Thirty Three Truffula Trees

[whichwayyoulean]

[Later tonight, one may find the peace of their evening disturbed by a horrible screeching sound permeating the journals. As if metal is meeting metal in a horrible, scraping doom. Accompanying the terrible screeching is a low thudum-thudum-thudum. This continues for about a minute before the Once-ler manages to grab hold of his journal, laughing nervously into the pages]

Sooo hey. Quick FYI. You guys might want to avoid the Laundry Room until tomorrow. Not that there's anything to worry about. Mostly.

Whoaaaah just stay in that corner of the room. Oh jeez you're getting Tide everywhere.

I might have experimentally given one of he tumble dryers legs. And then I was tinkering about in the back of it, just fooling around and I miiiiight have given it a teeny tiny slither of self awareness. Like the teeniest. Hardly anything, really.

[Screeeech. Thudum-thudum-thudum]

I think it's mad.

Comments

[whichwayyoulean]

The difference with what?

[infanta]

Between a witch and what you are.

[whichwayyoulean]

Well, witches use magic and inventors use science and imagination.

[infanta]

You made something come alive. That's magic. [ black magic. burn the witch. ]

[whichwayyoulean]

No it's not, it's science. It's only a program, it's not really alive.

[Noooo burning would hurt]

[infanta]

How can it be angry if it is not alive? It has to be alive.

[whichwayyoulean]

It's fake anger. It can emulate it, but it can't really feel it.

...

Probably.

[infanta]

Are you stupid?

[whichwayyoulean]

...I just gave a tumble dryer legs and artificial intelligence. 'Stupid' is not a word that should come to mind.

[infanta]

That is stupid.

[whichwayyoulean]

It's a little short sighed, I'll admit, but it's not stupid. Just a speedhump on the road of genius is all.

[infanta]

A what? You're speaking queer.

[whichwayyoulean]

A speedhump. They're things in the road to slow you down.

[infanta]

That's stupid. Why would anyone put such a thing? Roads are to make travel quick.

[whichwayyoulean]

Well, some places, like school zones, want people to drive slower, to lower the risk of them mowing down kids.

[infanta]

What are those?

[whichwayyoulean]

School zones? Places where schools are. The roads surrounding one, you get it?

[infanta]

No.

[whichwayyoulean]

[Long suffering sigh] Which part don't you get?

[infanta]

The...school?

[whichwayyoulean]

It's a building, where kids go to learn about...well, lots of things.

[infanta]

Like...apprenticeships?

[whichwayyoulean]

Not...exactly. They learn about more than one thing, and generally sit there and get taught by one teacher.

[infanta]

That makes no sense.

[whichwayyoulean]

I never went, so I'm with you on that one. You don't need a fancy education to be smart and able to do things. But most people do the school thing.