This dialogue takes place in Heaven. Socrates and Shinji are playing a competitive game of chess as Odysseus closely watches. Socrates is old and very withered, with a long beard which is white as snow. Shinji is an adept outdoorsman, mostly because he spent much of his life on Earth outside on the ocean fishing in order to provide food for his family. He is still quite young, and it shows as he often acts before he thinks. Although Shinji is easily tempted, he is an excellent provider and is a good person down to the core of his soul. Odysseus watches the chess game as Shinji makes moves that are beneficial to him in the moment he’s in, but not good for him in the long run. Socrates makes smart moves that require sacrifice at the time, but they become bigger moves ahead in the game. Odysseus has an extremely strong mind, even stronger than Socrates. He is an expert strategist and tactician, and while he is sometimes led off course he always stays loyal to his family. The three diverse men have met and talked together in heaven on multiple occasions. Now they are talking about whether or not it is better to do wrong than to suffer wrong.
Socrates: Without a doubt, it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. The greatest of all misfortunes is for one to do wrong to another individual.
Odysseus: In most cases Socrates, I think you are right but I believe that there are some exceptions to the statement you just made.
Socrates: I believe you to be wrong, Odysseus.
Shinji: I personally agree with Odysseus.
Odysseus: Socrates, my friend, have you ever been in the front lines of a war?
Socrates: As a matter of fact, I have. I fought many times defending my home city of Athens.
Odysseus: Well, then you know what I mean. In the case of being in a kill or be killed situation, it is better for a man to kill rather than be killed. Allowing yourself to be killed in battle is extremely un-honorable. You must do everything in your power to keep yourself alive not just in battle, but in all situations.
Socrates: There is a difference between what you are saying and what I mean. You have the God-given right to defend yourself in any situation you are confronted by. Killing in the midst of battle is not a bad thing, as you are doing it for your country and you are defending your own life and people. Killing another person outside of battle for no particular reason is a terrible thing not only for the victim, but also for the killer. Another example of defending yourself would be that you are walking down the street with your family and a man walks up to you with a knife and proceeds to threaten you and your family. You have the right to defend yourself and if that means killing the antagonist, then that’s okay. The bottom line is that what happens to the soul is much more important than what happens to the body. Killing a man out of cold blood would scar
your soul forever, but killing a man out of self-defense is a perfectly acceptable thing to do.
Odysseus: So Socrates, you are basically saying that killing in war is okay, and killing out of self defense is okay, but killing outside of those two categories is not okay and will injure the killer more than the victim?
Socrates: You speak correctly.
Odysseus: I have a difficult time understanding how the killer is more injured than the dead man lying at his feet.
Socrates: Well, allow me to explain. The killer will be, in a sense, tortured, by the fact that he caused the death of another individual. The man who was killed out of cold blood is innocent and his soul will live on happily. The killer will now have to endure struggle for the rest of his life, and even after death. It is a difficult thing to comprehend, but it is the truth.
Odysseus: If the killer is caught and serves his sentence, will he be freed from that struggle?
Socrates: By no means will he be freed from his struggle, but his struggle will be much easier than if he had lived on without ever being caught. By serving a sentence, the individual will feel that he paid for what he did, but the torture will always be there because a life in jail cannot make up for a life lost.
Odysseus: Ah, I see. So, in a sense, it would be better for the killer to turn himself in rather than go on with his incredibly difficult torture?
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Socrates: Precisely, Odysseus. That is not how the world works, however. Criminals are often scared of what will happen to them if they turn themselves in, and with right reason. The idea of a large amount of time in prison is certainly not a pleasant one, but if you think about it logically then you will see that to choose to turn yourself in is to give yourself a much less difficult life than living with the guilt that you took another man’s life.
Shinji: What a shame.
Odysseus: Indeed it is, but perhaps God meant it that way.
Socrates: What do you mean, Odysseus?
Odysseus: Well, most criminals do not turn themselves in, correct?
Socrates: Correct.
Odysseus: Because they are scared of giving up part of their life to go to prison, I presume?
Socrates: Correct.
Odysseus: Well, maybe God made human nature in a specific way so that criminals would not want to turn themselves in. Perhaps he did it to make them have a more difficult life because of the crimes they committed.
Socrates: This is a scary thought. I always like to think of God as a pleasant individual.
Shinji: As do I, Socrates.
Odysseus: I am only speculating on this subject. I could be wrong.
Socrates and Shinji go on with the game, all along continuing their debates with one another.
They begin talking of legendary heroes of Greek culture and how they were
known for good, or for bad, and whether or not they deserved their reputation. Odysseus takes the stance that you gain good honor and renown from battle, while Socrates takes the stance that it can be seen as bad honor and renown as well. Odysseus has never heard it this way and does not know how to react.
Shinji: My friends, allow me to tell you a story. During my time on Earth, a girl and I fell in love, but our love was not accepted among the people of our village. People were
gossiping about us on the left and right. I couldn’t get away from it. I felt frustrated because I knew that us being together was right because it was true love, but I didn’t understand that even though it felt so right, it was not accepted by my family or my friends. I was being dishonorable and creating a terrible reputation according to the people around me, but I had Hatsue and I knew that even if it was not accepted by my piers, it was right for us to be together. In this sense, things can be very unpopular with the population around you, and yet you know that it is the right thing because it makes you happy.
Odysseus: Shinji, I suppose you are correct when you say that some things can be enormously unpopular with the rest of the population, and yet still be right among you and a few other individuals. Let me ask you both now, what do you think about honor and legacy from feats in battle?
Socrates: Odysseus, I know you are a grand warrior, and I am sorry if this insults you, but honor and legacy from feats in battle are not always good.
Odysseus: That is preposterous!
Socrates: If you are an incredible warrior, Odysseus, and that you are, people will look up to you because they fear the deeds you have done. Killing people in order for your own desire to be known by the population is simply showing terrible morals, not to mention selfish because you are taking other peoples lives in order to make your own better. Going into war should be done not because you want glory and honor, but because you are willing to fight and die for the sake of your country. Is this not true, Odysseus?
Odysseus: I accept that you may be right; this is just the way the world works I suppose. People look at what other people like, think, do, and believe and they simply follow it. If a new trend started that involved wearing socks over your shoes, and enough people began to follow it, then it would suddenly appear popular and attractive although it is strange and senseless. I have seen it time and time again. There are very few people now who have their own opinions on anything. People naturally want what others want, and it can be a destructive need.
Socrates: This is very true. I think that the world is corrupted because our leaders have misled the common people into wanting the wrong things and seeing incorrect things as correct. By leaders I mean movie stars and music artists. Populations naturally feed off of each other.
Shinji: Odysseus, what you said can go both ways as well. If a large group likes something even though it is bad and sinful, the rest of the population will follow. It is a terrible thing, but it’s the sad truth.
Odysseus: That is absolutely correct, Shinji.
Socrates,
Shinji, and Odysseus continue their debates as Shinji and Socrates play their pleasant game of chess in heaven. Odysseus watches, his advanced mind predicting moves and building scenarios that could occur. He witnesses Shinji fall for many traps set cleverly by Socrates. Shinji is easily tempted. With these traps occurring, they get to the subject of talking about protectiveness.
Shinji: If you are over-protective, it is a fact that the one you are trying to protect can turn on you for not giving them the freedom that they as well as any other person desires. I have seen this first-hand on Earth. The girl I was talking about earlier
whom I was deeply in love with was suddenly forbidden to see me by her father. She was beautiful, and he wanted her to do better than a simple village fisherman, even though the man he had in mind was not as good of a match for Hatsue as I was. He was extremely over-protective, and although Hatsue loved her father, she turned on him because she did not have the freedom she desired.
Socrates: Shinji, you are correct that being over-protective can turn the one you are trying to protect away from you. However, as shown in our game of chess, you must be somewhat protective for if you are not, the person will leave you.
Shinji: This is true. Everybody wants to be wanted. My question is whether it is better to be over-protective or under-protective?
Socrates: It would be better to be over-protective. If you are under-protective, and you lose the person, you will forever wish that you would have been protective so they would have stayed with you.
Odysseus: This is true, and if you really love somebody, you cannot help but be protective.
Socrates: Yes and if you think about it, giving too much freedom can be dangerous if the person makes the wrong decisions.
Shinji: A true statement, Socrates.
The chess game reaches the end and Socrates wins. Odysseus knows exactly what Shinji could have done to win, but he doesn’t say anything at first. Shinji congratulates him on a great game and Socrates begins to talk about what Shinji could have done wrong.
Socrates: Well, this just goes to show that you need to make decisions based on your future, not based just on what feels right in the moment. Sometimes it is difficult to do, but it is necessary.
Shinji: Yes, you are right Socrates.
Odysseus: Socrates, I think you are missing an exception.
Socrates: What is that Odysseus?
Odysseus: Some decisions must be made in an instant, for taking too long to think about it can cause you to miss your opportunity.
Socrates: I disagree. I believe that it is always better to think about the decision you are about to make before you make it.
Odysseus: Take this for example; you see a girl and you wish to talk to her, but you spend too long thinking about it and another man comes and takes her for himself. In that instant, would it not be better to make the decision in the first place instead of waiting and thinking it over?
Socrates: Well, Odysseus, I think that if you were meant to be with her than you would have gone up to her right away.
Odysseus: You are right. I stand corrected.