And a heads up display that lets me target things.
I suppose I should back up and explain though... or rather, the thread would be fairly uninteresting if I don't.
When I was in middle school, I had a paper route. And when I'd trudge along at 4am, the streets were completely empty and I had nothing to occupy my mind - so I had to entertain myself. So what I'd do is play pretend. Back then, I had wolverine claws. And I could tell you if they were retracted or not.
My aim wasn't merely senseless destruction - the game was to create as much destruction for as little effort as possible. If there was a post with something heavy on top, I could slice it at the right angle so it would fall over onto two cars, smashing them 'but good'.
When I was a junior in high school, I started working as a busboy. Still hours of mindless work, but now it was in a crowded room - so I couldn't go around swinging my arms wildly, making 'snickity' noises and crashing noises. So I did what any self-respecting adult would do - I gave myself a 'superpower' to play with where nobody else could tell what I was doing. It was at this time that lasers grew out of my shoulders.
The targeting system worked like this - I would look at something and blink, and it'd be targeted. Then I'd just have to think 'fire!' (not the word, but... the command) and my lasers would shoot everything I'd targeted in order of targeting. As a busboy, I was keen on shooting the stems off of water goblets and wine glasses while diners were drinking. But my favorite things to target were lights, keyholes, and electrical outlets.
It's been 10 years, and I still have my lasers. When I'm walking down a street at night, I'll target all visible light sources - be it a light on top of a high-rise, or a street lamp three blocks away, or a car driving down the street - and I'd blow them all out and continue walking in darkness.
About a year ago, I began sharing this with people. I'd kept it a secret all my life, but I found it far too amusing - and I'm too shameless - to not share it. What amazed me was the reaction I got.
Most people looked at my like I'm crazy. Half of them then confessed their own 'super-power.' The other half strongly insisted they do nothing of the sort. Within a week, half of those (a quarter of the people I told about this, roughly) would come back to me, confess they were lying (or didn't realize it), and tell me their superpower.
Here's the rules I've figured out as far as what constitutes a 'super-power' -
1) It's a recurring fantasy - it's not a one-time thing
2) It's very personal to you.
3) It's based on your present surroundings - it's NOT 'daydreaming.'
4) It is NOT confused for reality - you KNOW it's just 'play.'
Let me give you a few examples from friends I've talked to:
A couple people told me that, when they ride in cars, busses, trains, etc, they look out the window and imagine themselves running alongside the vehicle. One person does this, except they're gymnasts, and do it more like spiderman (sans webbing).
My brother has an armored suit, a lot like Iron Man (though he'd never read the comics). It's impenetrable. It may be a form-fitting energy shield, I'm not sure - but be assured, if I asked him, he *would* be sure (you *know* your superpower). He also has a watch which can shoot lasers, missiles, and even a grappling hook. When he climbs stairs, he uses the grappling hook to pull him up the stairwell. He also has an 'energy key' which reads a lock, and produces something that fits it. Odd that he and I both fixated on keyholes...
One of my friends can 'phase' between two realities - one being our reality, the other being a nearly identical reality, except it's lovecraftian - the walls pulse with blood or hidden horrors, the moon is replaced by Cthulu, etc.
One of my friends can read minds.
Another can talk to animals.
Yet another 'flies', like a slow-moving space-craft through tunnels (instead of walking down hallways). I confess, when I heard this one, I realized I do it too.
I know a guy who has a photographic memory. Well, he doesn't, but his super-power is that he has 'record' 'play' 'fast forward' and 'rewind' buttons in his head, and he can record video or audio and play it back later. Oddly enough, as more and more people get cell phones with video, this 'super-power' is becoming real and commonplace.
My sister, when she was growing up, had a pencil that she'd hold out in front of her and 'redraw' reality with. She outgrew it when she was quite young, but was reminded of it (quite vividly) when I presented this set of anecdotes to her.
I know a young high-functioning autistic kid, and I asked him about this. He told me his superpower is that he has 'all superpowers.' Oddly enough, from hanging out with him and seeing him play, I know this to be true. He's always playing with his environment, be it making his arm a cannon that shoots hugs, or disappearing, or flying...
Disappearing! I have one friend who can become completely nondescript. He doesn't turn invisible, but he blends into a crowd such that nobody would remember or recognize him.
Oooh, my favorite may be Jesse. When he walks into an open courtyard, he has a team or two of snipers. He knows where they're located, and can call out shots to them on his radio. Fascinating!
I've made it a point since I discovered this to 'borrow' people's powers to try them out - though any way you cut it, the shoulder lasers are mine, and anything else I try *is* and *will always be* 'borrowed.' I've encouraged others to try out mine, as well - and some people really dig it. In the end, all I'm talking about is 'playing.'
Oh, one thing that surprised me was that there's a fairly common one that many people in my generation do - when they walk into a building, they size the building up for zombie attacks. Odds are good that you know where you'd go in the event of a zombie attack. This fits the rules I described earlier - it's a recurring fantasy, you don't confuse it with reality, and it's based on your current environment (okay, it's not always 'personal', but 3 out of 4 ain't bad).
I was shocked, listening to NPR one day. It was the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, and they were interviewing a gentleman who survived the sniper shootings in Texas in the 60s. He explained how, even today, when he walks into a courtyard or a library, he figures out where a sniper is likely to hide, and where he can find cover. It was, essentially, the inverse of my friend Jesse's power. Except, in this man's case, it wasn't play - it was hell. Why? Because the line between 'fantasy' and 'reality' was wholly blurred.
And that's a real source of neurosis, psychosis, stress, cognitive dissonance, anxiety, and so on. When you can't distinguish between fantasy and reality, you get fucked up. Sure, we have friends that size up buildings for zombie attacks, but imagine if one of them had actually *survived* a zombie attack! They wouldn't have 'fun' doing it anymore. If you've ever known a woman who has been sexually abused, taken advantage of, harassed, or otherwise victimized, you know what kind of effect this can have.
And when the war on Scientology began, I was fascinated reading about their 'superpowers.' The rundown for levitating an ashtray seemed awfully familiar - lifting it up while imagining you're doing it with your mind is no different than my brother climbing stairs while imagining his grappling hook is pulling him up them! Except the rundown works to convince you it's real. It works to blur the line between fantasy and reality. It's engineered to make you neurotic or even psychotic, to cause a break with reality.
So, I haven't posted this online before. Part of me is afraid it'll be taken as the cliche 'what would your superpower be?!?one!' post that every forum has - but the question is distinct from that. If I could choose a superpower, it wouldn't be shoulder lasers. But shoulder lasers are what I have. And don't have. Another reason I haven't shared it is because I'd love to use it in a work of philosophical fiction sometime, but the odds of me ever writing a book and getting published is so slim, and it's not on the top of priorities for my life.
Nonetheless, I am interested in feedback. Do you relate to this? Do you have any of these superpowers? And, in the case of ex-scientologists, does this characterization shed any light on auditing? Am I right in imagining that this is yet another example of how Scientology engineers people to go insane? Or am I way off? I honestly don't know, and really do want feedback.
I suppose I should back up and explain though... or rather, the thread would be fairly uninteresting if I don't.
When I was in middle school, I had a paper route. And when I'd trudge along at 4am, the streets were completely empty and I had nothing to occupy my mind - so I had to entertain myself. So what I'd do is play pretend. Back then, I had wolverine claws. And I could tell you if they were retracted or not.
My aim wasn't merely senseless destruction - the game was to create as much destruction for as little effort as possible. If there was a post with something heavy on top, I could slice it at the right angle so it would fall over onto two cars, smashing them 'but good'.
When I was a junior in high school, I started working as a busboy. Still hours of mindless work, but now it was in a crowded room - so I couldn't go around swinging my arms wildly, making 'snickity' noises and crashing noises. So I did what any self-respecting adult would do - I gave myself a 'superpower' to play with where nobody else could tell what I was doing. It was at this time that lasers grew out of my shoulders.
The targeting system worked like this - I would look at something and blink, and it'd be targeted. Then I'd just have to think 'fire!' (not the word, but... the command) and my lasers would shoot everything I'd targeted in order of targeting. As a busboy, I was keen on shooting the stems off of water goblets and wine glasses while diners were drinking. But my favorite things to target were lights, keyholes, and electrical outlets.
It's been 10 years, and I still have my lasers. When I'm walking down a street at night, I'll target all visible light sources - be it a light on top of a high-rise, or a street lamp three blocks away, or a car driving down the street - and I'd blow them all out and continue walking in darkness.
About a year ago, I began sharing this with people. I'd kept it a secret all my life, but I found it far too amusing - and I'm too shameless - to not share it. What amazed me was the reaction I got.
Most people looked at my like I'm crazy. Half of them then confessed their own 'super-power.' The other half strongly insisted they do nothing of the sort. Within a week, half of those (a quarter of the people I told about this, roughly) would come back to me, confess they were lying (or didn't realize it), and tell me their superpower.
Here's the rules I've figured out as far as what constitutes a 'super-power' -
1) It's a recurring fantasy - it's not a one-time thing
2) It's very personal to you.
3) It's based on your present surroundings - it's NOT 'daydreaming.'
4) It is NOT confused for reality - you KNOW it's just 'play.'
Let me give you a few examples from friends I've talked to:
A couple people told me that, when they ride in cars, busses, trains, etc, they look out the window and imagine themselves running alongside the vehicle. One person does this, except they're gymnasts, and do it more like spiderman (sans webbing).
My brother has an armored suit, a lot like Iron Man (though he'd never read the comics). It's impenetrable. It may be a form-fitting energy shield, I'm not sure - but be assured, if I asked him, he *would* be sure (you *know* your superpower). He also has a watch which can shoot lasers, missiles, and even a grappling hook. When he climbs stairs, he uses the grappling hook to pull him up the stairwell. He also has an 'energy key' which reads a lock, and produces something that fits it. Odd that he and I both fixated on keyholes...
One of my friends can 'phase' between two realities - one being our reality, the other being a nearly identical reality, except it's lovecraftian - the walls pulse with blood or hidden horrors, the moon is replaced by Cthulu, etc.
One of my friends can read minds.
Another can talk to animals.
Yet another 'flies', like a slow-moving space-craft through tunnels (instead of walking down hallways). I confess, when I heard this one, I realized I do it too.
I know a guy who has a photographic memory. Well, he doesn't, but his super-power is that he has 'record' 'play' 'fast forward' and 'rewind' buttons in his head, and he can record video or audio and play it back later. Oddly enough, as more and more people get cell phones with video, this 'super-power' is becoming real and commonplace.
My sister, when she was growing up, had a pencil that she'd hold out in front of her and 'redraw' reality with. She outgrew it when she was quite young, but was reminded of it (quite vividly) when I presented this set of anecdotes to her.
I know a young high-functioning autistic kid, and I asked him about this. He told me his superpower is that he has 'all superpowers.' Oddly enough, from hanging out with him and seeing him play, I know this to be true. He's always playing with his environment, be it making his arm a cannon that shoots hugs, or disappearing, or flying...
Disappearing! I have one friend who can become completely nondescript. He doesn't turn invisible, but he blends into a crowd such that nobody would remember or recognize him.
Oooh, my favorite may be Jesse. When he walks into an open courtyard, he has a team or two of snipers. He knows where they're located, and can call out shots to them on his radio. Fascinating!
I've made it a point since I discovered this to 'borrow' people's powers to try them out - though any way you cut it, the shoulder lasers are mine, and anything else I try *is* and *will always be* 'borrowed.' I've encouraged others to try out mine, as well - and some people really dig it. In the end, all I'm talking about is 'playing.'
Oh, one thing that surprised me was that there's a fairly common one that many people in my generation do - when they walk into a building, they size the building up for zombie attacks. Odds are good that you know where you'd go in the event of a zombie attack. This fits the rules I described earlier - it's a recurring fantasy, you don't confuse it with reality, and it's based on your current environment (okay, it's not always 'personal', but 3 out of 4 ain't bad).
I was shocked, listening to NPR one day. It was the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, and they were interviewing a gentleman who survived the sniper shootings in Texas in the 60s. He explained how, even today, when he walks into a courtyard or a library, he figures out where a sniper is likely to hide, and where he can find cover. It was, essentially, the inverse of my friend Jesse's power. Except, in this man's case, it wasn't play - it was hell. Why? Because the line between 'fantasy' and 'reality' was wholly blurred.
And that's a real source of neurosis, psychosis, stress, cognitive dissonance, anxiety, and so on. When you can't distinguish between fantasy and reality, you get fucked up. Sure, we have friends that size up buildings for zombie attacks, but imagine if one of them had actually *survived* a zombie attack! They wouldn't have 'fun' doing it anymore. If you've ever known a woman who has been sexually abused, taken advantage of, harassed, or otherwise victimized, you know what kind of effect this can have.
And when the war on Scientology began, I was fascinated reading about their 'superpowers.' The rundown for levitating an ashtray seemed awfully familiar - lifting it up while imagining you're doing it with your mind is no different than my brother climbing stairs while imagining his grappling hook is pulling him up them! Except the rundown works to convince you it's real. It works to blur the line between fantasy and reality. It's engineered to make you neurotic or even psychotic, to cause a break with reality.
So, I haven't posted this online before. Part of me is afraid it'll be taken as the cliche 'what would your superpower be?!?one!' post that every forum has - but the question is distinct from that. If I could choose a superpower, it wouldn't be shoulder lasers. But shoulder lasers are what I have. And don't have. Another reason I haven't shared it is because I'd love to use it in a work of philosophical fiction sometime, but the odds of me ever writing a book and getting published is so slim, and it's not on the top of priorities for my life.
Nonetheless, I am interested in feedback. Do you relate to this? Do you have any of these superpowers? And, in the case of ex-scientologists, does this characterization shed any light on auditing? Am I right in imagining that this is yet another example of how Scientology engineers people to go insane? Or am I way off? I honestly don't know, and really do want feedback.
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