Apocalyptic Morality: Decision Making Under Duress
We’ve had a couple of podcasts from Space_Kitty00 and HighleyGinger over the past few weeks so I have been slow on the uptake for writing as I hit a busy stretch of work. I’ve got a Castlevania podcast series coming up in the next few weeks with Space_Kitty00, as well as some other collaborations in the works. I am also working on the curriculum which is almost done and I’ll be looking toward an early October pilot launch. There are plenty of exciting times ahead for Phenomena Gaming. If you would like to join the journey, please place your email in the Subscribe box below to join our distribution list. I also have a Patreon at patreon.com/phenomenagaming which you can access but I may be moving my subscription model to this site as I like things being in one place.
For today’s topic, I wanted to cover the difference between objective and situational morality given the intense discussions about gender, sexual orientation, and any polarizing issue. While each of these issues has its own nuances, one of the core tensions is the question of whether objective morality exists for all people regardless of circumstance and who gets to create the standard of morality. This article will examine Souls of Chronos and how morality and decision-making occurs in an apocalyptic setting. Are there objective principles which hold true even in the worst of situations or does moral decision making change based on circumstances?
Gang Life in Souls of Chronos (Screenshot taken from my PS5)
What is Souls of Chronos?
Souls of Chronos is an indie-JRPG game set in an apocalyptic world 15 years after a catastrophe aptly named “The Apocalypse.” This event caused the world’s land masses to be cut off from each other and shifted the balance of power in this world. You play as Sid who is a member of one of the gangs in control of Astella. With your companion Torii, you navigate complex gang dynamics between rival factions, an empire fighting to regain control of the whole continent, and a mysterious force in the oceans blocking off access to other parts of the world. Torii helps you control time in battle to overcome mobsters, monsters, and find out what is happening in the world. Overall, as a critic, I give this game a 7/10 as there are some weird pacing issues and themes which do not get explored as deeply as I would have liked as well as leaving the narrative a little hollow in spots.
Porteau is a businessman in Astella who took advantage of circumstances to build power.
Apocalyptic Fears and Power Grabs
The screenshot highlights a tyrant taking power in a terrible situation and causing harm to civilians and the overall social conditions. Apocalyptic events are defined as events which cause sudden shifts in power or living conditions because of uncontrollable forces: asteroids, natural disasters, etc., While apocalyptic is usually described as something for the whole world at the same time, it can also feel apocalyptic when devastation occurs over a large area even if it does not encompass the whole world. Souls of Chronos takes place in what I would call a total apocalypse where the entire world is affected.
When catastrophic situations happen decision making moves back toward survival as the primary emphasis. As such, this is when charismatic or powerful leaders can take hold of people’s imaginations and resources relatively quickly. Astella has two rival gangs who have taken control: the Antelopes and the Hyenas. Citizens have to buy protection from one of the two gangs and owe dues to them. Characters like Secca, the Hyena’s Gang Leader and Vista, a local businessman, are taking advantage of the tragedy to build their empires. It is easier when people are afraid for not having their basic and first level needs (security) met, that malicious organizations can easily take over and set up systems advantageous to them.
A good real world example to use is disaster profiteering. After a major natural disaster, land prices drop and rich speculators try to claim land at reduced prices driving out local residents. Sometimes local communities try to fight back but often larger forces; government, chambers of commerce, and philanthropists, succeed in redeveloping disaster areas and drive out low-income and marginalized people. When philanthropists and speculators do not come, gangs and lawlessness flows because the local communities become dilapidated with minimal job prospects and often major health risks for those who are forced to remain but haven’t been forced out.
Souls of Chronos focused on the gang takeovers but offer glimpses of business leaders collaborating with governments trying to control the gangs. In real life, these are most often not just out of the goodness of peoples’ hearts and in Souls of Chronos these tensions lead to an outbreak of conflict throughout Astella. The below screenshot from Hadwin the Alchemist exemplifies the attitude of powerful people in apocalyptic and many other scenarios. The weak should offer themselves gratefully for the purposes of the powerful. That is an attitude which has crushed many of us as gamers who endured harassment and social ostracization and it does crush many people in Astella.
Situations and Adjustments
The perspective of the powerful is important in thinking about the discussion of objective morality. The powerful change their tactics and reveal beliefs they would hide in other circumstances. In our world, we can see changes in culture causing religious leaders to act more aggressively to preserve their worldview. Changes in political climates cause political leaders to be more honest about their disdain for the average citizen, and appeals to objective morality often come from people who are its worst offenders. Powerful people do not act as if there is an objective morality. Most appeals to objective morality are made to pacify people who might otherwise catch on to extreme behavior. This attempt to create order by governing behavior worked for thousands of years when transparency into governmental and religious leaders’ actions was minimal.
In Souls of Chronos, without the apocalyptic conditions, Astella would not have been taken over by gangs and would not have had governments invading to claim Astella’s resources for themselves. The gangs justify their behavior as a need to secure resources, and the government claims an objective order that they should be the governing force of Astella. What is lost in these conversations is the plight of the average person and their survival needs between these competing forces.
In summary, powerful people do not hold themselves to objective standards of behavior in most cases. Powerful people want to acquire more power and for them this means justifying behavior according to circumstances, but doing so in a way which makes them appear righteous so as not to arise ire from people. More difficult circumstances make it harder for people to know what threats are lying in wait.
Shipwrecks make for a pessimistic time.
Conclusion
We are at a crossroads. For some the methodology of the powerful is acceptable, where one can manipulate situations at will as long as the best get to exert their will. However, for those whom this morality does not appeal are having to navigate between two difficult pillars. One, if there is an objective morality, who is trusted to give the objective morality and is actually following the morality they set? This is not a common occurrence in the world. Two, if one argues for a subjective morality, how does one prevent themselves and others from being harmed by powerful people and opportunists?
My suggestion is to approach morality as a subjective reflection exercise but grounded in one’s own principles developed from one’s own experiences. This allows someone to be resistant to abuses from people attempting to impose objective moralities which they have no intent to follow and also prevents someone from feeling vapid and helpless when multiple opposing forces start to tug and vie for power.
To learn how to do this, start by examining your life and find which principles are most important to you, ones which you have held throughout good and bad circumstances. For more tips, see our pilot course registration opening soon.
