Deep in the frozen mountains stood an outpost that hardly anyone remembered existed. The wind howled, snow fell endlessly, and the nearest sign of life was a few thousand miles away.
The outpost had three people: a Security Guard, a Cook, and a Housekeeper. The Security Guard watched the border, day and night, through binoculars, coffee in one hand, boredom in the other. The Cook made warm soup, and the Housekeeper kept the place livable (or as livable as frozen misery could be).
One fine morning, a Minister from the capital arrived, shivering in royal wool and armed with a new government mission: cost-cutting. The King wanted efficiency. No more wasted coins guarding snowflakes.
The Minister observed the Guard for a while. The man just sat there staring into white emptiness. No raiders, no smugglers, not even a wandering yak. “What risk is there here?” the Minister thought.
After some serious “risk assessment” using all the latest risk/management terms. optimization, resource synergy, and lean operations, the Minister came to a grand conclusion:
“This Guard is doing nothing. We can make him cook and clean too!”
And just like that, the Cook and the Housekeeper were dismissed. The Guard, now holding a mop in one hand and a ladle in the other, followed orders. After all, one doesn’t argue with a Minister in a fur hat.
Days passed. The Minister proudly reported to the King that efficiency had improved by 200%. The Guard was now multitasking, a true example of productivity reform.
But one night, as the Guard scrubbed the kitchen floor, something stirred on the horizon. It wasn’t a man or a beast, it was a machine. A silent metal swarm, creeping through the snow.
The Guard didn’t see it. His binoculars were in the sink, soaking in soap water.
By morning, the outpost was gone. The machines had crossed the border unchallenged.
When news reached the capital, the Minister was stunned.
“But there were no living threats!”
he cried.
Indeed, there weren’t. The Guard hadn’t been watching for people at all, he had been guarding against machines. Machines that didn’t eat soup or care for mopped floors.
And so, the outpost became the most efficient ruin in the kingdom, clean, cost-effective, and completely conquered.
Moral: Efficiency is wonderful, until you optimize yourself into extinction.
PS :
I am pretty sure no one noticed the outpost required 2 guards to start with in the first place.
