Imagine a world where, when a kid reaches a specific age- let's arbitrarily say it's 15- they develop crazy powerful superpowers. Everykid will randomly get 1 out of 7 or 8 powers. I haven't figured them out yet, but Supersonic flight; hulk strength; invisibility; telekinesis; etc.
And then, when they turn 17, those powers disappear completely and never return.
This happens to every human being. It's been happening for at least a hundred years. We know why it's happening: some unknowable extradimensional force, which scientists are convinced is intelligent and sentient, but so far advanced beyond us that we can't fathom it, created this phenomenon and has never given us evidence of having done anything else to our dimension.
My question- how does society develop around these circumstances. Forced servitude for Supers? Religious devotion to the extradimensional force? Military implications?
It occurs to me that the powers-that-be in our modern society would scramble to control this phenomenon. But how?
[WorldBuilding]Teen Superheroes
Re: [WorldBuilding]Teen Superheroes
Depends on tech level at the inception of this phenomenon and tech level now.
If you had this situation in modern America, our government would have worked out containment procedures and/or countermeasures for all of the powers long ago, and for public safety, all teens aged 14-18 would be required to live in Secondary Education Facilities. Some of the older kids with powers--ones who have shown exemplary behavior and who can see the end of their internment coming if they behave--would be used as "extraordinary resources", ostensibly to counter rogue teens, but in reality they are used for whatever various government agencies think their powers will be useful for.
If everything started post-WWII, then I can well see an America like this. The USSR could be similar, but with a more Soviet flavor. Then examine Europe, China, etc.
But what if it started around the end of WWI? Or the turn of the last century? Or during the Industrial Revolution? All of those create completely different worlds and histories. What happens in a society where the only way to stop a bad kid with powers seems to be a good kid with powers? Otto von Bismarck would have been organizing whole squadrons of these kids, relying on jingoistic nationalism to keep them true. He'd have to, because the abilities of even a small group of these kids would have far outstripped conventional militaries of the day.
Even in a more modern setting, imagine all of the less developed nations that would find it easier to indoctrinate kids into taking on all sorts of roles, rather than trying to find money and resources to invest in traditional solutions. Not just militarily (although that's the easiest to imagine for so many) but depending on the exact powers: espionage, transportation, mechanical/manual labor, communication, etc.
I think most societies will develop some sort of ethos to indoctrinate kids early and try to keep them loyal... religion, nationalism/patriotism, whatever. I think most societies will also exploit these kids in some way (some more, some less), and all of them will justify it as being for "the greater good".
Stopping now. What a thought provoking question.
If you had this situation in modern America, our government would have worked out containment procedures and/or countermeasures for all of the powers long ago, and for public safety, all teens aged 14-18 would be required to live in Secondary Education Facilities. Some of the older kids with powers--ones who have shown exemplary behavior and who can see the end of their internment coming if they behave--would be used as "extraordinary resources", ostensibly to counter rogue teens, but in reality they are used for whatever various government agencies think their powers will be useful for.
If everything started post-WWII, then I can well see an America like this. The USSR could be similar, but with a more Soviet flavor. Then examine Europe, China, etc.
But what if it started around the end of WWI? Or the turn of the last century? Or during the Industrial Revolution? All of those create completely different worlds and histories. What happens in a society where the only way to stop a bad kid with powers seems to be a good kid with powers? Otto von Bismarck would have been organizing whole squadrons of these kids, relying on jingoistic nationalism to keep them true. He'd have to, because the abilities of even a small group of these kids would have far outstripped conventional militaries of the day.
Even in a more modern setting, imagine all of the less developed nations that would find it easier to indoctrinate kids into taking on all sorts of roles, rather than trying to find money and resources to invest in traditional solutions. Not just militarily (although that's the easiest to imagine for so many) but depending on the exact powers: espionage, transportation, mechanical/manual labor, communication, etc.
I think most societies will develop some sort of ethos to indoctrinate kids early and try to keep them loyal... religion, nationalism/patriotism, whatever. I think most societies will also exploit these kids in some way (some more, some less), and all of them will justify it as being for "the greater good".
Stopping now. What a thought provoking question.
Any time the solution is "banjo rifle", I'm in 100%.
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bralbovsky
- Posts: 175
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Re: [WorldBuilding]Teen Superheroes
How would someone like to start a cottage industry of breaking the kids out of wherever they're kept?
(I'm seeing the scene from the Logan film, I think)
I know there's some pretense of avoiding a Lord of the Flies thing, and there's likely a hierarchy of powers, and maybe even evolution (is there an epigenetic pattern related to the power you used to have?), but I don't really care. This isn't a logical answer, but if it were in my lifetime, I likely wouldn't have survived this period. I have really bad allergies to indoctrination.
(I'm seeing the scene from the Logan film, I think)
I know there's some pretense of avoiding a Lord of the Flies thing, and there's likely a hierarchy of powers, and maybe even evolution (is there an epigenetic pattern related to the power you used to have?), but I don't really care. This isn't a logical answer, but if it were in my lifetime, I likely wouldn't have survived this period. I have really bad allergies to indoctrination.