To have the power to heal.
You think at first it would be great but I bet the demands such a power would create would get to you quickly. There are a lot of people on transplant lists. A lot of people hurt and dying. You would never have an ounce of rest. The guilt would hammer at you every day for everyone you couldn't save because you ran out of juice. I am sure glad I don't have that power I couldn't handle it.

Neil I don't envy you.

No, I don't think of it that way. You simply have to accept that you have limitations, and define those limitations reasonably.

For instance, I know that you have great strength and sharp claws. Does that mean you should be expected to fight and kill all the enemies of your people? Should you expect yourself to hunt food for all the starving peoples of the world?

Alchemist, you are being a tad obtuse. If one has the power to heal it does go to follow that there will be the expectation made by baselines that one should be healing as much as one possibly could. Since we are still in the midst of transforming from baseline to Nova, in our minds, it could be expected that the Nova in question would also be wracked with guilt over some very difficult choices. Heal this person, or that person? Who lives, who dies. Doctors during wartime have had to make these choices during triage. For the Nova that choice is all the sharper because the likelihood is that they are the ONLY Nova in the vicinity capable of doing what they do. They are not a limited commodity, they are nearly unique. The responsibility is theirs and theirs alone.

I actually pity Neil's father more to be honest. He has chosen a great and incredible burden. He see's the ebb and flow of time. With a frightening level of accuracy I might add. He uses this power to help protect the city of Boston. Why Boston? Why not New York, or Los Angeles? These cities are larger and more would benefit from his protection. Because he had to make a choice. Why do some crimes still occur in Boston? Yes, the crime rate is frighteningly low, but it still happens. Why do some children still go to bed crying with fear? Because he had to make a choice. He is not omnipotent. Knowledge does not translate to ability necessarily. I am certain more than a few times he has been presented with an angry victim of some random crime who has asked "Why not me? Wasn't I worth saving? Wasn't I worth protecting?" And very likely Officer Preston had in fact seen the crime being commited. Witnessed the violation and the pain. And had to decide to do nothing about it.

Now that, that must be painful.

Thanks Totem, but I think that all novas can feel they carry a terrible burden, if they chose to see it that way.

I decided pretty much from the get go that not only couldn't I heal everyone, I wasn't going to try. Yes, that means I let people die that I could have saved. I guess my PreMed studies helped with that, or maybe I'm too callous.
I decided that I wasn't going to let guilt motivate my actions or eat me up inside. If someone was going to die without me, and I didn't feel that being with them was the place for me, they die. Life is like that. Death happens.

I also think that many novas go through this quandry. We can/could/should do something, but somehow we don't manage to. I think that is beating ourselves up for no good purpose.
Without us, all these things would still happen, right? So, do what you feel you should do, help out when it feels right to you, and get over the rest.

I respect Liam and the others at Project Utopia a great deal, but that life isn't for me. It doesn't feel right for me. They work on a broad canvas, while I play at connect-the-dots. I try to make the world a better place one situation/case/person at a time, because that is what feels right for me. I would be lousy at being sent were someone else thought I was a Priority, and thus some other place was not.

As for the rest, I do consult alot. The good people at JH coordinate all of that for me, and they have really good people deciding on which projects and cases I should consider consulting on and which ones don't make the cut for my time and attention.
Occassionally someone hacks my account and blasts me for not helping said person/cause, or begs me to do this or that.
When I chose to respond to such things, I suggest prayer and acceptance and tell them to move on, or to prepare themselves for what is to come. I am not playing God. I have these powers for a reason and I am trying to figure out what my reason for living is. Just like everyone else.

On the beautiful side of things, I get to see bodies work at an exceptional level. I get to see muscles fire and contract. Enzyme reactions in the digestive track (okay, I'm a medical geek, so sue me), and ten thousand other wonders of a living, working body. I get to see a node fire up, and that is so damn neat!

I am glad most of us seem to realize we aren't Christ. Now if we can get over the image of seeing us as devils.

I like the feeling of we determine our own actions. We decide the level in which we participate. I am finally begining to realize I don't owe anyone anything it's just a matter of what I want to give.

While I hardly can heal the sick on the res most of the money I have made in the past 11 months has went to the Oglala. They're updating the hospital and school and building a new community center. Hell the revenue generated from the Pow wow was a larger influx of cash into this area than the last decade combined. Many more see me as a blessing than ever and maybe they are right. Everyone here seems to be doing better at least on some level and I don't really even have to bless them or speak great medicine.

Pretty much on the money, Mr. Meehan. Not for nothing are you considered the smartest nova alive.
I elect to live and believe in a democratic society that limits my actions. Sometimes even I can't find that pathway that allows me to protect both civil liberties and lives. I can live with that, because freedom is what I am fighting for.

For those who ask: Why Boston?
I can give several answers:
- It is my home.
- The passion of a city of two million is an immense sensation. I tremble to imagine what a greater scope would do to my mind.
- On a limited scale, I do look beyond Boston to help were I can.

Totem, Paramedics have the same dilemma. Look at it this way, if you cannot accept your limitations, then you shouldn't jump into the fire.

It's one thing to try and fail, than not to even try at all.

We don't always choose our powers Endeavor. Sometimes they choose us. So then what? You have the power to heal but are afraid to because it might overwhelm you? It's almost as bad as being overwhelmed it would seem.

Way I hear it, the healing touch don't come easy to most Novas. Takes a lot of juice to do it, and it doesn't always patch you the whole way up.

Weird when you think about how many of us get destructive powers, that so few of us can cure people. Must be one of those easier to destroy than it is to create kind of deals. Or maybe we're all children of Shiva. Who knows?

Well, chaos does come much easier then order does. That's just one of the laws of the universe. I plan on helping as many as I can with my abilities, as long as it's not assumed I'm going to.

Or to repeat an obvious statement by Robert Rodriguez, it is easier to destroy than to create. Or to quote Andrew Kevin Walker, it is easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it.

While it is unclear if these are harsh truths or simply jaded viewpoints of the world, everyone seems to enjoy in observing them.

You have a point. Although, if necessary, I would risk that to save someone's life.

Then again, I'm just putting myself in that situation without fully knowing what the situation is.

So, all we got are hypotheticals.

Totem, Prodigy,

We have the burdens we choose to take. As for guilt, part of being a nova is growing a thicker skin.

There are limits to how much weight even I can carry. So, pick and choose your battles. Everyone does this. Even as a baseline I didn't mail all my money to Africa.

This isn't an excuse to do nothing, with great power comes great responsibility. If a fireman can only save 5 people out of 12, then not being able to save the other seven isn't an excuse for not trying.

I have the power to save countless lives.I have the power to doom countless lives.I do both. I would point out that in the long run everything will die. We can't save everyone,and can't do everything.

We can do anything,and everything save for actions that either we or an outside source stops.As for we,I do mean novas.

And yes, I wake up knowing that becaue of my action,and even lack of action countless people will die sooner thany if I did or did not do anything.At the same time countless will live longer because I did do or did not do anything. So totem when you are talking of topic on this scale, you remember that the world is big,complex,and ever changing.

If you don't go to bed every night, assuming you do at all, weeping tears for the thousands that died needlessly that day because you "just didn't try hard enough" you are a hypocrite of epic proportions.

At least come up with something new to say you hack.

As guilt is what makes the world a better place. James, really, you are not "God".Mal is not "God". Neither Smith. He is trying to make the world a better place, and you do not understand that he understands he has limits. I should say you are at least acting as if you do not understand this. Lastly I am sure if Troll wanted to take a trip, it would not be a guilt trip.

I do what I can.

Can I help everyone? -No.

Can I help some? -Yes.

Do I? -Yes, I hope so.

If I were to push my limits every day, would I save more people that day? -Maybe.

But doing that comes with a price tag. Maybe I'd pay it and burn out, maybe some city would. Short term gain, long term loss.

I don't max my credit cards and I don't view it as hypocritical to acknowledge my limits.

Man, how nice. A "it sucks to be a nova" thread.

Wah wah wah.

Who'da thunk that I would actually agree with a 'toppie. Accept what you choose to be and stop bitching about it. At least most of you ain't bitching about what you got, just patting those on the head that you think got such a tough deal. You outta be ashamed of yourselves. We got it better than 99% of anyone out there and we gotta go "ooooh, poor motherfucker, he can heal people. Man, that's gotta be tough."

We're fucking gods and still folks have gotta finda reason to feel sorry for themselves or for other folks with the quantum spoon shoved up their ass?

Fucking please.

As my mentor once told me, "There is a reason I don't kill everyone who annoys me, but at the monent I can't think what it is."

We all act out of our own motivations. Isn't it funny how some people will argue about the wrong and right of it?

The heaviest thing known man is guilt.

Wouldn't be more funny if evryone got along,and saw the world in the same light...

Jager, we as a whole thrive because we are diffrent.We as whole suffer when we try to act as if we are all the same.

While the sentiment is there, I don't quite understand your retort Dreamer. Could you explain? I'm not sure about the connection between Lemmy's comment and yours. Lemmy has guilt that he is overcompensating for? I don't want to read too much into it. Please elucidate.

Man, you're such a bad-ass I about died of fright just reading this shit.


Really man, totally sincere.








Really.







I swear.

I am curious; what I am supposed to feel guilty about?
Being a nova is awesome. Being able to heal others is even better.
I never wanted to save the whole world.
I do believe I make the world a better place on person at a time.
Life is good.

He forgets that the biggest burdens those with power have, are often themsleves.The fact they could do more,or the fact they are doing to much. Also he at least is seemingly to fail to see that to some people not stopping an action when they are able to, is just as bad as doing the action.

I do not agree with that ideal, but many people do. I myself, enjoy watching the awesome machine of life go threw it's motions, knowing that I am not prefect,and that just because I think the world is wrong, it doesn't mean I would be any better at ruling it.

Okay, I still think you're way uptight but you got a righteous spin on this my brother. Good for you.

Perhaps such things are caused when someone erupts in their teenage years? I mean, look at the angst. Damn it makes me puke. You got a node, get over it, make the best of it, and ride the lightning because you sure called the thunder.

Of course, I can say such things since if someone shot me, I'd get right back up and spit the bulet back at them.