[Text] @zobrien

[flying_fish]

[Zed isn't in the best of moods since another person he cared for disappeared, so he's taken to drink. Not that the alcohol has ever helped him, but it has him thinking about home...and some not so pleasant business back there.]

There's an item back home that operates like the Chinese gu. Except instead of venomous creatures, you insert humans. It is said that once the ritual is complete, it will lead to the destruction of the world.

The humans inside are forced to kill each other and mix together until becoming one being. The skin disappears while the skeleton, muscles, and organs fuse together. They're neither dead nor alive because of the magic that binds them.

Let's say the item broke, and a part of the conglomerate was separated from the whole. The humans that make up this "specimen" are children. Do you destroy it to prevent the ritual from being completed?

Comments

UN: L-B-

[allegedprisoner]

[ It... It takes a moment for Luca to reply to this network post. ]

That's a horrifying concept, and I'd like to know what sort of madman would create such a thing.

[flying_fish]

I'm not sure anyone knows, but the Charops Jinko was documented in the oldest divine archive that is estimated to be from 10,000 BC. If you're not from Earth, that's approximately 120XX years old.

[allegedprisoner]

And it's still going to this day?!

:)

[ssotrue]

That is quite the scary ritual.
However, it sounds as though the results of this ritual is nothing but hear-say.
Do you believe in their words?

/points at

[flying_fish]

As much as I would like to brush it off, there is evidence of its destructive power. Many people died in a short span of time when the jar broke, and that was from its incomplete state.

The world's collapse has been stopped before, but even if this item didn't destroy the world entirely, the damage would be overwhelming.

points back at u..

[ssotrue]

How scary.
As for your answer: yes, I would destroy it.
A few lives opposed to over a billion matter little. They have been experimented on, as well.

Would they know anything else out of their life as stock?

[sweetsleuth]

[Now that's a heavy topic. It's one that has Ranpo walking, already on his way to seek out Zed whether he wants the company or not.]

That's not an easy question. But assuming you've already determined there's no way to bring them back to life, then I don't think you'd need to consider the likelihood of the ritual at all.

After all, if the only thing holding you back is that they're children, then you're not holding back for their sake. All humans are capable of suffering. Keeping them in that state just to avoid shouldering the guilt of killing a child would be selfish.

Of course, it's easy enough to say that. Actually carrying it out is a different matter.

[flying_fish]

[Zed takes a little longer to reply to Ranpo for different reasons. One because...he doesn't disagree with that the detective has to say. Two because he wonders when he'll hear a knock on his door.]

Carrying it out is more complicated. Two powerful Blood Breeds had appeared to reclaim it. So there's the issue of not dying while keeping the specimen safe and destroying it.

[sweetsleuth]

Well, that definitely complicates things. But I'd say it'd be better to prioritize not dying. Since there'd be no second chance to save them if you died.

["Saving them" in this instance meaning "Putting them to rest properly" of course.]

[Also, he's nearly there. By the time Zed finishes his next reply, he'll get a knock on his door.]

But honestly, why are really evil people so obsessed with destroying the world anyway?
Aren't they living in it?
If they hate it so much, they should just focus on something useful, like space travel.

text; un: prof.asuka

[recidivate]

You make it almost sound like killing it would be a mercy. But it's still obvious that the proper option is to kill few to save many.

It's similar to the Trolley Problem in ethics.

[flying_fish]

You're right, it is very similar. [Uncomfortably so.]

You're not alone in your answer. I can't say I disagree either on a rational level. The group I was with was split, however, but there was talk of moving the specimen to a place where it could be destroyed.

[recidivate]

[ he'd kill children for a klondike bar, so - ]

You can only be rational. If you spend a lot of time trying to save one, you could fail and lose them all. Do people think they're doing someone a favor by delaying the inevitable.

[text] un: idealist

[poetry_in_motion]

I don't think I could ever condone killing innocent people.

How did you come up with this question, anyway?

[flying_fish]

[Ah, Kunikida, what an appropriate username.]

There are several in my group who think similarly to you.

It's what I remember before returning here.

[poetry_in_motion]

[ It takes him an hour or so to reply, which is pretty unheard of. But he had to spend some time thinking how to word this message. ]

If I allow for an innocent being to die on my watch again, I couldn't live with the guilt. Especially if it were a child.

text | j.valentine

[torsion]

Sounds like you're familiar with it as more than just an idea.

I'd destroy it.
There's only going forward.

[flying_fish]

You are correct, but I figured it would be easier to answer from a more hypothetical perspective.

Would you have any doubts?

anonymous text, un: ANON

[roseblooms]

I have two questions, prior to answering this thought experiment of yours:

First, am I correct in assuming that the "specimen" separated from the whole before it reached the state of being "neither dead nor alive"? To clarify: is the specimen still in the stage of being sapient, separate individuals?

Second, how absolute is my certainty that this ritual will, in fact, destroy the world as claimed?

[flying_fish]

1) The specimen has been declared neither dead nor alive by a medical professional. However, a specialist who was able to read their past through magic declared that they are alive. Whether the they are completely separate individuals spiritually and mentally is unclear. The specialist was interrupted before more could be said. All I know is that he said the children are alive.

2) Around 85% certain that the world will be destroyed. 100% that there will be massive casualties if it is completed. However, there is no guarantee that something has already been created to stop this item in particular, but it is unlikely. The divine archive that is was documented in was only brought up from the underworld 2 years ago.

text; un: athanasia

[trivialization]

That isn't much of a question, is it? When they are only words on a page, no one will choose against the world. It is only a matter of whether they can clearly express that they would kill a child, or they deny that the dilemma exists.

[flying_fish]

You're not wrong. There are those that would choose both the world and the people involved in the ritual.

I'm not looking for a particular answer that I would deem correct.

UN: shiliu

[shiliu]

[ .............he's so distressed by this post, he nearly breaks his communicator. ]

Tell me more about this item. How is it constructed? Is there any way of freeing the people caught within it? Either separating them or helping the being created?

[flying_fish]

I don't know how it was constructed. Likely with black magic. It is at least 12000 years old.

There is no immediate method of separating the people, but it seems the Charops Jinko can be destroyed. A similar item to it was destroyed, so it can be assumed it can as well.

un: li_min

[kiss_it_better]

[Well.

That sure is something familiar.]

That would depend on many things, wouldn't it? How inevitable is the destruction of the world? Does the specimen still want to live?

And why, exactly, are you asking?

[flying_fish]

85% certain the destruction of the world. 100% certainty that there will be massive casualties if it is completed.

I do not know if the humans that are part of the specimen want to live. If they were Beyondians, it may be a different matter depending on the species. Some Beyondians may be accepting of becoming one with many, but it is still a painful method. However, the specimen is only made up of humans.

I was thinking about what I get to look forward to when I return home.