1y ago

Be honest: if you had the power to stop time, your morals would go out the window.

Pretty much the title. I've been watching more realistic super hero shows like The Boys and Invincible. The reoccurring themes is that with great power comes great immorality.

I think it's easy for us normies to respect other people and their property because there are clear consequences for violating social norms. But what would the average person do if they had super powers?

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You get that power, you use it on people who are making the world a shittier place first.
Now, that's not precisely moral, but let's be honest, beyond a bit of minor larceny there's not a whole lot of personal gain you can realistically achieve.
Steal a truckload of cash? Sure, but then you've got to launder the heck out of it, and I've seen Ozark, that's more drama than I want in my life even if I had the skills, which I don't. And nobody pays cash even for groceries any more, have to wait for one of the non-card registers to open up and it's a pain in the ass. Maybe you could rig a horse race or something, but the people involved in serious gambling are very good at spotting anomalous wins, and your life wouldn't be worth dick the second time you tried it.
That pretty much leaves pranks and murder, and you're a damn fool if you bring that within a dozen miles of any kind of personal connection.
Which pretty much only leaves assassination of high-level assholes as something that would a:) make a noticeable difference, b:) keep you under the radar and c:) be immensely satisfying.
- If you had super powers you probably wouldn't have to steal anything or commit crimes to be rich. You'd just make money the same way people like the Kardashians do or worst case sign up to some sporting team and absolutely trounce everybody else then sign endorsements.
- Oh, so you are going with the whole "I am not a selfish idiot" response... respect.
  
  Well, not a selish idiot, that's the trouble.
  If I could think of a way to become comfortably well-off without eitehr getting in trouble or living in crippling anxiety that I was going to get in trouble, that might be another story.
  It's just that getting away with shit is for rich people with powerful connections, and bootstrapping into that state without passing through an uninsulated trouble phase is pretty damn nontrivial. They don't let just anyone into the club, and they stomp anyone who dares to try.
  I don't actually know about the international-super-assassin club, but I'm willing to bet it's either a fair bit more porous, or a lot more discreet, to the point that you never have reason to suspect they're onto you.
  
  Maybe wait around the lottery office for someone with a good winning ticket and swap them when they go to turn it in, seems pretty risk free if you can freeze time
- That's a fairly good point, but I'd argue that it'd depend on how subtle the application of your superpower is.
  My overall assumption would be that any application that doesn't raise red flags will probably require enough work and moderation that it'd be more like a job - but it could be a very well-paying job.
  I.e. for the time freeze: You could acquire a well-paid reputation as a freelancer troubleshooter for a certain type of WFH desk job (analyst? translator?) that can finish any overdue project in record time. Or, easier, become a stage magician.
  You'd probably still eventually wind up in a situation where you watch some sort of unacceptable crisis on the news and think "well, I could do something about this" - be it removing a mass-murdering dictator or dismantling a hostage situation.
- Why do you have to conceal what you do? You can stop time, for crying out loud. That's almost unlimited power.
  You see a bunch of law enforcement run to you, you can easily get the fuck out - with all their guns and car keys.
  Edit: if you downvote me, then it's a good thing you don't have this power, for you would waste it unnecessarily.
  
  Snipers are a thing. And at best, who wants to spend their life on the lam? I want to play video games and eat toast, it's hard to do that if you can't spend an entire day in any given location.
  
  That's why you stop time and kill all snipers or disable all sniper rifles.
  Like I said.... UNLIMITED POWAH!

273 comments