Five years transpire.
Ibai is found clutching a dead cat in his sleep. The animal has been mutilated. Ibai is covered in its blood.
They are not sure how--or even IF--they should punish him. In spite of their shock and dread, they attempt to approach this rationally. They decide to speak with the boy first.
“Do you understand what you did, mijoro?”
Ibai smiles eagerly. “Yes, Papa! I killed him!”
And they come to realize that, at the age of five, Ibai possesses a concept of death. The boy already knows that life can end, despite never having had it explained to him.
Nor does it frighten him in the least. Instead, Ibai chooses to ask, “What is death like, Papa? Will I be able to die soon?”
“Death is not something to look forward to, mijoro.”
“Why not?”
“Because life is precious. In fact, it is the most precious thing in the world. Do you understand? Ibai, what you did, taking that cat’s life, was wrong. You must not do it again.”
Ibai returns a curious look. “But I wanted to do it, Papa. Why would I want to do it if it was wrong?”
They have a hard time answering such a strange question. “Just because you want to do something does not make it acceptable,” says Nere.
It takes a while for Ibai to comprehend that, and even after the boy claims to, they are not wholly convinced that he does.
Moreover, they come to learn that, despite knowing about death, the boy possesses no concept of pain. It seems he has never felt it before. They must endeavor to teach it to him. It will serve as his punishment, they decide.
Their efforts backfire. Ibai does not mind pain at all. Rather, it seems to only make him happier.
An incredibly disturbing discovery, it is. They begin to see that Parson may have been correct. But they will not give up on Ibai. That is unthinkable.
They devise an alternate means of punishment. Isolation and boredom. After only one taste--alone in a soundproof chamber with nothing to do for a mere fifteen minutes--Ibai proves much more agreeable. They have found something he genuinely fears. They must use this tool carefully in order to guide his behavior in the proper direction.
And for the most part, it seems to work. It is worrisome, yes, and certainly requiring patience, but Ibai appears to learn that he must not hurt others.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
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No kill it before it spawns
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I wonder about related to aberrations is if they get the opposite of a growing pain threshold, as they get bored with pain and perhaps realize how much it hurts.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the Abberrations are really not that evil- its the people that are raising/nurturing them. Considering that it is because they are born with the tendency to kill people, it really depends on those around them that teaches them whether to embrace it or deny it. Also I feel that one good trait about them is that they have at least some sense of loyalty. When Geoffrey's Uncle died, he wanted to chase colt for revenge. I feel that Abberrations at least listen to those that are close to them. They are just children wanting to have fun without a clue of its meaning and consequences (and it just turned out that they are born with the thinking that killing is fun)
ReplyDeleteThat makes them the supernatural equivalent of sociopaths. A sociopath can understand good and evil but only7 as it applies to them. One example I remember reading about in school is a young sociopath who cried when his cat died because it was his. He had no remorse over hurting other people though. Can you call it evil if they don't understand it? IMO yes, you can call the action evil but it's harder to call them evil. True evil, again IMO, is someone who understands what they are causing and either doesn't care or enjoys it. A fine distinction I admit but if a sociopath can't understand the concept . . ..
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