The measured beat of the wheels counted the kilometers. Outside the window of the carriage with the passengers, “the golden grove spoke with a cheerful birch tongue,” and the halts rushed swiftly - the elite branded train did not even slow down here. Three people were sitting in the compartment of the prestigious SV-car: the television king Ivan Ivanovich, the alcohol tycoon Vasily Vasilyevich and the permanent ruler of gamers Alex Gotman. Inspired by autumn landscapes, Ivan Ivanovich said dreamily:
- What a beauty! You would not have caught the eye of "your gray huts." It's hard to look at how all this rabble lives …
- What a pampered steel you are, Ivan Ivanovich. Yes, if not for this "rabble" - who would multiply our bank accounts? - responded Vasily Vasilyevich, - so be so kind as to watch "booze with stamping and whistling under the talk of drunken peasants."
- Today we have some kind of poetry evening! What is it you, gentlemen, right, was drawn to poetry? Alex laughed.
- I didn't think, Alex, that you were familiar with Russian poetry, - Vasily Vasilyevich answered in surprise.
- From what? I, unlike my charges, did not play shooters as a child, but read clever books. Well, he was fond of the work of Russian poets, of course, - Alex said proudly.
- That is why, gentlemen, you and I are going in the SV-car, and they - Ivan Ivanovich waved his hand at the village that slipped outside the window - they drink moonshine and live poorly. This is because those who read books will always rule over those who watch TV.
- Well said, Ivan Ivanovich. So do you think they don't read books at all, our wards? - asked Vasily Vasilyevich, peering into the wide endless field outside the window.
Promotional video:
- God be with you, Vasily Vasilievich! Most of them are sure from childhood that reading books is an uninteresting and boring occupation. And a person should enjoy life, enjoy the present, live in a grand style, and so on. That is, to constantly have fun, so that "life is high". But, of course, they cannot ride on yachts - this is for the category of richer monkeys, and a different standard set is always available to the common rabble: alcohol, cigarettes, TV, computer games, sexual pleasures and cheap, harmful, chemical, but tasty food. The very spheres, on the income from which we live with you. And this confidence that happiness lies in constant entertainment, and not in creative work, and must be supported by all methods available to us, - said Ivan Ivanovich.
- Yes, it will still be. Soon your TV will turn them all into cavemen, who will not care about anything other than food and mating. The main thing is to further promote the concept among the youth that to be smart, well-read, educated, polite means to be a laughing stock,”Vasily Vasilyevich laughed. - Fortunately, the music and film industries help us well in this.
- Yes, but the "tough guys" drink alcohol, and all their interests are below the belt. Actually, we can see adherents of such views in between these beautiful autumn landscapes, - added Vasily Vasilyevich, cutting off a slice of a ripe apple. - It’s a pity that we have not yet managed to integrate everyone into this matrix, but we have already discussed what to do with the so-called “conscious ones” the other day.
- And, most importantly, how quickly we instilled all this nonsense into a huge part of society. Even 30 years ago, it was a shame to be a slacker or to lead a promiscuous sex life, and it was an honor to be a well-read intellectual and even more so a creative person, - Ivan Ivanovich noted.
- Well, like this! The Overton Window! - Vasily Vasilyevich waved his hand towards the half-open carriage window and laughed.
- What is the Overton Window? Alex asked.
- Yes, you do not know? This is the generally accepted framework of "normality". For example, before, when you, Alex, were probably not in the world, it was considered normal to refrain from intimate relationships before the wedding. This was the norm. And deviation from this norm was condemned. Dear Ivan Ivanovich and I, we gradually converted this deviation into the norm, moving it step by step through the stages of “unthinkable-radical-possibly-acceptable-popular”, at each of which we began to be more and more tolerant of him. This is the Overton Window. And now, for chaste behavior, as the cattle put it, they will "cleanse", - said Vasily Vasilyevich and forcefully slammed the half-open window.
- What kind of expressions, Vasily Vasilievich? Did you look at TNT again at the airport? How many times have I told you not to? - Ivan Ivanovich said sternly.
- So they twist. Where you don't come - everywhere this TNT, - Vasily Vasilyevich began to make excuses.
- Well, that's what we twist, so that the rabble does not have time to turn on their heads, so that they watch this slag for days. And then, God forbid, these, - Ivan Ivanovich again nodded contemptuously in the direction of the station outside the window, - will begin to be interested in something other than burning life.
- By the way, why didn't you take the plane? So much time would be saved, - Alex entered the conversation again.
“Therefore, my dear friend, pilots also regularly use our product and watch TV, which gradually reduces their mental abilities. And trusting your life to a person without brains is, to put it mildly, unreasonable. It’s somehow safer on the train,”Ivan Ivanovich explained.
- Yes, I would not entrust the viewer with an airplane - I would not entrust a lawn mower! - Vasily Vasilyevich laughed.
- Right. Because the viewer is no longer so much a person as programmed to consume zombies. And apart from consumption, he is not interested in anything. Well, of course, intelligence and thinking suffer from this. So, what kind of plane is there - even if the buttons on the remote control are not confused, - Ivan Ivanovich laughed.
- That's it! And what good, instead of TNT, they will start some informative lectures on the topic of self-development, proper nutrition or a healthy lifestyle to watch, - added Vasily Vasilyevich.
- They won't. For the majority, thinking is already so adjusted that they automatically lose interest in content that does not contain nude bodies, blood, humor and obscenities, ” Ivan Ivanovich reassured his colleague. “It's like giving a person accustomed to chemical food stuffed with dyes and flavor enhancers to taste ordinary food from the garden. He will immediately start spitting. Also, by the way, the result of our work and the Overton Windows movement,”Ivan Ivanovich said, knocking on the glass.
The train pulled up near a small station, and passengers appeared on the platform, meeting the train. Contrary to the confidence of the "kings", there were not so many empty-eyed faces: only a few homeless people, and a small group of smoking youth stood aside from the bulk. The elite SV-Car stopped next to this contingent. The teenagers smoked cigarettes, sipped beer and talked loudly, diluting their speech with thieves' jargon and posing as "cool". Vasily Vasilyevich looked around his clients with a satisfied look, rejoiced at one hundred percent success, visible through his window, and began, as usual, to calculate the potential profit that he received from each young man who smoked and drank.
- Who is it? Alex whispered in a hoarse voice.
- TV viewers, - Ivan Ivanovich answered indifferently and, pulling the curtain ring under the ceiling of the carriage, wanted to tightly tighten her window. But something in the mechanism stuck, and at the moment when the three "kings" were trying to figure out the breakdown, another group of guys walked past them: they had clear eyes, calm gait and confident movements. They were looking somewhere ahead and discussing tomorrow. Holding their attention for a second on the three passengers, barely distinguishable through the dull glass of the car, they smiled and walked on, telling their plans for the future.
The train started moving. The window remained open. Overton window.