Implied Consent: Act III, Scene II

(Enter MARK and VICTORIA into VICTORIA's residence, from which they are making preparations to depart for the trial.)

MARK: Victoria, dearest, have you changed your mind on which side you will support in this case?

VICTORIA: Edward, dearest, have you changed yours?

MARK: Using the very philosophical base you had conferred on me, I have made a firm decision to stand by the Estate. I am surprised that you have not come to the same conclusion, the fact that what the prosecution is proposing is the termination of a great man.

VICTORIA: Your arguments make the flawed presumption that a brain dead individual on life support is alive; if everyone on life support were alive and had the inalienable rights to life, nobody would ever be able to disconnect life support from anyone.

MARK: Perhaps nobody should be able to disconnect that life support from anyone without that person's explicit consent.

VICTORIA: But that person is not able to give his consent. Otherwise, he would not have needed life support!

MARK: You yourself claimed that, if somebody assumes guardianship over an individual, he can only act in the interests of that individual's life. An infant is, too, not able to give his explicit consent to whether he wants to live or die, so the guardian must assume that he wants to live, and do his best to facilitate that aim.

VICTORIA: Well, at least you are consistent in what you say. I think Mr. Roberts will be able to give an ample refutation to your claims at the trial, though. But, as much as I agree with his opinion, I am not at all fond of either him or Oswald, and I still love you just the same. And I think our marriage will be absolutely splendid no matter which way this trial is decided.

MARK: I am certain that it will, yet I will still be quite persistent in convincing you that my side is right.

VICTORIA: I would be disappointed in you if you were not. The only thing less desirable than leaving a question unanswered is accepting somebody else's answer to it on faith. By the way, Edward, I am thinking of the immense potential the two of us would have in creating an absolutely grand endeavor to infuse a colossal splendor into today's culture. We could found an Academy of the Arts, and fund it like the noble patrons of old. We are already far wealthier than they could ever have dreamed of being, and we would know how to put that money to good use. We could sponsor a whole array of new painters, sculptors, musicians, who would portray the real appearance of noble things and the ideas they represent, as opposed to smears on a canvas or distorted sheets of metal, who would develop musical harmony, structure, and grandeur, as opposed to dissonance and banality. We could give these creators the rightful rewards they deserve so that it would be profitable for them to continue aspiring toward magnificence.

MARK: Certainly, dearest, this is a splendid idea. I am willing to spend as much on this endeavor as will be necessary.

VICTORIA: Even as your wife I would not wish to ask so much of you. I would be delighted at your participation in this project, and even your direction of it, but I could never urge you to make such personal sacrifices for it. The purpose of my Academy would be the very antithesis of sacrifice; it would be for us to personally enjoy the most elevated creations of the human mind. I would so greatly desire for you to enjoy them alongside me that I would loathe to have to take anything away from you to do it. And besides, we would be far better off financially in the long run if you invested both of our money, since you are such a capable investor.

MARK: If I were to invest our money after we got married, I would invest it into the Estate of Grummond. Of course, that depends on whether said Estate survives, does it not? But tell me, how do you propose to fund your endeavor?

VICTORIA: Well, as much as I would be disappointed to see what Oswald would do with his part of the winnings from the lawsuit, I will leave Oswald to ruin his life as he sees fit. Mr. Roberts did, however, promise me about a fifth of the Estate of Grummond if the prosecution were successful. The settlement would be worth more than what both of us currently own put together. Think of what uses it could be put to!

MARK: Ah, so I now see the deeper reason why you support the prosecution.

VICTORIA: Do you find an objection to the rationality of my self-interest in this matter?
MARK: Can your self-interest ever be truly rational if it uses the coercive power of law to take away another's rightful property? Can you ever reconcile rationality with the initiation of force? And is it even self-interest, if, by supporting the plaintiffs, you would contribute to the destruction of a major economic entity, which could have created and marketed goods of benefit to you?

VICTORIA: But what are property rights except the rights to hold and use the material products of one's mind? If Quintus Grummond will nevermore be able to use the gargantuan fortune and business he "owns," what purpose does it serve to hold it in his ownership? Why not deprive his now nonexistent mind of what it will never once apply itself to or benefit from?

MARK: Because it once did apply itself to assuring the existence of such an arrangement. And besides, you do not know whether or not his mind will benefit from this property in the future. He could always recover again.

VICTORIA: You go on thinking that, Edward, and having a fraction of a percent's chance guide your decisions while real opportunities remain unexplored.

MARK: No, I insist: he could always recover again.

VICTORIA: You have that smirk on your face, as if you know something that you are not telling me.

MARK: If this is an issue of funding that Academy, I will just create it with my own money, without you knowing about it until the arrangement is too firmly established for you to resist it, and too attractive for you to turn away from it. Then, it will make this settlement a moot issue. Just help me make sure that Quintus Grummond has a fair chance to recover again.

VICTORIA: But I told you already: I do not want you making sacrifices for me.

MARK: A sacrifice is defined as the surrender of a value to a non-value. I cannot imagine how this action on my part would constitute a sacrifice. I most certainly value you far beyond the money I would spend to assure your happiness in this way.

VICTORIA: Ah, dearest, you have come quite far in your use of concepts, enough for me to no longer be your mentor, but rather your equal. Your arguments even make me rethink certain positions at times. How glad I am of our marriage to come! I will not be testifying today, anyway; I will, for now, keep myself on Mr. Roberts's good side and act as if nothing has changed. And really, nothing has changed until I know the reason that you so insist on my uncle's possible recovery.

MARK (aside): I should be able to trust my own future wife to keep a secret, should I not? But, then again, when she testifies, she will be bound by oath, and will have no other option but to reveal the existence of the revival project, crucial as it would be to bringing about an accurate court decision. And it will be her very sense of justice that will endanger the Estate even further when she tries to save it. (To VICTORIA) The secret is not mine to reveal. I shall have to gain permission from the proper parties before being able to do so. And if I choose to do so, I shall have to secure your promise not to testify in this trial, for either the prosecution or the defense.

VICTORIA: What strange conditions you set! And is this all because you want to change my mind and think that what you know will change it beyond all doubt?

MARK: Beyond all doubt.

VICTORIA: I shall think on it. In the meantime, let us fly to the courthouse together and discuss more pleasant things, such as our future together, for example.

(They leave.)

To read other parts of Implied Consent, go here.