text;

[mathemagier]

Not everyone wants to stay, and not everyone wants to leave. There are good reasons for each point of view.

If the Porter could be used to grant these certainties, what might be the best way to keep it from being abused?

Or is it only right to return to our own worlds, regardless of personal cost?

[someone's had too much time to think lately]

Comments

[4thdimensional]

Returning to our own worlds, restoring the timelines as much as we're able...non-interference is the best choice from a detached perspective. It's what I've always aimed for. But lately my heart rejects the logical course.

If the porter were to come under imPort control...it'd be a great position of power. Whoever held it would have the ability to change fate. Free and unlimited access to the portal presents an immediate concern about invasions and alterations of the future, but appointing someone (or someones) to gatekeep also has its problems.

What if we were to meet here or in some other neutral space instead of entering other worlds?

[mathemagier]

How do you think that would work?

[4thdimensional]

I'm not sure. Understanding how the porter runs and keeping it running would be the first big step, likely an expensive one. Then we go through...would portals then have to be placed in each world?

It's all hypothetical at this stage, but I'm willing to explore many avenues.

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[knaval]

depends dunnit
i want to go back
but if you want to stay here to avoid comeuppance then you should be sent back

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[mathemagier]

Do people deserve death? That's what some have to look forward to if they return.

Re: text

[knaval]

sometimes they do
back where i come from a warlord that murdered trillions is trying to use loop holes to get out of his execution
if he shows up here, he'll milk it for all its worth
"comeuppance" implies they deserve it anyway

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[drivesadesk]

Just let people decide for themselves if they want to stay or leave.

Re: Text

[mathemagier]

That's the idea, but the problem lies in the practical nature of the Porter. Some would use it to revive the dead, others would rid themselves of enemies, and other still may attempt to invade other worlds. So how do we prevent that misuse and where do we draw the line on morality?

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[drivesadesk]

I guess I don't really have any answers to all that. I'm not really big on working out all possible consequences or anything like that, I just really don't want someone deciding to send everyone back who's trying to dodge their 'comeuppance' like the guy above me suggested. Some of us are avoiding punishments for things we've done that aren't really...bad.

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[dun_moch]

An important question. Whoever controls the Porter will wield immense power. It will have to be carefully managed, and kept in the hands of those who will use it wisely.

I strongly believe there should be a way to remain in this world for as long as one chooses. There are many imPorts who have nothing but death or horror waiting for them if they are sent home.

:text

[mathemagier]

[in other words, not you Dooku]

Do you have any ideas on that front?

Text

[dun_moch]

[Excuse you he is clearly the wisest and most qualified person around here.]

I would support a democratic process to elect a small council of experts who would govern the Porter's use, including both imPorts and natives. They would study and approve requests to return home or remain in this world, for instance.

It is all an empty question until control over the Porter has been achieved, however.

[Spoilers this is not actually what Dooku supports.]

voice

[dendarii]

A good question. Though I say anyone should certainly have a choice in staying or going to their own world. It's visiting others' that gets messy.

... and my apologies, I can't text very well right now.

[ He's quite happy to read text messages in reply, though. Just. Texting one-handed. Kind of a pain. ]

Voice

[mathemagier]

Perfectly fine, Miles. It's not necessary.

But yes, visiting other worlds should almost certainly be prohibited. And I agree everyone should have a choice, but I also believe we'll need to draw the line at bringing others in. This isn't our world after all.

[dendarii]

Bringing others from home here, you mean?

[ There's a note of disagreement in his tone - for, well. Obvious reasons. He's the last of ten from his own world. ]

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[cantwalkwithoutit]

The best way to prevent it being abused would naturally be to destroy it.

[ Not that it's the most ideal option, to him. ]

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[mathemagier]

You may ne correct about that. Let everyone make their decision by a deadline and send those that want to leave and destroy it.

Only problems being those that decide later they want to leave and aren't able to. ..Well, and I expect the government would have objections.

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[baetiful]

Befriending it would be the best way to keep it from being abused, I suppose. It is sentient, is it not?

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[mathemagier]

So rumor says. Yet its patterns suggest far less intelligence so far.

[Text]

[prophesiedone]

If the Porter could read our desires and fulfill them, I'm not sure how it could be abused? Unless you're assuming we can determine someone else's fate? But their desires would surely be taken into consideration.

[Text]

[mathemagier]

It's rumored to be sentient, not telepathic or all-knowing.

text;

[dirtyredneck]

Don't know. Ain't exactly a got a great world to go back to. But ain't want to leave some people there, neither.

[And there was someone from another world he'd like to be with, too. To have back with him, or to have him in her world, didn't really matter.]

Not sure it's right to leave 'em there if we can give 'em a better life here.

text;

[mathemagier]

But neither is it our world to determine additional residents without some degree of consultation from the natives. And I expect that sort of process will become unmanageable on a moral standpoint before long.

[am_i_a_monster]

The cost of returning to my world would be that I'd be dead. That isn't right to me.

[mathemagier]

No. I believe everyone should be able to make their own choice there, but we're not the only ones that will have a say in the matter. There's the native point of view to consider as well. But I have hopes that we'll be able to come to an agreement with the government regarding its use.

[Not big hopes, but hopes. The intellectual's idealistic way of solving conflicts- through logical argument and compromise]