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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   2044 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 12, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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You're a member of the plucky rebels that are fighting against the evil empire that believes in X, an idea you find absolutely evil and abhorrent. The Big Bad Emperor is beyond your reach right now, but you can assassinate some of his most important supporters: Alice, Bob or Carol.

Alice is probably the better person between you two. She's smart, brave, loyal. There's only one difference: she sincerely believes that X is good.

Bob probably doesn't believe that X is good. Or that X is evil. He simply believes the side to be on is the one that is winning.

Carol probably doesn't believe that X is good. If anything, she probably finds it abhorrent, just like you. However, she is still doing her job and doing it well because otherwise she will be replaced by a true believer in X.

Which one of the three henchmen is the evilest? Which one should the plucky rebels assassinate first? If the answers to these questions are different, are the plucky rebels truly fighting on the side of good?

Which one of the three henchmen is the evilest? Which one should the plucky rebels assassinate first?

Those are two different questions. If you want to have the greatest impact on stopping the Evil Empire then you take out Alice, the True Believer who probably is working the hardest and most effectively to implement X (if you can't persuade her that X is, in fact, bad). Bob will flip the second it looks like the plucky rebels are going to be the winners, so he's neither helping nor hindering X. Carol will likewise probably flip if she gets a chance, particularly if she does indeed believe X is wrong. With her in place, she may not be able to do much about stopping X (for fear of being replaced with the likes of Alice) but she can act to put minor obstacles in the way of implementing X. Red tape and bureaucracy can be better stumbling blocks than hitting the local Imperial detention centre (which may be rebuilt afterwards).

Who is the most evil? Bob. He doesn't believe one way or the other, is only serving his own self-interest, and is contributing to the evil that X is doing.

Red tape and bureaucracy can be better stumbling blocks than hitting the local Imperial detention centre (which may be rebuilt afterwards).

The Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA) realised this in 1944.

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