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It is actually a very apropos analogy.
It would be except that people are more than just the physical makeup of the body.
Objects behave predictably due to the laws and circumstances of this universe. That is exactly the claim we are making when we say Free Will is an illusion.
With quantum physics that's no longer strictly true... Objects behave deterministically, except the actual observed results will have an element of "randomness".
In the same vein, we act mainly according to deterministic laws, but then there is the possibility to break with the genetics, brain chemistry, and upbringing to exert free will in your decisions.
Frankly, not only is Free Will an illusion but it is impossible to even hypothesize how a universe with free will would behave. It just cannot possibly exist.
Just because you can't conceive of it does not mean it is impossible.
You probably believe in the upward causation model; where you start with quarks and the building blocks of the atom which combine to create molecules, that in turn form the cells, that makes the brain that generates consciousness.
Well, what happens when the atom only exists as a waveform potential because there is no observer to collapse the waveform potential of that atom? This is a paradox that cannot be explained with a materialistic viewpoint.
So, consciousness / awareness is a precursor to life. Even Stephen hawking made that kind of statement, by stating that the universe began as a waveform potential that ultimately collapsed into the big bang. (he did not mention anything about consciousness though, since he is still an atheist)
The Universe either behaves according to the deterministic principles of cause and effect OR (on the subatomic level) it behaves randomly as suggested by modern quantum theory. No combination of those two spontaneously births the commonly accepted definition of Free Will.
Randomly is still the wrong word, because it's probabilistic based on some definite equations, just the actualized results are random. Since that's the buildup of the universe, it's just the opposite, the material world would not exist without the conscious / awareness / observer that possesses free will / creative capacity in order to collapse the possibilities into actualized reality.
Free Will simply cannot exist in this Universe
More like the universe simply cannot exist without free will.