Politics have never been my strong suit. The nations of the world can talk all they want, eventually, someone has to make a move. Canada,
strangely enough, was the first country to begin this new type of weapon development. They claimed to have some sort of drug that would grant super human abilities to
those who took it. The other super powers of the world flew in to a frenzy, each attempting to make their own super power drug. It didn't take long before other
nations began announcing the completion of their wonder drugs and the effects they had already cataloged. Not ones to be left behind, the United States called in all
of their top scientists to begin producing and testing their own brand of super power drugs. They began offering compensation to anyone who volunteered to participate
in their trial runs. I needed the money, so I signed up for one of the trials. I received a bottle of pills in just a week. If I had any idea what those pills were
going to do to me, I never would have signed up. For the first three days there was no change, but on the fourth day, I woke up to find that I could see strait up to
the sky. It took a moment to register what was happening, but I realized that the pills had given me x-ray vision. It seemed like a basic power, but I didn't really
care. It was just a perk that went along with my pay. As I went about my day, I soon realized that I couldn't control just how powerful the x-rays being emitted from
my eyes were, nor could I turn them off. It was becoming an inconvenience, and I had a date with my girlfriend that night. I couldn't just bail on her, so I decided to
tough it out. We met up at a restaurant about three blocks from my apartment. I elected to keep my new power to myself. As the date progressed, my vision shifted from
seeing skeletons all around me seeing all the way through the walls of the restaurant. It became difficult to hide what was happening, but I somehow managed. I didn't
know how long I could keep this up, but I kept taking the pills anyway. It was part of the agreement to receive my pay. The next day my vision had returned to normal,
but I was frighteningly cold. I stood up and pulled on a few extra layers of clothing to compensate. As I was brushing my teeth, my toothbrush froze to the inside of
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my mouth. I yanked and tugged at it for a good thirty minutes before I finally tore it free. I tried to spit out what blood I assumed had accumulated in my mouth, but
instead I found small chunks of ice. It was my saliva. It had become extremely cold, freezing just a few seconds after production. I quickly grabbed a cup to spit in,
not wanting to allow excess ice to build up in my mouth. I chose to stay home that day. I don't even know how I would have explained constantly spitting ice in to a
cup to a total stranger, much less my friends and family. I woke up the next morning to find that my saliva had returned to normal, but I felt strange. I couldn't
quite describe what I felt, but it wasn't pleasant. I shrugged it off and moved on. As I made my way out of the apartment building, I heard someone comment on my
poorly groomed facial hair. "Are you talking to me?" I said as I turned to face a young woman, probably in her mid twenties. She stared back in disbelief before slowly
backing away and in to the stairwell. As strange as that was, I decided it best not to worry about it. I made my way out to the street and was immediately flooded with
mind numbing chatter from all directions. It was never this noisy outside my apartment, even on the busiest day. I covered my ears, but the voiced bled through. I
couldn't drown out the noise, so I decided to make my way to a less crowded area. I made my way to the park where I knew it would be peaceful, or at least I thought I
knew. I sat down on a bench, but I could still hear countless voices droning on in my head. I couldn't even make out what any of them were saying due to the sheer
quantity. I didn't stay there for long, I couldn't take the noise. I stood and began jogging down the path until the voices faded away. Comfortable with the silence, I
slowed to a steady, brisk walk. I spotted a man walking in the opposite direction a few meters down the path. Though I could clearly see that he wasn't speaking, I
could still hear his voice. As we drew closer to one another, I began making out what it sounded like he was saying, despite his lips remaining stationary. We passed
one another and I offered a gently nod and a smile, which he reciprocated. I slowly began to realize what had been happening to me. I was unwillingly readying
everyone's thoughts. I quickly made my way out of the park and began making my way back home. As much as I hated the thought of staying cooped up in my apartment for
another day, there's no way I could deal with hearing every thought that entered everyone's mind within a hundred meter distance of me. I avoided eye contact with
everyone I passed. I didn't want to seem rude, but I refused to engage in any conversation, not that it would be possible for me to at this point. My land lord stopped
me on the way in to ask for rent, at least I believe that's what he wanted, but I ignored him and raced back to my apartment. I couldn't take much more of these super
pills, but I couldn't afford to back out of the trial. When I returned home, I locked the door and rushed to my bedroom. I opened the bottle of super pills and poured
them on to the table, counting how many were left. Five. If I could make it five more days, I would be done with this trial and could return to my normal life. I
decided to make a detailed catalog of my final days of the trial. I'm not sure why, but it seem like the wisest course of action. This is only my first entry, but I
was already feeling better. I suppose it's time to go to bed. I sure hope whatever power I'm granted tomorrow doesn't turn out to be as hindering as the others have
been. I guess there's only one way to find out.