Ethical dilemma: What makes life worth living? - Douglas MacLean

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Krivokuca

On your planet, life depends entirely on Nuronium.

Na vašoj planeti, život u potpunosti zavisi od nuronijuma.

Your species is almost otherwise identical to humans,

Izuzev toga, vaša vrsta je gotovo identična ljudima,

except you require Nuronium in the atmosphere for normal cognition.

jedino im je potreban nuronijum iz atmosfere za normalnu kogniciju.

Without it, people lose their capacity to imagine and think reflectively.

Bez njega, ljudi gube sposobnost imaginacije i refleksivnog razmišljanja.

Over time, they even lose their ability to make and retain long-term memories.

Vremenom čak gube i sposobnost sticanja i održavanja dugoročnog pamćenja.

While this is certainly a delicate situation,

Iako se radi o sasvim delikatnoj situaciji,

this essential element also provides an infinite source of clean energy,

ovaj osnovni elemenat je i beskonačni izvor čiste energije,

which has allowed your people to thrive for millennia.

što je omogućilo vašim ljudima da napreduju milenijumima.

But leading scientists have discovered terrible news.

Međutim, vodeći naučnici su otkrili užasne vesti.

Somehow the entire source of Nuronium has been irreversibly compromised.

Nekako je celokupan izvor nuronijuma postao bespovratno kontaminiran.

It now emits a pollutant that lowers fertility in your species,

Sada on ispušta zagađivača koji umanjuje reproduktivnost vaše vrste

and if your planet continues relying on this resource,

i, ako vaša planeta nastavi da se oslanja na ovaj resurs,

your people will go extinct within 100 years.

ljudi će da izumru za sto godina.

However, in an incredible stroke of luck,

Međutim, iznenađujuće srećnim obrtom,

your scientists have identified a passing comet from which they can mine

vaši naučnici su otkrili kometu u prolazu iz koje mogu da rudare

an alternate energy source called Polixate.

alternativni izvor energije pod nazivom poliksat.

Polixate won’t cause infertility

Poliksat ne izaziva sterilitet

and would provide the same renewable energy as Nuronium.

i obezbedio bi istu obnovljivu energiju kao nuronijum.

But it won’t sustain cognition in quite the same way.

Međutim, ne bi održavao kogniciju ni na približno sličan način.

With Polixate in the atmosphere instead of Nuronium,

Sa poliksatom u atmosferi umesto nuronijuma,

people would lose their creativity, their long-term memories,

ljudi bi izgubili kreativnost, dugoročno pamćenje

and eventually, your entire culture would disappear.

i vremenom bi vaša celokupna kultura nestala.

The Polixate comet will only remain in orbit for a few days,

Kometa Poliksat će se zadržati u orbiti nekoliko dana,

and after that it won't return for centuries.

i nakon toga se neće vraćati vekovima.

So your society's administrative council must decide immediately

Stoga, administrativno veće vašeg društva mora hitno da donese odluku

whether to keep using Nuronium or mount an expedition to harvest the Polixate.

da li da nastave da koriste nuronijum ili da krenu u pohod na poliksat.

Right now, the board is split— waiting for your tiebreaking vote.

Trenutno, odbor je podeljen - čekaju na vaš odlučujući glas.

Dr. Taylof’s contingent argues that your people must continue using Nuronium.

Kontigent dr Tejlofa tvrdi da vaši ljudi moraju da nastave koristiti nuronijum.

They believe that your species’ culture— centuries of literature, music, and art,

Veruju da kultura vaše vrste - vekovi književnosti, muzike i umetnosti,

as well as your achievements in agriculture, medicine, and technology—

kao i vaša dostignuća iz agrikulture, medicine i tehnologije -

is what makes life worth living.

jesu ono zbog čega je život vredan življenja.

Without the memories of your people’s history

Bez sećanja na istoriju vašeg naroda

or the ability to dream up new inventions,

ili sposobnosti maštanja o novim izumima,

the people on your planet would essentially be reduced to mindless drones.

ljudi na vašoj planeti bi u suštini bili svedeni na bezumne dronove.

Their basic needs for survival and reproduction would be met,

Njihove osnovne potrebe za opstankom i razmnožavanjem bi bile zadovoljene,

but Dr. Taylof believes the lives of those future generations

ali dr Tejlof smatra da bi životi budućih generacija

would be meaningless without memories, imagination, and culture.

bili beznačajni bez sećanja, imaginacije i kulture.

And since Dr. Taylof’s group doesn’t believe that future generations

A kako grupa dr Tejlofa ne veruje da buduće generacije

have any inherent right to be brought into existence,

uopšte imaju neotuđivo pravo da budu donesene na svet,

if it’s not possible for them to add to the civilization they’ve inherited,

ukoliko je za njih nemoguće da doprinesu civilizaciji koju su nasledili,

there's no point in trying to preserve them.

nema smisla da pokušavamo da ih sačuvamo.

Besides, no living beings are harmed by continuing to rely on Nuronium—

Osim toga, nijedno ljudsko biće neće biti povređeno daljim oslanjanjem na nuronijum.

your species should simply accept their fate and go extinct with dignity.

Vaša vrsta bi prosto trebalo da prihvati sudbinu i dostojanstveno izumre.

Dr. Kahan and their colleagues strongly disagree.

Dr Kahan i kolege se oštro protive tome.

They admit that switching to Polixate would decrease

Priznaju da bi prelazak na poliksat umanjio

your people’s quality of life.

kvalitet života vaših ljudi.

But with their basic needs met,

Sa zadovoljenim osnovnim potrebama bi, pak,

they could still experience a kind of happiness observed

i dalje mogli da dožive vid sreće koji zapažamo

in other, arguably less complex lifeforms.

kod drugih, navodno, manje složenih životnih oblika.

And even if there's no chance of your people redeveloping creativity,

A čak i ako ne postoji mogućnost da vaši ljudi nanovo otkriju kreativnost,

what's most important for Dr. Kahan is that we would be preserving life.

za dr Kahana je najvažnije to što bismo sačuvali život.

Dr. Kahan’s faction believes the continuation of life alone

Frakcija dr Kahana veruje da produžavanje života samo po sebi

is incomparably valuable.

ima neuporedivu vrednost.

They also believe that, on average, every member of your species contributes,

Takođe veruju da, u proseku, svaki član vaše vrste doprinosi,

in small but constant ways, to the betterment of your people.

na male, ali istrajne načine, unapređenju vaših ljudi.

So by choosing to ensure your people’s existence,

Stoga, odabravši obezbeđivanje opstanka vaših ljudi,

you would ultimately be improving the total happiness of your species.

naposletku biste unapredili sveukupno osećanje sreće vaše vrste.

But Dr. Taylof rejects the idea that maximizing happiness

Međutim, dr Tejlof odbacuje ideju da je uvećavanje sreće

is the ultimate goal of living.

konačni životni cilj.

They believe that a valuable life consists not only of happiness

Smatra da se dragocenost života ogleda ne samo u sreći,

but also meaningfulness.

već i u smislenosti.

And that acting as links in the chain of tradition

I da biti karika u lancu tradicije

and preserving cultural artifacts

i očuvanje kulturne baštine

are some of the most fundamental sources of meaning a species can have.

spadaju u najosnovnije izvore značenja koje vrsta može da ima.

Merely continuing to exist, in lives like those of contented pets,

Puko postojanje nalik životima zadovoljnih kućnih ljubimaca

would not be valuable.

ne bi imalo vrednost.

Meanwhile, the advocates for Polixate believe there’s something

U međuvremenu, zagovornici poliksata veruju da postoji nešto

fundamentally unethical about choosing extinction.

krajnje neetično u izboru izumiranja.

Dr. Kahan argues there’s no moral difference between what we do

Dr Kahan tvrdi da ne postoji moralna razlika između naših postupaka

and what we allow to happen when we could have acted differently.

i onoga što dozvolimo da se desi, ako smo mogli drugačije da postupimo.

So while it would be tragic if your people ceased to exist due to chance,

Iako bi bilo tragično, ako bi vaši ljudi igrom sudbine prestali da postoje,

to knowingly make a decision that results in extinction

svesno doneti odluku koja bi rezultirala izumiranjem

is tantamount to mass murder.

je ravno masovnom ubistvu.

Both sides have much more to say, but the council needs your vote now.

Obe strane imaju štošta još da kažu, ali veću je hitno potreban vaš glas.

So what shall it be: Nuronium for a while, or Polixate forever?

Dakle, šta ćete da odaberete: nuronijum na neko vreme ili poliksat zauvek?