Chapter 30
“Hello, Ms. Snow.”
“Rhyme’s doesn’t it, Amelia?”
“Didn’t think an efficiency expert like yourself would notice things like rhyme.”
“Efficiency creates time for such pleasures. A professor with more advanced training would appreciate that.”
“Are you referring to one more efficient than Ms. Fields?”
“It is inefficient to look down on others, Emmy. It is also unkind. I have sensed kindness matters to you.”
“I won’t deny that.”
“No one is asking you to deny yourself.”
“Isn’t that what this entire experience has been about?”
“No, the rehabilitation process caters to you. We are here to help you achieve your best self by helping you internalize the rationale. Being in tune with the rationale will make you feel most happy.”
“Sounds new to me.”
“Getting to this point is a process. Why do you think most citizens embrace the rationale? Doing so makes them happy.”
“Or are they afraid of the alternative?”
“That’s natural and not contradictory. They know the alternative will make them less happy. They are old enough and wise enough to understand reasons for fearing the alternative.”
“Then why do some adults choose to go transit?”
“Few do. Most transits have committed crimes that resulted in their sentence to life as a transit.”
“You mean crimes against reason?”
“Those are the least of it. Many transits are violent and dangerous people. Why do you think so much security is necessary for personal travel? Why do you think the patrol runs at all hours? The transits make outside an unsafe place to explore. Lucky are those who can expect a good home life after their studies. Maybe you and Skip could even share a flat of your own after graduation.”
“You mean the new Skip?”
“He’s the only Skip now, Amelia. I know that sounds cold, but it is a matter of fact. We can’t bring back the dead.”
“Wouldn’t visiting the new Skip or planning a possible future with him violate the prohibition against underclass students courting one another?”
“No, Amelia, the rules are not meant to be as unbending as that. They adapt with your education. You can’t court explicitly as in discussing a marriage proposal, but you can imagine a future without planning or committing to it.”
“Then why does the law allow an eighteen year old to marry?”
“That is an old law. Under exigent circumstances, the Mod may suggest to parents an appropriate marriage arrangement, but a young person should be focused on her studies rather than entertaining the details of marriage or the individual qualities of a potential suitor.”
“But one can imagine a future with a suitor?”
“One can imagine a future with another person, yes. There is no prohibition on one’s imagination. That would be a violation of privacy rights.”
“I would think so.”
“You see, the rationale starts to sound more reasonable once you unpack its finer points. You simply needed time here in order to gain an adult’s perspective.”
“Does that mean I’m free to go?”
“You were born free, but you made a choice, Emmy. You committed to completing your education. While you’ve begun to see the rationale through the eyes of an adult, you still have a reasonable distance to travel.”
“I don’t travel at all. I don’t even have an elliptical.”
“Would you like us to arrange time for you to use a non-energy producing elliptical? There is no prohibition against that. We could set up an exercise room down the hall. While it wouldn’t be the most efficient practice, exercising may relieve stress and prevent you from needing to see a doctor. With so many transits committing violence throughout City, though the rest of us have embraced peace, a doctor’s security costs are quite prohibitive. In that way the initial cost of installing an elliptical may be offset if it improves your health.”
“Do you really believe all transits are violent?”
“It’s not what I believe. It’s what I know. Many of them commit violence to obtain the things they want, things they could have worked for and enjoyed nightly via the actuator.”
“So all transits commit such violence?”
“No, some transits are not violent at all. Out of their own conscience, some citizens have decided their skills are not productive enough to advance the interests of others. They lack technical aptitude. They would prefer to be out where they don’t place such a burden on the rest of us. City, as an act of graciousness, tries to provide for them.”
“How does City tell them apart?”
“On rare occasions, City hires a Private to do work that cannot be completed entirely by machines operated remotely. In those instances, transits perform such work voluntarily, demonstrating that, although no longer formal citizens, they are committed to the welfare of their former friends and colleagues. We look favorably on such members of the transit population and voluntarily provide them food and other basics.”
“If the rationale supports creation of cutting edge technology, why are machines inadequate to complete some jobs?”
“A very learned question, Amelia. Think of this example: what kind of machine would build the machine that would build the machine that would build a new tower?” Eventually, as the rationale goes down the chain, creating another machine is no longer an efficient model. Greater efficiency requires allowing willing humans to do some foundational tasks.”
“What if there weren’t any transits to perform those duties?”
“There will always be transits.”
“Isn’t that a fault of the rationale?”
“No, it is a product of choice. No matter how perfect the City, some will choose the alternative.”
“Why?”
“Amelia, that is a high level question few have adequately answered. Would you like me to assign you the task of answering that question as part of your thesis?”
“My thesis feels a long way off.”
“Fair enough, Amelia. We can revisit the question after the next annual dance. Maybe you’d like to attend with Skip?”
“I don’t even know Skip.”
“We could arrange a meeting.”
“I don’t know, Ms. Snow.”
“In such matters, best I let Skip persuade you.”