Because all everyone wants is their characters to be the best at their jobs, and then they give them the most wack-ass supernatural crud items they can think of! Stephenson has always just been a particularly skilled man with a checkered past, a dim future, calloused fists, and a well-oiled gun, trying to live how he can. And now that everyone else can evicerate him with a snap of their fingers or a wave of their Super-Ooper-De-Whooper-Looper-Duper-Magic-Presto-Boingo-Zippo-Wham-Bam-Flapdoole-Jedi-Jesus Powers, there's no point in me hanging around.