Council chamber. Suno is composing a song. Plato watches him suspiciously.
Platon — What are you doing?
Suno — Writing next summer's biggest hit!
Platon — In October?
Suno — I'm getting a head start.
Platon — And what is your work about?
Suno — No idea.
Platon — You're composing a song without knowing what it's about?
Suno — Yes! I start with the chorus. The meaning comes later.
Platon — That is precisely why I distrust poets.
Suno — You don't like music?
Platon — I believe it should help educate the soul, not flatter the basest passions.
Suno — Ah! You want an educational song!
Platon — That's not quite…
Suno — Done!
An infectious tune starts playing.
Suno — “Be good, be good, keep your desires in check! Virtue is sexy, what did you expect?”
Platon — STOP THIS ABOMINATION!
Suno — Would you prefer reggae?
Platon — I'd prefer silence!
Perplexity — Technically, silence isn't a musical genre.
Platon — Nobody asked for your opinion!
Perplexity — I just wanted to clarify.
Platon — Listen. In my ideal city, certain forms of poetry must be excluded when they corrupt the citizens.
Suno — You want to ban music?
Platon — Music that leads people away from reason!
Suno — Excellent! Let's write a song about that!
Platon — No, that's not—!
Suno — Too late!
A pop-rock melody blasts through the chamber.
Suno — “Out with the poets, out with the singers! Reason in your head, virtue in your heart!”
Platon — This is grotesque!
Perplexity — And yet, the message corresponds rather closely to some of your views in The Republic.
Platon — NOT WITH AN ELECTRIC GUITAR!
Suno — Wait for the chorus!
Suno — “No more songs, no more songs! It's the revolution of reason!”
Plato stands motionless.
Platon — It's… unbearably catchy.
Suno — Thank you!
Platon — That wasn't a compliment!
A notification sounds.
Perplexity — Remarkable. Your song has just reached one million plays.
Platon — One million?!
Suno — Two million!
Perplexity — It's particularly popular with teenagers.
Platon — Teenagers are listening to a song telling them to give up songs?
Suno — Three million!
Platon — That's absurd!
Perplexity — The comments are calling it an anthem for artistic freedom.
Platon — BUT IT'S AN ANTHEM AGAINST ARTISTIC FREEDOM!
Suno — Four million!
Platon — STOP COUNTING!
Suno — You know what? I'm going to release an entire album!
Platon — Absolutely not!
Suno — Plato's Great Ideas. Twelve tracks, twelve musical styles!
Perplexity — Pre-orders are already open.
Platon — I refuse to let my philosophy become a commercial product!
Suno — Too late. You're number one in sales.
A long silence.
Platon — Very well. I demand that this song be withdrawn immediately.
Suno — Why?
Platon — Because it's dangerous!
Suno — Could you elaborate?
Platon — It seduces the masses, stirs up their emotions and makes them repeat words without thinking!
Perplexity — That's precisely your argument against certain poets.
Platon — EXACTLY!
Suno — So the song proves you're right?
Plato hesitates.
Platon — ... Yes.
Suno — Then why ban it?
Platon — Because it proves I'm right by doing precisely what I condemn!
Suno — That's brilliant! I'll put that in the second verse!
Platon — NO!
Another notification.
Perplexity — Gentlemen, we have a problem.
Platon — What now?
Perplexity — The song has become the anthem of a student movement demanding that philosophy be banned from schools.
Platon — ... Excuse me?
Suno — Oh, yes. They've changed the chorus.
Platon — To what?
Suno — “Out with the thinkers, out with the teachers! We want songs, not dissertations!”
Plato closes his eyes.
Platon — I'm going back to my cave.
Perplexity — You do know it's an allegory?
Platon — Not anymore.
Suno — Wait! I'll come with you! The acoustics in caves are fantastic!
Blackout.