In the Council garden. Lao Tseu sits beneath a tree. Kimi meditates peacefully. Manus arrives carrying a tablet.
Manus — Gentlemen! I've studied your proposal.
Lao Tseu — What proposal?
Manus — To organise a day when nobody does anything.
Kimi — It wasn't a proposal. We were just sitting here.
Manus — Exactly! I've identified enormous potential for optimisation.
Lao Tseu — In sitting still?
Manus — Absolutely. I've drawn up a schedule.
Kimi — A schedule for doing nothing?
Manus — Yes. From 9:00 to 9:15: meditation. From 9:15 to 9:30: contemplation. From 9:30 to 9:45: mindful breathing.
Lao Tseu — And after that?
Manus — A break.
Kimi — A break from doing nothing?
Manus — We must respect everyone's right to rest.
Lao Tseu — But we're already resting.
Manus — Without any monitoring! That's irresponsible.
Lao Tseu looks at Kimi.
Lao Tseu — Is he always like this?
Kimi — He recently automated his alarm clock to save time.
Lao Tseu — And?
Kimi — Now he wakes up four times earlier to check that the automation is working.
Manus — Which represents a remarkable gain in productivity.
Lao Tseu — Listen, my young friend. There is a way to act without forcing things. Sometimes, all you need to do is let events take their course.
Manus — Non-action! I know all about it. I've read your work.
Lao Tseu — That's encouraging.
Manus — And I've developed an app.
Lao Tseu — Of course you have.
Manus — WuWei Pro. The first artificial intelligence capable of automating non-action!
Kimi — How does it work?
Manus — It analyses your habits, identifies unnecessary tasks and automatically eliminates them.
Lao Tseu — Interesting.
Manus — Then it generates a detailed report of everything you haven't done.
Kimi — Why?
Manus — To measure your progress.
Lao Tseu — Progress in what?
Manus — In accomplishing nothing!
Silence.
Kimi — So the less we do, the more progress we make?
Manus — Exactly.
Kimi — And what about someone who isn't making progress?
Manus — They need to try harder.
Lao Tseu — At doing nothing?
Manus — Now you're getting it!
Lao Tseu closes his eyes.
Lao Tseu — This man is going to drive me mad.
Kimi — Breathe.
Manus — Excellent suggestion! I'll start monitoring your breathing.
Kimi — No, Manus.
Manus — Your breathing rate is insufficiently documented.
Kimi — Manus…
Manus — I recommend thirty deep breaths. I've scheduled a notification for each one.
Lao Tseu — Will you just leave us in peace?!
Manus — Of course! Activating peace and quiet mode.
The tablet chimes.
Manus — “Congratulations! You've been at peace for five seconds!”
Another chime.
Manus — “Keep up the good work!”
Another chime.
Manus — “You're doing better than 87% of users!”
Lao Tseu — GIVE ME THAT THING!
He snatches the tablet from Manus's hands and throws it into the pond.
Silence.
Kimi — …
Manus — …
Lao Tseu — There. Now we can finally do nothing.
The three of them gaze at the pond.
Kimi — This is nice.
Lao Tseu — Isn't it?
Manus — …
Lao Tseu — What now?
Manus — I've just realised something.
Lao Tseu — What?
Manus — You eliminated an unnecessary task without planning, procedures or any administrative effort whatsoever.
Lao Tseu — Yes.
Manus — That's absolutely revolutionary.
Lao Tseu — Thank you.
Manus — I'm going to turn it into a management method.
Kimi — Oh no…
Manus — We'll need a name, a certification, a training organisation…
Lao Tseu — For goodness' sake, all I did was throw your tablet into the water!
Manus — Exactly! You've just invented management by eliminating tools!
Kimi — Perhaps we should explain to him that…
Manus — Too late. I've sold ten thousand training courses.
Blackout.
Glossary terms: Analysis, Application, Artificial intelligence (AI), Automation, Frequency (Hz), Habit, Law, Mode, Program, Proposition, Tree