fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, September 6]

Anakin walked into his classroom precisely on time and gave the students assembled there an appraising glance.

It wasn't possible to tell what he thought of them.

"I'm Master Skywalker," he said in a voice that was intended to carry, "this is Ethics, and we're going to skip the introductions--I'll figure out who you are--and move straight to our first discussion."

He paced around the room, cloak flaring out behind him, as he handed out the syllabus. "Today's topic," he said. "Self sacrifice: knowing the difference between saving people and being a pretentious twit."

"Any time I ask a a group of people what they would do to save someone they love, they all blither on about how they would set the world on fire, lie, cheat, steal, kill, die, et cetera, et cetera. I've been at this school too long to believe that half of you haven't already been put into this situation and I'm in no mood to hear adolescent ramblings about how wonderful you were or might hypothetically be. We're going to ground it in reality.

"A month ago there was a woman who was in charge of this school. She had been placed in power legitimately, was allowed to punish in accordance with that power, and began pushing the boundaries of her authority almost immediately. She called students to her office, punished them for slights genuine or imagined, and began escalating the severity and frequency of her punishments, going over the line into what was no longer acceptable."

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, the scar across his face very evident in the light coming through the window. "It eventually took a team of highly qualified adults to take her out. Today's topic: when do you draw the line? When do you admit to yourself that a problem cannot be solved, that to sacrifice yourself isn't a statement, it's merely pointless? How long does it take for you to check your ego?"

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Edward frowned, rubbing his hand over the join of his right shoulder. "When your sacrifice would hurt people more than it would help."

"Now there's an interesting take on the matter," Anakin said, eyes lighting up. "Everyone seems to be assuming that their sacrifice would have meaning. What if it makes things worse?"

"Equivalent exchange," Edward answered. "Unless you know beforehand what you're going to get in return, there's always the chance it's not what you're hoping for." He thought of Al without his body and then without his memories. And then the thought of Al gone through the Gate to leave Ed with his full body. "And even if it gained something, those you love would rather have you instead of their gain."

Anakin's eyes were more than sympathetic as he watched the student in front of him and pushed back Padmé's haunted expression on Mustafar through sheer force of will.

"That's possibly the most painful lesson you'll ever learn," he said quietly. "I'm sorry you've done it so young."

Ethics [Thursday, September 6]

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