Part 5: Starting Point, End Point

Sonetto: So, then, their parents are the protesters we encountered at the march …
X: Yes. Their parents have been protesting outside Wilson Pharmaceuticals for days now. So I offered to watch their kids.
X: I wanted to give these kids a bit of a break—make something fun for them, you know?
X: A lot of them have been in and out of hospitals for a long time, so I thought they could use something to lift their spirits.
X: Hopefully, they'll never have to know why their parents were protesting.

X: Oh, it wasn't just a toy.
X: I prefer to describe it as a project.
Sonetto: It seems you're very passionate about this project.
Sonetto: Mr. X, it was very kind of you to create such an ... amusement for these children.
X: A sense of involvement is important for attracting an audience.
X: Well, I can't help that. I can't just let little kids run around with a marble launcher that just shoots off anywhere, now can I?
X: Still, seems like I'm not so good at building a "respectable" rapport with these kids.
Sonetto: You sell yourself short, Mr. X. It's plainly clear they like you.
X: Aha, well, I appreciate your confidence.
X: The way they play reminds me a lot of the other kids, who played in the orphanage growing up.
Sonetto: Orphanage …?
X: Yes, it's a bit different from growing up in the St. Pavlov Foundation, like you did.
X: Back then, I had lots of siblings. I would often make machines like this. I'd get them to invest too …
X: But later …
Sonetto: Oh no, did something happen?
X: —I joined the Foundation, and well, frankly, it's hard to find the same sort of investors there.
X: Of course. My brothers and sisters back then would give me anything I needed, just to see what I'd make. But when it comes to convincing adults, like Laplace and Mesmer … They're not so eager, especially that overbearing complainer.
Sonetto: Hmm, what was that about Ms. Mesmer?
X: Oh. Nothing, nothing. She's a fine colleague.
Sonetto: Oh, perhaps I heard you wrong.
Sonetto: But what Sophie just said does remind me of something Ms. Mesmer Jr. has said about mankind.
Sonetto: "One only needs to press the button to activate the feature. The toggle switch connects the circuits …"
Sonetto: "If only the human condition could be repaired like a machine."
X: Ms. Sonetto … do you realize that's an excellent proposition on mechanical theory?
Sonetto: What do you mean? I'm afraid I don't know anything at all about mechanical theory ...
X: No, no. What you just quoted, or should I say, "proposed," is precisely what lies at the heart of the LSCC's ethos.
X: "If we know the state of the universe at some initial time, we can determine its state at any other time."
X: The ultimate goal of the LSCC is to build an omniscient, intelligent machine capable of doing just that.
Sonetto: Is that so ... That would be an amazing feat!
X: But I'm afraid this would still not achieve Ms. Mesmer's ideal.
X: Ms. Sonetto, if society were to behave like a perfect machine, and each element would follow a precise and predictable orbit. What would determine who benefits from the system and who doesn't?
Sonetto: The system …?
X: The initial point.
X: Because in a measured orbit, everything is predetermined. So we only need to calculate the initial position of any one part to calculate all its states from past to future in the orbit.
X: Therefore, if the ball is set to move from point A to point B, then it might be that wealth is destined to flow from the poor to the rich.
X: And because the system is so designed that only those who pay get treatment, so individuals with higher starting points will receive the greater benefits.
X: It's a rational system and a legal one, for now. No surprises and no miracles.
Sonetto: ...
X: Fundamentally, there is no difference between humans and machines.
X: Oh, I apologize, I've gone off-topic … Ms. Sonetto, would you mind helping me clean this up?
Sonetto: Happy to help!
Sonetto: But what did you mean by "the initial point?"