"What do you mean that humanity, at the current state, cannot be saved?" Jocelyne asked.

"Don't you understand by yourself?"

"No. Enlighten me"

Sobek let out a sigh, as if what he was about to say was absolute obviousness, which annoyed Jocelyne who frowned a little.

"If humanity was different, I would agree to do what you suggest to me. But since in reality things are different, I can't. At the current state humanity cannot be saved, because you all submit yourself to the wrong people" Sobek replied. "He is intrinsic to your society. You are fickle creatures who succumb very easily to the lure of money and power. You submit to others for grains of sand, and you are so used to it that you have lost the will to fight injustice, and therefore allow a few to market your life as if it were an object"

Jocelyne shook her head: "I'm afraid you are wrong. I know that some countries are like this, but there are also others that protect human life!"

"For real? And tell me, my friend, what does it mean to protect human life?"

Jocelyne was surprised by the question. Her mind was unable to find an answer for a few seconds. "Well... there are laws that prevent abuse, that prevent slavery, and that..."

"Seriously? Are there laws that prevent abuse and slavery? So why is it that millions of people die of hunger every year, and why are there so many homeless people? Isn't depriving a creature of food and lair abuse? And is it not slavery to force a person to work against his will, threatening him that if he does not do so he will not be able to feed himself and his family, and thus make him live in constant fear of being fired, with consequent submission on his part to the will of his boss?"

Jocelyne found herself blown away by those questions. "I... well, that's how it works... that's what the economy is based on... if we didn't do that, the economy would stop"

"And why on earth? I am not saying to give a person anything for nothing in return. I talk about giving him his basic needs, food and shelter. Nothing else. Everything else that person will have to get by working. But at least in this way he will not risk dying of hunger and will not be afraid of ending up in the middle of the road. You humans produce more food than you could ever consume and have the ability to provide shelter for all, so why do you live in such poor conditions that lead you to submit?" Sobek snorted. "Everyone in my pack has all the food they need to survive, regardless of their task. Even if they don't work, like puppies or the elderly, they still have full bellies. So why is it different for you?"

Jocelyne tried to think. What the spinosaurus was true, at least in part: humans produced far more food than they could consume, and in fact a good portion of it was wasted. Even with regard to housing it would not have been difficult to give one to everyone: if we were talking about building a single, small apartment, the cost wasn't too high. "But our society is different from that of the dinosaurs. It is not based on these things alone. If people were given free food and shelter, they could soon start asking for more"

"Legitimate objection, but totally nonsensical" Sobek replied. "You just need to make sure that people understand the importance of keeping the industrial machine running. There are many ways to do it"

"For example?"

"Education, to begin with. If a person is educated from childhood on the importance of work, and on the satisfaction it brings, then he will be enticed to work even if he does not have an absolute physical need. Or propaganda, another extremely powerful medium. There would obviously be freeloaders, but they would be an absolute minority... and obviously, there would also be the law, which could establish certain rights for those who work a certain amount of hours, and finally there would also be the free market, which this time could use his power to stabilize society, not to tear it apart from within"

"What do you mean?"

"Let me explain" Sobek replied. "You humans are a complicated species, I can't question that, but to a small extent you can predict your behavior in a certain situation. It is true that food and accommodation are good incentives to get people to work, but they aren't the only ones. You humans are a naturally inclined species to seek something to do. When you lose a purpose, you become empty, because that fire that animated you has disappeared. If from childhood a person were tempted to seek work as a goal, a goal enhanced by education, instruction and propaganda, then even if he had guaranteed food and shelter he would still choose to work. And remember: I only talked about room and board. Everything else, from mobile phones to cars or even to a new house, would have to pay with the money he earned himself, so he would also have incentives"

"But by doing so, it would take a few generations for a person to have everything he wants right away" Jocelyne objected. "Since the parents would accumulate money and goods, the child would be richer and richer"

"Oh, no. If there is a rule that applies in the free market, it is that the more a product is in demand, the more the price goes up" replied Sobek. "Let's imagine that everyone could afford to buy a diamond. In that case, since diamonds are limited, their price would rise, until again only a limited elite could afford it. And this is true for all the objects that you humans use, which in addition are built on purpose to last a short time. Therefore, over the generations, the relationship between prices and the people who can afford to pay those prices would remain the same. Obviously, new laws should be established to regulate the economy well and avoid falling into inflation, but it is a task that is far from impossible"

Jocelyne's mind was racing as he tried to process the whole thing. She was an economics expert, so she knew what she was saying the spinosaurus was right. Indeed, it would have been perfectly in line with the ideal of the free market.

"You see? The economy would not risk collapsing. People would have all the necessary incentives to continue working, but they would no longer risk dying of starvation or starvation. But then you will ask me, why is it not so?" Sobek asked rhetorically. "The answer is that for this to happen, all rich people would have to give up their absolute power"

Jocelyne's eyes widened. "What... what do you mean?"

"Very easy. Try to think of all the exploitation, all the unpaid overtime, all the grueling working hours; what allows the rich to use the poor in this way? The answer is fear. The poor know that if they don't bow to the demands of the rich, they will be fired. Although there are laws that protect this abuse, we all know that it is very difficult to appeal to them and that the poor are unlikely to win, especially in countries where judges are easy to bribe. And if they are fired, the poor will go hungry, and with them their families. And for this, they choose to bow to the will of the rich and agree to take home that small salary. If food and a roof over their heads were guaranteed to the poor man's family, do you think the poor would accept being submissive? Obviously not. In the face of such abuses, he would not remain silent; he would rather quit and look for work elsewhere, as he would have plenty of time to do it. Or, he could get his colleagues together and go on strike together for months. Faced with such a threat, the rich man would be forced to give in to the conditions of the poor, otherwise his business would be ruined" Sobek grinned. "Think about how many problems could be solved this way. No more grueling shifts that damage the health of workers. No more underpaid work. And the improvements do not stop only at the single workplace, but can be extended to the entire community"

"To the community?"

"Of course. Think about it, why has no one done anything about climate change all this time, despite all the protests and demonstrations? Because the rich know very well that those protests are just fried airs. The next day, their workers will have to go back to work in their stinking factories and the demonstration will be forgotten. But what if everyone had their main assets guaranteed, and could then move on to a larger protest? What would happen if, for example, those workers refused to work until the factory was made eco-sustainable?"

Jocelyne's mind nearly exploded as she realized what she meant the spinosaurus. "The owner would be forced to accept their conditions... he wouldn't hesitate a moment to satisfy them"

"Exactly. Imagine if all the people of the environmental movements could threaten to strike en masse if the capitalist giants didn't agree to change their attitude. I am not saying that environmental disasters would stop, but they would certainly suffer a setback. And this reasoning can be applied to every humanitarian problem: stopping wars, guaranteeing gender equality, improving civil rights... every single problem that afflicts humanity and is constantly ignored would become something much easier to solve. In practice, the people could finally see their opinion REALLY heard. That would be a regime that I would call democracy"

"But by doing so, wouldn't there be the risk of creating unrest? In short, if the population had conflicting opinions, the two sides in the course of the dispute would strike in turn, and the rulers would have to change their attitude every time"

"Sure, it's a possibility. But this is where the law comes into play and, above all, dialogue, which is the very basis of any democracy. The state could establish certain rules to ensure stability, even if the population were split in two perfect halves. Let's take an example: let's imagine that one part of the population wants to prevent gays from getting married, while another sees this as their right. The dispute would be brought before the State, which, unable to ignore it given the threat of a strike, would proceed to a census. Hence, it would appear that 30% of the population is in favor of gays, while 70% is against them; consequently, the State would establish that the 70% are right, also because at an economic and political level they have more impact. The remaining 30%, therefore, by law couldn't protest any longer for a certain period of time, which could be five or ten years: during this time, they could focus on getting more people to adhere to their ideology. So when time runs out, they may have hit 60% and are right. It would take years, maybe decades, but in the end they would triumph"

"But in doing so, there would also be a great risk. What if the population wants to kill someone?"

"In this case, it would be enough to establish a rigid Constitution"

"What do you mean?"

"Easy: a rigid Constitution provides that it cannot be changed unless it goes through a long and complicated process. Therefore, it would be enough that in this Constitution it was provided that the rules and dictates issued by it cannot be modified with a protest, but only by a specific court. After that, it would be sufficient to include in the Constitution the rights considered fundamental, for example the right to life: in this way, any possibility of extermination of a particular segment of the population is precluded, even if the entire nation asks for it. If the population still tried to protest against the dictates of the Constitution, their actions would be seen as an attack on the state and the people involved would be arrested. Easy, isn't it?"

The reasoning was actually much, much more complicated; however, Sobek had preferred to explain it simplistically. Jocelyne was able to understand it anyway, and as she listened she realized that the words of the spinosaurus were by no means unworkable. Indeed, even if it would have been a bit complicated at first, such rules would probably have created a united and strong society like the previous one, with the difference that the general will of the people could never again be ignored. Of course, very specific laws would have been needed, but it could have worked... with many tricks.

"Let's do a little thought experiment. Imagine what would happen if food and shelter became free tomorrow. I'm not talking about great excesses: simply, each person would receive the bare minimum to feed themselves and the bare minimum to live under one roof. This would not stop the industrial machine at all in the first place, because you humans are unable to stand still and you always want more, so people would keep working. But above all, the tyranny of the richest would cease" Sobek explained. "People would no longer be afraid of refusing to work in prohibitive conditions, because they should not be afraid of being fired. No more unpaid overtime, no grueling shifts, no more need to lick the butt of the boss. So even if they lose their job they would still have a safe accommodation and a full stomach. This would mean that all the workplaces in the world would be forced to change shifts, salaries and the way they work to make it 'human-sized', since otherwise no one would work for them anymore. It would be the end of the tyranny of the rich over the poor. And this would inevitably lead to other positive aspects. For example, protests. I know that many humans in the past have protested against global warming and deforestation, but no one listened to them for obvious reasons: because theirs were just words"Sobek snorted angrily. "As bad as it is to say it, nobody cares if people go down the street to protest, because those rich people who are protesting know very well that in a few hours everything will be back to normal, because people will have to go back to work. to support their families. But if a person's basic needs were always guaranteed, then the situation would change. The protests would change from simple demonstrations to strikes that could last for weeks, because people would need less of a salary. And if people refused to work, even the capitalist giants would be forced to give in and listen to their terms. Tell me, Jocelyne Jersey: in light of this, if human life had REALLY been protected, would companies like the Raiding Global ever achieve the power they possessed?"

Jocelyne seemed to have lost all the blood in her veins since she turned pale. She had no idea how to argue. Suddenly everything she believed she had about her had shattered before her eyes, and she couldn't process it. Was the human economic system really a slave system?

"You humans are an extraordinary species, but you get fooled too easily" Sobek continued. "You have been convinced that work is the only real way to provide for yourself, and in doing so you turn into obedient cogs in an industrial machine that you don't even realize exists. You think you are free but in reality your life is planned from the moment you are born: you just have to grow and work, and if you are lucky you will receive some peanuts for retirement. End. You are not even allowed to contemplate a life other than this. You are not allowed to dream, to question yourself about life, to imagine something new, to travel... to be free. And if you do, you are automatically labeled as weird. This is a social stigma that was imposed by capitalism in order to keep the population obedient. What capitalism has learned well from your wars is that if you try to take away people's freedom, they react; if, on the other hand, you deceive her of being free, but in reality you make her give up her freedom spontaneously, people willingly submit and do not realize that they have only allowed themselves to be enslaved once more. Because I don't know how you see it, but from my point of view the instant one person threatens another to deprive her of her basic needs if she does not work, that is to be considered slavery. But since it is disguised under false names, such as work and democracy, people don't notice it"

Sobek wagged his tail and stared intently at Jocelyne: "You asked me why I didn't intend to open my doors to humanity, and here's my answer. In my pack, slavery is not covered. Everyone eats and everyone drinks, and anyone can say what he thinks. When I see a nation proclaiming a law that guarantees food and shelter for all, then I can say that this is true democracy and not slavery disguised as work. But until then I don't intend to have any contact with humans. I'm willing to come to terms, but I don't intend to open my doors to slavers"

Jocelyne's heart was pounding. Even though Sobek had always been big, he suddenly felt like he was going to be titanic. After hearing him speak, she felt like a stupid child. Was her worldview really that wrong? Was the worldview of all humanity wrong?

Was it possible, a world where everyone could have food and shelter? Theoretically yes… humans had plenty of food and building materials… so why hadn't anyone thought of it? Why did humanity continue to fear hunger and the open, when a little organization would have been enough to feed and put a roof over everyone's head? Was Sobek really right? Had humanity enslaved itself to capitalism? "It is not possible... such a thing cannot be true..."

"It can't be true or you hope it isn't?" Sobek threw the dig at her.

Jocelyne swallowed. She actually she was trying desperately to find a mistake, a mistake in Sobek's reasoning. She didn't want to believe it. She was born in a semi-total nation, but she was convinced that there were true democracies in the world. Instead, even the democratic nations were bowed to the power of capitalism.

As if reading her thoughts, Sobek spoke again: "And I have mentioned just a few of the flaws. Imagine what would happen if health care and education became free, something that does not even happen in the two superpowers that profess to be democracies, the Republic of Meilong and the Confederate States of Vinland. Or, imagine if every person wishing to run for politics received by law a certain fund on which to base his electoral campaign, and could only use that; Wouldn't this prevent politicians from hugging the thighs of the big capitalists to get the money to advertise, making everyone start from the same line of fire and therefore giving everyone an equal chance to win without submitting to the will of some rich man?"

Sobek was so well versed in human politics because he had reckoned with it in the past life. On Earth, things weren't very different from Eden. Humans had a keen ability to submit to capitalism, and the emblematic example was the USA, which had turned from the cradle of democracy into a bank disguised as a nation. Even if they proclaimed themselves the best nation in the world, in reality nothing was protected in the USA, if people didn't have the money they couldn't be treated in hospitals, children with wealthier parents were sent to better schools and had better job opportunities, and the politicians had to beg the capitalists to provide them with the capital necessary for the electoral campaigns, thus becoming their de facto puppets since in return they were forced to promise them to maintain a certain political line.

The greatest crime of capitalism had been to exploit human ingenuity to enslave the whole of humanity without it realizing it. The Nazis had taught that forcibly imposing slavery did nothing but piss off the people, so the capitalists had chosen to be more devious and enslaved the people without them noticing anything. In practice, they traded with human life without humans realizing it, forcing them to enter a well-defined system where they were only allowed to work, work, work.

Jocelyne found herself imagining the world Sobek was talking about. A world where everyone's needs were guaranteed. No more people starving. No more people sleeping in the open. No more people killing themselves with work for starvation wages. No more need to please the boss for a steady job. No more privileges in schools. No more people dying because they didn't have the money to pay for the hospital. No more corrupt politicians who aspired to join a particular elite.

It felt like a dream. A surreal fantasy. Yet... it was a world that could be made. The problem was that ... "Nobody will accept such a world"

"By nobody do you mean humanity, or the capitalists who currently govern it and who would otherwise find themselves stripped of their power?" Sobek asked with another dig. Jocelyne blushed like a pepper and lowered her head.

Silence fell between the two, then finally the girl spoke: "So… what do you want to do? Keep a barrier between our two peoples forever? Capitalism will never be destroyed. Whether you like it or not, you will always have to deal only with slaves and slavers"

"So you admit it"

"Only a fool denies the realities when it is parried in front of him"

Sobek gave a chuckle. "You said that capitalism will never be destroyed, and I agree with that. It is easier for the whole of humanity to die than for capitalism to die. But..." and he leaned towards her "... we can deprive it of its power"

Jocelyne froze under that piercing gaze. "Deprive capitalism of its power? And how?"

"I have a plan. A great plan, which I have been studying since I first met you. But to make it happen, I need help... within the system" Sobek replied. "Before meeting you, I was convinced that to eliminate capitalism and achieve true peace between our two peoples I would have to use force. But you showed me that there was another way. You made me realize that however much two peoples may disagree, there is always a way to resolve the issue more peacefully. And that's what I intend to do. I'm not foolish enough to think that I won't have to shed blood, but I can create a dense enough plot to shed as little as possible"

"Help within the system... you mean...?"

"That the choice is yours now, Jocelyne Jersey. Are you willing to help me?"

Sobek's request stunned Jocelyne. She was seriously having a hard time keeping up with him. She had gone to the dinosaurs for quite other reasons, and instead within minutes the world had collapsed around her. She didn't know what to do. "Why do you want to help humans? We don't owe you anything"

"No, but I know what it means to be submissive and not even know that you are. Many dinosaurs know this, because that was exactly what they were before I released them. Furthermore, I know for sure that as long as capitalism reigns on the planet it will be impossible to achieve true peace among our peoples, because the will of a single high-ranking person will be enough to destroy decades of commitment to coexistence. Therefore, taking power away from capitalism and helping humanity to achieve true democracy is a way to protect the interests of my people as well" Sobek explained. "And then… you said it. We cannot build barriers between us. But if I broke those barriers now, then I would allow capitalism to poison my people too. If I want humans and dinosaurs to truly coexist, then capitalism must lose its absolute power. But even with my strength I can't do it alone. So I ask you again, Jocelyne Jersey: are you willing to put your intellect at my disposal and use it to crush the capitalist giants? Didn't you care about your country? Why are you hesitating now?"

Jocelyne immediately thought of her country. Years ago, after she was kidnapped, she had sworn to herself that she would change her nation and make the heads of the families disappear. But apparently, the heads of the household were just the tip of the iceberg. Saving her country wasn't enough: the whole world had to be saved. She thought of all the people in her nation who died of hunger every year, and all those who did it around the world. She thought of those who could not afford medical treatment or were forced into a humble position for not going to a wealthy school. She thought of the politicians of her country, enslaved to the heads of the families, who had blocked under their orders any reform in favor of the people, and she found herself thinking about how similar the situation was in other nations. A flame leapt into her body, burning her throat.

If the situation was similar everywhere, more or less, then how bravely could she stand back? What face would she be able to look at her parents, Jackson, Abe, Mitch, Robert, Jamie, Chloe, Alan, Ian, Ellie, Hammond and all the others, knowing that she had willingly abandoned them in invisible chains that no one saw?

She finally made her decision about her. "I will help you, lord Sobek" she whispered. "But you have to be honest with me and tell me everything"

"No problem" Sobek smiled. Even though she didn't have a [Contract] available, he didn't need it to test Jocelyne's fidelity or sincerity: the fire in her eyes and the determination that accompanied it were too clear a sentiment to be faked. "Listen carefully…"

He explained his plan in detail, without leaving anything out. As she spoke, Jocelyne's face went from interested to astonished to admired. "It's really brilliant... complicated, but it could work"

"I know it. So, are you ready to start?"

"You're asking me to send hundreds of thousands of people to die"

"Hundreds of thousands for billions. You were willing to sacrifice more, it seems to me. And then here we are talking about soldiers, not civilians; from my point of view, soldiers go to war knowing they could die, so I don't see why they should hate me if I killed them"

"Many dinosaurs could also die"

"I don't like it, but I know that sacrifices have to be made. No change will ever happen without our opponents trying to stop us. I'm willing to pay the price"

"I understand. Okay, let's start!"

"Perfect. The game has begun, and we will lead it!"