Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

In the lecture hall, Bentham and Arthur sat down side by side, one on the left and the other on the right.


Bentham glanced at Arthur's heavy dark circles and shook his head with a smile, "You don't seem to be in good shape."


Arthur smiled, "Perhaps. I still remember our discussion about the deontological principles advocated by Kant and your advocated consequentialist principles.


The deontological ethics advocated by Kant believe that the right or wrong of an action, whether it should be done or not, does not depend on its consequences, but on whether the action itself adheres to moral standards.


Whereas your advocated consequentialism believes that the right or wrong of an action, whether it should be done or not, ultimately depends on the consequences the action has brought or might bring, what impact it has produced, and how it has changed the surrounding world."


Bentham asked, "So has your view changed now?"


Chapter 37: Bentham's Revelation