The Soul of a Casio?

INT. WATCH BOX - EVENING

As the watches settle into their slots for the night, CASIO reflects on events from earlier in the day.

TUDOR

Tallyho, little Casio! Well I do say, you look a bit miffed. What’s wrong?

CASIO

I overheard some humans talking earlier. They said that I’m just a cheap, soulless quartz. My human tried to defend me, but the others wouldn’t listen. Why would they say I don’t have a soul?

TUDOR

Well, because it’s true. Sorry to say.

CASIO

What even is a soul? I mean, I tell the time for my human every bit as well as you do.

TUDOR

Well, you have to understand, I have a balance wheel, which oscillates back and forth 8 times every second. Part of an elegant and elaborate mechanism that allows me to tell time. This is my beating heart, and it’s part of what makes up my soul. You have no such mechanism, and therefore no soul.

CASIO

Sure, I don’t have a balance wheel, but I do have a beating heart. My quartz crystal. It vibrates 32,768 times every second, which makes me capable of much better accuracy than you.

TUDOR

Yes, well... I have a history and pedigree you could only dream of having. I’m made in Switzerland. My name has been in existence for almost a century. My manufacture requires watchmaking techniques reaching far into history... and do you have any idea who my father is?

CASIO

Well, both our companies were actually founded in 1946. You have been in production longer than I have, and you do use old watchmaking techniques for sure. But I utilize more modern techniques. My manufacturer took advantage of technological progress, allowing me to do things you could only dream of doing.

TUDOR

I’ll have you know, soul is also very much about craftsmanship. It takes skilled craftsmen to create me. Not a robotic assembly line placing circuit boards and plastic parts by the thousand. I receive the attention of skilled watchmakers, carefully assembling me and polishing my parts. Turning me into an exclusive and sought after piece of art... with a soul.

CASIO

Yes, but all that hand assembly and attention to detail comes at a high cost for the buyer. Now that I think about it, I don’t believe our souls come from our legacy, our internal parts, or our method of manufacture. They come from the way people interact with us. Our souls are created when we bond with our humans. The time we measure is precious. If it’s not spent being enjoyed with humans who appreciate us, then what’s the point of a soul anyway? It doesn’t matter how or where we’re built, or how much hand finishing or history we have if we become unattainable.

TUDOR

Yes, but we wouldn’t want just anyone to be able to attain a high quality timepiece like myself, would we? You are so affordable and widely available, that literally anyone can attain the likes of you.

CASIO

Isn’t that a good thing?

TUDOR

Imagine, being able to just walk into a store and buy a reliable watch that tells the time, day, date, month, year, has a stopwatch, timer, an alarm function, hourly chime, backlight, and an appearance that many would call stylish. All for less than the cost of dinner at a restaurant of questionable quality.

CASIO

Isn’t that a good thing?

TUDOR

...

CASIO

Hey there Tudor, you look a bit miffed. What’s wrong?