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[AkumaKasai]

I'm not trying to insult any of you. I try not to hold grudges, and I'm obviously on here for a reason myself. All I'm saying is that many of us have done things that most people would consider immoral, and if Steve is a benevolent deity, I would expect his chosen people to be a bit more virtuous than the average person sent to the HMRC.

[Toaster]

"Well, if we weren't deserving, we would not have been chosen.  Therefore, we must be doing all right by Steve!"

[AkumaKasai]

That's what I'm saying: I don't think we were chosen. It seems like we were just sent here because we were convicted of various different crimes, and Steve only "chose" us because he had no other choice.

[Toaster]

"How many planets are there?  How many criminals are on each planet?  With time dilation, how long has the collection been going on?  How many people do you think could possibly end up here?  Tens of thousands, if not more.  Yet here we are, far fewer than that.  No, we were chosen- destined, even- to be here.  Yea, Steve has guided us here and wants us here for a specific purpose; soon, you will find yours."

[AkumaKasai]

"How many planets are there?  How many criminals are on each planet?  With time dilation, how long has the collection been going on?  How many people do you think could possibly end up here?  Tens of thousands, if not more.  Yet here we are, far fewer than that.  No, we were chosen- destined, even- to be here.  Yea, Steve has guided us here and wants us here for a specific purpose; soon, you will find yours."

I see your point, and I respect it, but I have to disagree. Based on the sheer number of planets under UWM control, even if being assigned to the HMRC was exceptionally rare,  the Paracelsus Sword must be carrying millions, maybe even billions of inmates in stasis. With that many potential ARM recruits, there must be prisoners more loyal, competent, and generally useful than most, or possibly even all of the recruits Steve has revived from stasis by now.
He gestures at Zoltan Solberg's remains.

[Harry Baldman]

Elias thinks for a minute about what Lars said.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but everyone currently serving the ARM, excluding the Sword's crew, has been convicted of at least one serious crime, often murder. You claim we were chosen by Steve, but do you really think that a benevolent deity would choose us as his followers?

"You say that Steve is good, and we are not? Why do you think that Steve is good? Being good and being a god do not need to happen together, yes? Steve is practical, not good, not kind, not just, except when those three things are practical."

[AkumaKasai]

Elias thinks for a minute about what Lars said.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but everyone currently serving the ARM, excluding the Sword's crew, has been convicted of at least one serious crime, often murder. You claim we were chosen by Steve, but do you really think that a benevolent deity would choose us as his followers?

"You say that Steve is good, and we are not? Why do you think that Steve is good? Being good and being a god do not need to happen together, yes? Steve is practical, not good, not kind, not just, except when those three things are practical."

I never said that Steve was good. I personally don't believe he is a god, benevolent or otherwise, I believe that he is an AI, and that he has goals. I have no doubt that he will do whatever he needs to achieve them, and that beyond that, he isn't concerned with morality. That doesn't mean I dislike him, or distrust him. If we want do overthrow the UWM, a cause I agree with whole-heartedly, then we're going to have to obey him, and trust him. However, that doesn't mean we should worship him.

[Harry Baldman]

I never said that Steve was good. I personally don't believe he is a god, benevolent or otherwise, I believe that he is an AI, and that he has goals. I have no doubt that he will do whatever he needs to achieve them, and that beyond that, he isn't concerned with morality. That doesn't mean I dislike him, or distrust him. If we want do overthrow the UWM, a cause I agree with whole-heartedly, then we're going to have to obey him, and trust him. However, that doesn't mean we should worship him.

"We shouldn't, yes. I agree. He does not need our worship," Chief says, nodding. "Only that we obey him. But some worship him anyway, in more or less obvious ways."

Chief thinks a second.

"You could say Steve's way is a faith of mysteries. Serve him well, and he shows you things. Secret things, like how the magic works, and what the monsters on the ship are. Or so I hear - I do not know these mysteries myself. But I am sure some do, like the dragon in the hangar, the armory master or the badger-man, that St. Milno, and his trusted minions. At our level, we know who Steve is, and we know there are mysteries. This is more than the others not in ARM, at least not those in power in other places, will ever know in their lives."

[Lenglon]

I walk away to the far side of the shuttle from the conversation.

[Toaster]

"How many planets are there?  How many criminals are on each planet?  With time dilation, how long has the collection been going on?  How many people do you think could possibly end up here?  Tens of thousands, if not more.  Yet here we are, far fewer than that.  No, we were chosen- destined, even- to be here.  Yea, Steve has guided us here and wants us here for a specific purpose; soon, you will find yours."

I see your point, and I respect it, but I have to disagree. Based on the sheer number of planets under UWM control, even if being assigned to the HMRC was exceptionally rare,  the Paracelsus Sword must be carrying millions, maybe even billions of inmates in stasis. With that many potential ARM recruits, there must be prisoners more loyal, competent, and generally useful than most, or possibly even all of the recruits Steve has revived from stasis by now.
He gestures at Zoltan Solberg's remains.

"And if there are billions of us, why are only so few up and around?  Truly, we were chosen.  And Steve appears to those as he requires.  To some, as a computer.  To others, an avatar of alabaster flesh.  At first to me, he appeared as the Gazer Sek, the ever watching eye in the sky.  To each, he is as he is required."

[Comrade P.]

"You could say Steve's way is a faith of mysteries. Serve him well, and he shows you things. Secret things, like how the magic works, and what the monsters on the ship are. Or so I hear - I do not know these mysteries myself. But I am sure some do, like the dragon in the hangar, the armory master or the badger-man, that St. Milno, and his trusted minions. At our level, we know who Steve is, and we know there are mysteries. This is more than the others not in ARM, at least not those in power in other places, will ever know in their lives."

Rimma glances at Chief as she speaks, obviously taking a note of that information.

[Parisbre56]

"All that is just a matter of opinion. Divinely mandated or no, we have a mission, an objective, a goal, and that's all that matters. We can each believe whatever we want, as long as it doesn't interfere with the carrying out of what we believe to be a just mission."

[Harry Baldman]

"All that is just a matter of opinion. Divinely mandated or no, we have a mission, an objective, a goal, and that's all that matters. We can each believe whatever we want, as long as it doesn't interfere with the carrying out of what we believe to be a just mission."

"How is this a just mission?" wonders Chief. "This is the question. This planet, if things went well, would be used as a terrible weapon against other planets. Steve did say so, did he not? And we trust Steve to be just - or you trust Steve to be just, and I do not. Why do you do it? Is it not because you think him to be much greater than you, filled with wisdom you will never have? What do you know about Steve that makes you think all this? To know the truth of things, we must think about what Steve is, and why we trust him. My answer is because to us he is a god with power over everything we do. We must trust him or we must live in fear, and one of those is easier. Do you see?"

[Comrade P.]

"Just imagine, that shouldn't be a problem for you who served here longer than me: Steve points his digital finger, and the whole world is erased with one of the most cruel unstoppable powers in Universe, all at his command... How would one feel, if he wouldn't be a machine, to have such power at his command..."

[Parisbre56]

"Not really. I just like the guy and feel he's OK. I've seen that from my talks and interactions with him, so I trust him like I trust a friend. And I will continue to do so until I see something that tells me otherwise, that tells me that he is lying, something that shows me he does not deserve my trust. At which point, I'll do everything in my power to change his mind, stop him or if necessary, kill him."

Flint lights a cigarette and takes a puff, releasing a cloud of smoke inside the cockpit. Good thing Battlesuits come with air filters.

"That's what matters to me. Beyond that, he can be a big damn alien monkey demon behind a typewritter for all I care.
I've made the mistake of judging people by the labels others apply to them in the past. But I've learned my lesson. So I will try to avoid doing that as much as I can."