text; un: sai

[daimeinashi]

[Sai hasn't entirely worked out how to use this whole magic jewelry network thing yet, but the thought-typing is relatively straightforward enough. So:]

is it truly wise to be rescuing the qorral ?
should a significant number of them perish, it will be far easier to complete our secondary mission of stopping the mining efforts

Comments

permatext

[daimeinashi]

you are angry

[no shit sherlock]

why?

[Seriously, he doesn't understand everyone's attachment to these people. It's not like they will ever see them again in a couple of months.]

[dokyuu]

'Cause leaving people to die is a shitty thing to do, regardless of who they are.

[Not that he'd be surprised to hear that sort of sentiment on, say, a battlefield--there were cases where you had to have priorities, but this?]

Completing some 'mission' isn't worth people's lives.

[daimeinashi]

[Sai is mildly irritated by the reply, only because it answers exactly nothing. Obviously the man is angry about what he said, but all he gets out of this is "this thing is bad because it's bad." Life is hard when you've long since been brainwashed out of anything resembling morality so you could follow orders unquestioningly.]

even if the mission calls for it directly, you would defy the order?

[He took that, uh...completely literally, whoops.]

why do their lives matter to you? they are not your friends

[dokyuu]

[It seems like this person is... legitimately asking, which Motochika finds almost more baffling than he would flippant disregard for people's lives. But okay, he's supposed to calm down and focus in situations like this, right? Right.]

It'd depend on the exact circumstances. But based on what's going on here right now? This particular mission? Yeah, I would. Can't stand by and watch people hurtin' like that.

[As for why...]

Doesn't matter if they're my friends or not. They're people. Well, uh... aliens, I guess?

[There's still some parts of this whole world hopping thing he's foggy on, admittedly...]

I mean, they got their own reasons for doing things, and they aren't hurting us. Maybe they're not doing the right thing on this planet, and maybe we're here to try and fix that, but just because letting them die is the easiest thing for us doesn't mean it's the best solution.

sorry for the delay!! got a bit overwhelmed and some notifs got buried

[daimeinashi]

[It would depend, hm? Well, he can work with that a bit better than the outrage.]

what is the difference, then? between this mission and one in which you would be willing?
do you always require the first strike to belong to another?

No worries!

[dokyuu]

Under these circumstances? I dunno... maybe if lettin' these guys die was the only way to save even more people... Dunno. Think I'd still want to try and help 'em out, if I could. Someone'd have to be a pretty terrible person before I'd just... stand back and watch, I guess.

[But it's hard for him to articulate exactly--he's not really in the habit of examining his emotional reactions to things.]

I mean, if I gotta kill someone, and there's a good reason for it, well. Wouldn't be the first time. But just letting them die 'cause it makes our job easier... I don't want that on my conscience.

[daimeinashi]

[Unfortunately, this guy's ability to have emotional reactions at all is extremely limited due to his training, so he compensates by trying to understand them academically]

under any circumstances that are relevant
if there are certain conditions under which you would kill or allow someone to die, i am curious what the difference is between those and the present situation

[dokyuu]

[Well, this is turning into the sort of personal examination he's not sure he wants to undertake, but they've come this far, and he did have a point he was trying to explain, still...]

If we're talking any situation... I mean. Back home, I got people to protect. For them, I'll take out anyone I have to. But someone tried to use that against me not so long ago, so I try to think about it a little more these days, you know? Going off half-cocked looking for revenge... I could have made some bad mistakes that way.

For ALASTAIR... I dunno. They really got to prove their case on that. I'll woke with 'em because I don't have much of a choice, but I'm no assassin. If it's the only choice we have, okay, but I don't think it should be the first resort.

Of course, if they're trying to kill any of us, that's a different story. Those bandits were all fair game, they were hurting people. These miners, they're just doing a job, even if it's not a job we feel like they should be doing. That's the difference, I guess.

[daimeinashi]

[He can understand at least some of this, which is a better state of affairs than was the case at the beginning of the conversation.]

i see
limiting ourselves only to self-defense can also be dangerous, though
it could place us in difficult positions in the future, should any enemies of ALISTAIR become aware

[There's a pause, and then he adds:]

what if killing who ALISTAIR tells you to was the only way to return to those people you wish to protect?
i intend to do whatever is required of me to return to my village

[dokyuu]

It's sure not the easy way, but it sits a little better with me, personally. I try and keep a line between enemies and bystanders. Not doing that can lead to some ugly stuff.

[That's a hard question, and it takes him a bit before he answers.]

I'd do it. But I'd hate 'em for it, and I'd hate myself for doin' it. Done some terrible things before, don't want to go back that way if I can avoid it. Makes me into someone I don't like.

[daimeinashi]

an apparent bystander could always be an unnoticed enemy, however
it is of course foolish to attack everything and everyone that is unrecognized to you, but it is equally foolish to dispense with expediency outright, correct?

also, please explain--why would you "hate yourself" for it? are those people not a higher priority?

[Things Sai literally doesn't have a concept for: guilt.]