The man who tried to blow up the universe will teach you about JUSTICE

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Who: Cyrus, Jupiter, anyone who still takes this goddamn class
What: Another ethics class--this one a bit more on-topic than the last
Where: Regular place
When: Monday, 1 pm
Warnings: Jupiter can and will threadjack at any given time. That's her job. Be nice to the teacher's aide...or else.


Promptly at the hour, Cyrus closed the door. There wasn't any cause to guard the room, as anyone who misbehaved would face his officer. She was sitting on his desk, legs crossed at the knees, looking out over the room.

He took in the sight of his students as they stared at her, at their desks, out the window...Yet he would command their attention soon enough.

"Class, this is Jupiter. She will assist me in my duties as your teacher. That said, today we will discuss more...practical ethics. Perhaps the previous lesson was beyond your scope..."

He walked to the front center of the room and cleared his throat before starting. "We are from varied places, some from other worlds entirely...Yet one thing we all have in common is that we are, wherever we go, bound by the law of the land. Laws are as disparate as those who occupy those lands. In some you may tithe to the king or religious leader. In another you may be required to serve in the military. In another you may have your reading material censored before it reaches you... They will claim that all laws are in the best interests of the people. However, clearly, this cannot be true in all cases."

There, Cyrus started to pace as usual. "How do we determine what is a just law? Is it action? Intent? The end result? If the king demands money to build infrastructure, it is clearly not the same as if he demands it for himself."

His head tilted, eyes unfixing as he spoke. "There are situations where even the most justifiable law must be broken. The traditional example presents a starving child who steals a loaf of bread. Setting aside for the moment the social troubles that must plague that area for that scenario to occur, ought the child be punished for theft when it was an act of survival? Ought the merchant surrender the loaf knowing that it will lessen her profit and cut into her own survival?"

He had to clear his throat again; his voice was beginning to rasp. While he was technically well, there were lingering details of his illness. "There are...risks involved in opposing unjust law. Any who protect their greed do so irrationally, and are often violent in doing so. And yet those injustices cannot be permitted to exist. They, simply, must be opposed. But is there too great a cost in the act of opposition? Where do we draw the line? What must inspire us to be willing to lay down our lives for the greater good?"

Glancing to Jupiter for a moment, but not long enough to catch her expression, he finished with "And of course, the overarching question of what must be done to establish true justice in the world...but that is for another time. For now, in order to see the big picture, we must consider what stands between us."

Comments

[monotreme-101.livejournal.com]

How interesting. Cyrus was talking about something in a way that DIDN'T make Knuckles want to punch him. Maybe it was the calming influence of Cyrus's pretty new desk accessory, but Knuckles actually found himself nodding a little.

The law wasn't always just, and lawmakers weren't always doing their best for everyone, and law enforcement was often corrupt. He'd seen some of that first hand and had learned even more about it in Robotnik's class.

"I think you need to weigh it up... obviously you don't wanna lay your life down so one starving kid can get some bread. Just give him a piece of your own bread. But if there's a great number of people being oppressed or hurt by a cartain law, then it's right to put your neck on the line to see the situation righted. And if you can organize a large enough group of people who feel the same way, you can probably make a difference. Revolution or whatever."

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

"Oppression causes fear," Cyrus reminded him. "Those who have been crushed under the heel of the law will not want to face its wrath, even for the greater good. And more who have not known it--perhaps your neighbor agrees with the conditions, fully and entirely, and is willing to turn you in to the authorities for your revolutionary thoughts."

[boxingmidget.livejournal.com]

Wow. Something Mac doesn't really truly disagree with in this class that came out of Cyrus' mouth. Yeah, he still didn't really understand all of it but what he DID understand, he kinda agreed with. The law wasn't always right as much as lawbreakers could be, least that's what he thought. The starving child one got his attention.

"'Bout the starvin' child, Mr. Cyrus, ain't that more of a reason to start bein' more generous? Make some charities for the starvin' folks? 'Cause that's some of the reasons why those kinda things exist, right? Give 'em food that they could live off of without stealin'?"

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Reasonable, or a start anyway. Cyrus stopped by Mac's desk. "We covered that in the first class. Although it is admirable to be altruistic, it must not be a temporary solution, but a lasting one."

Something was different in Mac's reaction, he noticed. Not nearly as removed from things... "Once the bread is stolen, the law has been broken. Does the consequence change if there is an alternative?"

[feelings-of.livejournal.com]

((Chaotic Evil vs. Neutral Good GO!! Roll for initiative!!))

Mesprit was pretty confused. She'd thought that laws existed for a reason and had no reason to think whoever came up with them or enforced them would be bad.

"Mr. Man, why do they make laws where starving children have to be punished? That's not nice! Poor children!"

Cyrus is really more Lawful Evil. But yes.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Cyrus paused at the question as he sized up the student. This...this was Mesprit. This was the being that had cursed all of creation with emotion. This was the being, with its siblings, that he had extricated the Red Chain from.

This was the being that was one of the keys to the rebirth and salvation of all things.

And, lacking the ability to extract that substance, he could not lose that alliance.


"Yet there are laws against theft. Certainly there must be. That is the question posed to you--when is it ethical to violate the law?"

[king-of-the-boo.livejournal.com]

King Boo slept, head on his desk.

Because he was a Boo, staying awake during the day was not easy. The added fact that he had stayed up the whole night working out a prank did not help his schedule either.

[g3-jupiter.livejournal.com]

Jupiter walks over to his desk and flicks a finger against his forehead. Hard.

[blazinglizard.livejournal.com]

Finally. A lecture with a point.

Not that it was all that interesting to him -- Char had always viewed the law as sort of a suggestion, anyway. His disinterest in the topic at hand was blatantly apparent; he'd spent half the lecture staring out the window in a boredom-induced stupor, and was now devoting the remainder to doodling a caricature that likened Cyrus to a particularly unpleasant part of a Swalot's anatomy.

Well, at least he wasn't mouthing off. This was probably as close to attentive and obedient as Char would ever get.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Without a word, Cyrus snapped his fingers as he passed Char's desk--a sign for Jupiter to work her ways.

[g3-jupiter.livejournal.com]

The following moment, Jupiter was standing in front of Char's desk, her arms crossed.

"Is this how you take notes?" she inquired, her voice cold.

[betterthanawiki.livejournal.com]

This was the last place that Uxie wanted to be right now. He had made it abundantly clear that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Commander Jupiter, and that hadn't been a lie -- Uxie had been caught off guard once, and he didn't intend on giving her another chance to do so again. The mere thought of entering a room with both Jupiter and Cyrus left a bad taste in his mouth.

But... there was the problem of Mesprit. It was unlikely anything unplesaant would happen in the middle of a class, of course, but the thought of leaving her outnumbered and unguarded simply didn't sit right with him. Especially after Cyrus had so freely confessed that he regarded emotions as the root of all the world's flaws. In the future, it would be best to find a student in this class who could keep an eye on Mesprit and report on exactly what Cyrus was teaching, but in the meantime... well, it seemed that it would fall on him to do the dirty work.

And so there was one extra body in the classroom today: a tiny pixie seated on top of a desk, apparently trying not to nod off. Although he had plenty to say on the topic, he offered no comment on the content of the lecture -- Uxie was an observer by nature, after all.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Uxie...another key, another being it was of the utmost importance not to lose. Cyrus approached slowly but determined. "Have you any thoughts?" he asked as he would any other student?

[brattykoopa.livejournal.com]

"Laws to protect the people are all too complicated because you'll always have some moron giving speeches like this and being ungrateful." Wendy casually rolled one of the rubies on her necklace between her fingers and yawned. "That's why when I'm Queen, all my laws are going to be only in my interest. That way it doesn't matter who breaks it or why. They'll all be punished and I won't have any problem with doing it."

Someone was missing the point.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Oh if there was anything that infuriated Cyrus, it was those who had no regard for anything but themselves. Well, that and many other things, but it was a big one just the same. "And what would give you the right to make that decision? Simply because you are a ruler does not mean you are in any way qualified to be so."

[snarksterpilot.livejournal.com]

All Nester did was sit back and pretend he was listening.

In reality, the only thing he was thinking of was how he would beat Legend of Olga: Phantom Tracks when he got back to his dorm. Laziest student ever.

[g3-jupiter.livejournal.com]

Jupiter walks over to Nester, and quietly whispers in his ear. "Why aren't you taking notes?"

What do you know, she actually sounds nice. Like she's willing to show a little patience.

[swordofkings.livejournal.com]

The addition of the teacher assistant did little to distract Poo from his diligent studies and note-taking. Always... Cyrus's classes questioned on where to draw the ethical line between right and wrong. Always... so situational.

As usual, Poo had his hand silently and politely in the air.

"Law exists to create order. To follow laws explicitly and without question diminishes free thinking. It would diminish one's morality, humanity and ability to distinguish what is right and wrong. Whomever makes the laws would have ultimate control over that."

"...But there would be order." Order versus free will? Maybe that was going to be another lecture for another class. "Is that ethical...?" Poo asked, not condescendingly in any manner, but just curious to Cyrus's opinion.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Cyrus shook his head. Poo was so close, so very close, yet so very far away. "Certainly we must have order, and we must be willing to sacrifice all we are for that order. But when it comes from the greed of the lawmakers, is that true order?" Of course not, he knew, but he was trying for an answer.

[umbreon-blacky.livejournal.com]

An ethics class without a lurking Umbreon is hardly an ethics class at all!

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

That everpresent shadow...Cyrus glanced at her from across the room, as if prompting her to speak.

Bet you missed my walls of text huh

[operatingbuddy]

"Statement: All laws must have equal force for all citizens, regardless of circumstances or intent, social status or wealth."

"In regards to opposing unjust laws, democratic societies are structured to afford the people power to elect leaders who will act in their best interests. Therefore if leaders with to remain in power it is in their best interests to enact laws that the people will support, or they will face defeat when they run for reelection."

We need to have these two tldr at each other more often

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

"However," Cyrus countered, "even in those systems, there is often abuse of power. Corruption runs rampant even in the most commonly elected government. Additionally, that form is not found universally."

[reservedempath]

While Voile had nothing she felt confident enough to contribute, she simply listened to the discussion. There were consequences to all actions, especially in terms of lawful nature. Good law, bad law, righteous law, just law, cruel law, to an extent each one had its own set of consequences. The problem she found was that people were incapable of sharing their hearts as one. In conclusion, all people defined "law" at its very raw form in a different way.

How did she view it, however? Did Pokémon even have laws? Yes, perhaps they did, but she'd never viewed them as such. Perhaps they were simply the things they deemed "common sense". Laws and common sense. Yes, they could be the same.

She cradled her chin in the palm of her hand and at least one eye, the one not under green hair, remained glued onto Cyrus as he spoke. In a very strange way while he frightened her and concerned her, she was in awe of him, of the way he spoke. He had an odd type of passion about him. There was something about him that she genuinely liked.

Who was she kidding, though? She'd never really understand it.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Such intensity...he approached, asking "Voile, correct? I am pleased to see you here. What are your thoughts?"

[thewunderkind]

Lash simply stood by, not saying much, and just listening to everyone talk. At least for now.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

After a glance, Cyrus ignored her. If she started causing trouble he would act, but for now, she wasn't worth his notice.

Doop doop forgot to finish editing.

[ghostly-nyx.livejournal.com]

At least she was awake this time. Of course, to her... She'd spent so much of her time in Pokemon Tower with other ghosts much like herself. Laws had never come into play until she started to attend Smash Academy, and even then, she'd never been one to listen to them. She broke into people's houses on a nearly nightly basis, either just for the fun of scaring them out of their wits, or to drain just a little of their life away. She had to eat something, after all. So she didn't understand much of this lecture, and even the parts she did, she didn't particularly care about. Instead, she was doodling up the side of her notebook.

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

Cyrus glanced at the notebook. "Such idle things," he muttered. "Do you intend to waste my time?"

[tailsofambition.livejournal.com]

For once Tails didn't feel the need to speak up and argue against Cyrus' points, something that the fox thought never would happen - heck, he didn't know why he was still in this class. Maybe what Jupiter said over the network made him wonder if she could make the class any better. To be honest it didn't seem like it so far.

"I think if there was a starving kid asking for bread, if I were the merchant I would at least give him a piece, even if it did cut into profit a little bit. Morals above money, even if it causes losses. I'd rather know that I helped someone than turning him away.

"There's always gonna be something that people don't agree with, but when it comes to really unjust law, if people see that they can make a difference, they'll team up and do what they can. It might not work, but if they feel it's worth a try..."

[will-be-god.livejournal.com]

"Is it?" Cyrus asked of Tails's last claim. "How does one determine if the reward is greater than the risk?"