Mel Magazine shares the story of Steven Pete, a 41-year old man who is incapable of feeling pain. Pete has a rare condition called congenital analgesia, or congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), which means that, while he can feel touch, he can’t feel physical pain. During his life, Pete has broken vertebrae, been badly burned, and bit off the tip of his own tongue, but felt none of the pain.
We might like not to feel pain, but you wouldn’t want this condition. But what if you – or one of your characters – did? Sure, there’s Superman and Wolverine, but what would this mean for a normal person? If the implications of having an inability to feel pain are too gruesome to consider, what about another? What if you could never get drunk or could smoke with impunity? What if you were immune to pharmaceuticals or could eat moldy food without getting sick? What happens next?
