Punishment Sphere

It's not a flaw... how the AIs play faction leaders, and how you choose to play them, are not the same thing. Let's face it, most 4X players relish torturing their vanquished enemies! And if you really didn't want to torture anyone, you could (1) make them swear a pact to serve you, which implies you didn't do certain nasty things to their faction to begin with, or (2) let someone else kill them off.

I don't think I'd put it past any of the faction leaders to use punishment spheres. As had been stated before, they are all supposed to be extremist versions of their philosophy, and extremists of every stripe are willing to kill for their goals.

Even Lal, the peace-loving bureaucrat could be persuaded to torture or kill someone if it supported his chosen route to achieve his vision. Throughout history people have justified "killing for peace", as it were, numerous times.

It's worth noting that they are all extremist in the sense that they will whatever it takes to achieve their vision for the new world, not extremist in the sense that they are ultra-strict about their ideologies. (i.e., Even Morgan is probably against the buying and selling of humans, even Deidre might kill an ant, etc.)

these are not RPG's

Why wouldn't Miriam use punishment spheres? I have never heard of fundy christians that didn't think that crimes are not punished enough in our society. And it's usually fundies that wants to keep capital punishment. That's the mentality I've met in every fundy I know so please tell me why they would be so against punishment spheres?

stoferb said:

Why wouldn't Miriam use punishment spheres? I have never heard of fundy christians that didn't think that crimes are not punished enough in our society. And it's usually fundies that wants to keep capital punishment. That's the mentality I've met in every fundy I know so please tell me why they would be so against punishment spheres?

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Mirriam is misunderstood. Her writings in "We must dissent" suggest that is much opposed to people being controlled by technology. In some respects I can see Mirriam being opposed to capital punishment as it is God that is meant to sit in judgement, not man.

I'm just putting it out there

kittenOFchaos said:

Mirriam is misunderstood. Her writings in "We must dissent" suggest that is much opposed to people being controlled by technology. In some respects I can see Mirriam being opposed to capital punishment as it is God that is meant to sit in judgement, not man.

I'm just putting it out there

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But as always with fundies they are not actually "judging people" they are carrying out "the will of god" because their god ultimately and convineiently always happens to agree with them about everything, including how to punish people. Anything can be justified with the "will of god" even inconsistencies like a "prolife"-agenda and capital punishment.

Like all true fundies, Miriam is arrogant enough to presume to know the mind of god, and it would surprise nobody that her god happens to judge harshly everything she herself happens to dislike.

Hypocrisy and blind fanaticism is a facet of the human experience. Any ideology, and I mean ANY, when taken too far will go to strange depths and produce detrimental, evil and paradoxical consequences.

The Punishment Sphere as described may not be something Lal would use, but an ultra-fanatical and subverted peacekeeper could well end up using something with just the same end results in a very subtle and disguised form.

::EDIT:: Damnation, necromancy by accident. Was wondering what the PS was and google'd it at work.