It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way
In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
那么当一种新的运输或者通讯方式发生,我们又该如何对待呢?将之发展成为少数人专享的权力,还是应该将之视为全体人类共享的权利呢?本剧第一集就通过雀起乡和烛镇之争呈现了这么一个问题。已经十分贫穷的乡下村民付不起那八英里之外的电报费,难道就没有权利得知自己的亲人的消息?right is right, and wrong isn't right. 没有人该被排除在人类科技进步的门槛之外,只因为他们的贫穷。反而,科技的进步应该为全体人类服务,更应该成为消除世间的不公的手段。否则科技只能成为新的谋利工具而已。