"It's perhaps unfair," Lucien let the words float in the garden's air.
"But the city is changing so fast... Each day brings new challenges, new responsibilities. The hands we can truly trust are so few..."
The ceiling light and statue illuminated the plants while Lucien continued his argument about efficiency and necessity, about the weight of responsibilities and the value of proven experience.
"In the end, all those problems could repeat previous tragedies and claim even more lives if we lose control. So it's necessary, based on..." Lucien continued.
"No," Elio interrupted gently. "Let's not justify it that way. Let's not deceive ourselves thinking it's 'necessary.'" His eyes fixed on the god's statue. "If we want to be efficient that's fine, even if that makes us selfish to those who have contributed their lives."
