The study fell silent, broken only by the occasional sound of Monica sniffling.
"Did I misunderstand? You're saying the way to solve the problem of entity pollution being difficult to burn is... to scold it? What does that mean?"
"It means verbally reprimanding it and putting it down."
Theus opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. What did you do when fuel didn't want to burn? Just scold it?
Did getting angry make it easier to ignite? What kind of nonsense was that?
This was far too idealistic... Wait, idealistic?
Was this really a property of the fuel? Theus's gaze sharpened.
"Could it be Cognitive Interference? When did you do this?"
"Um, several days ago. There hasn't been any problem at all, and the entity pollution that gets scolded burns even better."
Theus felt as though his worldview had taken a blow. The lack of Cognitive Interference meant Monica's discovery was correct: when fuel didn't want to enter the boiler and be burned, scolding it would do the trick. Was this idealistic world a little too idealistic?
How was this supposed to be put to use? Would every boiler need a fuel encourager in the future?
Or, to use another term, a political commissar?
Someone whose sole job was to give fuel ideological counseling before it entered the furnace?
"Knowledge really has been polluted. I feel like I'd go insane just imagining a scene like that."
After sitting in his chair in a daze for a long time, Theus suddenly raised his head. "So how exactly did you break the steam engine? Did you scold it?"
Monica wore an embarrassed expression. "Sorry!"
Theus: "?"
"No, you actually got into an argument with the steam engine? And scolded it into going on strike?"
Something about this was wrong. A spark