God's Imitator

Yao Yuan continued, ”As for the second point, this is the motion regarding how to handle the Imitator.

”This is only a preliminary draft and will certainly need to go through thorough discussion. We won’t be putting it to a vote until after the next game ends.

”Please take a look for now.”

[Motion 2: New ’Community Trial Rules’]

[A community player may accuse another community player of being the ’Imitator’ on the condition that they provide ’clear reasons or evidence.’]

[The charge must specifically be that of being the ’Imitator,’ not any other offence.]

[The community will open a public trial. Once discussion concludes, all community members other than the ’accuser’ and the ’suspect’ will cast a full vote, either ’Guilty’ or ’Not Guilty,’ with the following outcomes:]

[1. If ’Not Guilty votes ≤ 2,’ the player identified as the Imitator will have their visa time reduced to 1 week’s worth and be expelled from the community.]

[2. If ’Not Guilty votes = 0,’ the suspect will be subject to an immediate death penalty within the community.]

[3. If ’Not Guilty votes ≥ 7 (more than half),’ the accuser will face consequences for filing a false accusation, determined by the number of ’Guilty votes.’][If ’Guilty votes ≤ 2,’ the accuser will have their visa time reduced to 1 week’s worth and be expelled from the community.]

[If ’Guilty votes = 6,’ the accuser will be subject to an immediate death penalty within the community.]

Neither motion was especially long, each fitting on a single page.

The Community Speaking Rule filled only five or six lines, and players moved through it quickly.

But the Community Trial Rules came close to filling an entire page. The majority of players looked visibly taken aback, reading it over more than once to confirm the details.

He Qinyun said with some surprise, ”A penalty for false accusation? When did that become part of it?”

Yao Yuan had clearly anticipated this reaction, and explained at an unhurried pace.

”I think, whatever the specific details of the Community Trial Rules end up being, there’s one thing that must be a shared understanding among every player in this community: this is an extremely extreme rule, and it must naturally be subject to extreme constraints.

”Not only must the handling of the suspect be approached with great care, the act of making an accusation must be held to an equally high standard.

”Initiating a trial is an extraordinarily serious charge. Without restrictions, it would be easy for players to dig up questionable evidence against each other over personal grievances and turn the whole thing into a farce.

”Such a farce might not lead to any truly serious outcome, but it would do serious damage to the community’s atmosphere.

”Although the Community Trial Rules motion represents a step we have no choice but to take, that doesn’t mean we should give up on ourselves and allow the community to slide toward a point of no return.

”In most circumstances, this rule itself is simply meant to serve as a deterrent against the Imitator.

”Much like the death penalty in the real world: it is a punishment that takes effect only under conditions of extreme stringency, and its greater purpose is to deter those who might otherwise commit atrocities without restraint.”

Yao Yuan paused briefly and continued, ”In simple terms, this motion carries multiple layers of restriction.

”First, the charge must specifically be that of being the Imitator. No other grievance or offence can be brought under this motion.

”Second, the accuser must provide very clear reasons and evidence.

”Third, before making the accusation, the accuser must honestly assess whether they can secure the support of more than half the players. If they cannot, they face the risk of the false accusation penalty.

”During the vote, both the accuser and the suspect are ineligible to vote, so under normal circumstances it is 12 players voting. If the community has recently lost members, the number will be lower.

”The penalty of expulsion from the community does not directly result in a player’s death, so the threshold is set relatively loosely. As long as at least three players vote for the suspect, they will not be expelled.

”The immediate death penalty is only possible in the extreme case of a completely unanimous vote.”

He Qinyun followed up, ”I was going to ask, is the immediate death penalty really necessary?

”If the punishment is limited to expulsion from the community, no one is being killed within the community itself, and the nature of it changes entirely. Wouldn’t that be a better outcome?”

Yao Yuan considered for a moment, ”Are you certain that would be better?

”Assume the suspect really is the Imitator. They already intend to kill all of us, and they have the means to do it.

”After everything it takes to expose them, a unanimous vote confirms they are the Imitator.

”And then we simply send them to another community?

”Where they take a little time to settle in, find their footing, and start designing new death games aimed at killing us again?

”And if the Imitator knows that even being exposed only results in being sent somewhere else to start over, do they have any real reason to be afraid?

”In that case, this motion would have no meaning from the very beginning.

”I think this is a bit like the debate over abolishing the death penalty. There may be many reasons to abolish it, but only one reason is needed to keep it: the deterrent effect of death is something no other measure can replicate.

”Abolishing capital punishment in the real world is already not an ideal solution, but at least the real world has alternatives like life imprisonment without parole. We have no way to imprison someone permanently within a community.

”If it ever comes to that point, death is the only option left.”

He Qinyun looked at the motion in her hands and gave a reluctant nod, ”That’s fair.”

Yao Yuan added, ”In cases that don’t reach a unanimous vote, expulsion from the community may still be triggered.

”But if all visa time is stripped away, it amounts to death in practical terms, so it seems reasonable to leave the suspect with one week’s worth.

”That gives them at least a chance to participate in one game after arriving at a new community. If they earn visa time in that game, there is still a possibility of survival.

”Or, if they are persuasive and socially capable enough, they might be able to secure a loan or assistance from the players in their new community.

”That is, in my view, the most appropriate punishment available short of a death sentence.

”Of course, if everyone agrees that the threat must be eliminated completely and the other party should be given no opportunity for retaliation, then this penalty could also be changed to an immediate death sentence.”

A silence settled over the room.

Huang Shengjie shifted in his seat, unsettled, ”It all feels so contradictory.

”On one hand there’s the worry that killing someone in the community will trigger a slippery slope and undermine the community’s most basic limits. On the other hand there’s the worry that finding the Imitator and not killing them will leave a seed of vengeance that comes back to destroy us.”

Qin Cheng gave a nod, ”Once a proposal like this is put forward, it does tend to push toward an extreme position.

”Personally I think both of these penalties are broadly reasonable.

”Any other approach would essentially boil down to either killing everyone suspected or letting everyone off entirely, and either of those would likely cause even greater problems.”

Ye Lin looked at another section of the motion and asked, ”How is ’clear reasons or evidence’ defined?

”Put another way, what level of reason or evidence actually qualifies as clear? What is the threshold for opening a trial?

”And who decides whether a trial is opened? Does that require an additional vote?”