[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

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.

[roseblooms]

Divine archives are not always trustworthy. Is there any independent corroboration for that 100% figure?

I realize this sounds like hair-splitting, but my answer hinges on the credibility of the information.

[flying_fish]

I do not mind the questions.

When the jar broke, the incomplete conglomerate was able to escape temporarily and killed or maimed the majority of people outside within an 8 block radius in the span of a few minutes.

[roseblooms]

Firsthand evidence, then.

In that case, yes. I destroy the specimen.

[flying_fish]

Unfortunately, yes.

Would your answer be different without the additional information?

[roseblooms]

Whether the specimen was still discrete individuals or not actually had no bearing on my answer; I simply don't believe I have the right to be spared the moral burden of knowing exactly what it is that I'm choosing to do. If I'm to kill them, I should be forced to know who I'm killing.

Without the corroborating information, I would naturally mistrust you as a source of reliable information. It's far too easy to manipulate murder on one man's basis of "trust me, it's necessary".

[flying_fish]

I understand your mentality for both parts. Although there is one person I'd follow based on his word alone, the group I'm with wouldn't work that way. It wouldn't follow the ideals of our leader anyways.

[roseblooms]

I've seen firsthand the damage that blind faith, even the sort driven by the best of intentions, can cause. Combine that with a scenario that implicates black-and-white morality, and the results can be horrific.

Note, though, that there's a difference between mistrust and disbelief. Just because I wouldn't automatically believe that your information was reliable doesn't mean I would discount the possibility. Quite the contrary — that's precisely why I would want to investigate further for support of it.

[flying_fish]

In some ways it is fortunate that my master is not involved in the situation. I doubt his priorities would match well with how the situation has been handled so far. [Because he probably wouldn't give much of a shit about the Charops Jinko and instead break into the auction house to only kill the Blood Breed bodyguards.]

The situation I described is more complex in reality, so investigating further was not an option. We were in a hospital, and the option of moving the specimen elsewhere was posed because the staff are magically obligated to prevent any deaths on the grounds. The real problem is that a dimensional gateway opened up, and the bodyguards for the auction house had arrived for the specimen.

[roseblooms]

I see. So you faced threats on a number of fronts — unwilling to allow the specimen to be claimed by the bodyguards, but incapable of dealing with it without incurring the wrath of the hospital staff.

The sort of moment that necessitates abrupt action and a snap decision. It's difficult to be certain you're doing the right thing, under such circumstances. You can only choose, and live with the results.