What do you do with your awesome God powers?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
1

Whatever hidden attribute prevents you from defying consensual reality is turned off. Or you inherit a magic iPhone app that obeys your written commands like a genie. Or you buy a holodeck which can accurately simulate/replicate pretty much anything you can communicate to it.

It’s fairly sophisticated, so you can do things like deciding to limit your own powers in specific ways, granting sentience to objects or people, etc. as long as your commands are fairly clear (something you could imagine or is theoretically computable).

What do you do now? What do you do in the long term.

2

I have long thought that the ability to remotely cause acute diarrhoea could be fun. Just watching the faces of politicians during live debates would be priceless. Maybe projectile vomiting for a bit of variety.

3

At first I’d be like Fry in the episode of Futurama where he does “all the things I ever dreamed of” which amusingly turn out to be things everyone in the future has done and thinks of as pedestrian - riding dinosaurs and blowing up planets.

I’d make myself immortal and invulnerable as a precaution. And give myself a general health and attractiveness makeover.

I’d dabble first in Earthly delights perhaps - money, vacations, sex, drugs, since they’d be both free to me and consequence free. Maybe secretly grant some wishes to loved ones.

I wouldn’t use my powers to hurt anyone, because frankly I wouldn’t enjoy it. At worst I might play some harmless pranks on those who were especially dickish. I’d be very careful about hoarding my willpower to take away anyone’s free will.

I might make some changes to the world, but I’d try to do it in small ways lest there be unforeseen consequences, or changes too big make the world unfamiliar.

I’d give myself a bunch of superpowers - flight mainly, but also invisibility, intangibility, size change, and various super senses. Maybe shape changing.

Then I’d do a reality version of wiki browsing. Visit various time periods, places, other planets, answer all the big questions and mysteries.

I’m sure along the way things I can’t imagine would lead to opportunities I can’t yet foresee.

Eventually though, I predict that all these powers and experiences, though they were amazing and fulfilling in their own way, would ultimately put me out of touch with reality and humanity. When you can do anything at all, eventually nothing you do is meaningful. We can already do anything we want in dreams, but it isn’t as fulfilling. And when you are more powerful than anyone else by such a degree you become in s sense utterly alone.

Which is why, in an ironic way, I think my life and anyone else’s is kind of indistinguishable from the inevitable end scenario of any theoretical entity of limitless power. I think any God like being would eventually start to crave the things Gods don’t have access to - companionship and a sense of meaning and purpose. They would have to finally create a universe into which their consciousness could eventually split and attach to naturally evolved sentient beings in order to experience these things. And then I suppose the cycle could start again :wink:

4

First thing I’d do is to make myself smart enough and wise enough to know what else to do with my powers.

Although the prospect of making various politicians (cough Dick Cheney cough) testify in front of Congress on camera and tell the whole truth has a certain schadenfreudelicious quality to it. But it probably wouldn’t make any difference.

5

I’d probably end up being a lot like one of the Ancient Greek gods, most likely Zeus. The only thing that would be different would be that I wouldn’t have other gods in competition with me or be married to one.

6

I’m granting myself a host of superpowers for protection. Then I would seriously consider blinking 6.75 billion humans out of existence. I think that is probably the greatest thing that could happen for the planet and mankind.

7

Iran and North Korea wake up one morning to find it all of their nuclear facilities missing. Simply vanished.
Depending upon the reaction I’d seriously consider all nuclear weapons on earth being “misplaced”.

After that a new island in the Pacific pops up, it’s called zoidtopia and man it’s a party!

8

If my powers are sufficiently god-like, I would create several new planets around distant stars that are exactly like Earth, only unpopulated by humans. Then I would transport certain populations to these new planets. If I’m feeling kindly, they will also get technology.

Then I’d start getting nasty, for I am a vengeful god.

9

I’d probably leave. Wouldn’t care enough about the rest of the world to change it or destroy it or anything of that nature, although I might invite a few friends to come along with me. Create fantastic worlds or universes to live in, with entirely new people and laws of physics and everything, placing certain restrictions on myself whenever I’m interacting with them so that it’s actually fun - I wouldn’t want there to be no challenge to me. After all, one of my favorite quotes goes, “For without challenge there is nothing, and in nothing there is only gloom. In such a state, the difference between absolute power and absolute powerlessness is undetectable.”

Essentially, become the ultimate game designer - design universe-scale games, then live in them.

10

Just invent something akin to a star trek replicator. Tons of the problems with poverty, homelessness, etc could be solved the the ability to recycle basic atoms into useful things again.

Having access to holodeck technology would be the ultimate in entertainment. Being able to do anything, any time, anywhere would probably burn off alot of the stress on the planet.

Extend that to something like the Emergency Medical Hologram from voyager and I would be you see alot more single folks when the Holowife/Holohusband starts being available.

11

First, I’d go play a round of golf and score an eighteen. Not sure after that.

12

and we will finally get to solve that pesky enterprise vs. star destroyer debate.

Even though we KNOW the enterprise is gonna be toast

D&R

13

Eating too much salt will no longer cause health problems. Neither will drinking too much alcohol or caffeine. In fact, these things will be good for you. Fetal alcohol syndrome will no longer exist (and yes, I will make this retroactive if I can, so everybody with fetal alcohol syndrome will suddenly be fine), nor will caffeine increase the risk of miscarriage.

Diseases I am scared of getting will no longer exist. There will be no more diabetes, because I’m scared of needles. Alzheimer’s disease will cease to exist.

I think that’s a pretty fair start.

14

For the majority of humanity, utopia. For the rest, precision lightning strikes.

15

Celtling and I will become invulnerable. I will become omniscient and omnipotent. She will develop small powers a little at a time as she learns responisbility and perspective. I will also regain my younger, stronger body.

All people who harm children will find that each time they try they are overcome by blinding pain. Those who have been abused will find themselves cured of the long-term consequences.

I will study the weather and re-route clouds to rain where it is needed most. No more wasting good water on destructive flooding.

I will remove all weapons of mass detruction from the world.

I will heal all mental, emotional and physical disability.

I will make basic good nutrition available to all humans.

Then I will look around and see what still needs attention. Endangered species, solar energy, cleaning up pollution, that sort of thing.

And I’ll make the moon turn Green on St. Paddy’s day, just because it makes me happy.

16

The age at which humans can reproduce is going up. It will no longer be possible for a girl under age 20 to get pregnant, or for a boy under age 20 to get someone pregnant. They’ll be able to have sex, but not able to cause a pregnancy. The maximum age for having kids for women will also go up.

I’d make it so that pregnancy cannot happen unless both partners actively wanted it to happen. Ovulation and release of sperm will be under voluntary control. But even if they want a baby, people under age 20 still won’t be able to get pregnant or get someone else pregnant.

The previous two modifications should help with the population problem.

All forms of dementia, as well as Alzheimer’s, will no longer exist.

Allergies and autoimmune disorders will cease to exist.

17

[Office Space] Two chicks at the same time. [/OS]

I’d alter the situations of companies I call at work so they are in vital need of whatever I’m promoting just minutes before I call them to talk about it. Similarly, major ancient settlements will be retroactively moved to just where my girlfriend’s archaeology team is investigating.

I’d have a self-cleaning ball pit as a living room.

I’d learn every language in the world, including the languages of animals and computers.

I’d alter the laws of physics to more closely resemble Tex Avery cartoons.

18

This somewhat similar old thread had the Remote Control of the Fates

19

I have awesome God powers, and you’re all living in the world I created. Sorry about all the messes, but I have a warped sense of humor. But you have to admit the GW Bush thing was good for a lot of laughs. Only mistake I made was giving you humans free will.

20

People will be able to voluntarily go to sleep, just like you can voluntarily close your eyes.

The human need for sleep will go down to 4 hours a night. You’ll be able to sleep more than that, but you’ll feel fine if you manage to get 4 hours sleep.