Supreme Leader [username]

FAN: Discuss various fictional worlds that don't qualify for SF.

Moderator: Steve

Post Reply
User avatar
KraytKing
Jedi Knight
Posts: 582
Joined: 2016-04-11 06:39pm
Location: US East Coast

Supreme Leader [username]

Post by KraytKing »

A being of godlike power has gifted you with a passively exerted form of limited mind control best described as powerful charisma. You have this power of suggestion over all humans alive today and born in the next five years, at which point the newborns consider you the same as any other human of your stature. Those who are affected see you as an individual worthy of respect, but retain independent thought. All other humans do not become "yes men," but rather consider you as a middle schooler might consider a particularly well-liked teacher: smart, but not always right.

You are not required to be physically near another to have this effect, nor are you required to be in direct contact; the power becomes associated with you in every way. For example, a Greek rancher hearing your laws repeated by talking heads on the radio will suffer the same effects as the talking heads and the politicians to whom you originally pitched the idea.

You have become the best politician ever. What do you do?
If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
--Mace

The Old Testament has as much validity for the foundation of a religion as the pattern my recent case of insect bites formed on my ass.
--Solauren

I always get nervous when I hear the word Christian.
--Mountain

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Tribble »

I'd become the biggest troll in history, if only because it'll drive everyone here nuts. Preferably while also making a fortune, though that's more of a bonus :P
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
Castellan
Posts: 10361
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Yeah it would probably involve a lot of trolling. In all honesty I really have no interest in seizing power over the world or anything like that. So I'd probably use it to amuse myself and make my own life easier.

It's the same answer I give when someone asks "If you had Force powers would you be Jedi or SIth?" My answer is neither; I'd use it for generally small and selfish purposes.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
User avatar
Imperial528
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1798
Joined: 2010-05-03 06:19pm
Location: New England

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Imperial528 »

Try to use it to spread a generally higher-than-average level of collective empathy and critical thinking I guess? Also look into extremely precise forms of communication.

Trolling with this wouldn't even be fun. You're not going to get genuine reactions out of it, not really, unless this is at will. Though the OP makes it seem like it's an ever-present property of your own being.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Tribble »

Imperial528 wrote: 2018-01-24 06:51pm Try to use it to spread a generally higher-than-average level of collective empathy and critical thinking I guess? Also look into extremely precise forms of communication.

Trolling with this wouldn't even be fun. You're not going to get genuine reactions out of it, not really, unless this is at will. Though the OP makes it seem like it's an ever-present property of your own being.
Never stopped me from playing games like the Sims, and there I have wayyyyy more control :P
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
Imperial528
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1798
Joined: 2010-05-03 06:19pm
Location: New England

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Imperial528 »

Despite liking trolling a good lot myself, I believe doing it using this ability is rather unethical.
User avatar
KraytKing
Jedi Knight
Posts: 582
Joined: 2016-04-11 06:39pm
Location: US East Coast

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by KraytKing »

Perhaps I should amend my statement: this is a thread to discuss your best-case-scenario, no-holds-barred plans for the human race. I may have been too specific in the OP.

I would embark on enormous public works projects only affordable by a government with no external enemies and no small-penis voters. Such as moving the entire US highway system underground and turning it into a gigantic wireless charging port. I don't have time for a full wish list right now, but you get the idea.
If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
--Mace

The Old Testament has as much validity for the foundation of a religion as the pattern my recent case of insect bites formed on my ass.
--Solauren

I always get nervous when I hear the word Christian.
--Mountain

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by The Romulan Republic »

KraytKing wrote: 2018-01-24 05:16pm A being of godlike power has gifted you with a passively exerted form of limited mind control best described as powerful charisma. You have this power of suggestion over all humans alive today and born in the next five years, at which point the newborns consider you the same as any other human of your stature. Those who are affected see you as an individual worthy of respect, but retain independent thought. All other humans do not become "yes men," but rather consider you as a middle schooler might consider a particularly well-liked teacher: smart, but not always right.

You are not required to be physically near another to have this effect, nor are you required to be in direct contact; the power becomes associated with you in every way. For example, a Greek rancher hearing your laws repeated by talking heads on the radio will suffer the same effects as the talking heads and the politicians to whom you originally pitched the idea.

You have become the best politician ever. What do you do?
Can I turn it off if I wish? Because otherwise, it has just become highly questionable weather I can ever engage in a consensual relationship, since I am sending out a form of mental influence that affects the judgment of those around me.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Broomstick
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 28724
Joined: 2004-01-02 07:04pm
Location: Industrial armpit of the US Midwest

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Broomstick »

I would use it to get universal single-payer healthcare in the US as a start. Not sure what would be next on the lsit but that would be first.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. Leonard Nimoy.

Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy

Sam Vimes Theory of Economic Injustice
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Broomstick wrote: 2018-01-24 10:58pm I would use it to get universal single-payer healthcare in the US as a start. Not sure what would be next on the lsit but that would be first.
That's as good a use as any.

I know damn well that I do not have the experience or personality to be good President material (nor do I meet the legal age requirements for another six and a half years), so I probably find a good candidate to put my name and charm behind.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
GuppyShark
Sith Devotee
Posts: 2829
Joined: 2005-03-13 06:52am
Location: South Australia

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by GuppyShark »

I wouldn't overtly take a side (because that's tyranny). I'd just strongly suggest that only people who genuinely have the best interests of their constituents apply for or remain in public office. Can you imagine a world where the instruments of state are operating at the behest of people trying to improve the lives of their people, and not seen as a means to an end?
User avatar
mr friendly guy
The Doctor
Posts: 11235
Joined: 2004-12-12 10:55pm
Location: In a 1960s police telephone box somewhere in Australia

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by mr friendly guy »

Well I could quit politics and use my ability to make money.

For example buy a penny stock and convince people up put in lots of money at which point I sell. Then just for kicks I could short the stocks and convince people I am correct. My shorting a stock career would start with neutrogena which some wallstreet dude tried to short because he felt it was a crappy product and a MLM bordering on a ponzi scheme.

Then I would use my new found wealth to make the world a better place.
Never apologise for being a geek, because they won't apologise to you for being an arsehole. John Barrowman - 22 June 2014 Perth Supernova.

Countries I have been to - 14.
Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, USA.
Always on the lookout for more nice places to visit.
Simon_Jester
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 30165
Joined: 2009-05-23 07:29pm

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Simon_Jester »

GuppyShark wrote: 2018-01-25 06:23am I wouldn't overtly take a side (because that's tyranny).
I respect this, but I really couldn't stand aside from certain things.
I'd just strongly suggest that only people who genuinely have the best interests of their constituents apply for or remain in public office. Can you imagine a world where the instruments of state are operating at the behest of people trying to improve the lives of their people, and not seen as a means to an end?
See, the problem is, how do you get people to think that over? It doesn't do much good as long as hucksters have freedom of action. Most people really do believe that he people they vote for have their best interests at heart, or at least are trying to do their best with a bad situation.

I'd try to continue acting within the boundaries and confines of the system, but I don't think I could in good conscience abstain from using active mind control powers to convince people, say, that it really is okay to institute a system like single payer health care that works in literally every other country in the world. Or that investigating whether the president took foreign money to get elected is more important than investigating whether the investigation team contains a couple of people with political biases. Or, in general, that standing up for the powerful is not morally equivalent to standing up for the powerless. Or that literally nobody should be voting for a child molester.
This space dedicated to Vasily Arkhipov
User avatar
GuppyShark
Sith Devotee
Posts: 2829
Joined: 2005-03-13 06:52am
Location: South Australia

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by GuppyShark »

It's unclear how effective this mind control is. If it works well enough that the candidates effectively self-select against greed, the outcome improves, without having to mind control the entire population.
User avatar
GuppyShark
Sith Devotee
Posts: 2829
Joined: 2005-03-13 06:52am
Location: South Australia

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by GuppyShark »

Outside the edit window: "this is a thread to discuss your best-case-scenario, no-holds-barred plans for the human race. I may have been too specific in the OP."

I think we all read this as less impactful than OP intended. We're all worried about how to save the world without having so much power it corrupts.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Tribble »

GuppyShark wrote: 2018-01-25 09:37pm Outside the edit window: "this is a thread to discuss your best-case-scenario, no-holds-barred plans for the human race. I may have been too specific in the OP."

I think we all read this as less impactful than OP intended. We're all worried about how to save the world without having so much power it corrupts.
Well, some of us anyways, I just want to have fun. :P
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
GuppyShark
Sith Devotee
Posts: 2829
Joined: 2005-03-13 06:52am
Location: South Australia

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by GuppyShark »

Yep. It's an interesting thought experiment.

My first musings were to start small: walking past a smoker "Hey, that's bad for your health, you should find a way to quit." or to visit prisons and recommend they seriously try to rehabilitate. Then I decided to go straight for the corruption jugular.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Tribble »

Well if you everyone to be serious

I would aim for some constitutional changes in Canada which I feel in the long run would be of some benefit. I won't go into too much detail but it would be along the lines of adopting mixed-member proportional representation across the board, an elected Senate (with some adjustments on how they function), making municipalities a part of the constitution etc.

Btw for those of you living in B.C. there's going to be a referendum on mixed-member proportional representation later this year; it'll be the last chance for electoral reform in Canada for the foreseeable future IMO.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
Esquire
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1581
Joined: 2011-11-16 11:20pm

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by Esquire »

Well, first-things-first we're going to have an NHS of our own and a UBI pegged to inflation and state-level consumer price indexes, replacing minimum wages and welfare programs. Then we're going to get rid of all individual tax law more complicated than 'here is your rate by net asset growth.' Then we're going to build a lot of nuclear power plants, and a lot of mass transit. Then we're going to uncouple school funding from local property taxes, decriminalize nonviolent drug offenses, legalize marijuana, and make all other nonviolent drug offenses feed into NHS-covered treatment programs*. All political districts are now drawn to be maximally-competitive while being a) somewhat representative of real communities, and b) not an egregiously-silly shape. Federal elections now take place over three days, all of which are Federal holidays, and all employers have to give all employees at least one of these as a paid holiday with full benefit accrual.

That's the systems-level stuff I'm confident enough in to just do, day-1; further refinement will probably be necessary and I want to set up a lot of expert panels to study many more questions in a more rigorous way than has been done so far.
“Heroes are heroes because they are heroic in behavior, not because they won or lost.” Nassim Nicholas Taleb
orthranus
Redshirt
Posts: 2
Joined: 2018-02-04 07:17pm

Re: Supreme Leader [username]

Post by orthranus »

Dismantle totalitarian states first. Try to overhaul infrastructure in third world countries. Turn the Sahara into a solar farm to fuel Africa and Europe. Build a standardized education system based around the IB and AP curriculums. Eradicate fundamentalism. Kill military budgets and use the money to fuel everything else. Also a world wide road system because screw it.
Post Reply