Vampire Ethics
17 January 2003
She had kissed Spike. The last time, she could blame the dancing demon. But now? What had gotten into her? Maybe she was under a spell, a love spell from Spike. She wouldn't put it past him. Or maybe it was another magic mistake, courtesy of Willow? Buffy didn't think so. She had wanted to kiss him. What was she thinking?
It was early morning. She couldn't sleep. Giles was gone. Tara was gone. Dawn and Willow were probably awake, but she didn't want to talk to them right now. She didn't want to patrol. She might run into ...
Giles had dropped off some things before he left for England. She rummaged through the boxes. There were books, files, pictures. She selected a videotape labeled "Proceedings for the 34th Conference of the International Fellowship of Supernatural Studies". Munching popcorn, she watched the grainy image of a young Rupert Giles presenting his paper.
"The study of vampire ethics is not a new field, but it has enjoyed a resurgence of late, as more attention has been devoted to ..."
He'd never spoken to her about vampire ethics. Or maybe he had, but she didn't listen. They'd been very close, but she found herself regretting that she hadn't spent more time with him. Now he was gone.
"We destroy vampires because they kill people, just as justice system punishes murderers. It is, however, standard practice to kill fledglings as they rise from the grave, before they've killed anyone. This is more than the presumption of guilt, it is the certainty that a vampire, any vampire, must be evil and is certain to kill sooner or later. No vampire must be left alive, because..."
She was upset. That was it. All the stress of returning to this life after... And her money problems. And everything else. And then Giles leaving. She'd been upset, and Spike had taken advantage of her.
"It can generally be agreed, however, that some vampires are more evil than others. It follows, therefore, that some may be less evil than others. The Council archives contain reports of vampires who have renounced killing humans altogether..."
No, that wasn't quite fair. She had offered, and he had accepted, probably as surprised as she was. She had rejected him so often in the past, he must have been close to giving up. Now, he'd be after her with a vengeance.
"Studies cited in this paper suggest a strong possibility that some vampires can be rehabilitated. With therapy and possibly drug treatment, some could be turned away from evil. Research proposals in this area have been submitted to most of the major supernatural studies institutes in America and Europe, but the tendency has been to direct funding toward researching methods of eliminating vampires, not treating them..."
One small consolation: he couldn't force the issue, not with that chip in his head. And she was more than a match for him. He wouldn't have her unless she gave herself to him. No! Never. He'd better have enjoyed that kiss, because that was all he was getting. Never again. Unless...
17 January 2003
She had kissed Spike. The last time, she could blame the dancing demon. But now? What had gotten into her? Maybe she was under a spell, a love spell from Spike. She wouldn't put it past him. Or maybe it was another magic mistake, courtesy of Willow? Buffy didn't think so. She had wanted to kiss him. What was she thinking?
It was early morning. She couldn't sleep. Giles was gone. Tara was gone. Dawn and Willow were probably awake, but she didn't want to talk to them right now. She didn't want to patrol. She might run into ...
Giles had dropped off some things before he left for England. She rummaged through the boxes. There were books, files, pictures. She selected a videotape labeled "Proceedings for the 34th Conference of the International Fellowship of Supernatural Studies". Munching popcorn, she watched the grainy image of a young Rupert Giles presenting his paper.
"The study of vampire ethics is not a new field, but it has enjoyed a resurgence of late, as more attention has been devoted to ..."
He'd never spoken to her about vampire ethics. Or maybe he had, but she didn't listen. They'd been very close, but she found herself regretting that she hadn't spent more time with him. Now he was gone.
"We destroy vampires because they kill people, just as justice system punishes murderers. It is, however, standard practice to kill fledglings as they rise from the grave, before they've killed anyone. This is more than the presumption of guilt, it is the certainty that a vampire, any vampire, must be evil and is certain to kill sooner or later. No vampire must be left alive, because..."
She was upset. That was it. All the stress of returning to this life after... And her money problems. And everything else. And then Giles leaving. She'd been upset, and Spike had taken advantage of her.
"It can generally be agreed, however, that some vampires are more evil than others. It follows, therefore, that some may be less evil than others. The Council archives contain reports of vampires who have renounced killing humans altogether..."
No, that wasn't quite fair. She had offered, and he had accepted, probably as surprised as she was. She had rejected him so often in the past, he must have been close to giving up. Now, he'd be after her with a vengeance.
"Studies cited in this paper suggest a strong possibility that some vampires can be rehabilitated. With therapy and possibly drug treatment, some could be turned away from evil. Research proposals in this area have been submitted to most of the major supernatural studies institutes in America and Europe, but the tendency has been to direct funding toward researching methods of eliminating vampires, not treating them..."
One small consolation: he couldn't force the issue, not with that chip in his head. And she was more than a match for him. He wouldn't have her unless she gave herself to him. No! Never. He'd better have enjoyed that kiss, because that was all he was getting. Never again. Unless...