Full Vessels by Brian Blose Page A

their presentations reeked of complaints.
Weariness of life informed my vote to die, but I generally approve
of the Creator’s work. I have no problem with the worlds
themselves. My only objection is to immortality.
    “I stopped being an effective Observer tens
of Iterations past. Making myself care grew into a labor beyond my
strength. When I started to seek out comfort instead of insight, I
became unfit for duty. It’s a simple case of wear and tear. I
imagine a torn O-ring appreciates the dignity of being retired and
replaced so that the host mechanism may continue.
    “Before my usefulness lapsed, I studied a
wide array of things. One in particular represents the soul of my
work. I approach every world as a battleground of ideologies.
Iteration one gave us primitive tribes. Iteration two showed us
communistic villages. The city-states of Iteration three surprised
everyone. Then the islands of four. Five introduced us to machines
and large-scale agriculture. Six had desert nomads. Seven was our
first diversely-featured world, featuring elements from every world
before it. Eight gave us the internet for the first time.
    “I could continue for hours. My point is that
each world presented something new, or a new combination of old
things. The interactions drew my attention. Every time two things
come into conflict, the potential for discovery exists. Sometimes
you can only learn about something through contrast with other
things.
    “How many of us loved the second Iteration
the first years? Its beauty lay in the contrast with the previous
world. Once the horrors of our past were more distant, we all came
to despise the monotony of life in villages where nothing serious
ever happened. The juxtaposition taught us more than the
experiences in isolation ever could.
    “The greatest conflict happens not within our
minds, but between the people of a world. All of you know I love
warfare. I've waxed poetic on many occasions about the contest of
wit, strength, endurance, determination, and skill. No doubt
everyone is tired of hearing about military strategy. Should that
not be the case, feel free to let me know later.”
    Ingrid almost smiled before resuming her
remarks. “Warfare remains my favorite form of contest to observe,
but all forms of cultural conflict provide valuable insights.
Possibly the most profound of these is the struggle between
cultures primarily practicing virtue ethics and cultures primarily
practicing consequentialist ethics.
    “For the benefit of anyone not familiar with
the terminology, virtue ethics emphasize individual character while
consequentialist systems hold that the ends justify the means. I
have a particular fondness for virtue ethics, but these systems are
less enduring than the alternatives. My eventual conclusion was
that virtues were too rigid. They couldn't adapt to innovations as
easily.
    “Of course, others would argue – probably
will, knowing Elza – that adhering to strict morals is a tactical
weakness. My counter is that the strategic advantage outweighs the
tactical disadvantage. Cultures with higher trust waste less
effort, which allows members of society to further cultivate their
better traits.
    “The problematic innovations are things like
sabotage, terrorism, and guerrilla warfare. The most effective
response to such distasteful methods is disproportionate
retribution, especially when the targets are innocent members of
the enemy population.
    “Thus, the best part of the people dies or is
abandoned in favor of the worst. There is a lesson there. Either
the people choose the wrong virtues. Or survival – of the person or
the ideal – isn't the ultimate good. Which took me entirely too
long to realize, considering the fact that I regularly witness the
end of universes.”
    Ingrid folded both hands on the table.
“That's all I have to present.”
    Kerzon leaned forward, face dead serious.
“I'm going to beat Drake to it. You're obviously afraid of
Elza.”
    Across the