Let's recap for a moment the metagene of DC, the source of power of some individuals in the universe of DC. It is a heredict gene that tends to stay dormant and noticed, until a high stress situation such as a high voltage shock causes it to activate and give its owner powers corresponding to the present danger. Roughly 12% of the worldwide human population in DC have the metagene, and I assume this number is steadily rising as it appears to be a dominant trait.
Now let's assume that it society has had to deal with people unexpectedly gaining powers where they would've normally died.
For starters, let's ask:
How does society deal with the potential danger? I don't mean people going mad with power, I mean people intentionally putting themselves in dangerous situations in hopes of getting them. Would people with the metagene be restricted from certain fields? For example, firefighters, electrical workers, virologists, nuclear reactor operators, miners, these sort of jobs seem to be the kind of work where getting powers is a high risk. Would metahumans be restricted from that? I imagine not in the USA, as it would be considered discriminatory, but elsewhere it might be a fact.
Secondly, how would these people be dealt with? Obviously they won't be treated like the muties of Marvel, but their abilities can express themselves in ways that are dangerous to their surroundings or flatout hostile to life. Parasite is one such example whose nourishment depends on high amouths of energy. But he would die otherwise as his body had a high energy requirement. On the other hand, we have Livewire who controls electricity, and whose use of powers didn't force her to consume vast amouths of electricity. She could've lived her life with an odd skin-color.
Third: Assuming the metagene starts expressing itself by the start of 2000, how different would the world look today?
Now let's assume that it society has had to deal with people unexpectedly gaining powers where they would've normally died.
For starters, let's ask:
How does society deal with the potential danger? I don't mean people going mad with power, I mean people intentionally putting themselves in dangerous situations in hopes of getting them. Would people with the metagene be restricted from certain fields? For example, firefighters, electrical workers, virologists, nuclear reactor operators, miners, these sort of jobs seem to be the kind of work where getting powers is a high risk. Would metahumans be restricted from that? I imagine not in the USA, as it would be considered discriminatory, but elsewhere it might be a fact.
Secondly, how would these people be dealt with? Obviously they won't be treated like the muties of Marvel, but their abilities can express themselves in ways that are dangerous to their surroundings or flatout hostile to life. Parasite is one such example whose nourishment depends on high amouths of energy. But he would die otherwise as his body had a high energy requirement. On the other hand, we have Livewire who controls electricity, and whose use of powers didn't force her to consume vast amouths of electricity. She could've lived her life with an odd skin-color.
Third: Assuming the metagene starts expressing itself by the start of 2000, how different would the world look today?
