Corrupts Absolutely Anthology

Lord Acton originally wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Modern pop-culture is brimming over with stories of bright, polished men and women with iron wills and indestructible moral codes, who throw themselves into a life of public service after being graced (or cursed) with cosmic powers, a magic ring, puberty-activated mutant genes or robot suits. I call bullshit. Suddenly discovering that you’re different from baseline humanity is certainly the sort of thing that could change one’s worldview overnight, but that just isn’t interesting, especially since it’s been done ad infinitum. How about the people that look out for ‘Number One?’ People with flaws? People with serious psychological issues? People that have been looking for a ticket out of their circumstances and finally lucked into it? People who’ve devoted themselves to their success and have reached it, at long last? The nerdy kid who doesn’t have to be pushed around and isn’t willing to hide anymore? The jealous girl that’s tired of being the ‘other woman?’ The disenfranchised homeless man? The bored housewife who wishes she’d made some different choices? To some, this just screams ‘supervillain,’ or ‘antihero,’ and in many cases, you’d be right. But usually, these are stock characters without much substance. They’re the “bad guys.” Real life isn’t that simple, and even the meatier, more realistic metahuman portrayals out there are seen mainly in comic books; rarely in a prose anthology. Show me substance. Show me what would really happen if today’s people had superpowers.

Country of Publication

United States