The Romance of Systems. Frank had finished his third Manhattan. Soon he would be talking about the “invisible grid” again. At the moment, he was shouting at no one in particular. F: Everything is a system. Architecture is about rules. You can’t just pick and choose. A crowd started to form, eager to watch. His rants were infectious. Alice quietly sipped her tonic water, closing her eyes, counting… 4 minutes and 33 seconds. She thought she heard someone reference Rancière, but couldn’t be sure. It was going to be a long night.