Edward Nigma | The Riddler (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
questionauthority) wrote2011-05-06 04:55 pm
questionauthority) wrote2011-05-06 04:55 pm
Riddle 026: Raining on Prom Night
[A: 726 Anderson Lane - BACKDATED TO THE DAY AFTER PROM.
Riddle me this: Who's as green as his suit and just woke up with the worst hangover ever? Answer: Edward Nigma, of course. Family membersand unexpected visitors will find the Riddler downstairs at the breakfast table, dressed in a green bathrobe, half-heartedly fumbling with his daily crossword while he picks at a plate of eggs. He looks incredibly groggy, tired, and somewhat foul-tempered.]
[B: Mayfield High School - TODAY. It appears as though your favorite Ethics teacher is looking a little bit better after a long weekend and some time to recover. On the chalkboard, there appears to be a hastily drawn picture of a man with a long face and a garish smile.]
A dangerous criminal has been apprehended. Caught red-handed. He's responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. Question: How do you proceed? Do you take an eye for an eye and serve him a death penalty? It only makes sense, doesn't it? Especially if you consider the possibility that he may escape from his prison. And it's true. He could certainly escape and kill again. And again.
For the safety of these innocents, and for the good of the people, it may be worthwhile to consider a utilitarian approach. That is to say, you would subscribe to a system of ethics in which you would seek to increase the safety, happiness, and well-being of all mankind to maximum levels. But...
[He draws up another picture on the chalkboard of a cloaked figure, shrouded in a long, flowing cape.]
...there are those who might disagree with you. Those self-righteous radicals who feel as though they should follow the rules. Whose rules, exactly? Their rules. Their morals are absolute. They simply can't be compromised. Even if executing a murderer and a madman will maximize our well-being, murder is still murder to them. Nothing changes that. This is a deontological approach, class. And the ends never justify the means to them.
...so riddle me this. What would you do, if you had a say in this criminal's fate?
[Around Town:
There's a good chance that, after school, you'll find the Riddler on an investigation. He'll be found in one of three locations---
C: Sniffing around the Zemekis Corps Office Building, trying to get a grasp on what exactly it is that people do here.
D: In the Downtown area, glancing into windows and occasionally taking notes on a small notepad.
E: At the Mayfield Hospital, to answer some questions. A hospital in Mayfield seems rather arbitrary, doesn't it? Especially considering that death isn't even permanent. Why would one even be here, then, if that's the case?]
Riddle me this: Who's as green as his suit and just woke up with the worst hangover ever? Answer: Edward Nigma, of course. Family members
[B: Mayfield High School - TODAY. It appears as though your favorite Ethics teacher is looking a little bit better after a long weekend and some time to recover. On the chalkboard, there appears to be a hastily drawn picture of a man with a long face and a garish smile.]
A dangerous criminal has been apprehended. Caught red-handed. He's responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. Question: How do you proceed? Do you take an eye for an eye and serve him a death penalty? It only makes sense, doesn't it? Especially if you consider the possibility that he may escape from his prison. And it's true. He could certainly escape and kill again. And again.
For the safety of these innocents, and for the good of the people, it may be worthwhile to consider a utilitarian approach. That is to say, you would subscribe to a system of ethics in which you would seek to increase the safety, happiness, and well-being of all mankind to maximum levels. But...
[He draws up another picture on the chalkboard of a cloaked figure, shrouded in a long, flowing cape.]
...there are those who might disagree with you. Those self-righteous radicals who feel as though they should follow the rules. Whose rules, exactly? Their rules. Their morals are absolute. They simply can't be compromised. Even if executing a murderer and a madman will maximize our well-being, murder is still murder to them. Nothing changes that. This is a deontological approach, class. And the ends never justify the means to them.
...so riddle me this. What would you do, if you had a say in this criminal's fate?
[Around Town:
There's a good chance that, after school, you'll find the Riddler on an investigation. He'll be found in one of three locations---
C: Sniffing around the Zemekis Corps Office Building, trying to get a grasp on what exactly it is that people do here.
D: In the Downtown area, glancing into windows and occasionally taking notes on a small notepad.
E: At the Mayfield Hospital, to answer some questions. A hospital in Mayfield seems rather arbitrary, doesn't it? Especially considering that death isn't even permanent. Why would one even be here, then, if that's the case?]
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Sorry for ultra late, a lot of stuff came up. Feel free to ignore. I am the worst.
Never.
I am unworthy.
Hush.
...it wasn't worth it.
Never.
[This is spoken less caustically than it might've been, though.]
It wasn't worth what?
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[It wasn't worth dying for. Not that he can tell Susan that.]
It wasn't worth all that effort. I had a plan. I carried it out to fruition. I... I killed him. But I didn't win. That wasn't the answer I was looking for.
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[Susan will draw the blinds a bit before settling into a seat opposite Edward.]
Have you found the answer you sought, then?
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How?
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. . . You said you were a criminal at home. You wear a jumpsuit, you live in an asylum, and you spend all your time obsessing over an overgrown man-child who never grew out of playing dress-up.
Somehow, here, you function. You have work. You have friends. You have something remotely resembling a family. And if the worst that ever happens is getting absolutely smashed on a bad night and making a fool of yourself, it's a victory, if not over anyone in particular, then over what might have been.
Sometimes, you don't have to beat anybody to win.
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But she's... right. He isn't as alone as he's so quick to believe.
...it only figures that even now, Susan's managed to find the answer before he has.]
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Now riddle me this, Edward Nigma.
Pancakes or omelets?
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Omelets sound terrific right about now. ...thank you.
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If you can manage to keep your hands steady for a few minutes, try to set the table while I'm cooking.