Kevin's Watch

I agree that selling the crew of Viable Dreams was the worst crime Angus commited. It was a combination of selling people to the Devil himself and a mass murder.

Let's not forget that Nick was also willing to sell people to the Amnion and would have done the same thing Angus had done if he had been given an opportunity to learn to edit datacores in exchange. So would Holt. Milos would have too.

Perhaps the difference between "good" and "bad" in this series rests in who would make this basic decision if given the opportunity. Morn wouldn't have done it. Hashi wouldn't have. And Nick's crew wouldn't have.

And not even Angus would make the same decision in the present as he had made in the past.

The way Nick's crew reacts to his selling of human beings compared to the way they act to the degradation of Morn is indicative of where their values are. It may just be a case of dealing with the devil you know, but I think it goes deeper than that. It also goes deeper than just realizing that they could be next.

In a series full of dark images and dark thoughts, none was darker than one man deciding to sell the humanity of others for personal gain.

Since we're looking at crimes mentioned within the story, and defined by our personal beliefs (as opposed to those in the story), here's my take:

First off, the long-term results of Angus' actions do not count. The intention is all that mattered.

Ciro--people intent on suicide tend to be dangerous to those around them. Angus knew the signs (he'd seen it in Morn most recently--TRS), and his earlier persona would have helped Ciro immediately. That he redirected Ciro toward a productive end was ruthless, but also insightful. Ciro was given a reasonable purpose, something he could grasp as an alternative to a pointless death.

You have to realize that in that situation, no one had time to help Ciro decide to live (other than by drugging and incarcerating him). His suicide can't be compared to those in our world.

Norna--that was mercy, and a big helping of therapy.

Morn--what he did to her cemented the self-loathing that began with her mother's death. The destruction of her soul in TRS was monstrous. As torture goes, I can't say that there is anything worse. Yet she did find a way to survive.

Viable Dreams and the miners--I place these together because there is little difference. Both were the end of their humanity. The only question is whether those turned into Amnion were aware of the violation afterward. SRD implied that they weren't. If they were somehow aware, the VD crew's selling and assimilation would rank far higher. As it is, the mutation was a kind of death. Heinous in itself.

For me, it comes down to a choice between quality (Morn) or quantity (VD). My opinion wavers.

I think it was what he did to Morn. First, the zone implant. Then, he made her his plaything against her will. How many deaths did she beg for throughout this ordeal? To die once is one thing, but to endure what she did is another. Sure, it's only one person affected, but to be made a marionette and be aware of all of it is worse than having been made a mutant. Being robbed of one's will that many times and having to live through it is far worse a crime.