Why we fight

New Eden capsuleers who choose to fight CODE come from many walks of life. Some are simple miners. Some are industrialists.  And these brave pilots come together to form a High Sec Militia for many varying reasons of all their own.  But there is a deeper, more fundamental reason why we join forces.

White Knights

Compassion — the ability to understand and empathize with the pain of a ganked miner or freighter pilot — is a trait that we admire in great leaders of the High Sec Militia. 

But at times, it is a quality that feels rare in New Eden's capsuleers. 

When a clone is ganked, the rational cognitive regions of its own brain is activated, usually before sensing the immense cold of the void of space. That same area also lights up if you yourself see another clone ganked.  

The brain's threat detector (amygdala) experiences increased activity if you see images of a ship in distress, in the same way it would be if you were confronted by an autonomous CODE ganking bot. 

Additionally, when we see a pilot who is suffering, a very primitive part of our nervous system in the center of the brain, is also activated.

When you see another pilot suffering, your brain transmits signals that slow your heart rate, deepens your breathing, and cause the release oxytocin, which stimulates feelings of empathy. 

But not every pilot reacts that way. 

In some individuals, known as psychopaths, the brain structures normally involved in compassion don't light up to the same way as they do inside others. 

Psychopaths have a total absence of compassion. Envision Loyalanon or Jerry Rin and you'll get the general idea.