HWalsh wrote:Killer Cyborg wrote:HWalsh wrote:Thus any CS civilian needs to be assumed to be a combatant, I mean heck, they could be a Psi-Bat using some kind of psychic disguise to appear as a child after all... Right?
THAT seems pretty unlikely.
Ectoplasmic disguise doesn't change height or other physical attributes in that kind of way, Psi-Bat doesn't seem to employ any 1st edition PFRPG Illusionists, and I can't think of any mind-scoobying powers that would easily or reliably pull off that kind of effect.
Most psionic powers along that line could easily be defeated by either a simple Mind Block or by having several people with decent to high savings throws all looking at the same person and communicating about what they see.
Ah... But Killer Cyborg, just like people defend the CS... Do the innocent mages and dbees know that? How do they know that the CS hasn't figured out a way to do it? Can they take that chance CK? Can they really? Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?
(Please tell me you see what I am doing here.
)
I do... but you're doing it poorly.
The fact of Rifts earth is that there really ARE countless human and inhuman beings who can shapechange into other forms and still pose an incredible danger. Many mages and many monsters can look like a child, or a cat, and hit you with mega-damage force the moment that your back is turned.
There IS some legitimate reason for the CS paranoia, especially considering that they are citizens specifically immersed in a society of intense and constant propaganda that both feeds and focuses this paranoia.
Most mages and d-bees don't grow up in a society that teaches them that it's likely for CS psychics to have that kind of power, or to use it that way, so it's not a reasonable behavior for most mages and d-bees to assume that a baby is a secret psychic powerhouse.
If you're looking for ways for d-bees or mages to morally justify killing CS babies, you're looking in the wrong direction, because it's an unreasonable direction.
All you really have to do is to consider:
-Many uneducated people might well believe that parental attitudes are inherited by the children. Remember, most mages and d-bees are NOT scientists, and will not grasp our current, modern, well-educated understanding of genetics and psychology.
So killing the baby is justifiable under the ignorant assumption that it will necessarily grow up to have the same toxic prejudices that its parents did, and that it will likewise seek to kill all D-Bees/Mages/Demons/Vampires/whatever.
-The legitimate fear about babies when it comes to CS psychics is that the baby itself might be a psychic: specifically a psi-stalker, psi-nullifier, or nega-psychic.
Any number of mages, d-bees, or magical/supernatural creatures might have some justification in believing that any one of these creatures is an inherent threat, given the very nature of those particular psychic mutations.
-Historically, there are only three things to do with the babies of defeated enemies.
1. Raise them in your own tribe/nation/clan/whatever as one of your own.But not all d-bees/mages have that kind of time or parental ability. If you're a mage or dragon who has single-handedly slaughtered a CS town/village, leaving dozens or hundreds of children orphaned, it's simply NOT possible for you to implement this option.
Moreover, this option allows for the possibility that the child will one day learn of its heritage, and will seek revenge. The more children this option is used for, the more such revenge-seekers there will be, and ultimately the results could be continuing this war into the next generation instead of ending it for once and for all.
2. Abandon them.Ever wonder why so many old stories (Hansel & Gretal, Moses, Oedipus, Romuls & Remus, etc.) deal with parents abandoning children in the wilderness?
It's because this used to be THE standard of behavior if parents couldn't bring up a child. The idea was generally that it's wrong to murder a child, but not so bad to give it a fighting chance by leaving it in the wilderness where the gods will either provide for it or not. Who knows? Maybe it'll be eaten by wolves, or maybe it'll be raised by wolves. Either way, it's not YOUR fault.
Or so the thinking went.
I don't know of any specific stories of children being abandoned by its parents' killer(s) during a war, but it's hard to imagine that it wasn't done.
This has the same downside of potential revenge-seeking as the first option, though, and of continuing the war to the next generation. Also, if the baby is a psi-stalker, and it survives...
3. Give Them Away.The old "basket on the doorstep" trick. Only with a lot more baskets on a lot more doorsteps.
Pretty much the same as 1 & 2 above if you don't ask first.
Even if you find people who want to raise CS babies, the problems of revenge-seeking and such still all exist.
4. Just put them out of their misery.The only real way to ensure that the children of your slain enemies don't later seek revenge against you and yours is to kill them.
It's also (insofar as many ignorant d-bees & mages know) the only way to end the cycle of aggressive prejudice of the CS, to stop the children from growing up with the same powers and attitudes that threaten the planet.
It's more human than leaving them to starve on a mountainside. It's often more human than dumping them with somebody of completely unknown character. It's far more practical when dealing with masses of orphans left over after a war.
It's not necessarily What Jesus Would Do, but it most certainly is What Moses Would Do.
It is historically the standard of behavior for most of history, especially when the ones trying to deal with the problem of the orphans don't have the time, energy, infrastructure, etc. to raise and provide for the children themselves.
5. Eat them, because human babies are tasty.Keep in mind, when you're dealing with D-Bees, you're often dealing with inhuman creatures that do not see humans as equals. Many even see humans as a food source.
Even leaving aside outright demonic and monstrous races like the Brodkil and such, there are plenty of inhuman races out there like the Simvan, orcs, ogres, trolls, etc. etc. who have absolutely zero moral qualms about eating other sapients, including humans.
So for many races out there, the orphans of war aren't a moral issue; they're a snack.