Superpowered

Yet another strike at De Lijn! Sometimes I do wonder what more they could have to strike about? Are they that discontent with their jobs? Because if that's the case, maybe they should seriously start to consider changing jobs. If not, I suggest they suck it up and get back behind the wheel. We all have problems at work, we all have concerns about our wages and our working conditions, but the thing is, when busdrivers go on strike, this doesn't just affect them, entire towns suffer at their hands. Hundreds of people can find themselves trapped, unable to go anywhere.

Take today for example, I was on my way to meet someone in Louvain who'd come a long way to see me. Imagine my frustration when a woman drives by, rolling down her side window and shouting the buses are on strike. So, there I was. Me and four other partners in misfortune, all desperately looking for a way out of this town. Sadly, because a few disgruntled employees feel they're being treated poorly, none of us could leave town, at least not without hitching, walking or teleporting. So thank you very much, De Lijn. Always a pleasure (not) riding with you.

Anyways, with no other way to leave home, I decided to go back and watch Push, a movie I'd rented yesterday.  I thought to myself: 'Hm, superhero movie? Could never hurt, right?' I mean, I'm a huge fan of the genre. Give me a Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Superman, Wanted or X-Men combo any day of the week. There's just something about the whole superpowers thing. The story revolves around Nick and Cassie. Nick is a Mover (telekinetic) and Cassie's a Watcher (precog). Both of them are in Hong Kong on the run from Division, a secret government agency responsible for creating these abilties. Both sides are looking for a briefcase which contains a syringe that greatly amplifies a person's ability. Your standard hero-on-the-run-from-the-bad-guys-and-searching-for-a-strange-object type of scenario. Nothing innovative, I can assure you. It still sounds pretty cool, though.

The first minutes of the movie seems promising enough. Dakota Fanning talks about how during World War II, Hitler was researching the paranormal in hopes of creating a race of supersoldiers. The abilities ranging from telekinesis to mind control. Very similar to the Stargate Project the Americans had. A program to perfect 'remote viewing', a way of looking across the world and seeing what the other person's doing. Fits perfectly in the whole Cold War context.

But it also makes you wonder whether or not it is possible to unlock the secrets of our human potential? After all, we only use 10% of our brain's capacity. Surely, there must be something more in this gray mass of ours?

Let's be honest here for a second, who wouldn't want to have superpowers? The ability to move objects with a mere blink of an eye? The means to alter the minds of others? A way to get from point A to point B nigh instantly? Or in my case, my prefered superpower would be time travel. The ability to control time itself. But I think you could've already guessed that with me, seeing as how obsessed I am with the notion of time.

Sometimes I think about how could it would be if superheroes actually did exist. Of course, that would also entail the existence of supervillains. But when you come to think of it, people like Bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin or any other baddy in history, they could be thought of  as villains. Sure, they don't have superpowers like Dr Doom or Magneto, but that doesn't make them any less villainous. Maybe this reality has its own subset of villains? Those who do great harm without actually having superpowers. However, if that's true, then where are today's superheroes? Do they have powers? Or wear costumes?

If there are so many villains in the world, there must be an equal amount of superheroes to balance things out, right? Or could it be that we have a little bit of both in us? The capacity to do both great evil and great good? The question remains then, where do we draw the line between serving ourselves and serving the common good?