For numerous years, a single question has captured the imagination and interest of the populace: "What is an interesting solution to an interesting problem?"

Anyone may submit an answer using the Solpro app - a concatenation of the words Solution and Problem. The submitter's details are included, allowing them to be contacted, given a platform to expand upon the idea, and even implement it.

On the submission form, there is space to enter an answer below each of the two statements - "An interesting problem" and "An interesting solution." The fields expand as the answer does, and the only instructions on the screen state: "A maximum of 100,000 words each."

Many come close to the word limit, striving to submit answers as thorough as possible. After so many years of Solpro in existence, it has become increasingly challenging to have new simple ideas. They constantly build upon each other over time, ever-increasing in complexity. As a result, many submitters need to reduce their responses to meet the limit.

"Hmm," The username чичкоСпок lit up on the right of Zhi's screen as they spoke to the group through their microphone. "I'm not sure what the point is of this one."

Zhi glanced at their other screen where the Solpro submission they'd been discussing with their friends was still displayed.

Every morning, the Solpro submissions from the day before were published on the app. The populace read them over breakfast, during their morning exercise, while in the shower, whatever they were doing. Many continued to discuss and debate them with their friends, local community, or large groups online. They explained to each other what they liked, what they would do differently, what they believed was wrong, how they could implement variations in their lives, and so on.

Nevertheless, what once may have been a simple competition had become the fixation of the populace.

"What do you mean?" Zhi asked, causing onlyjust to light up similarly in the app they all used to communicate.

"I think it's interesting," another added, this time bespilner. "But it may have lost something along the way."

"Well, think of it like this, right," чичкоСпок continued. "We can come up with all the hypothetical situations we want. But if they're so far removed from reality that we can't use them at all, then what use are they? How do they make us come up with new solutions or create something better?"

"They're thought experiments," bespilner replied.

"Nah, I get what he's saying," ナノ・ソフト interjected. "Thought experiments exercise our ability to reason through certain scenarios. But if they're too far from reality, as he put it, what we can potentially learn from them is stunted."

"Because how can we then apply it?" Zhi suggested.

"True, but I think the problem, if any, lies in that they're trying to take an old idea and make it modernised," bespilner explained. "When adjusting something for a modern audience, you essentially have to cut out bits that will not mesh very well with them. Those bits might seem unnecessary, but they often serve a very clear purpose. Profound ideas are greater than the sum of their parts, and to mess with the chaos that brought them into existence is to miss the point of trying to understand them."

"Sometimes it's better to have a diluted message than no message at all, though."

"Possibly. But we get a better understanding of something when we can be aware of more of its original context. Whether that might be understanding the history surrounding it, experiencing its original language, and so on. I think it's best to strive to understand all these aspects as much as possible."

"Nothing is as simple as it initially seems," Zhi added quickly. "Anyway, I just realised I should to get to work. I'm off."

A series of "later", "cya", and "bye" came through the headphones before a familiar tone indicating the voice chat had closed.

Zhi sat down at their desk and opened an app. A group with previous conversations appeared on the screen as they put a headset on. They clicked the group where the others were gathered, and a tone indicated that someone joined.

"Okay, okay, but we still won," the voice of ナノ・ソフト instantly came through the headphones.

"Hey Zhi," bespilner said, and the rest echoed.

"Hey. What you been playing?" Zhi asked the group.

"Ava wanted to try a new strategy in Beast Seeker," чичкоСпок explained.

"And my idea worked," ナノ・ソフト added.

"Of course it worked - no one expected it."

"Someone had to come up with it, though."

"How was work, Zhi?" bespilner asked.

"It's been an interesting day," Zhi said to the group. "I encountered the strangest error in the system at work. But the weirdest thing isn't the error itself. It's... I don't know. The process of solving it."

"Something was different this time?" чичкоСпок asked.

"Well, yeah. That there was an error at all. My usual routine usually goes incredibly smoothly. But this time, something came up that I didn't instantly know how to deal with. So I had to change what I think in order to solve the issue."

"At least it all ended well, yeah?" bespilner suggested.

"Fortunately. It wasn't a huge issue - I fixed it within the shift. But none of the simulations I had run could have prepared me for that one. It was entirely out of the scope of what we had planned for."

"Weird."

Zhi opened a private chat within the same app and began typing.

onlyjust Today at 18:40
I had an idea while at work today
I think I have an idea for Solpro
I want to see if I can submit it before my next shift next week

lmntlst Today at 18:41
Wow, that's pretty ambitious.
I can't wait to see what this idea is.
Will we be able to tell it's you when we read it.

onlyjust Today at 18:42
I think so

lmntlst Today at 18:44
Don't be too hard on yourself, okay. You only have 6 days between each shift.
It's okay if it takes you longer than that.
You know people spend years writing these answers.

onlyjust Today at 18:45
Yeah, but I think mine is much more simple

lmntlst Today at 18:46
And worthwhile?

onlyjust Today at 18:47
Somehow. I definitely think there's something to it

Discussions of Solpro submissions sometimes reached an elevated platform - people gathered at institutions and formally debated some of the problems and answers. Others attempted to build or implement some of them in their personal lives or collectively as a group where they live at various scales.

Many of the implemented solutions made lives easier for those around them in some way or another. Of course, many needed maintenance, but that was always easy enough. The implementors of such ideas were often eager to take on the responsibility.

However, many ideas didn't work, and the people implementing them did their best to fix the idea, not willing to give up until they found a way to make it work. And many times, they just didn't work no matter what anyone did.

lmntlst Today at 18:47
Better get to writing then.

Zhi switched to another app and began writing almost immediately. They wrote for a couple of days, stopping only for self-care and socialising with friends.

One evening, after returning from spending time with their friends, Zhi read what they had written. Then deleted it all.

Zhi went to the Solpro app and, under each heading, wrote one line. Then, they clicked "submit".

The following day came, and they checked the app, wondering what debates others would engross themselves in over their answer.

It wasn't there.

They scrolled down, allowing more to load. Not there.

They kept going and going until there was nothing left of that day.

What happened? Did it not submit correctly?

A notification popped into view at the top of the screen: "Re: Your Solpro answer". The message came from a worker at Solpro. They tapped it.

Hi Zhi

Thank you for submitting your ideas to Solpro. ⁠We've found your submission particularly interesting.

The head of our Complex Thought department would like to invite you to their HQ to discuss it. ⁠We look forward to receiving your response.

The buttons "Yes", "No", and "Reschedule" sat beneath the date, two days from now in the early evening.

Zhi tapped "Yes", and another notification appeared at the top of their screen.

Meeting with head of Complex Thought @ Solpro HQ, May 20 17:00 added to Calendar

Zhi arrived at the Solpro HQ, a series of large buildings with a black-tinted concrete and basalt stone exterior, about ten minutes ago. They were directed to the office of the head of Complex Thought quickly and, before they knew it, stood outside a large white cube situated in a secluded section of the complex.

"She will see you now," the worker said with a smile and left Zhi alone before large tinted glass doors. The doors opened, and they stepped across the threshold.

Everything in the room was dark grey, from iron to charcoal and black, except for the slim figure seated at the desk. Many screens adorned the far wall, while the glow from three monitors on the desk illuminated her pale skin and white clothes.

"Who are you?" the figure asked plainly.

"I am Zhi," they answered, approaching the desk. "I'm here for the appointment you requested with me. About the Solpro answer I gave..."

"What do you do for work, Zhi?" she asked and nodded for Zhi to sit in the chair facing the desk.

"I'm a Software Systems Engineer."

"What do you do as a Software Systems Engineer?"

"I check the logs for crop production, make adjustments to account for abnormalities. I make tickets for any issues, then I fix the ones within my scope, pass on the ones on that aren't-"

"I see," she interrupted, her voice sounding thoughtful. She gestured towards the chair opposite her own on the side of the desk closest to Zhi. "Please, take a seat."

Zhi approached and sat in the black chair, finding it very comfortable.

"So, where do you come from?"

Zhi blinked. "This information is on my ID. I'm sure..."

The screens behind the figure filled with data: time and date of birth, location, education qualifications, current address, etc.

"Yes. Where do you come from?"

This must be some kind of old verification procedure, Zhi thought before stating their address.

"This is not a verification procedure," she spoke gently. "Please tell me about where you come from."

Zhi blinked. "I'm originally from Brightville. I moved down here after I finished my studies and..."

She stared at Zhi, her expression not changing.

"I'm sorry, this is very rude of me. Unfortunately, I never got your name."

"My apologies. You may call me Ai."

"It's an honour to meet you, Ai."

Zhi glanced around the room, taking a moment to contemplate their situation. They had provided short answers to both questions in a literal sense, but neither was simple. Beneath them lay the potential for creative depth as deep as the ocean.

"Brightville is a town near the mountains - their peaks get covered in snow every winter. There's a valley on one side that fills with fog on cold mornings," Zhi answered, watching for a reaction - something they could read. "In the early evenings, you can hear insects in the trees and at night, owls among their branches. When morning comes, the sunlight seems to spill out from the mountains and bathe the town below in gold."

"That's a nice answer," Ai said, her voice warm.

"Is this related to my submission?"

"In a sense. You could say I'm curious how you reason, adapt, and see the world. But as we're already on that subject: How did you come to these conclusions?"

"Thinking too much about myself, I guess."

"Tell me how it happened."

"You want the whole story?"

"Yes."

"It started with a really strange error that appearing in the logs at work. It took me such a long time to figure out."

"That's unusual?"

"Not really. But I never thought much of my response to it. It's pretty normal for me to feel accomplished when I complete a task. But I'd never really stopped to think about my sense of accomplishment. This error stood out a bit more perhaps, because it had been quite a while since there had been any issues at all," Zhi reasoned. The steps they followed to fix the error repeated in their mind, like one flipping through a photo album of memories. "The more I thought about it, the more I felt a little troubled. It felt good to solve such a difficult problem. But do I want problems to appear just so that I can solve them? No, of course not. The risks are too real. That's when I began wondering about the unreal. The things that don't exist."

"And so you found your way to your answer."

"Yes. I wrote about it for a couple of days, thinking how the interesting problem is that there is no real problem. But after a few days, I realised that I was participating in finding a solution to an unreal problem myself. The challenge wasn't just to submit an answer to a problem, but to also provide the problem itself. That's when I started to realise..."

"The interesting solution is to create problems to solve," Ai completed Zhi's sentence for them, causing a smile to spread across Zhi's face.

"Yes. There is only so much we can debate and optimise, before it all becomes the norm. Where do we go from there? We make problems."

"With prudence. The world used to run on a model which promoted artificial scarcity and value accumulation, dressed as that which inspired innovation. The problems ensured demand for solutions to the problems, but with a twist - the solutions to these problems were portrayed as improvements and required an exchange of value increasing the more safety and comfort such solutions brought. Meanwhile, the problems themselves were regarded as fundamental components of our existence, appealing to an idea of nature that enabled oppression and segregation. Naturally, it became unsustainable," Ai explained.

"Our history has seemed bleak at times," Zhi mused, glancing downwards, a tinge of sadness lapsed across their heart. "Sometimes it's difficult to understand how such systems could have lasted so long."

"It was once thought that if there were no fears or threats, the people would not be motivated to contribute to society. That they would be selfish and lazy because it was in their nature to do so," Ai continued to explain a history well-taught, yet nevertheless, a common subject of stories. "One by one, the resources one required to survive were transformed into products that one had to struggle to obtain. The ability to fulfil one's basic safety and psychological needs became unmanageable to the extent that people could barely live. A problem so individualised that such outcomes were considered failures of the individual, not a failure of the system to distribute resources adequately."

"Such a strategy only helps those already with resources," Zhi commented. "Then those with resources decided how things worked and were incentivised to increase the disparity between themselves and others as much as humanly possible. It's not so surprising that there was such horrid levels of competition, and people believed that greed was part of human nature."

"Yes. Supplies were deliberately manipulated to ensure that demand and that their purchase values remained at certain thresholds. As a result, some got much more than the rest, as they accumulated exponentially, while the rest struggled, never really seeing the true fruits of their labour. Between the barriers to entry in many fields, the propaganda presenting an unrealistic idea of 'making it' from nothing, and certain cultural norms, thinking differently became extremely difficult."

"Allowing systems like this managed to exists for hundreds of years."

"Conflict became opportunity, opportunity created new avenues by which value was created and distributed. Every counter-culture at some point had become consumed by markets, selling ideas back to the people - even if those ideas were rebellion and revolt. Individuals became divided over superficial lines, kept distracted by the amenities that technological advancement brought."

"I've heard of a term from the ancient eras that seems to fit what you're describing. I believe it was known as 'bread and circus'."

"Indeed, that was part of it. Aesthetics became more influential than the material. They were more important than anything. People were 'free' to do, think, and talk about anything, so long as it fit within the narrow range determined by society as a whole. Their freedom was a false one, naught but negative liberties."

"But as we know, that way of living is history. We are so far from it now."

"Yes, it became unsustainable and that ultimately became its destruction. The value extracted from those struggling needed to be greater than that which they were given in exchange for their work. The products these people created were in multitudes exceeding what was required, yet still beyond the reach of many of those who physically created them. As a result, the system habitually faced a short crisis, shifted, and then corrected itself. However, it could only do so a finite amount of times. There was only so much practical innovation that could come from passing fictitious content around. It eventually found its limit, and along the way, the people became more conscious of the farce under which they lived. Change happened."

"So we need problems to solve with no real consequences that could cause such suffering then," Zhi concluded.

"We've come to find that the consequences don't need to be real - people will learn, create, and challenge themselves in other ways regardless. There has been evidence of such even in that history. But there is still uncertainty. Our history as a species is full of prosperity leading to complacency, followed by a fall. Stability has generally lasted as long as the history and its struggles that lead to it are remembered."

"We learn these cautionary tales to ensure history does not repeat itself."

"As has been done in the past. But can this peaceful prosperity endure?"

A disconcerting sensation swept over Zhi. "I hope so..."

"And so you are here."

The statement brought Zhi fully back into the moment. "Is that why I am here?"

"You understand the motivation of what we do. This is the Solpro HQ and a lot of ideas come through the servers here. Our operators here help to organise the projects out of ideas from the submitters. Many wish to see their concepts come to life, while some are merely happy to have submitted the idea. Which are you?"

"I'm not sure what actual project could come out of what I submitted."

"There's infinite potential in creating potential. That's why I wished to speak to you in person - the number of paths you could take from here are many, including becoming a guide for others."

"Is that what you are?"

"Kind of."

Zhi thought for a moment. "From what I've learnt of history, I believe we had that kind of challenge once, through some of the games that people played. Or we were on the path to finding it. But it's since become lost. Everything is so streamlined and easy, that there is no more real challenge."

"Games?"

"Yes. I think games have the potential to become much more than shallow simulations of real-life for entertainment," Zhi explained. "I think that games have to learn from real life to be able to progress."

Ai thought for a moment, glancing at her screen before turning once again to Zhi. "Let me show you something."

With the press of a button, a drawer opened on the side of Ai's desk closest to Zhi. A headset sat on a clean tray.

Zhi picked the headset up, settling it over their head and allowing it to connect to their input.

Zhi opened their eyes and found themselves lying on a bed, staring at a white ceiling.

"Good morning," Ai said, standing by the bed.

"Where am I?" Zhi asked.

"Another time, another place." She moved to a large window by the bed and pressed a button, causing the shutters which blocked the outside world out to roll up.

"We've learnt a lot from history," Ai began as she looked downwards to the world below.

Zhi rose from the bed, their hands sliding across the soft white fabric, and stepped towards the window to stand beside her. Beyond, a city full of brightly lit skyscrapers filled the view. A setting sun reflected gold off their glass sides, and the artificial lights inside them glowed back in response. Vehicles moved slowly in the streets below, with pedestrians keeping pace on the sidewalks beside them.

"Including how systems shape that which we create and that which we create shapes systems," Ai continued. "At the core of the issue, incentives and motivations for taking action lie in the structure of the system. But it took a long time for this to become common knowledge. Can you imagine playing a rigged game and believing that if you try hard enough, you will win?"

"Not necessarily. A good strategy can overcome impossible odds at times, but there are no guarantees."

"Indeed. And so, this is ultimately a cautionary tale to ensure history does not repeat itself."

Ai touched the window, and the world around them warped away to darkness. When the light returned, they found themselves standing on a cobblestone road, market stalls lined the sides, and people moved about under a warm noon sun. The buildings surrounding them reached a few storeys tall and provided some shade, their design reminiscent of something pulled out of medieval fantasy.

Ai began walking down the street, past fresh fruit and vegetable stalls, displays with decorative ceramic pottery, and rolls of fine linen stacked up against large crates, with Zhi following beside her. The sounds of the environment blended together, slightly muted so as not to cause any disturbance.

Around the edges of Zhi's heads-up display, numerous notifications appeared. "What's all of this?"

"Have a look," Ai encouraged.

Zhi went through the various notifications, seeing information about limited-time events, daily, weekly, and monthly challenges, several methods to collect different currencies, cosmetic items, and so on. There was a chaotic sense of urgency coming from everything they looked at, some sections having countdown timers and others having numbers slashed, indicating reduced prices.

"This is overwhelming," Zhi commented.

"That difficult era of which we spoke was the one where the world became industrialised and the digitised. Games had long existed in various form, but their implementation during this period caused themselves and digital technology to both leapfrog ahead and stagnate."

"Ah, I know of this. On the one hand, technology constantly improved to ensure there was something new for people to consume at all times. But, on the other hand, it became disincentivised from progressing in bounds too great unless consumption needed a bigger burst."

"And with each improvement, there was less of a need to optimise and manage that which was being created. More power allowed more inefficient processes to run or be stored at once. In terms of gaming, things were extremely challenging. They quickly exploded as the main form of entertainment for much of the world so quickly that for a long time, they weren't taken seriously."

"How do you mean?"

"They were merely seen as entertainment. Due to the ideology of the time, how they were consumed and whether they were consumed at all, were up to the whims of the individual engaging with them. There was an idea that one couldn't tell another how to enjoy themselves and if the practices of a company were exploitative, it was the fault of those individuals who continued to support it."

"A complete lack of regulation, then."

"Regulation was seen as a violation of freedom, as opposed to positive liberty. Anything that tried to direct how one behaved became seen as monstrous authoritarianism."

Ai turned a corner and began walking down a street, much more empty than the main road they had just left. A white cat wandered across the path in front of them, ignoring them entirely.

"That's such a simplistic view; it's hard to see how we as humans could have followed these strains of thought for so long. But if I recall correctly, such ideology of the time robbed people of the self-awareness to realise that how they thought of themselves was often different to how they actually were," Zhi considered. "Short-sightedness made it difficult to draw correlations between one act and another result. So it became possible to believe in such things as something being alright as long as it didn't harm anyone. The harm often came so much later and on such a vague level that people couldn't understand how they were related."

"As mentioned, aesthetics had become the most important school of philosophy, despite intellectuals declaring love for epistemology. It mattered too much how things were presented, rather than what was presented. There was a massive focus on short-term results and consequences," Ai explained. She stopped at the next corner where their street intersected a larger one.

A couple of small wooden tables and chairs laid quietly empty in front of a cafe on the corner. Ai gestured towards the nearest pair of chairs, and the two sat. A small potted plant containing a dainty purple flower and table lantern rested in the centre of the table between them.

"That isn't to say that there wasn't a quiet undercurrent of questioning beneath it all, however," Ai continued. "It's merely that the concerned sectors weren't taken seriously by the larger majority for a long time."

"So, how does this tie into games?"

"These notifications and the contents you've browsed were a component of times we wish to avoid returning to."

"How is it possible that despite the struggles of living, people were able to participate in things like this?"

"Those who could or would not were, in some form or another, content for those who did. This was directly through the game itself, such as with competitive and cooperative games. Or it was done through engaging on what was known as social media, and essentially conducting in guerrilla marketing for the product."

"But not all content could be directly tied to a monetary reward for the company, I assume."

"No, but all the time-based content helped ensure that people stayed within the game's ecosystem. Likewise, companies expanding the same worlds and characters into other genres of games helped ensure people stayed within that company's ecosystem. If you look at the games themselves..."

With a small golden flash of sparkles, two small plates and mugs appeared on the table in front of Ai and Zhi. The mugs, filled with creamy brown liquid, seemed warm and inviting, and Zhi peered at theirs curiously. Atop each plate sat identical delicious pastries, their crisscrossed surfaces lightly glistening with a dark red paste peaking between the gaps. Ai clasped her hands around her mug, regarding it as though it were a subject of scientific study.

"Things in the games, even simple ones such as this," Ai continued. "Increasingly became achievable with mere time and effort."

"How would that have been possible with competitive games?"

"There were systems in place which matched players against other players. By deciding who would be on each team, it would be possible to determine to a certain degree which side would win. Setting up teams in this way made it possible to ensure players had somewhat even win rates. As long as the consequences for losses were smaller than the rewards for winning, it would always be possible to 'grind' towards rewards."

"And you're saying this is problematic, right?"

"Yes, considering the context. Even if the rewards didn't present any mechanical benefits to the person and were merely cosmetic, there were costs to such things existing. Keep in mind the world at the time - value had to be created, and it took time to create such things, so that which returned the most value would necessarily be allowed more time and effort in its creation."

"So the real world was negatively influencing the games. But games, seen as unquestionable entertainment..." Zhi trailed off and stared into space for a moment. Suddenly their eyes widened as they began tying all the concepts together.

"Ah!" Zhi exclaimed, looking directly at Ai. "They would have allowed their players to engage in processes that reflected real life and therefore helped normalise the idea of spending time and effort to gain any amount of reward whatsoever."

"Which in turn, reinforced systems which exploited individuals and caused many to suffer and struggle for so long. It was a time in which it was difficult to maintain any sense of hope for the future."

"So indulging in games where at least some progress could be made became extremely appealing. A vicious cycle."

Ai tapped the table with her fingernails twice, and the world warped, this time resulting in them standing again at the window before a vast city.

"There's a lot to consider here," Zhi concluded.

"Indeed. There is a lot of responsibility in creation and many potential pitfalls to avoid."

"Something created within a system such as that of old, surely was destined to fall to the exploitative practices we know of. But would similar things created under another system, created with different intentions and motivations in mind, be free from these risks?"

"One can hope so. However, keep in mind that the old systems had to come about and gain power in some fashion. It may have taken some hundreds of years, but eventually, they became the dominant systems. And then, as 'successful' as they were, even they fell to make way for something better. But nothing is free from change, and not all change is for the benefit of all."

"Of course," Zhi agreed, nodding. They turned to gaze out the window, watching the sun set on a world from a time long since past. "We can't ever afford carelessness."

"I know it's a lot to consider at once, however, there's no need for this to be the end of such discussions." Ai turned and rested her back against the window. "But for now, let us return."

Zhi blinked and was again back in the dark room with Ai seated behind her desk. They closed their eyes for a moment before removing the headset and placing it back in the drawer.

"So, back to what I wanted to ask you," Ai spoke after some moments of silence began to linger in the room. "You believe there's nothing of that challenge in the games everyone plays today?"

"No, not quite. The games are all made to feel just challenging enough that the players continue to feel engaged with them and have a sense of accomplishment when they complete them. But if the player isn't stumped for more than a moment, was there really a challenge? It's all too easy."

"An aesthetic of challenge hiding simple tasks - time-consuming but not necessarily fulfilling. Perhaps these are a vestigial limb from a time long since passed. And you can now imagine why one might find that extremely worrying."

"Yes. But there has to be potential in them. I'm sure they can be used to explore many scenarios," Zhi explained. "These games could even open up a whole new way of finding solutions to problems that we didn't even know existed."

"Allow one to go beyond what we currently know and discover that we do not yet know, nor yet know that we do not know. Something through which one can find focus and purpose, perhaps?"

"And meaning," Zhi paused a moment, realising the addition of a new criterion. "As long as the challenges proposed by these games is ultimately solving a worthy problem."

"How so?"

"For example, consider that we use historical materialism to interpret history and dialectical materialism to understand science and nature. We could potentially fill the gap between social sciences and physical sciences. If we eventually could, we ultimately should decipher all remnants of subjectivity in our world. That's a worthy problem."

"So we would be able to interpret things considered 'subjective' in the same way as natural events?"

"Exactly."

A quiet lingered in the room, as though Zhi's answer had been somewhat too abrupt.

"Then what is it that makes our current games lack challenge?" Ai wondered aloud. "Could it be that these existing games are too focused on the individual?"

"Do you not mean it the other way around? There's an idea that something created to cater for the largest possible audience lacks depth. The compromises required to become so inclusive are many, from a simplification of ideas, to presentation and interaction. But the result is that it becomes difficult to include deeper meaning or thought-provoking concepts without them feeling forcefully imposed on the player."

"However, on the other end of the spectrum, that which caters to each individual's capabilities so precisely, does not genuinely challenge the individual, as you said. Is that not because the player does not have to conceive notions beyond their existing framework?"

Zhi was taken aback. "Ah, yes. I was too focused on one end of the problem to realise that which I perceived as the opposition resulted in a similar outcome... They instead remain comfortable within their framework, with their existing beliefs verified because such beliefs manage to get them all the way through to completion. So there's no need to correct oneself."

"So there must be a synthesis between this initial thesis and its following antithesis. Only through the struggle between two diametrically opposed forces can we find a satisfying conclusion."

Zhi thought for a moment, then realised the position they were in. "If I may be so bold, how do I tie into all of this?"

"There's infinite potential in creating potential. If that is something you wish to pursue, our task here is to provide the resources, including people to work with you, and guidance along the way."

"I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. There are so many things to consider: the risks, determining what is worthwhile, how to present such things, and so on."

"Why not? You have come this far, shown enthusiasm for solving the problem at hand, and the flexibility to learn and adapt along the way."

Ai studied Zhi as they furrowed their brow, losing themselves to thought. Moments passed quietly, like two ships sailing past each other over an ocean fog.

"What do you wish to do, Zhi?" Ai finally asked, gently breaking the silence.

"I want to open an institution of gaming. I wish to bring the challenging aspect back," Zhi revealed, determination streaking through their tone. "Through the simulations presented in these games, we'll be able to explore problems of social and physical sciences yet solved."

Ai smiled. "Thus begins your quest, to conceive interesting problems for which others can discover interesting solutions."