Scruples by Seven

by Jane Carnall

The leader of your group leaves you alone with the ship. You've wanted it for a long time. He trusts you to help him. Do you?

With two friends, you have succeeded in taking over the control room of a prison ship. One officer, however, threatens to kill one of the other prisoners every thirty seconds if you don't surrender now. You can probably hold out. Do you surrender?

You're telepathic. You know exactly what is going between three of your fellow crew-members and your pet moondisc. Do you tell everyone else?

Someone shoots your blind father in the back. Do you kill her?

You're stupid. Do you risk your life to save three of your friends?

You are a successful smuggler. A famous rebel leader asks you to join the rebellion and fly his ship. Do you tell him where to go?

You are on an overloaded shuttle. You need to lose seventy kilos to gain escape velocity. You happen to know that a close colleague weighs eighty-five, his friend weighs seventy-three; you weigh fifteen. Do you advise your colleague to toss his friend overboard?

You have the power to do anything you want. Do you use the power unscrupulously to further your personal spites?

Your lover invites a few people round for drinks. Later, he tries to kill them. Do you blow up his cellar?

You're trapped on a planet with the person who killed your brother, a couple of corpses, and a lot of carnivorous sand. The person is very attractive and is trying to seduce you. Do you accept?

Someone shoots your left arm off and your left eye out. Do you betray the entire galaxy in order to get even with him?

You are not a coward, exactly, just shit-scared most of the time. You overhear a conversation between a friend of yours and a man who has appeared to be on the right side; yours, and booze. He is, however, planning to kill all of you. You have a gun, and several full bottles of wine. Do you go off and heroically rescue everyone with the gun?

A woman on a primitive planet thinks that you are a god. Do you take advantage of this?

An unscrupulous private surgeon is delaying a vital operation on a friend in order to betray you and your companions to your enemies. If the operation is not carried out now, your friend will die. You are scrupulous, idealistic, and bad-tempered. Do you threaten to destroy the surgeon's hands?

You are incredibly lonely. A mysterious alien being offers you an end to loneliness forever; her price, the freedom of your non-telepathic crewmates. Do you hand them over to her?

Three naive blue aliens want to watch 'the human bonding ceremony' between you and a crewmate, who perms his hair badly. Do you agree to the ceremony?

Everyone thinks that you have a limiter in your head which stops you from killing. You suddenly discover that it doesn't stop you from beating people up quite seriously. Do you take advantage of your unsuspecting crewmates, or merely of unsuspecting aliens on the plamets you visit?

If you press the self-destruct, you will blow your ship and take half a squadron of pursuit ships with you. You will also kill your crew. Do you press the button?

The other occupants of your space craft have a lamentable lack of interest in the more fascinating aspects of the Universe, and there is a black hole nearby which you want to study from the inside. Do you warn them?

One of the people you least trust (actually, you don't trust anybody) and who you have been trying to destroy for years, calls you up to let you know the galaxy is being invaded by shapechangers. Do you believe it?

Given the opportunity, would you kill your hairdresser if she never gave you the same style twice?

A completely ruthless crewmate tells you he will kill you if you follow him down onto a strange oval planet. You don't know anything about what he's trying to do, but you're brave, young, and handsome. Do you follow him?

You are on trial for giving the order for the massacre of 1400 armed civilians. You are sentenced to death. You escape because your worst enemy attacks the space station where you are being held. When you finally catch up with him, do you remember to thank him before you kill him?

You are dying. Do you apologise?

You can't help it; but do you have to call men in black leather "Master"?

1989

Feedback: e-mail me (or comment me if you have a livejournal).