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Re: DS9 S4: Hard Time
I was reminded of 'The Inner Light' of course, but also of the original series episode 'A Taste of Armageddon'. Like the war without mess in that episode, the Argrathi developed a way to mete out punishment with almost no cost to themselves. They can sentence a man to 20 years of psychological torture with no jails, guards, food, medical care or other support, and no need to look anyone in the eye and explain why this is happening to them. It all happens in an afternoon, with an 'outpatient procedure'. The wider ramifications for their society are left unexplored, but it's clear they have no compunction against meting out the most severe punishment for relatively minor infractions. This is why the 20 years that seems so 'cruel and unusual' to us seems trivial to them. There are always those in any society for whom no price is to high to pay to ensure their security. When that price is so low, a lot of people can be tempted to think that way.
I was reminded of 'The Inner Light' of course, but also of the original series episode 'A Taste of Armageddon'. Like the war without mess in that episode, the Argrathi developed a way to mete out punishment with almost no cost to themselves. They can sentence a man to 20 years of psychological torture with no jails, guards, food, medical care or other support, and no need to look anyone in the eye and explain why this is happening to them. It all happens in an afternoon, with an 'outpatient procedure'. The wider ramifications for their society are left unexplored, but it's clear they have no compunction against meting out the most severe punishment for relatively minor infractions. This is why the 20 years that seems so 'cruel and unusual' to us seems trivial to them. There are always those in any society for whom no price is to high to pay to ensure their security. When that price is so low, a lot of people can be tempted to think that way.
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