The Apocalypse Workshop: Students Design their Superpowers for the End of the World

For the second part of The Apocalypse Workshop, I asked students to imagine their superpowers to navigate through the apocalypse they described in the beginning.

Here are some sketches:

“Fly. Heal. Escape.” —Adeline Chang

“Ability to move the sun” —Amanda Tan Ying Shyuan

“Spaceship out to sun to cool it. Suicidal ice core cooler.”—Arjun Saha

“I wish I will have the power to breathe life into the world again.” —Au Yong Shi Ya

“In the case of singularity, no one really knows what’s gonna happen, but it’s likely that people will be even more interconnected than before. e.g. chips planted inside head / linked to the brain. In this case, a helm of mind-control protector might help in preventing subliminal advances to your head space / just outright mind-jacking.

“I would teleport to the mountains, the wilderness, the forests, something of the like. The place can simply transform with a snap.” —Cassandra Teo

“This drawing shows a Superman shooting down CO2 gas molecules to reduce greenhouse warming. He is flying and protecting the atmosphere of the Earth.” —Chan Sze How

“Nose with CO2 to O2 converting nose-hair / cells. Whatever by-product will be used to “recharge” the converting mechanism. Eyes that can see temperature differences in color, that can function like binoculars to see danger from afar. Mouth that has glands that secrete substances to purify contaminated water and food.” —Cherlyn Tan

“The Day After Tomorrow Apocalypse: 1. Engulfed by water 2. World freezes over. 3. We wait for Jake Gyllenhaal to save us all.” —Georgia Tam

“I will have the power to be invisible when I go out so that the heat / temperature will not be a problem! I will have the healing power to “heal” anything that comes my way, to have the strength to carry animals, people to safety. Magic wand: I will have the magic power to make plants and trees grow beautifully by having a protective shield to prevent excessive sun rays. Plants will flourish.” —Germaine Goh

“Neo-Atlantis human.” —Jared Koh

“Our skin will be able to dissipate heat and moisture so that we can cope with the increased heat and humidity. To combat bad swampy smells out skin will naturally emit happy smells.” —Jonathan T

“As humans attack humans out of desperation from the apocalypse scenario of climate change, out of need for survival, food and shelter, it is time for the power of isolation to set in.” —Lam Yuen Kei

“An invisible sphere that can be activated with the click of a button. Being invisible, it will not block out the scenery but at the same time it can create a micro-climate in which people can control the temperature. It is like a force field that don’t need to be carried when you move.” —Lee Ying Lin

“This device can suck in an infinite amount of carbon dioxide / greenhouse gases.”—Lycia Ho

“…I think having the power to control the weather from now until the future might be of use. Perhaps I will be able to alleviate the harmful effects of global warming and reduce its negative impact on the Earth’s physical (natural?) atmosphere. Alternatively, with my ability to control the weather, I suppose I could put a stop to global warming entirely? Send thunderbolts to blast factories emitting carbon into oblivion, showers of rain to rejuvenate the plants and the rainforests, more rain to ease droughts and nourish infertile lands … bring the sun out to make the plants grow… Perhaps weather control is not necessarily the ultimate solution to preventing a future like the one I have imagined, but it can be a start. Bring on the superpower abilities!” —Rachel Lee