Alice Jovellanos's denigration of the ethical impulse takes its lead from recent studies which establish that moral "reasoning" is not reasonable at all—it occurs primarily in the emotional centers of the brain, resulting in inconsistent and indefensible beliefs about whether a course of action is "right" or "wrong"31. An accompanying commentary article gives a very nice summary of the so-called "Trolley Paradox", not to mention an airtight rationale for pushing people in front of trains32. Jovellanos's arguments may be simplistic—the prefrontal cortex, after all, seems to play at least some role in moral decision-making33,34,35—but then again, Jovellanos was a bit of a zealot. For which she paid a price.

Speaking of moral decision-making, Lenie Clarke's passion for revenge earlier in the rifters saga—not to mention Ken Lubin's unacknowledged passion for same later on—are not merely overused dramatic tropes. We appear to be hardwired to punish those who have slighted us, even if—and this is the counterintuitive bit—even if our acts of vengeance hurt us more than those who have trespassed against us36. I like to think the reason the world gets another chance at the end of this story is because, as Lubin speculates, Spartacus disabled the vengeance response in Achilles Desjardins at the same time it destroyed his conscience. He may have been a monster. He may have been sexual sadist. But in that one retrofitted corner of his soul, he may have been more civilized that you or I will ever be.

And finally, the most disturbing real-world echo of this imaginary hellhole comes from the Village Voice37, reporting on ongoing research towards an "anti-remorse pill"—a drug developed to cure post-traumatic stress syndrome, which would soothe the torturer as well as the tortured. Such neurochemical tweaks would work by short-circuiting guilt itself, making it that much easier to get a good night's sleep after mowing down crowds of unruly civilians protesting unpopular government policies. Yes, I called my version Absolution—but people, it was supposed to be ironic...

Here, the Maelstrom just moved outside...

Some background ambience from the world above the waterline: