The bodies of ponies haven't improved much in the last thousand years. Change of that sort takes time. But what if it didn't have to? Is it best to keep things as they are? Or, given the means, should Twilight choose to accelerate their evolution?
Written for GMBlackjack's Depth in Innocence contest. Contemplativeness is an emotion, right? Here's hoping this punches people's brains real good.
Oh, and I wasn't sure what genre a framed philosophical debate fell under, so I just didn't list any.
Chapters (1)
Neat story. I personally would think that change on that matter would have to be observed on a very small scale to even tell if it works or not, as well as to let the populace know and present it as a choice before coming to a conclusion.
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you need only look at games like 'human revolution' to know how badly the 'give them a choice' option can go
if those that take the choice gain a clear advantage over those that dont, it would create friction, conflict, and eventualy war
so its best really to either do it...or dont....problem is...if shes figured out how...eventualy, someone else will
just might take the average pony mage a bit longer...what to twilight is the work of years, would be another ponies magnum opus, the work of there lifetime.
Gotta say, I'm more on Starlight's side than Stygian's. CRISPR is one thing, but Stygian immediately jumps to mental transformations, on ponies that are already alive. That's not something we even know if the Pearl of Changing can DO, for one thing, and if sci-fi has taught me anything, it's that forcing mental changes on entire populations "for their own good" is a path that leads to disaster. Not that ignoring this line of science is the best option either; eliminating diseases, genetic defects, etc., hell, if it can change species it can probably change genders, so that's a fix for gender dysphoria right there as well. But if they were to take Stygian's extremist route, and the Pearl CAN make mental changes, then a slippery slope is established. Do we make introverts extroverts "for their own good" to "make friends"? Do we take ponies that have done bad things and "make" them good? What about those ponies over there that don't like Princess Twilight? We can't have that, let's just "show" them how wrong they are... It's a really obvious set-up for some Bad Things™, and the worse case scenario leads straight to Cyberponies.
as far as our technology is concerned we don't really have a tool for rebuilding a human insitu like the Pearl, so any genetic changes are rather forced onto the non consenting next generation which is where the ethical dilema lies really as you have to be perfect in your application and use it very very wisely and we're not there yet, maybe we won't ever be.
We simply don't know really how to improve humanity past what we are right now, there's very little understanding of whether there are purely genetic components to a lot of things we deem desirable and even those are social customs not strictly scientifically better traits. There are some low hanging fruit in the form of some preventable recessive genetic disorders that could be clipped without any harm to the human race like sickle-cell anemia, but we just can't deal with the moral ramifications of shackling people with bodies that might have been tampered with deliberately. its impossible to undo these things once done
Well, first of all, they might want to find out if the Pearl actually does any transformations other than seapony to hippogriff and back...
Which isn't without counterpart in the analogy, either; CRISPR and the theoretical possibility of great improvements to the human genetic code may exist, but whether those are practically achievable?
And there is, naturally, also something that would correspond to a development effort if it was found the Pearl didn't work: exactly how many failed prototypes of the New Humanity are acceptable? Because the chances of getting it completely right on the first try do not seem high.
So, yeah, Stygian, I'm not sure what's gotten into you, but while you may be well-intentioned, you really seem to be rushing ahead and not thinking clearly about this.
(He also, from his phrasing, appears to have been infected with Progress somewhere, which does make me curious about how and when that happened but also makes me even less inclined to trust his plans here until those questions can be answered.)
On today's episode of Friendship is Magic, Princess Twilight hosts a debate between members of the Selesnya Conclave and Simic Combine.
Suffice to say, Twilight's right not to call a decision yet. Stygian needs to show his work. He's got the broad strokes down, but he needs the finer details and hard data to make his posiiton supportable. Can the Pearl do everything he proposes, including and especially neurological rewiring? What are the long-term consequences? What are the limits? Does Equestria even have contact with every other civilization on the planet to offer this service? After all, even if the nation universally agrees to shift into designer bodies, where does that leave the rest of the world?
In short, there's not enough information available to make an informed decision, especially not for such a drastic idea. But that doesn't mean I side with Starlight. I just want more research done before anyone comes to a decision. So to with CRISPR, especially since its capabilities are far trickier to grasp. Genetic modification isn't nearly as simple as transmutation. The path from DNA to protein to physically expressed trait is a circuitous and not always well-understood one.
So yeah, get back to me after ten years of dedicated fact-finding.
The different bodies already existe, as there are ponoes unicorns and pegasi
The unfair differences soo too exists as there are por and rich ponies
The biologicals where one is stronger than others
The mental changes can already be done see the friendship school
And the list goes on.
These things already happens in society, and there needs to be some kind of differences like that for it to work, see "our town"advances can happen and there is a invisible hand balancing things to make it fit, but it needs time to do so.
And, if you dont, somebody will and you will be at disadvantage
Renember, all these scenarios you see in fiction are created based on what can happen with the possibility of pre exisrting experiences.
Nobody has the right to alter somebody else against their will, plain and simple.
Starlight is 100% right here.
And thus the eugenics wars happen.
How about... they start by make them Intersex, Strong, Pegacorns ?
and then see where the go by that
edit: I have an O.C.'s that want to do that,
Flower CottonRose with the Race
and
Bent-G. with the Gender
Reading every Depth in Innocence Contest entry: Story 3: Evolution by Thought Prism
...Except it looks like I've already read and commented on this one.
A thought provoking piece about the morals and limits of genetic manipulation, or in this case, magical transformations. Both Stygian and Starlight have good points and are well meaning, (although I do lean toward Starlight, see comment above) and the story leaves the answer Twilight chooses open ended.
While I do feel that this piece is only a smaller fragment of a larger story, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It made us think, and just like Twilight we in the real world have to decide what the answer is to this question: Proceed or Abstain? Whatever choice is taken, there are consequences.
I really liked this one. Really felt the "depth" in the "Depth in Innocence".
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Ummm... sickle-cell may be a poor choice of example until and unless malaria is whipped?
https://www.verywellhealth.com/sickle-cell-and-malaria-5323165 (haven't read it carefully but...)
I have heard that the bite of the mosquito has killed more people than of any other animal... (the Black Death was a big sprint, but it lacked the Energizer Bunny staying power of malaria I think??).