When I was little, I read a lot. I would power through chapter books like a cocker spaniel in a baloney spill. I got especially into the “Animorphs” series, in which five unsuspecting teens find themselves with the power to morph into any animal, given that they could attain the animal’s DNA through touch beforehand. They use this power to defeat the parasitic Yeerk aliens, who could be controlling the brains of anyone, making their normal lives as teens struggling with hormones all the more challenging. The books were fascinating because they are told in first person, with the accounts of life through the eyes (and ears, noses, etc.) of different animals. When I wasn’t sitting around reading these books, I was laying around thinking about what animal I wish I could turn into. It is from all this sitting that I became a very chubby little boy, but that’s neither here nor there. My point is, I’ve been thinking about this question for over a decade.
If I could obtain the sensory system of any animal, similar to the powers of the Animorphs, I think I would probably pick up infrared sensors, like those in the pits of pit vipers. I tried to think about this in terms of things I might need, but this was unfruitful, as we’re pretty well specialized for our own needs. So I think I would go for IR sensors, because I could see what people were doing behind closed doors and walls. Don’t mistake me for a voyeurist; I’m not interested in watching infrared blobs mash against one another. I think it would be more useful for little things. For instance, I live on the third floor of Towers, and sometimes I take the elevator to the second floor lobby. The problem comes if someone is on that elevator, because then when they stop one single floor before the lobby to transport a bum down a single flight of steps, the person in the elevator looks at me with contempt. If I could look up and see an infrared blob in the elevator before the elevator doors opened, I could just run away before the door opened and wait for the next one, sparing me the glares of the elevator-riders. Also, I would know if someone was in a bathroom without knocking, and could see people in the dark if they were sneaking up on me to kill me. I would also be much tougher to blindfold effectively.
