Title: Trolley Problem
Summary: Inaction is still an action in of itself.
Character: Luxion Leon
"Master, if you are so concerned about the Principality, why have you not neutralized them yet?" I queried.
"For the last time, I'm not particularly fond of the idea of revealing you to the world. If you become known and by destroying a nation, people will target me either out of fear or greed. Then you'll have to get involved, and more people will die. I know you would love to kill New Humans, but I'm not mentally equipped to murder people."
"I could always do it stealthily. If the Principality's trump card is the flute, I could always place a substitute with a coating of ricin."
It was a relatively simple task since the New Humans seemed to have lost the ability to see past my cloaking technology. Finding the flute should also be easy since it was a lost artifact of the New Humans. It was bound to be brimming with magical energy.
The main time consuming aspect of this endeavor would be the back and forth necessary to scan and model the flute. That and convincing Master to allow me to act.
"Ricin?"
And the main crux of the issue was asked.
"I thought the implication was obvious. It is a fatal poison when ingested. When the princess tries to use the flute, her fate will be sealed. What's more, the New Humans will believe her death to be due to being the price of the weapon or because her soul was insufficient."
"We are not poisoning the princess of the Principality! I want to avoid killing people!"
"And I am offering you options to do so."
"You just offered to off the princess!"
Did Master not understand that the death of one, or however many warmongers, would reduce the death toll greatly? Or was his perception of right or wrong based on emotion alone? It might be best to further analyze.
"... Are you familiar with the trolley problem?"
"The problem about there being sets of people on two rails with the default rail holding more people?"
"That is the classical example. I was wondering how you would respond to the problem."
"No, no, no! I know what you are trying to do, and I'll have no part in this discussion!"
"You may not wish to take part in the discussion, but the fact of the matter is that your situation is best described by the conundrum. But assuming your actions are any indication of your choice, then would it be right to assume that you care not for how many people will die so long as your hand remains clean?"
"No! I don't want people dying at all!"
"You don't have that option. In light of this fact, the closest moral approximation of your aim should be to avoid death, which does not align with your actions. Have you not consigned countless men and women to death by not acting? If your delusions are to be believed, you know a war will come and the deaths that will inevitably be brought forth by such an event. You also know why the Principality believes it has the military might to challenge the Kingdom. You could save many lives by cutting the head off the snake. You need only end the life of one girl. One girl who would die anyways."
"Her dying will not guarantee that the war never occurs. As much as she is the face of the Principality, she is just one person."
"Then we remove the next largest threat or most influential warmonger."
"That's a long list, Luxion."
"It is a much shorter list than what war would cause."
"..."
"Master?"
"What would you do?"
"I am an AI designed to best support Old Humans."
"And that would be by getting rid of all the New Humans?"
"No."
"No? Half our conversations revolve around me stopping you from committing genocide."
"... I'll admit that seeing New Humanity disappear would bring me satisfaction, but their complete eradication is not my primary directive. Supporting Old Humanity is. You are the last known individual. It is my duty to ensure you survive and prosper."
"Then why do you constantly argue with me on this matter. If your duty is to serve me, why do you constantly ask for permission to kill people? You must know I can't stand the idea."
"Because all of New Humanity is a threat to you. Even amongst your immediate family, there are a few who are hostile to you. They've given me little reason to spare anyone. But if you desire to minimize death, then I will act with those parameters. That is why I am confused as to why you won't let me remove Fanoss's princess. From a numerical perspective, it is the correct choice. Sparing her now doesn't even come with the benefit of her survival. She will die whether Fanoss or Holfort wins."
"... Do you believe I am doing the wrong thing by not wanting to kill?"
"... I believe you are acting in a way that aligns with your understanding of morality, in which any action leading to death is morally reprehensible. There is no definitively right or wrong answer in regards to that. However, unless you believe inaction resolves you of any responsibility to the situation, you are making a logically flawed decision. Inaction is still action when you are capable of acting. By allowing events to unfold with the information you have, you become a murderer of thousands instead of dozens at most."
"So I'm a murderer either way."
"It is the situation you have been presented. It is unfair that you must make this decision, but that is simply the state of affairs. It is human to be reluctant to act in such a situation, but you must make a definitive choice corresponding to your moral code. Then, you can at least state that you did what you could."
"And I already made the choice by choosing not to end the girl."
"... Did you make the choice or were you running away?"
"..."
"Now that you have heard all the implications of your decision, I will ask for confirmation once again. Shall I execute the princess?"
"... Do it."
"I have confirmed the princess of Fanoss died two days ago," I dutifully reported. I made no mention that there had been two princesses or two flutes. Master would not have enjoyed hearing that he was the cause of death for two girls his age.
"And the flute?"
"The real artifact has been examined and destroyed. The replica was handed around by a few officials, all of whom were confirmed Warhawks. They have all attempted to activate the flute and fallen ill as well. Once the last of them dies, I shall destroy the replica to prevent further loss of life. The Principality will believe the flute malfunctioned."
It was unnecessary in terms of sparing lives. They already suspected the flutes had caused the bouts of sickness. No one would be touching them, but it would be best to remove the evidence in case someone found a way to discern the authenticity without having to touch the flutes.
It would also serve to reduce Master's anxieties.
"So that's the end of it?"
"No. During my stay in the Principality, I learned that the King and Queen of the Principality were advocates for making peace. They were murdered and the Black Knight allowed it to occur. From what I could tell from his mourning, he has nothing else to live for aside from seeing the Kingdom burn. As a major face of the Principality, it is my belief that he will be able to rally the troops to push for war even though he has no chance of winning."
"So in the end, we would have to exterminate the military. So much for reducing casualties," Master muttered with a gloom expression.
Even though he knew having one side decimated versus two sides engaging in a war was numerically better, his conscience made the decision difficult for him. Before it had been dozens weighed against tens of thousands. It was several orders of magnitude different. Now it was comparable.
I could easily arrange the scenario again with the new information I learned in the Principality.
"There is a way to stop the war by only removing a few key military personnel."
"And what do you propose?"
"Air out the truth. Utilize the destruction of the flute to create a story that the recent deaths after the princess were caused by the spirits of the King and Queen. Paint a story in which the deceased seek revenge for allowing their line to end for a pointless war. Reveal the duplicity of the Black Knight and those involved, and no one will push for a war with the Kingdom."
"..."
He would accept my reasoning. It logically made sense to sacrifice to few for the many.
And as more of these scenarios came up, the more unaffected he would become.
And more scenarios would come up.
AN:
1) Given how overwhelmingly advanced Luxion is, he could easily resolve conflicts before they become conflicts without kicking up a fuss. He has shown to have unmatched stealth capabilities that were only detected by Ann or Ideal, and he has synthesizers. Basically, Luxion is so bafflingly powerful that using him properly would pretty much kill any story tension. The only thing that stops him in the story is literally the thing that ends Old Humanity.
2) This was a pretty short snippet since it revolved around developing two characters based on a moral dilemma instead of trying to craft a story.