated cause of death:


 * Drinking 0.5 liter of wine (cirrhosis of the liver)
 * Spending 1 hour in a coal mine (black lung disease)
 * Spending 3 hours in a coal mine (accident)
 * Living 2 days in New York or Boston in 1979 (air pollution)
 * Living 2 months with a smoker (cancer, heart disease)
 * Drinking Miami water for 1 year (cancer from chloroform)
 * Eating 100 charcoal-broiled steaks (cancer from benzopyrene)
 * Eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter (liver cancer from aflatoxin B)
 * Travelling 6 minutes by canoe (accident)
 * Travelling 6 miles by motorbike (accident)
 * Travelling 17 miles by walking (accident)
 * Travelling 10 miles by bicycle (accident)
 * Travelling 230 miles (370 km) by car (accident)
 * Travelling 6000 miles (9656 km) by train (accident)
 * Flying 1000 miles (1609 km) by jet (accident)

Increase in death risk for other activities on a per event basis:


 * Hang gliding – 8 micromorts per trip
 * Scuba diving – 4.72 micromorts per dive
 * Skydiving (in the US) – 7 micromorts per jump
 * Horse-riding – 0.5 micromorts
 * Skiing (1 day) – 0.5 micromorts