• stickyprimer@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yes it was clear that someone somewhere in the world “who you don’t even know” would die. The characters have a debate:

      “Maybe it’ll be just some Chinese peasant.”

      “What if it’s someone’s newborn baby!”

      More than anything I’m shocked at the casual dismissal of the Chinese peasant. WTF?

      Anyway at the very end of the show the same guy who brought them this dilemma comes to collect the device and he very pointedly uses the same language to say “now it will go to someone new that you don’t even know.”

    • MajorasTerribleFate@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button,_Button_(The_Twilight_Zone)

      Yes, that somewhere in the world, someone she doesnt know will die.

      When Mr. Steward returns to collect the button box after the button is pressed, the lady asks what happens to the box next. She is told it will go to someone else with the same offer, with assurances that the new recipient will not know who she is. As the previous commenter said, the wording deeply implies she would be the certain “someone” targeted by the next button press.

      • NTesla@lemmy.zip
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        2 months ago

        But what would happen if she didn’t press it? Would the button be offered to someone else again? In that case, she would be targeted regardless of her choice.

        • katkit@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          That’s not revealed, but I would think it just targets the last person who pushed the button. If you don’t, you succeed the test and get skipped. .

          • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            If there are no other rules, you break the cycle. That’s incredibility dark because who knows how long this has been going on with no one refusing the offer.