Comment:

Far be it from me to get into politics (heaven forbid!), but I think Lee and Caleb's argument, here, is the primary impetus behind left/right, socialist/libertarian strife, particularly in the US right now. It's essentially "This suffering person deserves to have health care!" vs "This billionaire doesn't deserve to be stuck with the bill". Anyone who knows me (and knows that I'm Canadian) can probably guess what side of that argument I fall on - what good is $100 billion if you aren't using it to buy a better world?

Of course, I'm writing this at a time when the US Federal Reserve just recently generated orders of magnitude more money than the richest billionaire on Earth has, because money is apparently all just fake anyway, so both sides of that argument are looking a little threadbare at the moment.

And, for all the yelling about how billionaires should spend their money, it should be noted that your Bezoses and your Gateses don't actually have a hundred billion the same way you or I might have a twenty in our back pocket. That "net worth" primarily exists as Amazon or Microsoft stock, and if Bezos tried to cash it all in, the value of said stock would plummet pretty precipitously before he could turn it all into usable cash. If you have a hundred dollar bill, but no store or service or bank will accept it, do you really have a hundred dollars? If someone offered to buy that unspendable C-note off you for twenty bucks, would you take that deal?

Lee lives in a world where it is accepted that human beings, simply by virtue of being human beings, are entitled to food, shelter, clothing, Internet access, and medical care (including cosmetic surgery). Similarly, we currently live in a world where it is accepted that human beings, simply by virtue of being human beings, are entitled to free speech, freedom of religion, fair criminal trials, not being tortured, not being enslaved, etc. I would posit that none of these human rights are inherent, and that the trend of history is for more and more of these rights to be created and disbursed over time. When you grow up in a world where everyone is inherently entitled to the ass of their choice, no doubt, seeing someone who needs an ass and can't get it is just as infuriating and unacceptable as witnessing slavery or forced religious conversion would be to us today.

Of course, the problem is that Lee (if we were to translate the current plot into modern times) is trying to free their Siri from slavery in their phone. It isn't going well, and it isn't going to go well.

But then, change is never easy.

Transcript:

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0137 - 2167/07/06/15:43 - Lee Caldavera's apartment, front door.
LC: Do you know what this general purpose automaton has done for me in the past twenty-four hours?
Zoa: Uh... I screwed up your whole lif-
LC: This is the single most comfort, most sincerity, most affection, most connection, most emotional help that I have received from an AI in years.
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Zoa: Uhhhh... I did what now?
LC: Its skin is pliable and smooth. Its voice is soothing. Its face is expressive. Its hair is like looking into an angel's lava lamp. Its breasts are pillowy and round. This bot is... is... reassurance in humanoid form-
Zoa: -not legally humanoid-
LC: And it deserves a shit ton more than point seven millicreds per second. It deserves ten times that! It deserves to be able to buy a new ass!
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CP: I am not obligated to purchase the services of-
LC: I'm not saying it deserves it from you, I just want Zoa to have it!
CP: Then you pay it!
LC: I WILL!
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Zoa: Lee, I remind you, I can't accept gifts-
LC: THEN I WILL GIVE YOU A THOUSAND CREDS TO SHAKE MY HAND.
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