Sunday, August 2

#31 - partial immunity


One night, you are roused from your slumber by an angelic visit. The angel tells you not to be afraid, that you are being granted a rare (if puzzling) gift.

The angel states that you are to be given immunity from a single type of death (of your choosing). You have simply to specify one way you do not wish to die, and you are certain to not perish in that way. The major stipulation is that your selection must be a particular method of death, not blanket types of bodily failures. For example, "gunshot wound" and "stabbing" would be separate choices, you could not use an exceedingly vague phrase like "blood loss" (that would protect you from both). Also, though you will enjoy some measure of safety, you will not be 100% invincible. You could still be hurt by different activities, just not to the point of death. If you selected "stabbing" and were at some point stabbed, you could expect a full recovery, though it might take some time.

The angel announces that you will be visited again in one week's time so that you can give your response. Pondering this the next day, the whole experience strikes you as very fantastic. However, you figure you have nothing to lose in this situation. What do you choose?

8 comments:

Mike said...

Airplane crashes. The idea of plummeting to my death with 100 other screaming people... it chills my blood. Plus, knowing I wouldn't die in a plane crash would make me enjoy travel much more.

I wonder tho, if I didn't die in the crash, could I still die as a result of drowning if a plane crashed into the ocean, for instance? Still, I'd rather drown after a plane crash then just die from the impact... isn't that weird?

Unknown said...

Can I say cancer and be free from all types or would I have to pick a particular kind?

Angela said...

Does "not 100% invincible" also apply to disease? Meaning that you could get cancer/heart attack/whatever-your-choice-of-death but not die from them?

Matt said...

Let's say each type of cancer is an independent disease. And that you could suffer from the disease you chose, but would in time make a full recovery.

Unknown said...

Okay, then, I won't be able to pick just one cancer, so I guess I'll choose drowning. It's always seemed pretty horrifying and maybe then I'd be able to actually go under water without issue.

On the other hand, this seems like something unlikely to happen anyway.

Car crash? That has the same issues Mike brought up if I can still die from the injuries sustained in it, though.

Stephanie said...

1. suffocation or 2. burning to death in a fire of some sort.

booyah.

Angela said...

I'm going to take an opposite tack and choose a common cause of death rather than a weird, gruesome cause. I'll say heart disease. Assuming I would live long enough to be at high risk, I would gain some extra years at the end of life with that choice. I'll just hope that I don't drown or get set on fire in the interim.

Go back to animal questions! These are so morbid :(

Matt said...

I have felt for some time that the worst way to die would to be buried alive, but I wouldn't use that one since the chances of that happening seem remote.

For me it would probably be between drowning or burning to death. I think I'd say burning since drowning would go quicker (though I hate the idea of the body struggling for something that it just can't get).

I like the idea of choosing something and then using your "immunity" in your day to day life. Like Heather said, spending lots of time in the water if you chose "drowning". But the fact that you could still be hurt would probably rule out a life of fighting crime. Dang. Who comes up with these questions?