Dreams of Power...

[seawasp]

Many of us have wished to have some particular superpower or supernatural ability. For most of my life, the one power I would have wanted more than any other was simply flight -- of the Superman sort, just think "Up, up and away!" and be streaking through the sky, hovering, etc. (unspoken assumption is the power comes with basic safeguards that make it reasonable to use -- i.e., I don't freeze to death or suddenly go anoxic at high altitudes, for example).

However, I've recently found a new superpower that has utterly eclipsed even flight in terms of "dear GOD I'd love to have that": From Naruto, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu or Shadow Clone Technique. This technique allows the user to duplicate themselves (depending on how much power they have, they can duplicate themselves a LOT), with each duplicate having the skills, knowledge, etc. of the original (so they can talk, fight, etc., just like the real one), can act separately or together, and -- the clincher -- whenever they are undone (killed, banished deliberately, etc.), the ORIGINAL GETS ALL OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES OF ALL OF HIS CLONES.

This has so many cool applications it's mindboggling.

So, what's YOUR dream power?

Comments

[burger-eater.livejournal.com]

I want to have superspeed: The Flash edition.

That comes not only with running crazy long distances in the blink of an eye, but also thinking at superspeed.

I could solve all my plot problems in two weeks ten minutes!

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking teleportation: no more 40-minute commutes to work, could visit friends at long distances without being exhausted when I get there and when I get home, that sort of thing.

But that Shadow Clone Technique is pretty damn cool.

[ross-teneyck.livejournal.com]

A local radio station has an occasional bit where they ask people on the street a standard series of questions, one of which is, "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" "Invisibility" is a surprisingly common answer, especially among men; "flight" seems to be the next most common.

For myself... there are a lot of possibilities. Wolverine-style regeneration is a strong contender, since you can laugh not only at almost any injury but also at the possibility of any kind of chronic health condition. Not to mention it comes with the bonus of greatly extended lifespan.

Another one I would give serious consideration is teleportation -- here I'm thinking like in the movie Jumper only without Samuel L. Jackson trying to kill me. It would mean you could travel all over the world, see everything, and if you feel like dropping in on any distant friends or relatives -- poof! There you are. Plus I could finally have the house I've always wanted, which is one situated on a remote forested bluff overlooking the ocean miles away from anyone, with easy access to the downtown core of a major city.

Most of the telepathy variants I think I would actively prefer not to have. They just seem like trouble. And energy-projector powers seem like they would have limited utility in ordinary life. Ditto with the generic brick suite.

So yeah... regeneration or teleportation. A hard choice.

[von-krag.livejournal.com]

More brains, Reed Richards, Tony Stark & Kim Kinnison type. Think your way into long life & health.

[dsrtao]

One gaming version of me has cyberpsi -- machine telepathy and control, basically. Another has both combat teleportation -- instantaneous but limited to line of sight -- and long-distance teleportation, taking seconds to many minutes of concentration to go anywhere that I've already been or from where I have a physical token.

I'd be pretty happy with the royal powers of Amber or the Courts of Chaos.

Or I might be a dragon -- red with black highlights -- who happens to take human form as desired.

[kgbooklog.livejournal.com]

Something similar to that clone thing was used in the webcomic Flaky Pastry, starting here (though that story arc represents almost half the story so far, so you may want to start at the very beginning anyway). The bit about gaining your clone's memories is used in Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series, with some interesting ethical considerations in the second book.

For myself, I'll take regeneration.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Telepathy/Mind Control. Very odd that every drug dealer in San Jose decided to eat his gun last night...

[hallerlake.livejournal.com]

Rather fond of precognition :)

[aardy.livejournal.com]

With the exception of being limited by power/will vs. happening every time he gets hit, that "Shadow Clone Technique" sounds like pretty much the same power as the Marvel Universe's Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man.

[midnightlurker.livejournal.com]

...I want tentacles. :)

[k-kinnison.livejournal.com]

Invisibility, or teleportation are my powers of choice.

The problem with cloning is... who gets to do what. I mean i could have one clone do my job, but would i still need to eat? or could my original just sit and surf all day, or even take classes and better educate myself? who gets to decide who has to work, who takes cals, and who gets to have the day off?

With invisibility i could snoop on people without their knowing, and of course see them when they think no one is looking.

But with teleportation, being able to travel anywhere anytime would be my greatest joy. I could travel to far away states and countries for the weekend, and still stay at home at night. Travel expenses would not be an issue. If I would be able to bring along a space suit and travel the distance, i could see the universe

[k-kinnison.livejournal.com]

Here Here! for 2nd stage lensman Kimball Kinnison!

[kengr]

Find the original Jumper *book*. And the sequel. They are much better than the movie. :-)

[kengr]

actualy, while teleportation is neat, and I'd probably go with it, I'm rather tempted by limited shape shifting. Specifically the ability to change sex at will (even if the change takes a few days)

BTW, for an interesting variant on the shadow clone type abilities, check out the Jade character in the Whateley Academy stories.

The first Jade story is here: http://www.crystalhall.org/jade01.html

[seawasp]

I knew you were going to say that.

[seawasp]

No, you misunderstand the way Kage Bunshin no Jutsu works. It's got all the advantages of duplication and none of the disadvantages, really. Let's take my current situation. I wake up in the morning, have my breakfast and so on. Then I duplicate myself twice. I go off to work, I go upstairs to write, and I go out to do the shopping for the house and hang with the family. Then at some agreed-upon time we meet up, I banish the others, and have my lunch. I remember the writing, the work, and the shopping, etc. I did all of them. At once. But separately, so there's no confusion. They are, in effect, extensions of me. There's More Me, but none of the problem of the permanent separation duplication, where the others have to eat X times more food, need X times more space, need X times more clothing (the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu duplicates the clothing and everything else on the person),and eventually develop differing "me" personalities.

Want to learn martial arts, but it'll take you a year to become good enough at it to make a difference? Make five clones during practice and the six of you will learn it in two months.

Caught in an alley by a bunch of muggers? Make a bunch of clones and even the odds. And only ONE of you can actually get permanently hurt, so keep that one behind the others.

Sudden schedule conflict where someone has to go to an appointment but you're expecting an important package? One clone stays home while the other takes people to the appointment.

The clincher in all of these is that there's ONE of you whenever that's the convenient aspect, and several of you only when that's convenient.

[guy-jin.livejournal.com]

Teleportation, definitely.

Also, if you do it fast enough, you can sort of imitate some aspects of that shadow clone power.

[hallerlake.livejournal.com]

Your super power of pun-ishment seems to be in proper form :)

[lexomatic.livejournal.com]

The duplicate-and-absorb-memories trope was the central premise of the David Brin novel Kiln People. Making personal duplicates ("dittos" or "dits," made of a special clay) is an industry. You can buy clay blanks that are specialized for strength, intelligence (to do your taxes), non-intelligence (to clean your bathroom), and so forth. And each dit is willing to do its assigned job, no matter how dangerous or noisome, because it knows the memories it acquires will be fed back into the human original. (Dits are strictly short-lived; most models have internal power for one day.) Except for disposable copies, such as those manufactured under the tradename Claymate. You can follow the logic chain from that pun, I'm sure.

In Wil McCarthy's "Queendom of Sol" tetralogy, starting with The Collapsium, duplicates are made via the ubiquitous nanotech "faxes" that also provide transportation and fabrication. The faxes are smart enough to reconverge memories, unless someone's made an illicit copy and torture has caused it to diverge too far.

In Ben 10, one of the later Omnitrix Aliens has the duplication power; Ben dubs it, naturally, Ditto. He discovers that he can't revert unless all the copies are in proximity.

In Xiaolin Showdown there's a magical artifact that can duplicate you, but the cost is that it divides your intelligence. Spawn too many copies and they're such cretins that they forgot the need to recombine.

[noctyrnus.livejournal.com]

Healing fast and quick , kind of like Wolverine's ability

[qinshihuangdi.livejournal.com]

Back when I was lurking on the Bar, someone asked a similar question. One of the rules was that it could not directly kill people. The one I came up with was an unlimited teleporter with a 'perfect' parser.

This would allow me to say, teleport to Mars, having it bring in a breathable atmosphere and continuously dump what I don't want elsewhere. Then it might make me a car, not of any known brand, but still excellently designed and built to very high tolerances by teleporting atoms and molecules from all over the universe. Then I could have it make me roads and bridges and stuff, and drive and drive. It would keep my gas tank full should I so instruct it. I could get valuable scientific data by requesting a report.

There are things that I imagine it couldn't do. I am not certain whether it should be able to get me the seventh lensman book. I think it would be limited in how horrificly it could indirectly kill people.

[qinshihuangdi.livejournal.com]

The problem with Kage Bunshin is that unless you are Naruto, and if you go strictly by canon, one would have a far more limited ability to use it. Some of Fanon, and I am not sure if this is tied to canon in any way, suggests that there are also psychological drawbacks to using it that Naruto may or may not resistant to.

Personally, I would want to be better at finding work. As this is something I can improve myself, I think I am in pretty good shape.

[seawasp]

Naruto's main advantage is that he has **BUTTLOADS** of chakra (courtesy of having a world-destroying demonlord locked inside him) and can thus make, not one or two or even three or four clones, but dozens or even HUNDREDS of them. That stay around for hours.

I'd settle for two or three clones; I'm not looking to learn a jutsu that takes ten years to master in three days.

[qinshihuangdi.livejournal.com]

Yeah but leaving aside chakra being a fictional mystical energy, if it wasn't, how much would you have? I doubt you could convince me that you would necessarily have the reserves of a Sannin or a Jounin, and if you have less then that, well... My understanding is that the thing is on the forbidden jutsu scroll for a reason. An unwary user will kill himself via chakra exhaustion*. If Naruto had not had the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, he would have died back in, IIRC, volume one when he learned the thing, assuming he didn't kill himself first. (This, of course, that he has the same habits and circumstances that he does with the Kyuubi in him, which is a dubious assumption.)

Anyhow, I think the power isn't as neat if you have to constantly worry about dying from using it.

*I think I remember you saying you didn't watch Naruto prior to the time skip. During that part of the story, a Jounin teaches a Genin with a very high for a Genin chakra capacity another high chakra jutsu. It is stated that the Genin can use the jutsu N times a day, if he tries for N+1, he will die and not succeed in the final attempt. The Jounin is limited to a small but slightly higher number of uses. I think I remember that Shadow clone divides the users Chakra evenly between the user and the clone/s, and this is part of what makes it so dangerous. I seem to remember a lot of incidents of powerful ninja incapacitated from using up all their chakra.

[melchar.livejournal.com]

Another vote for teleportation here, followed by several tons of area effect TK [that can lift objects or simulate flight].

[chuk-g.livejournal.com]

I always wanted telekinesis, but with really really fine control so that you could do things like microsurgery or separating mixtures into their components (plus of course the brute strength to lift buildings and fly).

Dreams of Power...

[paulbearman.livejournal.com]

Oh Lord - as long as we are dreaming, why not a suite of related powers?
Teleportation, Telepathy, and Telekinetic ability.

Unlimited range teleportation, telekinetic ability, including the ability to shield, and some kind of automatically translating telepathy (and telepathic shielding too, of course.)

I could deal with that.

Re: Dreams of Power...

[seawasp]

Because I said POWER, of course, not powers.

Suite of powers is all very different thinking process.

Re: Dreams of Power...

[paulbearman.livejournal.com]

Picky picky picky...

Then think of it as a single power - say "power of mind" - that can manifest in several different ways.

Telekinetic power for example, could also manifest as the power of flight.

Honestly, I cannot think of any single power that would not mimic other powers. Even splitting into different independent instances of yourself gives you the power of remote observation. :)

-Paul

Re: Dreams of Power...

[seawasp]

I'll bet you're one of those Champions/HERO type gamers...

Re: Dreams of Power...

[paulbearman.livejournal.com]

Nope- but now that you pointed them out, I might just have to go get involved. :)

Actually, most of my free time is taken up now between catching up with commenting on your current writing (GCA will be a winner by the way) and setting up a new reef tank. Work intrudes on the rest of my life - drat it all.

-Paul

Re: Dreams of Power...

[seawasp]

No, man, don't do it! That way lies the hell of point-based systems and endless wangling over special effects!

I sure hope GCA is a winner. If I can just get the word out so enough people will READ it...

What kind of reef tank?

Re: Dreams of Power...

[paulbearman.livejournal.com]

LOL! GCA will be a winner, I am absolutely sure.

I'm not very knowledgeable in the gaming world, but that does look pretty interesting.

We are going to do a nano-reef this time, in a 22g Cadlights tank with HO T5 lights. Small enough to let us get up close and personal with some SPS corals and other creatures, and not break the bank setting it up.

Haven't quite decided on the stocking plan yet. It is a little small for a anemone, but Karen is really wanting a small Sabae and a pair of clowns to go with it. But she is also quite intrigued by some pink Pocillopora she saw the other day. I would rather go with pretty much inverts myself, but Karen just loves clowns. :)

Re: Dreams of Power...

[shana.livejournal.com]

To quote Ryk's youngest: "NEMO!"

Re: Dreams of Power...

[seawasp]

Well, if GCA does well, there's a LOT more that can follow...

I have a specific dislike of Champs/HERO system and related systems because they essentially have you build isolated powers whose in-game differences are miniscule and have minimal relationship to each other.

Yes, my child would definitely say "NEMO" to anything vaguely like a clownfish.

[selidor]

Astronomers would kill for the power to move clouds and humidity.
The demands on the time of normal superheroes to fight crime and generally keep the neighbourhood pleasant would pale in comparison - there'd be lines of request at the door every day.

[seawasp]

Well, one of my favorite powers was always Weather Control; my very first V&V character had it, and my longest-running superhero had it.

Lots of civilian applications of THAT.

[seawasp]

Sure, but I was talking about having the power, not about having all the other sundry limitations, provisios, quid-pro-quos, etc. Which includes not dying from burning up your soul.

In this world, I could certainly argue that the equivalent power of mind or discipline could come from sources other than being trained to be an assassin, of course, but that's not really the point of the exercise.

And yes, I doubt Naruto would have the same general behavior without the Kyuubi; even assuming that the Kyuubi's mind/attitude doesn't have any effect from inside, the regeneration factor that makes Naruto heal things so ludicrously fast affects how risk-taking you're going to be.