US Government's reaction to superhumans

[nexus]

Taking on the figurative "role" of the United States government would do you think the reaction would be to the following situation/premise: It is early 2007 and over the past few weeks several being, ostensibly human have appeared across the world displaying would could be described as superpowers: Enhanced strength, invulnerability, the power of flight, creation of matter and energy along with other stranger effects. They seem to come from all walks of life and all nationalities with no pattern observed to their appearance and allegiance so far.

 

One of the first incidents is detailed here

LINK (nsfw due to language)

 

How do you think things would proceed?

[QueenOfItAll]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Taking on the figurative "role" of the United States government would do you think the reaction would be to the following situation/premise: It is early 2007 and over the past few weeks several being, ostensibly human have appeared across the world displaying would could be described as superpowers: Enhanced strength, invulnerability, the power of flight, creation of matter and energy along with other stranger effects. They seem to come from all walks of life and all nationalities with no pattern observed to their appearance and allegiance so far.

 

One of the first incidents is detailed here

LINK (nsfw due to language)

 

How do you think things would proceed?

 

Cover up everything, deny everything, ignore everything. Id est, the same way the US government is "dealing" with global climate change.

[Beast]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

from the scenario given in the link

did any of Pablo's unit survive?

if so the woman if she resisted might still get shot(not that would mean much)

given that the road blocks are set up so only 1 soldier is at risk at a time

Pablo would get medivaced out as would the woman under gaurd

so far all that has been shown is the 2 have great resistance to damage

the woman would be disappeared

it might happen to Pablo too if he does not make contact with his family or a lot of his friends in the unit make a big stink wondering where he is since he survived intact and higher ups said he died (checking with the family would bring up a closed casket burial which would be questioned since he was intact and probably talking with unit buddies)

 

Les go with the woman gets disappeared and Pablo gets ordered to secrecy since he is still in the Army

both would get tested up the ying yang(blood,dna,catscan,spectragraph,etc)

the beginning tests would not be overly dangerous to normals but you might get the overzealous general or bureaucrat that might try and order more dangerous tests especially on the woman since she is presumed dead and probably accused of being in on the car bomb

 

if there is a detectable X-factor the goverment will go looking for it in everybody they can in secret for as long as they can

 

of course first recruits will be active military as they will be the the easist to get samples from and can be ordered around

 

if this is a survivor gene kinda thing that only works say 1 in 100

the goverment will only keep an eye on those that have it and see what they can recruit

 

if it is a sure thing the these people will be gauged,maneuvered,groomed to be recruited if possible and a new type of cold war may start

those that cannot be recruited and are too powerful might be disappeared in 1 fashion or an other

 

those that have powers that just protect and are passive and concealable might get left alone if they are not the right type to recruit

 

if it is a slow thing in them appearing the goverment will have time to the secret stuff going

if not might have a mutant discrimination like marvel has

and all hell might break loose

 

no I'm not a paranoid conspiracy theroist

but I do expect my goverment to do black ops when it's security is threatened

[freakboy6117]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

depending on the capabilities of the supers in this if its just invunrability and no other offensive abilities In super strength eye beams etc then my guess would be everyone who saw it would be sworn to secrecy Pablo would disappear into military testing he may even be reported as MIA or even KIA to give the army plausible deniability on this new asset.

 

then heavy duty testing followed by possibly if his capabilities make his valuableblack ops.

 

now if thewoman was to escape id expect she would become a massive party she's the most dangerous force in Iraq now one iinvulnerablewoman could destroy the aAmericanmission she doesn't even have to be that effective in actually killing soldiers just the precautions to resist someone with that capability would cripple the logistics and seriously diminish hard won goodwill in the country.

 

Now the question of weather religious fanatics would ccoalesce around a female figurehead is hard to say but people can always rationalize this stuff. I'd suggest a Joan of arc scenario let her beat the English/Americans then burn her at the stake as a heretic.

 

Now if she did escape and becomes a major headache for the coalition forces I could certainly see pablo being pressed into service being given a rapid up training with special forces and being sent out to neutralize her.

 

I could even imagine him being given a mask/costume after all the government don't want the rest of the world knowing who there new super human is and trying to get DNA samples and it would also give them more plausible deniability. no-ones going to believe reports of an American costumed hero operating in Iraq and it can be passed off as a propaganda tool or mass hysteria like the reports of angels and Saint George during WWI

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

The superhumans are anywhere from 600-1500 or so points in Champions terms. In case it wasn't clear in the first incident, the blast crater was slightly smaller than a football field and 30 feet deep with Pablo and the bomber at the bottom. She was apparently the source of the blast. Her powers kicked in when her blast vest went off and they weren't just invulnerability.

[Vulcan]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Oh, yeah. With damage like that cropping up, the military is going to be called in. Although at such a high point level, I don't know how much good they're going to do. Bioweapons perhaps?

 

Certainly if they ever nail one down they're going to study him to pieces - literally.

[Hermit]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

The United States government makes sure Pablo gets a complete physical, looking into his health, and pulling him out of duty for a moment until things are ok. They offer him a chance to talk to a psychologist on how he might feel about his powers, and how, if anything, his opinions and life direction may have changed. They offer him a new position as the United States' first superhero, and yes, Public Relations will be a factor into that. Pablo, understandably, may want to protect his identity. The government sees his point, so gives him a full face mask and a bright and colorful costume. In private, he will be Pablo Gutierrez , but to the world? He will forever be "Enduring Freedom!" symbol of Western Democracy and the force it can muster.

 

Heartening the troops, he will prove to be a true morale boost that even the press can't ignore.

 

His first serious mission? IF the lady got away, is to track down the Iraqi woman who is taking the lives of so many innocents. Fortunately, he's been given some very durable gear, and a good team to back him up to do just that. She maybe invulnerable, but she's not unrestrainable.

 

Other supers, with different powers, maybe discovered. A new form of Arms race will arise, but where as autocratic governments give their 'gifted' citizens no choice, the United States recognizes they are still citizens, and still have certain rights...court battles may occur, but in the end, the system ends up working. Taking the approach of the carrot instead of the stick, all gifted supers in the United States are offered special jobs at high pay where their unique talents can do the most good. If they decline, so be it, though a file will be kept. Other Western style democracies follow this example, some even improving on it.

 

As a result, many supers from autocratic nations, the ones NOT eager to serve the state, head towards America, Canada, and other democracies in record numbers to offer their services and seek out new lives in a place where they aren't just seen as living weapons.

 

Eventually, the first super team will form up, appropriately enough, in New York City. Life has imitated art.

 

 

............

 

There you go. At least I think it's original compared to some of the darker speculations

[Clonus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

The United States will keep the lid on as long as it can so that it can have a head start on researching these guys. At the same time it actively seeks out these people and offers them anything they want to work for the United States. The existence of a single super-terrorist unstoppable by military force is enough to make them frantic. As soon as she does her first high-profile operation, they unveil their "superheroes" to calm a rattled public.

[bubba smith]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

suppose a super being showed up with low level power that the feds or military would have no interest in?

captain america in reverse so to speak

[kole100]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

I agree with post above.............

[bubba smith]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

my post or clonus'?

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

There you go. At least I think it's original compared to some of the darker speculations

 

Certainly more optimistic than most responses.

[Hermit]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Certainly more optimistic than most responses.

 

Let us simply say that I believe some folks confuse cynicism for realism, and so I feel if I must err in setting/gaming, I'll err on the side of optimism if only for novelty's sake

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Let us simply say that I believe some folks confuse cynicism for realism...

 

Actually, I largely agree with you in that respect. There's been allot of "Oh noes! End of the world!" reaction to indicate that.

[Doctor Agenda]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

The government will cover it up if it can, for as long as it can, while it tries to figure out a response. In the scenario you're describing where supers are appearing all over the world and they're VERY powerful, that might not be for long. The superhero IDEA has a lot of appeal, every government will want to use these people as agents, whether militarily or for PR. If they're patient, a body to examine will turn up soon enough, they don't have to waste the live ones. I can see each super agent having handlers to keep them focused, happy, and in-line.

 

In my Alts setting I kept the government off-balance by having so many low-powered supers that there was no way they could get away with violating their rights en masse. Everyone had paranormal relatives and/or friends, with nearly ten percent of the population showing SOME sort of strange ability. Heck, 39 members of the House of Representatives were affected.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Gutierrez will be moved to Special Operations Command, offered a commission, probably some sort of additional financial incentive (like combat pay, jump pay, etc...this would be super power pay), be given physicals and tests on a regular basis, given the best training, and eventually sent to capture the woman.

 

When/if she is captured, the testing will become much more invasive than it was with Gutierrez.

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Let us simply say that I believe some folks confuse cynicism for realism' date=' and so I feel if I must err in setting/gaming, I'll err on the side of optimism if only for novelty's sake [/quote']

 

This has been more the tone of other responses.

 

http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=9279426&postcount=32

[Hermit]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

This has been more the tone of other responses.

 

http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=9279426&postcount=32

 

Not surprised.

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Neither was I really but insights aside from your own can be helpful. I can see part of the point. The darker world can be more exciting in a gaming sense but there's allot of room between Pollyanna World and Crapsack World.

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Not surprised.

 

I've long since come to the conclusion that much of the time someone's answers to threads like this tell allot more about them than the situation.

[Hermit]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

I've long since come to the conclusion that much of the time someone's answers to threads like this tell allot more about them than the situation.

 

Oh no doubt. I'm sure I've let some of my own views slip out here, but then I wasn't trying to hide them

 

And I agree with you that there is a lot of room between the extremes that is often left unexplored.

[nexus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Reading my previous post again I realize it might have come across as insulting or condescending. I didn't mean it that way. It's only natural for biases to slip in. We're all human but sometimes (and it generally seems to be on the cynical side, IMO) people let those biases drive their responses to the extreme.

 

It's also kind of funny that no matter how outlandish the "what if" how many responses will be phrased in terms of absolutes: "This is what WILL happen, no options, no other possibilities" oftentimes because that's what happened in their favorite movie, comic book, novel, etc.

[Clonus]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

 

It's also kind of funny that no matter how outlandish the "what if" how many responses will be phrased in terms of absolutes: "This is what WILL happen, no options, no other possibilities" oftentimes because that's what happened in their favorite movie, comic book, novel, etc.

 

My response was what I'd do if I was the American government.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Well, obviously, whatever the short term response, there's a clear need for a coherent policy response. Specifically, a secret conspiracy to exterminate all the superhumans in concentration camps, run and implemented by super-combat robots with large and powerful, if perhaps glitchy, AIs.

I mean, it's only logical. What could possibly go wrong?

[Shoutybloke]

Re: US Government's reaction to superhumans

 

Every member of this board gets a knock on the door at 3am local time, is bundled into a van and taken to an unknown location and sat in a room with a very long table, where a man in a grey suit says:

 

"Right gentlemen. How do we kill superman?"