And to our left, my students, we have Maria.

As you can see, while we listen to the music surrounding us, Maria is dancing magnificently. She’s had quite some practice, being accustomed to the music for quite some time, and her body matches the beat almost perfectly. She looks happy, doesn’t she? Her face is smiling, her eyes all bright and proud, and it’s as if her dancing has given her euphoria.

One might say that because of this, because of what we see, that she is indeed feeling ecstatic right now. But that’s only part of her punishment.

It all started when Maria discovered that her husband had been sleeping with another woman—a dancer, in fact, and a very famous one at that. So Maria, in a blind, heated rage, tracked this dancer down and beat her senseless until she could no longer walk, no longer move, and therefore no longer dance—the one activity she’d enjoyed above all else.

Outraged, the rest of the world decided that they’d take away Maria’s control over her own body similarly. So gradually, after a period of time, they infected certain areas in her brain with bots to remotely control her leg muscles. They made her run to the point of fatigue, made her walk to places she didn’t want to go, and made her stationary when she didn’t want to stop.

Then, with her upper body, they took control of her arms. They made her carry things that were far too heavy, made her clap for things the dancer had once clapped at, and made her write things the dancer could no longer write.

After that, her face muscles. Then her fingers, toes, and even the tiniest things she’d once had control over—simply gone, all willed by other forces.

And thus, with all parts of her, the courts then established that she’d look after the dancer. She’d bring the dancer whatever she needed, and fulfill the roles the dancer needed to fulfill, including eventually dancing, just as the dancer once had.

And now, even though the dancer has long passed away, Maria still dances just for us. She took away someone else’s control over their actions, and so the world took away hers. And she now acts as a replacement, in a way—not nearly as good as the original, mind you, but still just as much of a smiling dancer.

Oh, and now she’s looking at us. Her head’s turned, and she can’t turn away.

Say hi to her, everyone! Clap for her—she’s working very hard now. Come on, clap! She’s dancing! CLAP! And wave! She’s glad that you’re enjoying the show. See? Tears are flowing from her eyes. Tears of happiness, don’t you see them? She loves it—all that admiration. She just loves it—don’t you, Maria? We’ve solved the problem of Maria, right? You chose this, right?