Questionable ethics - Living Memory

[Arzalis]

But those are all qualities they had while alive.

Does having those qualities not also make something alive? You're sort of failing to see the argument here because you don't want to.

In your example, the copy may not actually be your grandma, but it's worth asking at what point something like that becomes it's own living entity regardless of the circumstances of it's creation.

Also, the projector example doesn't quite hold up. When you turn off living memory some of the endless still stick around. That's like unplugging the projector but the projected image stays and says it still has stuff to do. Your whole analogy falls apart with that. Even the slightest bit of inquisitiveness would have someone questioning things at that point.

Personally, for me, my issues with the zone aren't even necessarily about the conclusion the Scions came to. It's how readily they accepted it and didn't really question anything. That's extremely out of character, especially for people who should know better. Cahciua herself is a strong example that her words aren't matching up to the reality of the situation. There's a very "ends justify the means" feeling to the whole story there and that really isn't how the WOL and Co normally act. That is how the Ascians have always acted, however so I think the comparison is worth considering.

All this to say: the writers didn't do any of this intentionally and it's just a poorly written section of the story. You're clearly supposed to just agree with them.