What if we house one’s conscience in one’s neighbor, and conversely? No, that would be disastrous: my transgressions would fill others with remorse, leaving me free to sink deeper and deeper in sin! But what if we attach a remorse amplifier to the conscience, in other words ensure that every wicked deed hound its perpetrator afterwards with an intensity a thousand times greater than normal? But then everyone would run out and commit some crime just to see whether his new conscience really hurt that much—and then be ridden by an overwhelming guilt to the end of his days . . . Perhaps a conscience that’s reversible, with a clearing mechanism—locked of course.
The authorities could keep the key . . . No, there would be picklocks and skeleton keys circulating in no time.[… continues to end of ¶49 · verbatim Kandel]
and receiver, so that if, as a result of his wrongdoing, say, ten or more persons wish him ill, the input of that combined and heterodyned signal blows the culprit sky-high. Wouldn’t they shun Evil then? Of course they would, they’d have to! On second thought . . . what kind of happiness is it, to go around with a bomb in your stomach? Anyway, there could be plots; ten villainous men could conspire against one innocent and he would detonate, innocent or not.[… continues to end of ¶49 · verbatim Kandel]