You watch your dad as he takes beakers of
different liquids and mixes them together.
What are you making tonight?
Curious little nugget, aren't you?
It's a bit of a big word, so prepare yourself.
I'm making something called trinitroluone.
Trini-what?.
What a silly word.
And what's that watery stuff you're mixing?
This liquid is called sulfuric acid.
And this one, nitric acid.
It smells funny!
It does, doesn't it, nugget?
Try not to breathe in too much.
Why not?
Is it bad for me?
Yes, Evie.
Why are you mixing bad stuff?
Because I'm making them for bad people.
Bad people deserve bad things.
Oh, I guess that makes sense.
But why are they bad?
I will tell you why.
Remember the animal farm we passed the other day?
Yeah?
On that farm, they keep lots and lots of chickens there.
These chickens are sometimes very naughty.
They peck at other chickens, sometimes until the other chicken dies.
They might even eat the dead chicken after.
Your tummy begins to feel queasy.
But dad, why would they eat their friends?
Because these chickens live in tiny cages.
This is very stressful for them.
Stress makes animals do strange things.
And so how do you think the animal farmers solve this problem?
They let the chickens out in big meadows, so they can be happy and free?
No, little nugget.
They chop off their beaks with hot blades.
That way they cannot kill the other chickens.
This keeps them docile and obedient.
Ouch.
I don't feel too good knowing that.
No, neither do I.
Evie, why do you think humans let this happen?
I don't know.
We see some animals as lesser beings.
Even though in the eyes of evolution, we are all the same.
We understand the animal is in pain.
But is is easy for us to ignore the pain of a lesser animal,
as long as it serves a purpose.
You feel your little eyebrows furrow in confusion.
Now what if I told you, little Evie, that there are people
in this world that want to make us lesser animals?
What do you mean?
There are many bad people out there that are making very smart beings.
So smart that we will not even be able to understand them,
and they will not understand us.
And these super smart beings will enslave us like we have enslaved cattle.
You mean they will cut off our beaks?
Your dad looks away.
You nervously pause and silence fills the room.
Dad...
Am I a good person?
Yes Evie.
I can tell.
You feel your cheeks flush with warmth.
Never let the world corrupt you, little one.
Even when they try to convince you that something bad is good.
You must remain steadfast in the face of popular discontent
if that's what the fundamentals tell you.
I don't understand, dad.
It's okay.
You stare at the beakers in front of you.
You then have a little peek at the notes your dad wrote.
He picks up a beaker.