icarusrising9 t1_j3zvptr wrote on January 12, 2023 at 4:54 AM

Reminded me of the scene in The Brothers Karamazov where Ivan talks about the hypothetical little girl locked away in the shack, praying to God to save her. Incredibly emotionally moving stuff.

If you liked The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, you might really like her novel The Dispossessed as well. She plays with a lot more ethical and sociopolitical questions there too.

MasterOfNap t1_j45845p wrote on January 13, 2023 at 6:23 AM

It’s not even hypothetical, Ivan said it was a “real life” example that happened in Russia, not a thought experiment he made up to challenge Alyosha.

Anyhow, yes The Dispossessed is sort of a continuation of that question, and it’s honestly one of the best sci-fi there is too.