I'm finding it strange that the people are so defined at all. The philosopher may be a survival expert. He's only 30 too, poor lamb. My first instinct is to think of myself as the older woman, but I wouldn't be happy to starve completely, I would want a minimal amount just to keep me ticking over. God knows I could do with losing a few pounds. After me, I would want everyone else to draw lots, apart from the children, to find someone else to be on lower rations. Because suffering like that alone would be hard.
Which of those people do you think would be capable of doing the killing?
Why, the mother of course - to protect her children.