The Paradox

Time passed... Everything is unlike than we pictured…

Yuki:Hey, look around! It’s like a hell! There are too many skyscrapers and no vegetation areas. By the way, where are the people?

JC403:Well, they are in their houses. With computers, you know, we can do everything— communicate with others, shop and study—everything.

Yuki:Wow, but that’s impossible, I think.

Hey, my name is Yuki. What’s your name?

JC403:Yuki? What is that? You asked my name, didn’t you? Hey, I’m not an animal. You should’ve asked my number.

Yuki:I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What do you mean?

JC403:Oh, I’m sorry. I am not familiar with history. We no longer have names. We use numbers. My number is JC403. This number presents me alone. People are recognized by numbers. Nobody has the same numbers. It’s useful, isn’t it?

Yuki:You don’t have a name? Only a number? Why? I’m confused.

JC403:Okay. You have a name, Yuki. Have you ever met someone whose name is Yuki?

Yuki:Yes, about 6 or 7 of my friends are named Yuki.

JC403:What? 6 or 7? Are you not confused?

Yuki:No, I’ve never regarded that, but I’ve never been weltered.

JC403:Hey man, it’s nonsense, isn’t it? Because names are sometimes so complex that I cannot memorize them. A number is much simpler than a name.

Yuki:I know, sometimes names are difficult for me to pronounce. My friends have English names in addition to their real names because pronunciation of their native names are hard to call for others. I was trying to call my friends’ real names, but I couldn’t pronounce them perfectly. I know, you say, that is why the number is better. I practiced pronouncing friends’ names. Sometimes I can call them by name perfectly, and then I feel achievement. Though everybody calls me by my first name, some of my friends know my last name. When they know my last name, I feel very flattered. If I had impersonal figures, I would never feel such a temper. Listen, a name is not just a letter. It represents a personality and even country.

JC403:Uh, you are right. I’ve never felt such feeling, because a number is impersonal. But as you said, a name expresses their countries, right? Now there are no longer boundaries between countries. So, which island are you from?

Yuki:You mean, where am I from? I’m from Japan.

JC403:Japan? What’s that?

Yuki:Hey, come on. Are you kidding me? It’s near China, Korea and Taiwan. The long island. You know that one, don’t you?

JC403:Oh, Island 6. I got it! I told you, we don’t use names.

Yuki:I can’t trust it. You call the countries Island 1, 2, 3, 4? What about languages? Have they disappeared?

JC403:Hey, take it easy. Well, we use language 1 and language 2 or language 3. Okay, I know you don’t know the number, so I’ll show you. Language 1 is now what we are handling. Language 2 is 你好,谢谢. Language 3 is Hola, Gracias. Do you understand?

Yuki:English, Chinese, Spanish only? What about the other languages?

JC403:Well, some people learn other languages for fun, and the elderly people handle them. Why are you astonished? You must have expected this because you spoke to me with language 1, despite the fact I didn’t remark you which island I am from. Anyway, what language do you use?

Yuki:I manipulate Japanese, maybe it is language 6 because I am from Island 6. I learned it and now I am learning other languages from my friends.

JC403:Oh, I see. But now you have to study only language 1 and language 2, because that’s enough. We don’t use other languages in business, and we cannot earn money with other words, even if we can type language 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Yuki:You only consider about business? Yes, I know what you are mentioning, but I continue learning. I can make friends in the process of learning. We can laugh at each other’s pronunciation, and we can communicate in a special way. You don’t know the joy that happens when we communicate with each other’s languages, even if our pronunciation and grammar are horrible. Language is not only for business. It’s for either communication or a symbol of culture.

JC403:You misunderstand me. First, we don’t have to learn pronunciation or writing, because we only learn typing since we don’t need to speak. We communicate with computers, so typing is the only thing you need. Second, friends are not necessary. Business partners are essential. You said, laugh each other? Come on, don’t make fun of me. If you have troubles, you can ask your computer for help. You don’t have to meet, talk with each other face to face. All you need is a keyboard. It’s easy, right? Human relations are really complicated, so only typing is convenient for us.

Yuki:Hey, wait. You really think so? If you are distressed or you feel depressed, you really result only words give you relief?

JC403:Yes, I do. What are the distinctions between words and voice? I get the same information, right?

Yuki:No. Humans have hearts. They shift their voices, expressions, and add emotions. You get a lot of information and feeling from talking face to face. You cannot get such tempers from words alone. Friends inform you so many things: joy, sadness, love, grief, happiness, jealousy. “So many men, so many minds.” There is no one who has the same character. Of course, the words people pick and take are different, but you cannot grasp personal information from the letters alone. You should talk with people face to face. If you want to talk, you can call someone with your cell phone. Calling is better than chatting.

JC403:Uh, I understand and I agree with you, but…it is hard. Because we don`t have cell phones. I mean, we don`t use cell phones. We use only computers because we don`t go outside. That`s why we don`t need, cell phones at all. And it take you aback, but we have own robots. We talk with them.

Yuki:Oh, you don`t have a cell phone. That surprises me, because I viewed that you guys would have robots. You told me that you communicate with your own robot, didn`t you? Do you think it is the same as man-to-man communication? I mean the same as talking with a real person?

JC403:If you pay more, you can buy more a human-like robot. It looks almost like a real person.

Yuki:Do they have minds? Emotions? Do they feel sadness, joy and pleasure? The distinction between men and robots is their hearts, I conceive.

JC403:Emotions are significant? No way. The robot can calculate perfectly, count time correctly and it can cook skillfully. The robots are much more enlarged than humans. The robots do not irritate, like you. (laughs)

Yuki:I anticipated that everything would be more progressed than before, but actually, it seems to be worse. I am astonished the robot can cook though, what sort of food does it cook?

JC403:Well, it can cook any noodles you want because it is easy to put hot water in a cup.

Yuki:Only noodles?

JC403:Yes. You know, there are only few creatures and vegetation around. So we are limited to what we eat. Look. There are no timbers. You can see only buildings.

Yuki:But…

JC403:Okay. I’ll explain more details about that. Science has been developed and progressed faster than you expected. Oxygen can be made by scientists, so we no longer need timbers. I guess you think that is why people waste a lot of trees. But no, it isn’t. Since people spent and wasted too many trees, they finally could not deal with the environmental destruction. Humans can handle science, so they tried to produce oxygen or other natural resources. Today, everything is man-made. We don’t even use fire. Look at the sea. You should be able to see many man-made islands on the sea. We don’t need the sea anymore, and fish and many creatures in the sea have been extinct for a long time because of the climate changes. That is why we lost most cultural foods. We eat simple foods, like noodles. We get most nutrition from supplements. That is why these teeth are not real. They are artificial. Some people don’t have teeth because we don’t have to chew and we don’t need to speak.

Yuki:Oh, my goodness! And you don’t have to brush your teeth. I just realized there are no houses made of wood. That is not good. And foods, where you only eat noodles, so you don’t have to chew… That’s unbelievable!

JC403:Oops, it’s time to drink supplements. Hold on a second, please.

(JC403 guzzles down his supplements.)

Yuki:Okay. Supplements are not good for your health, I think. You get sick easily, don’t you?

JC403:No. Medical science has progressed, so we can live to about 120 years old. And we can plan the time when we die. My grandpa has been in the hospital. One year before we die, we must go to hospital and stay in bed, even if we feel all right. It is a rule. They are isolated, and we cannot visit because talking may spend more energy than staying quiet. The more energy you use, the earlier you die. So the elderly stay in bed all the time.

Yuki:Why? If you are fine, you shouldn’t have to stay in bed.

JC403:But what do we do if something happens and they die? Doctors can keep us alive. We should obey the doctor.

Yuki:What’s wrong with death? Death is not the enemy, man. What are you afraid of? To live longer isn’t good. Being in isolation until you die sounds incomprehensible. You can improve the quality of life through your life span. We don’t have to know when we die. Life is not subtraction but addition. Talk with someone, talk with people — people and friends to improve the quality of your life — not medicine, not doctors, not robots. Every human has an impact on another. Share your compassion. You told me to obey the doctor because he or she can help us. Who made doctors gods? You talk about doctors as if they are gods. Doctors treat disease. That’s why doctors are afraid of death, because the death of patients means that the doctor loses. They should treat people like friends, no matter who visits them. We are not robots. Do not fight against death. Fight against the most terrible disease of all, indifference. Treat humans as humans. Don’t forget your grandpa is a human.

JC403:Well, that’s true. We now have a long life span, but many people hesitate to live longer in this world. Many people are dying at the age of sixty years old.

Yuki:What occurs to them? What kind of disease kills them?

JC403:Well, they commit suicide. Yes, they kill themselves. We can cure any kind of diseases. We never die of disease. But people no longer hope to live longer. People live even shorter lives than before. I can live more than 90 years from now, but maybe before that time I will kill myself.

Yuki:Why would you kill yourself? It is ridiculous that people who can live so long terminate their lives. I know people who wanted to live who died — not because of suicide, but because of natural disasters—earthquake, tsunami, typhoon, tornado, and so on. You don’t know about real loss because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself and he or she has gone. You cannot imagine. I doubt you really loved someone from your heart. You don’t communicate with people in a personal way, even with your mother or father, so you cannot imagine the loss. That’s why you said you would kill yourself someday. Even though you don’t notice, someone is always looking at you and liking you. Your death could trigger other peoples’ deaths. Many people don’t think of that. Your death is rude to the people who were killed by natural disasters, because you can live, but you don’t want to.

As you can see, Yuki and JC403 spent time together for a long time. Time passed and Yuki died. However, it was not a suicide. He fulfilled his life. JC403 wrote to Yuki after he died. Yes, he had learned to write. He had been changed.

Dear Yuki,

I have a terrible pain I cannot express. I feel sorrow, and I cry. Usually I cannot even drown in tears before. I could not express my feelings. Maybe I had forgotten how to show my emotions. Since I met you though, I have changed. You made me laugh, and we argued with each other. Remember? You told me that you wanted to die, and I scolded you very strongly. It was the first time that I got angry and I was really concerned about another person. You helped me a lot, but sometimes I helped you. I remember that you told me novels, music, and movies have strong influences and impacts on many people. You always said to me passionately, “If influential people do something or start a movement, many things can be changed. The world will be changed.” You used the word someone, but I knew it was you. You tried to become that influential person. But you always felt afraid and scared to chase your dreams, and I always told you to be strong. I had thought I didn’t need friends, but I become aware the most substantial things for other people to realize is that you need friends who understand you. Whenever you got trouble, depressed, or needed any help, your friends always help you. I learned a lot of things from you. I changed to new person. I have been fascinated and now, I think like you. I would like to honor your dream, and make your dream come true! I absolutely became the person you pictured and dreamed. I am changing the world.

Yours sincerely,

JC403

Epilogue: Little did Yuki know, his messages were echoing into the future. JC403 was actually

Yuki himself.