World on a Wire (1973)

Wolfgang Schenck: Franz Hahn

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Quotes 

• Franz Hahn : I can imagine what Vollmer's shattering discovery was. I bet it had to do with his attitude towards the identity units we'd programmed in his computer. You remember how he called them "my children".

  Fred Stiller : He was only joking.

  Franz Hahn : You can't spend years feeding data into a computer that allows for the simulation of every aspect of human behavior without asking yourself if it might lead to the creation of something resembling human consciousness.

• Fred Stiller : The people in our simulation model think their world is the only real one.

  Franz Hahn : So?

  Fred Stiller : Who says this isn't also a computer? You, me, all of us, just electronic circuits. Identity unit 3,124,000, named Hahn. How does that sound?

  Franz Hahn : Drunk.

• Fred Stiller : The whiskey, peanuts, all artificial. Why are you gobbling them down? Nervous?

  Franz Hahn : No, I was thinking they taste good for artificial peanuts.

  Fred Stiller : Don't joke about it. You must have a screw loose.

  Franz Hahn : Yes, an artificial one.

• Fred Stiller : Here's a riddle I came across: imagine a drawing of a Greek warrior holding a spear looking to his right and taking a step. With a turtle going the same way. First, does that ring a bell? Ever seen such a drawing?

  Franz Hahn : Me? What's this all about?

  Fred Stiller : Vollmer left me this drawing. Does it mean anything to you?

  Franz Hahn : Bizarre, if you ask me.

  Fred Stiller : Bizarre, sure. Does it remind you of anything?

  Franz Hahn : Maybe.

  Fred Stiller : What?

  Franz Hahn : Zeno.

  Fred Stiller : Zeno?

  Franz Hahn : Yes. Zeno's paradox. Achilles and the tortoise. Achilles tries to overtake the tortoise, but cannot. By the time he reaches where it was, the turtle has moved ahead.

  Fred Stiller : What could the paradox mean to our work?

  Franz Hahn : I'm only the psychologist for the creations. But, as I recall, the paradox is meant to show that movement is an illusion.

• Franz Hahn : Still suffering from your delusions?

  Fred Stiller : Delusions? That's a good name for the baby.

• Franz Hahn : I want to find out who's crazy - us or everyone else.

  Fred Stiller : Well now, that's what I call a noble motive.

• Fred Stiller : You know about the sabotage during my hook-up. But that a cop who'd interviewed me once - forgot, and interrogated me again - that you don't know. Or, that the other night everything, the streets, lights, disappeared for a few seconds - that you don't konw. Nor can you imagine the dizzy spells and depression.

  Franz Hahn : I see. A street vanished and then reappeared?

  Fred Stiller : Yes!

• Franz Hahn : I've thought a lot about you, Stiller. I believe with your new responsibility for the simulation model and the unusual stress of your job, you're overworked, psychologically unstable. Think about it. Everyday you reign like God over a miniature world you helped create and which you mistake more and more for the real world. You can add and delete people at will. This leads to feelings of guilt, depression and fear. You need to relax, forget it all.