Judaean | The Darkest Minds Fanfic

Chapter 7

"So I suppose this is it, then?" Clancy said when I sat down with my dinner, and he with his. "All those talks about Sawtooth, accumulates in tomorrow."

　　I nodded slowly. I leave with Liam in the morning, and after we come back, our plan is to divide and conquer—Ruby and I and the rest of the ranch will go through with freeing Thurmond, while Dr. Gray takes Clancy to perform the surgery. It isn't easy to arrange, but I've managed—a team of medical specialists will be waiting for Dr. Gray at the nearby city of Stockton with whatever she requires two days from now. In the meantime, we will be on our way to Thurmond.

　　But I guess... before that, I have one last question for him.

　　"Clancy," I started.

　　"Yes?" He prompted, eyes on his plate.

　　"Do you really believe you're doing the right things?" I asked, "I mean, on the grand scale of things."

　　"I'm surprised you care enough to ask." He raised an eyebrow.

　　"No. Well, yeah, it's just..." I couldn't find a way to explain. "There must be something behind all this, no? Not just a wounded little boy seeking retribution. It seems... too simple."

　　He gave me a smile. "Do you study philosophy, Cole?"

　　I snorted, loud. "Do I look like I have time for that?"

　　He shrugged, a "fair enough" written on his face. "Anyway, what I get from reading about philosophy, is that they have an, at best, flimsy argument for what is good or bad." He said, hands waving carelessly. "If I must give you an answer, it will be that, yes, I think I'm right, but my definition of what is right will not be the same as yours."

　　"Why don't you try me?" I pressed my lips, "Let's see how good your arguments hold."

　　He didn't answer for a moment, only looked at me attentively. I held his gaze, and held my ground. I knew what he was thinking—whether I deserve the truth, and it was a test I didn't want to fail.

　　Finally, he smiled, and started, "what you follow in morality, whether you realized it or not, is a school of thoughts in moral philosophy called consequentialism. They believe that every action's moral value should be determined by their impact. If what you do will end up saving thousands, the action of imprisoning a single person in a dungeon for months on end can be ethical."

　　I let out a sharp breath through my nose.

　　He chuckled, and continued, "Another school of thoughts—called virtue ethics—will argue that keeping said person in a dungeon is wrong, whatever the consequences are, because the action itself is wrong. These people determine the moral value of an action by the motives and reasoning which led to that action, not the end result. So for them, if you blindly follow the rules without a good moral reason, you are still a bad person, even if you never hurt anyone."

　　"Is this just a roundabout way to argue that I should let you go?" I joked.

　　"No, of course not." He said, "I don't even buy into virtue ethics. Their arguments can actually come down to that we should remain unenlightened, and base our knowledge solely on observation, not deduction or theorization. Not my cup of tea at all." He let out a sharp breath through his nose, "Although, speaking of, you brother actually falls perfectly into the domain of virtue ethics. His thoughts are..." He wrinkled his nose, "...simple."

　　I'm pretty sure he just called Liam stupid. "What do you buy into, then?" I asked. "Do you believe that the ends justify the means?"

　　"Yes, and no." He shook, "if you go down the theory of consequentialism far enough, they also argue that the impact of any actions ripples out, meaning that if you save someone who ends up killing thousands, it would be worse than not saving that person at all, and that—" He sat up straighter, "—is what my mother accepts as the reasoning of her action, that if taking away my power could stop me from manipulating others and potentially causing more harm, it is justifiable to throw me into a camp and let the monsters there cut me open."