How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"Luciente, do you think it's always wrong to kill?" […]
"How can I face something so abstract?"
"To kill someone with power over me. Who means to do me in."
"Power is violence. When did it get destroyed peacefully? We all fight when we're back to the wall—or to tear down the wall. You know we kill people who choose twice to hurt others. We don't think it's right to kill them. Only convenient. Nobody wants to stand guard over another."
"In my time people are willing to stand guard. It's a living. I guess maybe it's power too." (19.170)
It's certainly true that the asylum is committing violence against Connie. They're operating on her brain without her consent; they're preventing her from leaving. That's violence. Luciente seems to say that Connie has the moral right to fight back—or at least the moral necessity. Again, it's not clear whether we're supposed to accept that or not. Luciente may be a morally superior voice of wisdom from the future… or she may be a figment of Connie's imagination, providing her with confused justification for some awful actions.