Nathan sat in a room filled with screens and all sorts of fancy gadgets which Coran had set up for him to use.
He was given a simple set of instructions.
"Figure out whether these people's lives are worth anything."
Coran explained to Nathan the little game he had set up, and had even gathered five of the children in the room underneath the containment unit, 'trapping' them.
Nathan was actually in a room right next to those children. If he exited this room on one side, he would be with them. If he exited on the other side, he would be back at the campfire where the others were.
The children were of course, not in any actual danger.
Nathan would never consider killing off the other children, but he would pretend to do so in order to test these people.
He wanted to learn the truth.
Was anyone here actually willing to sacrifice themselves and the others to save all 5 children?
Or would they selfishly cling to their own lives, saving themselves and whoever else they considered to be worth the most?
Nathan started the timer and prepared himself to watch and listen as the five men inside the room put forth their own cases as to why they should be selected as the representative.
Nathan had considered implying the condition of not being allowed to say who you would save if you were selected as the representative, but he decided not to.
Why?
Because it would be more interesting- and give him more insight on the people he was testing- if he allowed them to say what they would do.
The vote had to be unanimous.
Every person had to collectively agree on the representative that would hold the lives of ten people in their hands.
With this being the case, the easiest way to get everyone to vote for you would be by saying that you would vote to have all 5 voters saved, and the 5 orphans killed.
However, could anyone really trust someone else to make that decision?
Would anyone be willing to put their own lives in the hands of another?
Nathan would not. And he didn't believe for a second that any of these scumbags would either.
They would all vote for themselves, and thus the outcome would be continued debate.
However, Nathan had no intention to allow an endless stalemate to occur.
He had other plans.
He wanted to see into the hearts of each person, and he knew exactly how to do this.
Would anyone here be willing to sacrifice themselves? Or would they all cling to their own lives, throwing away the lives of others at the drop of a hat?
Only time would tell.
----
"I think this goes without saying, but it should obviously be me."
All 5 of the men in the room said these words simultaneously, followed by irritated glares and spiteful expressions.
"Just what could you all possibly mean? Is it not obvious that as the aide to the Senator himself, I know more about the leadership of people than anyone in this group?", Hamilton argued.
"That's where you're wrong, Hamilton.", Zachary responded. "Right now, we're in the lair of a monster. We're in the midst of a battle. It's the duty of a soldier to take charge in this situation. You can play at your politics when you're safe at home, but right now we need a warrior to lead."
"Just wait a moment.", Klipner interrupted. "How can we trust you as the leader? It isn't uncommon for guards to neglect their duties, or to give into bribes and corruption. Are you saying we should entrust our lives and what happens to us to someone who might have been bought off?"
"It would take one to know one.", Lorenzo commented with a sneer.
Klipner took offense to this.
"Why you! Are you suggesting that I would resort to such low actions such as bribery!? You're nothing more than a heretical magic practitioner! You have no say here!"
"Oh, is that so? But don't forget gentlemen.... if my experiments are successful, then I can make every person here richer than their wildest dreams. Whatever you seek, whether it's money, power, fighting prowess, territory.... if you all vote for me, then I will make sure this happens."
Leonardo looked at Lorenzo with a complete face of distrust.
"There's no way we can trust someone like you with that responsibility. Rather, as a commoner I think that I am the most trustworthy person among us. That noble will try to save himself, and the merchant and the guard might have other motives. Not to even mention the lies of the heretic. I think the choice here is obvious. I have no reason to save the children. If you all choose me, then I will be sure to save you all. We can walk away like this never happened, pretending that they were already dead when we came here."
The men were disturbed at hearing this, and offended at his words, but the proposal was true enough, and something to consider.
"Hm.... perhaps he has a point here.... alright then. Why don't we make an agreement then."
Klipner looked down to the children.
"It saddens me to have to cut them off.... but they are nothing more than liabilities at this point. We came here to save them, but things have already gone sour, and right now we should be focusing on making it out of here while minimizing our losses. What do you say we agree that regardless of which person is chosen, that we select for the five of us to be the ones to escape?"
"While that is a very inelegant solution.... I will have to agree. Those orphans don't hold as much worth as the five of us, no matter which way you look at it.", Hamilton noted.
"Yep.... they are just children without parents. Even if they die, nobody will miss them.", Lorenzo commented.
Zachary cringed at these statements.
He bit his lip.
He wanted to save the orphans at first, but he was being quickly driven into a corner here.
If he didn't agree, he wouldn't even be able to save himself.
"Alright. Fine. I will save the four of you should you pick me."
"Alright. Now that we've agreed on that....", Leonardo stated. "I think it's time to discuss who should actually be the one to select it. I suppose we should start with who shouldn't be the one."
"Of course, we cannot allow the heretic to make the decision! Who knows what crazy hidden agendas he may have!", Hamilton shouted.
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Lorenzo shot Hamilton an annoyed glance, but the other men agreed, looking at Lorenzo suspiciously.
"We can't allow you to decide our fates", Zachary said.
Lorenzo seemed irritated, but shrugged his shoulders defiantly.
"Fine then. Do what you want."
"We shouldn't let the merchant either.", Zachary suggested. "Who knows what sorts of profits he may be making if he saves the children. Even if he saves us.... the best he could do is make some useful contacts. But lets be honest. If he kills the four of us, is there anything he loses?? No! But what does he gain!? Publicity. The prestige of having saved four children from the den of the monster. If he is an opportunist, then of course he would swoop in on that chance the moment he gets it."
Klipner too seemed to get angry at this.
"You run your mouth as if you know me! I would never go back on my word as a businessman! Everyone, please trust in me! I will surely save you all!!"
Hamilton averted his eyes, not looking at Klipner, and Leonardo did the same. Lorenzo merely smirked at him.
"Everyone!!! Please, just trust me on this!!!"
"We can't trust you. I am the most trustworthy person here.", Leonardo said. "If you're so intent on other people trusting in you, then why don't YOU trust in someone else?"
"Thats...."
Klipner too now looked away.
"That's easier said than done...."
"Isn't it?"
The one who spoke was the voice of the child on the intercom.
"It sure is difficult to put your life in the hands of another. 1 minute left!!"
"Everyone!! You must put your faith in me!!! As a noble, it is my duty to care for my people!! What will happen to the prestige of the Senator if it becomes known that I let you four die, and went back on my word!? I would be ruined!!! There is no way I could betray you all!", Hamilton pleaded.
"And what would happen to the prestige of the Senator if it were to get out that you sacrificed the lives of 5 orphans to save yourself and the people in your group? It goes both ways.", Leonardo pointed out.
"GRR!"
"See, you have ample reason not to save us. We can't trust this guy."
"We can't trust you either! You've been pointing out the flaws of everyone else, but I'm sure you have some selfish reason for doing so! Don't you all agree?", Hamilton pleaded.
"Yes, I think that might be the case.", Klipner agreed.
"It could be....", Zachary stated.
"Which is why you should all simply trust me, but no.... I'm a 'heretic' apparently. I think your prejudices are getting in the way of your judgement. How about this? Promise me money when you get out. If you do that, then I'll have perfect reason to free you all! Sure, you'll have to give up a little bit, but it would be a small sum for your lives!", Lorenzo shouted.
"No, he's lying! Trust in me, and I will save you all!"
"No, me!"
"No, me!"
"No, me!!"
The five men got into a heated feud, glaring and yelling at one another. At this point, things only delved into chaos, to the point where the men were about to get into a physical fight. However, just before things got to that point, the voice on the speaker rang out.
"My oh my.... such disagreement and selfishness. An inability to come to a solution.... I think it is all but guaranteed that you all will be here for quite a while if you continue to argue like this. You'll never get anywhere if you don't trust someone else. Well, it's voting time! Each man head for a booth."
The men all looked at each other angrily, stomping away into their respective stalls.
They all looked at each other to confirm the number on the stall which each man went into before entering.
They shut the airtight and soundproof doors, and inside the booth, they saw a dashboard with a list of options- 1 through 5.
"Now, go ahead gentlemen. Select which person you wish to decide your fates."
----
Having stepped into the first booth, Klipner didn't hesitate to press number 1 in a fury of rage.
'Those idiots.... it looks like I will have to spend some time convincing them to allow me to decide for them. What can I offer to them in exchange? Well, I can't offer them the profits from my business. Even if I were to do so, that magic user offered the same thing, and nobody budged. He also offered the opposite just now.... for everyone to pay him when he got out, but of course there is no way that would work! Even if everyone agreed, he had no reason to keep his promise and actually free us. Well, I suppose if he were to get paid by doing so then he would, but that would go for anyone! And it's not like we would just agree to pay him so easily! Sure, if we selected him and all made it out that would be great, but WE were the ones who were risking something, so shouldn't he be the one paying us instead?? That offer just doesn't make sense. There's no good solution. If he claims that he'll pay us, we can't trust him, but if we offer to pay him, then WE lose money, and WE'RE the ones who take the risk!!! It's our loss no matter what happens!'
A few moments passed, and then Klipner heard the voice of the child in the speaker.
"Congratulations! It looks like all the others unanimously selected you as the representative! Now then.... the screens should have changed to show numbers 1 through 10. Select which 5 people you wish to go free. Of course, 1-5 are the people you came in with, whereas 6-10 are the orphans. Choose wisely."
Klipner could not believe what he was hearing.
He turned around and tried to open the handle to the door, but it was locked.
"Please select who to free. The doors of those people will be unlocked."
'Am I dreaming?? How could this have happened?? Did they all have a change of heart at the last moment, and decided to trust in me!? HAAHAH!!!! Those idiots!!!! I can't believe this!!!! Wait, wait.... ok well, first of all, of course I have to save myself.'
Klipner immediately selected number 1.
Now, which other ones would he select before he pressed submit?
He at first would have only selected the orphans, in order to maximize his reward, but was there any reason to save any of the other men?
Perhaps if he saved that butler, he could get a good word in with the Senator, and have his business further promoted?
Which was worth more? The reward for saving a single child, or the influence that he would gain by saving that man's life?
Actually, Klipner didn't even need to think about this.
It was a no brainer.
That butler was arrogant, and only saw people as peasants and nobles.
Even if he was saved, he would surely say something like 'Oh, it was an obvious course of action for you to save me.'
The others of course, had no worth in saving in the first place.
Klipner decided on his answer.
He selected 6-9.
"Sorry, last child. Looks like you're going to die off today. After all, my life is more precious than yours."
Klipner didn't hesitate, and pressed the submit button.
"You barely even took a moment to save yourself. You saved all the orphans, but what is the reason for that? Ah, I think I know. You plan on bringing them back to that woman for a reward, isn't it? Sorry, but that was the wrong answer!!"
"Eh? What? What's going on!?"
Suddenly, a tube seemed to extend into the room.
"What is that thing?"
The tube began spewing a purple gas.
Klipner watched in horror as the gas settled down.
"Is this?? Is this poison!!??? AGH!!!!"
His face turned purple as he breathed the gas in, and his mouth began to foam. His eyes bulged and his skin became inflamed with boils, and he fell dead to the ground in an instant.
That was the last which was seen of Klipner.
His own greed led him to his death.
He would no longer be able to make any more sales.
Even with the vast amount of gold he had saved, he would not be able to purchase his own life.
----
Hamilton was displeased with how the discussions went.
It should have been obvious to the others that the one who worked in a noble house should be at the head making the decisions, especially when matters pertained to people.
Sure, that guard may have gone on about this being a battle, but even so, if it had to do with people, it was within the realm of politicians.
Wars were decided not by the soldiers, but by those who were at the helm of the country, no?
As such, it was the duty of political figures to make these types of decisions. The soldiers needed only to sit back and do as they were told.
Hamilton entered the room, and saw the list of options.
1-5.
He of course, picked his own number, 2.
'There is no way I could allow someone else to take this important decision into their own hands. I will debate and debate hundreds of times if I need to, until those peasants get it into their heads that I am worth more than them!!'
A few moments passed.
"Congratulations! It looks like all the others unanimously selected you as the representative! Now then.... the screens should have changed to show numbers 1 through 10. Select which 5 people you wish to go free. Of course, 1-5 are the people you came in with, whereas 6-10 are the orphans. Choose wisely."
'Eh? What?'
Hamilton looked around in surprise.
He had picked his own number, so even if this broadcast was heard by all members, then it could only be him which it was referring to.
'Could it be? Those fools finally recognized at the last moment, my greatness as a noble? Haha! Delightful!'
Hamilton quickly considered his options.
'Let's see.... of course I will have to save myself, but who else? Not that heretic, and not the merchant, and certainly not the guard. Ah, and not the barowner either. They were all so quick to insult me, so even if they voted for me at the last moment, this is merely the fate they deserve. Not to mention, even if those fools die, I can still save four children, and the Senator's popularity will spike after it becomes known that I performed such a heroic action, despite diving into this lair of death where many died.'
Hamilton selected the number 2, and four of the children to save.
"I see.... first to select yourself, eh? Let me guess, those peasants aren't worth saving, And the orphans are just a means to gain publicity? Hmm.... I don't particularly like that answer. If you saved 5 orphans, then it would have shown a true act of self sacrifice and compassion, but 4 and yourself? Really? Pathetic. Off to the chopping block for you.'
The poison tube extended from one of the slits near the top of the small room.
"Eh? What's going on?"
Hamilton grabbed the door, and tried shaking the handle, but it refused to open.
"EH!? SOMEBODY!! LET ME OUT!!! I WON, DIDN'T I?? YOU CHEATER!!!! I WON!!!! AND NOW YOU REFUSE TO ABIDE BY THE RULES OF YOUR OWN GAME!??!?!?!"
"Oh be quiet. Do you want to tell me about laws and rules after your Senator allowed that woman to do as she pleased for the sake of profit? Give me a break. There were never any rules in the first place."
The poison filled the room, and only a few last croaks were heard before the body dropped to the floor.
Hamilton would never again serve his master a glass of wine, nor would he ever be able to clean the stain on his soul.