by <unknown>
"Killing a living person was definitely a felony, but what about killing a ghost? The Star Glory Federation has a series of laws. Is killing a ghost a violation of the laws?
"It was a simple case in the beginning. But since it happened to be set to public when the two ways of thinking were crashing fiercely, the case was eventually appealed to the supreme court of the federation, turning into a great debate about the definition of 'deceased' and 'living'!
"Was the soul that was hiding in an artificial body a human being or not? Was killing a ghost who had independent will an consciousness murder?
Chapter 1005: Affirmative Action for Ghosts |
"The case was debated for almost ten years. According to the laws of the federation, the definition of 'murder' was 'unlawfully depriving a natural person of their life'. The laws did not state that ghosts were 'natural persons'. Naturally, ghosts did not have a 'life'.
"Furthermore, the forces that supported 'ghosts are not human beings' were still very influential, and many ordinary citizens had yet to change their prejudice.
"Therefore, after the case was debated in the court of appeals, the evil Cultivators were found not guilty of murder. They were only sentenced to prison for a few misdemeanors.
"The result infuriated many people, including the little girl's younger brother.
"It had already been ten years since the little girl passed away because of her disease. The little girl's brother had grown into a soldier of the federation army.
"He had fought valiantly in the battles against beast tides. Unfortunately, he was caught by the acids of a 'Single-Horned Sour Lizard'. His left eye, left arm, and left foot were seriously corroded, and he had been forced to replace the left side of his body with artificial counterparts. Then, he retired as a disabled veteran.
"As a disabled veteran, he lived quite a comfortable life materially. However, the young veteran was more than infuriated by such injustice that the criminals were found not guilty after they manipulated, tortured, and obliterated his sister's soul.
"He was a very smart young man. In the ten years of trial, he taught himself all the courses about the federal laws and mastered advanced skills in debating. Also, while the ideology that 'ghosts are human beings' spread out, he made a lot of good friends who shared the same belief. They gradually became a new force in society.
"After the evil Cultivators were found not guilty of murder in the court of final appeal, the young man made a shocking decision.
"He sued the federal government!
"There's no need to talk about the details. Anyway, in the end, those who believed that ghosts are human beings and those who didn't had a fierce debate in the supreme court. The trial was also live streamed to the entire federation. Almost every citizen was watching the debate.
"In the court, the angry young man asked exactly the same question I asked just now, except that he did it much more violently than me.
"He stabbed the man-made crystal heart inside his chest with his cold mechanical arm and asked, 'Am I a human being?'
"As technology advanced, more and more people were replacing their broken limbs with artificial organs.
"If somebody's finger was damaged and they replaced it with an artificial finger, were they a human being?"
Jin Xinyue was attracted by the story and could not help but nod. "Of course!"
"Then, was the young man—who had replaced half of his body, including his heart, with machines driven by spiritual energy because of battle wounds—a human being?"
Jin Xinyue nodded. "He definitely is!"
"What if it were more than half?" Li Yao asked. "What if 51% of his body were artificial? 99%? 99.99%?"
He asked exactly the same question just now.
At that time, Jin Xinyue would have answered easily with the federal laws that the young man was still a human being.
However, right now, after learning everything, Jin Xinyue was deep in thought.
"The angry young man's real question was, what exactly makes a human being?
"If everybody believed that somebody whose body was 10% mechanical was a human being, and somebody else whose body was 99.99% mechanical was not, then there was certainly a tipping point between 10% and 99.99% that separated human beings from non-human beings.
"Let's say that the tipping point is 50%.
"If so, for a disabled veteran such as the young man, if 49.99% of his body was replaced by machines, he was still a human being.
"But if he was unfortunate enough to have been spat on by the 'Single-Horn Sour Lizard' one more time in the battlefield, it is possible that 50.01% of his body would have been replaced by artificial organs. In such a case, he was no longer a human being, was he?
"It is obvious that such a theory was too absurd. There was no such a tipping point. It was not at 50%, nor at 90%!
"Even the brain could not be the criterion to determine a human being, either. At that time, the technology to repair the brain was fairly advanced. Many people who suffered heavy brain damage would implant recovery chips into their head. Naturally, they were human beings.
"Therefore, a human being whose body was 99.99% mechanical was still a human being!
"Then, was the tipping point between 99.99% and 100%?
"Assume that a disabled veteran was so heavily wounded that only 0.01% of his braincells could be retained, and all his other body parts were substituted by artificial organs. According to our theory just now, he is a human being and should enjoy the rights of one.
"What if it was not 0.01% of his braincells but 0.001% or 0.0001%?
"The number can be reduced infinitely until it reaches zero. Where should the 'tipping point' be located? If somebody with 0.00000001% or more living braincells was a human being and somebody with less was a ghost, wouldn't it be too absurd?
"Weren't the so-called 'ghosts' human beings whose body was 100% mechanical? Was there really any essential difference between them and someone who was with 99% artificial organs?
"The angry young man's questions silenced the entire court.
"All the citizens who were watching the live stream began to reflect on the definition of 'human being', too.
"The case seriously influenced the laws and policies of the federation later.
"As for the young man, other than appealing to the court of law, he also visited the leadership of the Federation's Disabled Servicemen Association and finally won the support of the entire association and even the federal army!
"The reason was simple. Although the Grand Desolate Plateau had been conquered, small-scale conflicts with demons were still on, not to mention that a great war against the Blood Demon Sector might be coming soon. Therefore, the federal soldiers and Cultivators had the highest death rate in the federation.
"A Cultivator's soul is usually very solid. The ordinary soldiers of the federal army were mostly energetic, healthy young people, too. Therefore, the odds that part of their soul lingered on after their death were much higher than when an ordinary person died.
"If a federal soldier fought bravely for their country and was unfortunately killed, turning into a ghost, only to find that they had lost all his rights and that anybody else could savage, torture, and enslave them without being punished, wouldn't it be hilarious?
"Therefore, the federal army and the major Cultivation sects gradually began to support the young man, and the prevailing stereotype in society was slowly twisted, too. More and more citizens agreed that ghosts were human beings. Those who disagreed turned into the minority.
"After all, everybody would die someday, and anyone could become a ghost after their death. Therefore, they had to consider for themselves, too.
"Eventually, the federation government lost the case!
"Two years later, the federal government issued 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts', which, for the first time, legally defined ghosts with independent will as 'natural persons'. Ghosts were acknowledged as federal citizens, enjoyed all the pertinent righ
ts and responsibilities, and were protected by the federal army and the Cultivators!
"After more than a hundred years of integration, the living and the deceased of the federation have become an inseparable whole. Biases against the ghosts are no more."
Jin Xinyue was greatly touched. Then she suddenly thought of something else. "What about the evil Cultivators who killed the little girl? They must be guilty of murder now, mustn't they?"
"No."
A mysterious smile popped up on Li Yao's face. "The laws of the federation are built on the foundation of non-retroactivity. As they were found not guilty of murder in the final trial, how could you punish someone, who had already been tried, with a new law?
"In fact, the few charges that they were found guilty of were all misdemeanors. One year before the 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was issued, they were already out of prison and enjoying their happy life again."
"Fine." Jin Xinyue frowned. For some reason, she felt sorry about the old case a hundred years ago.
Ever since she turned into a human being, she seemed to have more and more emotions.
However, she felt that her master's smile was very weird. She thought of something and asked, "There's more to the story?"
With a smile, Li Yao replied, "Not much, except that the few scumbags were killed by the young man's comrades half a year after they got out of prison, one month before 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was enacted."
Jin Xinyue was dazed. She observed, "I thought that the young man chose to appeal because he respected law and wanted to use the law as his weapon. It didn't occur to me that he would still break the law and lynch the criminals in the end."
"Lynch the criminals, they did, but break the law, they did not. The federal soldiers were the defenders of the country and the law. How could they violate the law that they swore to protect?
"The young's comrades were all charged, but they walked out of the court freely in the end, too. They were not found guilty of murder!"
Jin Xinyue did not understand. "Why? Was the court under the pressure of the federal army?"
"Of course not! It was because, technically speaking, before the 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was formally enacted, the young's comrades were all ghosts instead of human beings."
"Huh?"
"Don't you understand? The young man's comrades were all the spectral Cultivators who had sacrificed in the battlefield and only had their souls left!" Li Yao explained. "Before the 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was enacted, the Star Glory Federation did not acknowledge the human rights of ghosts.
"Ghosts were not human beings. Therefore, killing a ghost was not murder. It was also why the evil Cultivators were found not guilty in the first place.
"Then here comes the question. It is not a murder when a human being kills a ghost. Then what if a ghost kills a human being?
"After the revenge case took place, the law enforcement examined the federal law in retrospect and realized, to their surprise, that the federation had always been fighting against the demons since it was established and there were endless clauses regarding the demons who were considered to be the greatest threat. But none of the laws were actually about 'ghost killing someone alive'!
"It was quite understandable. Even in the world of ancient Cultivators, it was unlikely for the government to make any guidelines on how to sentence a ghost that had committed murder, right? At that time, the Cultivators were responsible for 'removing the evil'. When an evil ghost killed someone, monks, priests, and Cultivators would be there to eliminate them.
"But it was already a new era and a society ruled by law. The law is above everything. The Cultivators had to do their work legally, train legally, and help the weak legally.
"Before the 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was enacted, the young man's sacrificed comrades were not 'human beings' from a legal point of view. How could they be found guilty of 'murder'?"
Chapter 1006: Everything Is Under Control! |
Jin Xinyue immediately understood it.
Instead of putting on a stunned expression, this time, she thought quickly and said, with sharp brilliance beaming out of her eyes, "I think that his comrades did it for more than just revenge!
"I believe that they even wanted to be found guilty of murder!
"If they were found guilty, it would suggest that the federal government acknowledged that 'ghosts' shared the rights and responsibilities of 'human beings' before the 'Affirmative Action for Ghosts' was enacted.
"Then, all the cases where the ghosts were persecuted, enslaved, and slaughtered over the past hundreds of years would likely be overruled!"
Li Yao nodded and praised, "You've understood everything at the first clue. As expected of the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons.
"Maybe you are right. But the grudges between human beings and ghosts over hundreds of years involved too many things. Therefore, they were eventually found not guilty and set free. It was a sign that the previous cases before the Affirmative Action for Ghosts were enacted would not be pursued any further in case the society was divided.
"All in all, what I am trying to say is that ghosts and demons share a lot of similarities on a certain level, and the integration of the deceased and the living will shed light on the integration of demons and human beings, too."
Li Yao paused for a moment. Sorting out his thoughts, he continued, "You might not know this, but ten years ago, when I left the Star Glory Federation, investment on the biochemical technology had already soared. Many of the technologies were actually stolen from the demon race.
"Wars are always the fastest, most efficient means of communication. No matter how we speak evil of each other, we will never hesitate to learn and absorb the advantages and shining points of the enemy.
"The reason is very simple. Those who do not learn and absorb will likely be wiped out.
"Therefore, no matter how demons of the Blood Demon Sector decried human beings of the Heaven's Origin Sector as shameless, cowardly worms, they would still have to utilize the crystal processors, light beams, and rune arrays on a large scale. Many beast tides were actually for the purpose of looting the magical equipment and jade chips of the Heaven's Origin Sector.
"Even the most extreme, conservative, and condescending demon emperors would not refuse to calculate the drawbacks in their arts through crystal processors, would they?
"By the same logic, although the Star Glory Federation considers the Blood Demon Sector its mortal enemy, it has never stopped us from developing the biochemical technology, sometimes even by stealing from the Blood Demon Sector.
"In the field of treatment for the heavily wounded, the 'regrowth of lost limb' technology, which is still in the experimental phase, is far more advantageous than the 'artificial limb' technology.
"I've been thinking lately about one thing. If a 'demonic cell' whose genes have mutated under induction is considered as a component in a body, then, how many demonic cells will make a human being a demon?"
Jin Xinyue was silent.
At this moment, she was completely lost about the boundary between 'human beings' and 'demons'.
For example, was she a human being or a demon?
What about her master? Was her master, Li Yao, a human being or a demon?
Li Yao sighed and said, "You asked me a question just now. Are those ugly, fearsome, bizarre-shaped bronze-blood demons and black-blood demons human beings in my eyes?
"I really don't know the answer to the question. I feel that I will be a hypocrite no matter how I reply.
"I can only say that I believe in the possibility of the integration of human beings and demons, which will be just like the integration of human beings and ghosts that happened before.
"Besides, under the current circumstances, in the cruel, dark forest, the integration will do everyone good.
"However, integration takes time. Perhaps, a very, very long time.
"I will do everything I can, like the angry young man did, to
facilitate the integration and to shorten the time it takes.
"This is my stance right now. This is what I am fighting for right now.
"Now, would you like to stand on my side?"
Li Yao extended his hand to Jin Xinyue.
Jin Xinyue was deep in thought.
Due to the high-speed functioning of her brain, her sweat was vaporized into a vague mist, wreathing her in what seemed to be a translucent shell.
Finally, she made a step forward and broke the shell, putting on the purest smile.
"Master, I seem to understand where to look for my 'belief' now.
"Let's go and destroy the Eye of Blood Demon!"
…
As Li Yao and Jin Xinyue set off to destroy the Eye of Blood Demon, the commander-in-chief's residence in Heavenly Path City was full of hustle and bustle.
The intimidating aura unleased by six demon emperors filled the vast meeting room with immense pressure. The air in the room seemed to be compressed. Regular officers of the coalition army all found it hard to breathe as if they were in the deep sea.
Streams of information flowed into the meeting room.
"In the range of the explosion, constituents of blood and scraps of membrane suits have been found. After examination, they have been determined to be the debris of two victims!
"The search in Heavenly Path City has been completed. Other than the scene of explosion, no anomalies have been detected. No accomplices have been found, either!"
Jin Tuyi, commander-in-chief of the coalition army, listened in silence and casually said, "It seems that they have indeed killed themselves in the explosion."
The news of his daughter Jin Xinyue's death seemed to have caused no hard feelings to him at all.
Yuan Riyue, another demon emperor whose son had been killed by Li Yao, burst into fury. He bellowed, "They died just like that? I didn't even have the chance to cut the scumbag into shreds!"