fandomhigh | Ethics [Tuesday, March 3, 2nd period]

A very tanned Anakin leaned a little uncomfortably against his desk as he waited for the students to take their seats.

"Today we talk about diligence, temperance, and forgiveness," he said quietly, "and we're going to use examples from the midterm exam to do so."

He flipped the hologram to life, focusing on a shot of Palpatine's face. "The goal was to save this man, the democratically chosen leader of your galaxy, at the cost--if necessary--of your own lives. After the first dozen or so droids shooting at you, you certainly had the option of retreating and leaving the mission for someone else to complete. So when does diligence turn to foolhardiness?"

The holocam switched to footage of two Jedi, blue blades flashing, taking on an older man wielding a red lightsaber. The battle was moving at least three times as fast as the exercise had. The older Jedi went ricocheting into a wall, then the second one, fire in his eyes, closed in on their opponent. A few moments later the Sith dropped to his knees with two lightsabers held to his throat.

The Jedi wielding the lightsabers looked an awful lot like their teacher.

"Temperance," Anakin said softly. "Do you kill him now? He's dangerous. He held the head of a galaxy-wide government hostage. He injured your partner. He certainly tried to kill you first. Or do you capture him and leave him to the whims of the courts?"

He shook his head. "Finally, forgiveness. You save the chancellor, at great personal expense, only to discover he's not the kind of man you thought he was. Your act of heroism has managed to make the situation at home much, much worse. How do you forgive yourself for it? Can you forgive the others who put you into that position?"

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"He's escaped capture three times before and was unarmed then. He's just tried to kill you and your buddy. I'm not seeing this guy fighting a fair fight at all."

Van Helsing really isn't picking on Hurley, Hurley's responses just twitched his disagreement center... or something.

"That doesn't make killing the guy right," Hurley said.

"So, you think you can still save him? Rehabilitate him? Turn him to the side of good?" Van Helsing shakes his head. "That's not always an option."

The snide remark he keeps to himself is: 'It doesn't always work either.'

"Dude, I don't know. Maybe if, like, we treat him nicely he'll be nice," Hurley said.

Van Helsing frowns. "Have you met people?" He thought he was sheltered living under the Vatican in Rome. "People aren't nice because you're nice to them. They either are, or they aren't. Reform is hard. Most don't try it."

"You gotta try," Hurley said. "That's what... makes the difference between good and bad."

"What if this guy doesn't want to try? He's happy being evil. And if he ever gets free again, he'll continue doing evil things. Then what? Isn't it now your fault that this guy is doing evil again? Since you didn't kill him when you had the chance?"

"I... if I turn him over to, like, the government and stuff, they get to make that decision," Hurley said.

"Not if he escapes custody before the government gets hold of it." Van Helsing ponders a moment. "And what if the government is corrupt? What if the government would let him go because he works for them?"

"...Dude, the government's not like that," Hurley said.

"Which government are you seeing? Governments are corrupt all over the world. Just because yours isn't, doesn't mean the one you'd turn this guy over to isn't as well."

"Man, I don't even... if we're talking about a situation that is, like, imaginary, I can say, like... unicorns will save the day," Hurley said.

"You could. They won't.

"Look, the entire situation is hypothetical. Including the mid-term. You've captured this guy again. He's bad news. He's escaped before, he'll do it again. No matter which government you give him to, none of them will be able to contain him. So, what do you do?"

"I'm not a killer," Hurley said. "Killing is wrong."

"Killing is sometimes inevitable."

"Dude, that's just creepy," Hurley said.

"No. That's life," he says, as though he's had to learn the hard way.

"Maybe where you're from," Hurley said. "But not for normal people."

"I could ask you 'what's normal', but that's a whole other philosophical discussion.

"So, would you kill someone to save your mother's life?"

Hurley just sort of flailed on the inside. "Dude, why are you picking on me?"

"I thought we were having a discussion about the topics in class?" he asks innocently. He really didn't think he was picking on the guy, but he'd make one hell of a law professor with his discussion technique.

"My mom isn't part of the class topic, dude," Hurley said.

"Hypothetical situation. Not really your mother. You said killing was wrong. I asked if you would kill someone to save your mother's life. It doesn't have to be your mother. It could be any relative or friend. But someone you care about."

Ethics [Tuesday, March 3, 2nd period]

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