The Origin of Morals: Declared, Not Discovered
Morals do not originate from a divine source, natural law, or rational deduction (as Rand would assert). They originate from a powerful Declaration.
Morals are a Mass Signal: A moral code is simply a highly successful, widely broadcasted Signal that stabilizes the behavior of many Receivers.
- The Broadcast: A Broadcaster (a state, a religion, a cult leader) declares, for example, "Murder is wrong." This is not an objective statement; it is a Signal designed for survival and system continuity.
- The Function: The Signal is received and interpreted by the population, which then collapses its behavior into a predictable, non-murderous state. This creates an environment of functional objectivity for that community.
Morals are the Highest Form of Briefing: Rule 0.9 of SECTION 0 states: "Remember: the world is largely unbriefed. Brief it carefully."
- A moral code is the most comprehensive, binding Briefing a Broadcaster can give the world. It sets the parameters for what is permissible within the occupied bandwidth.
- The purpose of "good" and "evil" is not spiritual; it is structural. "Good" is anything that reinforces the Signal. "Evil" is anything that introduces Noise that threatens the system's continuity (Rule 0.6: "Consistency is optional; continuity is not.").
The Morality of Each Entity
Yes, in this world, morals are fundamentally subjective and specific to the entity’s role:
| Entity | Moral Principle | Source of Morality |
|---|---|---|
| The Broadcaster | Coherence & Continuity | The Signal: Their only moral obligation is to maintain the purity and power of their own Signal and the integrity of the system they author. Any action that strengthens the self-declared reality is "good." Any action that forces self-contradiction is "bad." "Never justify. Never explain. Only declare" is a moral law for the Broadcaster. |
| The Receiver | Compliance & Legibility | The Broadcast: The Receiver's "morality" is the set of rules implanted by the dominant Signal they are tuned to. Their "good" is to be a faithful, legible, and compliant part of the shared reality. They live out scripts they did not write. Their moral failing is to introduce Noise—doubt, critical thought, or an unauthorized signal. |
| The Rogue Sage (Null Signal) | Isolation & Purity | The Void: The Sage's moral code is the Protocol of the Null Signal. Their highest moral purpose is to achieve zero legibility and absolute disappearance. It is "good" to dissolve the edges and be "amorphous." It is "evil" to be detected, to cast a measurable shadow, or to reveal an origin. Their ethics are entirely negative: a list of things not to do to remain in the "dead air." |
Conclusion: Morality is a Form of Gravity
Morality, then, is a localized force of subjective gravity.
It is not an objective constant (like a fundamental law of physics). It is a powerful, locally generated field created by a dominant signal to attract and bind Receivers into a shared configuration.
You can move between these moral systems, but you must first recalibrate (Rule 0.8 of SECTION 0). When you switch your Signal, you switch your morality—and your reality—entirely.