| NOTE: This proposal is only regarding Ted from the original IHNMAIMS short story, not his video game adaptation, as I don't believe he does enough to stand out from the other four prisoners in that version. This proposal does technically include the radio drama and graphic novel, but those are basically identical to the original story aside from a few minor differences. |
Only this story can make brutally murdering four people something not only heroic, but also something baseline passing.
What's up everyone! Been a minute hasn't it? Like I've said many times before, I have been taking a step back from the moral scaling community for quite some time now, but that isn't to say I'm not willing to make the occasional contribution every now and again, and with me going on a recent "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" binge lately, I think I've found myself a candidate who could qualify. So, if you're willing to indulge me for a moment, I allow me to introduce you to today's candidate.
What is the Work?[]
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is an infamous short story written by Harlan Ellison in the late 1960's that would later be adapted into a graphic novel and audio drama in 1995 and 2002 respectively. Taking place in a dystopian Earth that's been completely deprived of all of its life thanks to the whims of the ever iconic AM. only 5 survivors remain, immortalized by the oppressive machine, they only exist to be tortured for the rest of eternity, feeding into AM's everlasting hatred, with today's candidate being one of the unfortunate souls forever stuck in this cycle.
Who is Ted? What has he done?[]
Ted is the main protagonist of the story. A delusional, paranoid man who insists on being the only one left unaffected by AM's endless mindfuckery, we follow him and his delusional, hate-filled ravings as he and the other four prisoners are forced to suffer at the whims of AM, whether it be through scaring them with the corpse of one of their own, or taunting them with cans of food that can never be opened.
In the end however, Ted manages to get a one-up over AM by brutally murdering his four fellow prisoners alongside Ellen, freeing them from his torment while being doomed to spend the next eternity as a jelly being who is unable to scream or really do anything for the rest of forever.
Admirable Standards?[]
For a story that's mostly about five people being ruthlessly tortured by a hateful super computer, Ted (in my opinion) manages to pass the admirable standard thanks to the very last thing he does in the story.
After coming all the way only for canned foods that can't be opened, Benny, in his feral rage, attempts to eat Gorrister's face in a fit of hunger. Ted, seeing this as his opportunity, proceeds to brutally murder the both of them, freeing them from AM's grip before doing the same to Ellen, ultimately sacrificing himself and becoming a jelly being in constant agony while the other four prisoners are finally freed from the pain.
It's weird to say that killing four people is admirable, but considering the fact that they were all in one of the worst Fate Worse Than Death scenarios you could possibly imagining, hims mercy killing them and freeing them from the pain should be more than enough for Ted to pass imo, especially considering the low standards of the book, his only real competition is Ellen, and even then Ted surpasses her due to freeing more people from their misery and also being the one to start the mercy killing in the first place. So yeah, I think he passes for the brutal mercy killings of his fellow prisoners, dooming himself to a Fate Worse Than Death in the process... as weird as that sounds.
Inconsistencies?[]
Boy oh boy does he have a few. To get the biggest one out the way, Ted is way too much of a jerk for NPG or PG. He's a complete, delusional asshole throughout most of the story, especially towards Ellen, the derogatory, misogynistic way he speaks of her is enough for me to say he's way too much of an asshole for anything other than IA, that's without mentioning that he seems to have shades of arrogance if how he thinks everyone hates him purely because he was the only one who was "unaffected" by AM's constant torment, doing one good thing at the end of the story doesn't really do much to change the fact that he was a stuck-up, delusional, misogynistic asshole throughout a majority of the story.
On a more minor note, he's also a bit on the lethal side. Sure what he did was ultimately good, but he did still attack and brutally kill two people without any warning, though this is more minor considering he didn't exactly have time to make sure they were okay with it before AM stopped him, so yeah.
Verdict?[]
Thinkin' a yes on this one, dunno about you.