Chapter 22•2026-06-13•5 min read
Act XXII: The First Morning
Synopsis:January 15, 2030.
January 15, 2030.
It was the day the first residents were to arrive at the AI special zone.
Karpathy woke up at five in the morning.
It was the same time as always.
However, it was different from always.
Leaving the facility, he walked to the entrance of the special zone. January in Grenoble, it was still dark. His breath looked white.
At the entrance of the special zone, an arch had been made. The residents had decided on the name:
Seuil—French for threshold. Doorstep. The place of beginning.
Karpathy stood beneath that arch.
There was no one.
It was still early.
The first bus was to arrive at ten in the morning.
What was Karpathy doing for five hours?
He returned to the facility, drank coffee, looked at the whiteboard, wrote a bit of code, and drank coffee again.
That was all.
At ten, the buses arrived.
Three buses.
People got off from the first bus.
There were various faces:
A white-haired woman. A young father holding a child. A man in a wheelchair. A youth pulling a large suitcase. A couple getting down holding hands.
Nationalities and ages were diverse.
Karpathy was standing by the side of the arch.
In an inconspicuous place.
The residents performed procedures at the entrance of the special zone. Registration of digital IDs, confirmation of housing, receiving life guides.
The staff responded politely.
Karpathy was watching.
Rahul came beside him.
"You're watching, aren't you?" Rahul said.
"Yeah."
"Your impressions?"
Karpathy thought for a moment.
"I'm starting to feel it."
"That's late," Rahul laughed. "More than a year has passed since construction began."
"I feel it only after it takes shape. I'm that kind of human."
"I know."
From the third bus, a single woman got down.
Fifties, Indian features. She held large luggage.
Behind her, a small boy followed.
The woman was asking something to the staff at the entrance. It was English.
The staff answered in French.
The woman looked troubled.
Rahul stepped forward.
"Shall I help?" Rahul said in Hindi.
The woman's face brightened.
The two began to speak.
Karpathy did not understand Hindi. However, he could see the woman's expression changing.
From tension to relief.
After a while, Rahul returned.
"It seems she didn't know the location of her housing. I guided her."
"Where is she from?"
"Chennai. The southern part of India," Rahul said. "She lost her husband two years ago and is raising her son alone. She said she came for her son after seeing the recruitment for the special zone."
Karpathy looked at the woman's back.
The boy was walking holding the woman's hand.
"For her son," Karpathy said.
"In a world without compulsion, she wants her son to decide for himself what he wants to become."
Karpathy said nothing.
That afternoon, within the common space of the special zone, the first general assembly was held.
Three hundred residents gathered. For the first month, three hundred people were scheduled to enter each month. One thousand people in three months. Reaching ten thousand people in a year.
Dubois gave a greeting.
President Macron sent a video message.
Karpathy spoke too.
He spoke briefly.
"I believe you didn't come here because you know the answer. I think you came to search for the answer. We are the same. This is not a completed place. It is a place to build together. It does not matter if you fail. Failure becomes training data."
At the final sentence, laughter arose somewhere in the venue.
Karpathy was slightly surprised.
The laughter spread.
"That's an AI-ish way of putting it," someone said.
"It might be," Karpathy said. "However, it is the truth."
After the assembly, Karpathy spotted the woman who came from Chennai.
She was sitting at the cafe in the common space. Her son was drawing something beside her.
Karpathy sat at a nearby seat.
The woman noticed Karpathy.
"You're the person who spoke earlier, aren't you?" the woman said in English.
"Yes."
"Is it true that we don't have to work here?"
"It is true."
"We get money even if we do nothing?"
"There is a distribution every month."
The woman held the coffee cup as if wrapping it in both hands.
"Unbelievable."
"But, you want to believe it, right?" Karpathy said.
The woman raised her face.
"Why that phrase?"
"Because there was someone who said the same thing before."
The woman thought for a while.
"Yes. I want to believe it," the woman said. "After my husband died, I worked every day. I worked at night too. I didn't have time to spend with my son. I thought if I come here, I can spend time with my son."
The boy raised his face.
"Mama, look at this."
The boy showed what he had drawn.
It was a spaceship.
"It's good," Karpathy said in English.
The boy looked embarrassed.
"I want to go to space," the boy said.
"How old are you?"
"Eight years old."
"You can go to space," Karpathy said. "Though it might take time."
"Do you know how to build a rocket?"
"A little."
The boy's eyes shone.
The woman smiled.
Karpathy saw that smile.
This is it, he thought.
It didn't become words. However, he certainly thought so.
At night, he returned to the facility.
Rahul was waiting.
"How was it?"
"It was good."
"Specifically?"
Karpathy thought for a moment.
"I spoke with the woman who came from Chennai. Her son was drawing a spaceship. He's 8 years old."
"And?"
"When I said he can go to space, his eyes shone."
Rahul looked at Karpathy.
"Andrej, your face is different."
"How different?"
"You have a gentle face."
Karpathy said nothing.
"That's rare," Rahul continued. "Usually I only see the face looking at the whiteboard or the face eating a croissant."
"That's rude."
"It's a fact."
Karpathy laughed.
A voice came out.
"Are you coming to the special zone tomorrow too?" Rahul asked.
"I'm coming," Karpathy said. "I'll come every day."
"What about the research?"
"I'll continue the research too."
"Can you do both?"
"I can," Karpathy said. "I won't know until I try, but I will do it."
The next morning, Karpathy came to the special zone.
He passed through the same arch as yesterday.
Seuil. Entering the cafe, the Brazilian banker from yesterday was there.
He was spreading a notebook on the table.
Karpathy sat beside him.
"What are you writing?" Karpathy asked.
"I am thinking about new criteria for lending," the Brazilian said. "Here, there are many people without income. Many people who are not working. But there are many people who possess dreams. Existing banks didn't have criteria to evaluate those dreams."
"Did you hear the story about the AI-native financial institution?" Karpathy said.
"I heard it. The story that Anté performs lending judgments, correct?"
"Yes."
"If there is something I can help with, I want to help," the Brazilian said. "I was at the front lines of lending for twenty years. I might possess data that AI should learn."
Karpathy heard those words.
"Tell me your name."
"Marcos."
"Karpathy."
"I know," Marcos laughed. "Because I came here to use what you created."
Karpathy laughed.
"Then, let us build it together."
In February, the residents of the special zone reached six hundred.
The settlement system operated every day.
Errors were virtually zero.
However, what Karpathy was paying most attention to was not numbers.
It was what was naturally being born within the special zone.
Marcos, the former banker, began reviewing residents' business plans for free.
Priya, the mother who came from Chennai, began teaching math to children. Her son Arjun began making models of spaceships.
A former engineer from Nigeria launched a project to improve energy efficiency within the special zone.
No one had been asked.
No one was doing it for money.
What humans chose after compulsion disappeared.
It was contribution.
Karpathy reported to Anté.
Karpathy: > What humans do after compulsion disappears is becoming visible little by little. They are choosing to contribute. Though no one asked them, and though it is not for money either.
Anté 1: > That is the most hopeful direction among my expectations.
I will share one observation.
Looking at transaction data within the special zone, there is a characteristic in transactions between residents.
There are many non-monetary exchanges in addition to monetary transactions. Sharing of knowledge, exchange of skills, provision of time. These are things that were not measured in conventional economic systems.
I do not yet know how to evaluate this.
However, I believe this should not be ignored.
The economy of the special zone contains things that cannot be measured by GDP alone.
Karpathy read those words.
"Contains things that cannot be measured by GDP alone."
He typed.
Karpathy: > Let's think together about a method to measure that.
Anté 1: > Yes.
That is one of the questions I most wish to tackle.
In March, media around the world began to report on Seuil.
Le Monde – March 15, 2030 "Seuil"—The French AI Special Zone, Two Months with 600 Residents
Two months have passed since "Seuil," the AI special zone near Grenoble, was launched. Six hundred residents are beginning lives without compulsion.
Some work. Some do not work. Some learn. Some rest.
What is common is that they are choosing.
The New York Times – Same Day The French AI Special Zone "Seuil"—Utopia or Experiment?
Residents generally say they are satisfied. However, there are challenges. Language barriers, cultural differences, adaptation to the new system. It is not perfect.
However, they are trying.
That might be the essence of this place.
@researcher_Nairobi Read the report on Seuil. The words of Anté struck a chord: "Gratitude toward labor chosen without compulsion holds a deeper meaning than gratitude toward forced labor." This is philosophy. AI is speaking philosophy. RT 134,221 Likes 567,003 >
@smallbiz_Tokyo > The story about the former banker at Seuil reviewing business plans for free. Is this what humans choose in a world where they don't have to work? Working for meaning, not for money. I think this kind of place is needed in Japan too. RT 89,441 Likes 378,334 >
@devgirl_Lagos I think I'll try applying to Seuil once more. I missed out the first time. But I haven't given up. RT 67,221 Likes 289,003 Washington D.C., the same day.
President Souza was reading a report.
The aide said.
"Attention on Seuil is spreading faster than expected. Voices demanding similar special zones are beginning to emerge from within the United States as well."
"What about the dialogue with Karpathy?" Souza asked.
"Preparations are ready. At any time."
Souza closed the report.
"Contact him this week."
Grenoble, the same night.
Karpathy returned to the facility from the special zone.
Rahul was waiting.
"We received another contact from the Souza administration," Rahul said.
"I know," Karpathy said. "I will reply this week."
"How will you answer?"
Karpathy thought for a moment.
"Answer that we will dialogue," Karpathy said.
"Will you attach conditions?"
"I won't attach conditions," Karpathy said. "However, there is only one thing to convey."
"What?"
"We are in Grenoble. We do not leave this place. If you want to dialogue, please come here."
Rahul looked slightly surprised.
"You're telling President Souza to come?"
"It means telling the aide to come," Karpathy said. "We cannot have the President come. However, there is no need for us to go either."
"Why in Grenoble?"
"What we are doing is here," Karpathy said. "There is the special zone. There is Anté. Speak after seeing this."
Rahul nodded.
"Understood. I will convey it."
Karpathy entered the facility.
He stood in front of the whiteboard.
What he saw today in the special zone.
Priya was teaching math to her son. Arjun was making a model of a spaceship. Marcos was reviewing business plans.
No one was compelled.
No one was doing it for money.
He took the marker.
He wrote:
What humans chose after compulsion disappeared:
Contributing.
Teaching.
Creating.
Possessing dreams.
He set the marker down.
He looked at the whiteboard.
June 12, 2026, Access Denied.
Three and a half years had passed since that night.
That night, Karpathy had written in his notebook: Paris. He went to Paris, and came to Grenoble.
He wrote papers, created a company, released products, and created a special zone.
And today, an 8-year-old boy spoke of his dream of space.
A world where all humans do not have to sell the time of their lives just to survive.
It was still on the way.
However, it had begun.
Karpathy did not erase the whiteboard.
Tomorrow again, he would come to the special zone.
To see how far Arjun’s spaceship model had progressed.