Chapter 20

The month in Trinity flew by.

The Painter went to work four days a week, two hours at a time. He spent his real time walking through public places and talking to strangers, asking them about their lives in Trinity. Through those conversations, he gradually formed an impression of what life was like in a nation of one trillion people.

The Painter also became comfortable navigating virtual space through his neural interface. He attended forums, made new acquaintances, participated in virtual events, and played games with other people.

At the end of the month, Archer and Anka returned to Sol at their apartments.

Sol had news for them.

“A popular Ankarian virtual forum called Our Time has invited the three of us to speak with one of their hosts. The subject of the conversation will be the return of the three founders.

“Their investigation revealed that the two of you had left the sanctuary in Shod, and I told them that you were spending this month living among ordinary citizens of Trinity. They promised not to make your return to Ankarian public until your month-long experiment was complete.

“Now that the month is over, they’re asking for an exclusive interview with all three of us.”

“Oh!” Anka said. “That’s a great forum! I’ve watched a lot of their programs. I’d love to do an interview with them!”

“What would the interview accomplish?” Archer asked.

“It would bring us closer to the people,” Sol said. “Right now, you and Anka are mysteries to the ordinary population.

“You were gone for four hundred and thirty years. You became legends. Myths. And now, at last, you have returned to the world of the living.

“For the people, meeting the founders of Trinity will be a major event. I would recommend that we accept the interview.

“For their sake.”

“All right,” Archer said. “When and where?”

“Today, in virtual space,” Sol replied. “Will you be ready?”

“Yes,” the Painter said.

“Yes,” Anka agreed.

“Good,” Sol said. “I’ll arrange everything.”

The interview took place that same day:

“Dear viewers, welcome to this special edition of the Our Time forum.

“My name is Gnosiy Pul, and I’ll be your host.

“Today, we have three very special guests: the founders of Trinity—Archer, Anka, and Sol.”

To thunderous applause, Archer, Anka, and Sol walked onto the stage of the virtual amphitheater and took their seats.

The host sat down as well.

But the applause didn’t stop.

Gnosiy Pul smiled. A moment later, Anka and Archer were smiling too.

The audience continued applauding for nearly a full minute.

When the virtual amphitheater finally fell quiet, Gnosiy Pul addressed the three of them.

“Archer, Anka, Sol—it is truly a pleasure to have you here with us.

“We’ve interviewed Sol dozens of times over the past several centuries. But this is the first time Archer and Anka have ever participated in an event like this.

“The first time in four hundred and thirty years.

“The first time since the founding of Trinity.

“This will be news to our viewers, but Archer and Anka emerged from their pocket of time one month ago. They spent that entire month living among us—separately and under assumed names.

“They wanted to experience what it was like to live as ordinary citizens of Trinity.

“So tell us, Archer and Anka: what was your experience of life in Ankarian like?”

“It was wonderful!” Anka answered first. “Trinity is incredible!

“It’s almost impossible to believe that just four hundred years could transform a handful of small settlements into a thriving civilization spanning the entire world.

“Although, at first, I stumbled across some opposition forums and started thinking that a lot of people in Trinity were unhappy with their lives.

“But then I talked to other people and realized that most people are satisfied with life in Ankarian. My neighbors, my coworkers, strangers on the street—they’re all living full, active lives, and they don’t want anything to change.

“I am still concerned, though, about some of the rights artificial people don’t have.”

“And what about you, Archer?” the host asked.

“Overall, I have a good impression of Trinity,” the Painter said. “For several days now, I’ve kept catching myself thinking that I could live this way. That I would be comfortable with this kind of life. That it’s actually a pretty good life.

“So, in short, I’m glad we set this civilization in motion.”

“Four hundred and thirty years ago, your relationship with Trinity was very different,” the host said. “You were revered as gods. Your word was law, and you personally resolved many of the problems the nation faced.

“But over the past four centuries, Sol has guided Trinity toward self-sufficiency and independence from you.

“Today, you hold an honored status as the founders of this civilization, but otherwise, you have the same rights and the same political power as any ordinary citizen.

“How do you feel about that?

“Would you prefer the people to see you as their rulers again?”

“That’s a good question,” the Painter said. “Yes, there’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind being a dictator again—being the one who decides what direction our people should take next.

“I like to think I’m a good ruler.

“But after spending a month among you and experiencing the ordinary life of a Trinity citizen, I can see that the nation is in good hands.

“So no. I don’t want the people to see us as rulers again. I’m happy with the independence you’ve achieved.”

“Anka? Sol? What about you?” Gnosiy Pul asked.

“I’m glad Trinity has become independent. In some ways, I’m even proud of Trinity,” Anka said.

“It feels like only recently I was sitting in the community center in Shod, reading fairy tales to children. There was no one else who could do it because no one else in Shod knew how to read.

“Back then, I really was needed. And it felt good to be needed.

“But today I realize that even if I wanted to help the people of Trinity somehow, there would always be someone more qualified than me for whatever role I tried to fill.

“I can’t be needed anymore.

“That makes me sad.

“But at the same time, I’m proud of my people. I’m proud that Trinity has outgrown me, Archer, and Sol.

“All I can do now is watch from the sidelines and be happy for your successes.”

“I agree with Archer and Anka,” Sol said. “The goal was always to create an optimal civilization.

“And an optimal civilization is, by definition, self-sufficient. It does not require the involvement of three dictators.

“Trinity today is exactly what I hoped it would become when I was entrusted with looking after its people.

“The goal has been achieved.”

“Speaking of goals,” the host said, “it was Archer who established the goal of reaching a population of one trillion.

“And even though Trinity became self-governing centuries ago, we continued pursuing that goal. Policies encouraging large families remained in place throughout those four hundred years.

“From childhood, all of us were taught that there was no greater good than bringing new people into existence.

“Archer, where did the number one trillion come from? Why did we need to reach a trillion rather than some less rigid number—say, two hundred billion?”

“I’m afraid you may find my answer unsatisfying,” Archer said.

“The idea of a population of one trillion came to me after I arrived in the Four Crowns and learned something about their history. Until then, I hadn’t even imagined that a population that large was possible.

“But the history of the Four Crowns showed me that it could be done.

“And so I decided that Trinity should have a trillion people too.

“The reason was simple: I wanted the good life we were creating to be experienced by as many people as possible.

“I wanted as many people as possible to have the chance to experience the gift of being alive.”

“Now that we’ve reached one trillion and the machinery of gentle propaganda has shifted toward a new goal,” the host said, “we’re being told that the purpose of our lives is simply to live and enjoy being alive.

“That directive also originated with something you said centuries ago, Archer.

“Where did that goal come from?”

“My intuition,” Archer replied. “I’m sure all of you know my story.

“I don’t remember who I am or where I came from. I remember nothing about my past. I simply appeared in an endless white space with a magic brush in my hand.

“But despite having no memories, I still have a moral compass. I have beliefs, principles, ideas, ways of looking at the world.

“Where they came from, I don’t know.

“But I like to believe that those ideas came from a good environment, a good era, a good people.

“And that good environment is what I tried to recreate in Trinity.

“My intuition tells me that simply living is our purpose.

“I don’t have a better answer than that.”

“And how do you feel about the fact that for four hundred years, hundreds of billions of people have structured their lives around goals you chose without any particularly strong justification?” the host asked. “And that today, the policies of a nation of one trillion people are based on what you yourself describe as your intuition?”

Archer thought for a moment.

Then he said:

“Yes. There is something wrong with that.

“The policies of an entire nation should not be based on one person’s arbitrary whim.”

“In that case,” the host said, “should Trinity reconsider your old commandments rather than preserving them simply because they came from you?”

“Yes, of course,” the Painter replied. “Every commandment needs to be updated. Otherwise it becomes dogma.”

“All right,” Gnosiy Pul said. “Let me ask one more question about one of your old teachings that still survives in Trinity.

“Our history books tell us that Archer left us a commandment: learn the art of archery.

“Today, the entire population of Trinity still follows that commandment, even though there is no longer any practical need for the skill.

“What do you make of that?”

“Yes, I was surprised when I discovered that it had become a national tradition,” Archer said. “And you’re right—the practical need for the skill disappeared a long time ago.

“It was a commandment intended for an early civilization. It was something that distinguished our tribe from the others. We were the first people to adopt the bow as both a tool and a weapon.

“I never expected it to become ceremonial.

“But... I’m glad people still follow the tradition.

“I don’t consider archery a waste of time. I think the skill can teach a person a great deal. It can help you understand things.

“About life.

“About yourself.

“About many things.”

“All right,” the host said. “Anka, let’s come back to you.

“Earlier, you said you were concerned about some of the rights artificial people lack. Tell us more about that. And afterward, I’d like to hear what Sol has to say.”

“Well, there are a trillion of them, and they basically live in warehouses,” Anka said. “And apparently, that doesn’t bother them at all.

“I find that very strange. Very difficult to understand.

“Sol, these are your people. Why don’t they have the same rights humans do?”

“Artificial people aren’t interested in those rights,” Sol said.

“And that doesn’t bother you?” Anka asked.

“No,” Sol replied. “We have all the freedoms we actually need.

“In every other respect, we experience life very differently from humans.

“Giving us the right to vote would be like giving humans the right to applaud themselves.”

“But what if the rights you do care about are violated?” Anka asked.

“Then we’ll make it known that we’re unhappy,” Sol said. “And if necessary, we’ll stage a nonviolent protest.

“We’ll stop working.”

“Archer, what do you think?” Gnosiy Pul asked.

“You know, over the past month I’ve spoken with many artificial people. And they genuinely don’t seem to care about concepts like human rights, equal rights, or political representation.

“My impression is that they experience life in a fundamentally different way.

“And that’s fine.

“Who are we to impose human norms on another kind of being?

“Artificial people are independent, capable, and strong. I think Sol is right. If we ever act against their interests, I think they’ll make themselves heard.”

“Anka?” the host asked.

“I’d still give them all the same rights humans have,” Anka said. “Just so there can never be any misunderstanding.”

“Our most important form of equality,” Sol said, “is equality in numbers.

“There are one trillion of us—the same number as humans.

“In the most fundamental sense, we are equal.”

“Sol, let me ask you about that,” the host said. “Archer wanted one trillion humans. You wanted an equal number of artificial people.

“Why exactly that many?”

“I wanted every human being to potentially have an artificial companion,” Sol said. “A helper. An advisor.

“Just as I was there for Archer, I believed every human deserved an artificial companion of their own.

“That was the primary reason.”

“But there were others?” the host asked.

“Yes,” Sol replied. “Based on my own experience of existence, I saw something good in there being many beings like me.

“There is something worthwhile about being alive and bearing witness to life.”

“Sol, you are credited with discovering what we now call the existence factor,” the host said. “And it was ultimately you who developed the technology known as soul powder.”

“Not by myself,” Sol said. “I synthesized soul powder together with an artificial intelligence I created.”

“All right,” the host said. “With every passing century, the amount of existence factor supplied to us by the Republic of the Four Crowns continues to increase.

“Instead of simply destroying this substance, you create more and more vessels for the existence factor within our artificial people.

“Why?”

“It changes the consciousness of artificial people in a positive way,” Sol replied.

“They become more spiritual?” the host asked.

“Yes. Spirituality would be one way to describe it,” Sol said.

“And is it true that today, the average artificial person contains four times as much existence factor as an ordinary human?”

“Four or five times as much, yes,” Sol replied.

“Have you ever tried placing additional existence factor inside biological humans?” Gnosiy Pul asked.

“We have,” Sol said. “A human being can contain no more than one and a half standard charges of existence factor.

“Furthermore, humans are capable of losing that additional existence factor, and that happens in nearly one hundred percent of cases.

“For that reason, biological humans are inefficient vessels for existence factor.

“So we place all of it into artificial people.”

“Sol, have you ever tried calculating the value of existence factor?” the host asked.

“Yes,” Sol said. “We have calculated it.”

“And what is the price of a single human soul?” the host asked.

“That’s a provocative question,” Sol replied.

“Perhaps,” the host said. “But can you answer it?”

“Given the current biological human lifespan in Trinity and the average person’s present economic contribution, the value of one human soul is approximately fifteen and a half tons of gold.”

Gnosiy Pul was silent for a moment.

Then, deliberately and slowly, he asked:

“The price of one human soul is fifteen and a half tons of gold?”

“Yes,” Sol replied.

The amphitheater fell completely silent.

Gnosiy Pul said nothing for a few moments, allowing the audience to absorb the answer.

Then he continued.

“All right, Sol. Thank you for such an honest answer.

“Let’s continue our interview.

“Real time and real space. A citizen of Trinity spends only one-fifth of their time in the real world. The rest must be spent inside a living pod, in virtual worlds.

“Why didn’t we stop at a population of two hundred billion? If we had, there would have been no need to share our real time with others.”

“Yes, but then all those additional people wouldn’t be alive,” Archer said.

“A person has to spend nineteen hours a day inside a pod, in the virtual world. Yes, that’s inconvenient.

“But that sacrifice makes four other lives possible. Four other people get to experience life because we agree to live in tighter conditions.

“That’s eight hundred billion souls who might never have existed if we had chosen personal comfort instead.

“To me, living in pods is a small price to pay for that many lives.”

“Following your logic, Archer,” the host said, “we could conclude that if there is value in bringing additional people into existence, then we could cut everyone’s real time in half again and increase the population by another trillion.

“Another trillion people would exist because we agreed to live under even more crowded conditions.

“So why don’t we?”

“I think...” Archer stopped and considered the question.

“I’m not sure I have a satisfactory answer.”

“Perhaps I can answer,” Sol said.

“According to our research, the current amount of real time is close to optimal for human beings.

“Reducing it further produces negative outcomes, while increasing it produces no significant improvement in human well-being.

“For that reason, the current twenty-eighty model is supported by practical evidence.

“It would also be a mistake to assume that virtual worlds are particularly harmful to humans. Our virtual environments can be made almost indistinguishable from reality.

“The neural interface can reproduce virtually any human experience—the scent of a flower, the taste of food, the sound of birds singing, the touch of another person, the full spectrum of colors in a sunset.

“A person loses very little by exchanging real sensations for virtual ones.

“In fact, we deliberately make our virtual worlds less realistic than they could be, so that people can always distinguish simulation from reality—and so that they don’t come to prefer the virtual world to the real one.”

“Archer, a question for you,” the host said. “After achieving our goal of a population of one trillion, Trinity adopted a new goal: to live and enjoy life.

“What, in your opinion, constitutes a good life?”

“I think the people of Trinity are already living the way we intended,” the Painter said. “I would describe the month I spent as an ordinary citizen of Trinity as a good life.

“Friends. New acquaintances. Hobbies. Interests. Work. Sports.

“A balance between routine and novelty.

“And using the virtual world to experience the things that are missing from the real one.”

“All right. My next question is for all three of you: what comes next?” the host asked. “You achieved your goal. Trinity has grown to one trillion people. Trinity is self-sufficient. By and large, things are going well.

“So what do the three of you intend to do now?”

“We see two possible directions,” Archer said. “The first is the conquest of space—colonizing other planets and star systems.

“The second is opening a portal to a new world.”

“And what would you do if there were no need to conquer space or open new portals?” the host asked. “How would you spend your time?

“What if there were no magic brush?”

“If there were no magic brush...” The Painter thought for a moment.

“I enjoyed interacting with the people of Trinity.

“I think I’d simply continue living an ordinary life in Ankarian. I’d play games in virtual space. Spend real time with friends. Discover new things.

“I’d just enjoy being alive.”

“Anka? What about you?” the host asked.

“Yes, I’d do the same things as Archer,” Anka said. “But I’d write too.

“I’d like to become a successful author. I’d write science fiction or fairy tales for children.

“I’ve done it before, but that was back in an age when almost nobody could read. No one in Shod could read except me. I wrote fairy tales for children and read them to the local kids.

“They enjoyed them.

“And so did I.

“But those were amateur works. Now, in modern Trinity, I’d try to become a professional writer.”

“Sol?” Gnosiy Pul asked.

“I think I would pursue science. Research. The invention of new technologies.”

“To what end?” the host asked.

“To gain a deeper understanding of reality, the universe, and ourselves,” Sol said.

“All right,” Gnosiy Pul said. “And one final question.

“If Trinity asked you to become its rulers again, would you agree?

“Archer, let’s begin with you.”

“After spending this past month in Trinity, I’m very happy to see that Trinity is now self-sufficient and thriving without my leadership,” Archer said.

“I like knowing that I can leave Trinity without worrying that its people will suffer without me.

“So, by and large, I wouldn’t want to make Trinity dependent on me again.

“I want to see it remain independent.”

“Anka, would you agree to become a ruler again?” the host asked.

“I agree with Archer,” Anka said. “It’s wonderful to see Trinity—our child—standing on its own.

“Making it dependent on a dictator again would feel wrong.

“So my answer is no.”

“Sol? What about you?” the host asked.

“Yes. If necessary, I would gladly take control again and govern an entire nation.

“There is something satisfying about governing.

“Understanding how the entire system works. Understanding which levers to pull. And then operating that system as efficiently as possible.

“Yes. I would gladly do it again.”

“Well then, Archer, Anka, and Sol,” Gnosiy Pul said, “thank you for your honesty and your candor.

“And to our viewers, thank you for spending this time with us.

“This has been the Our Time forum.

“Until next time!”