Welcome, Participants

[mockmods]

Good morning, Participants. The time is now 7:30 AM.

[Where were you before this? Doesn’t matter, you’re here now, in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by unfamiliar people, with a slightly-too-cheerful automated voiced chiming over a PA system to wake you up. Your pockets are empty, save for an unfamiliar smartphone type of device that comes alive under your touch, displaying, among other things, a map, a series of profiles, and a list of rules.]

It is understood that you may have questions; please be patient, and gather back in the Common Room in one hour. The Assistant will be present at this time to answer your questions. In the meantime, please feel free to explore the Facility at your leisure.

[The doors to the dorm areas are freely open from the inside, though you’ll find that it takes your electronic id to regain entry once you’ve left. Otherwise, it’s as the voice says, and you’ve got an hour to explore your new surroundings and get to know your fellow kidnappees.]

[Welcome to the Facility.]

Comments

[eudaimonikos]

[.....]

Okay. Sure. Here's the thing. None of us really want to be here. So by saying that we should terminate someone if we wish to conclude the experiment early...

[He trails off, inclining his head and raising his eyebrows. You see where he's going here?]

[in4apounding]

Right, but that would be bad.

[Killing people is wrong, Michael.]

[eudaimonikos]

Of course it would. But people do bad things all the time, for much stupider reasons.

...also, kidnapping people is usually considered pretty bad as well. Just saying.

[in4apounding]

But the Researcher has good reasons! He wants to help people.

[Sorry Michael, doublethink is in pretty strong effect here.]

[eudaimonikos]

That's just basic utilitarianism, you can justify anything with that! Like - here, say you have five people who all need an organ transplant. New lungs, heart, liver, whatever. They'll die if they don't get it.

Now, you also have one healthy person. If you kill that person, you can use their organs to save the other five. Is it right to kill them?

[Likes: moral philosophy]

[in4apounding]

...That one person has a compatible blood type with all five others?

[eudaimonikos]

They're a universal donor.

[Also it's a fucking hypothetical, Penny]

[in4apounding]

Oh, wow, that's really rare, isn't it?

[What's a hypothetical.]

...Did they sign some kind of organ donor card?

[eudaimonikos]

Those kick in when you die, so I think it's only a little relevant to the initial question of killing them. Like, if somebody leaves you their stuff in a will, you still don't get to kill them to get it.

Are you being deliberately difficult about this? Because you can just ask me to get to the point.

[in4apounding]

No? Just trying to make sure I fully understand the hypothetical.

[....Yeah you should probably just get to the point.]

[eudaimonikos]

[He hates everything that he has become.]

The point is, if you're willing to accept one "bad" action for the sake of the greater good, then what's your reason for not accepting all of them? Maybe someone here has forty lives to save back home. If it's ethical for the Researcher to kidnap us all for the sake of some vague potential "it might help someone sometime", then surely it would also be ethical to kill one person to go home and save our friends?

[in4apounding]

Of course not! Killing is a lot worse than inconveniencing some people.

[eudaimonikos]

See, now it just sounds like you're more interested in covering for your boss than in sticking to any actual moral principles.

1/3

[in4apounding]

Well- that's- this is- ....actually-

[One can only presume an ageless entity with a fondness for philosophical discussion is pretty good at recognizing when a point has really hit home. So, congratulations on maybe possibly talking a murdergame host out of murder in what's probably record time?]

2/3

[in4apounding]

[But then, for not even a second? Penny sort of freezes. Not quite stiffening, but very suddenly losing the subtle movements and shifting normal to a person even standing still. Here eyes not quite focusing, not actually seeing Michael, just staring blankly at the space he happens to occupy.]

3/3

[in4apounding]

[And then, just as suddenly, Penny blinks and the instant is over.]

Oh, I'm an artificially made person, not a fiend.

[The exact same tone and delivery as when she said it a few seconds ago.]

And- I'm sorry, Mr. Michael, you were asking how long this will take? It shouldn't be more than a month or so, but you should all be able to return to your homes at the time you left them.

[windowsexplorer]

[👀]

[in4apounding]

[ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

[scratchitti]

...

[Well then]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael falters for a second, gaze darting over to Janet wherever she is in the room.]

Ah - yes, well. Different timelines and all, makes total sense! [He smiles, trying to recover his composure.] Thanks, Penny.

[deathroadtocanada]

[Distressed internal robot noises]

[clandestineideals]

[ ... What just happened. ]