The Ten Who Returned (You have the power of limited resurrection RAR).

[The Romulan Republic]

In this scenario, Q grants you the power to resurrect ten people from death. Any ten people. The only stipulations are:

1. They must be people who actually existed. If their existence is historically dubious, then you can try, but with no guarantee of success. If they are a figure who turns out to be a mythologized composite of multiple historical figures (say, like Robin Hood or King Arthur might be), then nothing will happen. A failed attempt, however, will not use one of your resurrections- you get ten, end of story.

2. They will be resurrected at the prime of their life (twenty years old if they died at an older age, their age at death if they died before reaching twenty), with any serious diseases or injuries magically cured.

3. They will retain the memories of their first life.

4. Following their resurrection, they will be as mortal as anyone else, and will live and die depending on what happens to them in their new life.

5. They will appear the moment you utter the words "Arise, (insert name here), and live once more!" three times aloud. They will appear at a spot ten feet in front of wherever you are standing when you utter the spell.

6. If you try to resurrect Hitler (even if its so he can stand trial for his crimes), Q will rearrange your anatomy such that your head is literally stuck up your ass. Permanently.



What do you do?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Returning them to 20 with all serious injuries/diseases cured makes me wonder if I can use it on myself. Having working eyes sounds delightful.

Beyond that though, my first instinct would be my cousin. Any other members of my family would cause problems since they'd suddenly be much younger than the surviving relatives.

Would this work on the twins my sister-in-law miscarried?

[Raw Shark]

Huh. I thought I was going to be the first to make this kinda dark and personal, because reasons I guess. Long story short, I'd probably consider using it for the good of the world and then bring back dead girlfriends.

[Tribble]

I’m tempted to raise dead historical figures just to watch them get institutionalized when they inevitably demand the world acknowledge them for their greatness and their resurrection ... assuming anyone can even understand them of course.

“Yes Alexander, I’m sure you are a great person. Now here, take your meds”

[FireNexus]

Einstein, Feynman (and his sister), Salk, Pasteur...basically a bunch of great minds. If they’re 20, they can get up to speed in the modern versions of their fields and maybe help advance some shit.

[The Romulan Republic]

Returning them to 20 with all serious injuries/diseases cured makes me wonder if I can use it on myself. Having working eyes sounds delightful.

By the terms of the OP, sadly, no. Its a resurrection spell. To resurrect yourself, you'd have to wait until you were dead, at which point you would be unable to vocalize the spell.

Beyond that though, my first instinct would be my cousin. Any other members of my family would cause problems since they'd suddenly be much younger than the surviving relatives.

Would this work on the twins my sister-in-law miscarried?

I hadn't thought about fetuses and miscarriages. I suppose it depends partly on whether you recognize an unborn fetus as "alive"/a person, and how you answer that question has some very explosive abortion-related implications. Personally, I regard fetuses as alive/human (while still accepting the legality of abortion on the grounds that the fetus's right to life does not supercede the mother's right to bodily autonomy, but believing that we should do all we can to limit the number of abortions by reducing unwanted pregnancies through birth control, sex ed, etc.). Given that, under the terms of the OP, a resurrected fetus would be restored to life and full health at the age they were when they miscarried. The problem with that is... they'd still be a fetus, so unless the spell also restored the pregnancy (in which case you'd obviously want to consult with the mother beforehand), that wouldn't really work.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't actually put much thought into the implications of being able to restore dead loved ones, beyond thinking that I'd probably hold a few resurrections in reserve, just in case. I suppose that's partly down to me being fortunate in not having lost a lot of people close to me, and all of them had lived fairly long lives when they went.

I suppose that brings us to the question of whether it would be ethical to resurrect someone who lived a full life and died of natural causes. But then, its open to debate whether it would be ethical to use it at all. The religiously-minded could see it as "playing God", or potentially pulling someone out of heaven against their will (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer season six for a season-long exploration of the potential effects of doing so on someone's psychology), and then there's the social shock, both to society of returning the dead, and to the dead themselves of being brought back, without any choice in the matter, through unknown means to an unfamiliar world. Plus, how do you decide which ten people are worthy of this gift?

Its a very powerful and ethically dubious tool to be used very carefully, if at all. But that's part of what makes it interesting.

For me, I'd probably ask Q if there's a way to consult with the spirit of the person you're going to resurrect, to see if they want to come back. If that issue is resolved, then...

Probably my dad, on a purely selfish note. I'd be tempted to bring back Jesus just to answer some questions (I presume it won't work if he actually turned out to be God), though that's probably the socio-political equivalent of throwing a match into a powder keg. Shakespeare. Stephen Hawking (imagine that intellect getting another fifty years or so, plus the full health he never had for most of his life). I'd be really tempted to bring Abraham Lincoln back, simply because I desperately want to hear his thoughts on contemporary American politics. I'd probably hold the other five in reserve, in case they were needed for some future tragedy.

Or I might use them only on very recently-deceased people, thus negating at least some of the aforementioned moral issues.

I’m tempted to raise dead historical figures just to watch them get institutionalized when they inevitably demand the world acknowledge them for their greatness and their resurrection ... assuming anyone can even understand them of course.

“Yes Alexander, I’m sure you are a great person. Now here, take your meds”

Well, that's the top troll option.

You could verify it, though, by performing a resurrection in public. But that'll probably bring you a lot of attention you don't want, and a lot of people trying to force you to use your powers to their benefit.

[Solauren]

Do murder victims come back, knowing who killed them and how they did it/hide the evidence?

[The Romulan Republic]

Do murder victims come back, knowing who killed them and how they did it/hide the evidence?

If they knew who killed them before they died, and you choose to resurrect them, then yeah, they'll know who did it.

[Raw Shark]

Oh, man. That triples this right the fuck down for me. I not only cared about her, I was the prime suspect. You're diggity-damn right she comes back first. There is an exactly 0% chance that I can use this in a completely selfless way.

[Solauren]

I'm really hesitant about this power without the ability to "talk" to the deceased first. And allow others to speak to them too?

I mean, yeah, I know a girl that disappeared and was probably murdered. Her disappearance actually stress some friendships (not with me, but between others that knew her better). However, was she really murdered, versus having committed suicide? How do I know she would want to come back?

The same with other people.

Would my grandparents want to come back, decades later, to a changed world, no job, having to relay on family to support them? Children and Grandchild that are now older then them? There stuff has been divided up and/or sold.
And would my family want to support them? Do I have a right to force that upon my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and parents? Hell, could they support them?
They'd need to do catch up to even qualify for college! And, they'd have to watch thier children, and probably grandchildren, grow old and die before them.


now, assuming my resurrections were all okay with all involved....
#1 - The girl I mentioned.
#2 - Possibly my deceased son. That would involve an extensive discussion with my wife, as he'd have to go 'back in' for a few months.
#3 - My friend CK's deceased son.

Beyond that, I'm not sure.

[LadyTevar]

Sir Nitram
GhostRider
Yosemeti Bear.

[Batman]

What she said (though I'd have conferred with her first to see if she's up to dealing with a husband barely out of his teens)
Stephen Hawking
Terry Pratchett

The rest I'd probably save for emergencies.

[Broomstick]

My late husband - it would be grand if his spina bifida was also fixed by the resurrection. He always liked older women so the age difference might not be insurmountable.

Alan Turing - he could have a chance to live a full life without being pressured and driven to be something he was not, to the point of suicide.

Freddie Mercury - because a talent like that deserves more time on Earth.

Leonardo DaVinci - because I think he'd enjoy living in the future.

That's just off the top of my head - if I think of more I'll add 'em.

[Batman]

Are those resurrections inheritable? Can they be used on the same person more than once?

[The Romulan Republic]

Are those resurrections inheritable?

No. Q gave them to you, you can't pass them on to anyone else.

Can they be used on the same person more than once?

If that person is unlucky enough to die again before you use up your resurrections, sure.

[Batman]

I was mostly thinking of those being used in combination. Like my inheritors using the remaining resurrections to keep Pterry around for as long as possible.

[Broomstick]

Maybe you should as Pterry about that before you do a second resurrection for him? Not everyone wants to live quite so long as that.

[The Romulan Republic]

I think I'd like to live, oh, maybe 500 years. But maybe I'd feel differently after the first couple centuries. Probably depends partly on whether I could keep my physical and especially my mental health.

All I know is "close to a century if you're lucky" is too damn short. But no doubt it depends on the individual.

[Batman]

Maybe you should as Pterry about that before you do a second resurrection for him? Not everyone wants to live quite so long as that.

I should ask him that before the 'first' one but whether or not we get that option seems undetermined

[The Romulan Republic]

Maybe you should as Pterry about that before you do a second resurrection for him? Not everyone wants to live quite so long as that.

I should ask him that before the 'first' one but whether or not we get that option seems undetermined

Okay, since I can't really leave this question hanging, and its not stated one way or the other in the OP, I'll say that Q grants you the power to consult with the person you intend to resurrect before doing so.