"... as if they are ..."

[Odessa Dawn]

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"..., and there will come a point at which every individual will be born with a sword in hand, and will hunt and kill others as if they are beasts."
More: A short history of the end of the world - Comment - Voices - The Independent

When we use present tense after "As if", does that mean "perhaps, possible?" I have checked "As if usage" and replied:

• She looks as if/as though she is rich. (Perhaps she is rich.)
• She looks as if/as though she was rich. (She is not rich.)

Will you simplify it for me, please? In brief, I just want to know the meaning when it follows by present tense or past tense.

Thank you,
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[emsr2d2]

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"..., and there will come a point at which every individual will be born with a sword in hand, and will hunt and kill others as if they are beasts."
More: A short history of the end of the world - Comment - Voices - The Independent

When we use present tense after "As if", does that mean "perhaps, possible?" I have checked "As if usage" and replied:

• She looks as if/as though she is rich. (Perhaps she is rich.)
• She looks as if/as though she was rich. (She is not rich.)

Will you simplify it for me, please? In brief, I just want to know the meaning when it follows by present tense or past tense.

Thank you,
​

You have to bear in mind that in your excerpt, "as if they are beasts" comes directly after "... will hunt and kill others" so it's all referring to the future.

She looks as if she is rich = Her appearance suggests that she probably has a lot of money (maybe she is wearing expensive clothes, diamond jewellery, Jimmy Choo shoes).
She looks as if she was rich = I can't really think of a situation where I would say this. It suggests that she looks (now) as if she was (used to be) rich, but I can't really imagine how someone would give the impression of having been rich in the past but not rich now.

She looked as if she was rich = this is simply "She looks as if she is rich" but reported as a past event.

 

[konungursvia]

I agree with emsr2d2. Here, we are not considering the possibility that perhaps the "others" (other people) ARE beasts. The idea is treating them like mere animals.