I guess maybe I am not equipped to notice little things that would add up. Or maybe we have them too but in paradise they - don't add.

"Maybe. I'm still sort of suspicious but I guess it's possible that you're just actually proof of concept for totalitarians governing - uh - I don't have a nice word, the connotations are all screwed up for historical reasons."

What are you suspicious of exactly?

"If I saw a movie, where there were friendly aliens who never had serious problems in their paradise because their gods told them what to say and do, the plot of the movie would be all about sinister problems in that paradise, lurking. I think there's a Star Trek episode like this but you've already ruled out 'people are being executed'..."

Yes, only one person has died and not come back. I suppose Lórien could be meddling with people but I do not think he is doing that.

"You sure? That would be exactly the sort of thing that would go in a Star Trek episode. They come back, but changed!"

...well, they do do that. I guess. Technically. 

I do not think that explains anything about Valinor not containing unwell people-killers because so few people have died at all.

"...technically?"

So, Mandos resurrects people when he's satisfied that they're fit to return to the world, which is mostly about healing from trauma involved in - well, however you died - but if you were secretly very unwell and plotting to kill someone, before you were struck by lightning, he would not resurrect you unless you agreed to fix that. You can refuse. You just stay dead if you do.

"I thought you said only one person has died and not come back."

Yes. Not very many people have died at all and I don't know if any of them had anything like that going on but if they did then they must've agreed for Mandos to fix it.

"Okay. Well, people could still be - living in fear of eventually having a rock climbing accident or whatever it is that sometimes kills you and then coming back wrong, but you're right that it doesn't fully explain the discrepancy."

If the - movie - would be trying to tell a good story, well, happy people are in paradise and it's actually all right isn't a very good story.

"Yes, that's one of the perils of generalizing from movies. I wouldn't be trying to generalize from movies if it just seemed fine? But it seems fine with lots of little niggling details, you know?"

- yes, I think I see what you mean. Are there other ways it would be secretly evil, if it were a your-world sort of thing?

"Uh... war with Melkor was staged and actually they're all in cahoots and using you as energy batteries or something? Whenever anything bad happens everyone's memories are altered so the thing didn't happen, anyone who died never existed, etcetera? The gilded cage stunts your species' growth and you would be gaining cool powers and self-actualization if you went off and did stuff the Valar told you not to instead but they would be jealous of your splendor?"

I know people who would like that last one. 

Our father would like that last one.

He really would!

Giggle.

But if it's true I don't think it's in a conspiratorial sort of way, I think it would just be them being mistaken about what the best possible environment for us is. And probably eventually we'd figure it out and do that and they wouldn't stop us.

"I hope you're right."

Nod. This world has more urgent problems, either way.

"Yeah, it does. I'm dwelling on this because I don't wanna make any of them worse, or - introduce flaws that are technically lesser, but harder to fix?"