What if someone saved the world?

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2005-08-13 06:30pm

This is a hypothetical postulation:

Suppose some movie plot comes to life, and the whole world is in danger of being destroyed, be it by demons, earthquakes, or nuclear weapons. Now, suppose one man publically and dramatically comes through in the crucial moment. He saves the world live and in front of thousands of people.

What happens to him? How does the public view him? Yes, they "love him" but will he always be the guy who saved the world, invited to every party? Will he be forgotten?

DrkHelmet · Post by **DrkHelmet** » 2005-08-13 06:33pm

My guess is that there would initially be parades, prizes, gifts, and all sorts of things for a few months. Inside of 6 months, the President of the U.S. will have sex with Bill Gates and the whole thing will be forgotten.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-08-13 06:47pm

This sort've thing has happened, but it has almost always been behind closed doors. I suggest reading about Stanislav Petrov for instance. If it was in public, which would be doubtful, then heaps of praise would come about.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2005-08-13 06:52pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:This sort've thing has happened, but it has almost always been behind closed doors. I suggest reading about Stanislav Petrov for instance. If it was in public, which would be doubtful, then heaps of praise would come about.

I read his story. I will now go have a retroactive attack of the shakes.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2005-08-13 07:04pm

My guess is they'd be on the covers of every newspaper and magazine on the planet, talk shows would engage in a bidding war to see who can have them on first, they'd be invited to see a whole bunch of world leaders, if money isn't given to them as a reward to begin with, they'd use their status to make a lot of it, and their celebrity status would gradually fade over the course of a year or two, although they'd get at least a mention in my book.

My question is how it will affect conflicts going on during the time. I was wondering if everyone in the world would be equally thankful to them for saving their asses, be brought together from it, and be less reluctant to fight each other for the time afterwards.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2005-08-13 07:25pm

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:My guess is they'd be on the covers of every newspaper and magazine on the planet, talk shows would engage in a bidding war to see who can have them on first, they'd be invited to see a whole bunch of world leaders, if money isn't given to them as a reward to begin with, they'd use their status to make a lot of it, and their celebrity status would gradually fade over the course of a year or two, although they'd get at least a mention in my book.

My question is how it will affect conflicts going on during the time. I was wondering if everyone in the world would be equally thankful to them for saving their asses, be brought together from it, and be less reluctant to fight each other for the time afterwards.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. The south-Asian tsunami stopped a war in Indonesia, but it made both sides of a war in Sri Lanka angrier.

tumbletom · Post by **tumbletom** » 2005-08-13 11:03pm

The Hero would probably get some high school or something named after him/her.

bekeleven · Post by **bekeleven** » 2005-08-13 11:45pm

Certainly, there would be a bidding war over their life. No matter how they wanted to live, they would be constantly hounded. They would also probably end up committing suicide when they realized in a few years that the peak of their life had passed. After all, no matter what they did, they would always be known as "the man who saved the world" (or woman). They would get a chapter -no more, no less- in history books of the future. If it was a book trying to enocompass 1000 or more years, they would get a mention. 500 or more, a parahraph. But a 100 year deal... yeah, a chapter. Love it, my friend.

outcast · Post by **outcast** » 2005-08-14 05:23am

well, if it was me who had saved the world in a big grandiose way (like armageddon-esque or something). i'd use that fame (and inevitable fortune) to gain some sort of political powerbase from which to enact radical transhumanistic reforms.

then i'll be known as the guy who both saved humanity, and made it obsolete.

Maku · Post by **Maku** » 2005-08-14 11:52am

I'm putting my bet on the hero being assassinated by some radical lunatic with an agenda. Not a bet that shows a lot of faith in people I know, but that kind of fame would attract nutjobs like you wouldn't believe.

Tinkerbell · Post by **Tinkerbell** » 2005-08-14 12:52pm

I think it depends on how he handled the fame afterwards.

Of course you have the initial "OmFg'z! T3H Hero!" After a while though, he could probably slip relatively under the radar. Not to say he would be forgotten in his lifetime, but he could lead as normal a life as possible.

If he chose, he could warp that initial fame into something more. Be it politics, or any other form of celebrity.

This is all said, of course, assuming he isn't killed