fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

"There are those of us who come here believing very strongly in duty," Ender said. "Others who come here to escape it - and some to who it's absolutely not a part of their lives."

He smiled a little.

"I had a mentor, once," he said. "I was told that people were free, unless humanity needed them, and that humanity never asked us to be happy, merely to act on its behalf - for its survival. Happiness, he felt, was a luxury that at times we could scarcely afford. To opt out of doing our duty at such a time was the worst crime imaginable: a crime of stupidity."

He took a sip of water. "I've met people who disagreed, since," he said. "I've also met people whose lives were so intricately bound to these rules they didn't even know where they stopped and the rules began. Some of you have already made your views fairly clear already, but I'm curious as to everyone else's input, too.

"How important is duty? Do we people all carry some grand responsibility to our species, or should we exist only for ourselves and the development of our self? And if we live for duty, then when does that end? Is there some point where all of us may be afforded personal freedom, or are we perpetually tied to our responsibilities, whether we flee from them or not?"

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"I agree emphatically, despite not knowing what kark means, but sometimes it's not that simple," Celia countered. "What if there's money, or children, or some other...external force keeping you from bowing out?"

Here, have some of her issues! Sharing was caring.

"Do you get the money?" Cade asked. "Is it a lot of money?"

Pirate, so...

"Sure. In theory, you're entitled to a fortune for fulfilling your duty. Does that change it?" she wondered.

"Depends," Cade said. "Will fulfilling the duty part have a high probability of me be completely dead before I get to spend the money?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it'll just be a tedious exercise that saps your entire will to live." Celia shrugged. "Either way, it's your duty, and the choice to abandon it has to be a carefully-executed one."

"Or you can just stomp off and refuse to answer phone calls until they go away?"

Don't listen to Cade advice. It never goes well.

"But what if you'll die if you ignore it? That could be a possibility."

Hello, Celia's fears about her stupid magic contract, how are you?

Cade made a face. "So the choices are death or probable death? Kark that."

"I'm adopting this word of yours," Celia decided. "I can swear without anyone telling me it's not ladylike at home, since they won't know what it means."

Good plan.

Practical Philosophy, Monday

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