NPCs are not soulless automatons

NPCs are egregore-controlled humans, they still have an independent mind but their mind is enslaved and used as a tool for expressing the egregore mind, like a two-way radio channel.
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egregore
Its possible to disrupt the link to egregore by subversive thought insertion(aka memes), allowing the original mind to assert its will and independent thought. The egregore can't focus on multiple mental challenges simultaneously and the "radio channel" has limited capacity.
NPCs can be reformed to PCs.

>>44
Are you the same person he was responding to? Because, if so, you didn't bring up ethics to justify fearing genocide you brought up "natural selection" even though it is obvious genocide is a part of natural selection. Humanity is a product of extreme brutality and competition just like everything in nature, that's what natural selection is. You can't have it both ways, either "ethics" are meaningful and not a "social construct" or natural selection is important.

But it's ridiculous because ethics are merely a survival strategy and not universal in any way. You were programmed to believe in your ethics due to your tribe selecting for that trait, and also selecting for "reasoned discussion" being a way to deescalate direct violence. Many other tribes have been programmed in a different way, the mark of the PC is the ability to reject programming -- in your case this would involve embracing genocide.