The main character finds himself in a fairly saccharine scenario, i.e. receiving orders. But his orders differ from the others. How? Why? Suddenly, things take a turn for the worse and somehow innocent people die. What are some examples where this may have happened? Whether in fiction or in history? I'm not sure how this sort of thing pans out. I've watched a few movies where this happened but it's hard to really say how it came to be. Does anyone have any personal ideas, maybe even personal experiences about which I might pick your brain?
Nazi Germany Millgram electoshock experiment ( no one died, but it showed how horrific people can be if they follow orders without thinking for themselves) And then there are plenty of examples where cops, armies, guards etc do horrific things they don't agree with because they're told to enforce a tyrannical policy. The main problem is when someone gets the mindset of "I'm not the one who created the policy; I'm just trying to put food on the table."
Fear is another part; people will do many things to save their life, or the lives of people they care for.
