Rose gave a huge yawn as she awoke, turning over to find her wife snoozing peacefully beside her. She snuggled up closer to Lia, and was about to go back to sleep when she realized that the bed wasn’t their bed at home, it was much softer and far more comfortable. Right, she had just planted her other body, and had collapsed out of exhaustion. Begrudgingly, she got up, feeling the odd sensation of her feet impacting her own body as she touched the floor.
Yeah, that had to go. She could vaguely feel the other parts of herself, people milling about, the wind on her trunk, the sun shining down on her leaves…it was distracting. Fortunately, blocking those sensations from her consciousness was as simple as closing her eyes, and she was, blessedly, back to only having her main body’s senses.
Even so, her connection to her tree-body was as strong as ever. Out of curiosity, she tried to form a simple chair out of her wood, and marveled as it obediently rose out of the floor, taking only a small amount of her Mana in her process. She admired it for a moment, then removed it, and stealthily began to make her way towards the door, very carefully trying to avoid waking her sleeping wife.
As she walked, though, she realized a paper was stuck to the door, one which read “wake me up when you get up”. So, Rose obediently returned to her bed, and began to gently shake her wife awake.
Lia woke quickly, smiling in relief as she saw Rose’s face. “Oh thank goodness.” She said. “I was getting worried, but since you took us to this bed, I figured you were probably fine? What happened?”
Rose began to think back to what had happened after she had planted the seed of…herself? And, as she thought back, she relayed her experiences to Lia, who listened patiently until the end.
“I see.” Lia said. “Amelia did check out some of the tree while you were asleep, made sure everyone was safe, scoped out our location, but we didn’t take too deep a look into anything. We wanted to make sure you were okay, first.”
“Did you figure out where we are?” Rose asked. “I couldn’t see much outside my trunk, but I’m pretty sure we’re not in a dungeon anymore.”
“We’re not.” Lia said. “We’re right on top of where the portal used to be, but the area has turned into a valley of sorts so the top of the tree…err, your body, is as high as the mountains nearby. There are a few steep paths out into the Spine proper dotted around, so we’re not totally cut off, but…yeah, your body is that giant beacon showing our position I was sort of afraid of, but hopefully we can handle whatever comes looking for us.”
“Let’s just call my tree body Yggdrios.” Rose said. “It’ll be less confusing that way, and it’s not like I’m particularly attached to the tree or anything.”
“You sure?” Lia said doubtfully. “The way you’ve been talking about it, it seems like another arm or something, and I’d feel weird giving my arm a name. We can just call it “your tree” or something.”
Rose paused, thinking on that. Lia had a point; Rose wouldn’t have suggested the name if the system hadn’t stated that her tree was called that, but…she didn’t really have to listen to the system for everything, did she? “Yeah, you’re right.” Rose said. “If it becomes a problem we can revisit it, but ‘your tree’ works just as well for now.
“But, back on topic, I’m sure we’ll be capable enough if any monsters come knocking. Between our more capable fighters, we could probably handle any one threat. And…speaking of capable fighters, have you started Yamamoto’s conversion yet?”
“No.” Lia said, shaking her head. “We didn’t want to try and cut any branches or anything in case it would hurt you.”
“That’s sweet, but it’s fine.” Rose said, conjuring a flowery spear and forcing it into the wall. “See? Perfectly okay, no pain whatsoever. I don’t think my tree can feel pain.” She withdrew her spear and healed the wall back up before growing a branch out of the floor and snapping it off.
“Here you go.” She said, putting the branch in a cocoon and handing it to Lia. “I’m guessing we don’t want to convert him here, right?”
Lia accepted the cocoon, placing it into her dimensional storage. “Yeah. I was planning to find Meg and Neph and have them watch over him until he finished converting. Want to go give him to them and then check on everyone else, maybe let them know that we’re dating Amelia now?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Rose replied.
Ichiro woke with a start, heaving a sigh of relief as she realized that she had simply been having a bad dream. After all, there was no way she would lose to the Queen, and the idea of someone being able to steal a spell as powerful as Garden of the World Tree was ludicrous. It was –
Ichiro froze. She…she had just thought of Lia as “the Queen”, and was thinking of herself as a woman. It had felt so natural, so right that she hadn’t even questioned it. Shaking slightly, she looked down and found that she was…different.
Aside from the obvious fact that she was now a woman, her skin tone had changed dramatically, moving from a somewhat pale hue to a deep tan, as if she had spent her entire life working in the sun. She was wearing a traditional shrine maiden’s outfit, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why she was wearing one.
Hesitantly, she opened her status.
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Name: Yamamoto Ichiro |
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Race: Priestess of the World Tree/Acolyte of Yggdrios/Rootborn Defender/Otherworldly Invader (Cait Sith) |
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Level: 1/50, 0/1,000 EXP |
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HP: 1,500/1,500 |
Stamina: 1,5000/1,5000 |
Mana: 3,000/3,000 |
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Strength: 100 |
Defense: 500 |
Dexterity: 300 |
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Magic:750 |
Magic Defense: 500 |
Mental Fortitude: 750 |
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Title: Chosen of the Goddess of Commerce (Sealed) |
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You have been Blessed by the Goddess of Commerce, granting you the ability to determine the worth of anything you look at. The effects of this Title are currently sealed, and cannot be used until the Goddess of Commerce lifts the seal. |
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Titles: |
Skills: |
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Ichiro frowned. She had clearly become part of the swarm, but why had Connie withdrawn her Blessing? She had said that they could work something out when Ichiro had joined the swarm, so becoming a member of the swarm wasn’t the reason, so…why?
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Because I wanted to talk with you first before you did anything. |
Is this about that deal you mentioned?
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Sort of? I just need to get a feel for things before I let my Blessings go back into effect. |
Ichiro’s frown deepened. What kind of things?
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First off: you’re a woman now. How does that make you feel? Instant responses please, don’t even take a moment to think about it. I need your raw, unfiltered feelings. |
It’s better than being a man. Ichiro replied, eyes widening as she said it. She…she really did feel that way; even the thought of becoming male again was off-putting.
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Good, good. Have you thought about a new name for yourself? You can take time on this one, since it’ll affect you going forward. I just wanted to give you the opportunity now since I figured you don’t want a man’s name anymore. |
I don’t. Ichiro confirmed. Um…She thought on that for a few minutes, then came to a decision. I think I like Izumi. She said.
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It’s nice. You might want to tell Lia that it’s your given name, though; everyone in the swarm thinks your given name is Yamamoto. Speaking of Lia, how do you feel about her? |
The Queen? She’s the rightful ruler of the world, of course. Izumi froze once again as she said that. It…it was true. The mere notion of anyone else being in charge seemed ridiculous, as ridiculous as putting a rock in charge would be.
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That checks out. Finally, what are your thoughts on the swarm now, and about conversion in general? Do you still think it’s an abomination? |
I…probably not. I mean…I’ve yet to see much of the swarm, but based off of what you and the Queen have told me, it truly is better for people, and there’s no reason for either of you to lie to me. But…I’ll have to reserve my judgement, I think.
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Fair enough. Alright, one last thing before I let you loose – you’re not a Hero anymore. Amelia transferred your power to Rose, Lia’s wife. You get to keep your Blessings, and we even adapted one, so you have four races instead of four Jobs. You just don’t have the base stat increase from being a Hero, or any of the Hero-specific Skills you got. |
Is that…possible? Izumi asked. You can’t make a new Hero, or remove someone’s Hero status, only the gods can do that.
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Amelia’s abilities are almost godlike; she has the capability to alter the system itself, and though we have restricted that, an exception was made in this case. Rose was formerly a Hero, one who united the world and worked tirelessly for its betterment. As an apology for some of the more…cruel things her position forced upon her, we have returned much of her ability, as well as some extra. Don’t worry about the power being misused – she is a very good person, and likely the most fit for Hero abilities of anyone in the swarm, even you. |
Izumi didn’t feel nearly as offended by that as she might have before. I…see. Well, stats are just stats, I’m sure I can make up for them in other ways.
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That’s the spirit. I’m unsealing your Blessings now, so go get out there and see what life is really like in the swarm. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. |
Thank you, Connie. Izumi said. Waving away a notification informing her that her Blessings had been unsealed, she got out of bed, moving in her shrine maiden outfit as naturally as if she had been born in it.
She opened the door to her room, walking out into the hall and turning towards what she assumed was the living room. Upon entering, she was greeted with the sight of Meg sitting on a couch, reading a book. She was much…calmer looking than she had been during their fight, though; she no longer glowed from within, and the color of her hair was no longer changing as frequently as it used to, the oranges and reds moving only slightly.
“Oh, Yamamoto, you’re awake.” Meg said, looking up at Izumi. “Have you calmed down yet?”
“I…” Izumi floundered, not sure what to say. “I’m not freaking out over everything, if that helps? I want to see everything for myself first, but it’s…probably fine?”
“Good enough.” Meg said, said, closing her book and standing up. “Let me go give you the tour, and then we need to go find the Queen. She’s going to get in touch with my father and see if we can negotiate passage for me back to the Glens.”
“You’re going to be a spy?” Izumi asked, walking over to her. “Will that…work?”
“Not a spy.” Meg said, leading Izumi over to the front door of the house. “Just as his daughter. I probably won’t be able to convert anyone unless they ask me, and I might not even be able to talk about how good life is here, but that’s fine. I just…the thought of potentially being at war with Dad is sad. At least this way, he’ll be able to see that I really am still his daughter, just…stronger.”
They exited the house, stepping out into what seemed to be an entire city made of wood, the substance making up the floor, the buildings, and even a roof over their heads, evenly lit by some strange glow. Izumi would have assumed they were underground were it not for the fact that she could see the sky through windows at the end of the street, something which left her utterly stumped.
“Where…are we?”
“We’re inside Yggdrios, the World Tree.” Meg said. “After your power was transferred, Rose became the World Tree itself, changing the name to be both hers and the Queen’s. She still has her humanoid body, of course, just…this too. It was quite the shock when she planted the seed; it grew and grew and consumed the entire dungeon we were in, then made this city for us and put us here.”
“How…how do you guys get food or water?” Izumi asked. “Do you have to bring it in from the outside? That seems really inconvenient.”
“We have tools that Amelia built that dispense food, and all the plumbing still works fine, so water isn’t an issue. And if the dispensers ever become unable to keep up with demand, we have a farm in the level below this one. It seems they’re growing way faster than they used to as well; it’s only been half a day or so, but the seeds look like they’ve had a couple weeks of growth in that time.”
“And that’s just…free for everyone?”
“Yes. The basic necessities are considered to be fundamental rights, and no one has to pay for them. The only things people will have to pay for will be luxuries, like art or games.”
As they walked, they came across a group of little girls, playing in the street. They were laughing and smiling, looking for all the world like they were having the time of their lives, all while their mothers watched from the sides.
“Um…this might be a strange question, but…do you know why I was made a girl? I’m not complaining, just…curious.” Izumi said. “Especially since I don’t think I’ve seen any men here.”
“Oh, that.” Meg said. “Yeah, there are no men in the swarm, everyone’s a woman, and everyone’s attracted to women exclusively.”
“What? How are we supposed to…have kids, then? Does the magic to let same sex couples have kids even exist on this world?”
“We have some bees that can provide a service that will let us have kids with another member of the swarm.” Meg said. “They give this sort of honey, you eat it, and then you and your partner…mix fluids, and the magic takes care of the rest. No muss, no fuss, no risk of accidentally getting pregnant ever. It’s honestly more convenient than how we used to work before, and…” Meg blushed, looking at the children before leaning in close to whisper into Izumi’s ear. “We don’t get periods anymore, either.”
They kept walking for a while, chatting more about life and looking around the city, only stopping when they were interrupted by a beautiful foxkin girl. “Hey, Meg, is that Yamamoto?” She asked. “She’s not giving you any trouble, right?”
“No, Princess Chrys.” Meg said. “I’ve just been showing her all the benefits we have here.”
Princess Chrys? “It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady.” Izumi said. “My name is Yamamoto Izumi.”
“I’m Chrys Yggdrios.” Chrys said. “I’m technically the crown princess, but it’s not like Lia or Mom are ever gonna die, so it’s basically a ceremonial title. Anyway…why’d you change your last name and not your first name? That seems a little odd.”
Ah, Connie had warned her about this. “Izumi is my given name.” Izumi explained. “Yamamoto is my family name.”
“Weird. Well, I think Mom and Lia are down on the work floor, and I think they wanted you to go talk to them or something?”
“That is correct, Princess Chrys.” Meg said. “Could you give us directions to them?”
“Please stop calling me “princess”, it’s embarrassing.” Chrys said. “And I’ll just take you to them, it’ll be easier that way.”
“Thank you, Pr– Chrys.” Meg said. “We’re much obliged.”
“Alright, follow me.” Chrys said. “And Izumi, you better be respectful when you talk with Mom and Lia, okay?” With those words she took off, Izumi and Meg following close behind.
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Haha, Connie just bamboozled all over her before she could resist. A bit of spite matters when it's a goddess' spite.
Fresh delivery!
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how much I wanted Ichiro to be able to resist, and in the end decided that the answer was "not much". Ichiro wasn't trained like Ophelia or Alisha, nor was he particularly strong willed. And, without his status as a Hero...well, it was basically a foregone conclusion.
@Fighterman481 Honestly this feels more like some brainwashing stopping him from seeing eye to eye with the swarm got lifted than anything else.
*Stare*
*stare*
I mean for some people their moral standards are basically brainwashed into them. They can't reason WHY some things are wrong and some things are good they just insist they are because they were taught they are.
Yeah, basically what Nahmate said. There was no "actual" brainwashing, but Ichiro was a bit of an...absolutist. This is always right, this is always wrong sort of a thing. This was combined with the rather unfortunate trait of getting far too attached to people around him (which, in the God of Heroes' defense, was a requirement set out by Jerry, since Jerry wanted the Hero to wish for a spatial transport item), and he basically flew into a blind rage that made him refuse the swarm out of pure...not spite, but the feeling of being wronged? I mean, I'm pretty sure most people would have a hard time thinking rationally about an organization who took their loved ones, but Ichiro especially so.
That was by design. The God of Heroes wanted someone who was unlikely to accept the swarm, and of all those that met both that and Jerry's criteria, Ichiro was the "best" option. More on that in a later chapter, but yes, Ichiro was predisposed towards not liking the swarm.
Conversion was basically like dumping a bucket of cold water on Ichiro - Izumi is now reunited with her companions, and her morality has been altered to the point where she is physically unable to outright reject conversion as wrong. The mental blocks that Ichiro had built up were torn down, and Izumi can now think rationally about the situation.
@Fighterman481 "Izumi can now think rationally about the situation" - I'd argue that the mental conditioning makes it not rational, she's currently less rational than a drunkard. Neither can articulate their point unimpeded or at all, but the drunkard will eventually sober up, but swarm members are stuck for all eternity with their brainwashing.
@3QGN73 the fact that Izumi is unable to condemn the conversion doesn't necessarily mean she couldn't mount a proper argument for why it is fine. It would be harder but swarm members are capable of intellectually entertaining reasons against conversion they just are unable to believe them
@Nahmate She's clearly under its influence, so anything she says about it wouldn't hold up in a non-swarm court.
@3QGN73 You raise a very valid point. Rationally is perhaps not the correct word to be used here - maybe "more rationally" would be better? Since, at the very least, she is not blindly dismissing either side anymore.
@Fighterman481 I don't have a fitting word for it, but as far as I've seen from the story, there is none that fits. Aside from the 3 leaders, the swarm members can discuss all they want but in the end, it doesn't seem like they can believe otherwise. They have no choice but to believe that converting people is the right thing to do even if logic dictates otherwise. As it is written, it is exactly like the Urge, except now everyone gets it. And we've seen that not even the all-powerful Almelia could fight the Urge.
So from my understanding, Izumi can ponder and research all she wants, she won't arrive at an unbiased result UNLESS she's somehow mentally more powerful than Amelia ever was.
Not that Conny's way of asking did that any favors; answer immediately without thinking... yeah, that's totally not a detrimental influence; first impressions/conclusions are hard to overcome.
@3QGN73 from what was written, all mental shenanigans - view Lia as queen, lesbian. That's what was "hard forced" when converting. Others were more on level of acceptance. Accept that you are woman now. Accept that converting is how your race gain new members (they got those special bees way latter and it doesn't seem that Amelia planned for them, so you can say that converting was the only way for swarm to get new members). So i do believe that even "regular" members of swarm can think about all that and have different views and conclusions. They just will not dismiss it outright as wrong. But it doesn't mean that one swarm member can think that it's okay to forcefully convert people, while the other will find it wrong and believe that people should be converted when they wish so.
Urge was way worse. It more or less sealed all emotions. It prohibited to take some (many?) actions. Like not being able to hurt people, unless your life in danger. In my opinion, it turned "hero" in puppet basically, while their consciousness was still there, even with all "mental locks" like emotions. Prisoner in own body?
While first impressions are hard to overcome, long pondering about things can be no better. Since your conclusions and views will be affected by bias of yours "right and wrong". We just have, sort of, example of such by one "hero"(lol). He had too strong "moral compass" to consider others views&side of things.
@Indream Please read again.
even the thought of becoming male again was off-putting
She explicitly despised the idea of returning to her original form. That is way stronger than just acceptance.
Do you still think it’s an abomination?
I…probably not. I mean…I’ve yet to see much of the swarm, but based off of what you and the Queen have told me, it truly is better for people, and there’s no reason for either of you to lie to me.
Izumi was only told that the swarm conversion is better for the people while they tried to win the lol-hero over. That was advertisement, the stuff where 90%+ is a lie or exaggerated. By that point, he had dismissed it. It should've been a sentence that doesn't count in her new form's conditioning. Yet it does, not because it was said to her while she was receptive to the queen's word, but because it is hard-wired into their "urge 2.0". She has already given up on thinking for herself; it is the nature of the swarm, so it is a-ok.
So if she was asked if she wished for the swarm to be ended and everyone restored to their original form, the answer would always be no.
@3QGN73 don't know where you get, that it was advertisement & 90% lie. Lia didn't lie whdn she was talking about swarm with him that night. It was lol-hero who dismissed it as lie without thinking, since it gone againsts his "morals". He never considered others perspective, Connie talked about it in his "final" fight. So even if we take your point as true, nothing changed for him then in essence. He was unthinking idiot before, following "morals" given to him by society of his previous world, now she is just following "morals" of her new society.
P.S. Sad fact - most people just live by rules given to them by society. Not really thinking about or question them (unless such question arisen by media lol). So even if your point is true, with which ili still disagree, nothing really change for most people, if anything swarm will make their lives better, with all things it bring.
@Indream When they tried talking with him (after failing the sneak attack in the middle of the night), like "hi, we're not the bad guys, join us because BLA BLA BLA", then followed by their sales pitch. And it is exactly as you wrote, he dismisses it at that point, and no one else brings it up again. But after getting converted, he IMMEDIATELY takes it as gospel and absolute, unchangeable truth without even having seen anything about the swarm itself.
I think a lot changes there. The original point of discussion was if he could have a rational discussion about the whole swarm topics. But with the thought restrictions, she's conditioned to dismiss any thought or perspective that would lead to finding conversion disagreeable. So she's imo even worse off than before the conversion, as hard to believe as it is.
I don't think the swarm makes life "better" for all. To me it looks like killing the original person and then some kind of monster takes the corpse over; the personalities and views are often just too different to be the same person anymore.
@3QGN73 that 180 could easily be explained by his personality actually, like Amelia said earlier he lacks nuances, it's all black or white with him. So the simple two facts of blocking the ability of questioning the morality of conversion and judging as bad the goal of getting the whole world in the swarm probably had a domino effect causing said 180
@Virnor And that's exactly my point.
@3QGN73 nope, it's not. I was making the case that his personality didn't change at all, only his attitude changed *because* of his personality. While your point was:
To me it looks like killing the original person and then some kind of monster takes the corpse over; the personalities and views are often just too different to be the same person anymore.
As a matter of fact there's out of all the converts only one with significant personality change is the former Queen, and we saw clearly in her own point of view how the conversion didn't change her personality. Amelia manipulated her using an extra conditioning that only her got, using that very same unchanged personality to break her.
@Virnor Attitude is part of the personality, so yes, it did change.
@3QGN73 it's not.
@Indream What's your point is?
Google gave me: "The personality of someone is moulded with different experiences and interactions that person encounter in his life. Thus, attitudes are the main part of one's personality. "
@3QGN73 point is attitudes changes on information we recieve. Recieve is major part here. Information can have hidden meaning we can miss. Information can be manipulated. We may decide to not "recieve it", since we found source not trustworthy. Or we may deny it, since it goes strongly against our "morals", which were given to us by society we grown up in. This was the case with lol-hero btw. Check chapter where he arrived in capital. He was in complete denial that swarm members can live regular lives, forcing himself to believe that it is all lie and that they were preparing to attack. Because, if he believed the fact that they could have peaceful lives, it will destroy his convinient white&black world, where he is always a good guy.
@Indream I'm not even sure anymore what we argue about.
Ichiro was converted, so the information he works with changes (swarm evil -> swarm is 99% likely to be pure good*)
This causes his attitude to change (hate swarm -> worship swarm)
And a changed attitude means his personality is different.
*yes, she then questions it for a moment, but then immediately concedes that since her queen said it was okay, it is okay
@3QGN73 originaly it was about can swarm members think for themselves? xD
One way to put it. Here is another. Ichiro hardheaded arogant idiot, dividing world in black and white. Not considering others point of view. Going in denial if something destroys his convinient little world. Ichiro converted - actually considers others point of view and trying to see things without putting labels on them. Because he was forced to accept information he dismissed earlier. She even decided to go on journey to finally see things for herself.
@Indream The point I originally argued was that they can't think RATIONALLY about swarm topics, like if the conversion is morally okay. They can think about and even discuss them, but there is always the bias thanks to the innate swarm conditioning, the new viewpoint and everything. And Lia's word is now absolute, if she says (and she has) that everyone is better off in the swarm then that is their truth, even if logic dictates otherwise.
I'm not yet fully convinced that Izumi really considers others' points of view. That may still be the last futile struggle to cling to her previous black-and-white insanity; her conditioning forces her to see the swarm as good, but her original nature wants to condemn them as evil, so she seeks for validation one way or the other.
@3QGN73 true about Lia word, not sure about it being absolute, but non the less. But i do believe that uniting world under swarm and bringing peace is possible, because of Lia. Thats something that humanity will never achieve because of their nature (greediness&vanity). Thinking rationally about swarm topics - time will tell. As mentioned before, i do believe that they can have different views on how conversion is done, even if they all accept it. I mean it is their nature to begin with.
Interesting and possible point about Izumi insanity. May as well be true
The point I originally argued was that they can't think RATIONALLY about swarm topics, like if the conversion is morally okay. They can think about and even discuss them, but there is always the bias thanks to the innate swarm conditioning, the new viewpoint and everything. And Lia's word is now absolute, if she says (and she has) that everyone is better off in the swarm then that is their truth, even if logic dictates otherwise.
one can be biased and still make rational decisions and have rational outlooks. Example: person A emotionally hates flat things. encounters the idea of flat earth, automatically due to bias rejects the idea, goes home, does research and finds out the position against flat earth has rational evidence behind it and thus rejects FE even more
@Nahmate And can the swarm members do the equivalent for swarm topics?
By what I've seen in the story so far, my guess had to be no.
@3QGN73 Just in ch.92 Izumi have gut feeling that swarm is right (conditioning? maybe yes, maybe not), but can't fully comit to the cause until she see things for her self. Somewhat proves you wrong.
@Indream Maybe, maybe not, not sure. Since that came from Crys, the crown princess,... quite a grey area. She basically ordered Izumi to think.
I'd prefer it if the trigger came from someone that isn't at the top of the food chain since such an order can be interpreted in a few ways. Does she take it literally, as in think about the situation rationally? Does Izumi subconsciously evaluate it as a threat (in a you've-disapponted-your-new-family way)? And she herself immediately jumps to the conclusion that the swarm is most likely in the right, so... well, too late for that now.
@3QGN73 Izumi decided to go on this journey herself, for very same reason. That chapter just outright confirmed, that she have doubts about "cause".
@Indream We had that already here in this chapter. Feelings say swarm is the best, but logic disagrees, and her black-white insanity is going crazy about it.
@3QGN73 you have asked for them to be able to even think about wether swarm is right. And the case where Izumi undoubtedly does so you are arguing that what led to her thinking about it is insufficient. You are kinda moving the goalposts here, which is a pretty good sign that you yourself are biased and want the swarm to fall on one side of the ethical issue regardless of wether it truly belongs there
@Nahmate No, I asked for them to think RATIONALLY about it. That was the goal post from my first post in this reply chain.
We've already seen here that Izumi can think about it at all, but as things stand they are irrevocably biased towards the status quo (pro-swarm).
@3QGN73 see above rational isn't unbiased
@Nahmate And according to ch. 98 they aren't that either.
And, finally, there were the most egregious changes, ones that changed his morality and the way he perceived the world. They demanded him to acknowledge that it was the natural state of things for Lia to rule, for all people to be part of the swarm. They said that converting people was acceptable, as natural as a wolf eating her prey; the prey would, of course, call that act wrong, but for the wolf, it was her way of life.
It was the one change that Brom truly disliked, but…he had no way of avoiding it forever, so he closed his eyes, and let the changes in.
Nothing rational about that. Just the change demanding and him giving in.