Susana Reiviki: “I did. I assume you want to talk with me before everyone else arrives?”
Zephyr: “Ethics, as usual. You read the message from my old self. Do you think I should do it?”
Susana: “Our first contact with a sentient alien species, and we use them as indentured servants in exchange for… medicine? Not even that, but applying basic quarantine measures so that not all of them died. On the face of it, I have nothing against freeing Myjer.”
Zephyr: “On the face of it.”
Susana: “Well, there are a series of problems, some small, some large. I have answers for some of them, but not enough information for others.
Zephyr: “Tell me. That is why I wanted you here.”
Susana: “For one, Myjer is not consenting to leave the planet, normally we would be violating his free will, which isn’t very good. Of course, in this case, it isn’t his free will. Mind altering magic adds a whole new level of complexity. So your old self, Mr. Okoro, was able to guess at what Myjer’s will would have been, if he had been free, which is, I suppose, fair.”
Zephyr: “I think it is fair. You only suppose?”
Susana: “Remember the eloquence problem?”
Zephyr: “If someone has sufficiently eloquent rhetoric to be able to convince anyone to do anything, can those people be said to be choosing of their own free will?”
Susana: “I was thinking of advances in psychology and sociology being applied to advertisement and sales, but this case is a very reminiscent in the result: You have a person who wants or believes something for reasons other than free will.”
Zephyr: “They chose to agree to it.”
Susana: “If the alternative is dying, I think that counts as coercion.”
Zephyr: “Very well, but that is a minor objection.”
Susana: “Here are the three big ones, then: First, will putting Myjer in contact with his people lead to massive negative consequences for humanity? That is, will his people and their allies consider what happened to Myjer a provocation for war?
Zephyr: “I think there’s an answer to that.”
Susana: “Second, will helping Myjer attract the attention of his people’s enemies? They are at war, after all, and humanity might be sucked into that war. And, if they applaud the actions of the rest of humanity, as represented on the Telivoni system, that still does leave the crew of the ship in danger.”
Zephyr: “I was thinking that if the aliens on Telivoni are refugees from the war, their side can’t be winning the war, and would be unlikely to attack humanity. I suppose that does mean that the other side is winning the war. But would they attack us? I mean, we are doing a good deed, in the abstract. They might approve of that, even if they feel it necessary to stop us from bringing Myjer all the way there. I, for one, would rather ally with someone selfless and helpful than someone wholly self-interested.”
Susana: “I think Mr. Gestler would disagree with you on that. Still, there is no way to determine the disposition of either group of aliens at present, so I would consider it a possible risk.”
Zephyr: “Fair enough.”
Susana: “And the third major concern is whether flying onto a heavily guarded planet, kidnapping an unwilling alien who is one of the most valuable and guarded sentients on the planet, and then escaping is safe, or even sane. I don’t know the answer to that, but that’s what we have Mr. Gestler for, I suppose.”
Zephyr: “Speaking of which, here he comes, a little bit early.”
Susana: “I see. I’m going to go get a refreshment. I’ll be back by the start of the meeting.”
Zephyr: “You could try making friends with him, you know.”
Susana: “I don’t think Mr. Gestler makes friends. He makes assets.”
Zephyr: “I suppose that preempts my utility-based arguments for friendship, doesn’t it. Go make your tea.”
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