Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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So I've been watching X-Men '97 and started wondering what opinions here would be on how to deal with mutants if those kinds of powers started to show up in random people. Would you support registration? Something more serious? Nothing at all? Is it really ok to let someone with the destructive capabilities of a nuclear bomb just walk around, or board a plane, etc.?
Well, I do write a hard scifi novel set in the wake of an abortive singularity where people start getting superpowers for Plot Reasons™, so I suppose I've given it some thought. Or at least I had governments and polities would react.
It depends on how dangerous said power is. For someone who is no more threat than a random dude with a knife, you really don't have to bother. When they're the modestly dangerous, thorough surveillance and mandatory psychiatric followup. If they're incredibly powerful, they're usually conscripted into the military. And if they're both powerful and act up, then time for their brain to be put in a jar, or tamper proofed (fail deadly) high explosives embedded in their occipital protuberance.
Anyone who falls in between, they get a full time slap drone assigned to them, a concept happily ripped off from Banks. Something constantly hovering over their shoulder, ready to call for backup if sedatives, neurotoxins, or a bullet fails.
Some powers, such as telepathy or mind control, are severely restricted on pain of death. Non-consensual mind control is a capital crime, at least if you're not on a leash by a state. Technomancers are absolutely not supposed to mess about with AGI, on pain of having their heads exploded.
Of course, some people are simply too powerful to be handled in such a manner, but the governments of the globe devote a great deal of effort in having contingencies for their contingencies, and if you get really out of hand they'll have someone teleport you into the sun, or maybe a black hole. Not that even that can put down the equivalent of Superman.
If you want a more in depth explanation, well, I guess I wrote the book on it? But you can achieve a lot by playing them off each other, and mostly normalizing the strict monitoring and regulation of the lot. Which is how I'd expect it would go down.
Do you? I keep checking the page every other day, and keep getting disappointed.
Kidding. I genuinely enjoyed the novel so far, I'm grateful for each chapter. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone here.
The reviews crack me up each time I take a look. "Pretty cool" - 3.5 stars, on a webzone with rating system where in practice 5 stars means 'readable, MAYBE'.
This? After I wrote a whopping 2 chapters in as many months? 🤨
Life got in the way. Though for good reasons, like running myself ragged with immigration paperwork and NHS bureaucracy. Rest assured the fic is alive and kicking, with even more nuggets of psychiatric bullshit when I know better.
I know precisely the one you mean. Wow, good book! Eh, clicking far to the right is taxing.
Now good sir, in the amount of time it took you to write this comment, you could have left a glowing review right there yourself. Ignore if you already have, but as an incredibly niche novel, it could use all the ones it could get, especially from the odd person who enjoys it.
Honestly, I'm impressed you manage to be so productive, considering all you mention.
I did a while ago, recommended to a friend too. "I'll take a look" - never did, flaky bastard.
I write the most when I'm drowning in work and responsibilities, it's a pleasant form of procrastination. But in this case, I have a legit fire under my ass, I can't afford to fuck up the one good thing I've got going haha.
Why, thank you. If I had a Patreon, I'd bump you up to cameo in novel tier, but since I don't, I'll just hand that to you for free. If you do actually want a character to show up, just let me know and I'll make it happen.
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