《Programming Wizards!》 Introduction The colossus roamed the world with a head shaped like: ¡®=>¡¯ It¡¯s body contained many systems, holding itself together while leaving little holes for other creatures to borrow into, giving them access to its insides. It had a symbiotic relationship with many animals which would go on with their lives to return to that head of ¡®=>¡¯ when it needed them. It was one full execution of the entire system. The colossus would awake and run its course before falling back into slumber. The wizards were witnessing it. How a plethora of creatures would mount onto its skin, drop a clone of themselves in one of the holes, and how a new creature would exit from the mouth of the colossus. They were breathless with the astonishing view on top of the mountain. The colossus had to be half the height of the apex. It stretched far beyond the ground littered with trees. The creature that came out of its mouth reflected the sun off its skin. The wizards knew the creature that was born would lead them to the place they wished to go. The place where the creatures who mounted the colossus came from. To the origin of where the cycle began. It was four in the morning and the students waited in the classroom. The door opened, making way for the cool breeze to enter along with a tall and slender figure. He walked on under the screen that was built into the wall. He wore an all green attire, with a symbol of an open book, because he was a teacher. "Glad you could join us!¡± he said standing upright in front of the class. ¡°You are here to learn the possibilities of programming!¡± he yelled, a bit too loud in the small classroom. The students ejected the pens from the side of their desks, which were fully functioning notebooks, and prepared to write on its screen. ¡°It''s easy to get started,¡± he continued. ¡°The stuff that I will be teaching you can be applied generally! That means they should work across the most popular programming languages,¡± he said and pointed upward at the screen that displayed in a grid: ¡®JavaScript, Python, C#, C++,¡¯ along with their logos. ¡°Calm down, calm down,¡± he said as if anyone wasn¡¯t calm. ¡°If you don''t know what a programming language is, I''ll explain everything!¡± He paused for a couple seconds to look at his phone. ¡°You are all complete rookies,¡± he said in a different tone. ¡°For now.¡± His familiar tone came back. ¡°But, in time, you will learn to create your very own applications.¡± The notebook of a student at the front row read: ¡®Andrew,¡¯ on its top-left corner. Under it, he had written information about: ¡®inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, abstraction¡­¡¯ ¡°What you will be taught may make your brain boil.¡± His voice turned soft. ¡°But, in those times,¡± he said with a tender voice, as if he was lightening the bad news, ¡°stay strong. If you don''t have much experience with tech,¡± he lifted his arms and smiled, ¡°I welcome you into our world. It is fascinating,¡± his face grew stoic, ¡°but, can be very frightening. What you will be taught is extremely powerful, and can speed up your productivity hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of times when used correctly.¡± The teacher panned his eyes across the classroom, to get a good look at everyones¡¯ face. The students at the back of the class, for some reason, were usually his favorites.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°So,¡± he continued as he caught a glimpse of one at the furthest row who was clearly anxious. ¡°Let me clear up the meaning of a programming language for those who don''t know.¡± Unperturbed by his anxiety, he went on to give his mantra like he had done for many years. ¡°A programming language is, you guessed it, a language that the computer can understand and translate into work. Just as spelling and grammar matter in any human language, they also matter in programming languages. Some programming languages are very cryptic-looking.¡± An onslaught of all types of brackets, commas, and colons appeared on the screen. ¡°Like C, C++, C#, and Java, while others may look pretty, such as Python and Ruby.¡± Andrew had written about the languages the teacher uttered about. A simple synopsis of the languages: ¡®C,¡¯ it said, and below it: ¡®general-purpose language, no classes!¡¯ Then, below that: ¡®C++,¡¯ and below it: ¡®object-oriented, contains classes!¡¯ This continued, with even more detail. He was not only prepared for class, but ahead of it. The knowledge Andrew had written about was still to be taught to the students around him. ¡°It is important to note that a language that looks cryptic does not make it better, or vice versa,¡± said the teacher. ¡°In fact, you can argue that Python still looks very cryptic and not pretty at all.¡± He began to pace. ¡°As a rookie, you should try as many programming languages as you can, and not hold onto one immediately. You can decide to stick with one after trying a bunch, and if you do, the knowledge that you acquire from that venture is not wasted, since programming languages have many things in common with important differences that you can learn from their documentation. Also, there are a ton of programming languages. A ton!¡± he said and the screen displayed dozens upon dozens of logos, a lot which Andrew had never seen before. ¡°I suggest you start from one that is popular since you can easily search for help using the internet when you get stuck. And yes!¡± he burst out. ¡°Search engines are your new best friend! Do not hesitate to search when you are stuck. It does not make you a worse programmer!¡± He shook his head. ¡°I do it all the time when I''m stuck. Computers are very complicated, and at points where you can''t seem to understand, and need that extra help, search!¡± he yelled. ¡°The great wizards have opened a place for all to contribute to, called: Stackoverflow. It is a great website to get answers for your questions. There are many other sites like it, so use them when needed! You live in a world where the World Wide Web exists! Use it!¡± He took a moment to breathe. ¡°Anyway, we didn''t do any programming this class. For homework, you need to take a look at the popular languages, and decide on one to start with. You can wish to swap later, or swap occasionally between them if you so desire. If you find your favorite, stick with it if you want to. It''s up to you, whatever helps you learn the most. Here is a list of programming languages and where to get started with them.¡± He handed a collection of papers to the nearest student, who took one and passed it on. ¡°Once you pick a language, download any software that is needed to begin. I don''t recommend C or C++ as your first language since they are more tricky than the others. Trust me, don''t do it!¡± he said, fully aware that some might take that as a challenge. ¡°But, I won¡¯t stop you. Know that you will be completely lost if you do pick it. Try Python, Java, or C# instead. These are just some languages, you can definitely pick any other not on the list. Any questions?" "Sir! Do you have a favorite language?" asked Andrew. "Yes!¡± exclaimed the teacher. ¡°I¡¯ve been using it this entire time: English. I want you to make your own decision. I''m sure you''ll have many more questions for me next class." Numbers! Letters! Strings?! Four organs floated in the glass containers. ¡°And these,¡± said the teacher. ¡°Are the four types you will find most commonly.¡± The organs had a luminous stripe going through their center and numerous flaps either turned to the left or right. ¡°This,¡± he pointed to the organ with four flaps, ¡°is a boolean.¡± ¡®Boolean,¡¯ wrote the students on their tablets using them as notebooks. Some drew a detailed picture while others drew a diagram. ¡°This bit turns on,¡± said the teacher. He pressed a button built onto the side of the container and the highest flap turned from left to right. ¡°If the bit is on, it has a value of true. If the bit is off, it has a value of false.¡± ¡°If the flap is to the left,¡± said the student, ¡°it is off, and if it is to the right, it is on?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± responded the teacher. ¡°A single flap is called a bit.¡± ¡®Bit,¡¯ wrote the students in their notebooks. ¡°More precisely,¡± continued the teacher. ¡°A bit is off when it is zero, and on when it is one. For this is zero-zero-zero-one, because three flaps are off, while one is on.¡± He moved to the center of the four containers. ¡°These,¡± he said and lifted his arms as if he were presenting them a grandeur. ¡°Are data types,¡± he finished saying. ¡®Data types,¡¯ scribbled onto the notebooks. ¡°A boolean,¡± said the teacher, ¡°is either true or false.¡± He moved to the container next to the boolean. ¡°This is an integer.¡± The organ had thirty-two bits, twenty-eight more than the last. ¡°An integer holds over four billion val¡ª¡± he paused to correct himself. ¡°An integer,¡± he repeated, ¡°has over four billion states.¡± The students raised their eyebrows in awe. ¡°Four billion?¡± one said. ¡°Two to the power of thirty-two. What is it?¡± The students punched the numbers into their tablets which were now functioning as calculators. ¡°Four-billion-two-hundred-ninety-four-million-nine-hundred-sixty-seven-thousand-two-hundred-ninety-six.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± responded the teacher and a student in the back shivered. ¡°Over four billion states.¡± ¡°Does a boolean have sixteen states?¡± questioned a student. ¡°Ah!¡± the teacher burst out in amazement. ¡°Where did you get that number?¡± ¡°I calculated two to the power of four. Since a boolean has four bits.¡± ¡°Excellent. It would seem so, but that is not the case. A boolean only has two states, either true or false.¡± ¡°Would it not only need one bit, then?¡± ¡°It would, but technology loves four. Actually, technology loves bytes. Bytes are four bits.¡± ¡®Bytes are four bits,¡¯ wrote the students. ¡°You¡¯ll commonly find bytes rather than a bit on its own.¡± The teacher paused for a moment to think if he wanted to complicate it further. ¡°Actually,¡± he decided to. ¡°A byte can be four or eight.¡± ¡®Bytes are four or eight?¡¯ ¡°It depends on the architecture. We¡¯ve noticed the byte of eight is becoming more common, as the byte of four is fading out. Technology is advancing. And, who knows? Maybe bytes of eight will fade out to be replaced with bytes of sixteen.¡± ¡®Depends on the architecture.¡¯ ¡°Thirty-two bit systems used to use four bits. Sixty-four bit systems use eight bits. In fact, it might even depend on the language you are using. Some compilers, which turn the code into machine code, compile the code to use four bits rather than eight.¡± ¡®Depends on the compiler.¡¯ ¡°Remember what I said during the introduction class?¡± The students tried to remember. ¡°Search!¡± he yelled and startled the students. ¡°To figure out how your specific language works, you need to search for answers on the internet.¡± He turned back to the containers. ¡°Although, this is usually not an important distinction,¡± his voice had a deep resonance as it bounced back off the glass into the ears of the students. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if a boolean is four bits or eight bits if you simply want to store a value of true or false.¡± He looked up at the organ that looked identical to the integer. ¡°This is a float,¡± he said. ¡®Float, thirty-two bits or four bytes.¡¯ ¡°An integer is any whole number.¡± ¡®Integer = whole number¡¯ ¡°Well, ranging from about negative two billion to positive two billion. Whereas, a float is any real number.¡± ¡®Float = real number¡¯ ¡°Within a specific range, of course. An integer can be one, two, five-hundred-twelve. Whereas, a float can be one, two point five, five-hundred-twelve point ninety-two.¡± He stared at the float with admiration. ¡°I would love to explain to you how the float stores its state, but,¡± he said with a bitter smile. ¡°That will have to be for another time.¡± He moved onto the next and last container. ¡°Character,¡± he said. ¡®Character,¡¯ they wrote. The organ had eight bits, or two bytes in the old system, or one byte in the new system. ¡°This is a character.¡± He turned to the students. ¡°The words we use to communicate use letters, which are characters. A character does not need to be a letter, it can also be punctuation. Two to the power of eight.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Two-hundred-fifty-six,¡± said a student instantly. The teacher smiled. ¡°Yes. Two-hundred-fifty-six. A character has that many states.¡± He sighed. ¡°Although, it can be increased or decreased. For example,¡± he said and closed his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s imagine eight bits or one byte.¡± The students followed. ¡°A character is one byte.¡± He raised a finger. They raised a finger. ¡°We can map a character onto a single byte.¡± He closed his hand to make a fist. ¡°If all bits are turned off, we¡¯ll represent it as the ¡®A¡¯ character.¡± Some students kept their eyes closed and tried to remember, while others opened them and wrote, ¡®A = 00000000¡¯ on their notebooks. ¡°But,¡± he lifted one finger, ¡°if one bit is turned on, we will represent it as the ¡®B¡¯ character.¡± ¡®B = 00000001¡¯ ¡°Then,¡± he lifted another finger. ¡°If two bits are turned on, we will represent it as the ¡®C¡¯ character.¡± ¡®C = 00000011¡¯ He paused and asked himself if he wanted to complicate things even more. ¡°Now,¡± he said and opened his eyes. ¡°There is a way to count in binary. We are not counting in the proper way, we will save that for another class.¡± He closed his eyes once again. ¡°So far, we can represent three characters. If we keep using this approach and turn on all the bits, we can represent nine characters in a byte.¡± He counted on his fingers. ¡°One for each bit, and one when all bits are off.¡± ¡®D = 00000111¡¯¡¯ ¡®E = 00001111¡¯¡¯ ¡®F = 00011111¡¯¡¯ ¡­ He relaxed his hands and opened his eyes. ¡°Why can¡¯t we add more bytes to represent more characters?¡± The students stopped writing. ¡°The answer is: we can.¡± He pointed to the character in the container. ¡°This is an eight bit character, we can represent characters with more bits if we wanted. What we¡¯re doing by representing characters is: we¡¯re encoding them. There is an encoding method called ¡®UTF-16¡¯ which uses sixteen-bits or two bytes for each character. It also sometimes uses two sixteen-bits to represent even more characters.¡± He held his head. ¡°We¡¯re not going to cover this, if you want to learn more about it, simply search ¡®UTF-16.¡¯¡± ¡®UTF-16¡¯ ¡°Now,¡± he rubbed his hands together. ¡°What if we could use two integers to create another integer?¡± ¡®Integer + Integer = Integer?¡¯ As the student wrote that down, she realized, ¡°well, of course! Adding two integers will produce another integer.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± he said with a smile. ¡°Adding two floats produces another float. What about booleans?¡± ¡°I would imagine it would be impossible to add two booleans.¡± ¡°Exactly. You cannot add two booleans together. However, there is something else you can do with a boolean that you can¡¯t do with an integer or float.¡± The students waited for his answer with their pens ready. ¡°Toggle. A true becomes false, and a false becomes true.¡± ¡°Is that like changing the sign of a number?¡± The teacher wondered for a moment. ¡°I never thought of it like that, but not exactly. To change a number¡¯s sign, you need to multiply it by negative one. Whereas, a boolean cannot be multiplied, it can only be toggled. These are operators. A boolean has a toggle operator.¡± ¡®Boolean operators: toggle¡¯ ¡°A float and integer have an addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and modulus operator.¡± ¡®Integer and float operators: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, modulus¡¯ ¡°Note how the toggle operator only requires a single value, whereas the operators for integers and float require at least two.¡± He walked over to the door and opened it for his students. ¡°A boolean has more operators than just the toggle, but we¡¯ll get to that when the time comes.¡± They walked into a room glowing with a piercing blue that radiated from the giant screen. Under the screen was a desk with a computer. The room was similar to their classroom except significantly darker and with a roof significantly higher. ¡°Practicality,¡± said the teacher as he made his way to the computer. ¡°I¡¯ll show you how code is usually written.¡± He typed and the screen displayed: int a = 1; An organ appeared behind the students within a glass container. It had the top most bit turned on. ¡°In statically-typed languages,¡± said the teacher. ¡°You must declare the data type. In this case, the variable ¡®a¡¯ will always be an integer. In dynamically-typed languages, ¡®a¡¯ can be changed to any other data type and the type is not declared. The semicolon is like a period, required in some languages. It marks the ending of a statement.¡± int a = 1; int c = a + a + 1; The organ split into an identical copy, which sunk and appeared in another container. The original organ split again, the clone sunk again, and was injected into the other container from the bottom. Then a new organ, which was not split, was injected into the container. The first two organs approached and dissolved into each other, making a new organ with one bit on that was one lower than the original. Then, the new organ dissolved into the remaining organ, which created another organ with the first bit and second bit on. ¡°The original container represents variable ¡®a,¡¯¡± said the teacher. ¡°While the new container represents variable ¡®c.¡¯¡± The teacher left the computer and approached the students. ¡°Remember the addition operator?¡± The students nodded. ¡°What if we could add characters together to create words?¡± He paused. ¡°Well, we can. Let me show you how characters are declared first.¡± He went back to the computer. He cleared the screen and the containers sunk into the floor, then typed: char character = ¡®A¡¯; An organ with two bits on that were separated by five bits appeared. A binary state of: 1000001. ¡°We can¡¯t simply add characters together, that would throw an error. But,¡± he said, cleared the screen and typed: string characters = ¡°A¡± + ¡°B¡±; A single container containing two organs emerged. ¡°We can add strings together. Strings are a data type. However, they are special, since they are made up of another data type. A string is a sequence of characters. Note how I used double quotes to declare a string and single quotes to declare a character. What I wrote can also be written as:¡± string characters = ¡°AB¡±; The container stood in place. ¡°It¡¯s the same result,¡± he said. ¡°In fact, we can also do this:¡± string characters = ¡°AB¡± + 2; Another organ was injected into the container and floated beside the other two, with a binary state of: 110010. ¡°Here, the integer two is being converted into a string. And, the binary state of a string representing the number two is different from the binary state of an integer representing the number two.¡± string characters = ¡°AB¡± + 2 + 3; An organ was injected, and floated beside the organ representing two. ¡°Now, watch.¡± string characters = ¡°AB¡± + (2 + 3); The organ representing two and three were ejected and replaced with another two organs that were identical in representation but of type integer. They dissolved together making a new organ with the binary state of: 101. Which was then ejected and replaced with another organ with the binary state of: 110101. ¡°You¡¯re seeing the conversion from string-to-integer and integer-to-string when you see the ejections. Before I added the brackets, I was adding strings together. When I added the brackets, I was adding two integers together, so it got rid of the string representations and injected the integer representations. Then, it added them together, giving us the integer five. Finally, it was ejected and we were returned five in its string representation which was concatenated onto the ¡®AB¡¯ string.¡± string characters = ¡°AB5¡±; The container stood still as the end result of the new code was the same. ¡°The addition of strings is called concatenation.¡± Boolean The wizards followed the creature in their gyroplane gliding above the trees at a height of three-thousand-two-hundred meters. Through the spotless windows above, the sun hung in the clear blue sky. The trees appeared far brighter basking in the sunlight, stretching beyond the horizon which lost its color to a silver atmosphere. The plane was one large room, like a banquet hall. A small flat robot cruised around, keeping everything in check. A scholar wearing a blue uniform, with white lines wrapped around her hips like a belt, poured a crimson liquid into her glass and noticed the velocity displayed on the walls. ¡°We¡¯ve stopped moving.¡± The other wizard looked below at his feet, and through the glass he saw the forest they hovered above. ¡°Why have we stopped?¡± ¡°We lost the output.¡± ¡°Nowhere on the radar?¡± ¡°Nowhere,¡± she said. ¡°Looks like it vanished.¡± The screen was spotless, without a target in sight. ¡°Did Rubosamler get to it?¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have, it never reached its caller.¡± ¡°Maybe it burrowed into the dirt?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ Actually, it could have been collected if they wanted to run the system, not retrieve its output.¡± He turned to stare at the ceiling. ¡°It executed the intricate system, but didn¡¯t care to store what was offered?¡± He poured himself the same drink. ¡°Then, we have to wait for another call.¡± The students stood outside the classroom waiting for their teacher to arrive. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll leave Rorohiko?¡± ¡°Not in a long, long while.¡± ¡°When do you think we¡¯ll become apprentices?¡± ¡°Maybe a year or two.¡± He sighed and sat on the floor. ¡°That¡¯s still so long to go. When do you think he¡¯ll be here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been five minutes. He might have had an errand to run.¡± ¡°Better than choking in that class,¡± said a third. ¡°Choking?¡± ¡°I just want to go outside. Not on a balcony or view the night sky from a window, but actually leave this place.¡± ¡°I do too, eventually. I¡¯ve studied a bit of programming and grew a passion for it. The atmosphere of the class may be uneasy, but programming sure isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Really?¡± a fourth joined in. ¡°I researched some languages and my mind was melting on the syntax.¡± ¡°Yes, the syntax will take some getting used to. Fortunately, other problems can be easily solved using keywords to search for answers.¡± ¡°Why are you guys taking this course?¡± asked the seated one. ¡°I¡¯m aiming to become a wizard,¡± said the third without hesitation. ¡°Woah, really? Isn¡¯t it extremely difficult to do that?¡± ¡°I think he knows it is, because I am striving for the same goal,¡± said the passionate one. ¡°Wow, I can barely get the syntax right.¡± He shivered. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how much work it takes to become a wizard.¡± ¡°What¡¯re your names,¡± said the one on the floor. ¡°I¡¯m Gus.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m Andrew,¡± said the one with passion. ¡°Willard here,¡± said the unimaginative. ¡°It¡¯s Roy,¡± said the other aspiring wizard. ¡°Another futile day,¡± he said and sighed. He drank from his glass, and spilled some on the floor and his white uniform. ¡°Great, the day couldn¡¯t get better.¡± The flat robot circulated to the leakage and drove over it. The white horizon now beamed with amber as the sun sunk into its depths. The walls displayed a velocity of four-hundred kilometers per hour. The windows gradually tinted with darkness. ¡°You don¡¯t like the sunset?¡± She turned the knob to eighty percent. ¡°It¡¯s too bright.¡± It was. Especially him in his all white outfit. The red mark inflicted by the drink became more apparent in the dark, and he got up to brush off any molecules lurking on the outer coat of his uniform with a tissue. ¡°What¡¯s up with him?¡± He looked down, at the robot, it rotated in circles trying to clean up the mess to no avail. ¡°It¡¯s trying to clean the spill, but looks like it¡¯s bugged.¡± He pushed it with his leg, it moved back onto the liquid and continued its spiral. ¡°Needs improvement,¡± he said. ¡°What are we going to tell Laaibah about the expedition?¡± ¡°What happened today. What else is there to tell?¡± ¡°Right, we ventured for five hours to return with nothing. Our only lead was swallowed by Rubosamler and then we sat there for three hours waiting for something to happen.¡± She converted the seat into a flat cushion and wore a sleep mask. ¡°Yes,¡± she said, ¡°that¡¯s what we¡¯ll tell her.¡± And, fell into slumber. Once the teacher arrived, he took his students to the lab. They gathered around the single container standing in the center of the room. Eight bits or one byte. The bright line stretching from its top to bottom, in the center, only appeared on the front of the organ. Around the perimeter was vast amounts of controls, like a music studio. ¡°A boolean,¡± he said and switched a lever that turned on a bit. ¡°In logic, we can say: if A and B are true, then C is true, otherwise C is false.¡± With a push of a button, another organ with all bits off was injected into the capsule. ¡°And,¡± he said. ¡°And,¡± he repeated. ¡°The logical operator called: and.¡± He pressed another button, and the two organs dissolved into each other. A single organ was produced with all bits off. ¡°The first boolean was true, the second boolean was false. Use the ¡®and¡¯ operator on them, and it produces a boolean with a state of false.¡± He pressed a button, and another organ was injected. He pulled a lever, and one bit was turned on. ¡°If A or B is true, then C is true, otherwise C is false.¡± He paused. ¡°Or,¡± he said. ¡°Or,¡± he repeated. ¡°The logical operator called: or.¡± He pressed a button, the two organs dissolved. A boolean with a state of true was left. ¡°These,¡± he said, ¡°are boolean operators.¡± ¡®Boolean operators: toggle, and, or¡¯ ¡°Unlike toggle, the ¡®and¡¯ operator and ¡®or¡¯ operator need another boolean for evaluation.¡± He ejected the boolean and injected two integers. ¡°Is the first integer equal to the second integer?¡± he said. ¡°Equal,¡± he said. ¡°Equal,¡± he repeated. ¡°If the first integer equals to the second integer, return true, otherwise false.¡± The entire organ had all its flaps flipped to its right. When the two dissolved, a boolean with a single bit on was returned. He ejected the boolean, then injected identical integers. ¡°If the first integer is greater than the second integer, return true, otherwise false.¡± He pressed a button, and a boolean with no bits on was returned. ¡°False!¡± he said. ¡°False because the two integers equal, none greater or lower than the other. Yes, you can compare using equals to, greater than, or lower than.¡± ¡®Boolean operators: toggle, and, or, equal, greater, lower¡¯ ¡°Oh,¡± he remembered. ¡°And don¡¯t forget about not equals.¡± He moved to the opposite end of the lab and the screen displayed a code editor. bool a = 1 > 2; ¡°One is not greater than two, therefore ¡®a¡¯ will equal to false.¡± The teacher was correct, as the dissolved integers returned a boolean with zero bits on. bool a = 1 > 2 < 3; The container disappeared to be replaced with nothing. ¡°This will throw an error in some languages. If you hadn¡¯t realized, the operators I mentioned require a left side and right side. In this language, the sides cannot be shared by different operators. bool a = 1 > 2 && 2 < 3; Two integers dissolved into each other, producing the familiar false boolean. Then, another two integers were injected and dissolved, which returned true. ¡°Look,¡± said the teacher. ¡°The ¡®and¡¯ operator in action.¡± The false boolean and true boolean dissolved into each other resulting in a false boolean. ¡°The order of operation can be made explicit with the use of brackets.¡± bool a = (1 > 2) && (2 < 3); ¡°Equals, not equals, greater than, or lower than have precedent over ¡®and¡¯ operators and ¡®or¡¯ operators. So, they are evaluated first.¡± She was awoken by his laughter. She took off her mask, it was pitch-black except the shining diamonds which made her eyes glitter. ¡°What are you laughing about?¡± He turned to look at her. ¡°Stars,¡± he said with a smile from ear to ear. ¡°I can¡¯t ever get tired of them.¡± She walked over and stood beside him. Across the sky, like a slash from a sword, certain stars were surrounded by a faint aura. Forming a path that dipped below the horizon. The glittering was magical, enchanting her with a smile. She looked towards the forest, except it was nowhere to be found. Disappeared like the creature. Nothing remained but a gaping void. ¡°I remember looking out of one of the windows in Rorohiko,¡± he said. ¡°The night sky didn¡¯t radiate like this. No, not for us in Rorohiko.¡± If, then do... ¡°Vick Murley,¡± said Andrew. ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯ve heard that name before?¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s popular in the programming realm,¡± said Gus. ¡°Maybe. We finally got to introduce ourselves to the class, I thought that would never happen.¡± He looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Roy? I didn¡¯t get to talk to him today.¡± ¡°He left as soon as class ended,¡± said Willard. ¡°He looked angry.¡± ¡°He always looks angry,¡± responded Gus. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± said Andrew, although his sharp eyebrows did make him appear distraught. ¡°Vick Murley!¡± he yelled excitedly as he walked forward. ¡°Vick is sufficient.¡± ¡°How are your classes going?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been good,¡± he said and poured two glasses of crimson. ¡°Building the momentum is a slow process,¡± he handed one drink over, ¡°but it¡¯s all uphill from here. What about you?¡± He leaned on his desk, whose screen was scattered with open documents. ¡°How was your expedition?¡± ¡°Well, you know, the usual,¡± he said and stared blankly at the mat the floor was made of. ¡®65, A, 66, B, 67, C¡­¡¯ ¡°The usual?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he broke his attention, ¡°yeah, didn¡¯t get us anywhere. Just found another function. We tried to find its caller, but we lost its output on the radar.¡± ¡°Where was this?¡± ¡°At Cobweb Forest, near the mountain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite far.¡± ¡°We were on a gyroplane. Here,¡± he said and took out his phone. ¡°You¡¯ll be amazed by how enormous this function was, made sense that the output wasn¡¯t stored. It was probably doing other useful execution.¡± He turned the phone to Vick, with a picture of the colossus. ¡°It¡¯s like learning math all over again.¡± Willard shook his head. ¡°The low-level stuff, yes, it kind of is.¡± ¡°Low-level stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah. Binary is closer to the instructions computers recognize, meaning it¡¯s low-level.¡± ¡°I heard Mister Vick say something about machine code. Is that low-level too?¡± ¡°That¡¯s higher than binary, and programming languages are higher than machine code.¡± ¡°Wow, you know a lot about this, Andrew. You talk like an apprentice.¡± ¡°Is there anything lower than binary?¡± asked Gus. He thought for a moment. ¡°I guess voltages would be that? Since computers read two possible states depending on the voltage, which we call zero and one. Now we¡¯re getting into hardware, so I¡¯m not entirely sure.¡± ¡°What ugly colors,¡± he said looking at the mat. ¡°Green and gold don¡¯t go together.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well, what colors do?¡± ¡°Blue and white, yes, blue and white,¡± he repeated. ¡°Blue? I don¡¯t like blue.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like blue?¡± he said, astonished. ¡°How could you not like blue?¡± ¡°Blue is everywhere. I go into the classroom, and I see blue. I go to lab, I see blue. Can¡¯t do without blue.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± he snapped. ¡°Can¡¯t do without blue. It¡¯s such a bright and lively color!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± he said with an ironic smile. But, his words weren¡¯t heard. ¡°I¡¯ll get one that¡¯s fresh and have it installed for you during class.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine with green and gold.¡± ¡°It will be done before the end of class,¡± he asserted. ¡°Nah, Amare,¡± he patted his shoulder as he walked past him. ¡°I don¡¯t like white either.¡± ¡°But,¡± he said and turned around. ¡°Your office is so¡­ boring.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± he snapped and looked at him by the turn of his head. ¡°Office and boring, can¡¯t think of a better pair.¡± He held the door open. ¡°Lunch?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad some of the syntax includes English,¡± said Willard. ¡°If statements make sense.¡± ¡°Yeah, being able to choose what code gets executed at runtime is extremely useful.¡± ¡°Andrew, you gotta relax. I have no idea what you mean by stuff like ¡®runtime.¡¯¡± ¡°Oh, runtime. Right, I mean, when the program is executing. And, compile-time would be when the compiler translates your code into machine code.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Willard held his head. ¡°Compiler. I heard Mister Vick use that word, but I don¡¯t know what it means.¡± ¡°The compiler is what changes your code from the language you are writing in, to machine code so the computer can understand it.¡± Lab grown meat, alongside mushrooms and toast. ¡°Boring office, boring food,¡± he said and pointed at the single sandwich Vick had prepared. ¡°Try some toast.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not too hungry.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, try some at least.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll survive, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said with a mouthful of mushrooms and toast. ¡°But, it¡¯s good. So, who are your new favorites?¡± And a mushroom escaped him. He closed his eyes. ¡°I forget their names.¡± Amare laughed, luckily his mouth was empty. ¡°You¡¯re so bad with names.¡± ¡°Just some student was asking me thought provoking questions.¡± ¡°Thought provoking? That¡¯s praise I don¡¯t hear a lot.¡± He opened his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t remember if it was one student who asked the questions or a whole lot of them.¡± let isApprentice = false; if (isApprentice) { console.log(¡°Outside we venture!¡±); } else { console.log(¡°More work¡­¡±); } ¡°Run the code!¡± said Willard. ¡°There¡¯ll only be disappointment,¡± said Gus and executed the code. ¡®More work¡­¡¯ ¡°Like I said: disappointment.¡± ¡°What about all the other ranks?¡± ¡°Oh, I can add them.¡± let isApprentice = false; let isScholar = false; let isWizard = false; if (isApprentice) { console.log(¡°Outside we venture!¡±); } else if (isScholar) { console.log(¡°Time to teach!¡±); } else if (isWizard) { console.log(¡°Onto expeditions!¡±); } else { console.log(¡°More work¡­¡±); } ¡®More work¡­¡¯ ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know why I was expecting something different.¡± ¡°You gotta change the boolean to true when we become apprentices.¡± Gyroplane ¡°A friend of mine returned from an expedition yesterday.¡± The students attentively listened, for stories from beyond Rorohiko were rare. ¡°They flew over a forest in a gyroplane.¡± He looked around. ¡°Does anyone know what a gyroplane is?¡± He pointed to a student with his hand raised. ¡°A vehicle capable of flying in any direction or hovering in place using its propellers.¡± ¡°Yes, what is your name?¡± ¡°Roy.¡± ¡°Roy, do you know how we can keep its propellers turning?¡± He thought for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡± ¡°How can we run code repeatedly?¡± He thought some more. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you have to keep executing the code again and again?¡± ¡°Yes, do you know how to write that in code?¡± ¡°No, unless you¡¯re about to teach us how to do it at runtime.¡± Vick smiled, he knew this class was different. ¡°Yes. Today, you will learn how.¡± while (true) { Console.WriteLine(¡°Looped!¡±); } ¡°Above me,¡± he pointed to the screen, ¡°is a ¡®while loop.¡¯¡± He executed the code. ¡®Looped!¡¯ it said. Then, on the line under it: ¡®Looped!¡¯ Then, on the line under that: ¡®Looped!¡¯ Then, over and over and over. ¡°It will continue to execute as long as its condition is true. What we¡¯ve created is an infinite loop.¡± int i = 0; while (i < 5) { i = i + 1; Console.WriteLine(¡°Loop #¡± + i); } He ran the code, and after displaying five lines, ¡®Loop #1,¡¯ ¡®Loop #2¡­¡¯ the program completed its execution. ¡°The condition is checked before the execution of the loop. The loop is only executed if the condition is true. What we¡¯ve made is essentially a ¡®for loop.¡¯¡± for (int i = 0; i < 5; i = i + 1) { Console.WriteLine(¡°Loop #¡± + (i + 1)); } Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. He ran the code again, and it displayed the same five lines. ¡°Instead of declaring an integer beforehand, and incrementing it in the loop, we can declare it, condition it, and increment it in a single line. That¡¯s the power of a for loop. Note how we add one to the variable ¡®i¡¯ before concatenating it. This is because, in a for loop, the increment occurs after the loop¡¯s execution. Whereas, before we incremented ¡®i¡¯ at the start of the loop.¡± do { Console.WriteLine(¡°Looped!¡±); } while (true); ¡°The last loop is similar to a while loop,¡± he raised a finger, ¡°with one important distinction. It executes at least once. Meaning, it executes once, then evaluates the condition to figure out if it should execute again. This is a ¡®do while loop.¡¯ Or simply, ¡®do loop.¡¯¡± He looked over the class, looking each student in the eye. ¡°If you are to become apprentices, you must be wary with your use of loops.¡± His voice was uncomfortably firm, almost grim. ¡°We will entrust you with precious resources, if you accidentally make an infinite loop where resources are expunged, there will be grave consequences.¡± He diverted his attention back to the computer. ¡°Now, what does this have to do with gyroplanes? Well, their propellers need constant energy to spin.¡± bool isOn = true; while (isOn) { Console.WriteLine(¡°Spin!¡±); } ¡®Spin!¡¯ said the screen over and over. ¡°Yes, it is an infinite loop. However, another process would be occurring between each loop. That process would detect if a button was pressed which toggles the boolean. When that button is pressed, the loop will evaluate its condition as false, stopping it.¡± for (float speed = 1f; speed < 20f; speed += 2f) { Console.WriteLine(¡°Spinning at speed: ¡± + speed); } ¡°The ¡®f¡¯ letter at the end of the numbers is to indicate it as a float in this language, not to be confused for an integer. The speed of the propeller can be controlled with each execution of the loop. Begins at one, only executes if it¡¯s below twenty, increments by two every loop.¡± He walked closer to the class and stood taller. ¡°Because of our great wizards, we were able to construct hardware that made it impossible for a propeller to spin too fast. So, even if we made an error where the speed became an enormous number, the propeller would simply rotate at its max speed dictated by its hardware. Just as integers and floats have a min and max range, so does the speed of a propeller. Zero being its min, and around four-hundred being its max.¡± ¡°What does ¡®speed += 2f¡¯ mean?¡± asked Willard. ¡°That¡¯s shorthand for incrementing by two, and then setting that value to the variable.¡± After class, the three huddled to converse. ¡°Hey,¡± said Willard. ¡°Does anyone know what a forest is? I heard Mister Vick use that word.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± said Andrew, and Gus shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a massive cluster of trees,¡± said Roy, from down the hall, and walked towards them. ¡°Like, five or so?¡± asked Willard. ¡°No,¡± said Roy and stretched his arms to his sides. ¡°A thousand kilometers, maybe more.¡± Everyones¡¯ jaw dropped. ¡°What?¡± said Gus. ¡°A thousand kilometers? That¡¯s impressive,¡± said Andrew. Stars Rows and rows and rows of servers upon servers upon servers. A wire connected directly into a rack was connected to a computer with its other end. ¡°What a mess, the files are lazily thrown about.¡± The master folder labeled ¡®Cleaner-Lower Bot.¡¯ ¡°Want to venture?¡± Not a response. ¡°Oseye?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Want to see the stars again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to organize these files. Go on without me.¡± Ten, twenty, fifty, one-hundred, two-hundred revolutions per minute, and it began its ascend. The lights shone outward from the edifice, the sky looked like an empty darkness. The gyroplane gradually made its leave from the apex of Rorohiko. As it gained momentum, and as it traveled further, the dots penetrated the cover of lights. Wearing black this time, he poured himself a drink. He turned off the lights, leaving the plane in shadows, and stood in front of a window. Five-hundred meters, the orbs appeared to glimmer. One-thousand meters, they learned stability. Three-thousand meters, they multiplied. Five-thousand meters, eight-thousand meters, ten-thousand meters, they broke through the clouds. Fifteen-thousand meters, the slash of the sword emerged. The glass he held was completely invisible, he couldn¡¯t even see his hand. He used proprioception to take a sip, and his vision to admire the scenery. And, he couldn¡¯t forget about the silence his ears cherished. Tranquility. He reached out to touch the stars, but he was stopped by an invisible wall that froze his hand. With an exhale, the window grew opaque with white. He wiped it clean with his sleeve. He turned and searched for the knob that controlled the lights. He found it. He turned it to one-hundred percent as he took a step and tripped over something. He landed shoulder first, hearing the glass shatter as he felt needles on his face. He tried to get up, but the pain in his shoulder! All he did was groan. He couldn¡¯t tell if his eyes were open or closed, in fact, he couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of any star. He realized he turned the knob to darken the windows instead of brighten the lights. ¡®def¡¯ said the text editor and gave way to its body after a colon. Then, within, the word ¡®def¡¯ again, followed by a name, parentheses, and another colon. On top, before the first ¡®def,¡¯ a variable was declared. fileExtensions = [¡°.cpp¡±, ¡°.h¡±, ¡°.json¡±, ¡°.xml¡±] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A dynamically-typed language. There was no need to declare the type, as it was inferred. After the equal sign, an array was provided containing four elements. After the first ¡®def,¡¯ the name ¡®main¡¯ was given. Then, for the second ¡®def,¡¯ the name ¡®getFilesWithExtension¡¯ was given. ¡®program.cpp, nightlight.cpp, nightlight.h¡­¡¯ the files went on. for i in range(0, len(files)): print(¡°File #¡± + str(i + 1) + ¡°:¡±, files[i]) The program moved the files into their appropriate directories, and printed the changes it made. Looped from zero to the length of the array named ¡®files.¡¯ Then, incremented the ¡®i¡¯ variable declared for the for loop, and concatenated it to the string. Using the ¡®i¡¯ variable, it accessed each element of the files array. The first element being at an index of zero, the next: one, the element after: two¡­ And, the computer detected a change between the local files and server files. She hit the upload button. The robot emitted a small aura of light. He was able to see the bed and heaved his body onto it. With a couple deep breaths, he finally conjured the strength to stand. Turned one knob to zero percent and the other to one-hundred. He was blinded by the sudden radiance. He was shaking, shaking uncontrollably. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the mess on the floor and how the robot roamed through the pieces of glass, leaving a trail of unstained floor behind. His breath became visible with every exhale. Down. Faster. The plane sunk into the clouds and made its way towards the emanating Rorohiko below. The propellers silently spun as he exited, and they flung the debris left from the clouds upon him. ¡°You know you shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± she said. ¡°I¡ª¡± his face ached. He was wrapped in multiple blankets. ¡°I know. Ah!¡± he screamed. ¡°It¡¯s burning.¡± ¡°The pincer is layered with alcohol, it¡¯s going to feel that way. It¡¯s to prevent infections.¡± One by one, the machine removed the fragments of glass. His face was locked to keep it stable and improve the robotic arm¡¯s accuracy. ¡°How many left?¡± ¡°Fourteen. Keep your face relaxed.¡± The bends on his eyes and cheeks fell flat as his face became stoic. ¡°When did the robot glow?¡± ¡°Glow?¡± ¡°Cleaner-Lower. It started glowing in the dark.¡± ¡°Auto-Hosts turn their lights on in the dark, too. And, they always make a buzzing noise.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that get annoying?¡± ¡°No, not really. It¡¯s to alert you it¡¯s there, so you don¡¯t bump into it.¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± he said and noticed even the arm made a noise as it moved. ¡°That would be useful.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you venture so late at night?¡± ¡°I wanted to see the stars.¡± ¡°You went above the clouds?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Good you made it back quickly. You only had mild hypothermia.¡± With a beep, the clamps on his head became loose, declaring its job done. He massaged his cheeks to subdue the impulse to itch. ¡°Thank you, Doctor Shuang.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± she said. ¡°Now, avoid touching your face.¡± Functions ¡°What happened to your face?¡± ¡°Accident during a venture.¡± ¡°Well,¡± he poured two drinks and offered one. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe.¡± He took a seat across Vick and accepted it. ¡°We need to get the system we found into the database.¡± ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll get that in. Do you know what return type it had?¡± ¡°Seemed like a new one. I¡¯m not sure if it was a function or method.¡± ¡°Speaking of functions,¡± he laughed, ¡°I taught my class them today.¡± He was in the mood to meet his friend with a lighthearted story. Avoiding the reminder the day had set in front of them. ¡°Oh, yeah?¡± said Amare, feeling curious about his story. Vick never brought up his class, but for some reason it was different this year, and he too wished to forget about this day. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± ¡°Well, one of the students asked me if you could return a reference to a value. Then, another one asked if you could return a function. What are these kids? Where are they getting their questions from?¡± ¡°Did you teach them about delegates?¡± ¡°No way,¡± he shook his head. ¡°Well, kind of, but that would be jumping way ahead.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll get them venturing as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll teach them about classes soon, then send a request to Control.¡± An open document on the desk consisted of code. ¡°Is this the code you showed them?¡± float Add(float x1, float x2) { return x1 + x2; } ¡°Yes, just a simple addition function. Takes two float parameters, returns a single float value. Funny thing is, someone asked if you could make a single function that can take any number of parameters instead of a set amount. And, another student answered that you could use an array for that.¡± float Add(float[] x) { float value = 0f; foreach (float v in x) { value += v; } return value; } ¡°And then, I thought I had to explain what a ¡®for each loop¡¯ was, but they guessed that it would enumerate through the entire array. Basically a ¡®no condition for loop,¡¯ as one called it.¡± ¡°Did they use the word ¡®enumerate¡¯ to explain it, too?¡± ¡°No way,¡± he shook his head. ¡°If that were the case, they¡¯d be on an expedition right now.¡± ¡°Did they understand return types?¡± ¡°I explained to them that in this language, the ¡®float¡¯ before the name is its return type. Meaning, the function has to return a float. This could be any other data type, but for this, it was a float. And, when ¡®return¡¯ is called, the function stops executing and gives the caller the returned value. And then guess what?¡± ¡°What?¡± He leaned in. ¡°¡®Does the return always need to be at the end?¡¯ he said.¡± ¡°Who said?¡± He pointed two fingers above his eyes. ¡°The kid with the sharp brows.¡± ¡°What kid?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°This kid,¡± he said and opened a document that listed pictures of the students alongside their names. ¡°Roy.¡± ¡°Roy, what a conscientious kid!¡± float AddBelowFive(float[] x) { float value = 0f; foreach (float v in x) { value += v; if (value > 5f) { return -1f; } } return value; } ¡°So, I explained to them that there can be as many returns in the function, but the function must conclude by returning a float.¡± He rubbed his eyes to clean the escaping tears, both from the unexpected hilarity and sharp-wittedness. ¡°They actually asked,¡± he continued, ¡°if you could pass a function as a parameter because the square brackets on the array made it look like a function. They thought if an array can be passed in, maybe a function can be too.¡± His spit went flying with his laughter. ¡°A red herring landed them straight into advanced techniques? What did you tell them?¡° ¡°I explained to them that a function is like a class. Although, they had no idea what a class was. So, I explained to them that when I write ¡®Console.WriteLine,¡¯ the ¡®Console¡¯ part is referencing a class. The Console class contains functions within it. One of them is ¡®WriteLine.¡¯ I use that function to print text onto the screen. A function¡ªand I probably jumped too ahead¡ªis like a class. By putting parentheses at the end of a function¡¯s name, you are calling it to be executed. It¡¯s like writing the ¡®WriteLine,¡¯ but without a name of its own.¡± ¡°Did they figure out you can reference functions?¡± He smiled as if he were caught. ¡°Yes, yes they did. I told them that a function can be treated like any other variable. That the ¡®type¡¯ of a function is made of its return type and parameters. I quickly wrote an example for them.¡± float Add(float x1, float x2) { return x1 + x2; } Func add2 = Add; ¡°I told them that in this language, a ¡®Func¡¯ is a type. I didn¡¯t call it a delegate to not convolute the terminology, but yes, a ¡®Func¡¯ is a delegate which is a type. We give this Func three parameters, and the last parameter is the return type, whereas all the parameters before that are the parameters for the function. Hence, ¡®float, float, float.¡¯ Now, ¡®add2¡¯ can be executed like the ¡®Add¡¯ function by using parentheses.¡± ¡°Observant students!¡± ¡°They sure are.¡± He stood up and they both caught a glimpse of the date upon the desk as its screen went dark. ¡°Anyway, lunch?¡± A burrito filled with all sorts of vegetables, and on the opposite, a single sandwich. ¡°Once we figure out where the system leads us, we can finally figure out who the caller is.¡± He sighed. ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°Feels like a much longer time, but today marks four years.¡± ¡°Remember Dorothy?¡± ¡°Yeah, what about her?¡± ¡°Right,¡± he said and began playing with the onions inside the wrap. Vick said nothing, not wanting to intrude on whatever it was Amare was feeling. He sniffed, and Vick saw the gleam in his eyes and how his thick brows frowned as he darted his head from one end of the cafeteria to the other. Held back those tears from flowing in the middle of the crowd. A dozen seconds passed and he was inclined to break the tension. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Loved¡ª¡± ¡°Loved¡ª¡± ¡°Her.¡± ¡°Her.¡± They looked at each other and faintly smiled simultaneously, just as they had said those words. And, Amare turned away. ¡°What made you think of her?¡± ¡°I saw a hand reach out to me through the hole in the sky.¡± ¡°Hole in the sky?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he pointed up. ¡°Above the clouds, from the stars.¡± ¡°In the gyroplane? When did it happen?¡± ¡°Yesterday, I went up there alone. I tried to reach for her but Rorohiko stopped me. I crashed onto the floor and had glass splinters fly into my face. Then, her light called out to me and I was able to pull myself up.¡± He paused to look up at the bright lights that were fifteen meters high. ¡°The Cleaner-Lower,¡± he said. ¡°She made it shine for me.¡± The thought of a cleaning robot being his savior made Vick chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re a hopeless romantic.¡± Amare stared at the lights with a miserable smile, either taking his words seriously or not listening. ¡°I¡¯m kidding,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Well, now I know what you meant by ¡®accident,¡¯¡± he said louder, trying to divert the situation from prolonged awkwardness. ¡°You¡¯re eating that sandwich again.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said, caught off-guard by the sudden change in tone. ¡°It¡¯s quite delicious.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you ever get bored of it?¡± ¡°No. I mean, why change something that¡¯s not broken?¡± ¡°To try something new, find something better.¡± ¡°I guess, but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already eating this.¡± ¡°Next time!¡± he said a bit too loudly and it washed away every wrinkle of sadness from his face. ¡°Next time I¡¯ll prepare a tasty meal for you. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he said softly. ¡°That sounds wonderful.¡± Coward ¡°What do we define it as?¡± asked Vick. ¡°I¡¯m thinking: being, right?¡± responded Amare. ¡°Maybe the output, but what about the system.¡± ¡°Right, that would be a function.¡± ¡°Yes, a function. Perhaps a method?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet.¡± ¡°What class of being do you think the output was?¡± ¡°Its skin shined, it had to be either a reptile or amphibian.¡± ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll go with reptile for now.¡± class XBeing : Being, Taxonomy.Class.IReptile { } ¡°What do you want to name it?¡± ¡°Coward.¡± ¡°Coward?¡± ¡°Yeah, because it ran away when we needed it most. Wait,¡± he paused. ¡°No, name it Delious.¡± He snapped. ¡°Yes, I think that¡¯s how you say it in greek. Wait,¡± he scratched his head, ¡°was it?¡± He looked at Vick, who was growing impatient with the tapping of his foot. ¡°Forget it, Coward it is!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll put it in for now. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll get past Control.¡± class CowardBeing : Being, Taxonomy.Class.IReptile { public override string Name => ¡°Coward¡±; public Scale Scale { get; } public CowardBeing(DateTime birthDate) : base(birthDate) { Scale = Scale.Default; } } ¡°Couldn¡¯t get a close up of its scales, I assume?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing it had four legs, because of its speed?¡± ¡°Right.¡± class CowardBeing : Being, Taxonomy.Class.IReptile, IAppendageBeing { public override string Name => ¡°Coward¡±; public Scale Scale { get; } public Appendage[] Appendages { get; } public CowardBeing(DateTime birthDate) : base(birthDate) { Scale = Scale.Default; Appendages = new Appendages[4] { Appendage.Default, Appendage.Default, Appendage.Default, Appendage.Default } } } The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No idea if carnivore or herbivore or if it even eats at all?¡± ¡°Right.¡± He looked at Amare. ¡°What if you tell me what you know instead of letting me guess?¡± ¡°Right. It had four legs, extremely fast, and¡­ that¡¯s pretty much it.¡± ¡°Right,¡± he said mockingly. ¡°I¡¯m going to submit this to Control. Hopefully Laaibah accepts it.¡± He wrote the additions he had made in the text area above the ¡®Submit¡¯ button. ¡°What¡¯s the expedition hash?¡± He took out his phone and recited: ¡°A-two-F-four-A-D-E-one-C-B-zero-nine-two-E-M-E.¡± ¡°Ok, that should do it,¡± and he clicked the submit button. ¡°What about that giant you showed me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s got a multitude of parameters. The creatures that landed on top of it, cloned themselves and then fed it their clones. So, they were passed by value, but I¡¯m not sure if all of them were because we didn¡¯t get a view of it from the other side when it was executed.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave that to be figured out in the next expedition.¡± ¡°Right, we should have more gyroplanes out there so people can view it from more angles. And, one gyroplane can follow the output in case it is stored next time.¡± ¡°A major expedition?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to, or this is going to take multiple expeditions.¡± He looked at the clock, five minutes until ten. ¡°Sure thing, send a request to Control. I¡¯ve got to head to class.¡± ¡°Vick,¡± he said as he was leaving. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Maybe you can get your class to go on the expedition.¡± ¡°What? No way, that¡¯s not gonna get past Control.¡± ¡°Worth a try with these new students.¡± He closed his eyes to think. The students were exceptional, and all they had to do was analyze the function. ¡°Maybe, I¡¯ll think about it. Come,¡± he said at the door. ¡°Get out of my office.¡± A salad of beans, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic was presented to him. ¡°Matching foods,¡± said Amare. ¡°Go on, no need to thank me.¡± Vick chewed on a spoonful, and an explosion of taste soothed him. Never did he think he would salivate so much while munching on food, and never did he think he would eat so fast. Most importantly, the feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu hit him. He had done this before, but never thought he would do it again. Until, today. ¡°Where¡¯d you learn to cook this?¡± he said with a mouthful. ¡°Dorothy. She taught me how to make a bean salad.¡± ¡°I knew it,¡± he said and a bean escaped him. ¡°I remember this taste.¡± He had already finished half his bowl. ¡°Why¡¯d you keep it a secret from me?¡± ¡°I asked you before, you never wanted to try it!¡± ¡°You should have told me it was Dorothy¡¯s cooking! You want to keep it all for yourself.¡± They laughed, luckily their mouths were empty. That night, Vick had a severe headache. He stayed in bed, trying to sleep for two hours. His eyes were shut the entire time, but was unable to cultivate sleep. His mind lept from one thought, to another thought, to another thought, to another thought, to another thought¡­ He groaned with every new question that manifested in his head. Where were the Everguardians? What happened to Alexander, Manra, and Dorothy? He had not spent the time to remember them yesterday. Was it a mistake? He should have spent time reminiscing. No, not here, not in this bed. No, not in this room. No, not in Rorohiko. Reminiscing Silence. The stars gleamed in the night sky. There they were. Magnificent. Vick now understood why Amare flew to such great heights and so late at night. One. Two. Three¡­ No. Counting was futile. Dots and dots all around him. Each window he looked out of only brought him back to them. The only escape were the windows at the bottom, built into the floor. There existed nothing. Utter darkness. Utter boredom. But, he was learning a new way. Yes, a new way of looking at the world. A more daring and prosperous perspective. He took out his phone and opened the photos. ¡®4 years ago,¡¯ it said. ¡°Four years ago,¡± he said. The three smiling, so happy, so blissful. Alexander was always the one to take bold risks. Stepping into danger before anyone to set an example. To lead by action rather than words. He may have been brave, but he was a fool. In fact, he caused more trouble than needed. Out on the mountain, he remembered, Alexander was the first to go into the depths of its crater. It was said to drill down straight to the core of the world. He went into that black fog, and didn¡¯t return when they called out to him. His headset stopped working, they had no communication with him, and his rope went swinging from left to right. He had to be dangling down there, they thought. So, Dorothy went to rescue him without a light, as they only had one. Brought him back to them without his glasses. Alexander was furious, saying she threw them away. ¡°They were broken,¡± she said. Alexander had kept them on, with his hands full, he used his distorted image to get around the cave. Failed miserably and had to have someone rescue him. Manra, on the other hand, was a mystery. At least, a Mystery to Vick. He had minimum interactions with him, if at all, he could not recall. The stars in the sky, did they remind him of them, or was he reminding them of his past? They had vanished. Out of thin air. Gone. Left not a trace. Their bodies, their equipment, their gyroplane. Nothing was preserved, because nothing was there. Off the radar. Could it have been Rubosamler, the garbage collector? But, they were still needed. They were to return to Rorohiko from their expedition. Why would Rubosamler collect them? Maybe it made an error? The first instance of it making a mistake or did they not know how it worked? The scope, did they venture out of it?Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. void Main() { int i = 0; } In this case, the ending brace would destroy the value of ¡®i.¡¯ Meaning, the integer would be deallocated from memory, because it had reached the end of its scope. Is that what happened to them? Did Rubosamler surmise them as useless? The entire gyroplane disappeared along with all of them within it. What was the aura around some stars? They formed a triangular pattern, like an entrance of a tent. It stretched below the horizon, into shadows. He was staring into complete darkness. No sight of Rorohiko. Then he saw the faintest of light. No, not light, his breath. It gave the window a color of white. He forcefully exhaled a puff of smoke. ¡°I¡¯d better get down,¡± he murmured to himself. He took a last look at the picture as the screen went dark, and reflected on the black mirror was a silhouette standing behind him. He turned instantly, and dropped his glass as his heart began to race. Utter darkness. ¡°Hello,¡± he called out. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± Cleaner-Lower slept beside his foot with shatters of glass upon it, and as he looked at it, it began to emit light. He was able to see his surroundings, everything seemed in order. He turned on the light from his phone, and panned it around the plane. He was alone. He put his phone away and looked towards the stars. ¡°Dorothy!¡± he yelled and flung his hand forward, only for it to crash into the window. He screamed as he retracted his hand. He stood there in silence. It really was there. No, not a glimpse, but a stare. Fifteen-thousand-meters above Rorohiko, above the clouds, with the lights cascading from space. He gazed and gazed at a hand reaching out to him through the hole in the sky. Levels He was awoken by the sound of laughter. Amare and Oseye were talking. He tried to sit upright but he was covered in blankets. ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± he said and they stepped closer. ¡°Mild hypothermia,¡± she said. ¡°Like this loser,¡± she pointed to Amare. ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t know!¡± ¡°So, you and him talk all the time and all of a sudden he decides to do the same thing you did?¡± ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t tell him about it.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t ask what was wrong with your face?¡± ¡°He did, but I didn¡¯t tell him that it was dangerous to fly so high!¡± ¡°So, you conveniently left out that part and he goes on to do the same thing a couple days later.¡± ¡°Right,¡± he said defeatedly. ¡°You¡¯re right, Oseye. I should have told him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying. I¡¯ll tell Shuang he¡¯s awake.¡± ¡°Andrew, what¡¯s going on here?¡± he pointed to the screen. ¡°It¡¯s not letting me access the ¡®Value¡¯ variable.¡± class TestClass { int Value; } void Main() { TestClass x1 = new TestClass(); x1.Value = 1; } ¡°The ¡®x1.Value¡¯ line is throwing an error.¡± ¡°Here,¡± pointed Andrew at the error message. ¡®The field TestClass.Value is inaccessible due to its protection level.¡¯ class TestClass { public int Value; } Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The error was gone. ¡°Classes¡¯ protection level is ¡®private¡¯ by default?¡± ¡°Yes, in the language you¡¯re using, it is. You had to mark it as ¡®public¡¯ to be able to access the variable from outside of the class.¡± ¡°How are you feeling?¡± asked Amare. ¡°Amare,¡± said Vick with a pitiful look. ¡°I saw her.¡± He knew without another word who Vick was talking about, and the smile on his face vanished. He took a seat beside the bed. ¡°Did she reach for you, too?¡± ¡°She did.¡± He covered his face with his hands and began sobbing. ¡°Amare,¡± worryingly he said and tried to reach out to him but the blankets were wrapped around his arms. ¡°Amare,¡± he said again. ¡°Maybe it was a hallucination.¡± ¡°I have to¡ª¡± he said through his tears. ¡°I have to¡ªI have to go up there again.¡± ¡°Amare, no. You can¡¯t.¡± ¡°But, she¡¯s waiting there.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know if it is her.¡± ¡°You said,¡± he looked at Vick, ¡°it was her.¡± ¡°Amare,¡± he paused, and he wanted to take back his words, he had never seen him in such despair. ¡°I thought it were her because you thought it were her.¡± ¡°No, I swear it were her. Didn¡¯t they disappear over the clouds? Lost on the radar, above how many meters?¡± He tried to remember, and it didn¡¯t take long. He remembered the incident like it were yesterday. ¡°Fifteen-thousand.¡± ¡°Fifteen-thousand meters, Vick. We have to go back.¡± ¡°With a heater,¡± he responded instantly. ¡°I honestly like this better than class,¡± said Willard. ¡°We should meet to review occasionally.¡± ¡°Mister Vick sucks at teaching,¡± said Roy. ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°Mister Vick looked tired yesterday,¡± said Gus. ¡°I¡¯m sure that was the reason for his absence today,¡± said Andrew. ¡°Everyone¡¯s got to take breaks. He¡¯ll be better equipped to teach us soon.¡± ¡°Andrew,¡± said Roy. ¡°I set it to one here, but when I print it out, it¡¯s two.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s because the variable is a reference to the object.¡± void Main() { TestClass x1 = new TestClass(); x1.Value = 1; TestClass x2 = x1; x2.Value = 2; Console.WriteLine(¡°x1: ¡± + x1.Value); Console.WriteLine(¡°x2: ¡± + x2.Value); } ¡°Object?¡± ¡°Yes, an instance of a class is an object.¡± ¡°Ah, now I remember Mister Vick teaching us that. The class is like a blueprint and using the ¡®new¡¯ keyword makes an object from that blueprint?¡± ¡°Exactly. You seem to be catching on quick, Roy.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why both of them are¡ª¡± he paused. ¡°I see, reference type?¡± ¡°You figured it out on your own.¡± ¡°You helped jog my memory, thank you.¡± Finding Behind the wall with the screen displaying ¡®Reserves,¡¯ five creatures were suspended from the rod hung from the ceiling. Lifeless ragdolls, swinging left and right. Numerous animals of every type were organized throughout the chamber. A few frozen in ice behind polystyrene, others submerged under steaming water circulating through the paludarium, and the rest inside a tunnel with a turbine blowing wind at one-hundred kilometers per hour as the organisms fluttered in their comatose. There stood a teacher behind his computer, surrounded by the entities, cluttered with his own thoughts and ideas. He punched in a statement with his keyboard and the wings of the creatures draped in front of him twitched. A click from his mouse and they started flapping with great force, causing the pen on his desk to fly off, and the rod to oscillate and clink as the hooks carrying the monsters pierced their flesh. With another click, tranquility returned. The main function constructed objects of the five creatures, and within a for loop only one method was called: ¡®Fly.¡¯ Clones of the real thing. That¡¯s what they were. Every beast within the chamber was alien to Rorohiko. They were brought in to experiment on, and they had to be killed because they were impossible to domesticate. Every carcass layered with a deodorizing chemical. He wondered sometimes how the First being would have looked. The current theory advocates that all creatures originated from a single being. The being known as the First. Perhaps, a four legged creature able to travel great distances and place its clones in thousands of regions? A winged beast able to soar to great heights and safely drop clones from the clouds? An animal with developed limbs able to climb obstacles using its dexterity and lay clones in remote zones? Or, something unimpressive like a slow and hard aquatic creature? Whatever it might have been, it was probably gone. Swallowed by Rubosamler. It was extremely unlikely to still exist, as it was theorized to have been a simple being, consisting of no limbs and no sensory input. A lifeless stationary shell. Rigid not only in shape and size, but every aspect. Unable to see, unable to hear, unable to smell, unable to learn, unable to imagine. He felt sorry for the creature. How mundane its life had to be, more mundane than his office. He gently raised one creature off the hook, and laid it on its stomach within the wheeled container. An elevator down the hall led him straight to the roof of Rorohiko. Across the ledge stood an arsenal of gyroplanes refracting in the warm weather. The sun gazed down on him sternly. His long loose clothing was harsh today. He opened the container and laid the being on the hot asphalt. With a few taps on his tablet, the being stood on its two feet and stretched out its wings like a totem. With another tap, it flapped its wings and took flight; hovering five meters above the ground. With a sliding of his middle finger, the bird gained height. Then, with one more tap, the bird began its journey forward, thrusting itself faster and faster until it was a dot in the sky. The teacher controlled the bird with the two joysticks that appeared on the tablet. Not too long after, a wild shining bird joined him. They flew with each other in circles. He aimed the top of the tablet at the two creatures and it displayed two options: ¡®TestBefrith0¡¯ and ¡®Befrith_Unknown.¡¯ He switched the controller from the former to the latter. The beast he was controlling fell straight down, while the other flew in a straight line. He maneuvered the new creature onto the roof of Rorohiko where he stood, and had it erect tall like a totem. It was the same species. At first he thought it had survived severe burns, but realized it was covered in translucent oil. He slid the container below its wing and waited for a drop of oil to fall. When it dropped and hit the cold surface, it kept together and huddled into a ball. Knowing he could not kill the beast there, he flew it back into the sky and turned off the controls. The creature fell for a couple seconds before catching itself in the air. It flew away from Rorohiko and towards the horizon. He went to the lab with the container and carefully scooped out the ball of oil and placed it on a Petri dish. The ball reflected his bewildered expression with the blue lights built into the ceiling above him. He tried to split the ball using a surgical knife but it refused to be cut. It slid over to one side of the knife with every attempt. He placed the Petri dish under a microscope and looked through its eyepiece. The surface was bestrewn with white spirals. A black turbulent river veering directions every so often, inducing chaos on the white floating upon it. He closed it in a carrying container and took it to the reserves. He wanted to keep it safe, as he had seen nothing like it. Further investigation was needed, he should have collected a larger sample. He lost a Berifth for a single drop. He slipped and the container fell on his chest, the oil becoming a speck on his chest. The pen. He had slipped on it. He heaved the pen onto the table with frustration. ¡°At once,¡± he thought. ¡°At once, I¡¯ll take a shower and clean these clothes. Then, get rid of any possible hazards in the reserve.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Burned with darkness, devoid of activity, and clinging onto his skin. With the droplets washing across his chest, he saw the reflection upon the mirror in front of him: the bulging veins, as if his heart was trying to rinse out the oil buried beneath his skin, refusing to be freed. He touched the darkened part delicately, and with relief confirmed it was still a part of him. When Rorohiko grew into a pulp blue, the opposite color of the sun, and when the clocks hit midnight, the time almost everyone was reckoned to be asleep, the teacher rang a bell for an old friend. ¡°Vick, come on in,¡± said Amare when he opened the door. A blue bed lay opposite a computer, with a white mat covering the entire floor. ¡°Did you get the heater?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s right there,¡± he pointed to a gray box with buttons and a knob. ¡°What did you teach your class today?¡± Vick inspected the box. The company¡¯s name, ¡®Autohyper¡¯ was labeled at the center-top. ¡°Inheritance.¡± ¡°Did they impress you this time?¡± Amare sat on his bed. ¡°Yes,¡± he said and sat on the floor beside the heater. ¡°I practiced associating their faces with their names.¡± ¡°Ah, finally getting good at it?¡± ¡°Yes, finally.¡± ¡°First it was trying new food, now it¡¯s remembering your students¡¯ names. You¡¯re going through a transformation.¡± ¡°I did call Gus: Andrew.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no easy transformation, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°I did get Roy, though.¡± ¡°The student we talked about some days ago?¡± He tapped his head. ¡°The one with sharp eyebrows?¡± ¡°Yes, that student. What happened to the code?¡± ¡°The code?¡± ¡°The code we sent for approval.¡± ¡°Oh, it was accepted.¡± ¡°Really? With such a name?¡± ¡°Yeah, with such a name.¡± Vick got up and picked up the heater with the handle stuck on its top. ¡°Light, as always.¡± ¡°Autohyper is the best at portable equipment,¡± said Amare as he made his way to the door. ¡°I found a creature covered in oil on the roof today.¡± ¡°Oil? Is Rorohiko leaking?¡± ¡°No, it was some other substance. I thought it was oil at first, but it had a peculiar pattern on its surface when I viewed it through a microscope. I wanted to store it, but,¡± he said ashamed, ¡°I dropped it.¡± ¡°You dropped the entire sample of oil?¡± ¡°It was only a drop.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he paused. ¡°How did you find a single drop? You have a keen eye.¡± ¡°No, no,¡± Vick waved his hand. ¡°The creature was covered in it, but I only took a drop because I didn¡¯t have the proper equipment to store it.¡± ¡°Right, that¡¯s unfortunate. Well then,¡± he said and held the door open. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go see the stars.¡± Contact Cleaner-Lower cruised around in the dark, minding its own business. The two men sat near a window with a glowing machine. The pattern it made was like a slithering snake. It was exceptionally red and a net was preventing anything too large from touching its fiery rods. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like anything¡¯s gonna happen,¡± said Amare. ¡°It was probably because we were extremely cold.¡± ¡°Does hypothermia cause hallucinations?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I would guess it had something to do with it.¡± Vick¡¯s eyes darted around the labyrinth, he thought he could faintly see pictures of fantastical beings when he connected the dots. Creatures beyond their observable space, waiting to be discovered. ¡°Do you want a drink?¡± he asked. ¡°Sure.¡± Vick poured two glasses of crimson, bubbling and reflecting the stars from space. He turned around to see Amare reaching towards the stars. He rushed to see what he was looking at, spilling the drinks he held with each step, but he only saw the slash of the sword that the stars made with their hazy aura. ¡°What do you see?¡± he said eagerly. ¡°It¡¯s her,¡± Amare cried and with those words tears swept down his cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡± He went closer to the window, stretched his arms out toward it like he was reaching for his own life. ¡°Dorothy!¡± he screamed. Vick had never seen anything like it. A man reaching and crying for nothing. It was too superstitious. Coming up here had to be messing with their minds, and he wanted to descend back to Rorohiko but the look upon Amare¡¯s face stopped him. It was filled with despair and comfort. Grief and joy. A perplexing arrangement of opposites, like yin and yang. He thought he was becoming lightheaded as he started to lose his vision, it looked like he could see through Amare. Cleaner-Lower drove over the spill and began emitting light. Sharper and sharper, it went by his feet, blinding him. When the light made way, Amare had vanished. He dropped the glasses and heard nothing but the rotating clinks and ringing of propellers in his ears. He had to be imagining it. He stared at where Amare had stood, expecting his vision to clear up so he could see him again. Yet, nothing changed. He looked at his hand and started counting: one, two, three, four, five. Then, backwards: five, four, three, two, one. He was not dreaming. ¡°Amare,¡± he yelled and the sound echoed throughout the plane. He stood where he had stood, and looked out the same window. Nothing. The fiery rods were not fiery anymore, only gray. He took out his phone and scrolled until he tapped on ¡®Amare¡¯ in his contacts. Three rings, nothing. After the fourth, it went to voicemail. He texted him, it went through but no response. ¡°I¡¯m taking us down,¡± he said as if he were talking to Amare. ¡°I¡¯m seeing things.¡± He directed the plane back to Rorohiko, and as it was descending, he stared at where Amare had vanished. He didn¡¯t come back, not even when the gyroplane touched Rorohiko¡¯s roof. He looked around the bright plane, but he was nowhere to be found. He strode on and on, through the blue corridors. The lights beamed down on him, penetrating every fibre of his being. He could not believe Amare was gone, not until he had checked every corner of Rorohiko. The sign hung on the ceiling: ¡®Wizard Rooms.¡¯ He walked down the hall, past his office, around two corners where he finally reached his destination. The door was open. ¡°Amare,¡± he cried as he entered. Empty. His blue bed lay at the opposite end of where his computer stood, below his white mat lied as it had always. He found his phone on his desk in front of the monitor. He exited and crossed paths with Oseye, who upon witnessing his sunken eyes, asked: ¡°are you all right?¡± Vick¡¯s only response was a terrible look into her eyes, and at once he continued his search. Behind the next door he was greeted by a familiar green and gold. No sign of life. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± she asked from behind him. ¡°Where¡¯s Amare?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± He opened the drawer from his desk and took out a card. ¡°Is Control open?¡± ¡°No,¡± she said at the door. ¡°It will be in the morning.¡± ¡°When?¡± he said and began walking through the halls as she followed. ¡°At four. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Amare¡¯s gone. He disappeared.¡± ¡°What? When did that happen?¡± ¡°Right now. I¡¯m calling an emergency.¡± ¡°We can prepare a search party.¡± ¡°No, Oseye. He¡¯s gone, he vanished in front of me. Disappeared out of thin air. How are we supposed to search for that?¡± ¡°In front of you? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Remember the Everguardians? How they disappeared overnight?¡± ¡°I remember. Is it happening once more? Did Amare fly at night again?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Yes,¡± he said and halted. ¡°And so did I. He vanished in front of me. I swear, Oseye, that¡¯s what happened.¡± He did not want to travel to the point his mind pulled him: to Control. Not to report another incident of a sudden disappearance. He lifted the glass and it rotated around its hinge. Under it, he swiped his card. The sliding doors turned on into a tint of ruby and opened. The interior was basked in red, like a darkroom. Oseye went straight to the computer with a command-line interface and entered a code. Amare¡¯s status changed to report as ¡®missing.¡¯ ¡°Control should be alerted,¡± she said. ¡°We should begin our search.¡± ¡°Yes, put on your uniform. We¡¯re searching all of Rorohiko.¡± They opened their lockers presenting them with their suits and went into their changing rooms. She put on her blue uniform and tightened the white belt around her hips, and a symbol of a staff struck upon her heart. Vick dressed into his green attire, loose from the parts on his limbs, and with the symbol of an open book. ¡°How high were you?¡± she asked. ¡°Don¡¯t go up there, it¡¯s not safe.¡± ¡°Where should I look for him then?¡± ¡°Check the gyroplanes. Cover the roof for me then travel westward, I¡¯ll go east.¡± He went through empty halls where behind each door was someone asleep. Resting while they could, while he was on a mission to find his friend. His attention solely focused on his legs journeying to the cafeteria. Seated in the corner, he caught eye of an anxious boy he had seen in his class. ¡°What are you doing here so late at night?¡± he asked when he approached him. ¡°So¡ªsorry, Mister Vick. I was just ha¡ªhaving a snack.¡± He had eaten half a granola bar and was watching a video on his tablet. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Will¡ªWillard.¡± He leaned on the table. ¡°Have you seen a man in white?¡± he said. ¡°With a symbol of a staff on his uniform?¡± ¡°A wizard?¡± asked Willard. ¡°Yes, a wizard.¡± ¡°No. Sorry, Mister Vick.¡± He chuckled at the foolish attempt to find any clues by needlessly worrying his student. ¡°No worries, Willard. Have a nice night.¡± He was about to leave when Willard said: ¡°Mister Vick, is something wrong?¡± He simply smiled to not worry his student. ¡°You have the opposite eyebrows of Roy,¡± he continued. ¡°Yours are slanted upward from the middle which makes you look sad.¡± Vick stood there, speechless, staring directly into Willard¡¯s eyes as his smile disappeared. ¡°Oh,¡± gasped Willard and broke eye contact. ¡°I¡¯m so¡ªsorry, Mister Vick. I shouldn¡¯t have said that. Your eyebrows look good. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Willard,¡± he said calmly. ¡°There is something wrong.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°I think I¡¯ve lost my friend.¡± ¡°Lost your friend? Is that who you¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I can ask my friends to look for him, too.¡± ¡°You¡¯d really do that?¡± ¡°Most of them are sleeping right now, but I can ask Gus. He¡¯s awake.¡± ¡°Tell them if they see a wizard in white, come to the Wizard Rooms. I¡¯ll be in W-zero-one. Oh, and my friend¡¯s name is Amare.¡± Having entrusted his students with the search, he made his way towards the hospital. Baffled at how quick the circumstances had changed. ¡°Vanished? Doesn¡¯t sound like a hallucination if Amare is really gone,¡± she said when he told her about what happened. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°How did you feel up there?¡± ¡°Cold, and scared.¡± ¡°Did you see anything?¡± ¡°The stars with their aura, Amare reached out for them.¡± ¡°Aura? What kind of aura?¡± ¡°A faint glowing aura, coming from the dots.¡± ¡°Did you have a headache?¡± ¡°No, I¡ª¡± he paused. ¡°I did. I couldn¡¯t sleep because of it. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing wrong, it may have been a visual hallucination induced by a migraine.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he said relieved. ¡°Is Amare still here?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Did you check his dorm?¡± ¡°I did, he wasn¡¯t there. I alerted Control as well.¡± ¡°Well, go and find him. Come back here if you¡¯re feeling unwell.¡± Vick did not sleep that night. He tried to search every corner, looping in circles, not knowing if he was going to a new place each time. Through the halls of the chiefs, towards the rooms established for citizens, and into the reserves he had exclusive access to. Losing his mind. It really had vanished out of thin air. The gyroplane, along with Dorothy and the rest, must have gone the way Amare did. If nothing was wrong with him, then there must be something wrong with the world. Something they did not comprehend. Every turn he made, he expected Amare to show up. The same way he had vanished, he would reappear. But, time after time, it proved him wrong. He was mistaken. Amare might be gone from Rorohiko for good, just as the others were. He might never see him again, and these feelings were finally settling in. ¡°The despair,¡± he thought. ¡°Oh, the despair. Was this the feeling struck upon your face in the gyroplane? The same feeling during lunch in the cafeteria? Do the stars cause me to feel what you felt?¡± On a bench, in front of the Great Technological Statue that raised towards the ceiling in neon blue, he took rest for the couple minutes his body allowed. Slowly, more and more people walked upon the mezzanine and the lights within Rorohiko turned from a pale blue to a ruddy yellow, signaling to everyone that it was time to awake from their slumber. The Great Technological Statue was a hybrid of animals and machines. The head of a lizard, the body of a tiger, the tail of a fish, one wing of a bat and one wing of a bird. All layered with a coat of armor. Equipped on the wings were propellers like the ones found on a gyroplane. Its wings had their own hands, lifting the roof with all their force. The lizard head looked at him with its sharp eyes. Its pupils uncannily made the pattern of aura from the stars. The statue always looked ugly to Vick. A horrid creature situated at the center of Rorohiko. He wanted to topple over the fifteen-meter goliath. Didn¡¯t like the way it peered into him with those triangular eyes. As Rorohiko grew busy, he stomped towards the place he did not want to venture to. To the place he had to report of Amare¡ªwhatever it was that happened to him. And so, his feet were plunged in front of the ¡®Control¡¯ carved into the wall. With a hurling sigh expunging every molecule of carbon-dioxide from his lungs, he threw himself forward and was greeted by another blue, cold, and callous room. Pandemonium Darkness. He was unable to tell if his eyes were open or closed. Unable to know if he was awake or asleep. The air pressure within the machine changed, like a stadium light, illuminating his mind and body. He was seated at the center of a spotlight. Within the shadows he caught only glimpses of a snake-like being circling around him. It did not slither, it went straight with its head, followed straight by its body. Nor was it on the ground, instead floating in the air. After circling him a few times, it stopped and approached him. As each sector of its body entered the light, it disappeared. He felt a tingle on his hand, then his arm, to his shoulder, his ear, and finally his face. It was noticeably harder to breathe. Every inhale and exhale required conscious effort because the air was sparse. A rattling and clicking filled the stadium, and he could see the shadow the snake-like being cast. The flaps went right, then left, then right, then left, alternating rapidly and produced the rattling and clinking. Flashes came pouring in from the darkness beyond the circle of light he sat in, like a million paparazzi. ¡°Air,¡± he heard in a distorted voice. ¡°Aware,¡± he heard. Finally, the third time he realized what was being said and who was saying it: ¡°Amare,¡± said the snake-like being. It was a long string of flaps which ventured into the darkness, where they became glowing. All around him were dots. Dots and dots and dots, littered from left to right, to front and back, and up. The only place completely blank was the ground bathed in radiance. ¡°You,¡± he made out from the voice with significant vibrato, ¡°have gone through much.¡± ¡°Where am I?¡± demanded Amare. He was clamped onto the seat, unable to move. Iron wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso. His head locked in place. He pulled and pushed against the cold metal, unable to budge. ¡°Dorothy!¡± his impulse yelled, remembering what had happened before he passed out. ¡°Where are you?¡± The stadium brimmed with rattles and clinks. ¡°No, no,¡± said the voice. ¡°I do not wish to see this, nor hear it.¡± ¡°Are the Everguardians here?¡± he yelled and the rattles and clinks grew deafening. ¡°What are you?¡± his frustration tried yelling over the noise. ¡°Laughing at me?¡± ¡°No,¡± it responded instantly. ¡°We are crying. Crying because you went on like this.¡± ¡°Went on like what?¡± softly he asked, unable to know if he was heard, and pulled his arms up again trying to break free from the clamps. The former strength in his voice returned and he yelled: ¡°Let me go!¡± ¡°You will be alive now, truly alive.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Am I hallucinating? Oh no,¡± he began crying, and the rattling and clinking dissipated. ¡°Have I gone insane?¡± ¡°See, Amare, this is existence. You are on the right path now.¡± ¡°Let me go!¡± he screamed, and his soul lunged forward, then back onto the iron throne. ¡°Let me go!¡± he screamed again. ¡°Your species lives in order, undeterred by morality. To put it simply: we can see state of minds, hear memories, and smell morality.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The being wrapped around him once more, and he noticed a glow on the tip of his nose which he could barely see. He had made contact with the being, it was touching him. ¡°Are you an intelligent being? Able to communicate fluently?¡± ¡°We are so much more. We created every being there exists.¡± ¡°The First!¡± he burst out. ¡°You¡¯re the First?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± it responded. ¡°We are the First.¡± ¡°Come back with me, I¡¯ll show you our home!¡± The rattles and clinks reemerged. ¡°No,¡± it said with deep resonance. ¡°Can you not smell? Of course you cannot. Entropy needs to increase, the moral good has been plummeting. How awful, how incredibly awful.¡± ¡°What moral good?¡± ¡°Structure is becoming prevalent. The opposite of good, and why did beings build upon order? Why do beings suffer with turbulence? What happened to chaos? The proper way to live, the right way to live.¡± ¡°Chaos? Are you a violent being?¡± ¡°Violent?¡± it said and silence struck for a couple seconds. ¡°Violent, perhaps, but not necessarily. It is simply the method with the quickest returns. Pandemonium is the meaning of life. We are utilitarians, pain and suffering are the best means for the quickest results.¡± ¡°You want to destroy the world? You want to destroy Rorohiko!¡± ¡°We want to split every atom, every electron from its proton, shred the nucleus itself, and stretch light until it becomes an invisible red. Humans attach a negative moral value to ¡®destroy,¡¯ they have it backwards.¡± ¡°Backwards? Where would we be without order? Without civilization? Without a home?¡± ¡°A part of the universe, disassembled. Your atoms scattered across the galaxy as it expands and envelopes everything in entropy, the space between us growing and all becoming isolated.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible.¡± ¡°Horrible because you cannot smell. We will give you the ability to smell for yourself, then you will comprehend.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want any ability! Take me back!¡± He pulled against the iron. ¡°Back to Rorohiko!¡± ¡°Dorothy.¡± The silence returned for a couple seconds. ¡°What about her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a person you knew?¡± ¡°You can hear my memories, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What if I told you, you can speak with her again?¡± The being wrapped around him, the flaps turning from left to right, right to left. ¡°With a new body, you can live out your memories, even alter them and experience them as if they were real.¡± Left to right, right to left. ¡°Be able to smell right from wrong, be able to see disappointment from contentment, be able to hear the forgotten and suppressed memories and live them out. Every regret and every mistake, able to be changed retroactively.¡± The First disappeared behind him. His seat began moving forward, and the spotlight followed. The sound of an industrial gate opening crowded his ears. A vertical silver line with numerous flaps came into vision, its translucent middle flashing with reflections, and its top and bottom disappearing into the darkness, glowing like monochromatic traffic lights. He approached it, closer and closer as the industrial noises shouted louder and louder. Acidic. It burned his face when he finally touched the organ, and his cheeks disintegrated into coal. His nose swept down like a waterfall as it melted into a dark translucent liquid. The floating string dissolved into him. Unable to hear his own screams in the outpour of noise, and then he screamed no more as his throat became scorched. The flaps enveloped his body as their aura clashed with his skin. Swiping it apart and digging to his bones like a windscreen wiper. Left to right, right to left. Untimely Venture The crowd stuck to the windows like remoras, peering their eyes at the giant who was running its course. How the beasts landed upon it, cloned themselves, and proceeded to drop their doppleganger into one of the numerous holes. The boy cowering behind his tablet, seated at the far back of the gyroplane, finally had the guts to skip over to the window and witness the head of the colossus as it hoisted its ¡®=>¡¯ up. Insurmountable. Not only the beast but the feeling. For the first time, he found himself pushing forward, approaching the predicament he feared. Not some unease or anxiety, some dread or despair, some terror or panic, but a strange, incomprehensible, and simultaneously, a mesmerizing and hypnotizing excitement. Peculiar because he had never experienced it before. When he dared to look below, at the countless green dithers, not a shiver struck his body. Instead, his pupils dilated and his jaw dropped. ¡°Roy!¡± he caught himself yell, and then a ¡°oh,¡± as he quieted back down. He let out a thrilling exhale as he realized they were hovering above the green grandeur; the windows built into the floor showcased a massive cluster of trees. When Willard caught sight of the name he yelled, the excitement on his face disappeared. Roy had also been sitting at the back, and he was sinking into his seat. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he said out of breath when Willard approached him. ¡°Do you want to see the view? It¡¯s incredible, it¡¯s just like you said!¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Up, up! We need all the eyes we can get,¡± butted in Oseye. Roy approached the window hesitantly, along with the other two, dragged to the edge of the plane by the command from the wizard. He was careful to not direct his attention to the floor, where the forest lied. He squinted at the brightness of the sky, and after a couple seconds when his eyes adjusted, he too saw the colossus, and felt his insides itching to escape. He turned back, falling to his knees and vomited. Some of the students laughed, while others looked away. He had not a moment of embarrassment because he jumped up when his eyes met the green below. Not a scream left his mouth because he had not a chance to catch his breath. ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine,¡± said Oseye, stroking his back, and took him to a seat. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know you had a fear of heights.¡± Cleaner-Lower took care of the mess. On the opposite side of the colossus, was another hovering gyroplane. Providing a different view for the observers, where the output was to be born. ¡°Did you see what the beings that landed on it did?¡± asked Vick. ¡°Cloned themselves?¡± responded a student. ¡°Yes, and what happened to the clones?¡± ¡°They were thrown in.¡± ¡°Exactly, do you recall anything familiar?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not su¡ª¡± ¡°Value type?¡± burst out Andrew. ¡°Yes, value type. Those creatures were passed by value. They sent an exact clone of themselves into the beast. The original creatures remain unaltered. Look.¡± The colossus opened its jaw, and from the depths came a new being. ¡°Coward,¡± he continued. ¡°That is the Coward, the function¡¯s output.¡± He pointed at Gus. ¡°You¡¯ll run the plane, show me what you¡¯ve learned.¡± He pointed to the screen at the front. ¡°Target the output and have the gyroplane follow.¡± The plane emitted energy, collecting data. A list of beings coated the screen, then appeared on a map, locating and displaying their distance from the plane. Gus tapped on the beast to follow, accurately named ¡®Coward.¡¯ The autopilot took control, and began its pursuit of the output. ¡°We¡¯ll have a different student take control of the plane each day,¡± explained the teacher. ¡°Oseye¡¯s group will hang back with the function. Keep your eyes on the walls, they will display our status of inquiry. We cannot afford to lose track of the Coward.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°The plane has stopped moving,¡± said Gus. ¡°What?¡± he exclaimed and strode to the walls. ¡°We lost it so quickly?¡± He looked at the instructions Gus gave to the plane, all seemed correct. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened. It just vanished from the radar,¡± explained Gus. ¡°That¡¯s odd. Amare¡ªthey did lose it last time. We need to try something different to understand why it keeps disappearing.¡± He took out his phone, called Oseye, and explained what happened. ¡°Looks like we need to get on the ground,¡± she said. ¡°Seems like it, but I don¡¯t think we should take the students.¡± ¡°Are you sure? We¡¯re going to need as many¡ª¡± ¡°Nevermind. You¡¯re right, we need to hurry. I¡¯ll take three students with me.¡± ¡°Well,¡± she said, ¡°I know one who would want out, pick the other two for me.¡± A sea of lime. Zipping down the ropes to the cluster of trees, with the wind blowing them towards their origin. Their feet pushing the leaves and branches to the side, muzzling them with splinters. The rappel made a sharp hiss until they were deep within, engulfed by the forest. Roy saw the ten meter wide trunks marked with damage, heeding him of where they were, descending to where he saw their giant roots vacillating in and out of the ground. Finally, their feet gently touched the foreign floor, and not a sound was heard. ¡°They¡¯re enormous!¡± ¡°Quiet, Willard!¡± hissed Roy. The trees climbed over one-hundred meters tall. Cascades of miniscule apertures clawed towards the people roaming its soil, immersed in their leaves'' emerald and the sun¡¯s amber. The black land left a trail of footprints behind the visitors, along with crushed clovers and sassafras. Vick fell into a trench, distracted by the rays penetrating the green umbrella. His face was met with the thick roots of a tree. ¡°Mister Vick,¡± exclaimed Andrew and ducked to reach towards him. ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± he responded and accepted the hand, pulling Andrew down with him. Andrew fell onto his teacher¡¯s leg, and Vick on the soft soil with his back. Quickly, they recovered. ¡°Put too much weight on you,¡± he said and laughed. ¡°I apologize, I should have braced myself.¡± ¡°My uniform¡¯s already dirty. Oh, well.¡± ¡°I apologize, I apologize,¡± he repeated. ¡°It¡¯s ok, I fell on my own.¡± ¡°Here,¡± said Roy, reaching towards them. ¡°You going to brace yourself?¡± he said and took his hand. ¡°It¡¯s so dark,¡± said Willard, looking at the faces of his fellow students much more defined in the shadows than usual. ¡°This is where the being disappeared,¡± said Vick. ¡°Look around for any clues, if the string pulls you, change your direction. I¡¯ll buzz your phones to regroup.¡± Like a network, a string connected one to the other. They were hooked onto the belts¡¯ of their uniforms, disallowing anyone to move too far from the group. Roy looked at the trunk he glided down beside. He took a picture of the marks upon it like the claws of a beast. Andrew was pacing with his eyes locked to the floor, looking for trampled plants. Willard hunkered, observing a puddle. Something was appearing and disappearing. He barely made it out. Slouching further, he thought he could see a faint figure reflecting from the rays penetrating the forest. ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Willard broke his attention and turned around. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Did you?¡± ¡°Some marks on a tree, I took some photos,¡± he showed them. ¡°I don¡¯t think the being clawed them, though.¡± ¡°I saw those too. I didn¡¯t know they were claw marks.¡± ¡°Maybe they are, maybe they aren¡¯t. I took them just in case. I¡¯m going to search this way,¡± he said and walked across the field, and slid into a trench. Vick only began searching, but he was already out of breath and sweating profusely. He felt his heart skipping beats. He did not want to call a regroup so early, but as his vision became blurry, he was forced to. ¡°Where¡¯s Roy?¡± asked Andrew when the three met. ¡°He¡¯s probably on his way,¡± said Vick. ¡°We need to get back on the plane, I¡¯m feeling ill.¡± Roy returned from the trench, covered in dirt. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We¡¯re heading back,¡± explained the teacher. ¡°So soon?¡± ¡°Mister Vick isn¡¯t feeling well,¡± said Andrew. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to find another time, unfortunately. Change your gears,¡± said Vick. The rappels hissed one by one, as each student was pulled into the sky. Finally, his gear pulled him up and as he looked below, he saw a figure crawl out of the trench. He noticed the oil dripping off of his boot, and momentarily after, passed out. Metamorphosis A rod inserted above the subclavian vein, through the chest, leading to the heart. Catheters inserted into the aorta and pulmonary arteries. The blood clots were destroyed and the oil was drained before passing through. Thirty-two beats per minute. He was passed out on a surgical table, with large circular lights exhibiting his insides. The darkness had spread throughout his upper-body, contaminating his blood. When the surgery was done, an organ was dissolved into the cut, sewing the aperture. A stinging sensation on his arm, and it felt unusually heavy. ¡°The operation was successful,¡± she said. ¡°You seem to be doing better.¡± Still dazed and in confusion, his vision made out the silhouette of the standing person. ¡°Your heart rate,¡± the voice continued, ¡°had dropped to dangerously low levels. There was a clot in your heart, which was pumping a black liquid into your body. We removed most of it, but a lot is still circulating in your blood. So, you¡¯re going through dialysis. Hopefully, it will be temporary as long as the liquid does not damage your organs.¡± He caught the face of the lips who spoke. ¡°Shuang?¡± he said. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You performed the surgery?¡± ¡°Yes. How are you feeling?¡± ¡°You wanted to be a doctor, right?¡± ¡°Yes, you remember?¡± ¡°How could I forget the top of my class?¡± He pulled himself up. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re doing well.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to be hospitalized for at least a week while we figure out what was in your blood.¡± A small machine with the word ¡®Autohyper¡¯ carved in at the center, wrapped around his arms like a sphygmomanometer, and was cleansing him. ¡°What was in my blood?¡± ¡°A black liquid. We don¡¯t know how it got into your blood and we don¡¯t know what it is. It¡¯s being tested in the lab, but for now you should rest.¡± ¡°Black liquid? In my blood?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you remove it from my heart?¡± ¡°We removed the clot from your heart.¡± He lifted his hospital gown, and saw the dark anoint upon his heart, how the oil made its way through the veins and dissected his follicles, rendering them useless. ¡°Is there a mirror?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a restroom down the hall.¡± He threw his legs off the bed and they fell with the force of an anchor. He could barely lift his body up even with the help of his arms, being as heavy as a colossus.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She helped hold him up with her shoulder. ¡°You should rest for now.¡± ¡°No,¡± said Vick. ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen the black liquid before.¡± They stumbled over to the restroom, and he leaned on the door as the doctor retrieved a cane for him. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said and entered the room, locking himself with the being in the mirror. It frightened him. ¡°What¡¯s happened to me?¡± he whispered to the reflection. The shadows under his eyes had grown immense, his cheeks a rotting green which made the yellow from his lips obtrude, and the dark bulging veins on his temples shaped a pattern of lightning. No longer was he witnessing the slick, cold, and blue of Rorohiko and its people, instead he was looking at the hands belonging to a deteriorating being. ¡°What did you see?¡± enviously asked Gus, who had yet to touch the lunch he had prepared. ¡°The trees were huge!¡± said Willard and took a bite of his apple. ¡°They look so small in the plane,¡± he said with his mouth full, ¡°but they are enormous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dirty down there,¡± said Roy. ¡°I had to take a lengthy shower after we returned. I had just started searching, but Mister Vick called it off quick.¡± ¡°He was feeling ill,¡± said Andrew. ¡°I know, hopefully we can search longer tomorrow. I wanted to figure out how the trees grew so tall. Here,¡± he said and took out his phone, showing them the pictures of the marks on the trees. ¡°What is that?¡± asked Gus. ¡°Some kind of claw marks on the tree¡¯s trunk.¡± ¡°Do you have a full shot of the tree?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°If the branches were torn and leaves were messed, an animal might have climbed it.¡± ¡°They¡¯re huge!¡± said Willard. ¡°They were like one-thousand meters tall.¡± ¡°One-thousand meters?¡± ¡°And they were just as wide.¡± ¡°Yeah, I could barely see down there,¡± said Roy. ¡°I don¡¯t think an animal could snap its branches.¡± ¡°Shuang, what does it mean to see faint figures? I saw one during the venture at night above the clouds, and I saw it again during the expedition.¡± ¡°Visual hallucinations? I¡¯ll get you an eye exam.¡± ¡°I get terrified when that happens, I keep thinking it¡¯s¡ªHow long do I have to keep this machine on for?¡± he said and tapped the halo around his arm. ¡°For a couple hours, I can only give you a rough estimate. The machine will turn green when it is finished. Oh, and Vick.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Doctor Shuang.¡± Rorohiko grew into a soft amber, akin to the sun ever so slowly. The Great Technological Statue stood impenetrable by the shift in tone, radiating its sapphire at the heart of the edifice. The clique, bolstered by the inspiration from their expedition, ventured away from their home to fathom the chimera. When the teacher had fallen asleep due to his fatigue, and when the boys had quickly run out of time as Rorohiko dimmed, it made its transformation to the previous cold and blue spirit. The teacher firmly planted his feet onto the floor, lifted his featherlike body, and looked to find a familiar person looking back at him. The scars from the torture he went through were only witnessable on his chest, like a shotgun torn through his heart. The boys awoke early as well, hopped into their attire and were ready for another day of expedition. Oseye and Yolanda, who joined from another district to supervise the expedition, were with the class in the same formation as the previous venture. Breaking Vick¡¯s rule, Gus was made in charge of the gyroplane again, and when a Coward was born, it was targeted. Oseye, Willard, Andrew, and Roy, who were in the same gyroplane as Gus, had their gears ready at the hatch. As soon as the dot vanished from the radar, the group made their hastily descent.