The Science of Psionics, Wednesday

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"An old friend of mine used to be quite concerned with issues of morality and ethics," Kerrigan began. She had no more sentimental feelings towards Harriet Jones, but the woman was an easy memory to use convincingly. "Personally, I've never quite had the time to stop and think about it."

A lift of her eyebrows that invited taking that as a joke. It... wasn't. At least not nowadays.

"We've touched on this before, of course," she drawled, "But this friend died some time after I left the island, so for sentimentality's sake I'm throwing a stick into this henhouse."

Most likely, the topic wouldn't bring her any interesting intel on these kids, but it might leak something. No matter. Kerrigan was quickly losing her interest in this island as it stood. "Telekinesis, telepathy, all the other forms of this power of the mind we've been talking about, all of it comes with an opportunity for abuse. And yet, on the other side of it - telepaths from my universe had no choice. They couldn't stay out of your head if they wanted to. So was it abusive for them to use their powers?"

Her mouth was a thin line. Almost a smile, if you looked at it wrong.

"Do we - or they, if you're not one of us - have a responsibility to keep ourselves in check? I'm not talking about just my home now. Should we hole ourselves up and wrap ourselves in bubble wrap and come with warning labels?" She snorted. "Or do we exercise the power we've been given and well, pity the poor fools, but it's not our fault they didn't come equipped with the skills to keep us out...? Do our powers make us some special category of people that needs laws pasted all over them, or can we say fuck them, you've got ears and you use them, too, no matter how inconvenient it is to me?"

She glanced over the class. "And can anyone on the outside make demands of us one way or the other? They weren't born with these powers, after all. What do they know? Can they make any accurate judgement about what we're supposed to do? Hm?"

She might have had her opinions.

She waved a hand at the class. "Talk," she said. "Just this once, there are no wrong answers."

Ahahah. There were totally wrong answers.

Comments

Re: Circle Discussion: Ethics

[icecoldfrost]

"How? This is one of my senses. The few times I've shut my telepathy down completely while here, it was like being plunged into some sort of sensory deprivation. No one should have to go through that just to make some bigot more comfortable," she challenged. "It's also what makes me, me. Would you deny someone an intrinsic part of themselves, in case they might play a song you don't like, or overhear a passing thought?"

Re: Circle Discussion: Ethics

[hotmugofstfu.livejournal.com]

Control is not denial of your gifts, Blackagar wrote back after a moment. It does, however, separate you from a mere animal.

Like, you know, humans were.

Re: Circle Discussion: Ethics

[icecoldfrost]

"Control isn't turning it off. Control is managing the input, riding over the top without getting dragged under," she objected. "To turn it off, I would have to isolate each individual mind and block it off. Wouldn't that me more intrusive, if I have to identify the thoughts and acquaint myself with their thoughts enough to be able to block them all the time? What do you think would happen if I tried to do that with every single student at this school?"

The stereotypical telepathic nosebleeds, Blackagar. The nosebleeds! You didn't want that, did you?

Re: Circle Discussion: Ethics

[hotmugofstfu.livejournal.com]

Blackagar remained unimpressed. Perhaps because someone lived a very special and isolated life before leaving with Medusalith.

Perhaps you are genetically incapable of such control, he granted her. Humans are fragile creatures.