IN> Re: the Heavenbound

[Bill Adlam]

In my opinion, Fate and Destiny are two of the most delicious concepts
in the game.  Now, where's my soapbox?

Jonathan Lang wrote:

> The first man makes huge strides toward making the world a better
> place, but his son never develops the drive to do anything with his
> life; so the first man goes to Hell. 

I think that should be possible, but even where Destiny and Fate are so
asymmetrical, they should still be equally likely when taking the
individual's talents and urges.  In this case, someone who cares deeply
for the future of his child, and is genuinely sorry that preaching
World Ethics takes him away from his home and family so often.

> The second man wipes out a small
> town (population 1000), but in so doing kills the dirty cop...

I don't think it should be possible to reach one's Destiny by
committing an evil act, nor Fate with a good one.  It's the nature of
both Destiny and Fate that they cannot be cheated.  I view them as
combining the doctrine of free will with the inescapable prophecies so
common in literature.  In this instance, I wouldn't be surprised if the
cop decides to square up to his responsibilities and try to save the
townspeople, thus reaching his own Destiny before he dies, no longer
corrupt.

The best Destinies and Fates, in my opinion, are the utterly ineffable
ones - those that seem impossible to achieve, or apparently trivial, or
sound like they should point in the person in the other direction.

Sagitta