On Absol Morality

Absol morality, along with most of their culture, is built around their concept of "Fate." An absol's relationship with Fate is simple: they must do everything in their power to see that events play out as they have foreseen, and this overrides all questions of right and wrong. It may be necessary to deceive, to steal, even to murder, to bring Fate to pass. Nevertheless, what is done in the name of Fate is always considered good, even if the Fate itself is horrible.

This is because absol believe Fate is the force that holds the universe together. It's the manifestation of the laws of causality, and if it were to unravel, the universe would descend into meaningless chaos. A fated event is the correct outcome of the current situation, so even if most people would consider that outcome undesirable, to an absol it is imperative that it come to pass. Under most circumstances, no intervention is required, and the absol simply observes and stays out of the way while events unfold as foreseen. In some cases, however, the universe doesn't match up to Fate's expectations, and an absol is expected to use any means necessary to shape events to the fated end.

Fate might require an absol to murder their family and friends, for example, and not only would they not be condemned for doing so, but their actions would in fact be lauded, even as other absol expressed sympathy for their sacrifice. Much of absol storytelling revolves around the conflicts between acting in the interest of Fate and acting in one's own interest, with heroes who commit what other cultures would consider heinous crimes in the name of Fate and despite personal reservations.

It should be noted that predictions between absol almost always agree. What they experience as Fate appears to be either an interpretation of some objective external reality or at least a consistent quirk of their biology. It's not possible for an absol to claim "Fate made me do it" without other absol being able to tell they're lying. On the other hand, the actions an absol takes when they intervene in the name of Fate are open to scrutiny. For example, other absol might question whether it was really necessary to maim someone to make sure they would be out of commission at a critical moment. Crimes committed in the name of Fate are usually pardoned, but only if the absol can justify them to the satisfaction of other members of their species. Absol are punished harshly for using Fate as an excuse to commit morally repugnant acts, although other absol often have difficulty coming to an agreement over when such punishment is warranted.

To an outsider, of course, an absol's actions can appear horribly arbitrary. It's hard for other species to appreciate the concrete reality Fate has for absol, who as far as they know are just making things up to justify their tendency to flip out over minor things now and again--because just as most events in life are minor, so too are most of an absol's visions of Fate. Many a trainer has been confused when their absol becomes vehemently, even violently against their wearing a blue shirt one morning. As far as absol are concerned, these minor details deserve as much attention as the most dramatic events.

On the other hand, the more dramatic an event is, the more people it affects and the more likely it is to be foretold by at least one absol, thus their legendary ability to predict disaster. Typically, absol can only sense the Fate of a few people with whom they are intimately familiar. Most wild absol can only see events affecting local wild pokémon. Trained absol, usually their trainer and the other pokémon on their team, and perhaps some individuals from their past if they're wild-caught. There are no known cases of absol who appear in their own visions or absol tied to places or inanimate objects, but there are some rare absol who can sense the Fate of one or more people they have never met. Such "prophets" are revered in absol society and usually compelled to seek out the subjects of their visions. They are considered the purest agents of Fate, unaffected by personal interest in their subjects' lives. Such absol are likely responsible for the earliest human contact with the species and many of the legends surrounding them.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are absol born without the usual Fate-sensing ability. The treatment of these individuals varies between absol populations, with reactions ranging from pity to outright hostility. The ability to sense Fate can also be lost if an absol's scythe and the gemstone on their forehead are badly damaged or removed. This is considered the harshest punishment an absol can receive and is usually reserved for absol believed to have actively gone against Fate.

The question of why absol can sense Fate, especially when no other species appears to share their ability, is answered differently by different absol cultures and schools of thought. Furthermore, there's nothing to say that what absol see actually has anything to do with "Fate" or the future as such. Their visions might just be a biological artifact, some kind of esoteric sense that, filtered through their brains, happens to look like prophecy. They might mean something else entirely, or absolutely nothing at all. Whether Fate, the central pillar of absol culture, is a lie or whether their interpretation of it is misguided is an interesting question, but won't be discussed here. For the purposes of this essay it is simply accepted that an absol senses Fate and acts to see that Fate brought about, regardless of personal qualms or hardship.

So the core of the absol moral system is simple enough: act in accordance with Fate. Absol believe that life is governed by forces beyond their understanding or control, forces without care for their personal opinions or desires. However, most of the time absol have no idea what Fate has in store for them. They sense the outcomes of only a small fraction of all events, leaving them with as little guidance as any other person much of the time. Absol consider this lack of knowledge a gift, an opportunity to choose Fate rather than have it dictated to them, even if that choice is only an illusion. As a result, they value freedom of choice above all else besides Fate itself.

In a way, this renders the rest of the absol moral system simple as well: any action which infringes on another's ability to choose--any attempt to impose one's own will on another--is bad. Anything else is fair game. This is referred to as the absol's principle of "noninterference."

In practice, this results in a sense of right and wrong that lines up fairly closely with most humans' beliefs. For example, murder is considered extremely bad, because of course killing someone removes their ability to choose to do anything ever again. On the other hand, unlike in human cultures, murder is never condoned except in self-defense; large-scale war has never been practiced by absol. And issues that humans may consider debatable are sometimes unambiguous to absol. For example, absol have nothing against assisted suicide, and in fact if an absol weren't to kill someone who had asked to be killed, they would be considered gravely in the wrong. Absol have no taboo against suicide in general, and in some absol cultures it's the expected, honorable course of action after having failed to uphold Fate, intentionally or otherwise.

By extension absol appreciate transparency and disdain manipulation. Individuals need accurate information in order to make choices that best align with their desires. Therefore, an absol who misrepresents the facts to another person is in a sense restricting their freedom by leaving them unaware of or misrepresenting some of their options, and as a result lying is a serious crime in most absol societies. Attempting to dictate other people's actions is at best a serious breach of etiquette and at worst actually against the law. As a result, absol avoid speaking in imperatives and usually become extremely uncomfortable when asked for direction--they will provide any information they have that might be helpful for the person doing the asking, but will resist making any sort of judgement based on it. You might imagine them functioning like the sorts of "pro/con" lists people sometimes use to help them with decisions: they will happily relate what they see as being the upsides or downsides of a decision, but will balk at being asked "What, therefore, should I do?"

Of course, perfect neutrality is an ideal, and one very far removed from reality. The very act of communicating with another person almost always involves some attempt to influence them. Even the order in which facts are presented or the language used to do so can sway someone's thinking without any overt persuasion being involved. Absol can and do attempt to lead others, influence others, and otherwise make an impact on others' lives; however, their cultural restrictions force them to be circumspect about these goals. Absol do not value ambition, and they scorn politics. Nonetheless, the degree to which any individual absol values or adheres to the idea of noninterference varies widely, and as long as they don't actually command someone to do something, they can often get away with a considerable amount of maneuvering. This leads to a conversational style that other species often find maddening in its subtlety: absol suggest, they imply, but they never demand. They lie by omission or by playing on their listeners' assumptions and failing to correct errors of understanding. As a result, some argue that what absol value most is the illusion of choice, rather than choice itself.

Somewhat paradoxically, this emphasis on freedom and lack of influence makes many absol uncomfortable. When confronted with the dichotomy between the prophecies of Fate, where what has to happen is made explicitly clear, and everyday life, where it seems anything goes, many absol feel more comfortable working within the rigid framework of Fate. They long for more guidance, for someone or something to tell them what to do. As a result, many absol readily accept authority or doctrine. They are renown for their loyalty to human trainers or owners--although they do not always work well on a battling team, as other pokémon can find them aloof and difficult to relate to. They are often employed as guard-pokémon by higher-end establishments because, in addition to sometimes being able to foresee threats to the merchandise, their strong desire for order and certainty makes them especially vigorous in their attempts to thwart thieves and reacquire stolen goods. They are comforted by being able to keep things in their proper place.

While tolerant of other species and understanding of the fact that they can't know Fate, absol in general view humans and other pokémon as barbaric and horribly straightforward about their desires. In absol society the highest ideal is to do your duty without anyone ever knowing and to leave no trace upon the earth. Other species often view absol with suspicion, for while they espouse no desire for influence, all this means is that they often operate from the shadows. Absol may prefer to remain anonymous, but they act like a wind blowing across the vast ocean of history: invisible, but leaving in their wake ripples that can build to towering waves.