You have a Death Note (RAR)

[Bernkastel]

Right, here is the scenario. One day, you spot a black book with Death Note written on the front. The pages are blank, though there is writing on the inside of the cover with the title How to Use. What's written is:-

. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.
. If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
. After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds (400 seconds).

You decide to take it home and are sitting at home with it by you. Now, what do you do?

Here is some additional stuff. First, a creature called Ryuk will appear 24 hours after the start of the scenario. He is a shinigami and will give you some more information. He was the one who dropped it for the sake of amusement. That is his concern. Also, if you've used it before he arrives, he is now obliged to be the one who will end your life when it's your time to die. But he might do it if he finds you to be boring. He'll also be following you around, though only those who have touched your Death Note can see him.

Next, the series Death Note in all it's forms does not exist in this scenario. If you have any knowledge of it, it will be erased from your mind. As far as you know at the start of this scenario until Ryuk appears, it's just a book.

[K. A. Pital]

Nice. Go Light, for shinsekai!

I will use it to usher revolutions against governments I particularly dislike.

[Tribble]

The most likely thing I would do is ignore the book and not even pick it up. Or I would read the book, think it was stupid and then toss it in the bin.

That being said, given the OP I end it taking it home with me... hmmm. I would probably not use it on the off chance that it kills someone (I tend to be a bit superstitious about such things). If I were to use it (thinking that it was a joke) I'd probably do something along the lines that Light did, and write down the name of someone who already warrants the death penalty. I would of course be aghast afterwards that I actually killed someone as I never would have intentionally done so, seeing as I thought the Death Note was a joke.

If I figure out that the notebook is real, what would I do? Hmmmm. I honestly can't answer that question. I would like to think that I would never use the note again, as I am against the concept of murdering people to achieve my own ends. On the other hand, the Death Note is specifically stated to corrupt people the moment they come into contact with it and bring misfortune to their lives, so it's possible that I corrupted by it and start using it.

Unlike Light, if I end up being corrupted into using the Death Note I wouldn't be using it openly by killing people left right and centre and trying to myself into a god. First off because I wouldn't want to get caught, but also because I would believe trying to artificially control the world in that manner wouldn't work in the long run. IMO a far better approach would be to remain in the shadows and quietly pick off people, like say the leader of a terrorist organization, without anyone noticing that the death were premeditated. That way the world could be changed without people knowing that it was being changed, so to speak. The only real problem with that approach is that Ryuk might get bored and kill me since I won't be murdering people on a global scale, but I suppose that's a risk I would be willing to take.

Oh and I definitely wouldn't make the trade for the Shinigami eyes.

Questions:

Is there an L-like person in this scenario? If so, then anyone trying to handle things the way Light did would likely end up having to deal with him as killing hundreds of people with the same cause of death all across the globe would tip him off that the deaths are artificial. Even if the deaths were all different from each other and spaced out, he might start taking notice after unusual number of terrorists / politicians etc start biting the dust.

Also, will there be a 2nd Death Note arriving at some point, like what happened in the manga?

Nice. Go Light, for shinsekai!

I will use it to usher revolutions against governments I particularly dislike.

So in other words your going to start with all western countries, with a particular empathises on English speaking ones like the USA and the UK.

How exactly are you going to usher in the great socialist revolution? Are you going to quietly pick off the people that you most dislike and hope that their replacements will better serve your needs? Threaten the ones in charge into doing your bidding, on pain of death? Or are you going to make it clear that all western ideas such as capitalism will no longer be tolerated by killing anyone who publically expresses those views and making it obvious that those killings were intentional?

[K. A. Pital]

in other words your going to start with all western countries, with a particular empathises on English speaking ones like the USA and the UK.

You don't know me if you think so. I will first wipe out really despicable governments that have no nuclear weapons and no redeeming qualities, that tirelessly work to usher a new Dark Age - like Saudi Arabia. I will wipe out the leaders of ISIS and similar structures along with their Saudi and Qatari sponsors, and I will do so with any organization that professes to bring about theocracy - there's plenty to go around, and many nations in Asia are threatened by religious fanatics. English speaking countries are very low on the list. Aristocrats and people espousing that rights are not equal will have to go, and this time very few will be able to escape.

How exactly are you going to usher in the great socialist revolution? Are you going to quietly pick off the people that you most dislike and hope that their replacements will better serve your needs? Threaten the ones in charge into doing your bidding, on pain of death? Or are you going to make it clear that all western ideas such as capitalism will no longer be tolerated by killing anyone who publically expresses those views and making it obvious that those killings were intentional?

I will first quietly wipe out those listed above. Unlikely that anyone would be seriously caring about a bunch of religious fanatics. Then I will start wiping out unrepentant oligarchs guilty of crimes against the people (like the Bhopal disaster and a lack of repentance on part of the chemical company). I will make sure they inform others that their death is not just an accident, but an act of Karma Police or similar bullshit, much like Light did at the start.

Then we will see if human nature is flexible or they will stick to their ways.

Eventually, opposing my sensible view of karmic justice will become dangerous. Political leaders that are in disalighment with this might suffer. I would, of course, make sure I am not caught.

This sounds like a Death Notey plot, at least. It corrupts, and it won't take much to start using it, especially as there are enough people who deserve death, but live on happily.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

Right, here is the scenario. One day, you spot a black book with Death Note written on the front. The pages are blank, though there is writing on the inside of the cover with the title How to Use. What's written is:-

. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.
. If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
. After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds (400 seconds).

You decide to take it home and are sitting at home with it by you. Now, what do you do?

Chuck it in the bin. I'm no cold-blooded killer, despite how I may feel at times.

[Zixinus]

I have no one I want or need dead. I honestly have no idea what to do with it. It might be better if it stays that way. Put it away.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'd probably think it a joke in very poor taste, and ignore it.

If I knew it was real, I'd destroy it.

[Tribble]

Chuck it in the bin. I'm no cold-blooded killer, despite how I may feel at times

.

I have no one I want or need dead. I honestly have no idea what to do with it. It might be better if it stays that way. Put it away

Well, you wouldn't know for sure that it was real until you actually used it and/or Ryuk showed up. Most people would probably ignore the book and view it as a sick joke, so it would just remain on the ground.

[quoteI'd probably think it a joke in very poor taste, and ignore it.[/quote]

That's probably how most people would view the book - at most they might pick it up, read it, view it as something stupid and discard it. Of course, that would make you the Death Note owner, in which case Ryuk is going to show up at some point.

If I knew it was real, I'd destroy it.

You wouldn't know for sure if it was real unless you used it and/or Ryuk showed up and explained things to you. It's easy to say that you'd destroy it instantly when you become aware of its powers (that's what I'd like to think I would do as well) but IIRC the Death Note has a corrupting influence on people, so your actions may depend on whether or not you are able to resist the corrupting influence long enough to destroy it. IIRC the author stated that Light became the first victim of the Death Note by coming into contact with it.

[Mr Bean]

The Death note is a mighty temptation pure and simple. I'd take it home for no other reason that it would look good on the old book shelf. As for testing it, that's trickier because I need someone very easy to verify if dead and who's death would be a net positive to humanity OR their wish is a quiet painless death which as a side benefit is something the Death Note can provide since you can write the cause. The FBI most wanted list is a handy list of people who's death would be publicly notified and stand a greater than usual chance of being 100% guilty of their crimes for example.

It's a tough one because while I would want to test it, I know such power would be corrupting. I would be tempted to meddle far to quickly. The urge for the guilty to get what's coming or the publicity revolting to be punished... I could be put in a room with a gun and almost any of these men and women would be safe to me because I default to the lock them up first. If life is not sacred then at least it's precious and the Death note provides a handy "out" to ensure an easy guilt free way of killing at a distance. And I know for a fact I'd feel no guilt over any such deaths.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

Ryuk showed up

Then I can tell this Ryuk character to fuck off, and bother someone who enjoys killing people from a distance.

[Crossroads Inc.]

You know.. in all of the many, many RAR's over the years, the notion of killing anyone, regardless of how much they may "deserve" it, has been something I have never been able to fully find myself contemplating... Shoot even in "RARS" were I am given godlike powers, or meant to reshape the fabric of time itself to my own wishes, doing so through the killing of someone is something I can't really do.

I Remember researching the life of Adolf Hitler QUITE Extensively to find a way of removing him from history WITHOUT just shooting him in the head.

So something like the Death Note? Mostly likely end up burning, and then curse the stars that of all the RAR's I could have been picked in, it was that one ;P

[Starglider]

You know.. in all of the many, many RAR's over the years, the notion of killing anyone, regardless of how much they may "deserve" it, has been something I have never been able to fully find myself contemplating...

Vengence is never a good reason to kill someone. The prospect of personal emotional satisfaction certainly does not make it a good idea. In fact the only good reason is if you can be fairly sure that it is the only way to prevent the death, or at least great suffering, of innocents. That is a high bar to meet even for oppresive dictators, because as we saw in Iraq the subsequent chaos can be more lethal than the regieme was.

[LadyTevar]

When I saw Death Note, I knew that I'd never have the willpower NOT to use it. There are too many I want to see in the grave ... far too many friends who've escaped bad situations where the bastard did not get punished. I would become an avenging devil, and the causes of death would get more ... inventive ... as I tried to make the punishment fit the crime.
But, instead, I might do something even worse. I could hand the DeathNote over to my brother, the Green Beret. The one who, unlike me, already has blood on his hands and no compunctions about getting them dirty again for the right reasons. Ryuk would get a fine show then.
Either way, the pages will fill up with names, causes of death, and all the grisly details of how it happens. Although, if I give it to my brother, my ex-husband would survive ...

Perhaps I'd tear out a few pages to keep for myself.
Ex Husband. Exsanguination from internal bleeding suffered when he is ejected through the front windshield during a single-vehicle wreck at high speed.
Friend's abusive Ex: Drug overdose, from illegal narcotics. (he survived the first OD)
Ex-husband's Alzheimer-stricken mother: Stroke to brainstem, dying peacefully in the night as she sleeps. (Perhaps I'll have her die first, so she never has to be without her baby boy. She has suffered far too much in her life already.)
The list would grow from there. Syria's current president. Putin. As many leaders of Daesh/Isis as I can find names and pictures for. Certain so-called religious leaders who only preach hate.

Yes. I would become tainted, seduced, sure that I knew what I was doing, and Ryuk would be laughing all the while.

[Tribble]

Ryuk showed up

Then I can tell this Ryuk character to fuck off, and bother someone who enjoys killing people from a distance.

In which case Ryuk kills you and finds someone else to play with. I guess you could call that a victory, though it would be a pretty short lived one (especially given there is no after-life in the Death Note universe).

You know.. in all of the many, many RAR's over the years, the notion of killing anyone, regardless of how much they may "deserve" it, has been something I have never been able to fully find myself contemplating...

Vengence is never a good reason to kill someone. The prospect of personal emotional satisfaction certainly does not make it a good idea. In fact the only good reason is if you can be fairly sure that it is the only way to prevent the death, or at least great suffering, of innocents. That is a high bar to meet even for oppresive dictators, because as we saw in Iraq the subsequent chaos can be more lethal than the regieme was.

One could argue that there is never a good reason to kill someone, only that on occasion there may be circumstances where it might be the lesser of two evils.

I'll admit that if I saw a situation where innocent lives were clearly at immediate risk, and the only likely solution to work would be to use lethal force, I would be tempted to use the Death Note (I'm not saying I would, but I would certainly be tempted). Take one of those mass- school shootings, for instance. Someone calls in to the media and says they are going into a school to kill a bunch of people, for whatever reason. The person goes into the school and starts shooting people. The media become aware of this, and post a picture with the person's name during their live coverage. You have the Death Note. You have the power to put the shooter down, right now, if you want to. You have a choice- do you kill the person now, or do you let him go on killing people before someone else is able to stop him (you don't have to worry about others as the Death Note will only allow the person whose name is written down to die. No collateral damage will take place)? And in an instance like this, what about the shooter's life? The shooter would almost certainly end up being killed / committing suicide that day, but that doesn't have to be the case due to the Death Note - the death can be specified to take place up to 23 days after the name is written down, and it does not have to be something painful (Light deliberately chose to use heart attacks to drive home his message). Would you rather someone take the shooter down or have the shooter commit suicide now, or would it be better if you were able to at least give the shooter up to 23 days more life, and a peaceful one at that?

It's easy to say "I'll never use it and throw it away" in the comfort of my computer desk, knowing full well that such situations are imaginary. If it were to actually happen though, and I'm on the spot having to make a split second life-or death decision, I'm not so sure. I certainly wouldn't use it the way Light did or for revenge, or anything like that. But I'll admit I'd have to think real hard before gambling with the lives of innocent victims when I know I have the capability of saving them. Congrats to those who find the choice so easy to make. Let's just hope that you're never put in a situation where you have to decide between one life or another.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

In which case Ryuk kills you and finds someone else to play with. I guess you could call that a victory, though it would be a pretty short lived one (especially given there is no after-life in the Death Note universe).

Oh well, at least it will all be over with.

[Napoleon the Clown]

The list of people I would use the Death Note on is pretty small, though there is one person I have personally met that I would definitely remove from this world. Likely in a very... inventive manner.

Given what I've seen of power vacuums throughout history, I'm not sure I'd be inclined toward bumping off world leaders, even the deplorable ones. The risk of someone worse cropping up is pretty damn high, or even of a multitude of smaller, very vicious groups that have no inclinations toward even pretending to play nice with others.

Criminals, there's the risk of someone who was not actually guilty but all evidence I saw pointing to their guilt... Even one innocent killed and I'm a murderer, too.

I could see providing mercy kills to those who are dying in a terrible manner and really don't deserve it. "Falls into a coma and passes away peacefully one week later, surrounded by family and friends" type stuff. Though that runs into the subjective issue of "Does this person wish to have their suffering end like that?"

Most likely, I'd write one name in it, giving cause of death as something that makes sure nobody else is hurt in the process, and then burn the thing.

[K. A. Pital]

There's plenty of people who killed innocents but went unpunished. Luis Posada Carilles?

So why should one avoid killing them? There's no emotional satisfaction as the person has done nothing bad to me personally, but it is known that he has blown up a civilian airplane.

Throwing out the DN means leaving Luis Posada and all people like him unpunished. If I did not have the guts to do it myself, I would at least start anonymously sending pages from the DN to the relatives of the victims of such incidents.

[Zixinus]

Here's a problem: you are not omniscient with the thing. Not even nearly. How surely do you know that the name you write is responsible for the crime? There have been cases in history where blind pursuit of justice has brought an innocent person to a punishment they didn't deserve. It happens today too.

[Simon_Jester]

How many pages does this thing have?

[mr friendly guy]

How many pages does this thing have?

Not sure. But you can write it in really small letters and it still works. For example Light ripped up a tiny piece of the death note which he kept in his watch and it still worked. So one could write shitloads of names on it.

[Simon_Jester]

Okay, but just to be clear, it's not like this thing can grow new pages as the old ones fill up, right?

[Bernkastel]

According to the Death Note wiki, there are two numbers. The manga pilot apparently stated it has 60 pages, with a human user able to ask the original Shinigami owner for another once they run out of pages. But the later How to Read extra states that the Death Note will never run out of pages. For this RAR, we'll go with the later.

[mr friendly guy]

Ok, since everyone is talking about the usual morality of this or ending criminals, I am going to throw out a curveball to the debate.

1. The Shiganami are fucking parasites - they extend their lives by killing humans. This is a parasitical relationship, not a symbiotic one. Thus it would be beneficial to strip them of this power or ending them.

2. We don't have the knowledge to depower them. We do however know how they die under certain circumstances. For example if a Shiganami uses the death note to extend a human's life, they die. Now in the comic it was because the Shiganami had fallen in love with a human, but could this work if they inevitably tricked to do so? Would it work even if they save a human who they don't love? We could certainly give it a try.

Its going to be hard to time this right, but consider the following situation.

a.Trick the Shiganami into thinking the death note is fake, or at least you believe it is. For example we know that writing the name of the person is not enough. You need to have the image of the person in your mind, so two people with the same name aren't killed. So you write a name, and imagine the wrong person, and naturally nothing happens. This requires a lot of discipline so that a stray thought doesn't kill that person.

Or another way, the Shiganami may not be so converse in human culture, ie aware of our entertainment shows and movies. You could write the name of a fictional character and imagine the actor. Of course, nothing happens.

b. Ask the Shiganami to prove it by writing the name of a criminal who is currently engaged in acts which would lead to people dying. But first say that you will select the criminal. This is going to be tricky, but as mentioned earlier we could use a school shooting situation. Timing is everything. Lets say someone is engaged in a school shooting or sieges, you have a few hours to act at best.

But if you could time it, ask the Shiganami to write the shooter's name while the siege is still going on. Then it meets the criteria of using the death note to prolong a human's life. Then the Shiganami turns to dust.

Edit - this requires the assumption that the Shiganami is not aware that a siege is being carried out right at this moment.

[K. A. Pital]

Other shinigami would notice and make sure to kill you for this. Which will solve nothing, really.

[Bernkastel]

Yep. Plus, it also relies on getting a Shinigami to go along with it.

Besides, this scenario has you posses no knowledge of the Death Note series. That means the only way to find out the way to kill a Shinigami in this RAR is if someone who knows the weakness tells you.