[ A day after the forum was opened for discussion, Ratio finally makes his own comment. He'd been taking the time to read over everyone's argument and incorporate them into his own considerations. But before stating his own decision, he wants to present the most complete overview of the choice at hand.
I hope you're all ready for a wall of text. ]
I have read each and every one of your arguments, lackluster though some may be, and I believe I understand the general sentiment among us. Before I divulge my own opinion, let us first review the facts of our current circumstances. It is important to have a full understanding of the situation before a decision can be made.
We have successfully slain one of the Imugi and weakened the other, which has escaped through a Rift.
LILITH believes the escaped female Imugi to be currently bearing offspring, if she has not already bore them.
The battles against both have resulted in injury among Outsiders; Rift poisoning has further drained us of our strength.
The battle has destroyed a significant amount of Seoul's infrastructure. Crime has sharply increased as a result of the loss of order and safety.
Symptoms of Rift poisoning have become prevalent in Seoul.
LILITH's South Korea branch has requested that we stay and provide aid to the city. The Japan branch believes the Imugi will be lost if not immediately pursued.
There is an unknown party that has been attempting to trap the female Imugi in the area near Busan.
LILITH operatives have been found dead in South Korea due to unknown causes.
From these facts, the following conjectures can be made:
The Imugi may be intelligent enough to bear a grudge against us for its slain brethren.
If left alone, the Imugi's offspring will grow to be threats in their own right.
If the Imugi and its offspring escape, we will most certainly see casualties in the future. If not in South Korea, then in another region of the world, as it is capable of travel across the planet.
The unprotected citizens of Seoul may potentially suffer from symptoms of acute Rift poisoning and warp into hybrid creatures in the worst case scenario.
Should we abandon Seoul, the South Korean branch will be displeased and may choose not to render aid to us in the future when we request it.
The unknown party may take interest in the Imugi corpse in Seoul. Whether they present a threat to Seoul itself remains to be seen, but that LILITH operatives have been found dead presents us with a very real likelihood that there is a party opposed to LILITH in South Korea.
It is not possible to split our forces to tackle both situations at once; we are not operating at full strength and reducing our capacity on either front is more than likely to result in unnecessary casualties.
There are some other factors to consider as well.
Capturing the female Imugi and its young alive will afford us the best analysis of the kaiju, which will prove to be beneficial for LILITH's main goal to resolve the kaiju crisis.
Outsiders were summoned to this planet to combat the kaiju, and LILITH has, for the most part, selected for those who have skill in combat. Any other skills we bear are entirely incidental, which means we are less effective when tasked to provide aid.
Brimstone has been expressly noted to be nursing bruised egos over allowing the Imugi to escape.
The probability of Seoul coming under attack by hybrid creatures and an unknown party is low, but not insignificant. More likely, Seoul will only have to deal with its unruly citizens, which is already an important task in and of itself. However, and it displeases me to say so, we cannot discount the ire of the South Korean branch as a trivial matter. It is irresponsible of the Japan branch to foist the responsibility of navigating their bureaucratic politics onto us when we have no authority past what our physical prowess affords us, but that is a complaint I intend to file after this situation has been resolved. If the decision was made in good faith, then they are likely relying on our expertise as warriors to determine which is the more important goal.
In contrast, the probability of the female Imugi bearing offspring is high, and more consequential is the potential devastation she and her offspring bring to the planet. The mother will initially lay low as she recovers from birth and her offspring adjust themselves to autonomous existence. Eventually, we will see a rise in deaths in any areas with smaller human populations as the mother teaches her young how to hunt, and once fully fledged, the offspring will be capable of attacking cities on their own. If there are any other organizations on the planet working against the kaiju, our decision to allow the creatures to escape will negatively impact our relations with them should it become known.
Essentially, we are trading casualties in Seoul today for casualties across the planet in the future. There is no easy decision to make. Regardless of which path is chosen, we must all bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Please keep that in mind.
Given all of the above, my decision is thus:
Decision: Chase after the Imugi Reason: The upper limit of the loss of life that may potentially be caused by the Imugi and its offspring is unknown, whereas the upper limit of the loss of life for Seoul is its entire population. From a purely utilitarian perspective, there is no question which choice is better.
@rubber ducky
I hope you're all ready for a wall of text. ]
I have read each and every one of your arguments, lackluster though some may be, and I believe I understand the general sentiment among us. Before I divulge my own opinion, let us first review the facts of our current circumstances. It is important to have a full understanding of the situation before a decision can be made.
From these facts, the following conjectures can be made:
There are some other factors to consider as well.
The probability of Seoul coming under attack by hybrid creatures and an unknown party is low, but not insignificant. More likely, Seoul will only have to deal with its unruly citizens, which is already an important task in and of itself. However, and it displeases me to say so, we cannot discount the ire of the South Korean branch as a trivial matter. It is irresponsible of the Japan branch to foist the responsibility of navigating their bureaucratic politics onto us when we have no authority past what our physical prowess affords us, but that is a complaint I intend to file after this situation has been resolved. If the decision was made in good faith, then they are likely relying on our expertise as warriors to determine which is the more important goal.
In contrast, the probability of the female Imugi bearing offspring is high, and more consequential is the potential devastation she and her offspring bring to the planet. The mother will initially lay low as she recovers from birth and her offspring adjust themselves to autonomous existence. Eventually, we will see a rise in deaths in any areas with smaller human populations as the mother teaches her young how to hunt, and once fully fledged, the offspring will be capable of attacking cities on their own. If there are any other organizations on the planet working against the kaiju, our decision to allow the creatures to escape will negatively impact our relations with them should it become known.
Essentially, we are trading casualties in Seoul today for casualties across the planet in the future. There is no easy decision to make. Regardless of which path is chosen, we must all bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Please keep that in mind.
Given all of the above, my decision is thus:
Decision: Chase after the Imugi
Reason: The upper limit of the loss of life that may potentially be caused by the Imugi and its offspring is unknown, whereas the upper limit of the loss of life for Seoul is its entire population. From a purely utilitarian perspective, there is no question which choice is better.