Poke Me In The Eye

If you could have one super power what would you want? Would you use it for good or evil? Would you keep your power a secret or make it public?

Moe’s Answer

I would want to be a very strong telepath. Strong enough so that with a concentrated burst I could throw a tank across a football field or stop a speeding bus or stop bullets. But I would want to have enough control over it so that if needed I could place a penny on it’s edge or pull a single hair from someones head. Having this kind of power would be absolutely amazing. You could fly in a sense, just lift yourself and move yourself around. You’d be able to absolutely blow peoples minds performing “magic tricks”. You could make a fortune in Vegas playing roulette or craps and you could pretty much just be a Jedi master.

I wouldn’t really use my power for good or evil. I would definitely use it for personal gain. Vegas would be one of the first places I’d hit and I’d make myself a nice pile of money. I may eventually become a magician and become the most amazing magician the world has ever known. If I could save some people along the way using my power I wouldn’t hesitate to do so but I wouldn’t go out looking to fight crime or anything.

I wouldn’t tell anyone about my power, or very, very few people. It would be my little secret.

Crawford’s Answer

The first quality I’d be looking for in a super power would be a power that isn’t obvious. Considering there is a distinct lack of super powered people on this planet I wouldn’t want to stand out. You’ve all seen the movies…the government would want to do experiments on you!

But in all seriousness (and to address another part of this question) I’d want it to be “hidden” so I wouldn’t be required to use it to save the world. That sounds like a rather wimpy response but the weight of responsibility would be tremendously hard to bear. Could you imagine it? Every time something bad happens on this planet people would…eventually…expect you to help solve/deal with it. That may be a bit of an exaggeration but it’s easy to see things going that way.

So that leaves me with thinking that my power would be something that would be purely for personal gain. If I can’t (or won’t) use it to save the world…then I ought to use it for something. And that something is going to be me! I believe I am a good enough person to use it for personal gain without harming others…so that takes theft off the list…and really narrows down the choices. So it would have to be something that would make life easier for me, my family, and my friends.

I thought about being able to fly. Yes that would be tremendously handy and a hell of a lot of fun…but it would be near impossible to do unnoticed. Anything offensive (like throwing fire/ice, etc) would be neat but again…not very useful if I’m not a crime fighter. Being able to stretch like Mr. Fantastic could be extremely useful but rather limited in its use. Invisibility sounds intriguing…imagine all you would be able to observe and learn about but there is the whole issue with being naked and/or not being able to carry things.

So my choice is to be really fucking fast. Like so fast that people can’t see me move. I could be sitting here at my desk and WHAM I’m out the door down the street around the corner heading downtown at 7-11 casually walking in. I’m talking about sudden bursts of insane (and sustained) speed. This would not only be un-observable (in my mind) but it would give me all kinds of opportunity in my life. I could cut down on travel time tremendously (if my clothes could handle the super speed without me arriving looking like a freak). There is potential for monetary reward as well here…sure you could steal things easily (and yeah…although I said wouldn’t but c’mon now…sigh).

So super speed is my choice…and the only question left is…how do I go about getting this?