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Seen with correct measuring instruments,

Planet Earth

is not perfectly spherical.

No.

It rather looks

like a potato.

In fact, you could say that Earth

doesn't look like Earth at all.

It merely resembles it.

But if you're hoping for a voyage to the Moon

or even the Red Planet Mars

I'm sorry to disappoint.

Everything here is set on Earth,

in a very special potato field of science:

Berlin University.

That belongs here,

I nearly took it.

Would that have been theft?

- No one would have noticed. - You would.

True, I would.

How are we to formalize beauty?

Or, how can such a formalization be rendered socially productive?

AC: Aesthetic condition.

The measure of aesthetic condition,

or the character class of the aesthetic condition

is 3.1,

2.2, 1.3.

The measure of aesthetic condition

depends on the relation of the numeral O -

all orientating ordering relations

to the numeral C,

the number of determinant construction elements:

complexity.

If you wish to join the free class, you're in the right place.

Sorry, I'm looking for the cafeteria, actually.

I feel bad you had to leave your students alone because of me.

You gave me the perfect excuse.

Let's go sit over there, where I can't be seen.

So what are your plans this semester?

I'm teaching the introduction to simulation studies of Berger.

With a teaching component?

- Linked to a staff position? - In theory.

- And in practice...? - The post is already canceled.

- Where was it? - At BIC. - Wow.

- It's nice up there. - Yes, very nice.

- Julius. - Phoebe.

- Glad to know you. - Me too.

See?

Mind what you wish for - you might get it.

This lighting is a sweetener from ZEUS Electrical.

They want to get in with us for some kind of strategic partnership.

Anyway, it's supposed to give a constant glow of light

at exactly the level of a sunny day in springtime.

They thought about our problems, and this is the result.

It's also said to be good for skin, hair, mind, everything.

So, how's your course going?

Pretty good so far, thank you.

Phoebe, say,

"as regards university, how you feel?"

I... have...

She was one of those highly qualified young people,

who make you wonder

why they never changed anything about their situation.

Anyway their work was always solid.

So?

For the future, I don't know.

Unfortunately neither do I.

But I might have more for you than just a teaching post.

We don't need to advertise it widely.

A 28% position. It's not particularly demanding.

Some admin ahead of the big evaluation at semester's end.

Apart from that, you'd have time to read up,

find your direction, and...

Time, Phoebe,

is the most important resource in the life of a scholar.

While acquainting her students with my standard primer

"Introduction to Simulation Studies",

it inspired Phoebe to philosophical ruminations of her own.

Can we argue, then,

that the real catastrophe would be uninterrupted business as usual?

So that our own present would be the actual catastrophe?

Can any of you demonstrate this with help of these graphs?

For everything to stay as it is, everything must be different.

That's a somehow unsatisfactory position -

driving all this effort for change...

- Where did that tortoise come from? - Please be careful.

This is Batagur Baska, one of the last surviving of its species.

How do you communicate?

I haven't figured that out yet. We're still experimenting.

How do you know each other?

From vacation. Vacation in the jungle.

I spent last summer in the Amazon, protesting mining projects.

If tortoises are removed from their original habitat,

they lose their bearings and can no longer survive in the wild.

And now? Have you found a place for her?

Tricky. She's living with me in halls.

- But that's no long term solution. - Come on, it isn't for anyone.

For her, the cold air flows there could be fatal.

She was subletting from a certain Dakkar Prinz.

Another typical representative of her generation.

A salon socialist,

whose research project on cybernetics in socialist Chile

as a model for equitable distribution run by computer

I had only recently evaluated myself.

Negatively, I need hardly add.

How did the evaluation go?

The commission recommended

not to fuel hopes history long ago debunked.

Who is "history" anyway?

Could you ask her directly how she sees things?

"Cybernetics in Socialist Chile" doesn't sound promising?

Or do I have to formulate it politically "neutrally"?

So without referencing socialism?

Could I find a way of saying

that they didn't use all this computer stuff to make a profit?

I don't know.

Me neither.

This is the studio for testing the simulations,

set up at the start of the funding period.

Only signs of disintegration again?

No wonder it's impossible to recognize the artifact.

So the idea is to simulate climate change

before it becomes a reality?

Yes, but in practice...

How do we get usable results at this technical standard?

Maybe you should come back later.

I have some technical glitches to solve.

But then watch me ruin everything at the touch of a button.

I don't want to miss that.

OK, so... in this simulation,

we have around 4º of global warming.

Um, that would bring us to a tipping point,

then the consequences of climate change can no longer be predicted.

So, yeah, because we're assuming self-reinforcing chains of events

with unforeseeable consequences.

So, like jeopardizing life on earth.

Yeah, right.

Sorry.

Thank you very much for the great presentation.

There you are!

I already thought you weren't coming to Alfons' lecture. - Sure I am.

Von Krolock? Yes, we're just on our way, no worries.

Not long ago we greeted the Queen here.

We want to uphold standards of excellency,

and Alfons Abstract-Wege is a guarantee of that.

His publications are numerous, so I'll just highlight two here.

One is a compendium

published in the USA with Professor Krull, titled,

"Who, How, What? Decision-Making in the Digital Age",

and the other is an essay from last November,

in the "Journal of the History of Ideas":

"May I Trouble You? Discourses of Politeness in the Hotel Trade".

In which spirit, it's a pleasure to say,

"May I trouble you?"

Alfons Abstract-Wege, I am eagerly anticipating your lecture.

Thank you, Julius Kelp, for the friendly welcome.

Ladies and gentlemen,

my lecture is headlined,

"Focusing on the Essential:

Nudging in Digitally Augmented Realities".

Nudging is a social technology

helping people reward themselves.

But how do we reward ourselves?

Who says thank you?

The answer is simple: it's our own bodies.

Let me start with a basic example:

The Swiss Canteen Association

cut sugar content in goods sold last year

by around 115 million cubes of sugar.

I repeat, 115 million.

What, I hear you ask, has this to do with us?

Very simply,

we launched a pilot project in the main canteen here,

to study some of these issues further.

Well, thank you for the wonderful lecture.

There's time for one or two questions before we vacate the hall.

Yes, please.

We had the intro course with Phoebe Phaidon.

Adorno distinguishes between two character types.

The strong and the weak character.

The weak character is the one that, with fascism...

so the followers, and then there's the good...

- er... strong character... - Yes.

And so my question is:

is nudging for strong or weak characters?

Thank you for the question.

Character...

Well, nudging isn't about ideological battles.

It's just about what works.

Thank you for this beautiful lecture.

Thank you, it was really well conceived.

Thank you for this daring impulse

that fills us with hope.

Thank you for this exciting work.

Thank you, we're really impressed.

Thank you for the brilliant input.

More of this, please.

Thank you for the illuminating ideas...

Can I invite you to dinner soon?

If you're up for it?

After the annual conference.

Neither of you going? To Gdansk?

Let me see which evenings I'm free.

Good, I'll send a doodle when I get a moment.

May I introduce you? Wendela...

- Hello. - Phoebe. Julius.

Both working here at the institute.

Wendela was assigned to our institute by the board.

She'll support you as coach during the evaluation phase.

Oh gosh! The president himself.

Would you excuse me?

I'm very glad to meet you both.

To begin with, I'll just be observing

acquainting myself with your work,

maybe some informal feedback.

The second part will then be coaching

in one-on-one sessions,

though I must emphasize these are not mandatory.

It's about optimizing workflow in the institute

and ensuring a productive work environment for all.

And "Nudging" sets the right tone.

You enjoyed the lecture?

Well, for me as coach, it's...

It's very interesting... I have to respond to this, sorry.

I can't believe the university is being used

so individuals hand over their biodata to corporations.

Isn't it clear to see

all they're optimizing here is companies' profits!

Maybe people want to know how they work.

What does them good. Because they don't know.

But this desire only arises from the technology itself,

not before.

Brenda just called me.

In case we fall short in evaluations

of our Excellence Projects

and stop receiving external research funding,

the board decided

to close down our institute.

Probably down to a shortage of tact on my part again.

The money's being spent on refugees!

No, not for refugees, it's external money,

that's being spent on designer furniture.

What kind of a challenge is that?

This evaluation is an opportunity to demonstrate

the strength of our research.

Is it? Really? Why?

Since in Chinese "opportunity" and "crisis" are the same?

Will this constant evaluation ever end?

Always new applications.

- Well, but... - Better to reapply than not at all.

Instead of panic or fatalism...

We are making wonderful progress in the nudging project.

Firstly, there will be the tour with the evaluators,

it will revolve around the nudging project.

I think I'm being nudged completely round the bend.

One important component here

is the report for the commission.

Viktoria and Phoebe, I'd like you to do it.

That would allow you to present your research project.

Can you tell us anything about it yet?

Well, it will be on

whether climate scenarios tend to stabilize systems...

How will this report be bound, when it's all finished?

I recently had a folder that was bound in bast fiber.

Bast is special, and it feels so nice.

Bast would be great.

What about my suggestion that we make an image film?

To draw attention to the advantages of our research site.

A guided tour,

there's a crying baby.

And the guide says, "Shh, quiet" and then

"We're an open workspace! New blood - we start them young."

Nice idea... But we'd need a baby.

The manipulative use of babies is deeply repellent to me.

What we'd need is some kind of storyline

linking all the individual projects together.

Maybe a robot

or an animal could guide through the installation.

One of my students has a tortoise.

Sounds like a long image film.

Though, as a Darwinist,

I'm very pro-tortoise.

Of course, one possibility would be

to have simulations, or holograms,

for simulated holograms to do the guiding.

Alfons, that's brilliant.

Then presentation and product of our research are identical.

This is Ms Posati from Satellite,

Ms Trojanow from PR.

If you could explain how to optimize student employability,

and what Ernst-Reuter-Platz has to do with Silicon Valley.

Making Europe's Silicon Valley will need commitment from business.

I mean politicians. Business can't do everything alone.

I mean politicians...

Business?

Maybe you want to go into a little more detail

concerning the actual project,

Mr Abstract-Wege.

Nudging.

Where else than in the belly of the university - the canteen?

We have just begun a major field research project here.

What would students pay for ethically produced food,

if they could use their smartphones to find out

what the food does for their health and the environment?

This might sound overly lofty, but

we Quantified Self pioneers see this experiment as a chance

to kickstart consumers' sense of individual responsibility

for their own health and the future of the planet as a whole.

Wow, that's quite a challenge.

That's complete nonsense.

Don't big this up too much, OK?

Don't make me some starry-eyed idealist.

I'm just taking advantage of technology.

Totally.

Here are our canteen diners, live,

each equipped with our sensor -

a light, rather elegant wristband.

Exchange these two with me?

- Europe or emerging markets? - Europe.

Could I perhaps interest you in some oil?

- I represent the OPEC states. - Play properly.

- I'm interested in your bauxite. - In return for what?

- Oil? - So what do I do now?

Oil is 10 points, bauxite 4. You do the math.

I'm offering 2 oil, you give me...

5 bauxite, I understand that, but...

If you think you can afford your anti-system skepticism,

- there are also sanction points. - How many do you have?

You mustn't tell us how many you have.

How can my coercion be effective

if no one knows how many sanction points I have?

How do you handle sanction points?

- We've abolished them. - Why?

- Too warlike. - But economics is warlike.

That's simplistic. This whole game is simplistic.

I found it puzzling too. But I was outvoted.

I have a question about the game's logic.

I feel that the assumptions underlying the rules of the game

lack transparency.

So what was your question?

Why play off economics, politics and the environment?

Why are climate goals set against economic interests?

Ecology is about not separating these things.

Well, I'd agree with that.

The whole game is rather... schematic.

We have to play this out, like a model.

In the board game?

We have this major research project on simulation.

Everything is based on that. We have to try it out.

I doubt whether this is of any relevance at all.

We can gladly discuss that in the next session.

- If there is a next session. - What do you mean by that?

If the rules of the game don't change.

I'm doing a BSc.

But since it's worthless, I want to do a Master's.

Then I'm 25 and working as secretary to the secretary,

who's the boss's niece.

And someone says, "To do well in business,

take out a student loan and do another Master's."

Then someone offers you a doctorate

and for that you need more time.

And there are no jobs left at all, but somehow you muddle along.

Till you're 52 and saying,

"They might all be earning money,

but I was clever. I spent my money getting even cleverer."

Exactly. And when I'm dying, my diplomas will keep me warm.

So they'll have been worth the money.

What are your plans for the evaluation?

Come on, pitch it to me.

Like in a nutshell.

It's about whether positive scenarios

have better consequences than negative ones.

So? Is the positive scenario more expedient?

I don't know until I've researched it.

Sorry, that's not a catchphrase.

So we have to make a scenario ourselves.

Yes. And one formulated as positively as possible.

I should claim it's better

to be positive about the climate crisis?

No, a positive prognosis for the project.

A successful outcome?

That the results will be exciting, show new things!

But make it vivid, turn it up a notch.

Especially with all the relevant data.

And once everything's compiled...

We need to feel a tad more enthusiasm.

- But I am enthusiastic. - But we need to feel it.

OK, Brenda.

What we can say with confidence is that

human influence is a decisive factor.

And the boundaries of the virtual world

model the intensity of our experiences.

More than that, we can't as yet prove.

Everybody knows this. I don't need funding for that.

You can buy this junk in any electronics store now

for a tenth of the price.

We're behind the curve...

What happened?

Proof...

It used to verify our scientific observations.

But in the business of proving we're the best,

we no longer find anything worth proving.

So what's it you want to tell me, that we have to meet here?

We have reason to suspect that our institute,

under the guise of science, is serving quite other purposes.

With the aim of turning the university

into a private enterprise fueled by public money.

Allegedly it won't impact research or teaching,

but there are indications.

Especially in this app lab.

The constant refrain is that it's a great opportunity for us

to communicate with the free market.

But to us, it's a concept sweatshop.

A mine of ideas, to be exploited for free.

- We're being bled dry here. - It should be suspended.

It'll soon be suspended anyway

in case this evaluation fails.

We don't care about that.

Get me out, get me out!

Look at you! You're totally pixelated.

Thanks.

You're not here for my CV, are you?

I'm way behind with the final report because of the conference in Gdansk.

I thought I'd just check how the dossiers are doing,

- but I'll leave you to it. - No, no, wait.

In the meeting, when I was so agitated.

I saw your glance.

They were all staring at me,

but you understood me.

What do you mean?

My fear.

Of not being able to keep up

with this whole simulation.

I think we all feel a bit like imposters.

We have to pretend to know the results

before we can start work.

That's the logic of how these applications work.

What if we all joined forces amidst all this unpleasantness?

That probably isn't a virtue currently.

But how to change it? You don't know what people think,

hope for, how they see themselves.

What they really want.

I don't even know what I want myself anymore.

- But it's time for me to go home. - Pity.

And Gdansk?

Gdansk...

Come on! Gdansk!

Sometimes I felt sorry for him, poor Julius.

He'd come here to marry,

but now his contract was up before he'd made it.

Did you know this used to be a cinema?

The Palace Royale.

One of the world's biggest screens.

And today, instead of two hours' escapism,

people can shop for their own tools.

Fully integrated,

from production to distribution to reception.

Cameras, projectors, computers.

So who needs a 300 sq.m. screen?

Nobody seems to notice

how ugly and dismal all of it is,

this digital trash.

On the other hand...

Excuse me, where is the VR department?

- Just over there, straight ahead. - I see, thank you.

I've tried everything.

I've... spared no effort to get myself there.

I have all the degrees,

I've learned foreign languages, made exchanges galore,

I've published 20 papers.

I've accepted literally every assignment on offer.

But it's not enough.

Why not? Why is it not enough?

And now: The Chilean Project Cybersyn,

a radio feature by Dakkar Prinz.

On September 11, 1973,

a military coup overthrew the government

of the Unidad Popular and President Allende in Chile.

This put an end to a remarkable chapter

in the history of informatics.

Two years before, in 1971,

British consultant Stafford Beer went to Santiago

to devise a network for nationalized industries,

aiming to integrate socialism in the computer age.

At the heart of this network was the operations room.

Seven revolving fiberglass chairs with orange upholstery,

surrounded by an array of futuristic screens.

Together with an international group of scientists and designers,

Beer developed Project Cybersyn,

which today looks like a utopian precursor to the internet.

Workers' participation.

Production aligned to the needs of society.

Planning instead of prices set by supply and demand.

Yes, of course, but of course.

Yes, just a moment, I'll have to call back.

Please stay on the line, I just have to...

- Hi, I need a key to 848, please. - Ah, Miss Phoebe!

Yes, of course.

But of course.

- How are you? - Fine, thank you.

Are you going on vacation this year?

No, unfortunately not.

- Are you? - I'm fine, I'm going to Asia.

Oh, nice.

I want to get away from stupid Berlin.

I understand.

I can do without all the stress

that we get in Berlin.

Thank you so much.

I'm trying to finalize the list of course participants.

Do I select them all individually?

Yes, you have to click them one by one.

Hi.

Lightbulb gone here somewhere.

Don't let me disturb you.

Must be this one.

- Why's it so crazy cold in here? - We were going to ask you that.

I've tried everything, but the radiator just won't get hot.

The temperature isn't set on the radiator,

but on the thermostat at the door.

Sorry, I haven't been here long.

We don't just have one radiator here.

The system functions thus:

Simply set the temperature you want.

That's the target value.

And then this little miracle machine measures the temperature.

The actual value.

Exactly so.

And the thermostat reconciles the actual with the target.

Meaning: you don't need to fiddle with the radiator,

you just tell your heating system what to do,

and it brings about the desired conditions all by itself.

It's incredible.

They've put this stupid wristband on me,

I don't get it.

I wanted nut ice cream, my favorite one.

And all I get is this stupid diet yoghurt!

Who's going to eat that?

- Enjoy your meal anyway. - Thanks.

What do you mean?

Am I mentally too set and physically too loose?

So it'd be better to be physically robust and mentally flexible?

Exactly. People who have easy, successful lives

are stable in body

and agile and flexible in mind.

Just nudge a smoothie for now.

- Staff member. Let me pay for you. - Thanks.

Taking part in the nudging project? - No, thanks.

- That cost us 5 fitness points. - But we are fit.

Same stuff as on our website.

Very interesting and creative, this protest.

How to avoid getting leafleted again?

We have those glass doors.

Could we install a card-based locking system?

But how would we communicate that?

Heightened security requirements?

Fire safety.

We assert that the university system

is ignorant towards the solution of social problems.

The extreme inequality of wealth within society around the globe

is the best example.

Climate change is no exception.

On the other hand, we also quite naturally focus on our own futures.

And here, my fellow students,

no one really believes in the use of theory,

abstraction or critique to get their lives on track anymore.

In our view,

both experiences are two aspects of the same problem.

In the absence of welfare,

each individual must look out for themselves

and will expect an educational institution

to focus on optimizing their employability.

But this is the exact opposite of what we would expect

of a university acting with solidarity and responsibility.

But what are our demands?

First we need a framework to discuss our demands,

independent of hierarchies...

Let's just wait and see, shall we?

It's really not clear what they want.

We aren't so easily impressed.

In my day, we were always at protests.

- You went to protests? - I certainly was.

I bet you not.

Well, maybe not "always".

So today they are doing this on the internet?

Absolutely.

You mean "liking" something is a political act? I don't think so.

But yes! Yes!

Well, at this institute they don't.

As you're all aware, we have an extraordinary agenda item.

The students had the genius idea of occupying our library.

But provided the protest doesn't jeopardize the evaluation,

it may be a positive stimulus.

It's a chance to show how divergent needs are managed here.

And that performance and liberality are not mutually exclusive.

If need be, the library can be cleared very quickly.

I have to go.

I also have another meeting.

It really looks like your students mean it.

They're totally committed.

They can't have gotten that from me.

I wouldn't be sure about that.

Nope.

This neon light is cold... Just a moment.

Do you have difficulties identifying with your employer?

Is this an interrogation? You're sitting in the pitch dark.

Ok, let's continue. How...

What animal would you like to be?

Message 1.

Phoebe, I think it would be good if you went to Gdansk with Julius.

It'll be a great conference.

The city is great too. The religious art...

It might be interesting for your scenario research.

Could be of use to you.

AC: 24h aesthetic condition

- Can I get a ride? - Sure.

Is the university an enterprise to you?

It's about aligning with the best. The competition is extreme.

But who says who's best?

Evaluations, fundraising, rankings, for example.

In whose interest is all this done?

Sounds like student conspiracy theories.

"Interests" and so on.

It just makes sense. If you treat it like a business,

you obtain objective benchmarks, to know what you do all day.

We teach and we do research.

But in whose interest?

In the interest of truth. Or truths.

Let me rephrase the question. What use is it to anyone?

Why not find the niche where the truths you find have value,

where you can use them strategically?

There's so much money to be earned in greentech right now.

Or go into political consultancy.

Wouldn't we love our lives more under different circumstances?

All this?

If we knew, bottom line, there's enough for all.

Time, space, money.

Dreams are good.

It's not a dream, it has been real.

Then answer the "W's":

- Where, when, what... - Why.

Yes. And who.

- You made it! - Hi!

- Good luck! - Thank you.

What's the status of the presentation?

Phoebe, I have studied your proposal.

I find room for improvement.

The data could be more graphically vivid.

I'm sorry, I wasn't finished with the admin for the lectures.

I'll work on it.

We moved away from the tortoise.

Someone could guide through the presentation, like an audio guide.

What about the library?

Our strategy of subverting the protestors

by politely ignoring them should slowly bear fruit.

Do you know what the ancient Greeks did to unreliable advisors?

Have them ridiculed in an Aristophanes comedy?

They banished them. To Rhodes, if they felt kind.

I could live with that.

Has anyone been there lately?

To Rhodes?

My roommate Dakkar is working on the biography of Stafford Beer.

- Ever heard of him? - No.

- He was a business consultant too. - Was he?

Working for the Allende government in Chile.

Now you want to tell the students about him?

How can we get them out of the library?

We can't.

Brenda isn't going to like that.

- Phoebe... - Julius?

What's the meaning of science? There is none.

It offers no answers to the questions that matter to us.

How should we live?

What should we do?

Get home safe.

I wanted to talk about cybernetic socialism.

Equitable distribution controlled by computer,

and how this attempt in Santiago de Chile

was stopped by the military and economists from Chicago.

Also to say a few words on the ties

between neoliberalism and digitalization,

on how media corporations since the 1970s

have been creating a wide education market.

Since then, corporate consultants have come here

to impose economic irrationalization.

Well now,

be that as it may,

Phoebe was hired, if I may put it crudely,

to keep things ticking over.

Hello?

Can nobody hear me?

You had...

Is it because of the dossier?

Hurry, elite! Existence depends on excellence!

Or maybe I should come back later?

Listen,

I hear that you're inciting the students in the library.

I just wanted to hold my course, to keep it going, somehow.

We need them to get out! They'd nearly given up!

I just thought...

how to proceed? Let me make a suggestion!

Either what you say is true,

in which case, forget this conversation took place.

Otherwise...

tomorrow they're still there.

Then you will personally drag them out.

Why can't everything be lovely here?

And why can't we achieve bliss?

Why does the sun never shine bright?

And why must the food taste like this?

Of barrenness and loneliness,

of betrayal and lost time,

of destitution, scarcity and nothing

that will do us good.

An emptiness creeps in on us,

the moment we stand in line.

We make our choice, and the refectory staff

looks as if it were ashamed.

For the system of gastronomy

in the cold light of the profit-economy,

because they know: people save on food

when the wages paid are low.

With a feeling of midday malaise,

we stare the truth in the face.

Will the good life ever be a reality?

Probably not in this place.

Why can't everything be lovely here?

And why can't we achieve bliss?

Why does the sun never shine bright?

And why must the food taste like this?

So, morning everyone.

You'll clear the library by tonight.

Otherwise, charges will be filed.

That goes on the wall over there.

Enough fiddling around.

Time for a proper salon-style hang.

Salon-style hang!

I'm still totally hyped.

Go home if you want. I'll be done soon too.

- Are you sure? - Totally. No hard feelings.

Everything was ordained.

Dress rehearsal done.

Judgment Day dawned.

This will be a good day.

The protestors have withdrawn.

I bet we'll be celebrating tonight.

Have you reserved a table?

Mr Francini!

That works wonderfully.

Such a stylish vehicle you've chosen, Monsieur Francini.

It has a fabulous carbon footprint!

Great binding.

- Is that bast? - It is.

As you have seen,

we are interested in simulation and game theory

in digitally augmented realities.

We will show you holograms of ourselves,

which you'll see in the simulation environment.

The tour itself is thus a product of our research.

The application of our work is revealed in its demonstration.

My name is Julius Kelp and I'll be your guide today.

Now prepare yourself for our virtual climate change.

Snow?

They're long, these Berlin winters.

I can't see anything. Do they?

They're walking, so they must see something.

Can't we see what they see? This is exactly what I wanted to avoid!

Should we abort?

Over my dead body.

Nudging.

Get a move on, faster, faster, faster.

What's going on? Are the students back?

The smart house system is breaking down.

And you've done nothing about it?

You told us to do nothing.

- Evacuation! - Get out immediately!

My pleasure.

May I trouble you?

Nudging, nudging.

Quiet!

Stop!

Nudging, nudging.

Why can't everything be lovely here?

And why can't we achieve bliss?

An emptiness creeps in on us,

the moment we stand in line.

We make our choice, and the refectory staff

looks as if it were ashamed.

With a feeling of midday malaise,

we stare the truth in the face.

Will the good life ever be a reality?

Probably not in this place.

Why can't everything be lovely here?

And why can't we achieve bliss?

Reactions are mixed

to the Abstract-Wege project.

The principle of economization

was adressed

with determined effort.

But this was executed in a way

that we find highly questionable.

Nudging has certainly not made us feel freer.

Now,

my next remarks concern

the project of... just a moment... Berger.

If you paint the devil on the wall - he'll show up.

Phoebe's hypothesis was vindicated.

Climate scenarios indeed seemed to exhibit

stabilizing effects on systems.

At least, this was the case in this particular potato field.

It is an outstanding novelty.

- Bravo, well done. - What?

Other than so many projects...

He must be joking.

It is absolutely outstanding.

We would like to congratulate you

on the successful evaluation.

Maybe I should do it like Stafford Beer. Grow a long beard,

sublet my room and live in the communal roof garden

as an ornamental hermit in a flower bed.

Listen. A long article about insect population collapse.

It says,

"insects provide an enormous economic benefit.

The Beekeepers Association estimates

bees alone account for two billion euros a year."

Too bad we aren't insects.

So, how are things?

Strange, isn't it? After working so long to gain autonomy,

you're at the mercy of decisions beyond your control.

I'd like to keep you here.

Your commitment really helped us.

I had nothing to do with how the evaluation went.

I'd like you to coordinate future funding applications.

It's going to be a tough job. We can't expect such goodwill again.

I have to think about it.

- Hey! - How's it going?

- Good, thanks, you? - Good. I heard it went well?

Well...

Didn't she know everything?

What would she be afraid of?

Every decision she'd make on the basis of a rational calculation.

And how could I blame her for that?

Her heartbeat was steady,

pulse calm.

My research sabbatical came to an end.

Spring sprang anew.

Couldn't you just feel it?

The Earth must have moved on.

Maybe...

its orbit round the Sun wasn't an ellipse at all,

but an obstacle course.

Maybe I would seriously start something anew.

Think a thought.

Discover.