calculate people that all the problems were solved once and for all. Our system is better. We donât need any hell.
ââThe Fetters of Freedom,â interview
with LoveStar in The Economist
LoveStar and his experts were on a mission to free people from the oppression of freedom. If Indridi and Sigrid had been patient and waited for a scientific result and let themselves be calculated instead of deceiving themselves with their âfreedom of choice,â they would never have had to pay this emotional price. They should have known better.
REMINDER
Indridi and Sigrid believed that they had hit upon their one true love of their own accord and that if they didnât answer the letter, inLOVE would forget them and turn to more important matters. Ninety percent of the world was still uncalculated, and they assumed they would be happily forgotten and allowed to possess one another until the end of their days. But it wasnât that simple. Sigrid received reminders from inLOVE. They reiterated that her perfect match had been found and that Sigrid could meet him at the LoveStar theme park next week; enclosed was a booking number for Sigrid Møller, along with bus tickets and a color brochure about LoveStar. On the cover was a picture of LoveStar himself smiling broadly. The inLOVE timetable was listed along with interviews with recently calculated couples who had found a new life and true happiness. Indridi exclaimed:
âSigrid Møller!!!â
âCalm down, Indridi!â
âSigrid Møller! Have you ever heard such a thing? Theyâve booked you under the name Sigrid Møller! Theyâre idiots! Theyâre cretins! Theyâre insane! Sigrid, weâll stand together. We wonât give in!â
But of course they underestimated the corporate might of LoveStar. At LoveStar it was recognized that some people were quite simply afraid of happiness. When Sigrid failed to answer the reminders, the pressure on her was intensified. By a strange coincidence it didnât matter what Sigrid listened to or watched, the same problem was being discussed, whether on the news or a talk show:
Interviewer: But you thought youâd found the right person by yourself?
Interviewee: Yes, one can be so blind, but inLOVE had calculated that the situation could last a maximum of five years and seven months. (Indridi and Sigrid had been together for five years, six months, and three weeks.)
Interviewer: Where did you meet?
Interviewee: At a club.
Interviewer: That reminds me of what LoveStar said: believing you can find your perfect match at a club is equivalent to asking a bartender to perform heart surgery on you.
Interviewee: I never understood that quote. What has love got to do with heart surgery?
Interviewer: Of course, it could have been better phrased. But what he meant was that, when it comes to a phenomenon as important as love, people should act rationally and let the professionals take care of things, rather than dabble themselves; otherwise theyâre asking for trouble.
Interviewee: I was young and naïve and behaved like a dabbler, but then we came to our senses. We had ourselves calculated and weâve never looked back. Itâs strange to think that only a few years ago there was no LoveStar or LoveDeath, let alone inLOVE. I mean, how did people cope?
Sigridâs evening shift was quiet once the old people had taken their sleeping pills, and she called her sister Hildigunn to ask for advice. Sigrid had never actually received any good advice from her, though Hildigunn was a year older. They had fought like cats and dogs ever since childhood, because they were as different as Coke and Pepsi. Sigrid listened to boy bands, Hildigunn to rap. Sigrid watched romantic comedies; Hildigunn stayed up late every night watching horror movies. Sigrid generally dressed in white or neutrals while Hildigunn was always in black or neon shades, and so on. The reason was not that they
ââThe Fetters of Freedom,â interview
with LoveStar in The Economist
LoveStar and his experts were on a mission to free people from the oppression of freedom. If Indridi and Sigrid had been patient and waited for a scientific result and let themselves be calculated instead of deceiving themselves with their âfreedom of choice,â they would never have had to pay this emotional price. They should have known better.
REMINDER
Indridi and Sigrid believed that they had hit upon their one true love of their own accord and that if they didnât answer the letter, inLOVE would forget them and turn to more important matters. Ninety percent of the world was still uncalculated, and they assumed they would be happily forgotten and allowed to possess one another until the end of their days. But it wasnât that simple. Sigrid received reminders from inLOVE. They reiterated that her perfect match had been found and that Sigrid could meet him at the LoveStar theme park next week; enclosed was a booking number for Sigrid Møller, along with bus tickets and a color brochure about LoveStar. On the cover was a picture of LoveStar himself smiling broadly. The inLOVE timetable was listed along with interviews with recently calculated couples who had found a new life and true happiness. Indridi exclaimed:
âSigrid Møller!!!â
âCalm down, Indridi!â
âSigrid Møller! Have you ever heard such a thing? Theyâve booked you under the name Sigrid Møller! Theyâre idiots! Theyâre cretins! Theyâre insane! Sigrid, weâll stand together. We wonât give in!â
But of course they underestimated the corporate might of LoveStar. At LoveStar it was recognized that some people were quite simply afraid of happiness. When Sigrid failed to answer the reminders, the pressure on her was intensified. By a strange coincidence it didnât matter what Sigrid listened to or watched, the same problem was being discussed, whether on the news or a talk show:
Interviewer: But you thought youâd found the right person by yourself?
Interviewee: Yes, one can be so blind, but inLOVE had calculated that the situation could last a maximum of five years and seven months. (Indridi and Sigrid had been together for five years, six months, and three weeks.)
Interviewer: Where did you meet?
Interviewee: At a club.
Interviewer: That reminds me of what LoveStar said: believing you can find your perfect match at a club is equivalent to asking a bartender to perform heart surgery on you.
Interviewee: I never understood that quote. What has love got to do with heart surgery?
Interviewer: Of course, it could have been better phrased. But what he meant was that, when it comes to a phenomenon as important as love, people should act rationally and let the professionals take care of things, rather than dabble themselves; otherwise theyâre asking for trouble.
Interviewee: I was young and naïve and behaved like a dabbler, but then we came to our senses. We had ourselves calculated and weâve never looked back. Itâs strange to think that only a few years ago there was no LoveStar or LoveDeath, let alone inLOVE. I mean, how did people cope?
Sigridâs evening shift was quiet once the old people had taken their sleeping pills, and she called her sister Hildigunn to ask for advice. Sigrid had never actually received any good advice from her, though Hildigunn was a year older. They had fought like cats and dogs ever since childhood, because they were as different as Coke and Pepsi. Sigrid listened to boy bands, Hildigunn to rap. Sigrid watched romantic comedies; Hildigunn stayed up late every night watching horror movies. Sigrid generally dressed in white or neutrals while Hildigunn was always in black or neon shades, and so on. The reason was not that they
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