Ask Ms. Jessica Issue 49 – Dangerous Mutations (Patreon)

(The content for Ask Ms. Jessica comes from real questions from real people sent to AskMsJessica@gmail.com)

Dear Ms. Jessica,

You have already shown us a variety of mutations that can manifest, from small to large, subtle to obvious. However, are there any mutations that are inherently dangerous, to the individual with the mutation, or to others? And if so, have there been any mutations that have been regarded as so dangerous, that the person has to be kept from others/imprisoned to prevent any harm/calamity?

And by extension, have there been any notable examples of mutations being used for more nefarious actions?

For the most part, mutations are never dangerous to the person mutating. A body will never mutate in a way that will damage itself. It might be dangerous in the short term. Mutants who have to learn to walk again will trip, of course, and mutants with claws might need to try and prevent them from scratching themselves, but no mutation will inherently damage a mutant’s body just by existing.

As far as being dangerous to others, though, that’s always a possibility. There are lots and lots of different kinds of mutants out there, and at high levels mutants can be very strange. There have been mutants, for example, whose body is completely made of superhot plasma. While they were fine, merely being around a mutant like this could cause you burns. Luckily, here in Port Solei we spend a lot of government funds on research to provide methods such that these mutants can have a normal life. For example, we have a variety of skin tight containment suits that would allow a mutant like that to pretty much live normally.

As for mutants that have been contained or kept away from others, that’s largely going to depend on the country you live in. There have certainly been some countries out there that have contained or imprisoned mutants they deem to dangerous. There was a case of a girl in the 80s who gained full control of your body, able to mutate it as she wished as long as she kissed you, and she was contained for an unfortunately long amount of time. There are also mutants that mutate to such extreme extents that they don’t think like humans, or even obey the simple laws of reality like humans, and some world governments may sequester them from the general populace too.

But not here in Port Solei. We believe every mutant deserves a chance at a normal life. In fact, we have one mutant who has mutated beyond a physical body. Her mutation started small but as she mutated more and more extreme, like you might expect a Lovecraftian Cthuloid deity to be, she began to think unlike a human. She now refers to herself as “the one who sees from beyond the veil” and she says that she can see through time and the multiple probabilities of existence as easily as we read a book.

She works at the local candy shop. The kids have nicknamed her “Wriggly.”

Finally, there’s the matter of mutations being used for nefarious purposes. That’s more of a history question than a biology question, but yes. There will always be mutants that use their mutations to harm others. However, here in Port Solei we do not think that anyone is inherently evil. Rather it’s one’s circumstances that drive them to crime. Most criminal behavior is a symptom of a broken system, so we try to fix the system rather than punish the people. As a result, we have an extremely low crime rate!

If you are asking if there are any “super villains” however, the answer is no, well not outside of movies at least. Even in countries with more political turmoil where crime rates are high and punishments are severe, there are rarely mutations that lend a mutant so much power that they can hatch an evil scheme, and even if they did it would immediately make them an enemy of most of the world, which would be able to deal with them quickly. Super villains are just escapism and simply wouldn’t work in the real world, regardless of one’s mutation.