Chapter 16 - Trials
In the Wilderness the relationship we had with the Foreans, while tenuous, was relatively good. That seems to have weakened as I move from one area to the next. In the Palisades, where there are a variety of templates, they seem to trust us less.
They don’t like us invading their sacred areas and they don’t trust us to take the proper care when we do. I don’t necessarily blame them for this as we certainly have done our fair share of damage even with the best of intentions.
It took me a while to get this far but finally, after a great deal of doing some more menial tasks I was able to get access to one of these temples. I’m not sure I was actually prepared for what faced me inside.
The Eloh, or his image, at least, told me what the trial was, a choice. There was no right or wrong choice here, at least not exactly. I could choose to save one, and only one, of two people. On one side there was an old Forean who had done good things with his life. He was not as strong as he once was but he was a genuinely good person. On the other side was a young woman.
For her part she had done nothing evil, but she had also done nothing good. The choices she would make in the future would determine how she would be classified. Who do you save?
I thought for a while about what to do. Do I save someone great and sacrifice someone who isn’t? Or do I place my bets on the future choices of a person? These are the types of choices we are tasked with and yet there is no good choice. Every choice we make means someone else will suffer, and really what kind of choice is that?
Looking back I’m not sure I did the right thing. Why did I choose this person over that one? Was I really doing what I felt was morally and ethically right? Or did I do it to satisfy a less altruistic motive? I guess dwelling on those questions may very well be the point.
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