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Spider Star
The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
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Praise for Star Dragon
"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
-- Booklist starred review"Readers hungry for the thought-provoking extrapolation and rigorous technical detail of old-fashioned hard SF are sure to enjoy astronomer Brotherton's first novel."
-- Publishers Weekly"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
-- Paul di Fillippo, SCI-FI.COM
Ten Superpowers You Can Have Now
February 13th, 2008
I was thinking today about the “Reals” of the Heroes Network and what superpowers are now within the reach of our science and technology. Most superpowers are ridiculously unphysical, as described in the really fun book, Physics of Superheroes, which the author James Kakalios fashioned after a class he teaches at the University of Minnesota. There are some superpowers that we’re just never going to be able to have in the real world (virtual realities are a different story). Some of these include growing or shrinking, as they violate conservation of mass, or the ability to walk through walls, teleportation, or superspeed that would enable someone to run over water without sinking or be effectively invisible because they move too fast to be seen. And people transforming into animals like Beast Boy? Oh, come on!
Wikipedia actually keeps a long list of comic book superhero powers for the anal power counter.
There are some powers that do not violate the laws of physics as we know them. I’ll start with the more straightforward powers and get more esoteric as we go along.
Bullet Proofness: This is pretty mundane as powers go, but a basic one I think every superhero needs. It can be implemented a number of ways: super tough skin ala Superman, bullet-deflecting bracelets as with Wonder Woman, Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton plus fast healing, or the bullet-proof armor of Michael Keaton’s movie Batman. I suggest simple is good and fine here, and recommend commercially available bullet-proof clothing. Such technology is impressive in action. This isn’t the sexiest superpower, but it will give Mr. or Mrs. Real who is staying at home with the kids a little peace of mind.
Super strength: Again, a basic power that’s necessary to knock down doors or lift up cars to save trapped people. Superman and the Hulk have this naturally, in abundance, but Krypton isn’t real and gamma rays will just kill you. Iron Man and about a million characters with exoskeleton armor show a technologically feasible implementation, which we can manage already. Not exactly commercially available, but if you’re a military contractor high up in the research labs, you can make your own I suppose, and charge the government for it. I don’t recommend cyborg action here, as with the Six Million Dollar Man — he should have ripped his arm off several times every episode.
Flight: Superman’s got this one down, but I don’t know how. When he first appeared, he just made giant leaps like the Hulk, which made some sense, but he and a gazillion others, including the entire Legion of Superheroes via their flight rings, all get to float through the sky with the greatest of ease. While we’ve made some progress with various forms of gliders as seen in the Tomb Raider sequel and elsewhere, similar to what the Falcon has and Batman uses in Batman Begins, these aren’t true flight. What can we do? Jet packs are now being manufactured for sale to duplicate some things the Rocketeer can do, and perhaps Nighthawk of the Defenders (who somehow hid a superpowerful jet pack under his cape). I don’t know that they can lift an exoskeleton though, and the propellant is used up in about a minute so check your altitude. But for $100k, I don’t know what else you’d buy. And flight would be handy if you don’t want to stick around and explain yourself to the police who might not like a vigilante around.
Invisibility: This is one superpower I think everyone really craves to have, and is tremendously underrated in a fight. I guess in the case of the Invisible Woman, when you’re fighting Dr. Doom or the Super Skrull, it doesn’t help much, but against street thugs it would be killer. We’re not going to have true invisibility any time soon, but we will have active camouflage as in Predator. Here’s a nice article from science-fiction writer Wil McCarthy explaining the video and what will likely come soon, or is already in existence and classified. Apparently there are plans for invisible vehicles, so Wonder Woman’s invisible jet isn’t so far fetched as it might seem (and it always seemed that way to me!).
Wall-crawling: Science has managed to duplicate the incredibly powerful, residue-free stickiness of geckos as described here. Gloves and boots coated with this material in principle will allow people to climb walls like Spider-Man, although I suspect few save real climbers will have the appropriate strength-to-weight ratios to do this well.
Mental Telepathy: Want to project your thoughts like Professor X? And receive the thoughts of others? This is possible, but it’s sort of a cheat cobbling together several elements for a basic implementation. We have the technology to control computers with our minds, the simplest case being moving a computer cursor by thinking. We also have technology coming along to project displays onto our retinas with contact lenses. Combining these with cell phone technology and simple text messaging would let you send messages to other people wearing similar systems just by thinking them.
Electrical Blasts: How about some offense, like the Shocker or Electro? Well tasers are a simple version of this, delivering an incapacitating shock. Hey, that’s fun to watch! High-power capacitors can work, too, and can hold killing charges. Good superheroes will stick with non-lethal weapons, like Wolverine’s claws or the Human Torch’s fireballs. Wait…
Heroic Leaps: Want to make out like The Tick, Bouncing Boy, or match the moves of the Toad or Batroc the Leaper? No problem! If I were a criminal and saw a bunch of guys in bright costumes coming at at me like this, I’d freaking run like mad.
Seeing in the Dark: There’s a nearly direct match available to the blind like Daredevil’s radar sense. Kids today are actually being taught to echolocate. To see in the dark like Dr. Mid-Nite, you’re probably better off with a set of generation 3 night vision goggles with response out to infrared wavelenths (about a micron) and an infrared illuminator. I have a set of goggles like this, and they’re not only fun to play with at night, they’re a fantastic addition to the equipment of amateur astronomers. You can literally see the Andromeda Galaxy with a casual glance at the sky, and many, many more stars that you’ve ever seen in your life.
Fear Projection: Okay, this one is more for villains like Mr. Fear or the Scarecrow, but didn’t Batman justify his costume with the notion that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot? An infrasound gun is your tool! Infrasound is low frequency acoustic waves below the hearing threshold that have disturbing psychological effects. And I’m waiting for a horror movie to come out with an infrasoundtrack.
Web-Spraying/Paste Pots: The military developed a sticky foam gun that sounds a lot like what good old supervillain Paste Pot Pete (AKA The Trapster) uses. It’s a reasonable facsimile of what Spider-man does when he corrals the bad guys for police pick up.
I imagine I’ve missed some other obscure powers, especially offensive heat rays or dazzling lights (i.e., the Dazzler who should have died with disco), that we could duplicate effectively today if so determined. Any suggestions?
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February 13th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I can’t believe how you mix talk of DC and Marvel characters here. Blasphemous! Great post anyway though.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Great post! I am in favor of anything that reminds the world of Paste-Pot Pete.
I bet that there is something that could be done like Banshee’s (or Black Canary’s) sonic scream, although I was never sure why he could fly.
But when can I get my lightsaber?
February 13th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I’ll have you know, Jeremy, that the Tick was from New England Comics and not DC or Marvel! But I must admit I was always a Marvel boy at heart…
And Jonathan, I did think about the high-pitched sonics briefly, but can’t find evidence of them being weaponized in any serious way. The best case was high-pitched irritating sound that old people can’t hear, designed to get teenagers to stop loitering where they’re not wanted. And yeah, how is Banshee supposed to fly???
February 13th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
The only place I have heard of weaponized sonics is in psy-ops, like when they played loud recordings of rabbits being slaughtered and tibetan buddhist chants to keep the Branch Davidians awake.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Now I can’t stop thinking about this. There was an episode of Mythbusters (one of my daughter’s favorite shows, go figure) where they did superhero stuff; they did manage to make a reasonable grappling-hook gun with a winch that could lift you up a wall, but they did show that it is very difficult to change clothes in a phone booth.
I also wanted to point out that in your list of heroic leapers you missed the original Superman, who couldn’t fly until a bit after his debut, but only leap tall buildings in a single bound.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
And just because my OCD is really kicking in about this, maybe Banshee could fly because of that flying squirrel thing he had going on with his costume.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Yeah, the thing that’s always bugged me about rocket packs like the ones shown in Commando Cody, The Rocketeer & Minority Report — where the exhaust is at the bottom of the pack — is that the thrustline is totally wrong*. The wearer would only somersault endlessly (or until he hit something)!
I’m no engineer, but I always noticed how the exhaust nozzles on the REAL jetpacks extend *in front* of the jetpack itself, presumably in line with the combined CG of both the wearer and jetpack.
*that and the fact that their legs would’ve been burned to a crisp!
February 14th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[...] Mike Brotherton - I was thinking today about the “Reals” of the Heroes Network and what superpowers are now within the reach of our science and technology. Most superpowers are ridiculously unphysical, as described in the really fun book, Physics of Superheroes, which the author James Kakalios fashioned after a class he teaches at the University of Minnesota. There are some superpowers that we’re just never going to be able to have in the real world (virtual realities are a different story). Some of these include growing or shrinking, as they violate conservation of mass, or the ability to walk through walls, teleportation, or superspeed that would enable someone to run over water without sinking or be effectively invisible because they move too fast to be seen. And people transforming into animals like Beast Boy? Oh, come on! [...]
February 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
You’re totally right, Chris. Flight would be tricky, and the simple application of a jet on your back thrusting in one direction doesn’t exactly provide a lot of control and would have to be well balanced to prevent spins. The leg burning thing, well, that’s a *feature*. The Flying Flaming Legs Man needs to have his own distinction…
February 14th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Jonathan, there’s actually a chapter in Spider Star called “Flight of the Banshee” with the characters flying under armor using personal jet packs (easier and appropriate under the very low gravity environment they’re in). Banshee’s “squirrel thing” is pretty similar to the video I linked to for the flying suits, but they’re just gliders. And I’ll have you know flying squirrels are really, really freaky when they divebomb you from a tree late at night in the woods of Louisiana!
March 7th, 2008 at 8:07 am
free car quote…
Excellent post. Keep it up!…
March 13th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
[...] Mike Brotherton has posted an interesting list of Ten Superpowers You Can Have Now. [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 2:00 am
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April 5th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
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April 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
[...] Mike Brotherton has an interesting article on Ten Superpowers You Can Have Now. [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
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May 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Womens Plus Size Clothes…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….
June 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
[...] Ten Science-Based Sci-Fi MoviesTen Superpowers You Can Have NowThe Hard SF Writer’s BookshelfWhy don’t more girls dress up as Phoenix???Some of my favorite [...]
July 28th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
habe mein arschvotze richtig geil durch vögeln lassen …
…
August 14th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
What about super speed… I’m sure there’s something there that would work. Oh! and like what Darren Brown does…. NLP. That’s pretty much mind control
September 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Ironically the one you (and most people) would determine the most viable is in fact not really anymore.
The bulletproof vests (kevlar, etc.) really are useless with some of the new guns that have come around the last few years, such as the a russian rifle that fires two near-simultaneous rounds, that I can’t remember the name of at the moment. One shatters the kevlar while the other perforates the poor wearer of said kevlar.
Also there’s the MP7A1. It fires fully automatic clips with NO recoil. And all of its 40 4.6mm rounds have the power to go through 6 human bodies or 20 kevlar vests within 200 metres.
The irony is that the one superpower that actually was feasible (bulletproof-ness) is actually the least anymore, while the others that seemed impossible in the past now actually are possible.
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Bic America Speakers…
Bic America Speakers…
October 5th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
One of the powers that you did not mention whihc I was especially hoping to find some answers on was super healing.
For some odd reason this past year I have been extremely healthy.
When I get hurt I heal faster than most people, and when I am sick I am never sick for more than a day.
Just past week I had nammonia for 5 hours. And then I was cured.
I am not saying I am like Wolverine, but it is odd that I am unable to hurt myself like I use to be able to…
January 5th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I am Zimmer, President of the Heroes Network, and I approve this article! We talk alot about this kind of tech, and I personally am looking into some fun “f*ck shit up” tech on the workbench here at home. You are a geek! I love it.
http://www.freewebs.com/heroesnetwork/
http://www.myspace.com/zimmerbarnes
June 15th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
i wont my powers to be walk throw walls1 and be invisability 2 and climbing on walls 3 and flying 4 and speed 5 and strength 6 and you know like when bullets hit u and u die but for me i dont thats what i wont 7 and changing in to other people like me chaning to you 8 and i wont to have flexablity 9 and the last one is freeze ya i am a little girl. done thank you by reyanna yahoo tonyalawson16yahoo.com
June 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am
As far as super strength is concerned, a chimp (at an average body weight of 125 lbs) is about as strong as four average human males. That is not because of any inherent superiority of their muscles but because of the way the muscles connect to their bones, for greater leverage. I read somewhere that an average (ie, untrained) human male has sufficient strength in their biceps that, if it connected at the wrist, they could easily curl a 250 lb dumb bell, one handed.
Of course, they would likely break their wrist but,,,I guess if some military lab re-engineered a human so that all their muscles were connected like a chimps, THAT could result in super strength.
GAry 7