fandomhigh | Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

"Know thyself," Karla said as the students entered the classroom. "The full name of this class is Defying Expectations: Staying Yourself in Spite of Destiny, which is useful only if you know yourself. Whatever your destiny or lack thereof, you're going to have to deal with people who want you to do things that further their best interest. These things may have nothing in common with your aims, your morals, or your best interests, but that won't stop people from asking. Or telling. Or demanding. If you are in a position of authority, people may try to convince you around to their way of thinking, persuade you that their idea is the best, or lie and and connive to get what they want. Self-interest is a pretty strong motivator for damn near every human on the planet."

"But before you can plan around the people who are trying to convince you to do what they think is best, the first thing you have to do is figure out what you do. I'm not trying to say that your instincts are infallible--Mother Night, if you take anything from this class, please do not let it be that--but if you know what you believe, you can figure out how much of a deviation from your personal code someone else's suggestions are." Karla shrugged and gave the class a wry smile. "Whether or not that deviation is a good thing is a topic for another class--and it might be. Odds are good that in your lifetime, you're going to meet people who know more about a given situation than you do, have more experience than you have, or who are your moral superiors. Listening to them and adjusting your ideas may make a positive difference in a given scenario. However, to better assess what the people around you can offer, first you must know where you yourself may stand. Today, I've got a bunch of moral and ethical scenarios for you to ponder and decide what you would do. Most of these scenarios are morbid, but if they were easy questions, they likely wouldn't be moral ones."

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You've been fighting a war to take back your Territory from a depraved regime and one of your standing promises is that you will make sure the corrupt ruler will face justice for what they have done, which includes murder, assault, kidnapping, and the use of chemical warfare on their own people.

When you take the capital, you discover that the ruler is actually a figurehead with almost no idea of what's been going on and all of the terrible practices have been issued from her vizier. However, during the very public trial, she states that she takes full responsibility for what happened during her reign and refuses to say anything further, exonerating the real villain.

On the one hand, you know she is mostly innocent--the barbaric practices that went on while she ruled were not her doing. On the other hand, you have her very public confession and a populace who are angry, hurt, and counting on you to give them the justice they were promised. On the other, other hand, convicting her will allow the real perpetrator to go free. On other, other, other hand, you actually have no concrete proof that it was the vizier--there's nothing you can hold up to disprove her confession or implicate the vizier.

The penalty for the confessed crimes is death. The nation is looking to you for your decision. What do you decide to do?

"The ruler confessed publically," Yeul said softly. "If that confession is ignored, given the state of the populace, it is very likely that their opinion towards their liberators will turn sour, which will lead to more strife."

She hesitated, then added, "And the ruler is correct that, though she was unaware of the things that went on, she does bear some responsiblity for them. She has chosen her way to atone for her inattention towards her people."

VINDICATED!

...Not that Karla was going to say that aloud.

"So you think she should be executed, for the good of the realm?" Karla asked.

"That's hard to say," Yeul said, tilting her head slightly. "The good of the realm is a very broad concept. Her death won't make things better. All it will do is satisfy a populace that could turn dangerous and honour her preference for making up for her mistakes."

Yeul shook her head slightly. "In the end, killing her will only really help her. Everything else will have to be done by the new rulers and the people themselves."

That was close enough to Karla's own reasoning, that she was tempted to just let it go there. But she was supposed to be teaching here, not using this as a class to boost her own good feelings.

"What about the vizier? Should he just get away with everything?"

"No," Yeul said quietly, "but without evidence that points to him, especially with the ruler covering for him, it would be difficult to target him directly."

She pursed her lips in thought.

"One way would be to execute everyone in the ruler's confidence, or who worked under her," she said slowly, her voice calm and steady but giving away no hint about if she agreed with that idea or not. "That would eliminate him but would also catch people up in it who might not have had anything to do with the state of affairs. To some people, that might be worth it. Another would be to have him murdered, quietly, without a trial so that no one knows what happened to him. The third... well, it depends on the kind of man the vizier is."

Yeul shrugged slightly. "Some people, when you strip them of power and rank, collapse in on themselves and become harmless. Others will fall destitute and succumb to depression or self-destruction. More rarely, someone stripped of power will see it for what it is, another chance. It is a possibility, though a remote one, that left alone they will begin a new life." She lifted her eyes to Karla's. "Most likely, though, they will turn to hatred and stop at nothing until they are either dead or have resumed their 'rightful place' as they see it."

It was almost like Yeul had experience with this sort of situation.

Karla's smile turned into something close to a grimace. There was no question which type her uncle was.

"But now you're speaking in generalities," she reminded. "I'm asking what you would do. So, once you've decided to execute the ruler, what do you do next?"

And could you maybe explain this to a few of Karla's friends? No reason...

Yeul didn't grimace, but there was a definite reluctance that crept into her manner of speaking.

She much preferred to talk in generalities.

"Once the ruler was executed," she said, "I would wait and see what sort of man he bacame, once stripped of power. I prefer to allow people room to make their own decisions."

While avoiding making any of her own! That was totally a factor in that.

"Can I place pressure upon her?" Eleanor asked. "Tell her that the vizier will go free by her hand. Ask if that's what she wants, for justice."

"She knows," Karla said, her head bowing a little. "She loves him and she's willing to make that sacrifice."

Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

Scenario 3: What Is Justice

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