By invoking the Bible, I made my post unnecessarily controversial. So let me try to restate my position.
What makes the worst tyrants and dictators so hated is their total willingness to kill indiscriminately in order to achieve their goals. (Their goals, by the way, are almost always to gain or retain power. And of course these tyrants are also willing to torture, terrify and harm their opponents in various ways to gain or hold on to the power they crave.) Nor and Rae Et are that kind of tyrants.
Clark was brought to New Krypton to fight these killers. And he fought not only the killers but also the ideology of indiscriminate killing that they represented. He fought them with his own ideology, which forbade him to kill at all. Ironically, Clark was forced to momentarily abandon his non-killing ideology to finally defeat Nor once and for all. By doing so, he seemed to utterly lose himself. Clark now needs to understand that his vow not to take a life was not wrong or misguided just because he had to break it once. He needs to regain his belief in his resolve not to kill and realize that it has been all-important in helping him preserve his own absolutely admirable morals. For all of that, it could be that some time in the future, he may be forced to kill once again. That still won't stain or call into question his resolve not to kill if it can be in any way avoided.
When Clark the non-killer was brought to New Krypton to fight Nor and Rae Et the killers, he managed to change, by his own example, the way most people of New Krypton looked at themselves. I think it can be said that Clark managed to turn New Krypton into a more merciful society than it had been before. And to me, the court's decision to spare Sur Ahn's life represents just this increasing mercy of the people who were victorious on New Krypton thanks to Clark's efforts. Those who won the war have learned their lesson from Clark. They have learned not to kill unless it is necessary. I don't think it was necessary to kill Sur Ahn. She was horribly selfish and reckless when she supported Nor and Rae Et, but she did so not because she wanted to share the power that beckoned Rae Et and her son, but because she wanted to free her husband and be with him. Now that Sur Ahn's husband is dead, I don't think anyone can use her any more for evil purposes, because there is nothing in it for Sur Ahn any more.
So I just wanted to say that Clark's morals have rubbed off on the people and the society that prevailed on New Krypton thanks to him. To me that is a very hopeful sign, indeed.
Ann
