“Ahhh doing this takes too slow,” I groaned. “If only I could download information as easily as a computer downloading from the web.”
I stared at my phone screen replaying my hologram lecture, attempting to make sense of a string of uncommonly placed words uttered by my professor. Something about crystals as a replacement for power plants and how they are used as a wireless energy source for holograms. Then he goes on about the history of how the first crystals were created to siphon energy from thin air.
I detached my eyes from the thin handheld screen for a break and heard approaching dull thumps coming to a stop, followed by a voice over my shoulder. “So you’re studying on New Year’s and Integration Day. A new record for how much of a bore you are.”
I grinned at the carrier of the voice as he circled around my back, slid a chair next to me on a round table, and settled. He placed his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers into one giant fist; his head perched over in my direction, egging for my response to his banter.
“Hey, I’m graduating in a semester. I’m reviewing what I learned so I won’t forget in the field.”
But he was right—I am studying on the 40th anniversary of humanity’s integration; and to make his message more comical, I was sitting here in a university café as the planet begins its new revolution around the sun. Two holidays meant more celebration, but that didn’t stop me from attending an important annual event—a public seminar.
“You’re also graduating with me—but instead of engineering, it is in the arts,” I told him. “You know why I came here, too. I invited you to come with me and you had all the time to decline, Ruyo.”
My friend took my response as a cue for melodrama. One arm extended towards me with the other hand grasping his heart. His face contorted in anguish as he laid his pain-filled eyes on my being. “O Lord Laizen! Our friendship must have come to such a point where you call me by name! O please, I implore you not expose my treasured past to the likes of those surrounding us!”
What am I doing studying on Integration Day? Rather, why did I invite this unpredictable and spontaneous gamete to go to a public seminar? He would only absorb and shapeshift into whatever the environment provides him. I shook my head in notice of my mistake.
“Please don’t do this, my soul needs recuperation from your unbridled silliness,” I begged. “And I think you’ve got it reversed. I called you by name when our relationship was just starting; maybe a reversal is necessary since you're becoming a stranger to me now.”
Ruyo relaxed and settled back into a normal posture, only to quickly take aim with extended fingers on both hands to jab my vulnerable sides. I let out yelps for the first few attacks, which evolved into suppressed grunts as he stood and revolved around the back of my chair to spread his tease. I rocked in my seat and defended myself with arms lifted in exotic postures, but even that could not escape his all-knowing eyes.
Only when Ruyo sat back in his chair did my defense against his shadows cease. “Too stiff, you are,” he said, finger pointing in a disapproving manner.
I turned my head to spot other people gazing in entertainment. Others with their backs turned were prompted by their friends to take a look at the scene, revealing toothy smiles. Returning my head to a neutral position, I chuckled at my imagination of fending against air.
After settling from Ruyo’s tease, I reclined into my seat with an upturned face and reimmersed into the warmth of the browns and oranges of the naturally lit afternoon café. The main door opening and closing alarmed a bell’s jingle for every visitor and sent in a breeze from the gray-skied winter. It wasn’t long before the chatter grew enough to remind me the purpose of my attendance—the disciple’s public seminar.
Lifting my head from relaxation, Ruyo was looking with a still form, awaiting my return with a gleeful smile. “There you go, now you’re ready for the seminar.”
“It would be nice if the Integrator showed himself instead of his disciple, then my search would be over,” I said.
“Ah, completely forgot that you have been obsessed with the Integrator and his disciples for the past few months. Need some guidance?” Ruyo pointed to a collection of words on his phone’s screen, and a brief moment of silence followed as I attempted to understand what he was pointing to.
‘Guidance’, it displayed. I squinted below the bold font and read a description of getting counseling from a spiritual guide for those lost in life. “Why would you search—”
“I lost you for several minutes after my barrage, so I thought your soul left, and my concern led me here,” Ruyo smirked.
“Maybe you can lend me some of your soul,” I insisted. “In any case, I don’t need guidance—the information I gathered in bits and pieces regarding the Integrator is just unsatisfactory for me.”
“Lost,” Ruyo repeated, thumping his fingernail on the screen to bring my attention to his now horizontal phone – displaying ‘Guidance’ in large, bold letters.
My obsession with the Integrator didn’t mean I was lost. I wanted the truth of his existence in an endless sea of myths—a savior, a miracle, people kneeling in his presence, and curing people of various pre-integration illnesses. All were things I overheard throughout my twenty-one years of life.
The search began when I recognized that every action I took required effort because of my reliance on logic. I had to do each step of the learning process, which became unenjoyable. If only I can grasp things intuitively, such as information during a lecture, and skip all the mundane and slow work of assimilating abstract concepts, then life would be a breeze.
But that thought process was what led me to be interested in the Integrator. Hearing myths of his impact and the miracles he could perform; maybe he had the answer to receiving things intuitively. Looking online and watching past seminars of his disciples, I came to understand the presumed greatness of the Integrator, but never who he existed as, and whether he would be able to clarify my confusion.
The spark of passion led me to this day; but the long, burning fire may extinguish after this seminar. It would truly be a bore to continue studying in energy engineering if my interest in the Integrator finds its end. Back to the effortful steps I must take to gather field jargon and correlate it with my layman understanding of the world. There has to be a way to listen and communicate better than our current methods, so I sought answers in these disciples’ seminars.
They were held annually on Integration Day to update humanity on technological achievements, milestones, or to uplift our spirits through a history lesson. Each of the recordings contained information from different disciples because of their niche expertise, so I always assumed there was something new to learn. Something that hopefully closes the circle of information I’ve gathered and would send me on a new adventure.
That’s what I want—a new adventure. I don’t want to remain in a stagnant life where the same old logic is being used without rest.
A good whack on my head brought my attention back to the café clamor. “Staring into the abyss again? Let’s go—it’s time.”
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I sat at the front row of the angled lecture hall with Ruyo next to me; both of our elbows were placed on a rectangular, oak table that spanned and stopped before the stairs on both ends of the hall.
I looked around and the hundreds of seats were mostly filled with faces young and old, all with various coloration of winter attire. Looking back at the front, there was an oval, wooden stage where the disciple stood. He was swiping his fingers on a thin tablet atop a podium.
The wall behind him was flat and white until it grayed from the slight dimming of lights. Right as the projector displayed the screen on the wall behind him, he spoke in front of the podium’s mic.
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“Welcome all to the annual public seminar on Integration Day! I am History Professor Daniel Lorraine and will be talking about the period between segregation and integration of humanity which I call the integration phase.
“After forty years, it is time we look back and notice how far we progressed as a species. This talk will last for an hour, so I will do my best to cover a wide range of topics before everyone is dismissed for the rest of the afternoon.”
Applause erupted throughout the hall with a distinctly loud popping sound to my left. Turning to the sound, Ruyo’s arms extended to my face and was whipping his palms together. I gave him a nice jab to his side as he recoiled back into his seat. Revenge.
The discordant claps dwindled to silence before the voice at the podium initiated the beginning of humanity’s evolutionary story.
For most of the seminar, Professor Lorraine was comparing things I already knew about the world we currently lived in with the pre-integration era. Our world contained no violence, which held implicit meanings—but primarily that there was no conflict or anything that segregated humans from each other. Humanity at this time understood that everyone’s thoughts and desires benefited both the collective and the individual who conceived it. Once this seeped into everyone’s mind pre-integration, love was a natural consequence.
"Technology and occupations have also changed drastically—especially how scientists viewed the world. The primary usage of science in the past was for extraction and control – which evolved into a concerted effort with nature rather than against it."
“Life itself is the foundation of everything, and all technologies and occupations are designed based on this idea,” Professor Lorraine said. “We have attempted to defy Mother Nature with technology due to our immaturity, but realized too late when our attention returned to the sanctity of our planet.”
I expected him to detail the consequences of humanity’s immaturity, but it was not entertained; reminding me of the time my parents could not respond to my history questions. Not only my parents, but every adult that lived through the integration phase to whom I posed a question to was unable to talk about their past.
When I asked for their reason, they could not answer me. All of them, without exception, seemed to be unable to recall past events, especially anything related to the pre-integration period. Their responses were always along the lines of, “I can only remember bits and pieces, otherwise the memory is quite fuzzy and far away.”
The bits and pieces were general concepts like violence – which is a common theme among their experiences – and mental and physical illness. Maybe mental illness remains in our time, but there was nothing from my experience to compare to. With failure to contemplate an answer, I retuned my ears back to the clear, baritone voice projected through the speakers.
Professor Lorraine pointed to new technologies developed throughout the past forty years on the wall behind him—a basic form of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, a free energy generator that appeared to be a larger-than-human crystal, smaller crystals used as energy siphons, and a new grid system for cities that allowed for levitating vehicles on the road.
“These are the elementary technologies necessary in our daily lives which replaced the old, inefficient technologies. As a result, power plants and many buildings and infrastructure were culled; allowing the space to be used for nature reserves and other purposes. In most cases, the space was unneeded, therefore, the natural ambiance was restored,” the professor said.
“There was a time when country borders and territories existed, but during the integration phase, governments collapsed because the people realized its outdated structure and stopped supporting them. Countries no longer exist, though we still use their names in our daily lives to refer to a location, similar to how we use the names of continents.
“Without governance, people formed smaller communities instead and supported each other through exchange of services. As you already know, there is also a universal economy known as the Credit System that was adopted by everyone on the planet, which is unnecessary but for the people who found comfort in an economy. I know some of you use both depending on what communities and people you interact with, while others only trade within their small, self-sustaining communities.
“However, the greatest change in my perspective is the cessation of the use of logic in most aspects of life due to the arrival of using the heart for loving and integrative action. It is not that we have become incapable of logic. It is simply more limited than what the heart can provide. Where you need to hear a thousand words, the heart can understand in an instant.
“Logic is uncommon in our time because it is reserved to only a small population who take up their careers in the few sciences that remain. So with that personal perspective, it is time for your dismissal. Happy Integrative New Year!”
As Professor Lorraine said that, applause erupted once more as I sat there pondering. So that was why there were only a few seats in my classes.
I recalled his mention of removing old technology and infrastructure, which implied that fewer structures needed maintenance in our time. This allowed students with basic engineering knowledge to go into any sector and make repairs. Even then, my attendance in energy engineering was for the purpose of satiating my desire to create, not for maintenance.
Energy was the source of all appliances, and there was no need to maintain the crystals generating the power because they remain intact. They rarely get chipped or damaged, but even then, a replacement would be needed, meaning an opportunity to get my hands on another beauty to craft.
Now, energy engineering seems too simple and unchallenging if all it takes is a crystal that generates energy from thin air. I admit that I was attracted to the crystals when I was a child because they were colorful and shiny and pretty. Also the symmetry. No words can articulate the beauty of what my eyes locked onto. However, that reason alone no longer motivates me to continue it as a lifelong pursuit.
Though the seminar was appealing, it revealed to me the simplicity of what was needed to supply the whole planet with electricity. Once that is done… then what? Sure, it is challenging for my mind to follow the steps described in my classes, but following footsteps was unsatisfying.
What is satisfying is hearing about the heart having the ability to understand instantly. Intuition and heart… something felt missing. Is there a connection? Why am I drawn to the Integrator more than my classes?
The thought of going back to class after this was not what I looked forward to. To think that the Integrator’s disciple would trigger this repulsion in me was unexpected. If not an engineer, what would be my path in life? When all my effort was put into university and now there is an option to derail because it may not be what I want, I can only see a path of confusion.
My focus broke as I saw Ruyo standing on my left, with most seats now emptied in the lecture hall. “What are you contemplating this time?”
“… Life.” I stood from my seat and ascended the stairs to the room’s exit.
“I feel your confusion leaking—maybe stop thinking, yeah?” Ruyo suggested. “You should go home and not harm me and others beholding your presence.”
I smiled and nudged him with my elbow. “I will get you one day.”
Ruyo gave a wink before running off into the crowded hallway and disappeared. Strange man.
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Home
I unlocked my apartment door with a key and let myself in. Looking down, an almost square-shaped envelope lay on the entrance mat. I picked it up and rotated it with curious observation—the exterior was white without a single blemish and the paper was thick enough so the content’s imprints didn’t reveal in the light. A personal message?
After removing my shoes and winter coat at the entrance, I sat at a square table in the living room and incised the flap of the envelope with my fingers to reveal a folded, sturdy paper card. It was also white, but the front was inked with “Laizen Sommer” in neat cursive.
Holding the card up by the edge of the crease with both hands, I scan the text, curious of its sender because I only knew my parents and the prankster Ruyo. I stopped at the last few lines and stared with mouth agape and still. Heat crawled up my spine. When the heat reached my head, I focused more intensely at the handwritten signature that seared into my mind.
The Integrator.
Branches of cold and hot propagated on the surface of my heart – a burning passion igniting and dying simultaneously. A spontaneous visualization of me jumping for joy with arms flailing coursed through my mind, yet my excitement remained contained as my body stood stiff with pulsating, passionate heat.
With arms jittering in self-contained laughter and tears welling up in my eyes, I read to myself.
To Laizen Sommer,
Is the winter treating you well? I bet so! It is the New Year after all, and many people are celebrating it along with its secondary holiday, Integration Day. In any case, I have news for you, and you may take it however you like.
After careful deliberation and waiting, I have decided to nominate you as one of six candidates for the Explorers Project, something I have personally planned for many years meant to train candidates to be highly perceptive, keen, and resilient for the purpose of being the spearhead of humanity’s evolution. This means you will be under my disciples’ tutelage – whom I have taken extensive care of – and will be provided with all necessities during the period of training, including room and board.
Do not worry about your family; I have notified them through physical mail as well. They only know that you will be tutored by me and will be gone for a while. If it makes you feel any better, you will be able to contact them once you arrive here.
As the Explorers Project is not public knowledge, I trust that you will not go about spreading this information, regardless whether you accept this invitation or not.
If you do accept, there will be designated officers picking you up in front of your home two days from now on January 3rd at 07:00 in your time zone. They will only wait for half an hour maximum before departing in the case you refuse. You can pack clothes, food, toiletries, and personal belongings if you want, although unnecessary.
Afterwards, more details and specifics will be revealed in regards to what you will actually be doing.
I will be waiting,
Integrator