# Realistic reaction to being able to get away with anything?



## MrPizzle (Nov 22, 2013)

If the average person was to somehow get their hands on something (a supernatural object for example) that allows them to get away with anything: Murder, money and power. How would someone react to that?

The character is typical of such, someone you see everyday perhaps a student, young adult (16-25), I want to portray such discovery of an item that allows them to get away with anything they want. The scene focus's on the characters mind, a tense build-up of emotions that bursts out as a maniacal/evil/mad laugh. I don't know how someone could acknowledge an idea of being able to get away with anything apart from bursting out into a mad laugh.

Is the mind capable of accepting and acknowledging that amount of power without having mental disorders popping up such as megalomania or instantly becoming a sociopath? Or will they just instantly snap and just end up intoxicated by it, be instantly sent to the opposite side of the sanity scale?

Do you think that sounds realistic? On a normal day, you yourself came across some odd looking object that allows you to get away with anything, keys to the world really, how would the idea of such notion affect you? You have the entire world in your hands.

And if such thing were to happen, how long would you estimate for someone to abuse it?


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## Nickleby (Nov 22, 2013)

As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only question, I'd say, is how long it would take. Someone with scruples would hesitate--"I'm just trying it out" or "My ultimate goal is to help mankind." An opportunist would only wait long enough to make sure he truly could "get away with anything."

Then you have to account for what he wants to do. Money, sex, and power are the only real goals in life. When you can have whatever you want, it could get old in a hurry.

What about the people around him, friends, parents, etc.? Would they know about the power?

Speaking personally, I'd be afraid of such an item. That much power has a way of backfiring.


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## MrPizzle (Nov 22, 2013)

Nickleby said:


> As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only question, I'd say, is how long it would take. Someone with scruples would hesitate--"I'm just trying it out" or "My ultimate goal is to help mankind." An opportunist would only wait long enough to make sure he truly could "get away with anything."
> 
> Then you have to account for what he wants to do. Money, sex, and power are the only real goals in life. When you can have whatever you want, it could get old in a hurry.
> 
> ...



Would helping mankind or other goals be ignored at first? The first thing a person would do is to experiment with it, I have no doubts that someone would be intrigued by something that can give you power, they would  try it out which would come at the cost of some humanity as the only way to test it is to use it on unsuspecting people, becoming test subjects.

Once a person can safely confirm that it is the real deal, I'm trying to get an idea of how a normal person would react really. Get so emotionally overwhelmed by it that they become instantly intoxicated by the power?

No, the character is completely anonymous. He/she is currently the only being to wield such item, he/she is also smart enough to avoid detection, both emotionally and physically.


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## Nickleby (Nov 22, 2013)

It's hard to talk about this without knowing more about the item or the protagonist. I'm not sure that someone would surrender their humanity so quickly, and I'm wondering if your item is influencing the protagonist's mind in some way. I don't know what you mean by "test," but people do experiments when they _don't know_ the result ahead of time. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't hurt or kill someone just to see if there was a _possibility_ I could get away with it.


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## Lyra Laurant (Nov 25, 2013)

It is hard to say without knowing your character or the power, but I don't believe any "normal person" would become a sociopath instantly. If he already has that tendency, maybe it's ok to do evil eyes expression and mad laugh once he uses it for the first time... Maybe.

As for me, I'm still in your age group and have no mental disorders as long as I know. If I found an object that it supposed to grant powers, my rational side would say "nah, something like that couldn't be true". But humans _do_ have an inclination for believing in unbeliveable things. I'd test it out. I'd begin with something small because, at the same time I'd think it wouldn't work, the possibility of it working would scare me. At the first test I'd hope it doesn't work because having such a power is wrong, but also I'd really really wish it works because forbidden things are very exciting.

OMG. OMG. It works! I have all this power in my hands? What now.
I'd probably use it for the sake of someone else, but deep within me it could be just an excuse. Who knows? Then, using that excuse, I would take another step with something a little more ambitious. Then a bit more, and more, until I'm so addicted to it I can't give up on it, and I'd try to fix my mistakes using the power, and the vicious cicle would get worse and worse... MUWAHAHAHAHA <--that's my mad laugh time.

Ok, I actually have some moral limits, and it is possible that the first test would scare me so much I'd get rid of the object in a way I could never get it back, so I'd never be tempted to use it again. But then the story wouldn't be so interesting


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## tabasco5 (Nov 26, 2013)

I would say it is up to you as the writer as to what happens.  It could go any number of ways depending on the individual.  But if you are looking for specific examples of individuals in these circumstances, research the lives of federal reserve chairmen, big bank execs, congressmen, presidents, etc.


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## Schrody (Nov 27, 2013)

Disbelief, shock, thrill, loneliness, bitterness, death (maybe?), if we're talking about some shady guys, but who knows what would cross our minds in such situation? Would we rob all the banks, and where would it go? To the sick, needy, or in our safe? Would we kill, torture, or try to make world a better place? We all can say we would do something, but limitless (we would never get caught) power often turns people to moral freaks. I hope it never happens, because as an old saying says: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."


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## illogical (Nov 27, 2013)

Again, difficult to say depending on your character but personally I'd say that I'd test the object in small ways at first. I'd tell nobody and once I was certain of its powers I suppose I'd use it for both my own gain and everybody else's. I'd help wherever possible, and perhaps donate a large portion of my life to making the world a better place, but I'd also live well. I wouldn't use it to do anything that goes against my personal morals, i.e. wouldn't hurt anybody or take something that isn't mine, however I wouldn't necessarily live a completely legal life if I were somewhere wherein I disagreed with some of the laws.
Hope that helps!

- - - Updated - - -

Again, difficult to say depending on your character but personally I'd say that I'd test the object in small ways at first. I'd tell nobody and once I was certain of its powers I suppose I'd use it for both my own gain and everybody else's. I'd help wherever possible, and perhaps donate a large portion of my life to making the world a better place, but I'd also live well. I wouldn't use it to do anything that goes against my personal morals, i.e. wouldn't hurt anybody or take something that isn't mine, however I wouldn't necessarily live a completely legal life if I were somewhere wherein I disagreed with some of the laws.
Hope that helps!


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## Euripides (Nov 27, 2013)

reading this made me think of the manga Death Note. and then Nickleby's first response made me think about Mega Mind. (the whole idea when you can have anything, it gets old fast)

But i think how you would response would depend on your character. 
Someone who's selfish and 'evil' would probably really enjoy the power, and be blind to how it could corrupt them, and the consequences of their actions.
Someone who's skeptical and very 'grounded', may try it, have what they tried happen, not believe it (just happenstance), try it again still not believe it, and may shelf it, or keep trying bugger and bigger things until....OMG, this is awesome! And then...are they selfish or a do gooder?
A do-gooder would probably try to use it to help friends and family first, then the world, at what point does the power corrupt them to the point where they don't see they are a tyrant, and have taken away people's ability to chose for themselves?

Me? I'd reset the cosmic clock 

(what's with the double posting?)


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## Morkonan (Nov 30, 2013)

MrPizzle said:


> If the average person was to somehow get their hands on something (a supernatural object for example) that allows them to get away with anything: Murder, money and power. How would someone react to that?



At first, I'd expect their reaction to be one of "fear." Fear that the object really doesn't do what it say's on the box... Fear that there may be some repercussions to its use that the user isn't aware of. Fear that's based on the idea that if this object exist, what else exists that the user wasn't previously aware of?



> Is the mind capable of accepting and acknowledging that amount of power without having mental disorders popping up such as megalomania or instantly becoming a sociopath? Or will they just instantly snap and just end up intoxicated by it, be instantly sent to the opposite side of the sanity scale?



It's tremendously difficult to actually become someone who is able to be classified as having a mental disorder. You don't just get "sociopathy" like you can get a common cold. One might "act" sociopathic, in a limited sense, or "become" megalomaniacal, but those conditions generally require significant issues with the person's wet-ware. (Brain)

No, they won't easily become a sociopath. They will still have the capacity to empathize with other people, even if they ignore some of that, for a time, while exploring their new power. However, because they weren't a sociopath to begin with, they may have a harsh price to pay in regards to their own mental health, should they choose to act in a sociopathic way. Eventually, that may catch up to them and cause them serious issues.

It's worth noting, though, that once you give someone the "Ultimate Power", the rules that we mundane humans operate by get flung out the window... Since the user can do whatever they want, there may be ways they can just "wish" away any self-destructive things that they have caused. But, if the user is godlike in their abilities, why wouldn't being "megelomaniacal" be a natural state for such a person?



> Do you think that sounds realistic? On a normal day, you yourself came across some odd looking object that allows you to get away with anything, keys to the world really, how would the idea of such notion affect you? You have the entire world in your hands.
> 
> And if such thing were to happen, how long would you estimate for someone to abuse it?



Abuse would come swiftly, I think. But, there again, we have someone who is capable of operating outside of conventional judgements. Why would we consider any use of such an object to be an "abuse" of it? Seriously, you _must_ define that. I'll give you an example:

A scene from Jurassic Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLvdmifDSk

Here, Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldbloom) makes an appeal to a "Higher Power." He says, "..(They).. were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." It's ethics, the natural order or some other sort of "Higher Power" he is appealing to, here, besides just "The Unknown."

Where does your idea of "abuse" fit in, here? Where is it that a person who is capable of doing anything questions whether or not they should? There are plenty of stories about such characters, who have some sort of power to affect change in the world in any way that they wish. In most stories like that, the character is confronted with basic issues of ethics. Does having such a power mean one should be benevolent in its use? What is "benevolence" anyway, if one can do anything? What other definitions must be rewritten and how could they possibly apply in any meaningful way?

In short, there is no outside force to recon with, here. There are no police to call, no courts to stand in trepidation of, no society to shun one, etc.. (Unless one wants to invoke religious/fantasy situations.) What sort of Ethics applies to someone who is omnipotent? It's all internal, really, and that's what you have to work with. There is nothing that can possibly say that this character's use of a power is abusive other than the character, themselves.

- - - Updated - - -



MrPizzle said:


> If the average person was to somehow get their hands on something (a supernatural object for example) that allows them to get away with anything: Murder, money and power. How would someone react to that?



At first, I'd expect their reaction to be one of "fear." Fear that the object really doesn't do what it say's on the box... Fear that there may be some repercussions to its use that the user isn't aware of. Fear that's based on the idea that if this object exist, what else exists that the user wasn't previously aware of?



> Is the mind capable of accepting and acknowledging that amount of power without having mental disorders popping up such as megalomania or instantly becoming a sociopath? Or will they just instantly snap and just end up intoxicated by it, be instantly sent to the opposite side of the sanity scale?



It's tremendously difficult to actually become someone who is able to be classified as having a mental disorder. You don't just get "sociopathy" like you can get a common cold. One might "act" sociopathic, in a limited sense, or "become" megalomaniacal, but those conditions generally require significant issues with the person's wet-ware. (Brain)

No, they won't easily become a sociopath. They will still have the capacity to empathize with other people, even if they ignore some of that, for a time, while exploring their new power. However, because they weren't a sociopath to begin with, they may have a harsh price to pay in regards to their own mental health, should they choose to act in a sociopathic way. Eventually, that may catch up to them and cause them serious issues.

It's worth noting, though, that once you give someone the "Ultimate Power", the rules that we mundane humans operate by get flung out the window... Since the user can do whatever they want, there may be ways they can just "wish" away any self-destructive things that they have caused. But, if the user is godlike in their abilities, why wouldn't being "megelomaniacal" be a natural state for such a person?



> Do you think that sounds realistic? On a normal day, you yourself came across some odd looking object that allows you to get away with anything, keys to the world really, how would the idea of such notion affect you? You have the entire world in your hands.
> 
> And if such thing were to happen, how long would you estimate for someone to abuse it?



Abuse would come swiftly, I think. But, there again, we have someone who is capable of operating outside of conventional judgements. Why would we consider any use of such an object to be an "abuse" of it? Seriously, you _must_ define that. I'll give you an example:

A scene from Jurassic Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLvdmifDSk

Here, Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldbloom) makes an appeal to a "Higher Power." He says, "..(They).. were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." It's ethics, the natural order or some other sort of "Higher Power" he is appealing to, here, besides just "The Unknown."

Where does your idea of "abuse" fit in, here? Where is it that a person who is capable of doing anything questions whether or not they should? There are plenty of stories about such characters, who have some sort of power to affect change in the world in any way that they wish. In most stories like that, the character is confronted with basic issues of ethics. Does having such a power mean one should be benevolent in its use? What is "benevolence" anyway, if one can do anything? What other definitions must be rewritten and how could they possibly apply in any meaningful way?

In short, there is no outside force to recon with, here. There are no police to call, no courts to stand in trepidation of, no society to shun one, etc.. (Unless one wants to invoke religious/fantasy situations.) What sort of Ethics applies to someone who is omnipotent? It's all internal, really, and that's what you have to work with. There is nothing that can possibly say that this character's use of a power is abusive other than the character, themselves.


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## ppsage (Nov 30, 2013)

> If the average person was to somehow get their hands on something (a supernatural object for example) that allows them to get away with anything: Murder, money and power. How would someone react to that?


Most people I know would turn it over to the proper authorities. Or else go on Jerry Springer. Then speculate regretfully and interminably.


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## Aello (Dec 30, 2013)

I think the character's immediate reaction will depend on what they like to think that they want, and their ultimate decision will depend on what they secretly want. Such as Light Yagami from Death Note, who began thinking that he was just bored and wanted to do something meaningful and challenging, but really, he just wanted to "win". 

I think my own immediate reaction to such a thing would be to try and destroy it once I realized what it was, just in case I ever lost it to more careless hands or became careless myself. I'd probably bake it in the oven, place it beneath the wheel of a car, throw it into a lake, whatever I could think of.  I've read enough fiction to know that nothing ever comes for "free" and that I might not like the cost whenever I realize what that might be.


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