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[seabeast]

so here be a thought from an idle paw
from what i been told murderin another one o your kind gets you sent to the police and taken away
killin somebeasts a mark of ill breedin or summat
taint what a goodbeast does is what im understandin

now i aint sayin i likes these keys you lotve been whisperin about
but it stands to reason that they be humans like the rest o ye
or mostly anyway
and the lot o ye been killin em by the score
i dont suppose some o ye been goin huntin for em
been gettin a likin for the chase id expect
tis likely
i mightve done the same if i could follow your footpaws

so when does it all end eh
how long afore ye become badbeasts and scum and whatnot
how long til ye be a danger to all of us
is one enough
two
enough to whet an appetite for blood
enough to cause a panic in the city
how long til ye aint worth keepin around and mayhap it be best if the police take ye anyway

or mayhap there aint nothin wrong with the killin
why else would we be keepin so many of ye around
sounds handy enough to me

but like i said tis just an idle thought

Comments

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[seabeast]

and that be what im stuck on
if killin be so wrong but both we and they do it
what makes it so wrong
and why not go all the way if we done it once
and if it be that wrong then why do we let our own run about slaughterin them
how does it stop

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[envisaging]

Everyone keeps saying we're the "good" guys. If we're not better then them, that's false, and we may as well stop pretending.

[ ... ]

I wish I had some way to stop them other than my words. Unfortunately, it's mostly the people with crazy powers doing this, as far as I can tell.

Maybe we should be more worried about them becoming "not people" via echoes than we should be worried about cops and blood keys becoming "not people" via enhancements.

Or at least equally worried.

I'll admit there are times when self-defense is important, because I'd never suggest anyone lie back and wait to die. But more and more that hasn't been the case with some of these run-ins. And it won't stop if people keep raising the stakes of this cycle higher and higher and don't try to remember that these people aren't likely acting entirely of their own will. We know that, and yet they're being killed?

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[seabeast]

i dont know the answer because i aint one o you walkin types
seems to me this shouldve been a problem you lot had sussed out a long time ago

let me put this to ye at another angle
if we have this problem
and if we be true moral upstandin creatures
and we cant convince our own to stop doin immoral things
then what be the solution to that
if it were me id cull our own of the murderers who be fool enough to run amuck
keep it orderly
but since you lot havent im assumin theres another reason we be keepin them around

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[envisaging]

Because killing isn't a solution I can approve of, even in this case. And those who do approve of it are the ones who are killing people, and won't off themselves?

I don't know. All I know is that at this rate, sooner or later the network is going to be very strongly divided, and we're going to need to find new ways to communicate for each faction.

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[seabeast]

pity
here we are shapin up to be one o the most powerful groups in the city
and we cant make the sacrifices we needs to to be united
whatever they be

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[envisaging]

If we use our power like that, what does it make us?

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[seabeast]

winners
survivors
feared
murderers too i suppose

text;

[envisaging]

I think we're just at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of opinions on this. I'll do what I can to help people on the Network, and to try to protect the people who can't see it, but

[ ... ]

There are lines I never want to cross. I think if I ever did, I'd lose myself.

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[seabeast]

ye fear that
losin yourself
ye remember that happenin before

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[envisaging]

I don't remember that happening before. But I think it's something to be feared, because some of the people who are advocating this killing are justifying it away to themselves.

I think that's an easy way to lose sight of your beliefs.

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[seabeast]

[ a significant pause before the next message. ]

i dont got any
so where does that leave me but with the easiest answer

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[envisaging]

Even not having any beliefs counts as a sort of belief, I think.

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[seabeast]

if not havin any beliefs counts as havin em what do they matter anyhow

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[envisaging]

It always matters. It's still a way of looking at the world. Even if I don't agree with some ways of looking at the world or some courses of action, it doesn't mean the fact people hold those beliefs or lack thereof is any less important.

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[seabeast]

[ ... idealistic nonsense. or at least overly troublesome nonsense, anyhow. ]

ye take it too far
there aint no accountin for others
what if ye run into a nasty piece o work like me someday eh

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[envisaging]

That depends. What would they be attempting to do?

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[seabeast]

kill ye o course
for somethin they needs

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[envisaging]

I expect I would die, given I have no combat training.

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[seabeast]

ye dont fear that

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[envisaging]

I think it's normal to fear that sort of thing?

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[seabeast]

are ye answerin me question

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[envisaging]

Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to be unclear.

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[seabeast]

twasnt clearness that was the problem

ye wouldnt do anything now to make sure ye have nothin to fear later
yed take it that far
be that your stand

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[envisaging]

I'm not going to kill people just to make certain they won't someday kill me, no.

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[seabeast]

more the fool be you
me
i want to live and i wants what i got safe
thats what i be for in the end