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https://freedomain.com/freedomain_books/the-future/

Centuries in the future, an old man awakes from cryogenic sleep to face the judgement of a utopian society that barely survived his past abuses of power. In the vein of 'Atlas Shrugged, philosophy, philosopher Stefan Molyneux has created a compelling and powerful work of imagination. He vividly describes the wonderful future that mankind can achieve - and the barriers to getting there - and all that we need to leave behind to finally live in peace...

Transcript
00:00:00 The future by Stefan Molyneux chapter 26
00:00:04 My wife
00:00:09 Came into the room and I couldn't help myself. I sobbed loudly in relief. I
00:00:14 Was fairly convinced I was not in hell
00:00:18 But if I was
00:00:21 At least she was here with me. I
00:00:23 Also tried to crane my head a little to see where she was coming from
00:00:29 My first glance outside this room
00:00:31 But all I could see was a glimpse of a white hallway with a hint of some kind of uneven barrier to either side of
00:00:38 the doorway outside
00:00:40 The long-haired man got up nodded at me and left the room
00:00:47 My wife strode in and leaned over me brushing my hair back with a tender gesture
00:00:56 My eyes widened slightly and she sat back in the chair
00:00:59 beside my bed
00:01:02 She looked a little older
00:01:06 But but we had met in our 20s and every time I saw her after an absence. She looked older
00:01:11 because first impressions stick in the brain and
00:01:14 reject time
00:01:17 Good morning, she said with her usual slight note of brisk sarcasm
00:01:22 Hello, I replied
00:01:25 She waved her hand so glad you're better darling now go on start complaining
00:01:30 My eyes widened slightly
00:01:33 Then I laughed which came out more as a deflating croak
00:01:38 You know me too. Well, I said
00:01:41 It's the bed too uncomfortable for his majesty. She smiled leaned forward and fluffed my pillow
00:01:46 Are you not getting quite enough information at the rate you want it? Are you hungry?
00:01:51 uncomfortable disoriented
00:01:54 discontented in any way
00:01:56 My smile broadened God. I love her
00:01:59 No, I love I'm just happy and relieved to be alive
00:02:06 well
00:02:08 It looks like they removed more than plaque from your heart
00:02:11 so
00:02:14 What happened?
00:02:16 She paused and her voice caught
00:02:18 Well
00:02:21 You were very sick and they basically
00:02:24 put you to sleep or induce some kind of coma and
00:02:28 You've been out and they were able to
00:02:31 Fix your ticker
00:02:34 How long have I been?
00:02:36 house
00:02:39 She snorted as you can tell from my still youthful appearance not very long in geological terms
00:02:46 It was blindingly obvious to me that she had avoided my question
00:02:49 But of course I trusted her infinitely more than the bearded ghost of Jane. So I
00:02:54 Let it pass
00:02:56 Other kids well
00:02:59 They are unable to be here at the moment, which I know sounds impossible
00:03:02 But I hope you will trust me when I say it is not their fault
00:03:05 You are asking for a lot of trust at the moment. I said don't not without a smile
00:03:12 Well, if I haven't earned it by now, you're just unwilling to pay the bill. She replied
00:03:16 There was a tiny pause
00:03:20 So I
00:03:23 Was sick I was put to sleep I was
00:03:27 Cured I'm a better you have nothing to worry about you're fine. I considered this
00:03:35 Okay, I
00:03:38 Know you're not answering so so I won't ask again
00:03:41 But I have to imagine that I've been out for a while if they found it
00:03:45 cure while I was
00:03:48 Sleeping she tilted her head slightly. I'm not a doctor. You'll have to ask them
00:03:53 They just woke me up and told me that you were better and to come in
00:03:56 Woke you up
00:03:59 You've been here in the hospital
00:04:03 Almost the whole time she moment and something in her voice betrayed the suffering she had gone through
00:04:09 I'm so sorry. I said softly. I guess I just
00:04:14 slept through it all while you
00:04:18 She took a deep breath
00:04:21 Well old age is our punishment for all the free and easy times we had when we began
00:04:27 Had a strange memory a deja vu
00:04:30 sorts of
00:04:33 Her saying this in some public place
00:04:36 Her eyes grew oddly alert
00:04:39 Tell me how you were feeling
00:04:42 It's quite odd
00:04:44 my
00:04:46 head feels like
00:04:48 some city like Atlantis rising from the ocean
00:04:52 the confusion is draining away and my body is
00:04:57 It's it's very strange. I feel both helpless and strangely
00:05:01 Muscular at the same time. I mean, I guess someone has been exercising me. Otherwise, I would have bedrock something fierce. What else I
00:05:11 Let my mind slide down my spine towards my extremities. I
00:05:17 feel
00:05:19 Cold in the bone marrow, but warmer on the skin
00:05:22 I'm not hungry, but I don't feel full
00:05:26 It's like I've not eaten for a hundred years but been fed as hungry as a skinny horse
00:05:32 She said an odd twist on the old cliche that I vaguely remember reading somewhere. What else I
00:05:39 paused
00:05:41 Shouldn't I be saying this to the?
00:05:43 Doctors and where are the kids? Please? Don't worry about them right now
00:05:47 she said firmly you really need to focus on telling me how you feel what is going on in your mind because
00:05:54 Well to be frank, this is all fairly unprecedented. It's not any kind of typical cure
00:05:59 I held up my hand and she stopped speaking immediately
00:06:03 Look fellas, I could tell the doctors everything that's going on later. How are you?
00:06:10 What's new I laughed at the ridiculousness of the question, you know, fill me in fill my ears
00:06:18 She took a deep breath and her eyes seemed to shatter slightly
00:06:23 Did you think you were dead I
00:06:25 Saw her redirect again and had less patients this time
00:06:28 Well, it wasn't like springing up from a catnap. I said slightly grumpily. I
00:06:33 Don't feel the same
00:06:36 You don't feel the same
00:06:38 What is wrong with answering a few questions?
00:06:40 Her cheeks flushed look. I'm just following the doctor's orders
00:06:44 They said not to excite you and yes, I know you're going to say that means am I cured for real?
00:06:49 yes, you are but you can't just spring up from this kind of
00:06:53 Ordeal or a situation. Do you remember when I was in my 40s and I always wanted to write a comedy about getting old
00:06:59 Well now we are old really old
00:07:03 It's really not so damn funny at all. I
00:07:05 swallowed painfully
00:07:08 you
00:07:10 Talked about that in an interview. She shrugged probably I
00:07:13 Felt a sudden onrush of emotion
00:07:18 The vulnerable words escaped my mouth before where am I?
00:07:21 She looked at me sympathetically the future of course where you least expect it to be
00:07:28 My brief moments of sanity and lucidity seemed to be evaporating
00:07:33 What is?
00:07:36 Going on. Look you're coming out of a deep sleep. You're bound to feel disoriented. I'm here to help
00:07:42 Fearless leaned forward and kissed my forehead. What are you gonna do next put coins on my eyes? I snapped
00:07:48 There's my complaining husband again. Glad to know you're feeling like your old self
00:07:53 That was another pause more awkward I
00:07:57 sense
00:08:00 Deja vu was getting stronger a
00:08:02 Sudden thought struck me have I've woken up before why do you ask that?
00:08:09 Damn, you are on you are answering my questions with questions all the time
00:08:14 Phil is paused. No, you haven't woken up before as I said, you were in induced sleep
00:08:21 It was impossible to wake up without
00:08:24 outside stimulation
00:08:27 Another pause another shred of half information more maddening distance
00:08:32 look
00:08:34 She started then stopped
00:08:37 What would make you the happiest oh don't do that don't refuse to give me what I want and then ask what would make me happy
00:08:44 answers
00:08:46 She stated simply I
00:08:48 Struggled to rise but felt a sudden cramping in my lower back. What is it? Oh my back. Oh
00:08:54 Spasm, do you want the doctor? Oh, just do something
00:08:57 She got up briskly pulled back my tight covers and felt around behind me
00:09:02 and
00:09:04 my blood
00:09:06 froze
00:09:08 Something was missing I
00:09:11 Could sniff her hairspray. I could inhale the vestiges of her usual perfume, but something more
00:09:19 elemental something more basic and mammalian
00:09:22 The accumulated intimate scent of another body gathered in my mind for over a half century
00:09:29 Something elementally human was missing
00:09:34 And it was such a strange absence that my brain took several seconds to even begin to piece the void together. I
00:09:41 Had a sudden urge to push her away as if she were an imitation mannequin leaning over me in the near dark I remembered
00:09:50 Where the hell am I?
00:09:53 What's the matter?
00:09:56 She murmured into my ear
00:09:58 Nothing. Nothing. I muttered submitting to her groping. It's it's past. Thanks. I'm okay
00:10:04 Something about me. She asked drawing back. I
00:10:07 Shook my head. Don't lie
00:10:10 She said automatically distractedly
00:10:12 Something about me being close. I'm very clean. They told me to it's nothing I
00:10:19 Muttered the dread beginning to grow in me again
00:10:22 Her
00:10:25 Seemingly genuine confusion did put me at ease at least slightly. I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you suffer anymore
00:10:34 She brushed her hair back from her eyes. Oh, it's fine. She muttered although I could see that she was still thinking about
00:10:41 something
00:10:43 She asked suddenly do I smell different? I tried to smile. I don't know
00:10:50 Apparently it's been a while. No, really that they told me your sense of smell would be affected but would come back. I
00:10:57 Felt pain in the face of her obvious agitation
00:11:03 My left hand freed from its covers reached for her hand
00:11:06 She hesitated then took it
00:11:10 Froze again
00:11:14 The hand I had held countless times over 55 years
00:11:18 It felt as strange as a bag of marbles
00:11:23 My words escaped what?
00:11:26 Did she snatch her hand back rubbing it with her other hand?
00:11:31 What's wrong? She demanded everything is going wrong. I
00:11:35 said
00:11:37 Nothing. I felt I needed a celestial lawyer
00:11:41 She turned to the door and said it's I'm on new medication for my arthritis. Maybe my hand feels different
00:11:49 They cured me
00:11:52 my heart and
00:11:55 and your arthritis all while I was sleeping a
00:11:58 moment and
00:12:01 Suddenly felt that my lips and mouth had now turned to stone
00:12:05 silent as a statue
00:12:08 There was a long pause
00:12:12 And my wife seemed to sag in her seat
00:12:16 I'm sorry
00:12:20 She said a tear spilling from her eye. I
00:12:23 Said nothing
00:12:27 Strangely enough I did not feel mad I
00:12:32 Did not feel dead. I did not feel haunted or tortured or buried in an insane waking world of an afterlife. I
00:12:41 Was in a sane situation of waiting she seemed to know that somehow
00:12:49 She said my name
00:12:55 But it had a strangely
00:12:57 Public ring to it as if she were calling out my name at a crowded party rather than in the intimacy of a hospital room
00:13:05 Everything she has said I have heard before
00:13:11 It struck me
00:13:16 strangely sideways
00:13:18 When I remembered as hungry as a skinny horse
00:13:22 That was a phrase from her autobiography about her eating disorder as a teenager when she was on the track team
00:13:28 She had also made the comment about getting old not being funny in a talk show when she was publicizing her book
00:13:35 her tone was a
00:13:38 Public crowded
00:13:41 I'd always used to bother me about actors
00:13:44 You could tell they were acting and self-consciously impressed with their own acting and how different it was when you had an actual
00:13:50 Documentary with real people and I would imagine actors trying to play those real people and realizing that they would fail completely
00:13:56 That they were only pretending to be human beings
00:13:59 The melodramatic phrase who are you floated through my mind I
00:14:07 Studied her face as she looked back without blinking
00:14:14 It was perfect perfectly her
00:14:20 The age spots were in the old spattered constellations I remembered
00:14:24 The little scar above her left eyebrow from the bicycling accident right there
00:14:28 The gray roots of her hair were just at the length. She would allow before getting a dye job
00:14:34 Huh a dye job in your little dye
00:14:39 It was her of course and it wasn't her
00:14:46 It was her public face public voice social self
00:14:50 Everything was from the outside in nothing was spontaneous and intimate and generated from the moment
00:14:57 She was like an assembled recording of her public statements. Oh
00:15:02 And then a memory floated into my mind
00:15:07 from the room before this one
00:15:10 The old room that seemed fantastically new at the time
00:15:15 And a white-haired doctor who always reminded me of dr. Wellbe or whoever played him
00:15:21 putting a needle into my arm saying
00:15:24 Goodbye, goodbye. I wonder what brave new world you will wake up to I
00:15:31 Hoped that this one
00:15:36 Memory the first one that was recent not from my early life would trigger a flood of other memories
00:15:41 But apparently that only happens in novels because that one drop was the last gasp of a dry well
00:15:47 My ancient doctor said goodbye to me in a manner only fit for funeral directors a permanent
00:15:56 Goodbye an acknowledgement that we would never meet again under any circumstances in any universe
00:16:05 And I remembered a phrase that Nancy Reagan had used about her husband and his slow decay into dementia
00:16:11 the long goodbye
00:16:14 My doctor was giving me the long goodbye
00:16:18 and
00:16:20 then
00:16:22 Another gasp a memory of his somber face my bald doctor had always been jovial
00:16:27 Positive like Bill Cosby in a sitcom, but like Bill Cosby he would occasionally become dead serious, which hit you like a hammer
00:16:35 Something about the
00:16:37 Difficulty of his the difficulty of the speech the inevitability of
00:16:43 Everyone gets this news sooner or later
00:16:47 And a feeling of panic in a long dead rum
00:16:54 Ah, what a strange phrase and a desire to keep on living and keep on living and keep on
00:17:03 I
00:17:05 Am far in the future, aren't I I whispered she paused as if listening
00:17:13 How much do you want to know she asked I paused I
00:17:20 Will go mad if I don't know everything right now
00:17:24 She nodded
00:17:26 Where are we starting from? What do you remember? I?
00:17:29 Was sick and I wanted to live
00:17:33 And my doctor told me that I would wake up in a new world
00:17:37 I'm sure he didn't imagine I would remember it. Oh, that matters now
00:17:42 She nodded all business now. It has been a long time and you
00:17:48 You are not my wife
00:17:51 Unless I've gone quite mad you have not gone mad. Who are you? Do you want to know?
00:17:57 everything I
00:18:01 Can't imagine how long it has been if they can
00:18:03 Make you so well
00:18:06 Am I on another planet?
00:18:09 today
00:18:11 Die in this
00:18:13 No, that's totally mad or are these might are these all my dying thoughts that just go on and on forever and ever I
00:18:20 Whimpered and this seemed to rouse some sympathy within her as far as that was possible
00:18:26 Are you sure you want to know
00:18:30 Everything she asked softly. Yes
00:18:34 Okay, my wife reached up with both hands brushed back her hair
00:18:43 Then removed her face
00:18:47 Chapter 27
00:18:56 David addressed the assembled meeting
00:19:01 Heads of all the major DROs were assembled most in person a few virtual
00:19:05 so a
00:19:08 problem we had long suspected has returned to
00:19:12 point us if I can use an old colloquialism, I
00:19:15 Believe that Roman will return to the wilderness to his tribe and we must make preparations for that possibility
00:19:26 My solution will will shock you perhaps literally but please hear me out
00:19:31 As you know we have been
00:19:35 Ostracizing unrepentant criminals for the past century or so
00:19:38 It is incredibly rare only a few hundred individuals in that total time a couple every year
00:19:43 You all know the standards we've all agreed
00:19:46 You have to be deemed mentally competent have committed acts of evil and refuse to make any kind of restitution
00:19:54 And your victims do not grant clemency
00:19:57 By all our understanding of the role of peaceful parenting and the massive rewards of staying in the sieve these
00:20:04 Individuals shouldn't really exist
00:20:07 But we accept free will and people can always make absolutely terrible decisions just as we are
00:20:13 Free to inflict consequences on them
00:20:16 Most of these people left the sieve went into the wilderness and were heard of no more
00:20:23 a few of them returned and attacked citizens who killed them in self-defense a
00:20:28 Couple more also tried to worm their way back in but were unable to hack or decentralized service and were quickly caught and expelled again a
00:20:37 Few more returned half starving and agreed to make restitution take talk therapy and reform
00:20:44 We haven't really troubled ourselves with the fates of those exiled from society. They are so rare and
00:20:52 relatively trouble-free
00:20:54 Through sheer
00:20:57 Accident my daughter Alice came across a tribe in the wilderness. They number about
00:21:03 120 and they can be roughly traced back to one of the first expulsions a
00:21:08 Husband and wife from the town of New Eden were expelled
00:21:12 For conspiring with a foreign government to try and reestablish a state in the sieve
00:21:20 Everyone in the room shuddered at the thought
00:21:22 David continued
00:21:26 As you know
00:21:27 We place people in disparate locations with enough survival gear and food to last them for a month
00:21:32 And of course, they're always welcome back if they're willing to make restitution for their crimes
00:21:36 We have deliberately placed them in remote
00:21:40 locations both from us and each other out of concern that an alternative wilderness society would develop and present us with
00:21:46 Just this kind of problem
00:21:50 as it turns out this man and woman used smoke signals to locate other outcasts and this was the
00:21:56 foundation of the clan we are now dealing with a
00:22:00 Bald black man raised his arm and said how on earth did they find each other?
00:22:05 David shrugged it's a little hard to tell but based on an analysis of their mythology
00:22:11 apparently the first man and woman built a giant fire on top of smudge mountain which drew other stragglers to them and they
00:22:19 paired up in some way at least I hope so and had kids and
00:22:23 Here we are an old woman said decisively
00:22:27 I'm not sure how we can leave them alone, and I don't believe we can integrate them
00:22:32 David nodded yeah, we all know the perils of the old white man's burden
00:22:37 It seems a civilization has to evolve cannot be transferred. We can also see that from the few remaining nation-states a
00:22:47 Man with long silver hair said okay
00:22:50 This is how I see it
00:22:51 I assume that the adults are using force against the children and against each other at least on occasion as well
00:22:58 Again, David nodded the man brushed his hair back and continued
00:23:02 So the parents are violating the NAP by assaulting their children and each other
00:23:09 free speech obviously doesn't bar verbal aggression between adults because adults are free to choose who they listen to but
00:23:16 verbal abuse of children is a violation of the NAP
00:23:19 Because it so obviously damages the developing brain and the precious children have no escape
00:23:25 so these parents or the adults as a whole I suppose are violating the NAP but
00:23:32 We can't ostracize those we have already ostracized. So what are we going to do?
00:23:37 The old woman said well any children over the age of four or five can most likely not
00:23:45 be integrated into the civ and
00:23:47 We would have to use force to separate them from their parents which would cause more trauma to them. Remember the kids
00:23:53 I mean David said right we can't just go and scoop up the children and bring them here
00:23:58 It's too traumatic and too much bad brain development for integration
00:24:01 but we also
00:24:03 Can't leave them where they are because they are victims of violations of the non-aggression principle. He sighed
00:24:09 Universality is universal
00:24:14 Everyone nodded. It was silence for a short time
00:24:16 the bald man drummed his fingers, so
00:24:20 We can't take the kids
00:24:23 We can't bring the kids here. We can't bring everyone here. We can't ostracize them
00:24:29 But we can't allow the parents to continue abusing their children or each other
00:24:33 He snapped his fingers rapidly. Come on people. We get paid to pick Satoshi's there has to be an answer
00:24:41 The faint humming of air circulation drifted through everyone's ears as their collective intelligence circled the problem
00:24:47 David said
00:24:51 In my experience the longer you take to come up with a solution
00:24:55 the more upsetting the solution tends to be
00:24:59 The bald man scowled and in my experience describing the problem does not solve the problem
00:25:05 David smiled very true
00:25:08 so
00:25:10 without any further ado, I
00:25:12 will upset you with
00:25:15 My solution at least
00:25:18 Everyone lifted their heads and stared at him expectantly
00:25:22 He touched his watch
00:25:25 Okay
00:25:27 Bring it in
00:25:29 There was a momentary pause and then a small floating
00:25:34 baby
00:25:37 Drifted through the holographic curtain that led to the hallway
00:25:41 it had
00:25:43 pink skin blue eyes
00:25:45 thin tousled blonde hair and a broad toothy smile
00:25:51 It carried a small wooden bow in its tiny left hand and
00:25:57 a quiver with blue arrows hung on its back
00:26:00 its
00:26:03 his
00:26:04 Groin was covered by white cloth
00:26:09 The bald man whispered
00:26:11 Holy I have Sauron what on earth is that?
00:26:14 the old woman said I
00:26:17 Know what that is
00:26:19 My grandfather told me about these showed me some pictures when I was little. Oh, what was it called something?
00:26:25 Medieval David said a cherub
00:26:29 The old woman nodded slowly staring at the floating, baby
00:26:33 The bald man said well don't keep us in suspense
00:26:38 David gestured at the old woman go ahead Agnes
00:26:41 Agnes took a long moment to respond then said
00:26:46 This was the beginning of the sieve
00:26:51 when we pieced together peaceful parenting after the
00:26:55 Cataclysms we had the problem of enforcement
00:27:00 How do you get parents to stop yelling at or assaulting their children?
00:27:06 their children
00:27:08 The military technology developed during the early part of the 21st century
00:27:14 combined with the horrible advances during the cataclysms
00:27:18 was taken over by the founders of peaceful parenting and they invented these devices called cherubs and
00:27:26 released them in society and
00:27:29 We had peaceful parenting pretty much
00:27:32 everywhere within a single generation
00:27:36 Another woman said the enforcers
00:27:40 The old woman said well, they were called a lot of things
00:27:44 child minders the eyes in the sky
00:27:47 enforcers
00:27:49 shielders
00:27:50 snappers
00:27:51 sieve builders
00:27:53 Angels moment David
00:27:56 The old woman nodded lost in memory
00:27:59 That's my favorite
00:28:04 the most accurate
00:28:06 Another man said it's so strange when your history books come back to life. I'm sure we all read about these so long ago
00:28:16 The bald man said
00:28:20 How do they work? I don't how does it work? I mean
00:28:24 David jumped up you son of a bitch. He snarled the entire room was stunned into silence
00:28:31 the floating baby
00:28:34 hovered placidly regarding the scene with piercing blue eyes
00:28:38 David smiled you see
00:28:42 free speech no response because
00:28:45 We are all adults
00:28:48 the bald man laughed nervously
00:28:50 David strode towards him drawing back his fist
00:28:53 Immediately the floating baby shot between David and the bald man so quickly. It almost seemed to be teleporting
00:29:00 imminent violation
00:29:03 Stern deep masculine voice stated flatly utterly unnerving coming from a baby's pink mouth
00:29:09 David hurled his fist at the bald man's face the man flinched raising his arms and
00:29:16 Almost too fast to see the baby drew an arrow fitted it into the bow
00:29:19 There was an electric blue flash and a bolt of lightning shot into David's chest
00:29:24 Gasping and trembling David dropped to his knees tiny bolts of electricity crawling over his skin like random blue centipedes
00:29:33 The bald man jumped up damn David. Are you are you okay?
00:29:36 David grimaced pulling himself up by the edge of the obsidian table
00:29:41 It's not exactly
00:29:44 Painful, but it does mess with your muscles. Oh hang on
00:29:49 You can't do much for at least a couple of minutes
00:29:52 It's basically the minimum dose to prevent an attack
00:30:00 The angel attacks physical violence between adults and physical and verbal violence against children
00:30:07 These were used in the founding of the sieve
00:30:11 Basically, they were
00:30:14 the foundation of the sieve
00:30:16 but within a generation
00:30:18 Physical attacks and verbal abuse of children had become so rare that they were all
00:30:24 decommissioned
00:30:27 Some were sent to museums
00:30:29 most were recycled
00:30:31 some put in storage and
00:30:33 We've got a bunch back and updated them a little bit and this is our solution
00:30:39 my proposed
00:30:41 solution
00:30:43 There was silence in the room
00:30:45 This was a lot to process
00:30:48 the silverhead man said
00:30:51 so we just
00:30:53 released these in this tribe around them and they just
00:30:59 zap
00:31:00 everyone who abuses kids
00:31:02 David nodded
00:31:04 Okay, I'm sure this is blindingly obvious, but I don't know the answer
00:31:08 once the abusive parents just
00:31:11 Go into a hut or someplace a cave maybe a and abuse their kids there
00:31:16 David grimaced I
00:31:19 Activated this angel with my earlier phrase now that it is activated. It will stay with us until it is deactivated
00:31:28 It's solar-powered. So it won't run out of juice. It defends itself. So you can't destroy it at least not in the wilderness
00:31:34 It is authorized to use up to lethal force. It records everything, of course and
00:31:41 If you try to go into a closet or a hut or a room or some private place
00:31:47 Well, I can show you
00:31:49 This thing is a work of art and and in art showing is always better than telling come with me
00:31:56 David and the bald man walked out of the conference room a
00:31:59 Real door materialized on the hologram
00:32:01 David raised his voice beyond the door
00:32:04 The tiny pink head of the angel jerked up another blur of arrow shooting a flash of light red this time and the angel flickered
00:32:13 Through a perfectly cut circle in the door
00:32:15 David poked his head through the mildly smoking hole
00:32:19 It can cut through just about anything even drill through rock if need be
00:32:24 He opened the door and came back in the bald man close behind followed by the eternally smiling angel
00:32:30 The bald man said I'm not even gonna pretend to be sorry to be that guy but
00:32:37 What if a truly sadistic parent finds some way to escape this?
00:32:40 driller
00:32:42 it was called a
00:32:44 SNAP or snapper because it snapped people with electricity and because it enforces the NAP I
00:32:52 Like the suggestion of Agnes. Let's call it an angel. It was made in this shape to
00:32:56 Be more pleasing to children so they wouldn't be as scared
00:33:00 Okay, the angel what if the parent evades it somehow?
00:33:04 David nodded
00:33:06 David nodded. Oh, we know how tenacious parents are in continuing abuse. There's a reason it went on for
00:33:12 150,000 years basically the entire history of her species and so the angel can also analyze
00:33:20 Cortisol scan for salt patterns on the cheeks and breathing rates. You name it if
00:33:25 a parent somehow abuses a child outside the angels watchful eye the angel then gently
00:33:34 questions the child looking for stress patterns and the avoidance of eye contact it also
00:33:41 analyzes the cortisol levels of the parent as well as
00:33:45 Endorphins which will get released if the parent enjoyed the abuse
00:33:51 The old woman's eyes were sad if he or she is a sadist David not a right
00:33:58 If all the evidence points to very recent abuse it provides a double dose of electricity to the parent which really does hurt
00:34:07 trust me
00:34:08 the old woman said I
00:34:10 Can't remember
00:34:13 Does it promote good behavior at all?
00:34:15 David shook his head. No, it's just enforcement all stick. No carrot. Do you know why that decision was made?
00:34:23 David stared at the friendly floating
00:34:28 implacable
00:34:30 cherub oh
00:34:32 Yeah, I've studied this thing deeply. I
00:34:34 mean
00:34:37 you know
00:34:39 One of the central weird delusions in history was the idea that if the government doesn't do something that thing won't get done
00:34:46 If the government doesn't provide education, no one will be educated if the government doesn't build the roads. No roads will be built
00:34:52 It was a mad
00:34:55 Delusion you all know it's like saying that if you take a giant rock from the middle of a stream the water will still continue
00:35:01 to flow around the hole
00:35:03 David's eyes moved from person to person
00:35:08 It turned out that when parents were prevented from abusing their children they
00:35:15 spontaneously mind you just
00:35:18 kind of
00:35:20 Invented peaceful parenting on their own
00:35:23 Like when we eliminated the power of the rulers DROs emerged spontaneously
00:35:28 When violence is banned
00:35:31 Spontaneous self-organization
00:35:35 emerges
00:35:37 naturally
00:35:38 inevitably and very quickly
00:35:40 the end of government education was about
00:35:44 ten days worth of chaos a few classes held in garages the quick purchasing of government schools
00:35:51 Which would then quite quickly abandoned and the current system of parent shadowing experience education
00:35:57 Emerged within a month or two and to stayed pretty much the same ever since
00:36:01 The bald man said so we just
00:36:06 Release these in this tribe and and then what?
00:36:11 David smiled come on. We are not savages
00:36:15 We already have a number of peaceful parenting advocates who perfectly willing to deploy to the clan if they are allowed which I kind of doubt
00:36:23 But no we will provide information and training and resources anything
00:36:28 They want at the same time as we let the angels protect the children
00:36:35 The old woman said it's so
00:36:37 Techie, why not just use people go on
00:36:43 well, I can see why in the past they needed robots because
00:36:48 Billions of children were being abused all around the world. So it was impossible to
00:36:52 There weren't enough people and most of the people wanted to abuse the kids. It was a sadistic age as they all were
00:36:59 David said well, it wasn't
00:37:03 Billions of people at all by the end of the cataclysms
00:37:06 remember we
00:37:08 Started out with only a few million best guess those who had seen the disasters coming
00:37:14 They were the ones who worked their hardest to break the cycle of history and give us the sieve right, right, but
00:37:21 Why not use people?
00:37:24 experts with this tribe
00:37:27 It seems a little freaky to have these babies hovering around
00:37:31 Zapping people who raised their hands against their children. I'm concerned about
00:37:36 Psychotic breaks or or she furrowed her brow taking a deep breath
00:37:41 Well sadism is next door to masochism
00:37:45 cruel parents might learn to love being zapped or they might be willing to escalate the angels even to lethal force in order to I
00:37:53 Mean we are talking about some seriously primitive personalities here
00:37:58 David nodded slowly
00:38:01 That is certainly a
00:38:03 Not a risk exactly but a
00:38:07 possible consequence
00:38:10 It is incredibly destabilizing for abusers to stop abusing it brings back their own childhoods their
00:38:16 Conscience if they still have one and it can cause a total collapse in the personality and yes
00:38:22 Some people might choose to really harm themselves by provoking the angels which would certainly be very traumatic for the children
00:38:30 But universality is a universality
00:38:33 That's why we've never released these in the statist societies. They would just respond with
00:38:39 Terrorism escalation plus they could find ways to disable them
00:38:44 David's voice grew grim
00:38:47 Look
00:38:50 We all know around this table across the sieve that we cannot base morality on consequences
00:39:00 Consequences are a form of mysticism because you can invent any outcome for any proposed action all
00:39:06 pragmatism does is paralyze morality I
00:39:09 Could say well the parents won't stop abusing so the angels will end up seriously harming or killing them
00:39:15 Which is even more traumatic for the children, so we should just let things be
00:39:19 David spread his hands in a gesture of benevolent helplessness
00:39:24 Consequences be damned we enforce the non-aggression principle regardless of consequences
00:39:31 He paused for a moment
00:39:34 We won't use people because
00:39:38 Abusers are incredibly sensitive to loss of status, and it's hard to feel as
00:39:45 humiliated by a mere machine
00:39:48 being attacked by a human being would cause immediate escalation the genius of the
00:39:53 Angels is that it's harder to take being punished
00:39:57 personally if
00:40:00 We had people there the children would be in far more danger as with the parents the bald man said okay, I get the
00:40:08 Physical abuse thing that's just reading body language and sniffing for cortisol, but the verbal abuse thing that seems
00:40:17 That's impossible to understand for me
00:40:19 Parents still lecture their children which some kids seem to hate more than spanking and correct their children and guide
00:40:26 Their children how another's a robot supposed to figure out the line between
00:40:30 verbal correction and verbal abuse
00:40:33 David nodded I hear what you're saying, but
00:40:36 Would you have any trouble distinguishing between the two?
00:40:41 The bald man paused I guess is like most things there's some stuff in the fuzzy middle
00:40:46 That's hard to unpack but most of the more extreme positions are pretty obvious
00:40:50 The angel is designed to provide a warning if it detects vocal stress
00:40:55 Cortisol rising volume and muscle rigidity all signs of hostility
00:40:59 It comes pre-programmed with many phrases of verbal abuse the usual calling names implying incompetence
00:41:08 Reversal icing the stakes moral hypocrisy insulting personality all that stuff
00:41:12 if it really can't decide it simply sends the recording to us and provides a warning and
00:41:18 We can decide after a manual review. It's not perfect of course, but it's a massive improvement
00:41:24 look
00:41:27 We all know that I can't impose this solution unilaterally so
00:41:32 I'm open to any and all other suggestions
00:41:36 But this is the basic fact
00:41:38 We can't leave them there, and we can't bring them here
00:41:43 the debate
00:41:48 Ranged back and forth for most of the afternoon
00:41:50 Some voices were even raised causing the floating angel to turn rapidly
00:41:55 but free speech ruled and the deployment of the angels
00:42:01 won the day
00:42:04 you
00:42:06 Chapter 28
00:42:12 David knocked on the door of Romans hotel room
00:42:17 He had not seen the older man for several days
00:42:21 the hotel room was consciously spectacular a
00:42:26 Whole wall of real windows with a dual view of the ocean above and a teeming coral reef below
00:42:33 Zero gravity tickle showers in room barbecues
00:42:36 isolation massage chambers the whole works
00:42:39 But after returning from Atlantis
00:42:43 Roman
00:42:45 Had closed the curtains
00:42:47 used
00:42:49 nothing eaten nothing
00:42:51 said
00:42:53 nothing
00:42:55 David wanted to give him his space
00:42:59 But had to talk to him now and finally got a robot made to open the door
00:43:03 The room was dark silent and smelled vaguely of a rotting fall forest
00:43:12 David let his eyes adjust to the gloom rather than turn on a light
00:43:18 Romans sat hunched over the edge of a voluminous couch
00:43:25 Are you sure you don't need anything it asked gently do you feel unwell?
00:43:32 The old warrior said nothing his head in his hands
00:43:38 Roman asked David he made a gesture to silence the couch nothing
00:43:47 I'm going to assume that our tour is done
00:43:55 David walked closer to Roman in the dark. He noticed that the couch had been slashed and stabbed
00:44:01 There was still a steak knife sticking out from a torn cushion
00:44:06 Of course, he didn't know how to turn it off. So violence
00:44:11 You went silent the last time we talked don't you want to know any more about your history?
00:44:22 Roman looked up his face like a smudge of charcoal in the dark
00:44:26 David said
00:44:31 As my mother used to say let's shed a little light on the subject. He gestured again and the curtains opened slightly
00:44:38 He sat in an armchair opposite Roman gesturing to ensure that it did not ask him if he wanted a snack
00:44:46 David said
00:44:51 We have traced your history
00:44:53 Your ancestors were ejected from the civ were just about the gravest crime
00:44:59 They were starting a DRO with the intent of reestablishing the state
00:45:04 Roman nodded slowly his eyes were hooded sad defensive
00:45:12 Was their case fairly proved he asked with dull belligerence
00:45:18 David nodded
00:45:21 Well, of course, I'm going to say yes, but I don't expect you to believe me. I
00:45:25 Will tell you the mechanism by which they were found out and you can tell me if it makes sense to you
00:45:32 They started a DRO this
00:45:37 Man and woman earlier shortly after the end of the cataclysms
00:45:40 There were a number of groups struggling to reinstate the state so to speak
00:45:45 But society was too chaotic and fragmented for any group to gain ascendancy
00:45:51 David shrugged
00:45:53 Ireland millennia ago lasted 800 years without any government tap it before
00:45:56 but people still need collective security charity dispute resolution roads at least then and
00:46:02 The longer the recreation of the state was kept at bay
00:46:05 The more voluntary organizations stepped in to fill the void
00:46:09 there was a
00:46:12 general horror of the violence that had massively traumatized the entire population because nobody escaped the
00:46:19 Cataclysm as I'm sure you know
00:46:21 We found some old world writings about peaceful parenting which we were able to spread and the right
00:46:27 Ideas began to take root
00:46:31 David's voice was gentle Roman stared through him
00:46:35 No taxation
00:46:39 No indoctrination of the young a horror of violence the non-aggression principle finally applied to children
00:46:48 voluntary and peaceful solutions to collective social problems and
00:46:52 The rise of a generation that had no interest in crime no susceptibility to addiction
00:47:00 No obesity no hyper sexuality good and reasonable
00:47:05 Health habits raised by parents who were held personally liable for the misdeeds of their children this
00:47:13 all meant that the usual bogeymen held up by the state to justify its existence just
00:47:18 Weren't there at the same time that vastly superior replacements for traditional state functions were everywhere
00:47:28 David spread his hands when you think about the general span of human history it was almost
00:47:37 overnight
00:47:40 But the same thing was true of slavery it went on for almost all of human history and was
00:47:44 Ended pretty quickly and once it was over no one argued for its return
00:47:48 Peaceful parenting a stateless society they all turned out to be the greatest advancement in human history
00:47:58 David let his calm voice work to soothe Romans obvious mental and emotional collapse
00:48:08 David smiled
00:48:10 Your name keeps reminding me
00:48:13 Did you know that the ancient Romans knew all about the steam engine and other?
00:48:18 necessities of the 19th century Industrial Revolution
00:48:21 Roman Shrugged
00:48:24 But they didn't have any
00:48:26 Interest in replacing human labor with machinery because they owned slaves their entire economy was built on their backs
00:48:34 Labor saving devices reduced the value of physical labor, so why would you want to invest in machinery that destroyed the value of your slaves?
00:48:41 David sighed
00:48:44 No
00:48:46 the old world could not come about while there was still slavery and
00:48:50 You can go back and read all of these hysterical idiots when the end of slavery was proposed
00:48:57 They were all saying the same thing like a mantra of morons
00:49:02 Oh, but slaves picked the cotton and the food if we don't have slaves we will end up naked and starving
00:49:08 David chuckled softly
00:49:13 An enormous manta ray swam the bright narrow pillar of ocean between the curtains
00:49:19 They had the strangest fantasy they believed that because an unjust situation produced something
00:49:28 There was no way a just situation could produce something better
00:49:33 Madness
00:49:36 Come on if a society ran on arranged marriages enforced by the state and
00:49:42 Someone proposed a system of voluntary courtship these exact same
00:49:47 Morons would scream out that no one would get married unless they were forced that there would be no families or
00:49:53 Relationships or children and we would all die out within a generation
00:49:57 David laughed sadly brushing back his sandy hair
00:50:01 Ah
00:50:06 To the truly indoctrinated the truth is always stranger than their wildest fantasies
00:50:12 This whole journey is like time travel for you
00:50:22 Imagine if I was sent back in time to the slavery debates and I were to say to the pro-slavery advocates
00:50:30 you don't have to worry about cotton and fruits and vegetables being picked in the future because
00:50:36 within a few short decades
00:50:38 giant robots half the width of a field will use huge metal arms to pick the wheat and
00:50:46 Barley a giant field in just an hour and these giant robots will be powered by
00:50:53 crushed
00:50:55 Dinosaur juice from hundreds of millions of years ago and then not too long after that
00:51:00 smaller robots with metal fingers as delicate as the legs of a spider will pick the fruits and vegetables and work all day and all
00:51:07 night powered by the light of the Sun
00:51:09 David shook his head
00:51:13 They would call me insane
00:51:16 because
00:51:18 People truly believe that they can accurately predict the liberated future of a free mankind
00:51:25 But the future
00:51:29 Cannot be known
00:51:31 because of free will
00:51:33 Which means that we can only use
00:51:35 principles to navigate where we are going
00:51:39 universal principles
00:51:42 Because those in charge those with power will always
00:51:47 Frighten us with dire consequences in order to bypass our rational faculties
00:51:52 two things
00:51:56 Kill thinking in a man arousal and fear
00:52:00 Filling the minds of the masses with horror stories about the sins of disobedience using
00:52:07 Hell in the past pandemics racism war and starvation before the cataclysms
00:52:13 requires
00:52:14 That you studiously avoid
00:52:16 principles and focus on imaginary consequences
00:52:20 It's all about us sophisticated as a voodoo curse if you've heard of them
00:52:27 Light was coming into the room lionfish and lazy seahorses gathered outside the invisible glass
00:52:36 And
00:52:38 If you try to run an advanced society on the basis of primitive superstition
00:52:44 The greatest being that you can predict the future freedom
00:52:48 Then you end up where the world always did end up
00:52:54 Destroying freedoms by predicting a dire future creates it the ultimate
00:53:04 self-fulfilling prophecy
00:53:06 And it is truly horrible
00:53:08 How many people had to suffer and die for us to learn that lesson?
00:53:15 But we are a strange
00:53:19 species
00:53:21 we would usually rather die than be proven wrong and
00:53:26 Sadly nature grants our wish on a regular basis or
00:53:33 At least she used to
00:53:35 David's voice had grown distant
00:53:38 Roman stood up his knees creaking
00:53:41 My ancestors he said grimly
00:53:46 David blinks. Yes. Sorry. It's a story. I tell myself or others too often and it's a tangent at the moment. All right
00:53:55 Your ancestors
00:53:58 They started a DRO a defense DRO specific to researching and creating or buying
00:54:05 Weaponry to protect the region from invasion a bunch of them started up
00:54:09 But they weren't very necessary because no external state was really interested in invading our region
00:54:15 Roman grunted I don't believe you. Why not the older man glowed
00:54:21 Since this is to be our last
00:54:24 conversation
00:54:27 Now state would ever want a free region nearby
00:54:30 especially that free region was successful because it's best and brightest would fleet the freedom and a success of the free region would undermine the
00:54:38 arguments for the state
00:54:40 David blinked in surprise
00:54:42 That that is true
00:54:45 the flood of people fleeing statism was almost beyond belief and we were hated by the politicians and rulers, but
00:54:55 Let me explain it this way
00:54:57 Let's say that there are two regions one we call farm and one we call wilderness
00:55:03 The farm is fully functional. It is crops and livestock and fences and machinery and makes a lot of money
00:55:10 while the wilderness is
00:55:12 Just that an untamed area with no domestication at all if you want to make money and you have no ethics
00:55:19 Which region do you take over?
00:55:23 Romans dull eyes narrowed sensing a trap
00:55:26 The farm why who cares?
00:55:30 It's already finished. You can start making money right away rights and
00:55:34 when governments take over another country
00:55:38 What are they really taking over?
00:55:42 they are taking over the tax collection system a
00:55:49 Country is a farm a free region is a wilderness if
00:55:53 You take over the free region. What do you get?
00:55:58 There's no government. No state courts. No Treasury. No bullion. No tax collection
00:56:03 No government schools you can take over and use to indoctrinate the population
00:56:07 There's no central registry of the population. No accounting for location income assets ownership of weapons
00:56:15 No census nothing
00:56:17 What are you taking over a?
00:56:20 well-armed wilderness with no way to profit from the population no way to seize assets because cryptocurrency cannot be seized a
00:56:29 country presents a single throat for you to squeeze a free region is
00:56:35 Scattered unmanaged unknowable and the population has not been trained into obedience
00:56:43 Roman sat heavily shaking his head. Yeah, but how is
00:56:47 For power, it's not just about making money if you have this free wilderness states will destroy it because it threatens their power
00:56:56 David laughed delighted that Roman seemed to be
00:57:00 Coming back to life
00:57:03 Quite right. I could see why your ancestors were so good at
00:57:09 We were shielded from invasion for immediate material gain
00:57:13 But our threat to the power of neighboring states was significant. You're right
00:57:17 Because of peaceful parenting we didn't need much policing at all internally
00:57:23 But there were existential threats from neighboring states. So defense DROs were created
00:57:29 Roman Scout I can see about a thousand problems with those
00:57:34 Go on
00:57:36 Do we have to?
00:57:38 No, sir, David
00:57:40 But I've asked for nothing and I know you're never coming back I would like your answer
00:57:47 Roman sat in silence for a long moment
00:57:51 The ripples of light behind him reflected from the water gave the large room the appearance of an underwater cave
00:57:59 Well, he said finally I
00:58:06 Would imagine that if you wanted power
00:58:08 You would just promise to protect the citizens of the free region take their what Bitcoin?
00:58:14 And just use it to fund your own army and take over the region
00:58:18 People desperate for protection always give up their liberties
00:58:22 True central lesson of the past. It's why history was just a series of jump scares into a volcano run by the rulers. So
00:58:30 What is the solution?
00:58:34 Roman shrugged
00:58:35 There is no solution. It's a power vacuum get rid of the state and other rises to take its place
00:58:41 I die my son rises David between his teeth. I
00:58:45 Know it's a lot to ask from a wild man from the wilderness
00:58:50 But you have to think like an entrepreneur if you want to solve these problems. I'm not a damn entrepreneur
00:58:56 You could take me hunting
00:58:58 What?
00:59:00 David grinned
00:59:02 You're in my area of expertise. I'll come to yours. You can take me hunting teach me what you know and watch me get everything wrong
00:59:09 You're saying I'm getting everything wrong
00:59:13 David laughed
00:59:15 No, of course not you're doing incredibly well
00:59:17 But instead of being a skeptic you need to be a salesman. I really don't David sighed
00:59:25 Yes now you are all about the precision
00:59:28 It's true. You don't but you won't understand the world that rejected you if you refuse
00:59:34 Try this
00:59:36 Instead of being someone lobbying problems at a proposed solution be someone who was trying to sell your solution to me
00:59:43 What the hell do you mean? Well
00:59:47 When people first came up with defense DROs everyone was skeptical and fearful and wanted to just defend themselves
00:59:55 So the leaders of these defense DROs when they were just a proposal had to sell their ideas
01:00:02 to the general population
01:00:04 Who was scared of exactly what you were talking about that the defense DROs would take their money and buy some
01:00:12 robot army and then take over
01:00:14 but
01:00:17 someone needs to look around the world to figure out what dangers are brewing and
01:00:21 negotiate with or threaten hostile foreign actors
01:00:26 Most people can defend their own homes. It takes a real expert to defend an entire region preemptively if possible
01:00:33 so we
01:00:35 this region when it was smaller
01:00:37 Needed people to scan and act against hostile actors, but they were terrified of those people
01:00:44 Taking their money then taking them over. So
01:00:49 Imagine you are your ancestor and you're trying to sell people on the idea of a defense DRO
01:00:56 One of many because it is a violation of the non-aggression principle to establish a coercive monopoly
01:01:03 How would you sell them?
01:01:05 How would you deal with their fears that you would just take their money and create a new state to rule over them?
01:01:12 Romans scowled again
01:01:15 Is this necessary?
01:01:18 David shrugged depends how you define the word
01:01:20 it is
01:01:22 Your history the history of your tribe
01:01:25 the decisions of your ancestors that define how you live now
01:01:30 Romans eyes darkened
01:01:34 So I'm supposed to sell you or my ability to defend you without threatening you
01:01:42 David nodded
01:01:45 Roman took a deep breath
01:01:48 well, I
01:01:50 Would have to give you an account of everything I was doing all my weapons and
01:01:56 Research or whatever and that would have to be
01:02:00 verified by someone else someone
01:02:03 independent maybe a competitor or all my competitors and
01:02:08 And I would have to put some money a lot of money
01:02:14 Someplace safe and I would have to give it up if I was proven to be dishonest about the weapons I had or what?
01:02:20 I was developing
01:02:22 David raised his hands as if to clap them together
01:02:24 Fantastic fantastic. I'm not an entrepreneur. Yes all that happened and
01:02:31 Each defense DRO was competing on price the price of defending the region
01:02:38 So any DRO that bought more weapons and you would need a lot to take over a freely armed region
01:02:44 Would have to have some way to fund to pay for that additional weaponry
01:02:49 They would have to borrow or raise their prices, which means their customers would have to pay more either way
01:02:56 Also a bank would have to agree to secretly loan money to a defense DRO
01:03:01 Knowing that this defense DRO would likely try to create a new state which would then have coercive power over the bank
01:03:08 Never happened
01:03:10 David laced his fingers together
01:03:12 Everything in the free market is intertwined
01:03:16 every loan to a defense DRO would need to be scrutinized and we use Bitcoin of course, so the ledger is public the loan can't
01:03:23 be hidden and
01:03:24 Each defense DRO is watching the others like a hawk
01:03:28 Scanning for any accumulation of hidden weaponry and if they find any they advertise it broadly which would scare the hell out of that rogue
01:03:36 DRO's customers who would immediately stop their payments causing the dangerous DRO to collapse and
01:03:41 Any institution that supported the rogue DRO would also lose customers and other DRO's the ones dealing with civil disputes like contracts
01:03:50 Would stop enforcing any contracts for any rogue institutions
01:03:54 Also, the heads of the rogue DRO would be sued into oblivion
01:03:58 For what is called fiduciary misconduct or threatening the value of the entity through immoral actions
01:04:05 And those leaders would lose everything their houses their savings you name it
01:04:09 Remember there is no corporate shield for institutional leaders
01:04:14 The old question who watches the watchers the only real answer
01:04:22 everyone through market choice
01:04:25 David shook his head
01:04:28 No
01:04:30 There's no incentive to try to recreate the state and every incentive to provide regional defense as cheaply and
01:04:37 effectively as humanly possible
01:04:39 Roman stood up
01:04:44 Something in the abstract conversation was exhausting him
01:04:48 But this is what happened you say David nodded
01:04:55 This is what happened
01:04:59 Your ancestors created a defense DRO and
01:05:04 Ended up with excessive weaponry
01:05:07 They were funded by foreign governments to institute a state in the free region and crush our liberties
01:05:13 There was a pause
01:05:17 Roman asked a word I caught
01:05:20 Their contracts with their customers are enforced a monthly audit
01:05:25 everything was accounted for all the weapons and research, but
01:05:29 there was a mismatch between the energy consumption and the resources produced a
01:05:35 Competitor defense DRO was running a heat scan from orbit and compared the results to previous months
01:05:42 David smiled sadly
01:05:46 Those were my ancestors
01:05:51 They published the significantly increased heat sink and warned the customers of your ancestors DRO of the danger
01:05:58 They demanded a more detailed audit which revealed an underground bunker half full of robot drones
01:06:04 That was a massive uproar as you can imagine
01:06:08 everyone's worst fears coming true and their customers canceled their contracts and
01:06:13 Sanctuary and money was offered to any foreign leader or dignitary willing to expose the plot
01:06:19 And a few came forward with documents confirming it your ancestors were tried
01:06:25 But the evidence was beyond overwhelming
01:06:29 There was another long pause
01:06:33 Roman finally said work
01:06:36 Or is there an offer for them to stay at all?
01:06:41 That was a big debate at the time
01:06:44 The sieve didn't have a mechanism for ostracism or expulsion without the possibility of restitution
01:06:50 Because they'd never been crimes of this magnitude before
01:06:53 It's actually fascinating reading going over the historical archives
01:06:57 The general consensus was that restitution was impossible given the magnitude of the treachery
01:07:05 treason really
01:07:08 But some people argued that it was essential that your ancestors be given the choice to stay
01:07:15 Or to leave
01:07:16 Otherwise, it would be easier for them to
01:07:18 play the victim
01:07:20 The restitution proposed was pretty significant
01:07:25 Use all property all contracts and work as manual laborers for a competitor's DRO for 20 years
01:07:32 Roman pursed his lips. I
01:07:36 Thought your lot didn't do manual labor. Oh, yeah, that's true
01:07:40 they would have worked alongside robots, but they could stayed and then you contracts would have been enforced and they would have
01:07:48 participated in the economy
01:07:51 The Sun was setting over the ocean outside the curtains waving red light danced over David's face
01:08:01 But I chose to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven moment Roman
01:08:09 David nodded slowly
01:08:11 They did
01:08:14 There was a long silence
01:08:17 David said but in their way they did an enormous service to the safe
01:08:25 Sometimes the best thing some people can do is serve as a warning to others. No one ever tried that again
01:08:33 What happened to the foreign rulers
01:08:39 Oh
01:08:40 They got sick and died
01:08:42 David said grimly
01:08:45 Roman nodded
01:08:47 David stood up and gestured for the curtains to open wide sunlight flooded into the room making both men flinch
01:08:55 David rubbed his eyes then turned to Roman and
01:09:00 Then
01:09:04 your ancestors
01:09:06 passed
01:09:07 From the knowledge of the sieve and went into the wilderness
01:09:10 They were not
01:09:13 Sterilized. No, that would be a violation of the non-aggression principle
01:09:17 shall I
01:09:19 bread I
01:09:21 Wasn't considered it was but again
01:09:24 we don't make moral decisions based on consequences because
01:09:28 That is an imagined fantasy
01:09:31 They chose to do wrong
01:09:34 They chose to reject restitution they chose to leave
01:09:38 What happened after that
01:09:41 Roman took a step forward
01:09:45 by now
01:09:46 It matters to you
01:09:48 David sighed it's not personal Roman. It's not what matters to me
01:09:54 It's what matters to morality to to universality
01:09:58 Because that is the foundation of everything that we have achieved and if we break that if we even crack that then
01:10:04 Everything might fall apart
01:10:07 Roman snorted bitterly. Well, I said that pure consequences if ever I heard one
01:10:12 David considered this was surprise
01:10:16 No, you're right. You're right
01:10:19 Let me ask you this
01:10:23 If you saw a man about to sleepwalk off a cliff and fall to his death, would you stop him? Yeah, unless he was an enemy
01:10:31 You are not our enemy
01:10:34 Said David with great seriousness
01:10:37 You think I am?
01:10:39 sleepwalking
01:10:41 David paused
01:10:43 It's not important what I think about your motives or or what goes on in your mind because that's not objective it can't be proven
01:10:49 I do know that you are abusing your children
01:10:54 I know you call that instruction and culture and tradition, but none of that matters you strike your children
01:11:00 We do said Roman unapologetically
01:11:03 You are verbally harsh with your children. You call them names and punish them. They punished themselves just as you said what?
01:11:10 Roman took another step forward
01:11:13 You said about my ancestors that I chose to do wrong and avoid restitution and so they chose to leave
01:11:21 You were enforcing morality not just punishing individuals, right? Yes. It's the same with us
01:11:27 We have rules for our children and those rules are not arbitrary and they're not to be enforced in anger and they are essential to our
01:11:35 Survival just as my ancestors chose to leave our children choose punishment by disobeying the rules
01:11:42 David thought for a moment, but they are
01:11:44 Children your ancestors made their choices when they were adults, but you say oh and you have endlessly repeated
01:11:53 The adult choices are conditioned by childhood experiences
01:11:58 Abuse you call it a boy who was abused even by my standards who then becomes a criminal is less
01:12:05 Responsible for his criminality because he was abused right?
01:12:11 that it's true said David softly and
01:12:14 that is why we focus so hard on the scans and and figuring out which children are being abused and stopping it at the source and
01:12:22 What air scans where my ancestors did what I did there were but not nearly as accurate so
01:12:31 If criminality as an adult is based on abuse as a child
01:12:37 What happened to my ancestors?
01:12:40 When they were children that turned them into such criminals
01:12:44 David considered this for a long moment
01:12:48 Roman continued I saw you were quite empathy and
01:12:54 tenderness
01:12:56 talking to
01:12:58 Christina mother of those two boys. It was violent but had brain damage from her tumor
01:13:04 And you did not condemn her you did not reject her
01:13:09 You did not evict her from your society. She was physically damaged in her mind
01:13:15 Can you tell me with absolute certainty that my ancestors were not also physically damaged in their minds?
01:13:22 David whispered I cannot
01:13:25 And this is why you cannot consider me an enemy said Roman softly stepping forward again
01:13:35 Because your ancestors acted with tribal fear and hatred against my ancestors
01:13:42 Banishing them against all of this new knowledge about child abuse and criminality
01:13:48 You just waved your magic wand called free will and kicked them out
01:13:53 You were terrified that your new society might not work that it might be taken over by another state
01:14:00 So you needed someone on the cross someone on Calvary a scapegoat an example to scare everyone else and it worked
01:14:08 You just told me no one ever tried that again
01:14:11 They were
01:14:14 Interviewed about their past great David his cheeks red and I saw you interview Christina about her past
01:14:21 She was not accurate because her brain was damaged
01:14:27 Memory is a physical thing right if my ancestors were damaged they might not remember what happened
01:14:33 What do you think I've been doing sitting in this damn room since you told me?
01:14:39 He tapped his own swarthy forehead violently thinking
01:14:43 David opened his mouth then closed it again
01:14:50 More softly Roman asked
01:14:55 Have you ever interviewed an evil person?
01:14:58 defined
01:15:00 Roman shrugged Wow
01:15:02 Someone with good scans as a child now brain damage. No trauma. No diseases who just
01:15:10 Did evil violated your non-aggression principle?
01:15:13 Tough question moment David
01:15:18 Tell me said Roman in a slightly mocking tone imitating David
01:15:25 David took a step backwards
01:15:27 Well
01:15:30 if I have never interviewed an evil person then
01:15:33 Evil is always brain damage
01:15:36 and therefore not evil, but just shadow cast by sickness
01:15:41 But if I have interviewed an evil person then you will say that my use of free will is
01:15:49 Just a kind of superstition a phrase that I paint on behaviors that I cannot understand
01:15:55 Roman smiled with grim satisfaction
01:15:59 That's right
01:16:02 David looked back and forth. It's a scanning his memory externally
01:16:07 There was always an
01:16:12 Explanation he said finally
01:16:16 Roman nodded
01:16:20 Was this explanation always provable through some kind of scan or procedure?
01:16:26 David paused for a long time. Oh
01:16:29 I think I felt a
01:16:34 pressure to come up with an explanation, but
01:16:36 But at the same time, I guess I felt that if everything could be explained if we were all just dominoes falling slabs
01:16:45 from what came before
01:16:47 That there really wasn't any such thing as
01:16:49 morality
01:16:51 Roman grunted and said
01:16:53 Civilization is over complication
01:16:56 David shivered. What do you mean? I feel it, but I don't
01:17:00 Get it
01:17:02 Roman shrugged again. We say to our children do what I tell you or I'll punish you
01:17:08 How my punishment will be much less than nature's punishment. So it comes from a place of protection of love
01:17:13 The purpose is survival
01:17:17 The morality is integrity to that survival
01:17:20 Are you people are so far from questions of survival that you've just invented morality as a justification for your decisions to punish?
01:17:29 No, that's not it at all. It works. It really does work. You can see it all around you
01:17:35 We don't have any crime. We are safe and secure. We are content. We are happy
01:17:41 Utopia has been achieved and it is not the nightmare of boredom and restlessness that everyone believed
01:17:47 It would be in the past when they wrote fantastic stories about the future
01:17:51 Because those writers were just serving power by telling people that happiness was actually misery so they should stay enslaved
01:17:58 But but what snapped David?
01:18:01 Roman paused
01:18:04 Glancing at the sky the sea
01:18:07 the coral and
01:18:10 Bright creatures swaying in the current
01:18:13 tide
01:18:15 But
01:18:17 Yeah, it's impressive what you've achieved. I'm not gonna argue that
01:18:21 But you've just trained
01:18:24 People to be good like dogs
01:18:27 By making everyone's childhood a paradise
01:18:32 You've taken away the biological material fight between the past and a present
01:18:39 Maybe that's for the best. What do I know? I'm just some old warrior from the woods
01:18:43 Roman was very close to David's face
01:18:47 He gestured towards all they had seen all the wondrous distractions of the sieve of a sky
01:18:56 land and sea
01:18:58 Bar can tell you this
01:19:03 No one here is good
01:19:06 anymore
01:19:08 There might be perfect. They might be happy. They might be wonderful
01:19:13 But they are not good because they have no temptation to be evil
01:19:20 Because they're raised so
01:19:23 peacefully
01:19:25 And maybe that is heaven. Maybe that is paradise
01:19:28 But I prefer the tension. I prefer the temptation. I
01:19:36 Prefer the risk of evil and if we have to discipline our children in order to maintain that essential humanity
01:19:43 He shrugged eloquently well
01:19:47 Give your opponents their best arguments moment David what nothing nothing
01:19:55 David shook his head as if clearing water from his ears. He took a deep breath
01:20:03 Okay
01:20:05 But tell me
01:20:07 Would a more skilled hunter hunt by hand without bows or spears or any traps or weapons?
01:20:14 Roman snorted a beer crappy hunter, but it would take more skill to
01:20:18 Catch a deer with your bare hands idiot skill. Can you catch a deer with your bare hands?
01:20:25 Roman scowled and shook his head. So what so
01:20:29 Said David's deadly
01:20:32 You are willing to hunt with less skill in order to hunt better or more efficiently
01:20:39 It would take more skill to catch a deer with your bare hands, but you're hungry
01:20:44 So you shoot the deer with an arrow so demanded Roman
01:20:47 David paused collecting his thoughts
01:20:50 So
01:20:53 You
01:20:55 reduce
01:20:57 Your free will your choices in order to be more efficient in order to be better
01:21:02 You could still choose to throw your bow and arrow aside and try and tackle the deer
01:21:07 but you never would because it wouldn't work and
01:21:10 If you propose that to your hunting party, they would laugh at you even though you
01:21:15 Might be able to achieve it with everyone working together
01:21:18 so
01:21:21 You have shrunk your choices in order to improve the outcome
01:21:27 In other words skill doesn't mean maximum ability but rather best outcome a
01:21:33 Skilled hunter brings home the most meat. He doesn't have the very best possible ability
01:21:39 Because the ability only matters in getting the meat your point
01:21:44 so
01:21:46 we have
01:21:48 removed or reduced
01:21:50 Some choices in order to have the best possible outcome just like you remove some choices
01:21:56 tackling deer in order to get the best possible outcome, which is getting meat a
01:22:00 One armed bowman would need more skill than a two armed bowman
01:22:05 But you don't cut off one arm because more skill is always better skill, right?
01:22:09 Roman refused to answer
01:22:13 More deepening sunlight filled the room
01:22:16 shadows of fish swam against the far wall
01:22:20 David
01:22:22 Continued
01:22:25 So by raising children peacefully
01:22:27 They end up reasonable peaceful productive happy. The skill is in the happiness not in the
01:22:34 Overcoming of temptation just as for you
01:22:37 The skill is in getting the meat not overcoming artificial obstacles like cutting off an arm or trying to catch deer by hand
01:22:43 you
01:22:45 Use your technology to focus your skills on the goals. And so do we our
01:22:51 technology is called
01:22:53 Peaceful parenting and the goal is happiness. The methodology is virtue
01:22:59 But it's not virtue if you don't choose it shouted Roman virtue is not the choice
01:23:06 But the method just as a hunters skill is not his goal, but actually getting the meat
01:23:14 The ability serves the purpose. The purpose is the point
01:23:18 We're just removing the obstacles to consistent virtue
01:23:22 Reason leads to virtue leads to happiness and child abuse undermines our capacity for reason which makes virtue
01:23:30 incredibly challenging and happiness endlessly elusive
01:23:34 We don't cripple our children in the pursuit of happiness. Just as you don't cripple your hunters in the pursuit of meat
01:23:43 Nobody wakes up and really wants to be virtuous virtue is the means to the end, which is happiness
01:23:50 Roman leaned forward and snarled that's just a pathetic love of pleasure
01:23:56 Wanting to be happy all the time a lazy drug-addicted bunch of crap. We are men goddammit
01:24:03 We are born to strive to struggle to overcome obstacles
01:24:08 He lifted up his arm and flexed his bicep our souls ourselves are like muscles
01:24:13 They only strengthen with resistance and you've taken away all resistance and become flaccid and loose and lazy
01:24:20 David exhaled
01:24:23 You get angry when I strike a nerve
01:24:26 Roman paced back and forth don't try to control my anger by categorizing it. That's girlish
01:24:32 David said
01:24:35 You go back tomorrow
01:24:38 Roman glared at David and if I want to stay
01:24:41 David shook his head
01:24:43 You can't
01:24:45 like my ancestors
01:24:47 Yeah, I've committed no crime
01:24:49 You have said David flatly you have abused your children. They are my children
01:24:55 Snarled Roman. No, they are not they belong
01:24:59 to the world to morality and to themselves which you cannot violate
01:25:07 Roman almost smoked. Yeah, you are sending me out into exile
01:25:11 You will not gather my clan in nets and put us in a zoo here. Our children will remain ours
01:25:17 David put his hands squarely on his hips
01:25:20 No
01:25:22 Saying that your children are exempt from morality is like saying that your children are exempt from gravity
01:25:28 Morality is objective
01:25:31 Universal it is the laws of interaction between objects like the laws of physics
01:25:37 But with people and I you intend to enforce these laws if you turn me out
01:25:42 The laws of physics don't require your intervention
01:25:45 David stared at Roman then murmured
01:25:49 Strike me
01:25:53 Roman paused it's not it's not a violation of your non-aggression principle if you ask me right David shook his head
01:26:03 Roman curled his fist raised it and then a floating pink blonde baby carved a smoking hole through the white wall and shot a bright
01:26:11 blue arrow into his spine
01:26:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]