Atton Rand & miscellaneous names (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
suitably_heroic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2016-09-19 02:10 pm
suitably_heroic) wrote in fandomhigh2016-09-19 02:10 pm
Entry tags:
Game of Chance, Monday
"So, today we're actually going to talk about risk and reward," Atton said.
As was evidenced by the fact they were in a normal classroom, for once. "We've had a chance to try out a few card games, we've had a chance to try out how you'd act in a real world situation. And we'll go through many other scenarios like this in the future. But it all starts with the same question: when do you take a gamble? How much are you willing to gamble? And what are you willing to gamble for?"
He watched the class.
"I have a pretty good gut feeling," he said. "I've had to develop one. There are risks worth taking, but risking your life-- that should be a choice you think about. A lot. And so for a very long time, I decided that risking my life was the one thing I wasn't willing to do. Before that, I'd been a soldier. I'd thought that fighting and dying so my people could live-- that was the right choice to make. Because what was the stake of my life, really, in the face of potentially billions of more deaths?" He snorted. "Of course, I was a teenager, so I also thought I was immortal. At first. I got over that pretty quickly."
He sat down. "After that, I decided to say screw it. The war had been won. There was nothing left to do but survive. I had nothing to stake my life for, and so I figured what I should be doing was making sure every gamble I took was one that would make my life a little better, at the risk of making it a little worse. That was all. It worked. Again, for a while. Turns out I'm still not good at saying 'no' when universe-saving is on the menu, especially if the menu is being served by a pretty girl in her underwear."
Go figure.
"This week's class will be our first discussion class," he said. "I want you all to pitch in on this question. Argue with each other if you have to. The question is: what would you risk your life for? What's worth that kind of stake?"
As was evidenced by the fact they were in a normal classroom, for once. "We've had a chance to try out a few card games, we've had a chance to try out how you'd act in a real world situation. And we'll go through many other scenarios like this in the future. But it all starts with the same question: when do you take a gamble? How much are you willing to gamble? And what are you willing to gamble for?"
He watched the class.
"I have a pretty good gut feeling," he said. "I've had to develop one. There are risks worth taking, but risking your life-- that should be a choice you think about. A lot. And so for a very long time, I decided that risking my life was the one thing I wasn't willing to do. Before that, I'd been a soldier. I'd thought that fighting and dying so my people could live-- that was the right choice to make. Because what was the stake of my life, really, in the face of potentially billions of more deaths?" He snorted. "Of course, I was a teenager, so I also thought I was immortal. At first. I got over that pretty quickly."
He sat down. "After that, I decided to say screw it. The war had been won. There was nothing left to do but survive. I had nothing to stake my life for, and so I figured what I should be doing was making sure every gamble I took was one that would make my life a little better, at the risk of making it a little worse. That was all. It worked. Again, for a while. Turns out I'm still not good at saying 'no' when universe-saving is on the menu, especially if the menu is being served by a pretty girl in her underwear."
Go figure.
"This week's class will be our first discussion class," he said. "I want you all to pitch in on this question. Argue with each other if you have to. The question is: what would you risk your life for? What's worth that kind of stake?"
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
"... I suppose... putting myself in danger would have to be for the sake of something that I strongly believe in," she said, slowly. "But I can't currently think of anything worth the risk of my being shattered."
Spend all eternity trapped in a hundred fragmented shards of her own eternally screaming mind? Yeah, no. Sorry. Not happening.
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
"There are things that I believe in," she said, slowly, "but I don't believe I'd ever be in a position to be shattered for them. And if I was, I'm not entirely certain I would choose to do so. I would be expected to, if it came down to me or one of the Diamonds, but that isn't the same as choosing to put myself in that sort of danger. Not really."
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
He'd know. He'd served Revan for years, and done a runner when the expectations became too... something.
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
"It's a choice to defy them, too. And that could get me shattered. If I were to fail to protect a Diamond, I'd be broken either way." So maybe it wasn't the best example. She thought for a few seconds more, and then tried again. "Technically, being here could lead to my being shattered as well."
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
Or, more accurately, the lessons that she was picking up, here.
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
"They teach things here that directly challenge the concepts and values that are programmed into us when we're made," she explained. "Little things, like," her voice went dry, "individual worth, growing as a person, the ability to choose one's own path, and that sentient life has value."
Re: Discussion: Life or Death
He tilted his head. "So I guess you actually do have your answer," he said. "Knowledge, right?"
RE: Re: Discussion: Life or Death
"Knowledge," Peridot replied, nodding faintly. "Apparently I would risk being shattered for the sake of knowledge."
And already was.