The Abyss: The power of inhibition.

Department of Humanities

Psychology/Sociology Section

For: Chief Engineer

Subject: Corrupting the mind.

                There’s a belief out there that well all need a sense of law and order even if it’s a small portion of our nature. Without this internal guidance, we’re unable to live amongst each other. Perhaps this is true, but no one’s going to tell that to the Tanar’ri and live. A structured and ordered life may work well for mortals of the Prime, but then again, they’ve never been to the Abyss.

                Inhibition is the key to survival here. If you can’t learn to lose your moral guidance, you’re already dead. Face it this place isn’t nice. Ask the Tanar’ri and they’ll tell you it’s the testing grounds of the multiverse. These cutters ain’t called the Everchanging for nothing.

                The Abyss demands that you evolve or die. If you can’t evolve, you’d better be able to adapt. Adaptation in the Abyss isn’t a just a physical element. If you’re unable to change the way you think, all of your magical protections will amount to nothing.

                The abyss is hard, but the cutters who call this place home are harder. They’ve learned to let go. These bloods will cut you just as soon as they’d look at you. There’s no sympathy, no remorse, only the cold instincts of killers. No one here thinks, they do. But it’s always something that benefits the individual’s selfish desires.

                That touches on another point. Never assume for an instant that you can do for anybody. Even your own comrades can become a liability. Anyone traveling here needs to know that should you require it, your companions may have to be sacrificed. Don’t hesitate to do it, because if the tables were reversed, they’d do it to you. That’s a hard reality you’ll have to face.

                Kill, or be killed. It’s not a question of right or wrong, but of survival of the fittest. If you can’t handle that, pike it. Perhaps the Tanar’ri got something right for once. Maybe the other races of the multiverse need to cull their own herds. Alas, for that to be, we’d have to shed our hang-ups. Wouldn’t it be a grand experiment though?

Hypatia Anaxarete, Shaper 3.