A look in the mirror

"It doesn't exist."

What?

"There's no such thing as destiny."

He might have said that, but-

"Listen. I am free!"

That's what he said, but scientifically speaking, that's not true. Everything is just a fruit of the early universe, from his thoughts to even mine. He must have been the religious type-

"By the way, I'm an atheist. I don't believe in any gods."

It's almost like he read my mind.

I asked him to explain.

"I know that in theory, that thing called 'Disorder' is the king and the initial state of the universe and all that crap. But I don't believe reality is actually like that."

I realized that he did understand the science behind it, at least superficially.

"How is it like, then?"

"I don't know." He said.

I kept staring at him.

"But even though I don't know, I know that I'm free."

What kind of logic was that?

"It's simple, really. We have yet to reach the level where we truly understand the universe. And since the only thing that I can truly control is what I think, that means that at least in that sense, I am free. And since I am free and my thoughts can impact reality, there's no way that the future is set in stone."

"You..." Did he realize he ignored what he just said about disorder? "That's just you being hopeful."

"Hopeful? Perhaps. But I'm certain."

His eyes were firm and unshaking. Was that the power of ignorance?

"Despise me all you want, you're not changing my mind."

"Did the fall turn you blind to reality?"

"What fall?!"

"The fall into despair, what else?"

The look in his eyes told me that he understood what I meant. They wavered for a second.

"That's the only thing keeping you alive, isn't it?" I pushed, for I wanted him to agree with me.

He looked down for a moment. Contrary to my expectations, his expression eased into a a slight smile.

"So? If we can't even know the truth with decent certainty, what's wrong with taking the path of least resistance?"

It was his turn to lose confidence. My smile grew wider.

"That's just you deceiving yourself. The probability of that being reality is-"

"Probability? We're talking statistics, now?"

That shut him up momentarily. But he was a dreadful bastard.

"If not on empirical evidence, on what should we base our beliefs in?"

Of course, I understood him well.

"What if it's wrong, though?"

"What is?" He genuinely didn't understand, apparently.

"Of course, the scientific method. What if it's wrong?"

What?

"What if it actually stops working?"

What is he saying all of a sudden?

"What if we can't base predictions on historical data anymore? What if there's a place where the laws of physics would crumble, leaving only true randomness?"

"It would still follow..."

My lips were trembling.

"No. Don't lie to yourself, now."

"..."

I took a long breath to stabilize myself before continuing.

"There's no way the scientific method is wrong." There. Truer words have never been said before.

"And based on what do you say that?"

"..."

The answer was, of course, 'based on historical data'. But I knew where he was going with that. I understood him well.

"You based the veracity of a fundamental pillar of reality on its very self. In other words, you used-"

"Yes, I know the Homunculus Argument."

"Right. See my point?"

"Yes. But that does not matter, since we were talking about destiny, not the composition of reality."

At that, we both chuckled.

"It's hard to make you change your mind..."

"Hahah... It's because I'm just like you."

Yes. I am you, after all.