Believers and the Wishing Machine
Why Does Software Have Bugs?
In a distant world, God rewarded a devout believer with a magical wishing machine as a token of appreciation. This machine possessed infinite power, capable of fulfilling any wish the believer desired.
Overjoyed, the believer hurried home with the wishing machine, eager to test its extraordinary capabilities.
Seated at his desk, he took a deep breath and made his first earnest wish to the machine: “I want money that I could never spend in a lifetime!”
The machine vibrated slightly, followed by a deep rumble, and slowly issued a piece of paper money.
The believer was stunned as he picked up the note for a closer look, only to discover it was currency from the underworld.
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly, thinking, “Indeed, I can never spend this money because it’s utterly unusable.”
Unwilling to give up, the believer made another wish to the wishing machine: “No, no, that’s not right. I must have it in dollars!”
This time, the output of the wishing machine suddenly surged, expanding overwhelmingly.
Immediately after, a small mountain made entirely of one-cent pennies materialized out of thin air, almost burying the believer under it.
Staring at the mountain of coins in disbelief, the believer sighed helplessly: “I won’t even be able to count all of this in my lifetime, let alone spend it all.”
However, the believer did not give up. He firmly believed that with continuous attempts and adjustments, he could eventually make a perfect wish.
Thus, he made a new wish to the wishing machine: “No, it has to be banknotes of at least $100 denomination, and not just for my lifetime, but my descendants should also never be able to spend it all.”
As soon as he finished speaking, countless banknotes appeared out of nowhere in space, gathering to form a giant planet of banknotes.
This planet shone with dazzling light, causing people on Earth to look up in wonder.
The believer watched in horror, realizing he had made a grave mistake. In a panic, he shouted at the wishing machine, “Stop! Stop!” Fortunately, he managed to cancel the wish in time, otherwise, the gravitational pull of the banknote planet might have torn Earth apart.
After several harrowing experiences with wishes, the devotee finally understood the rules and limitations of the wishing machine.
He realized he couldn’t be too greedy or impatient, needing to think carefully and make a wish that met his expectations without causing disaster.
Taking a deep breath, he made his final wish to the wishing machine: “I want a magical bag that is 50 centimeters deep and 50 centimeters wide, open at one end. When my palm fully enters the bag, a banknote will magically appear at the bottom. This banknote’s temperature, velocity, and direction will be the same as the bag’s center of mass, with a weight, density, and size that are standard for banknotes. The molecules comprising the banknote must not contain radioactive isotopes or highly toxic substances. The value of the banknote should take inflation into account, being close to 100 dollars at the time of the bag’s creation. Moreover, all shops, banks, and trading institutions must accept this banknote. Whenever the banknote leaves the bag, a new one will appear at the bottom, maintaining the same properties except for the necessary identification codes.”
This time, the wishing machine showed no abnormal reactions.
It quietly operated and produced the magical bag for the devotee.
Carefully, he reached into the bag as he had wished, and indeed, a brand-new 100-dollar banknote appeared at the bottom.
Excitedly examining the banknote, he found it indistinguishable from ordinary banknotes.
From that moment on, the believer spent a lot of time every day pulling out new bills from the bag one by one.
He quickly became wealthy and started living the life he had always dreamed of. However, human desires are never truly satisfied.
A few months later, despite having amassed a mountain of wealth, the believer still felt that the money was coming too slowly.
The main reason was that the act of pulling out the bills was both tiring and slow, leaving him feeling exhausted.
So, he began to think about how to improve this method.
He thought, “If I keep my hands inside the bag and turn it upside down, won’t the money continuously pour out of the bag? And if any terrible consequences occur, I can just turn the bag back up, and it will stop immediately.”
No sooner said than done, he held the bottom of the bag with both hands and turned it upside down towards his head.
However, things did not go as he had anticipated. The newly generated bills appeared directly at the mouth of the bag, overlapping with his arms.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through him, and the believer’s scream echoed throughout the room. The overlapping parts had actually severed his hands!
The bag, lacking support, slipped down and covered his head, followed by another intense pain.
His head and body were also severed! The believer lay on the ground, blood flowing everywhere, creating a horrific scene.
The believer’s soul drifted towards heaven, and God appeared before him, asking, “How did you die?” The believer replied with a bitter smile, “I died because I couldn’t make the perfect wish in one go and had to keep fixing bugs!”