Psycho Pass: Colorful World

3

"The bystander effect—the influence of the presence of others on a person's willingness to help someone in need. Even in an emergency, a bystander is less likely to extend help when in the presence of others than when alone. Moreover, the number of people is important, such that more bystanders lead to less assistance. Nowadays, if you need aid, you must yell... fire!"

His voice, ever so calm and soothing, echoed throughout the room. Standing in front of the large window, Makishima Shougo widened his golden eyes for a moment, gazing at the black sky.

"People have blind faith in the system," Choe Gu-sung replied in a deeper voice from the couch.

"Blind trust has always been as dangerous as the tyranny itself. It favors those who wish to exploit us."

"Violence is a new concept for them. But the worst thing is that they deny it. As a defense mechanism. There's something else. When you're in a group, you always expect the other to do the right thing first. No one wants to carry the moral responsibility. Not if someone else can. Now imagine all the people thinking the same thing. It's funny, isn't it?"

Makishima exchanged a smirk with him, then looked back at the cars in the city.

"They would rather take photos and videos about these new and strange things because they are banned," Choe continued speaking, waving the bottle in the air gently. "Everyone has the desire to stand out. Do you think he wants to do the same experiment?"

"Not really, no," Makishima frowned and shook his head. "Otherwise, he would choose crowded places. But he doesn't want to provoke a psycho hazard, and certainly he's not interested in turning bodies into twisted works of art. He believes he delivers justice. He toys with his victims by keeping them balanced between life and death. He makes them feel as helpless as an ant being crushed by a child, or a bird in his squeezing hands, because he had always been that little ant, and that bird trapped as a child."

"You want to see how much he's changed."

"I'm just curious if this is enough for her to figure it out too," he uttered with a dreamy, unreachable gaze.

"You mean Yashiro," Choe guessed, and let out a long, deep laugh. "You would go that far giving them a case... just to see if she puts two and two together. That's so like you."

Choe Gu-sung was smirking by then. Makishima did not turn around, his eyes scanning the buildings and skyscrapers ahead of him, as if searching for something in the distance.

"I finally got to see her, Choe," his voice rose in wild happiness, as he smiled with parted lips and narrowed his eyes. "There are some things she got from you. She's smart, sharp, soft, and unpredictable, and... soft again. Only she doesn't know."

Choe released a barely visible smile and looked down the bottle. It was a warm, not cocky smile.

"Her past experiences, college... it's hardened her," Choe's eyes widened slightly at his own words. "But what could she have in common with the likes of him? Why are you bringing this case up?"

Makishima barely turned around and looked at the floor for a moment, then turned back to the sky. His eyes narrowed in a strange way, and his voice, then, sounded lower and deeper, as if he found it hard to speak. Choe opened his eyes further as he listened to him.

"She is still... in conflict with her inner self. I hope this can help her find the answers she is looking for. We can't get everything we want in life, and that's an essential part of living. But... no matter how hard life is for her—she loves life back. And that is... so rare. I wish... more people were this passionate. She would never sacrifice her integrity, or her freedom. And it's the thing about her I value the most in people. The honesty of her feelings... the independence of her thoughts... people wonder why they seek happiness and never find it. That's because they've never held a personal desire—all their ambitions and dreams are motivated by other men, and guided by the Sybil System. They are like bystanders of life... while she embraces it."