You are all my subjects now!

At this point, approximately a half-mile for a full "read your mind like a book" scan, and much much farther for just a quick-and-dirty scan that can basically be used only to confirm or deny one specific piece of information.

Okay yeah I wanna shoot a Tomahawk at this douche. Thank God for mindless killing machines.

And on a related note...

Scenario #5:

"A bombing rocked downtown Phnom Penh today in what is being interpreted as an attempted assassination on Cambodia's head-of-state.

"The bomb ripped through a support on the bottom floor of a multi-story building belonging to the educational department which Andrew Scrawn was touring this afternoon, seemingly trying to collapse the entire building on top of him. Deaths and major injuries were averted, however, when the American-born psychic used his telekinesis as a stand-in for the destroyed support, keeping the building standing while everyone was evacuated and a temporary support was installed.

"In a press conference held shortly thereafter, the visibly-tired head-of-state vowed that the parties responsible would be found and punished.

"'I am using my telepathy to do a quickscan of every mind in the country. All airports, seaports, and border crossings will be closed until it is complete and justice can be done.'

"Privacy advocates were quick to jump on this as a violation of the right to secrecy of one's own thoughts. Government spokespeople responded that the scan could only search for guilty knowledge of the bombing and could not detect any other information.

"Nor is that the only element of Scrawn's response that is triggering alarm bells in certain quarters.

"'To be blunt, he shouldn't have been able to do this,' said Qeve Nehi, member and resident scientist of the Reformers, widely viewed as the world's greatest superteam. 'All previous measurements marked the upper limits of his powers far below what he showed today. Throwing aside cars and tanks, yes, but not supporting an entire skyscraper by himself. Unfortunately, I can't speculate if his powers will continue to increase, and if they do, what if any final limit he'll eventually reach.'"

...I'd like to amend my previous statement.

Penguin wrote:

Okay yeah I wanna shoot a Tomahawk at this douche. Thank God for mindless killing machines that can hit the target window of the target floor of the target building from 1200 miles away.

Thanos6 wrote:

And on a related note...

Scenario #5:

"A bombing rocked downtown Phnom Penh today in what is being interpreted as an attempted assassination on Cambodia's head-of-state.

"The bomb ripped through a support on the bottom floor of a multi-story building belonging to the educational department which Andrew Scrawn was touring this afternoon, seemingly trying to collapse the entire building on top of him. Deaths and major injuries were averted, however, when the American-born psychic used his telekinesis as a stand-in for the destroyed support, keeping the building standing while everyone was evacuated and a temporary support was installed.

"In a press conference held shortly thereafter, the visibly-tired head-of-state vowed that the parties responsible would be found and punished.

"'I am using my telepathy to do a quickscan of every mind in the country. All airports, seaports, and border crossings will be closed until it is complete and justice can be done.'

"Privacy advocates were quick to jump on this as a violation of the right to secrecy of one's own thoughts. Government spokespeople responded that the scan could only search for guilty knowledge of the bombing and could not detect any other information.

"Nor is that the only element of Scrawn's response that is triggering alarm bells in certain quarters.

"'To be blunt, he shouldn't have been able to do this,' said Qeve Nehi, member and resident scientist of the Reformers, widely viewed as the world's greatest superteam. 'All previous measurements marked the upper limits of his powers far below what he showed today. Throwing aside cars and tanks, yes, but not supporting an entire skyscraper by himself. Unfortunately, I can't speculate if his powers will continue to increase, and if they do, what if any final limit he'll eventually reach.'"

Who the hell gave George Bush Telepathy?

Wait, he's trying to finance this stuff using Cambodia's defense budget?

They may have a ~.6 score on the HDI, but there's no way Cambodia could afford to do all that using only their defense budget. He's fixin' to run out of money. Way, way out. Unless you have some other money source in mind and the anonymous source is wrong.

KelinciHutan wrote:

Wait, he's trying to finance this stuff using Cambodia's defense budget?

They may have a ~.6 score on the HDI, but there's no way Cambodia could afford to do all that using only their defense budget. He's fixin' to run out of money. Way, way out. Unless you have some other money source in mind and the anonymous source is wrong.

Then this might be a case of me and Did Not Do The Research. I had assumed that even Cambodia's defense budget would be enough to renovate the factories, and "prime the pump" to start paying the high wages until profits started coming in from the sale of the products.

Thanos6 wrote:

Then this might be a case of me and Did Not Do The Research. I had assumed that even Cambodia's defense budget would be enough to renovate the factories, and "prime the pump" to start paying the high wages until profits started coming in from the sale of the products.

A quick Google says $74 million. That's about six bucks per person per year.

It's too bad he didn't start his little megalomaniacal crusade quietly, secretly. Collecting dirt on world shakers by reading their minds and publishing the ugly truth on anonymous websites or traceless letters to independent journals. He'd have to bone up on how to remain anonymous of course. If the right stuff gets published the system itself will correct the problem. There are already mechanisms in place, just corroded by corruption, fear, and greed. Just apply a little psychic enema to the political process and the healing will begin. For the real bad apples a few assassinations might be in order. Hearts and brains are operated by a few micro-volts of electrical impulse. Halting the impulses for a few seconds through telekinesis will lead to a painless death. An act of god. Changing the world incrementally without putting a big red lycra target on your chest for the armies of the world to shoot at.

(sorry for the delay; been visiting family)

Scenario #6:

"Seven subjects were arrested and convicted today in relation to the bombing in Phnom Penh yesterday.

"'Information taken directly from their own minds implicates them beyond a doubt,' said Andrew Scrawn, psychic ruler of Cambodia. 'Three of them placed the bomb, the other four were accessories. As per the powers granted me as head-of-state, I hereby sentence them all to life in prison with no chance of release, for multiple counts of attempted murder.

"'A full mindscan of the would-be-killers showed they were hired by another to assassinate me by any means necessary, with no regard to the lives of anyone else who happened to be caught in the attempt. This other subject left the country before the bombing. A full description will be circulated to law enforcement agencies throughout the world.'

"The instant conviction has caused a firestorm of protest from advocates around the world. The new constitution of Cambodia, which Scrawn helped to write, allows him as head-of-state free reign to convict and detain anyone indefinitely based purely on psychically obtained evidence. While the existence of telepathy and mind-reading has been scientifically proven, there as yet is no way to confirm that Scrawn or any other psychic is telling the truth about what they seen in someone's mind and that they are not simply lying."

In breaking news, Beloved Leader Kim Jong Il has announced that he, too, has psychic powers, and will be using them to identify those who are disloyal to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Thanos6 wrote:

(sorry for the delay; been visiting family)

Scenario #6:

"Seven subjects were arrested and convicted today in relation to the bombing in Phnom Penh yesterday.

"'Information taken directly from their own minds implicates them beyond a doubt,' said Andrew Scrawn, psychic ruler of Cambodia. 'Three of them placed the bomb, the other four were accessories. As per the powers granted me as head-of-state, I hereby sentence them all to life in prison with no chance of release, for multiple counts of attempted murder.

"'A full mindscan of the would-be-killers showed they were hired by another to assassinate me by any means necessary, with no regard to the lives of anyone else who happened to be caught in the attempt. This other subject left the country before the bombing. A full description will be circulated to law enforcement agencies throughout the world.'

"The instant conviction has caused a firestorm of protest from advocates around the world. The new constitution of Cambodia, which Scrawn helped to write, allows him as head-of-state free reign to convict and detain anyone indefinitely based purely on psychically obtained evidence. While the existence of telepathy and mind-reading has been scientifically proven, there as yet is no way to confirm that Scrawn or any other psychic is telling the truth about what they seen in someone's mind and that they are not simply lying."

My, my. Take care that absolute power does not corrupt him. Though I would suspect that he has already been corrupted by his own naivete.

Thanos6 wrote:

Scenario #6:

"Seven subjects were arrested and convicted today in relation to the bombing in Phnom Penh yesterday.

"'Information taken directly from their own minds implicates them beyond a doubt,' said Andrew Scrawn, psychic ruler of Cambodia. 'Three of them placed the bomb, the other four were accessories. As per the powers granted me as head-of-state, I hereby sentence them all to life in prison with no chance of release, for multiple counts of attempted murder.

"'A full mindscan of the would-be-killers showed they were hired by another to assassinate me by any means necessary, with no regard to the lives of anyone else who happened to be caught in the attempt. This other subject left the country before the bombing. A full description will be circulated to law enforcement agencies throughout the world.'

"The instant conviction has caused a firestorm of protest from advocates around the world. The new constitution of Cambodia, which Scrawn helped to write, allows him as head-of-state free reign to convict and detain anyone indefinitely based purely on psychically obtained evidence. While the existence of telepathy and mind-reading has been scientifically proven, there as yet is no way to confirm that Scrawn or any other psychic is telling the truth about what they seen in someone's mind and that they are not simply lying."

So...that's Minority Report. You can't throw people in prison for crimes they haven't committed yet, even if you can read their minds. It's about sixty separate sorts of wrong. This guy gets more and more unbalanced.

As any sort of citizen of his future rule, his actions have all but completely lost me. There is practically nothing he can do that would convince me to accept him willingly.

And that's how I feel just theoretically about it. If this were really happening, I would be absolutely outraged. Anyone addressing me on the topic would be subjected to a good ten minutes of ranting.

InkWeaver wrote:

As any sort of citizen of his future rule, his actions have all but completely lost me. There is practically nothing he can do that would convince me to accept him willingly.

And that's how I feel just theoretically about it. If this were really happening, I would be absolutely outraged. Anyone addressing me on the topic would be subjected to a good ten minutes of ranting.

Good, good...though I do think that some of the stuff he does once he actually has the world in his grasp, if it doesn't make you like him, should at least cancel this out.

Thanos6 wrote:

Good, good...though I do think that some of the stuff he does once he actually has the world in his grasp, if it doesn't make you like him, should at least cancel this out.

Letter and e-mail distributed to the president, my senators and congressmen. Copies sent to the the consulate of the Russian Federation, The Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of India, and Pakistan.

Gentlemen,

The recent takeover of Cambodia of the self-described "Psychic" Andrew Scrawn is beginning to concern me. At first my attitude was somewhat amused since he was clearly a local issue and his focus appreared to be benevolent, at least as far as the economically oppressed underclass was concerned. However he appears to be undergoing a disturbing change in his personality, no doubt accelerated by his psychic powers. He is clearly becoming a megalomaniac. It's happened before to other tyrants but his mental powers present a terrifying combination. We really don't know how extensive his powers are but the ability to levitate a collapsing building is clearly a cause for concern. Even if his powers diminish according to the inverse square law you must understand that it doesnt take that much energy to kill at a distance if you can target the correct nerve centers in the brain. And you must assume that all of your launch codes, military intelligence, and other top secret information is now compromised. His influence appears to be exponentiating. There's really no telling where it will end. I realize that a measured response is the norm, especially when it comes to international problems but that may not be valid in this case. Sadly, a nuclear option may be the only effective approach at this point. My suggestion is a coordinated nuclear strike against Mr. Scrawn, possibly with the combined efforts of other local nuclear powers. They have even more to lose than we do. I'm sure your infrared geosynchronous assets are even now tracking his position. If not just look for the largest cluster of people in Phnom Penh. That's him in the center. Fortunately, Mr. Scrawn is still human and his reflexes are as well. A sub launched Trident or ground launched MX should be sufficient. The multiple warheads, bracketing his position at hypersonic speed and detonated within microseconds of each other should be even beyond his ability to cope with. I'd suggest air bursts of course to minimize fallout. X-rays and neutrons will clearly kill him even if the blast and heat don't. I've never heard of psychic powers that can stop subatomic particles. It's obviously going to be a gruesome business with hundreds of millions of people dead. Be ready for a firestorm of political fallout. Thats why all the nuclear powers of the world should be in agreement.

Perhaps, once your military assets are ready you should give him an ultimatum. His life for the millions of people in southeast asia. Perhaps a simple icepick lobotomy will be enough to eliminate his powers, though I suspect there will be many who will want him dead, "Just in case". If he refuses then I'd say its better for a few million deaths than the worlds nuclear arsenals under the control of an adolescent lunatic.

This will be my last letter. I'm heading to a bunker out in the sticks with food and water,...and a radio to keep track of how things turn out. Good Luck and God help us all

Good idea, but the great powers are going to try subtletly one more time...

Scenario #7:

"BREAKING NEWS: The ruler of Cambodia lays near-death, the result of what seems to be an attempted assassination.

"The highest floor of Andrew Scrawn's residence in Phnom Penh was rocked by a large explosion just before dawn this morning, blowing out the walls. First responders and bodyguards discovered Scrawn sprawled across his bed, seemingly comatose, and another man, laying on the floor near one of the shattered walls, dead. Neither man had a physical mark on him.

"The Reformers confirm that their instruments detected a huge spike of psychic power coming from the direction of Cambodia at the same time as the explosion happened.

"'Here is what we believe happened, with the information available to us at this time,' said Qeve Nehi, the Reformers' scientific genius. 'We believe that the unknown subject was an assassin who, himself, had psychic powers, which he used to slip past Scrawn's bodyguards. He then tried to murder Scrawn with the same psychic powers as he slept. However, Scrawn awoke during the assault and lashed out with his own abilities. The two blasted each other's brain, the assassin died, Scrawn was rendered comatose, and the resulting feedback of the dual assault caused a shockwave that damaged the building.'

"Scrawn has been moved to Calmette Hospital in downtown Phnom Penh."

At this point I'd probably be petitioning Congress to finish the maniac off before he wakes up.

A] How does mental "feedback" cause physical property damage.
B] Someone tried to assassinate him? My goodness, how surprising. Just a hostile takeover of one, little country, mass catastrophe, and large numbers of dead and some people never let you live it down.

You are now about to see what I would post if this had all happened and ended up spiralling out of control in our news thread.

Thanos6 wrote:

Scrawn was rendered comatose, and the resulting feedback of the dual assault caused a shockwave that damaged the building.'

Spoiler:

KelinciHutan wrote:

A] How does mental "feedback" cause physical property damage.

Energy reaction caused by using psychic powers at the exact same moment as your mind is hit with psychic powers.

Should've sent in an Untouchable.