People
When the least they could do to you was everything, then the most they could do to you suddenly held no terror.
— Terry Pratchett · Small Gods
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
When even the mildest possible treatment seems as bad as anything imaginable, the difference between lesser and greater threats collapses. The paradox is that complete vulnerability can drain a threat of its power: there is no worse possibility left to fear.
Context reviewed