X-Men fans: what if mutants actually existed?

[Mojotronica]

Hypothetical: about one in 100,000 is a mutant w/ a power or powers ranging f/ trivial to frighteningly powerful or potentially invasive. The fact that mutants exist is becoming public knowledge. How would this change the world? Would gambling operations be undermined by mutant cheaters? Security systems defeated by stealthy mutants? Intelligence activities and technological and military secrets exposed or stolen by telepaths? Would a mutant who could turn lead into gold destroy the economy? How would professional sports be affected?

You are not a mutant, and are being pressured as a citizen to vote for or against legislation that would register, regulate or even outlaw mutant powers. How would you deal with this new uncertainty? Would you trust a telepath not to read your mind? What if a bully who's physical threat was enhanced by super-strength or invulnerability was targeting you?

Comics deal with this by speculating that the gov't would use mutants to combat abuses, and pass some useless but comforting regulation that makes the mutant protagonists lives harder...

Supposing that the gov't started rounding up the mutants and sending them to concentration camps -- would you protest, or join the underground resistance them? Or would you feel relieved -- maybe even join the political campaign to round them up?

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

What if? Indeed. There are thousands of indiciduals with genetic variances produces abilities great dnough to be consider special powers. One example is vison. In almost all of the population, the brain processes only a small fraction of the impluses sent it from the eyes, for some persons the % is significantly higher and they can see objects in motion too fast for most to see. Like high speed bullets, some frame rates of animation, subliminal text, etc.

 

[philippe]

hmmm im against camps.but we can let have the mutants be if they are willing,researched
so that everyonca have mutant powers

 

[Mojotronica]

What if you WERE a mutant, but with a fairly unsuper-heroic or even useless power, such as being able to eat anything (like Legion of Substitute Heroes Matter-Eater Lad) or being able to change the color of your hair at will.

Then the mutant detection devices peg you as a threat, and you get carted off to a camp full of other ticked-off mutants, some of whom have truly terrifying powers...

 

[Cecasander]

The possibility of mutations is very possible, but its pretty unlikely that the 'mutants' would really have 'super powers'. Mutations are adaptions to a certain enviroment. People born in space are mutants either, since they are adapted to the low gravity, and they will never be able to live on earth...

 

[EzInKy]

Originally posted by Cecasander
The possibility of mutations is very possible, but its pretty unlikely that the 'mutants' would really have 'super powers'. Mutations are adaptions to a certain enviroment. People born in space are mutants either, since they are adapted to the low gravity, and they will never be able to live on earth...

Interesting, I've always wondered who was the first to have intercourse in space and whether they conceived or not.

 

[vonork]

I say: "No registration, nomatter if it based on colour or power"

 

[Mojotronica]

EzInKy -- no one's 'fessed up about having sex in space yet. No babies have been born off of Earth yet, but the theory is that a baby raised in zero-G environment wouldn't develop the muscle mass to survive on Earth.

Mutations happen all the time. They are completely random, but mutants with useful traits tend to survive. They are not reactions to the environment, rather those who react well to the environment tend to adapt to it better than those who don't. It's a subtle distinction, but necessary to make if you are to truly understand Darwin's theory.

It takes massive death within a species to change it -- because the survivors are the ones with the desirable traits.

I think that misunderstanding of this idea is part of the reason why so many people are irrationally skeptical of the ToE.

However all of this is OT -- I am speculating about "mutants" in the Marvel comics sense -- characters w/ basically magical abilities that manifest in adolescence...

 

[RoddyVR]

if i was a mutant with a super power i'd be against registration/regulation of mutants, because i wanna be free to use or not use my power as i see fit.

if i was a mutant with a crappy power i'd be against registration/regulation of mutants, because i dont wanna end up in a cell with someone with a real power who's only amusement would be to practice his power on me.

if i was a regular average person (which i aint) then i would be against registraition/regulation of mutants cause i would want to find a mutant who could make me a mutant.

if i was just some guy posting in a forum where this question was proposed, i would say:
"put em all in chains and then throw them in the ocean. except for those that have water related powers, throw those in the desert and bury them"

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

I'd be pro-Mutant.

 

[Ohwell]

Mutants exist, just not in the absurd forms we see in movies. Everybody slowly mutates their genes.

 

[Scrimshaw]

If mutants like the marvel comic variety existed for real, we'd be in some serious crap. I don't honestly think most people, never mind teenagers have the restraint to control such abilities. There'd be abuse of such abilities everywhere to the point where such legislature you talk about would seem reasonable. Like what would any of you do when you've had your mind read for the 5000th time or what if your neighbor was a 1000lb of muscle hothead?

Also depends on the ability I think too. If someone was born with the strength of the hulk for example they'd probably get arrogant and would walk all over everyone else when they know nobody could touch them. Granted some people could handle such abilities but I think the expression "absolute power corrupt absolutely" applies nicely here for a large amount of the population.

 

[Dark Ascendant]

If 1 in 100,000 people were mutants, some of them with destructive supernatural abilities, the human race would soon be extinct. In other words, the Magneto clique would rule the world, and normal people would be obsolete.