Omelus

For civilization to exist, society and the individuals within it have got to have energy freed up for activities other than satisfying basic instincts. Omelus keeps a child in the dungeon, but it doesn't build pyres on which to sacrifice children every week. And perhaps one day, omelus will some day progress through stages whereby the residents merely bury the effigy of a child under the foundation of each new public building. Or maybe they keep going and progress en further, leaving the image of a child off altogether. But these things are born out of ancient soil. And so sublimation takes courage, and it takes work.