The Choice

"It's time to make a choice, John Doe."

An eerie voice calling your name wakes you from a deep slumber. Looking around, you can see nothing in the immediate vicinity—you're floating in an endless void of darkness, your body weighing not much more than a feather.

"For reasons that I shall keep to myself, I've decided to bestow an ability upon you. Consider it a gift."

The voice continues to explain things, but in your dreamy haze, you can't make much sense of it. It doesn't help that there's no image to go along with this voice; the disembodied echoes have no physical form and seem to resonate from within your head.

"You have two options, both of which involve the same basic premise: the ability to control others to a certain degree. They are very much different, however. Listen closely."

A few feet in front of you, two glowing spheres materialize. Both of them initially white in hue, the left one quickly shifts to an ocean blue color while the right one changes to a dark shade of red.

"The first option is the ability of universal acceptance," the voice continues as the blue sphere's shining aura intensifies. "As long as it's within a realm of possibility, anyone you speak to or interact with will agree to whatever you say or ask or them. So long as you don't ask for the impossible, such as asking for a large sum of money from a homeless person, then you will be in complete control of people's thoughts and actions."

"The second option is the ability of nonexistence," states the disembodied voice. The blue sphere's light diminishes as the red sphere gains presence, overpowering it in radiance. "Should you choose this option, you will cease to exist. Naturally, with your existence gone, your actions will cease to exist as well. People will not react to what you do or what you make them do—you will be a phantom of sorts. In an attempt to balance the pricey cost of giving up the existence of you and your actions, you will be given extra abilities such as flight and intangibility."

The red sphere's powerful glow dies down a little bit as the blue sphere's shine picks up again. They stand at equilibrium now as the voice goes on in its explanation. "The important thing to note is that, no matter which option you choose, reality will be altered so that actions you cause do not result in negative consequence."

"If you're unsure what I mean, allow me to describe two brief scenarios. Let's say you pick the first option and ask someone to perform an illegal act, such as stealing an item from a store. Should they be caught in the act, they cannot be charged with anything or found guilty of any crimes if it is explained or revealed that the reason they did it is because you asked them or told them to. In essence, the first option grants you the word of God."

"Now, let's consider the same scenario, but in a different light—you've selected the second option and find yourself wandering inside of a store. There's a woman at the check-out counter paying for her items. If you were to grab an extra item and place it in her bag in plain sight of the cashier, she would not be accused of stealing. In short, since both you and your actions no longer exist, the world as a whole will be completely unaware to what you're doing and will continue moving on as if you weren't doing anything."

"What you do with either of these abilities and how you utilize them is up to you. I've also granted you some other bonuses, but I'll allow you to discover those on your own. So, do you understand what I've told you so far?"

Your mind still in a foggy mess, you find it difficult to properly respond. Everything the voice told you made perfect sense, but in another respect, it didn't. For what reason did he choose you to give this power? Who's to say you'll be getting any powers to begin with? What if you're just in a crazy dream that you won't remember when you wake up?

"Your time is up, John Doe."

A powerful earthquake erupts in the form of a headache within your skull, causing your vision to blur slightly as the disembodied voice booms throughout the empty space.

"What will you choose? Universal acceptance..."

The blue sphere pulsates with a blinding light as it grows larger.

"...or nonexistence?"

The red sphere quickly buffs itself up as to not be outdone, shining with it's own glow.

"You have to make a choice."

With every second you float there in your dumbfounded confusion, the headache in your head multiplies in . Any longer and you can swear that you probably won't be waking up. At this point, you almost don't care which it is—you know you just need to pick one to put an end to this madness.

Extending your right arm, your body slowly starts to move towards the glowing orbs. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. You'll have to pick one.

The question is...