Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Saving the World


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, all I ask is a thank you in the acknowledgements.

While you are reading this, in all likelihood I am frantically trying to finish my Christmas knitting. Or shopping. Probably both. So, this week it's a simple one...

What if the "big bad" is coming (something dire that will cause mass casualties)? You have the means to stop it--by sacrificing your life. Only, you're the only one who knows this. If you do nothing, no one will know that you could have prevented it. Would you sacrifice yourself to save "the world" (or whatever it is that needs saving)? Or would you step out of the way (and look for a different method to save the world--I know you don't want the catastrophe to happen)?  

6 comments:

  1. Oh, another interesting one! I think I would sacrifice myself to save the world, but I would then want the world to change for the better because of what I did, love each other more, be kinder, etc. Otherwise, I would wonder if it was a futile thing for me to do and if it was just better for everyone to be destroyed all at once.

    betty

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  2. I have no idea! I am being honest. It's nice to think noble but self-preservation is strong. If I knew the world would survive and people would not become stupid zombies I might just let the world get hit. Considering the mass destruction we are doing to the planet for money and greed, wiping out animal and plant species. Seeing new diseases come up, it might be a better thing to let the world have a population implosion so the world can recover. If I die after then it was meant to be

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  3. Hm, I don't know. I guess maybe I would, although this question raises a whole bunch of existential thoughts.

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  4. Oh no. Doom? Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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  5. It depends what day it was. If it was a Monday I'd probably sacrifice myself but if it was a Friday afternoon I'd have to think about it. Merry Christmas Liz!

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.