Introductory Superhuman Physics, Period 4 [9-30]
"The current world record holder for the 100-metre dash," Jean-Paul began after the students had taken their seats, "is one Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who can run that distance in 9.69 seconds. Actually, he is capable of running it faster; he slowed down several strides before the finish to 'showboat'. In my world, he would have been immediately escorted off to be tested for the X factor if he had turned in that performance, but he is of this world, so I can only conclude Monsieur Bolt is one hundred percent natural human."
Jean-Paul paused before continuing. "As we have already established, I...am not. I can run one hundred metres in substantially less than 9.69 seconds. I can fly it in less still. I can break the sound barrier, in fact. When I was a teenager, before I realized what my abilities really were, I competed for Canada in the Olympic Games, as a skier. I won gold medals. I honestly could not tell you whether I used my abilities at the Olympics or not--in fact, I was at the elite levels of my sport before my abilities ever manifested--but when my mutation was discovered, I was stripped of my medals.
"So, my question to you today is, was this fair? I will not be insulted by either opinion. After all, no 'normal' human could ever dream of keeping up with me, so it makes sense to exclude me from a sporting competition including normal humans, non? To tell you the truth, I found the lack of real competition boring at the end. But if someone wants to compete, and they are not using any artificial means, merely their own body's capabilities...should they not be able? Discuss."
Jean-Paul paused before continuing. "As we have already established, I...am not. I can run one hundred metres in substantially less than 9.69 seconds. I can fly it in less still. I can break the sound barrier, in fact. When I was a teenager, before I realized what my abilities really were, I competed for Canada in the Olympic Games, as a skier. I won gold medals. I honestly could not tell you whether I used my abilities at the Olympics or not--in fact, I was at the elite levels of my sport before my abilities ever manifested--but when my mutation was discovered, I was stripped of my medals.
"So, my question to you today is, was this fair? I will not be insulted by either opinion. After all, no 'normal' human could ever dream of keeping up with me, so it makes sense to exclude me from a sporting competition including normal humans, non? To tell you the truth, I found the lack of real competition boring at the end. But if someone wants to compete, and they are not using any artificial means, merely their own body's capabilities...should they not be able? Discuss."