Hey! I have a question about SoaE, how are preds treated generally in the universe? I know that in Stardew Valley, they seem to be treated just like any other person, im guessing because of Beth's Grandpa who was also a Pred, but how does society treat them in general? oh, and giants in general too >.>
Okay, so, in Start of an Empire, giants and preds end up lumped in with each other a lot because every pred is a giant, but not every giant is a pred. Giants are 1 in 500 people, only five percent of those giants are preds. (Literally one in 10,000.) A giant on its own isn't that uncommon, but a predator is quite rare.
Preds, by the masses, are basically treated the same way people with certain mental illnesses are. Like any second now they are going to just start murdering people for no reason other than they are a pred. Unfortunately when there is a pred who does bad things, it makes everyone freak out about all preds. For most preds the best thing they can do is hide the fact they're a pred, pretend to be a "normal" giant, and have somebody willing to have their back. It's not pretty, and tends to make preds kind of seek other preds for friendships and relationships because giants and humans just don't get it sometimes. This is a GENERALIZATION of the kinds of ways preds are treated and how they cope there is so much variation to things across different cultures and on a person-to-person basis.
Her prescription for craving suppressants and digestion inhibitors are a mandatory prescription. (The ONLY upside is they're super cheap or even free if you feel like fucking around with paperwork) She can face fines or legal action if someone suspects she hasn't been taking them and they find evidence she hasn't been. The Ferngill republic is, at the moment, the only nation with those kinds of laws regarding predators with the mandatory prescription.
(And just to be clear the preds here are NOT intended to be an allegory for any kind of minority group or disabilities or illnesses. It's just bigotry tends to, well, be bigotry.)
Giants are not treated that badly by comparison, but they are always looked at with the scrutiny of they might *be a pred* and ergo might be dangerous. Giants are, unfortunately, typically seen as dumb, and only good for their strength. I didn't have time to get it across in the first chapter but Joja Warehouse employees are mostly giants because they can do more, heavier work than a human can for the exact same pay.
One again, massive generalization, but that is what Beth has personally experienced. When people don't know she's a pred, she is a dumb brute. When people know she's a pred, she's dangerous.
