scrape_r_rational/data/cache/5cskos.md

CHAPTER 46: TO TALK OF PATIENCE TO THE AFFLICTED

Post:

Link to content

Comments:

• u/CCC_037:

  ...I notice that Dylan's reworded oath is missing one thing that Mark asked him to swear to.
  
  Mark's oath asked Dylan to swear that he was *telling the truth* and that things would go bad *if Dylan was lying*. Dylan's reworded oath says nothing one way or another about truthfulness.
  
  He promises not to hurt Mark, and to get Mark safely to Europe. But he's lying to Mark. And I'm pretty sure Mark didn't notice.
  

  • u/TK17Studios:

    The second Dylan started requoting, I was wishing I was reading rational fiction instead.  Mark even "insisted" that Dylan say the actual words, but then just didn't follow through ...
    

  • u/bassicallyboss:

    >He promises not to hurt Mark, and to get Mark safely to Europe.
    
    If you examine the oath, he only forswears injury, emotional devastation, and frying Mark's eyes in vegetable oil.  He doesn't forswear, for example, telling someone else to injure or emotionally devastate Mark, or to fry Mark's eyes in vegetable oil.
    
    More importantly, however, Dylan manages to swear *not* to get Mark safely to Europe if/when Mark wants to stop working with him (which Mark plans to do *eventually*, even if he does stay until Malia Ngo is dead).  Mark doesn't need to know whether Dylan is lying:  Taking him at his word is sufficient reason not to trust Dylan.
    

    • u/CCC_037:

      > More importantly, however, Dylan manages to swear *not* to get Mark safely to Europe if/when Mark wants to stop working with him
      
      ...huh. You're right. I somehow failed to notice that.
      

• u/NotACauldronAgent:

  Well, all sympathy for Dylan is gone. That guy, though.
  

  • u/ulyssessword:

    One of the comments on the site calls Thamiel "unspeakably evil".  I'd say that the main reason Dylan gets as much hate as he does is because he is *speakably* evil, and people can articulate and discuss why he is a bad person.
    

  • u/None:

    [deleted]
    

    • u/appropriate-username:

      Mailing letter bombs is not a particularly rational way of dealing with reality.
      

      • u/None:

        I mean, his way of thinking is actually a pretty rational way to deal with outside-the-argument concerns a la http://squid314.livejournal.com/350090.html
        
        If someone can make a very convincing argument for making the world worse, I mean, saying, well, I guess we should make the world worse is _not a normal human response nor a rational one_. 
        
        EDIT: his way of thinking, not his way of mailing people bombs. Don't mail people nasty things. It's very rude.
        

    • u/NotACauldronAgent:

      He has a cringy revolution shirt on that could only be made more cringy by Che Guevera! He advocates the assassination of government members! He doesn't care about his "friend's" feelings! He's clearly an "edgy" antihero, what more do you want?
      

  • u/dimata:

    In contrast, I finished this chapter wondering how Dylan had become the most likable character of the cast! He's got interesting motives, a strong case to support them, and is one of the few characters doing something to work towards them at this point.
    

    • u/NotACauldronAgent:

      After forgetting about a "friend" he threw under the bus 10 years ago, he comes to the realization he needs his strength back. Therefore, he destroys that person's worldview to get him to agree and plans to use him to assassinate someone. Though Director Ngo might be a bad person, she does not seem like she warrants assassination yet. Also, he's letter bombed senators, recruited thugs, and scares people who live on the fastest boat in the world.
      

    • u/Frommerman:

      He's going to die horribly though, likely just after a massive "This is why you suck" speech from Ngo.
      
      We know this for two reasons:
      
      1. His entire brand of magic is prefaced on him being the main character. He isn't. His magic will fail him at a narratively important moment because the Unsongverse runs on narrativium.
      
      2. Ngo can see invisible people. And is probably a demon. Neither of these are facts Dylan seems to know.
      

• u/ThatDarnSJDoubleW:

  Dammit, Mark. You were a good wizard with a bright future ahead of you, imprisoned for murders that you didn't commit, framed by a charismatic former friend with a mysterious past running a secretive terrorist organization. You could have won in only a few story arcs, if you yelled "I've never join you" and then swore revenge.
  
  > “I, Dylan Alvarez – oh, how should I remember how your stupid phrase went – I swear I won’t kill you, make someone else kill you, cause you to die in ways that may not technically count as ‘killing you’, betray you, injure you, emotionally devastate you, turn you in, use you as bait, fry your eyes in vegetable oil, feed you to an alligator, trick other people into feeding you to alligators, cause you to be consumed by an alligator in ways that may not technically count as ‘feeding you’ to it, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, if by some bizarre fluke you make the terrible choice not to continue working with me, get you safely to Europe, or may my luck dry up and my head turn green and my liver explode and everybody die, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So help me God.”
  
  > Then Dylan stared at Erica, and Erica started laughing again.
  
  Instead, zero chance Mark has a happy ending.
  
  > may my luck dry up and my head turn green and my liver explode and everybody die, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all
  
  So Unsong ends with all that happening to Dylan and then the US becoming a DrugLordy hivemind before dying?
  

  • u/Evan_Th:

    Not quite - the Untied States will have to reunite into "one nation, indivisible" too!
    

• u/alexanderwales:

  For courtesy's sake, please include tags and a title next time you post this.
  

  • u/None:

    Ah, sorry? I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying I should have done "Unsong Chapter 46" instead of just "chapter 46?
    

    • u/alexanderwales:

      Yes. All the tags we have available are on the sidebar, but it's not required to use them.
      

      • u/appropriate-username:

        Can we get flair for stories that are posted here? A bunch of them aren't tagged and it'd be nice if one could report those and a marker could be added after the fact so that all discussion could be filtered if one is looking for ~~the next fix for their addiction~~ something to read.
        

        • u/RMcD94:

          The mods should just deleted them if they're posted without a title. Takes two seconds to repost them fixed.
          

---