Interview

After some walking around we eventually find a nice sit down restaurant in a basement. It seems to cater mostly to minority races. The only Human and Dwarf I see are working as servers. We then sit down and I order rainbow hormun with an octopus-salad on the side. Rainbow hormun is one of my favorite fish meats in the north. It’s really fatty and has big bones which makes it easier to eat. Also when it’s cooked thoroughly it gets a fun rainbow color which I really like.

“Hey, Rose? How about we play a little conversational game while we wait for our food?”

“Gao!”

“Okay, so I’ll give you some hypotheticals and you tell me what you would do. There are no right or wrong answers, just say whatever comes to your mind. I’ll also write things down so I have an easier time to remember if that’s okay.”

“Gao!”

“Great! Let’s start. Let’s say you come upon a starving man on the side of the road. What would you do?”

“Hmm…Is he a good person?”

“Let’s say you don’t know but he doesn’t seem outright mean.”

“Hmm…Is there a way for him to get a job or get food elsewhere?”

“Let’s say he’s crippled and doesn’t have anyone to rely on which is why he became a beggar.”

“Hmm…In that case we would either have to take him in or kill him.”

Looking a little surprised Sher Aka asks, “Can you explain why that would be the only two options? Couldn't you also ignore him or give him some food and money?”

“No, both of those wouldn't be right. If we don’t know if he’s a bad person we should treat him like a good person. Since he’s crippled and has no one to rely on he needs someone to take care of him. So, either we help him with that and take care of him or we kill him to end his suffering. If we ignore him that means he might starve and if we just give some food he’ll still starve it will just take him longer.”

“So if you were to find a kind beggar in the city you would kill them?”

“No, probably not. Cities usually have churches or other charitable places to help but if he asked me to I would.”

“And what would you do if the nice beggar outside the city without any support system said he doesn’t want to die? Would you still kill him?”

“Does he not want to die or does he not want to get killed?”

“I don’t understand why that makes a difference.”

“Well, if he’s just scared of death and he’ll die from starving anyways it’s best to kill him regardless. But if he knows he might die from starvation but doesn’t want to die by getting killed then I won’t kill him.”

“...”

“So…You respect the choice of the person as long as you think they thought about it well but not if they didn’t think about it too deeply?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

Thinking for a bit Sher Aka writes some things down then asks, “Generally speaking, should we help people in need?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“Because when everyone helps each other the world is a better place.”

“I see! Another question for you: Generally speaking, should life be preserved?”

“I don’t think I understand the question.”

“Hmm…Then let me rephrase it. Does life have value?”

“No.”

“Could you explain why you think that?”

“Gao! Life has no value because the world wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, if life had value why would it be okay to kill a tree but not a person?”

“What?”

“What’s the difference between a tree, a bug, a monster and a person if life has value?”

“...”

“Personally…I think that difference is just…Inherent to my thinking. I don’t think I have ever thought of the life of a tree being the same as a person.”

“So you don’t believe life has value either?”

“No, I do.”

“Hmm…Oh! I get it so life has a value but because it’s equal everywhere it doesn’t matter!”

“What?”

“If all life is equally valuable then the only thing that changes how you see it is how useful it is to you. A weed is not useful so it can die and a tree is useful so it can live until we kill it for wood. But we still don’t kill something if it has no value but also doesn’t annoy us. So, life does have a value to things we don’t care about, right?”

”...”

“To be honest, Rose. I’m not sure how to answer that. Could you give me some time to think it over?”

“Gao!”

Writing some more things down, Sher Aka asks me, “Would you say my life is worth the same as that of a tree?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know you and I like you a lot.”

“I see…Then would the life of a tree be worth the same to you as a stranger’s?”

“I’m not sure…Depends, I guess?”

“On what?”

“Well, for example if it’s someone I don’t know and don’t care about then it is the same. If I like the tree a lot though then I’d value it over the stranger but if it’s just a random tree and a random person then they have the same worth until I get to know more about either of them.”

“Hmm…So, let’s say then you’re at the reins of the carriage and you have to decide between running over a person or running over a tree. No matter what you do, one of them dies. Who would you choose to run over?”

“The tree.”

“Why? I thought you said the tree and the stranger have the same value to you.”

“Yeah but I still treat people I don’t know as if they’re good people and a good person can do more good than a tree.”

“I see…”

Looking through her notes Sher Aka thinks for a bit then asks, “Please tell me if what I’m going to say is correct or not.”

“Gao!”

“So…You respect people's choices as long as they think rationally and not emotionally.”

I nod.

“You think that the value of anything is tied to what it can do for you or for the betterment of the rest of the world.”

I nod again.

“And you generally want to protect anyone that you think is a good person or is trying to make the world a better place.”

I nod once more.

“I see…”

Brushing through my hair, Sher Aka says with a smile, “I’m glad that despite everything you’re still mostly the same.”

“Gao?”