TAW122
Emissary of the right to die.
- Aug 30, 2018
- 7,585
This topic and thread was based on an old kids' action cartoon (Jackie Chan Adventures - mainly from Season 1, which features the 12 talismans) from the early 2000's as I was growing up. This is more of an open-ended question and tying in some of our pro-choice, right to die philosophy and such. Therefore, it would be more of a exploratory topic in a hypothetical world. Without further ado, here is some brief background of the talisman's powers based on the Chinese Zodiac:
While most of the powers are not really relevant unless one has some ulterior goal or so, I would have ruled out the Dog talisman because as someone who wishes the right to die philosophy, immortality is the least of what I wished for. I may have considered the horse talisman to heal grievous wounds and to be able to regain/have capacity to CTB, then maybe dragon and/or pig (either or, or both) to get back at the forced-lifers who forced my sentience and suffering (punish them), but then again for some people while they may use the immense powers for evil, I would use them mainly to seek peace, but get some justice (if I can). Of course, in a perfect world, I would not have enemies, nor would I end up going for justice, but given that is not the ideal situation, and that I wouldn't just go quietly without getting some vengeance (again I don't condone nor do I condemn vengeance, but I understand it), if I could at least get away with it (assuming I CTB shortly after). Here is a scene that brings a bit of catharsis for reference:
This short snippet scene shows the villain Drago (Shendu's son) destroying the Golden Gate Bridge:
As a disclaimer: NO, I am not condoning the whole apocalyptic destruction of the world, but just merely pointing out a scene in which I found intriguing and piquing my interest. This is just a philosophical and exploratory discussion!
For context on the cost of the GGB net installed around 2024, which is $224 million USD, then around 2005 or so, that would be about $138 million USD. In a sense, looking back, especially on a more than 20+ year old cartoon series, it felt kind of satisfying seeing about $138 million of a slave trap being eviscerated and destroyed by some entity with some supernatural, superpower that exceeds even the most lethal weapons of humanity or that humanity can muster! (Of course, in a fantasy world!).
In addition to such a world, the laws of nature and physics would be greatly altered in such a sense, and having existing sentience itself beyond what one is able to comprehend could also become a scary nightmare in and of itself too. Why the rejection of the Dog talisman? For someone who values the right to die, I would not want to attain immortality as that would be antithetical towards the values and directly contradict what I stand for. While having others powers can be fun, personally, I would opt for non-sentience itself as that would allow me no more harm from existence itself. The other kinds of talisman powers are rather irrelevant and perhaps sometimes even being somewhat antithetical to the pro-choice philosophy, such as the rat talisman's power, as it would bring about sentience against an non-sentient entity (an object coming to life, being animated). Also, the yin-yang talisman brings other complications that only further frustrate things and dealing with two of the same individual person is just another complication that is unnecessary.
What would you have done if you had or came across such powers or were able to gain such kinds of powers?
12 Talisman Powers Listed:
Rooster - Levitation
Sheep - Astro projection
Dog - Immortality
Tiger - Yin/Yang (separation from good/evil, light/dark)
Pig - Shooting out heat-vision, heat beams (laser)
Dragon - Shooting out fire, intense heat/explosions
Snake - InVISIbility (not invincibility)
Rat - Animation of Inanimate (non-sentience to sentience)
Horse - Healing of all wounds, cure illness and disease
Rabbit - Supersonic speed
Monkey - Transform into another creature/animal
Ox - Immense physical strength
While most of the powers are not really relevant unless one has some ulterior goal or so, I would have ruled out the Dog talisman because as someone who wishes the right to die philosophy, immortality is the least of what I wished for. I may have considered the horse talisman to heal grievous wounds and to be able to regain/have capacity to CTB, then maybe dragon and/or pig (either or, or both) to get back at the forced-lifers who forced my sentience and suffering (punish them), but then again for some people while they may use the immense powers for evil, I would use them mainly to seek peace, but get some justice (if I can). Of course, in a perfect world, I would not have enemies, nor would I end up going for justice, but given that is not the ideal situation, and that I wouldn't just go quietly without getting some vengeance (again I don't condone nor do I condemn vengeance, but I understand it), if I could at least get away with it (assuming I CTB shortly after). Here is a scene that brings a bit of catharsis for reference:
This short snippet scene shows the villain Drago (Shendu's son) destroying the Golden Gate Bridge:
As a disclaimer: NO, I am not condoning the whole apocalyptic destruction of the world, but just merely pointing out a scene in which I found intriguing and piquing my interest. This is just a philosophical and exploratory discussion!
For context on the cost of the GGB net installed around 2024, which is $224 million USD, then around 2005 or so, that would be about $138 million USD. In a sense, looking back, especially on a more than 20+ year old cartoon series, it felt kind of satisfying seeing about $138 million of a slave trap being eviscerated and destroyed by some entity with some supernatural, superpower that exceeds even the most lethal weapons of humanity or that humanity can muster! (Of course, in a fantasy world!).
In addition to such a world, the laws of nature and physics would be greatly altered in such a sense, and having existing sentience itself beyond what one is able to comprehend could also become a scary nightmare in and of itself too. Why the rejection of the Dog talisman? For someone who values the right to die, I would not want to attain immortality as that would be antithetical towards the values and directly contradict what I stand for. While having others powers can be fun, personally, I would opt for non-sentience itself as that would allow me no more harm from existence itself. The other kinds of talisman powers are rather irrelevant and perhaps sometimes even being somewhat antithetical to the pro-choice philosophy, such as the rat talisman's power, as it would bring about sentience against an non-sentient entity (an object coming to life, being animated). Also, the yin-yang talisman brings other complications that only further frustrate things and dealing with two of the same individual person is just another complication that is unnecessary.
What would you have done if you had or came across such powers or were able to gain such kinds of powers?