Psycho Pass: Colorful World

12

Under the dim light of a lamp, on a black desk, a blank sheet of paper lay. A man walked through the neat, clean study until he reached the desk and sat down in front of it. Then he put on white latex gloves and opened the desk drawer to take out a pen. He did so with smooth, quiet movements, standing still for a moment with his hands brushing the sheet. Tilting his head to one side, finally the black ink began to flow across the paper. His computer screen was in front of him, synchronized with a live video feed from a social network.

"Tonight we have a great friend joining us from Tokyo. She has written some articles in which she spreads freedom and discusses several political topics. How are you, Takahashi-san? Always a pleasure to have you with us," a red-haired man who was always called by his English surname, Wilson, turned to another screen.

The others greeted her and welcomed her as well.

"Nice to be here. Thanks for having me," Yashiro responded through her earphones, using audio only.

"Well, thank you very much for joining us. We are using our backup channel because the other was suspended. The algorithm is able to censor us for saying certain words. Let's refer to our law enforcement organization as the oracle from now on, shall we?" Wilson looked at the camera on his laptop again.

"Freedom of the press, freedom of the news media, are subordinated to the overriding needs of the integrity of Japan. And then they are the ones who say we are against freedom of speech," a man with brown curls commented in a louder and faster voice, who was called by his name, Benjiro. "Independent journalism is not valued in this country, unless it speaks well of the oracle."

"Public opinion has always been determined by the intellectual classes, since most people don't generate or disseminate ideas and concepts, on the contrary, they tend to adopt those promulgated by others," a smile lit up Yashiro's face as she recognized the voice of Hisakawa Izumi, a former classmate from the Ousou Academy. Her temples and back of her neck were still shaved, and her short brown hair was falling in curls. "Today those who censor ideas are not people, but algorithms. Question is... who creates and manages these algorithms? Companies that benefit from the government of the day? The Sib... the oracle itself? Honestly, how do you walk down the street talking with us, Takahashi-san?"

In a huge shopping mall, Yashiro stepped forward and began descending a long escalator. The ceiling was made of glass and the dark sky was visible. The building was fully illuminated, but her face seemed almost indifferent to the vastness of the place, as if she were part of its decor rather than something apart. Although she did not share the video like the others, at one point a couple passed by talking too close and could be heard.

"We don't need to be overwhelmed by the madness of the crowd. We are free individuals and we can think for ourselves," Yashiro replied in a calm, soothing voice.

"Not everyone can, or dares to. Thinking differently, coming out with an idea of your own, is to become a criminal," Chino spoke, stroking his two-day dark beard that he always managed to maintain. "Under this premise, everyone is guilty because they could be considered dangerous to others."

"The eternal and indeterminate sentence. Reminds me of the trial described by Kafka. A man is arrested, but can't seem to find out what he's accused of, not even after navigating a labyrinthine network of bureaucratic traps-a dark parody of the legal system. We sentence someone for the state's judgment of his psyche. One of the worst forms of tyranny and dehumanization," Yashiro explained.

"Or we lock them up under the pretext that they need therapy, because we believe they are more likely to commit crimes in the future," Chino pointed out.

"Compulsive institutionalization and therapy aggravate and perpetuate mental illness-if there is any-rather than cure it," Yashiro reached one floor below and kept walking with natural grace. "Hospitalization is designed to get rid of troublesome patients rather than help them. The reason behind this is simple-they may be dangerous to themselves and others. The police not only get involved when a crime is taking place, but when the law judges that such an act might occur, which leaves the way open to unlimited tyranny."