Private email to Pete Wisdom

[x-cypher.livejournal.com]

To: Wisdom, Pete
From: Ramsey, Doug
Subject: Advice

Mr. Wisdom-

I have...let's call it a question in applied ethics. I'd talk in hypotheticals to protect the other person involved, but that's a little beyond me right now. So I'll just have to ask that none of this ever gets back to her.

Marie...got a very unpleasant letter from her family today. Apparently she was experimented on by a military doctor during a period after the mission to recover John. The army wants her back. They have been harassing her family, and her family has told her in no uncertain terms that she isn't welcome back home, and that she should 'find her own kind'.

I am so angry right now I can't see straight. I know, as her friend, it's not like this is affecting me personally, but I see what it's doing to her, and it just makes me want to do something. The problem is, all I can think of doing is hacking into US Army systems, finding the person Marie only refers to as 'that bitch doctor', and spending the next several months making her life a living hell as best I can.

This isn't something I'm doing for Marie to notice. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't want her finding out about this at all. But my problem is, what right do I have? I fully recognize that my feelings for Marie are probably clouding my judgement. I also know that Logan knows about what's happened, and judging from what I know of him, his preferred solution is probably even more direct and final.

I'm kinda at a loss, and I could use the help of someone who sees the world in more shades of gray than some of the other faculty. My gut reaction is to try and make someone pay for this situation. But do I have a right to? And what would it solve anyway?

Anyways, please don't tell Marie. And preferably not anyone else either.

-Doug

Comments

Re: Advice

[x-pete.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I won't say a word.

I ain't going to tell you shouldn't do anything you damn well want to the this doctor, but as I said to Kitty a while back, hacking US govt systems in connection with anything to do with this school is a really, really bad idea, and I'm damn sure you've got the sense not to endanger yourself and the rest of the kids here like that.

You're dead right, though - you probably don't have much right to fuck the woman's life up, but then, she didn't have any right to fuck up Marie's, so you've got to decide for yourself if you want to get into that kind of world, and be that kind of person, because once you've done that sort of thing yourself, you don't really get to complain when it happens to you or others. So I'd recommend against it, but you need to make your own mind up about it.

Here's a thought for you, though: if you're after helping Marie, you could do worse than get her name off the army's list. Again, I repeat, hacking government systems any time in the near future is a really bad idea, but now I know about it I certainly intend to make a few discrete enquiries about it, and try and get her off the damn thing. Don't worry, I won't say anything to her or anyone else at the school for the moment, and if I feel I need to talk to anyone in order to get something done about it, I'll let you know first.

Pete.

Re: Advice

[x-cypher.livejournal.com]

Mr. Wisdom-

Thanks. Taking some time to calm down and get some perspective, along with your advice, has helped. I certainly am not looking to endanger anyone here, but I may think about what you said about getting Marie's name off that list. If you need some help poking around, let me know. Or if you manage to find anything out, let me know as well, please.

Thanks for the advice.

-Doug