Tank O The Lake

Myriad Reality

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*Nods*
No doubt, one of the most difficult challenges mankind has faced. And that's part of our journey—uncovering the path to a utopia where death has lost its power.

@Etcetera

Yes. Yes it is. The ascension of humanity by that power.

*I sigh, thinking.*

If I were to tell you that we have aligning goals, would you believe me? I think that we both value humanity, and we both have thoughts of what can be done to help them from their present sad state. If we were to cooperate, I think we could make something beautiful.

Myriad Reality

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Then in straightforward terms, you end someone. You inherit their weakness, and their sufferings become yours to bear. They weigh on you, inescapably as you lose grasp of what makes you yourself. Kill the sick, and acquire their pain. Kill the fearful, and your choices haunt you. Kill a child and lose your emotional grip. Your every choice is second guessed. Your reactions slow, now bearing two lives' worth of intuitions. Your senses are overloaded but your mind clouded. You experience a tugging on your heart as you pass a hospital and realize you can't remember whether the faint memory belongs to you or to the one you adopted into yourself. Their dreams, values, visions, all made a piece of you. Every ordinary joy becomes an indictment. You live as an immortal tribute to a purpose that cannot be fulfilled.
*Clasps my hands behind my back*
And that is a fate worse than death. Not to mention the social consequences that would inevitably arise.

@Etcetera

Intriguing.

*I look to the side.*

It would require... expertise. And likely, on some level, a modification of the very nature of entropy. Such is, unfortunately, rather beyond my grasp.

Myriad Reality

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We cannot simply wield the power of death to end the power of death. But instead, imagine a new society, with new rules. Those who end a story must carry its unfinished weight—its suffering, its responsibility, its purpose. A world where death anchors you to the life you robbed, and saps a piece of your soul to replace that which was lost. Forever carrying the burden of the vacuum you created, a permanent, living memorial of everything you destroyed. A world where death turns into a mercy, and mercy cannot be stolen.
*Scratches the back of my head with a smile*
But you also seem like the kind of person to prefer practical steps over a sermon.

@Etcetera

I am indeed such an individual.

I struggle to see that panning out in any way other than murderers making garish mockeries of their victims to their families.

Myriad Reality

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If everyone knew that inflicting death would bring about a new, terrible kind of life, perhaps they'd be more hesitant to wield it.

@Etcetera

*I cock my head.*

Elaborate.

Myriad Reality

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Perhaps so! But the true disadvantage of any afterlife promise is that it can't be seen, and the consequences are distant. So we need a different solution.

@Etcetera

Quite the predicament. Again, then, how to create something with more lasting and undesirable consequences than death?

Myriad Reality

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Indeed! Thus if reality itself were to offer a universally feared consequence in which death itself a preferable alternative, it would be robbed of its power.

@Etcetera

Hence the existence of Hell and other religious concepts of perdition and divine wrath. It is another side of the same coin; it invents a consequence that death is preferable to. I recently took a visit to an Earth in the midst of its own version of the early 21st century; one of the major societal problems of the day was religious radicalization, leading to the rise of terroristic groups that were more than willing to die to impose their doctrine upon the world. That is not possible for a state that deals solely in death threats.

There must be fear of death, and there must be fear of Hell. But Hell is meaningless without Heaven, so there must be promise of escape from suffering, if the man acts according to what is demanded of him.

Myriad Reality

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If death was really the worst possible outcome, no one would, you know, kill themselves or something. Nobody would take any risks with their lives either. So for some people, there's clearly something better than how bad death is, or something worse. Part of what makes death powerful is that it's universal.

@Legend

Suicide is a result of fear. It's fear so great it overcomes self-preservation; the animal destroys itself to avoid an overwhelming negative stimulus.

Death is merely the most convenient of the methods of compelling fear. It is, by no means, the most powerful.

Myriad Reality

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*Finally speaks up again*
There are fates worse than death.
*Glances toward Vector for approval*

@Legend

*I raise an eyebrow.*

Do elaborate.

Myriad Reality

Sorry, @LegendBegins

Myriad Reality

@LegendBegins

Would you mind if I PMed you regarding an idea for a plot with Lucy? I'm about to start submitting the charsheets for Lucy's pawns (and some other people connected to him) and I might need some help with how to handle it