I fully get that; Lah's an ecological activist, which tends to garner at least some sympathy even if he is rather extreme about it*, whereas Darnock's intentions with the zil are (whether he knows it or not) very similar to what Europeans did to the various natives they encountered during their colonisation of foreign continents, at least on a religious/cultural level.
* What also helps is that when dueling him, he outright says he didn't want people to get hurt, and is somewhat hesitant because of it.
In the end, I think Lah's intentions are morally superior to Darnock's, and vice-versa for their actions - it's just that neither option is as good as convincing Quinn's tribe to open dialogue with Esbeth, which necessarily means siding against Lah.
Yeah, I get that. That interpretation is a valid one and the one most people would probably hold, even if I might quibble over some bits here and there. Ultimately the diplomatic option is the one I chose as well, as it seemed the one most likely to lead to the most prosperity for the most people, with the least amount of harm. I would've preferred an amiable agreement directly between the Zil and Thare, but having Esbeth keep them in line on the Zil's behalf is more than a fair compromise.
I think when it comes to Lah and Darnock's motivations, I mean the most sympathetic thing I could say about Lah is he seemed to know he'd fucked things up, but was in too deep to back out now. Good intentions aren't very compelling when people get hurt, which that kind of radical zeal will always lead to. As for Darnock, yeah his outlook is extremely patronizing and made me wince a couple times here and there, but I don't think that automatically discounts the net good that might come of his actions. Just look at someone like Albert Schweitzer. His personal views on Africans were, to put it bluntly,
abominable, yet he dedicated his life and considerable fortune to helping the very same people he saw as so inferior. Did his patronizing, borderline-offensive reasons for his actions disqualify them from being moral? The people he saved might disagree, even if he
was a racist. There was a saying at the height of the British Empire;
'a rising tide lifts all boats' and, well there
is some truth to that.
Also the fact Lah called me a fascist and just
had to slip in how much he hates monarchies (because
of course he does) made me want to personally feed him to the Naleen at the waterfall. But that's just me.
