Why is the Toto song called 99?

The Toto song called 99, released in 1979 on the album Hydra, is called 99 because it was inspired by the 1971 science fiction film THX 1138 directed by George Lucas. Keyboardist David Paich, who wrote the song, has explained in interviews that 99 is a love song about a man and a woman designated by numbers rather than names in a futuristic dystopian society where people are dehumanized. The number 99 refers to the female character in the story, similar to how the main characters in THX 1138 are named THX 1138 and LUH 3417. The lyrics describe a love letter to this woman, with lines like 99, I love you and I never thought my love would be so pure, capturing a romantic longing in a sterile, numbered world. Paich said he was fascinated by the concept of a love song where people only have numbers, which makes the emotion more poignant. The song is not about 99 of anything else, like 99 problems or 99 percent, as some fans speculate. Musically, 99 was a departure from Toto's hard rock sound, featuring a soft, piano-driven ballad style with smooth harmonies that reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains one of Toto's most beloved deep cuts.