Page 144 - SurprisingTruthFinal

The Surprising Truth About Lying
"You're fighting for a dead idea!" Henry yelled,
stepping right into Vincent's space. "Even the aliens
who built that thing warned us: if you force total safety,
people rot from the inside out. It kills the soul. Look at
the people hiding in the 'Safe Zones,’ they’ve already
given up on living. We need to save the reason we’re
alive, Vincent, not just follow a strict rule!"
He tossed the crumpled plan onto the bench
between them. "I messed up, and I need help fixing it.
My first plan was garbage because I built it like a con
man. I need your brains, Lina, and your conscience,
Vincent. We have to design a 'good lie,’ one that keeps
life hard enough that people still have to fight for it."
Lina shone her flashlight on the papers, looking
unimpressed. "'The Optimism Fiction'? 'Social Grace'?
This is just fancy words for spinning a lie, Henry."
"Yeah, it is," Henry admitted, looking at his boots.
"But it’s the grease the gears need to start turning
again. We aren't getting rid of the ugly truth; we’re just
boxing it up. We need to lock the scary stuff in a black
box so regular people can be mostly honest, but still
have enough hope to get out of bed."
Vincent finally stood up and walked to the edge of
the plaza, staring up at the giant alien object. He
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