Darkover
Archangel
- Jul 29, 2021
- 5,040
Life functions much like a prison, where we are sentenced to existence without our consent, forced to follow rules we never agreed to, and punished if we try to escape or resist. Unlike actual prisoners, we haven't committed any crime—we're simply thrown into this system because someone else decided to create us.
Much like a prison, life imposes strict rules and consequences. If you refuse to work, you starve. If you don't obey social norms, you're ostracized. If you break laws, even ones you never consented to, you risk punishment, imprisonment, or worse. Even suicide is illegal in some places, as if the system insists that we serve our full sentence regardless of how much suffering it brings.
Some argue that life offers freedom, but this freedom is an illusion. Inmates can technically choose how they spend their time in prison, but their choices remain heavily restricted. Similarly, in life, we can make choices, but all options come with suffering and limitations. You can work a job you hate to survive, or you can be homeless. You can follow social norms to fit in, or you can face isolation. You can chase pleasures to distract yourself, but suffering is inevitable.
Not all prisoners have the same sentence, just as not everyone is born into equal circumstances. Some are born into wealth, power, and comfort, while others start life in poverty, sickness, or war zones. Yet no matter where someone starts, the outcome is always the same—death, the ultimate execution.
Attempting to escape this imposed existence comes with severe consequences. If a prisoner tries to flee, they risk brutal punishment. In life, suicide is heavily stigmatized and often illegal. Those who choose to isolate themselves from society are labeled mentally ill or seen as failures. Refusing to "play the game" means suffering the consequences, whether through poverty, exclusion, or starvation. Even those who manage to end their sentence early often leave behind suffering for others, much like an escaped prisoner who causes collateral damage.
Prisons exist to exploit inmates, providing cheap labor, securing government funding, and maintaining control. Life operates in much the same way. The economic system depends on workers to keep functioning, governments require obedient citizens to maintain order, and society pressures people to reproduce, ensuring a steady supply of new "inmates" to keep the system going. Our existence is not for our own benefit but for the benefit of others.
We never asked to be here. We cannot leave without suffering. The rules were written long before we arrived, and we are expected to obey them until our time inevitably runs out. Life is a prison, and we are all serving our sentences.
Much like a prison, life imposes strict rules and consequences. If you refuse to work, you starve. If you don't obey social norms, you're ostracized. If you break laws, even ones you never consented to, you risk punishment, imprisonment, or worse. Even suicide is illegal in some places, as if the system insists that we serve our full sentence regardless of how much suffering it brings.
Some argue that life offers freedom, but this freedom is an illusion. Inmates can technically choose how they spend their time in prison, but their choices remain heavily restricted. Similarly, in life, we can make choices, but all options come with suffering and limitations. You can work a job you hate to survive, or you can be homeless. You can follow social norms to fit in, or you can face isolation. You can chase pleasures to distract yourself, but suffering is inevitable.
Not all prisoners have the same sentence, just as not everyone is born into equal circumstances. Some are born into wealth, power, and comfort, while others start life in poverty, sickness, or war zones. Yet no matter where someone starts, the outcome is always the same—death, the ultimate execution.
Attempting to escape this imposed existence comes with severe consequences. If a prisoner tries to flee, they risk brutal punishment. In life, suicide is heavily stigmatized and often illegal. Those who choose to isolate themselves from society are labeled mentally ill or seen as failures. Refusing to "play the game" means suffering the consequences, whether through poverty, exclusion, or starvation. Even those who manage to end their sentence early often leave behind suffering for others, much like an escaped prisoner who causes collateral damage.
Prisons exist to exploit inmates, providing cheap labor, securing government funding, and maintaining control. Life operates in much the same way. The economic system depends on workers to keep functioning, governments require obedient citizens to maintain order, and society pressures people to reproduce, ensuring a steady supply of new "inmates" to keep the system going. Our existence is not for our own benefit but for the benefit of others.
We never asked to be here. We cannot leave without suffering. The rules were written long before we arrived, and we are expected to obey them until our time inevitably runs out. Life is a prison, and we are all serving our sentences.
