forum Imagine superpowers have been unveiled to the world, what would be your reaction?

Started November 08, 2020 by @Morosis group

tune

The world of the story is like our own except there are subtle abilities. These abilities could range from having a really strong tolerance of spicy food to having a photographic memory/ability to create deja vu. (I'm thinking these abilities could come from a gene everyone has and there are certain nucleotides that create them. The longer the sequence of nucleotides, the stronger the ability)

The public isn't aware of there being such thing as "superpowers" as these abilities can be categorized as just excess of skill or mere "oddity". For example, you see a squash player and think he's incredible because he's trained his whole life. What if, in reality, he had the ability to ricochet objects with uncanny precision and had amazing spatial awareness.

We're at a point in time where the characters are realizing that these "abilities" are far more than just "incredible talents".

These powers are at a level where they're subtle enough to not really be recognized as "superpowers" and can be excused by the stereotypical "what a coincidence" "how lucky!" "It's a miracle" etc etc

However, they're abstract enough for the main characters (and possibly villain) to realize there is something far more at play here. These people aren't just extremely talented or lucky in skill but rather have some sort of special ability!

Here are some abilities for context:
• Instinctively know everybody's name.
• You can always tell if someone is lying by a headache. The larger the lie (Lying about murder) or the number of lies told in a speech, the stronger the headache.
• Momentum Cancellation. You're still affected by gravity and other external forces, but you can turn on a dime, or go from running at full speed to completely stationary in an instant- good for chases near cliff edges, or avoiding running into walls. You'd kick ass at parkour.
• Photographic Reflexes: The ability to mimic the actions of an individual perfectly.
• Mad spacial/geometric intelligence- brilliant at games like pool or pinball, and, when using a ranged weapon, able to plan ricochets with uncanny precision.

Is it magic?
No, magic does not exist in this world (as it doesn't exist in ours, sorry kids). It's just a big deviation of our natural sciences and a few broken rules in the laws of physics.

The protagonists are against revelation as segregation, prejudice, jealousy, and stigma will arise therefore society never really be the same again.

Imagine you live in this world. One evening, you witness (alongside several billion people) the news channels and outlets broadcasting a message from an extremist group proving the existence of these powers.

What is going to happen? What chaos will ensure?
How are you going to react to the fact there are people out there with these abilities?
Are you jealous, afraid, supportive?
Do you think you'd try and find out if any of your social circles are heightened?
What are the governments going to do?

My idea is that people will either "come out", be accused, be identified with having these powers. Segregation would become a concept, like schools and Olympics being streamed so that "heightened" individuals aren't at an immediate advantage.

In essence, how will the world react?

I think you have the right idea so far! Mostly my personal reaction would be "bruh I sure hope I have a superpower!" Also there's the possibility that some abilities would be seen as "better" than others, and maybe the people who had them would be treated with awe and respect by ordinary types. Heck, people with flashy abilities could easily become celebrities. I can see some people using this for evil, maybe to gain power through bribery or lies or even violence. Obviously this could give all people with powers a bad name if they weren't careful.
But bottom line is, these powers seem cool but still lowkey enough that (generally speaking) humanity would feel threatened by them. Maybe they'd even be excited. Maybe they'd try to identify the cause of the powers so everybody could have one someday.
(This is all coming from a young adult starved for adventure and extraordinary things, so maybe others would think differently lol. But I hope that helped! ^^)

I’d probably be beaming with happiness if I knew anyone who was heightened, but, to be honest, if I didn’t get a power, I’d also be extremely jealous. Depending upon who gains possession of these abilities, they could be either ostracized or made into hero’s. Good luck with your story!

Great ideas so far guys! Will be sure to include some of these opinions and ideas into the story!