Hey guys,

Man, these new threads are sort of sucking, am I right? So I came up with this ridiculous hypothetical that only exists as a constructed "what-if" situation.

One day, you're walking your dog. Your dog is barking and yapping at people and generally being a huge nuisance. You return home. You check the mailbox, and you have a package from a "Mr. Michael" and so you ignore the dog and you open it. The dog runs amok in the front yard, yapping its damn head off.

The package opens to reveal a cylindrical black opaque sphere with a red button on the top. You place it in the accompanying wooden sphere-holder, and read the letter.

Dear [Your name],

The Path of the Breakdance has chosen you as our divine leader. We have vested in you the power of life and death. It also comes with money, which is useful. Imagine a person in your mind's eye, then press the red button on the Sphere of Breakdance. All you need is to have seen him or her before, whether in person or otherwise, and the Sphere will know. This will cause the victim to breakdance until he or she dies of exhaustion.

For each person killed in this way, we will deposit $1,000,000 into your bank account. The sphere can be used twelve times per day.

We hope that you, divine leader, are pleased with our gift to you today.

Regards,
The Path of the Breakdance


Skeptical, you think nothing of it and keep it in your room.

The next morning, you take your stupid yappy dog and go out for a walk. On the way, you encounter some loud, obnoxious woman raving about your ugly dog. You don't think much of it, but after you go home, you think of the sphere. What could be the harm in trying? So you think of the woman, press the button, and wait for results.

Nothing happens.

The day after, the local newspaper runs a front page story about a woman, Georgiana McHungry, who died of total body failure after several hours of dancing. No one could explain why she compulsively danced until her hands were raw and bleeding to the bone. Restraints were useless, and all the while she was screaming in terrible agony.

You log onto your bank account online, and you have an extra million dollars there.

So now you have this awesome power in your hands. It could make you rich. But on the other hand, people would have to die.

Would you use it?

"The money is clean, but don't alter your spending patterns drastically, or else the Feds will investigate."

lol
buying a car would tip them off, million showing up wouldnt outstanding

Hell yes! Do I need to have seen the person in the flesh, or could I have seen them on TV? Obv I just kill Islamists and Westboro Church members.

Sounds a lot like Deathnote, fwiw.

Well, 'or otherwise', so magazines, TV, whatever, as long as you know who you are targetting.

What's Deathnote?

Also if I did decide to use it I would probably target it at people who were nits about hypothetical situations

These people are the worst, they are here for Nebraska games on saturdays. I'd kill every last one of them with little remorse.

garcia1000

Although, I think you need take out the careful spending part. It detracts too much from the central issue.

I'd use it without the money.

Can I modify it to use it more then 12 times a day??

k.

I just use it on some confirmed criminals, killing Osama getting 1 million sounds like a great deal to me. Probably enough naughty persons to satisfy my financial needs.

Suici

ya seriously

I'd be a billionaire in 84 days

google image search
type "terrorists the US"
???????
profit

And maybe to play music?

That'd be ironic.

yesssss

I'm sure the basic premise of this was a Ray Bradbury science fiction story. One day as you press that button you'll find yourself thinking of yourself.

ppl r willing to pay for things like this?

Would definitely use it. I can think of a lot of people that'd I'd like dead. I call it my "OOT Hit List".

i think you'd get better (more honest, maybe?) answers if you ask something like; would you murder someone if you knew you wouldnt be caught/punished for it

I'd use it multiple times a day ldo. If you made it some random person no but if I could choose them yeah sure.

Go find myself Osama bin laden. Get rid of a couple others I don't care for. I wouldn't kill many though. I'd probally visit some prisons as well but I think they might catch on there. I'd wait a while or maybe go in disguise.

I dont think it was Bradbury...

This.

My moral qualms with killing people kind of go out the window when I can exclude it to only people who deserve to die a slow, painful death. If the button killed a random person rather than a person of my choosing then I don't think I could bring myself to do it.

Okay I remember the choice was whether you'd press a button/give the word for the death of an anonymous man in a white suit who's walking across an airport lounge. You're shown a picture or quick video of him but don.t see his face . You say yes, sure, and get untold riches. But then it turns out that the death you agreed to was your own - the man at the airport was yourself, a short while in the future. Hmm can anyone identify this story? And back to OP's suggestion, how could you stop yourself from thinking of the wrong person?

12mil x 365 ... ship $4.38 tril/yr imo.

also hand down the SoD for generations so my family will be the richest, only alive family in the world.