You are the Purple Man (Jessica Jones RAR)

[PREDATOR490]

Using your powers for that kind of thing is actually going to be it's own problem.

The control lasts 24 hours and depending on how it works, anyone who enters that room or goes anywhere you have been can potentially be infected. The victims will be stuck with your commands for 24 hours after any interrogation and that could cause it's own issues. Especially if commands can still be given via. remote methods of observation.

I.E If someone gets infected and watched / listened to the recording of an interrogation - would they follow the commands ?

Anyone with ethics would lock you up and never let you in the same room as another person.
Those without ethics would lock you up and force you to use your powers to their benefit.
In either situation, your a prisoner.

Essentially, your going to be a prisoner that spends the rest of your life in a sealed environment doing the bidding of whoever holds the keys. If your lucky it will be a nice cage. In addition, I do not think even the people that you worked for would let you live long if you proved you could make people tell the Truth. Chances are, they would quickly realise that same trick could be used against them if they ever find themselves on the opposite end of the interrogation scene.

In a complete fantasy world - This ability could be used to make an extremely accurate lie detector / confession generator. However, I quickly suspect that you would not live long to try it. People in power would quickly have you killed / controlled for fear you would dare use that power against them.

[bilateralrope]

The control lasts 24 hours and depending on how it works, anyone who enters that room or goes anywhere you have been can potentially be infected. The victims will be stuck with your commands for 24 hours after any interrogation and that could cause it's own issues. Especially if commands can still be given via. remote methods of observation.

That's why the command is limited to answering questions given by one specific colleague of mine. Once the colleague leaves, the command stops doing anything.

Recorded commands are a worry as I doubt I'll have any privacy in my cage.

Essentially, your going to be a prisoner that spends the rest of your life in a sealed environment doing the bidding of whoever holds the keys. If your lucky it will be a nice cage.

True. But look at my other options:

- Forget ethics and use the mind control selfishly. Not a route I want to go down as I will fall down that slippery slope.
- Isolate myself, relying on my willpower to stop me deciding to forget ethics. I doubt I'll be able to stand that lifestyle. Especially once I start asking questions about where the money comes from.
- Self mutilation. Not sure that will work.
- Suicide. Not an option I'm willing to take.
I don't like any of those options.

Part of my reason for going with an intelligence agency is that I want someone who will stop me if I try to forget about ethics. Being useful to them is how I try for a nice cage.

In addition, I do not think even the people that you worked for would let you live long if you proved you could make people tell the Truth. Chances are, they would quickly realise that same trick could be used against them if they ever find themselves on the opposite end of the interrogation scene.

Also a risk. I'm just hoping that they see me as easy enough to contain that they have trouble convincing others that I need to be eliminated and/or their crimes are small enough that they aren't worried about any investigation.

[Mr Bean]

So you "real" options are

1. Become a monster via the corruption such powers present
2. Become a government monster with someone else hopefully controling you
3. Try really hard to do good
4. Vow of silence, communicate via sign language and the written word.


Nothing says you can't go 4, should not be that hard to one time use the powers to say land a job with a decent paycheck but no specific job requirements like board member of a midsized company or consultant for a company that never reads your reports, heck power your way into a sales job, the key will be avoiding ever giving commands and doing most of your communication via text...

Come to think of it, does purple powers work via phones? Can I call my local congressmen and change his vote via a voicemail?

[FaxModem1]

Come to think of it, does purple powers work via phones? Can I call my local congressmen and change his vote via a voicemail?

No. It requires physical proximity, as his pheromones work like a virus, with commands expiring after 24 hours. Later on, he compels people to improve his powers so that he has increased proximity and duration.

Simply calling people over the phone will depends on them already being under your sway.

[Solauren]

So you "real" options are

1. Become a monster via the corruption such powers present
2. Become a government monster with someone else hopefully controling you
3. Try really hard to do good
4. Vow of silence, communicate via sign language and the written word.

Since those are really the only options, looks like I'm going to jump into #1.

So, the question would be, how long until I could arrange to get close to certain rich individuals, and arrange for them to transfer me shit tons of money via untraceable bank accounts and the like?

[Mr Bean]

Come to think of it, does purple powers work via phones? Can I call my local congressmen and change his vote via a voicemail?

No. It requires physical proximity, as his pheromones work like a virus, with commands expiring after 24 hours. Later on, he compels people to improve his powers so that he has increased proximity and duration.

Simply calling people over the phone will depends on them already being under your sway.

So telecommuting solves your problems no need to worry about mind breaking if your not near people. It should be quite possible to go off grid and communicate via Discord/Skype and emails. For outings to the outside there's one of those handy "I am mute" style cards to hand out. As long as you stay unmemorable and keep interactions to a minimum, that should keep the chances for abuse to the least amount.

[Ralin]

To answer the OP question, I'd start by using my new powers to secure a well-paying job that required minimal work (probably gaining a reputation for my amazing classroom management skills in the process), make myself and people close to me comfortable while training myself to be very mindful about my wording and not making imperative statements without a deliberate decision. Yeah that sort of power represents a huge temptation, but it honestly wouldn't take that much to make me happy and I don't actually want to rape anyone so I'm reasonably sure I could avoid going off the deep end. Once I have all that taken care of (I'd set a target of at least a year to adjust) I'd start considering whether I want to do things to make the world in general a better place by, say, commanding every single member of the Trump administration except the president to quit, commit suicide, confess to or commit obvious crimes.

I say 'except the president' because I think it would be both funnier and a much better object lesson for people who agree with him to leave him untouched but unable to get absolutely anyone to work for him.

Do not use it, ever, unless to save an innocent person's life. Destroying someone else's free will is an absolutely horrific act. Even if temporary, I'd put it only slightly below murder.

I think you don’t realize just how easily your ‘free will’ (which is a really poorly defined and rather incoherent concept to begin with) can be abrogated anytime enough people (like the police) decide to physically restrain you against your will, and just how often that happens and how omnipresent the threat of that is. Mind control like this would accomplish the same thing via different and mostly more effective means, so I don’t regard it as significantly worse than manhandling or coercing someone via conventional means.

Like, I’m a teacher. None of my students have any real choice when it comes to attending school. If they tried to refuse they would be physically dragged to school and punished until they cooperated. That’s why it’s called compulsory education and takes place behind gates and armed guards. Going from that to forcing them to actually follow instructions in class and do the damned exercises and homework isn’t a huge difference morally because the only thing that changes is how effective the coercion is.

[Ralin]

To answer the OP question, I'd start by using my new powers to secure a well-paying job that required minimal work (probably gaining a reputation for my amazing classroom management skills in the process), make myself and people close to me comfortable while training myself to be very mindful about my wording and not making imperative statements without a deliberate decision. Yeah that sort of power represents a huge temptation, but it honestly wouldn't take that much to make me happy and I don't actually want to rape anyone so I'm reasonably sure I could avoid going off the deep end. Once I have all that taken care of (I'd set a target of at least a year to adjust) I'd start considering whether I want to do things to make the world in general a better place by, say, commanding every single member of the Trump administration except the president to quit, commit suicide, confess to or commit obvious crimes.

I say 'except the president' because I think it would be both funnier and a much better object lesson for people who agree with him to leave him untouched but unable to get absolutely anyone to work for him.

Do not use it, ever, unless to save an innocent person's life. Destroying someone else's free will is an absolutely horrific act. Even if temporary, I'd put it only slightly below murder.

I think you don’t realize just how easily your ‘free will’ (which is a really poorly defined and rather incoherent concept to begin with) can be abrogated anytime enough people (like the police) decide to physically restrain you against your will, and just how often that happens and how omnipresent the threat of that is. Mind control like this would accomplish the same thing via different and mostly more effective means, so I don’t regard it as significantly worse than manhandling or coercing someone via conventional means.

Like, I’m a teacher. None of my students have any real choice when it comes to attending school. If they tried to refuse they would be physically dragged to school and punished until they cooperated. That’s why it’s called compulsory education and takes place behind gates and armed guards. Going from that to forcing them to actually follow instructions in class and do the damned exercises and homework isn’t a huge difference morally because the only thing that changes is how effective the coercion is.