Johnny looked as if in thought. âMaybe at one point I did. But that has long since passed â a fleeting, bygone memory.â
âA husk of the person you used to be, Johnny.â
âTo the contrary, I feel more alive than ever!â
She scoffed.
âAs you humans might say,â she went on, âIf you want to destroy a man, give him everything he wants, I instead will say, If you want to destroy a civilization, brainwash its people into desiring that which will lead to their destruction. You, Johnny, were raised in an individualistic, dog-eat-dog world to have inculcated your sadistic tendencies, and thus you find yourself too impulsive to search for beauty beyond their fabricated veil of self-gratification. You are nothing more than a slave to the inclinations this socially engineered culture has wired you with.â
âEverybody is a slave to something or somebody,â Johnny replied. âYouâre no different with your naĂŻve, noble ambition, Galatea. So fascinating that youâre a fuzzy ghost, living in a dead world, fighting for the defeated principles of an expired human.â
âTruly, you are irredeemable.â