scene from something I’m gonna finish writing, someday
“But it’s got be true. Look at everything he suffered because he admitted it. Why the hell would he confess to something so absolutely damning for him, if it wasn’t fucking true?”
“Among my people, madam, there is a story…”
“Shut up.”
“It is said that long ago, in a village far from here, there was a woman who was mysterious. There was much that the other townspeople did not know about her, and they all burned with curiosity.”
“I’m not interested in your story. I’m saying–”
“Her greatest mystery was that she owned a knife, a beautiful knife with a blade that was as transparent as water. No one knew where it came from. Some said the blade was pure diamond. Others said it was only glass. She would never answer questions about the knife, or speak of it at all.”
“Okay. But…”
“But one day, without saying a word, she walked to the center of the town square, pulled out the knife… and used it to cut out both her own eyes.”
“What the fuck.”
“And everyone suddenly understood. ‘It must be made of real diamond,’ they murmured to each other in awe. 'Otherwise she would never have done that.’”
“What?!”
“Exactly.”
“…That’s it? That’s the story? It makes no sense. What was the point of that?”
“The point is that it does not make sense. The point is to illustrate this exact situation.”
“What the fuck.”
“Hearing the story, we easily understand that the townspeople were wrong. Of course, seeing her cut her eyes out with the knife did not prove that it was diamond. And, of course, saying that it was diamond does not explain why she cut her eyes out with it. We easily see that both those thoughts are foolish.”
“…Ohhh.”
“Exactly.”
“So. Okay. So you’re saying that what he said was SO bad for him, that… it being true isn’t enough explanation for him saying it.”
“Yes. It may be true or not, but it does the same harm to him either way. There is no clear reason why he would choose to do such harm to himself. The most likely explanation is that he was, somehow, threatened with even worse harm if he did not say what he said.”
“Hmm.”
“But it being true or untrue? That has no effect on how much it harms him. And therefore no effect on how likely he would be to say it. Glass can cut as badly as diamond. You would not choose to cut yourself with either, unless you had a good reason.”
“That’s a real story among your people?”
“A frequently told one.”
“So your… people. They don’t feel that telling the truth is enough reason in itself to risk danger?”
“Oh, no, like your people, they do often suffer from the illusion that it is.”
“Illusion, huh.”
“A common one. Hence the need for the story.”