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<blockquote data-quote="TonyLB" data-source="post: 2446175" data-attributes="member: 28843">Everybody's actually read Frankenstein, right?I totally agree with the folks who are saying that you can handle this in one of two ways:<ol>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">Declare it not evil:&nbsp; The corpses are neutral tools, or can be persuaded to actually actively do good (as with the &quot;raise your own ancestors&quot; bit, which is creepy and which I love).</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">Justify it with some good reason:&nbsp; Whatever the status of the corpses or the souls, you can make a good justification for the good that can be done on a practical level.&nbsp; Sure, maybe you're tampering in God's domain, but think of the benefits to humanity!</li>
</ol>Life gets really easy if you do both:&nbsp; The corpses aren't suffering, good is being done, all is well and good, except for pointlessly superstitious fools.&nbsp;You get a lot more pathos (as in the original Shelley) when there are questions about one or both items.&nbsp; Is a body made from the reanimated corpses of criminals neutral?&nbsp; Could the Monster have been good, if Frankenstein had been able to give any decent reason for having created it in the first place?&nbsp;The same thing applies in spades to many of the recommendations here.&nbsp; Part of why I love the &quot;raise my ancestors&quot; bit is that your ancestors are likely to have opinions about being raised.&nbsp; &quot;Galloping Ghosts of Grimmauld!&nbsp; You raised me, the greatest scion your line ever knew, to fight orcs?&nbsp; ORCS?&nbsp; What has my bloodline fallen to?&quot;&nbsp;And, of course, there's great fun to be had in only giving people one of the moral crutches and not the other.&nbsp; Maybe the risen dead are evil, evil, evil, EVIL... but they're under your control.&nbsp; Surely if your cause is virtuous and your heart is true then even such horrible tools can be used to good purpose.&nbsp; Yeah, because nothing could ever go wrong with that plan.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TonyLB, post: 2446175, member: 28843"] Everybody's actually read Frankenstein, right? I totally agree with the folks who are saying that you can handle this in one of two ways: [list=1] [*]Declare it not evil: The corpses are neutral tools, or can be persuaded to actually actively do good (as with the "raise your own ancestors" bit, which is creepy and which I love). [*]Justify it with some good reason: Whatever the status of the corpses or the souls, you can make a good justification for the good that can be done on a practical level. Sure, maybe you're tampering in God's domain, but think of the benefits to humanity! [/list]Life gets really easy if you do both: The corpses aren't suffering, good is being done, all is well and good, except for pointlessly superstitious fools. You get a lot more pathos (as in the original Shelley) when there are questions about one or both items. Is a body made from the reanimated corpses of criminals neutral? Could the Monster have been good, if Frankenstein had been able to give any decent reason for having created it in the first place? The same thing applies in spades to many of the recommendations here. Part of why I love the "raise my ancestors" bit is that your ancestors are likely to have [i]opinions[/i] about being raised. "Galloping Ghosts of Grimmauld! You raised me, the greatest scion your line ever knew, to fight orcs? ORCS? What has my bloodline fallen to?" And, of course, there's great fun to be had in only giving people [b]one[/b] of the moral crutches and not the other. Maybe the risen dead are evil, evil, evil, EVIL... but they're under your control. Surely if your cause is virtuous and your heart is true then even such horrible tools can be used to good purpose. Yeah, because nothing could [i]ever[/i] go wrong with that plan. [/QUOTE]

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