The thing I’m picturing here is a futures contract where charizard-shirt-guy is obligated to deliver 3 trillion paperclips in exchange for one soul. And, assuming a reasonable discount rate, this is a better deal than only receiving a handful of paperclips now in exchange for the same soul. (I agree that you wouldn’t want to invest in a current-market-price paperclip futures contract.)
The thing I’m picturing here is a futures contract where charizard-shirt-guy is obligated to deliver 3 trillion paperclips in exchange for one soul. And, assuming a reasonable discount rate, this is a better deal than only receiving a handful of paperclips now in exchange for the same soul. (I agree that you wouldn’t want to invest in a current-market-price paperclip futures contract.)