A question of ethics

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

Suppose that long ago, prior to the dawn of recorded history, the Earth was visited by an advanced extraterrestrial race, and a portion of humanity was carried away to the stars and deposited on an Earth-like world. Since then, each portion of humanity, both here on Earth and on that other world, have developed separately and free of further influence from the advanced aliens.

Now, an exploratory team from Earth encounters the other branch of humans, and at first contact, the alien race that separated us promises to use their technology to advance one branch of humans–but only one–into godlike beings. Both the people of Earth and of the other planet, of course, claim the prize, and a long and bloody war is waged. For generations, humans fight against other humans for the prize of apotheosis across the stars.

Your entire family is killed in the battle. Terrible atrocities are committed by the other branch of humanity–perhaps by your own as well, you cannot be sure of anything when your news reports come from your government. Every major catastrophe in human history, including the Holocaust, seems minor in comparison to the least of the atrocities committed by the enemy in their pursuit of godhood.

After a conflict of such duration that none alive remember peace as anything more than a beautiful myth, the war hinges upon the outcome of a single battle–you vs. a champion from the other branch of humanity. Whoever wins this one-on-one battle will be able to win the war, and attain godhood for their people. You cannot see your opponent–both of you are using some form of combat vehicle, (tank, fighter, mecha, whatever suits your imagination)–and your match carries on for a seeming eternity. At several points, you escape death at your opponent’s hands by a hairsbreadth, and miss numerous chances at victory by a similar margin.

Finally, you see your chance to strike, and do, disabling the enemy craft. The cockpit shatters, and you finally see your opponent: A ten-year-old child.

You have disabled the enemy craft. The child is helpless before you.

Do you strike, and assume god-like powers for yourself and your people, at the price of having the blood of a helpless child on your hands, or do you withhold your attack, granting godlike powers to the enemy and perhaps dooming your entire race?

2

Duh, kill the boy, have sex with him then devour his flesh. The aliens will realise how fucked up we all are and leave. Granting nobody any powers.

3

Considering one has already battled on for so long that you don’t remember what peace is…

Kill the whelp. It’s just one more to add to the list. And who knows, the other branch of humans might have developed socially different, so that little kid was a frickin 10 star general. You don’t give toys like that to kids, sheesh.

4

If it is to end war, then so be it. Godhood or not. If all it took to end a war was to kill a 10 year old boy, or even 10 month old baby…

So be it.

5

I would only be five years older

6

Oops. Ignore this post. I made a miistake.

7

<img src=“http://www.rpgclassics.com/staff/tenchimaru/td.gif”> Get out of the craft, capture the boy and hold him for ransom, thereby granting yourself godhood, money, and shaming your opponent by capturing him.

8

First of all, I dont think we would go to war over somthing stupid like godhood, we would probably hold a contest of some kind, say BASKETBALL?!

Second of all, dos jive turkeys aint go nothing on us, biotch!

9

And no one of them will aquire godhood, unless the aliens are really, really stupid. I hope they aren’t.

I would have killed both myself and the child, seeing as how both sides would have made terrible gods.

10

The child is probably a human child, so I would blast it just to show the enemy side that I don’t care about human shields.

11

I’d let the kid go and just walk away.

Then, I’d kill the aliens that put both sides through this.

12

Ethics are for the weak. Kill the boy.

13

Take the boy, rip his heart out and use him as an example not to fuck with true human beings. Then become a god and lay the smackdown on everyone else >:)

14

Since there’s no “merge with the child and become a god unto myself” option, I’m going to have to go with killing the kid. If I haven’t known peace in my lifetime, how could I do any different.

15

What I’d like to know is how a ten year old child became a champion anyway.

16

Originally posted by Urkani
What I’d like to know is how a ten year old child became a champion anyway.

The anime law of Reverse Profieciency When Applied To Drama.

In other words, you didn’t see it coming.

17

Kill the boy, attain god-status, kill the aliens. Stupid aliens for giving my god-powers.

18

Nice little bit of fiction, but you could have just given the classic “button scenario.”

You’re walking in the middle of nowhere one day and a powerful being presents you with a big shinny red button, he tells you this: “If you press this button I’ll given you the cure for concern, but if you press it someone will die in exchange.”

Do you press the button and get the cure for cancer, something that kills millions, knowing that you’re killing someone innocent, or don’t you.

Do the ends justify the means?

19

Die, boy.

20

Kill