ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2014-05-29 08:03 pm

Nonhuman Superpowers?

We watched the new Godzilla  movie today.  (Good kaiju  movie, excellent special effects and references to other movies, overblown emotional yanking in some places.)  It got me thinking about the breadth of superpowers in Terramagne, the setting of my series Polychrome Heroics.

Are superpowers restricted to humans alone -- and if so, why -- or can other species have them also?  


My thoughts include:

* Humans share a lot of DNA with other species, especially mammals.  This leans toward innate powers appearing elsewhere.

* Radiation and some other factors are increasing the rate of mutation, and thus in this setting, the prevalence of superpowers.  Look at the mutated sealife, for example.  Environmental factors are likely to affect multiple species, not just one.  Imagine visiting Chernobyl only to discover that one of the elk has Laser Eyes.

* Superpower manifestation based on the effect of extraordinary circumstances on human will is unlikely to occur in nonsentient species.

* Superpower manifestation based on higher powers is unlikely to occur in nonsentient species.

* A sperm whale's brain averages 7.8 kilograms.  Imagine one with superpowers objecting to how humans treat the ocean.



* Some comics have really gotten into mutated, uplifted, or otherwise modified animals.  This includes everything from natural mutation through accidental enhancement to mad science experiments.  The results range from cringeworthy to awesome.  

* Having something like telepathic trees mindwiping loggers, or superpowered mice in a house, would expand the number of stories that could be told without relying on a human supervillain.  (We've HAD superpowered mice here; they are nerve-wracking to deal with.)  While mad science could already provide such things, that implies very different plot structure than naturally occurring cases.

Discuss.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)

I'd start with-

[personal profile] dialecticdreamer 2014-05-30 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
the Rats of NIMH, rather than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I'd limit super-animals to areas where they do /not/ draw human attention, like NIMH, as a survival mechanism.

Anything with obvious differences, like the laser eyes you mentioned, is likely to be "destroy, then autopsy" as the /first/ response.

Sea life is more likely to survive without detection just because we use so LITTLE of the actual volume of the oceans. Pond life is waaay more noticeable, and the worst area to "spawn" would be the third-stage treatment plants for large urban water supplies. (The huge, huge water reservoir without the tanks, which is almost-human-potable, but has a few PPM too many of something which breaks down under UV exposure. Water sits and "cures" for anywhere from days to weeks before cycling into the water supply as tap-safe.)
Edited (typo) 2014-05-30 01:34 (UTC)
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)

DIBS on this-

[personal profile] dialecticdreamer 2014-05-30 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU2a4fjsGIM

Otters, wonderful clips...

But imagine the father otter, Simon, with super-intelligence...
siliconshaman: black cat against the moon (Default)

[personal profile] siliconshaman 2014-05-30 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
Ok, I'm a gene-engineer by training, and I'll admit I've occasionally toyed with the idea of boosting animal intelligence [otters being and obvious non-primate possibility].

Partly because it would be interesting to see what happens, but partly because nature needs advocates who can articulately state their case or alternatively, smart resistance fighters who can stand up to human encroachment.

There's also the fact that in the process of engineering sentience you could figure out the genetic basis for it somewhat better.
p_cocincinus: (Default)

[personal profile] p_cocincinus 2014-05-30 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Diane Duane's Young Wizards series has explicitly nonhuman wizards - Deep Wizardry has whales, a dolphin, and a shark as major characters.

I imagine that most people would argue that healthy processing of emotions doesn't make as good drama as poor processing does - but it'd be nice if people didn't therefore think it was normal/okay.

[identity profile] fayanora.livejournal.com 2014-05-30 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
Mutated animals, though not the superpowers part, unless sentience is a superpower, reminds me of "Fear Nothing" and "Seize The Night" by Dean Koontz.

[identity profile] lyonesse.livejournal.com 2014-05-30 09:28 am (UTC)(link)
not sure this is within your genre, but tolkien's ents are (roughly) superpowered trees.
ext_74: Baron Samadai in cat form (Default)

[identity profile] siliconshaman.livejournal.com 2014-05-30 11:00 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not so sure cats don't count as super-powered already. You do know Chernobyl has a feral cat colony living in the remains of the reactor core... because it stays nice and warm during winter... and apparently they suffer no ill-effects from continuous exposure to radiation levels that would kill a human within minutes.

Hmm... there's an idea, 'and the cat came back' i.e a breed of immortal, indestructible cats. Now all they'd need is opposable thumbs and a higher IQ and both traits already exist among other cat populations. Of course, being cats, I'd doubt world domination would actually be an objective for them. Too much effort!

Oh well, just so long as it's not super-powered cockroaches... [Marvel did that one, it was gross.]
zeeth_kyrah: A glowing white and blue anthropomorphic horse stands before a pink and blue sky. (Default)

[personal profile] zeeth_kyrah 2014-05-31 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
I've heard a number of stories of dogs who were smarter than their owners.

You must remember, animals can be very, very smart; but they have very limited priorities and think very differently from humans. Your dog knows exactly how to get the food off the counter when you aren't looking. Your cat knows exactly which objects to knock off your dresser to get you up in the morning (usually all of them). And your horse knows exactly which animals can be bullied without you caring... which some will do mercilessly, while others may protect them instead.

[identity profile] tomtac.livejournal.com 2014-05-31 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
You want to write a story together? The prompt is that "superpower" is a relative term. In the story, the people of Krypton are amazed at the Earth people who have the "superpower" of handling Kryptonite without harm.

They discount their own strength and ability to fly, because what has it gotten them? If you bend steel in your bare hands, it is nothing special if everyone you know, your baby brother or sister included, can do the same thing. So if you get in a fight with another citizen of Krypton, you're evenly matched.

But watch out for Earthlings with Kryptonite!

-----

Meanwhile, how many animals can:

o fly?
o see in the dark?
o detect earthquakes long before humans?

There are chilling stories of tsunami victims that pulled out their cell phones and started recording videos, while animals like dogs had immediately raced for the hills. A real question of what intelligence really is.

Sorry, rambling.

[identity profile] patina.livejournal.com 2014-05-31 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
The "elk shooting eye-beams" thing made me laugh for real.

Hey, octopi are brilliant, how about a mutation that gave them a long lifespan and the ability/ desire to work together? They'd probably wind up with a civilization eventually.

I've been reading comics lately and I imagine that having a high-school level biology education is a disqualifying factor for writing them.

Though I really did like the "new 52" Swamp Thing.