Take a Third Option: Difference between revisions
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* There is a Russian folk story of an old man sentenced to death by Czar. The Czar grants him one wish. The man says: "Give me five years and if I manage to teach a horse to speak, let me free". Some of his friends protest and say he should have gone to death proudly while some say he should have pleaded mercy from Czar. The man replies: "See, I am an old man, and within five years a lot of things may happen. I may die, the horse may die or the Czar may die. And there is always the chance that the horse will learn to speak."
* In [[The Bible]] Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgement. One of the women said that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other. After some thought, King Solomon called for a sword to be given to him. He declared that there is only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. {{spoiler|Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Please, My Lord, give her the live child—do not kill him!" However, the liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!" Solomon instantly gave the live baby to the real mother, realizing that the true mother's instincts were to protect her child, while the liar revealed that she did not truly love the child.}}
* There is a tale whose name I can't recall right now about an evil spirit and a small peasant village. One year during their harvest celebration, a visiting traveler revealed itself to be said evil spirit and chose to play its favorite game -- pick the most ostracized/unliked person in town and tell them that they get to pick one person attending the celebration for them to kill, and that if they refuse to pick it will curse the village so that nothing ever grows again. Due to its nature, the spirit is bound to keep this bargain once struck. The intent is to force a [[Sadistic Choice]]: either the victim chooses one of the many people they have a grudge against and enjoy a momentary vengeance, followed up by their death or exile at the hands of everyone else left behind, or else they choose to sacrifice themselves to save everyone else, leaving behind an entire village either of ungrateful bastards or people newly remorseful that they owe their lives to someone they've always mistreated. Either way, the spirit gets to sow misery and chaos. Unfortunately, this year it selected a village whose designated chooser of the slain was particularly intelligent, and they point out a simple fact the spirit overlooked: the evil spirit is also attending the harvest celebration and by the [[Exact Words]] of its bargain, can be compelled to kill itself.
== Radio ==
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