The Meeting
Señora slid the glass door open, holding the Black Cat comfortably under one arm.
“It’s getting chilly outside. Why don’t you gentlemen come inside?” Señora said with a friendly smile. “If you’re going to redesign humanity all evening, at least do it where the coffee is better.”
The four Archons looked at one another.
“How thoughtful,” the eldest Archon replied pleasantly. “But this meeting isn’t open to participants. You’re welcome to observe.”
“…Observe?” Señora frowned. “It’s my house.”
“Exactly,” the eldest Archon answered. “Which makes it the perfect place to observe.”
“I thought being the owner came with certain privileges,” Señora said.
“It does,” the eldest Archon smiled. “You’re privileged enough to watch.”
The Black Cat glanced at Señora.
“I don’t think that’s how privilege used to work.”
“So I’m not allowed to join the discussion?” Señora asked.
“You already are,” the eldest Archon replied. “From the audience.”
“But you’re discussing laws that affect me.”
“Naturally.”
“And I don’t get a vote?”
“You misunderstand,” the eldest Archon said, taking a sip of coffee. “A good legal system doesn’t force people to behave well. It simply makes good behaviour the easiest choice.”
The Black Cat twitched one ear.
“So instead of building a fence…”
“…we plant greener grass,” the eldest Archon finished.
Señora folded her arms.
“Most people imagine laws as restrictions.”
“They do,” the eldest Archon nodded. “They rarely notice that laws simply arrange the world so one path becomes easier than another.”
“And the other paths?” Señora asked.
“They remain open.”
“But?”
“They slowly become less practical.”
“So people stop using them.”
“Exactly.”
The Black Cat looked at the Archons.
“And eventually everyone starts saying the easy road was the best one all along.”
“Usually,” the eldest Archon replied.
Señora looked through the window at the empty street.
“When do people notice they’ve stopped choosing?”
“They rarely notice the moment their choices begin to narrow,” the eldest Archon answered calmly. “They simply keep returning to the safest road because it’s familiar, trusting the service that has never failed them and accepting the solution that makes tomorrow feel a little more predictable than today.”
“And then?” Señora asked quietly.
“One day,” the eldest Archon replied, “the difference between preference and habit has quietly disappeared.”
“No decree?” the Black Cat asked.
“None.”
“No freedom openly taken?”
“None.”
“No laws forcing obedience?”
“None.”
The Black Cat blinked.
“So what changed?”
The eldest Archon smiled.
“Nothing.”
He paused.
“Which is precisely why almost nobody notices everything.”
Silence settled over the terrace.
The Black Cat looked at Señora.
“I suddenly miss the days when bad ideas had the decency to arrive wearing uniforms.”
The eldest Archon chuckled softly.
“Modern ideas prefer comfortable shoes.”
