As a followup to last week’s hypothetical, it is 25 years since the discovery that could grant superpowers to ten year olds at a high price. The world has changed, mostly for the better but not entirely. There have been problems with rich teenagers who thought their powers put them above the law: some went to jail, some did serious harm, some killed unpowered people.

But most didn’t. They’re celebrities now, and they use their powers in non-violent ways to improve the world–generate power, end droughts, that sort of thing. They are also very powerful people, culturally and politically, and even more rich than their parents.

You are an average person in this world, one of billions living their lives peacefully, doing what you do. You also have a ten year old who will turn eleven at the end of next week and pass beyond the age that he can become empowered. Like every kid, he wants superpowers, and asks you to buy a lottery ticket in the hopes that he can get one. You do buy one, and it comes up a winner.

With your new-found wealth, you could live he easy life for the rest of your life and pass on a comfy inheritance, or you could spend the whole thing in one go to give your kid powers. He’s excited and already starting to have power fantasies. You believe he’s a good kid (you’ve raised him well) but most kids are a handful in their teenage years.

Would you buy superpowers for him? If so, what would they be?

You are approached by a team of comic-book style Super Scientists (iow, men and women who can do Impossible Things with custom-built machinery), one of whom is your sister. They tell you that they have a special process that can grant a human being superpowers. The subject would not be harmed by the process and would not be changed in any way except that they would have powers.

However, there are limitations: they can not grant super-intelligence, since the process causes megalomania and death rays. They can not grant immunity to illness because of the complexities of the biological processes inside the body. They can not grant fast healing because it causes cancer. They can not grant immortality. But superstrength, superspeed, flight, invisibility, lightning control, elasticity… all those are on the table.

There is another limitation: They can not grant superpowers to anyone over the age of ten.

You (the fictional “you” for the purpose of this hypothetical) have a ten-year-old at home. This child is a candidate to receive superpowers, mainly because you and your sister are so close. You know your sister would never offer to use the process on your child unless it had been carefully tested because she loves you and your family very much.

However, your child is an average kid, emotionally. Somewhat lazy, immature, defiant… the whole deal. They aren’t a mature and responsible adult.

What would you do? Discuss it with your spouse? With your child? Is there a power you would consider? Your sister explains that they are going to be going public with this discovery, so you can put it off if you want, but if you change your mind later, you’ll have to pay to have the process done, and the price tag is going to be prohibitive.

Would you want to have an immature person with superpowers at home?