Kin and Ike stood facing each other, like two tigers circling around a lone prey. But unlike the tigers, one wanted to kill the prey, the other wanted to protect it.
"You've improved quite a bit," said Kin. "You managed to find my illusive hideout, counter the blinding light and killed Mu. Looks like you really have become a big obstacle in the purification of the world."
"Obstacle?" sneered Ike. "By getting rid of you, I'll be the one doing the purifying. Don't you see it's that missing integer that's messing up your head?!"
Kin was furious.
"I am perfect! I am the only one fit to act in God's stead! You, Ike, are nothing but a hindrance!"
Ike realised there was really no point in trying to talk to Kin. He grabbed Lisa and ran. But he didn't run straight, no! Lisa was taken through a multitude of irregular walls and sudden appearance of objects. Tree, mountain, house, sky...all these things appeared one after another, and all Ike was doing was running!
"Ike! What are you doing!?" Lisa asked frantically.
"I'm running through several dimensions not seeable with your eyes," replied Ike. "It's the only way to escape Kin."
Lisa felt very sick, the changing scenery was too much for her. To add to her fears, Kin was hot on their heels, shifting through the same dimensions as them!
"Why can't we just run in the usual 3 dimensions?" she asked, ready to throw up at any instant.
"Are you crazy?! That just makes it easier for him to ambush us! Have you ever seen ambushers lying straight in the path of their target? They'll hide in trees or bushes then jump out unsuspectingly. Kin will no doubt adopt the same strategy."
Finally, Ike stopped running. Lisa looked around, Kin was nowhere to be seen. They were now in a desolate landscape, with craters and mountains all around. Lisa looked up to see to her horror, the Earth! They were on the moon!
"I can't breathe!" she gasped.
"Ooops, sorry."
The pair then moved to an underwater cave. There was a large air pocket with rock formations where they could rest. Ike looked around, then sat down on a flat slab of rock.
"Kin may be laying a trap for us," he said. "Or we could have lost him, either way. We must be on our guard."
Lisa too took a seat on the rock formation. For a while, no one spoke, and Lisa eventually got uncomfortable. She had to say something, anything...
"Say Ike, you and Kin always say what you see cannot be described in words, I don't quite get what you mean..."
Ike, while maintaining his guard, saw no harm in starting a philosophical discussion.
"You heard of relativity right? How space and time are really connected and that time is a dimension and all? And that there's no such thing as absolute space or time? Yeah we can say all that, but do we really know what it means?"
Lisa thought for a while, then she realised she didn't.
"Even great physicists have no clue of what they're talking about either. No ordinary human being can see more than 3 dimensions, so there's no way they can picture it in their head. For saying you understand something, it means you can see it in your head. What they understand is only an abstract reality, like the whole world we live in. Remember that the people who came up with language are ordinary people, so the words they invented are only meant to describe the things ordinary people can see. Everything else can only be described abstractly. Think of Zen masters, they often say that true reality can never be described in words. As such, they invented koans, paradoxical riddles which they tell others. At first, these riddles make no sense, like 'we've known each other for so long, yet we've never met'. But to the true Zen master, they understand it fully, in true reality. Koans contain messages of true reality, and another purpose they serve is to make the student confounded and lost, so that they realise how useless their senses really are. In science, things like relativity and quantum physics can be considered a koan, just that they try as much as possible not to confuse the student, but still do anyway. You understand?"
Lisa nodded. Kin and Ike were like Zen masters, understanding true reality and all. But Kin approached it in a totally different manner than Ike. She knew both weren't bad, and deep in her heart, she wished that they could just get along. With two such people working together, the world be much more peaceful
The two of them stayed in the cave for about an hour, and Kin never showed up.
"Do you think he gave up?"asked Lisa.
"No," said Ike. "My hunch is he probably found another suicide case while chasing us, and decided to take that one instead. If that's so then we have to do something."
Ike went up to the water surface and shot out his palm towards it. A bright glare emitted from the water and images began to form. It was an image of Kin. Ike was right, Kin was taking a young student under his wing.
"The boy failed his maths again and was afraid of going home to be scolded by his parents," said Ike. "Kin is making use of it, that bastard. "He then turned to Lisa.
"Lisa, stay here. I'm going to confront Kin, it shall be a fight to the death. If I don't return within the hour..."
He then used his finger to draw an imaginary circle on the rock wall.
"Use this portal, it'll get you back home. There'll be a number I leave on your desk, call it and just say 'Hira221'. You will get help immediately."
Lisa touched the area where the 'circle' was, and to her surprise, found that it passed through the rock wall!
"As a final note, what I did just now, Kin can't do it. My remote viewing abilities are way more advanced than his. So no need to worry about him finding you."
Without waiting for her reply, Ike dashed towards the dark area of the cave, gracefully striding across the water and vanishing into thin air.
Lisa buried her face in her hands. There were so many things she wanted to know... so many questions unanswered. What else could these two people do? What can they not do? All sorts of questions, ethical, philosophical, social, scientific, were running through her mind. Now all she could do was wait in this lonely cave.
Waiting...was all she could do...
To be continued...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Eyes of the Oracle (part three)
(warning: some religious references and opinions)
Lisa hammered hard at the door.
"Let me out! I don't want to be part of this sick plan!"
She was horrified. Just hours ago she was stricken with the thought of suicide, now her suicidal tendencies were being used to bring about mass destruction! The man had locked up the door of the waiting room despite her protests.
"Please try to understand, Lisa," he said through the glass window. "We are making a small sacrifice in view of changing the world for the better."
"Small sacrifice?! It's my life we're talking about here! How am I supposed to live on knowing that I helped to destroy the world?!"
The man chuckled.
"I thought you wanted to end your life just now, why are you so keen on living all of a sudden? Don't worry, what we are intending to do is remove your brain and give it to Kin so he can extract the relevant information and store it. You won't live to see the end of the world."
Lisa was frightened. 'It must be a dream...'she thought. 'These mad men, they can't be real, it must be a dream!'
"We are definitely not a dream," said the man, once again as if reading her mind. "We are servants of the great Kin, his almighty compassion is what we want to bestow onto the world. As a matter of fact, all we need is one more. After we have obtained your brain, we can finally bring change to this world!"
Lisa was taken aback by hissing sounds emitting from the wall. It was sleeping gas! She hammered even harder at the window, as the man stared at her intently. She slammed her fists with all her might, but each slam just made her feel even more tired, even more sleepy. She fell to the floor, struggling to stay awake.
"Bang!" A huge explosion shook the whole room. Gunshots sounded over the screams coming from outside. Lisa was by now very druggish, and did not even jump in fright when a stray bullet hit the man who held her hostage in the head, his horrified face pressed against the window in morbid agony as he collapsed on the floor. The last thing she remembered was the door being kicked open and armed gunmen rushing in.
Lisa awoke in a simple bed in a room lit only by the evening sun which shone through a frosted window. The room was virtually empty, being surrounded by four bleak walls. The only company she had was a young teenager. He looked very sluggish, wearing torn clothes and slumped on a wooden chair, asleep and snoring. She looked around the room, and confirmed that there was absolutely no door. How did they get in here? Through the window?
The teenager stirred suddenly and woke up with a grunt. Lisa nearly fainted when he opened his eyes. Transparent with sparks, just like Kin! She thought she had the good fortune to be rescued from Kin's clutches, but here she was with another of his kind. As a matter of fact, she remembered the man told her there was only two in the world, could she be so 'lucky'?
"I see you're awake," said the teenager. "No need to be afraid, I'm not a crazy malfunction like Kin. I am the leader of the team who opposes him, you may call me Ike."
Ike clapped his hands, and in an instant, the room disappeared! Lisa found that the bed was in an underground basement, and all around were old furniture and other kinds of junk. Needless to say, it was another sealed dimension. She had been into two that day, not something anyone would get to do everyday.
"Come with me," said Ike, and left for the door without even waiting for her reply. Lisa didn't bother, she quickly got out of bed and ran after him.
The basement was under a huge mansion, one that probably even the prince of England would envy and land his helicopter in. All around were exquisite furniture and elaborate sculptures. There were many paintings as well. To Lisa's amusement, all the paintings were of Ike. He was obviously some sort of egomaniac.
Ike walked pretty normally, but on close examination one would notice that his feet were spread unusually wide apart like a duck. Despite that he walked unusually fast. As they walked through hallway after hallway, Lisa had to struggle to keep up with him. Finally, they stopped outside a huge door, which Ike opened. In it was a gigantic room, full of books and study tables, and on the wall was a gigantic christian cross. Being a Christian, Lisa placed her palms together and bowed to it.
"A devout Christian would never think of suicide," said Ike bluntly. "Are you like the people who go to my church and park all their cars on the driveway, causing insurmountable inconvenience to other road users?"
Lisa looked at Ike angrily, then hung her head in shame. He was right, she wasn't as devout as she thought she was. Ike went over to the cross and studied it closely. Did she create some kind of disturbance to the holy cross? It would be a great sin if she did.
"Ha... as I expected. A failed Christian praying to a cross won't affect it. After all, it's just made of wood, a plain old symbol so people won't just pray to thin air. Devoution comes from the heart, and if you are truly empowered with the love of God, church won't even be necessary."
Lisa didn't know what to say. Ike definitely wasn't like Kin, but he gave her a more uneasy feeling than Kin did. As a matter of fact, for the rest of the time, Ike did the most talking.
"I bet you are wondering what is really going on," he said, motioning her to the nearest study table. "What is the oracle project? What is the nature of our eyes? And who am I really? I bet these are all questions running through your mind. Normally, I would prefer to keep this away from outsiders, especially a failed Christian like you, but since you've seen so much already, I may as well come clean."
Lisa was by now getting offended. 'Stop calling me a failed Christian, you egomaniac!'
"As the man whom I personally shot in the head and am pretty proud of it said, his name is Mu by the way, Kin and I are both products of the Oracle project. Back in 2007, after the problem of E8 was solved, Damien Lee initiated the project to create superhumans like us. Damien Lee worked for DSO, and according to him he hoped that such a human could aid Singapore's defence. How? Well...that's up to you to imagine. Truth is he wanted to be famous, like any madcrack scientist who didn't get enough love. Even DSO wanted to get rid of him. At first, no one believed it could work, so it seemed like very good basis to sack the guy. But it worked, and Kin and I were created. All was good at first, but when we were 10 years old, there was a problem. Kin and I fought over ice cream..."
Ike began to chuckle to himself. Lisa also began to think of a suitable escape plan.
"Come to think of it now it was really funny, but back then it wasn't. Kin began a big lecture on how the suffering and pain in this world were caused by greedy people like me, and that I should repent. You see, Kin and I are both designed based on E8, but Kin had a slight error. Explaining in mathematical terms, there was a missing integer in his matrix, but then again, you can never explain these things in words. Don't get me wrong, I know how the E8 group works and all, but getting me to explain it to you in English is like teaching science in Arabic. You don't know Arabic right?"
For the first time that day, Lisa actually thought something was funny.
"Anyway, that missing integer was crucial. Both of us could see reality, both of us saw how troubled the world and all its people were, but the way in which we accepted it was totally different. Kin wanted to do something about it, and I said let God decide what's best. Kin didn't trust God, he even blamed him for all the world's troubles. He wanted to BE God so he could help change the world. The ice cream fight was what blew it. He told me that my stubborness was causing myself harm, and he wanted to kill me in compassion! No thank you! I could do with a little less compassion. So we fought, and I ran away. Yes, I ran away, he was really strong. Afterwards, I've been hiding in this sealed dimension. Trust me, he knows where I am, but knowing him, he's probably letting me repent in meditation. I mean, even to others, he mentions that there's another one of his kind, but he never says it was his brother. I've been hiding here, secretly building my army, ready to fight him again one day. The day has finally come."
Lisa felt more uneasy as Ike spoke. How did he manage to gather an army? And a sealed dimension? This mansion was in one? Then again, she had never seen such an exquisite mansion in Singapore.
"The army consists of members from SOC, SAF, and MRF to some extent," said Ike. Lisa was pretty sure there was something about her that made her so readable. "Yeah, we have MRF troopers too. The gas that put you to sleep? For some reason Kin has lots of it. I mean, you're not the first person he targeted you know."
Lisa definitely knew. She was supposed to be the last.
"But if you knew where Kin was all along, why did you only wait for him to catch me before striking?" she asked.
"Believe me, Kin's dimension is elusive even to himself. The reality is not a stable manifestation and is only viewable even with our eyes at certain times. It took me lots of pain before I finally found it, and just in time too. If Kin had collected your brain and implanted its E8 patterns into his collection, the world would definitely come to an end. You see, Kin believes he is doing something good for the world. But if you destroy it and kill everyone, or at least almost everyone, how is anyone ever going to learn? I mean you can't learn anything if you're dead. I do agree with him that disasters and all do give us good learning experiences, but only if we survive. Even if the world was supposed to face catastrophes, that would be God's decision, not his. Really, I don't know how I'm going to drive this into that thick skull of his."
"Oh, is that so?"
Lisa found the voice ghastly familiar. Even Ike was shocked. Standing right behind them was Kin, arms folded, giving Ike a very disdained look.
To be continued...
Lisa hammered hard at the door.
"Let me out! I don't want to be part of this sick plan!"
She was horrified. Just hours ago she was stricken with the thought of suicide, now her suicidal tendencies were being used to bring about mass destruction! The man had locked up the door of the waiting room despite her protests.
"Please try to understand, Lisa," he said through the glass window. "We are making a small sacrifice in view of changing the world for the better."
"Small sacrifice?! It's my life we're talking about here! How am I supposed to live on knowing that I helped to destroy the world?!"
The man chuckled.
"I thought you wanted to end your life just now, why are you so keen on living all of a sudden? Don't worry, what we are intending to do is remove your brain and give it to Kin so he can extract the relevant information and store it. You won't live to see the end of the world."
Lisa was frightened. 'It must be a dream...'she thought. 'These mad men, they can't be real, it must be a dream!'
"We are definitely not a dream," said the man, once again as if reading her mind. "We are servants of the great Kin, his almighty compassion is what we want to bestow onto the world. As a matter of fact, all we need is one more. After we have obtained your brain, we can finally bring change to this world!"
Lisa was taken aback by hissing sounds emitting from the wall. It was sleeping gas! She hammered even harder at the window, as the man stared at her intently. She slammed her fists with all her might, but each slam just made her feel even more tired, even more sleepy. She fell to the floor, struggling to stay awake.
"Bang!" A huge explosion shook the whole room. Gunshots sounded over the screams coming from outside. Lisa was by now very druggish, and did not even jump in fright when a stray bullet hit the man who held her hostage in the head, his horrified face pressed against the window in morbid agony as he collapsed on the floor. The last thing she remembered was the door being kicked open and armed gunmen rushing in.
Lisa awoke in a simple bed in a room lit only by the evening sun which shone through a frosted window. The room was virtually empty, being surrounded by four bleak walls. The only company she had was a young teenager. He looked very sluggish, wearing torn clothes and slumped on a wooden chair, asleep and snoring. She looked around the room, and confirmed that there was absolutely no door. How did they get in here? Through the window?
The teenager stirred suddenly and woke up with a grunt. Lisa nearly fainted when he opened his eyes. Transparent with sparks, just like Kin! She thought she had the good fortune to be rescued from Kin's clutches, but here she was with another of his kind. As a matter of fact, she remembered the man told her there was only two in the world, could she be so 'lucky'?
"I see you're awake," said the teenager. "No need to be afraid, I'm not a crazy malfunction like Kin. I am the leader of the team who opposes him, you may call me Ike."
Ike clapped his hands, and in an instant, the room disappeared! Lisa found that the bed was in an underground basement, and all around were old furniture and other kinds of junk. Needless to say, it was another sealed dimension. She had been into two that day, not something anyone would get to do everyday.
"Come with me," said Ike, and left for the door without even waiting for her reply. Lisa didn't bother, she quickly got out of bed and ran after him.
The basement was under a huge mansion, one that probably even the prince of England would envy and land his helicopter in. All around were exquisite furniture and elaborate sculptures. There were many paintings as well. To Lisa's amusement, all the paintings were of Ike. He was obviously some sort of egomaniac.
Ike walked pretty normally, but on close examination one would notice that his feet were spread unusually wide apart like a duck. Despite that he walked unusually fast. As they walked through hallway after hallway, Lisa had to struggle to keep up with him. Finally, they stopped outside a huge door, which Ike opened. In it was a gigantic room, full of books and study tables, and on the wall was a gigantic christian cross. Being a Christian, Lisa placed her palms together and bowed to it.
"A devout Christian would never think of suicide," said Ike bluntly. "Are you like the people who go to my church and park all their cars on the driveway, causing insurmountable inconvenience to other road users?"
Lisa looked at Ike angrily, then hung her head in shame. He was right, she wasn't as devout as she thought she was. Ike went over to the cross and studied it closely. Did she create some kind of disturbance to the holy cross? It would be a great sin if she did.
"Ha... as I expected. A failed Christian praying to a cross won't affect it. After all, it's just made of wood, a plain old symbol so people won't just pray to thin air. Devoution comes from the heart, and if you are truly empowered with the love of God, church won't even be necessary."
Lisa didn't know what to say. Ike definitely wasn't like Kin, but he gave her a more uneasy feeling than Kin did. As a matter of fact, for the rest of the time, Ike did the most talking.
"I bet you are wondering what is really going on," he said, motioning her to the nearest study table. "What is the oracle project? What is the nature of our eyes? And who am I really? I bet these are all questions running through your mind. Normally, I would prefer to keep this away from outsiders, especially a failed Christian like you, but since you've seen so much already, I may as well come clean."
Lisa was by now getting offended. 'Stop calling me a failed Christian, you egomaniac!'
"As the man whom I personally shot in the head and am pretty proud of it said, his name is Mu by the way, Kin and I are both products of the Oracle project. Back in 2007, after the problem of E8 was solved, Damien Lee initiated the project to create superhumans like us. Damien Lee worked for DSO, and according to him he hoped that such a human could aid Singapore's defence. How? Well...that's up to you to imagine. Truth is he wanted to be famous, like any madcrack scientist who didn't get enough love. Even DSO wanted to get rid of him. At first, no one believed it could work, so it seemed like very good basis to sack the guy. But it worked, and Kin and I were created. All was good at first, but when we were 10 years old, there was a problem. Kin and I fought over ice cream..."
Ike began to chuckle to himself. Lisa also began to think of a suitable escape plan.
"Come to think of it now it was really funny, but back then it wasn't. Kin began a big lecture on how the suffering and pain in this world were caused by greedy people like me, and that I should repent. You see, Kin and I are both designed based on E8, but Kin had a slight error. Explaining in mathematical terms, there was a missing integer in his matrix, but then again, you can never explain these things in words. Don't get me wrong, I know how the E8 group works and all, but getting me to explain it to you in English is like teaching science in Arabic. You don't know Arabic right?"
For the first time that day, Lisa actually thought something was funny.
"Anyway, that missing integer was crucial. Both of us could see reality, both of us saw how troubled the world and all its people were, but the way in which we accepted it was totally different. Kin wanted to do something about it, and I said let God decide what's best. Kin didn't trust God, he even blamed him for all the world's troubles. He wanted to BE God so he could help change the world. The ice cream fight was what blew it. He told me that my stubborness was causing myself harm, and he wanted to kill me in compassion! No thank you! I could do with a little less compassion. So we fought, and I ran away. Yes, I ran away, he was really strong. Afterwards, I've been hiding in this sealed dimension. Trust me, he knows where I am, but knowing him, he's probably letting me repent in meditation. I mean, even to others, he mentions that there's another one of his kind, but he never says it was his brother. I've been hiding here, secretly building my army, ready to fight him again one day. The day has finally come."
Lisa felt more uneasy as Ike spoke. How did he manage to gather an army? And a sealed dimension? This mansion was in one? Then again, she had never seen such an exquisite mansion in Singapore.
"The army consists of members from SOC, SAF, and MRF to some extent," said Ike. Lisa was pretty sure there was something about her that made her so readable. "Yeah, we have MRF troopers too. The gas that put you to sleep? For some reason Kin has lots of it. I mean, you're not the first person he targeted you know."
Lisa definitely knew. She was supposed to be the last.
"But if you knew where Kin was all along, why did you only wait for him to catch me before striking?" she asked.
"Believe me, Kin's dimension is elusive even to himself. The reality is not a stable manifestation and is only viewable even with our eyes at certain times. It took me lots of pain before I finally found it, and just in time too. If Kin had collected your brain and implanted its E8 patterns into his collection, the world would definitely come to an end. You see, Kin believes he is doing something good for the world. But if you destroy it and kill everyone, or at least almost everyone, how is anyone ever going to learn? I mean you can't learn anything if you're dead. I do agree with him that disasters and all do give us good learning experiences, but only if we survive. Even if the world was supposed to face catastrophes, that would be God's decision, not his. Really, I don't know how I'm going to drive this into that thick skull of his."
"Oh, is that so?"
Lisa found the voice ghastly familiar. Even Ike was shocked. Standing right behind them was Kin, arms folded, giving Ike a very disdained look.
To be continued...
Eyes of the Oracle (part two)
The voice that replied was a husky one.
"I see...well, meet me at Outram Park MRT in 1 hour's time. I'll be wearing a red cap."
The man didn't say anything more, and Lisa was left wondering what it was all about. She was sure that anyone who dealt with people like Kin couldn't be simple. She had to be prepared...mentally...physically.
As it turned out, the person who showed up really wasn't simple. It was already so hot yet he wore a thick brown coat as if it was the tundra. The red cap he wore simply didn't make him look sophisticated, rather a failed hybrid of a kid trying to be a man. Lisa cautiously approached him. He too was wearing sunglasses, could he be like Kin?
The man saw her approaching and greeted her. He took off his sunglasses and Lisa was relieved that his eyes were perfectly normal.
"We'll talk as we walk, it's not too far from here," was all he said to her for the next 5 minutes. Lisa followed him into SGH, did Kin want her to be a nurse? She had no nursing experience or whatsoever, her whole life had been dedicated to herself only...
"No, you're not going to be a nurse," said the man grufly, as though he had read her mind. "Kin found you for a purpose, after saving your life, he expects repayment."
Lisa finally said something.
"How did you know what happened?" she asked.
"Kin always finds the same type of people. People who are attempting suicide or have suicidal tendencies. He's gathering them to accomplish his goals, at the same time helping them find a new lease on life."
Lisa decided to wait to see more before she said anything else. Kin and this man, what were they up to? She didn't need to wait too much longer. The man took her to the emergency ward and entered the elevator. He pushed a sequence of buttons, 1,3,8,2,8,6. To Lisa's surprise, the elevator emitted a strange murmuring sound. Colourful lights were emitted from outside the door.
"Put this on," the man gave Lisa another pair of sunglasses. "The finale's as bright as a nuclear explosion."
Lisa hastily put on the sunglasses, just in time. After a brief period of darkness, a blinding flash came from behind the door.
"We were told never to look at the sun directly," said the man. "Even with sunglasses. A nuclear explosion is at least 20 times as bright. Those sunglasses are made of special material, it can protect anyone of us. It was Kin's idea to put the blinding light to blind any outsiders who may have decided to stray in here. That way, anyone who shouldn't see what you're about to see, would never see anything ever again."
Well that was freaky. The lift door opened slowly, and the light vanished, revealing a gigantic factory like lab. There were many people working with complicated instruments, all dressed in neat lab coats.
"Where is this place?" Lisa asked. She hadn't felt the lift move at all.
"You're in a sealed dimension," said the man. "Kin saw this dimension hidden under SGH, and was elated by the coincidence. It was perfect for building a hidden lab. In the 3 dimensional world we live in, there is no way this place could be seen by a normal human. Only people with the Eyes of the Oracle can see it."
"Wait...you mean Kin's not the only one?"
The man gave her a glare, then smiled.
"I see Kin hasn't told you. Today in this world, there are 2 people with the Eyes. There may be more, but we don't know how the project's going."
"Project?" Lisa was confused now.
"Project Oracle. The ingenious project to create people who can see true reality. Ever since the solving of the 248 dimensional E8 Lie Group, there have been hundreds of scientists hoping to find a way to exploit it. There was one, his name was Damien Lee. He was a brain scientist, and he found ghastly parallels between E8 and the patterns of the brain. The brain patterns which we understand today form an incomplete picture of E8, but now that we know E8, we could work out a way for the brain to implement the remainder of the dimensions. It has been said that E8 could be the key to finding the theory of everything in physics, so Lee deduced that a brain that works like E8 could see true reality. As such, he collaborated with stem cell researchers to create a hybrid human, one whose brain could do such a thing. That was how Kin came into this world."
Lisa pondered over what the man had said. She had heard of the famous theory of everything, how great scientists have been trying to solve that problem for years. The E8 was totally new to her though.
"So... what have you brought me here for?"Lisa asked.
"Let me finish the story first, I'll explain it as I speak. Damien Lee was proud of his creation at first, but he totally underestimated what true reality could do to a person. Kin was born with infinite compassion, almost the heart of a boddhisatva. However, he was afraid to go outside to see the world. When he was only three, he told Lee, 'I don't want to leave the house, everywhere I go, I see pain, suffering, it's terrible...'. Naturally that puzzled Lee. Singapore was such a stable country, what pain and suffering could there be? Lee asked Kin to elaborate, and Kin described how he saw greed, anger, envy, jealousy, present everywhere he went. When Lee pushed for more detail, Kin said it was beyond the human language."
Lisa nodded. Kin had said that to her as well.
"But Lee somehow didn't realise what this all implied. Kin saw that Lee had harboured similar thoughts as well. The creation of Kin was for the purpose of becoming famous. Kin wanted to show gratitude to Lee for giving him life, but it got to a point where Kin didn't want Lee to make anymore mistakes, so he killed him in compassion."
That really made Lisa jumped. She heard of euthanasia, but this was ridiculous.
"After that, Kin escaped and found like-minded people, who saw the world as a dark place full of suffering. To them, to me included, he is the hope for the world, one who can change it for the better. Now, why does he choose people like you?"
Lisa looked at the man, finally, she was going to get her answer.
"Kin understood the E8 pattern very well. He could see it in practically every aspect of nature. For people with suicidal tendencies, their brain pattern would occupy a special portion of E8. The very same portion is occupied by events which cause great sadness, such as natural disasters or wars. Despite that, that portion also has the ability to change things for the better. In his words, great disasters are tragic, but they make people learn. When you lose all your possessions in a flood, you realise how illusive everything is. When you lie in bed from an incurable disease, you realise how useless modern medicine really is. For people who survive, they carry this invaluable lesson, and forever become better people. Likewise for suicidal people, if there is someone who can save them from killing themselves, and can talk them round, such people will have a brighter view on life, a more enlightened one. What Kin saw over your shoulder was a representation of E8, with the patterns of your brain highlighted in that special area. At least that's what he says he sees, in truth, no one can describe it."
Lisa was actually quite fascinated.
"My God! You're saying a mathematical model like E8 can explain so much?"
"Exactly. That is the power of E8, that is Kin's power. Now, he wants to make use of the brain patterns of such people to bring about change to the world. He is collecting their energy, and once he has enough, he would unleash it on the world and make it a better place."
Lisa was delighted. She was going to help in changing the world! She never realised that she could actually be so useful. As a matter of fact, she was so happy, that she neglected to ask a crucial question. It was only after the man took her to a waiting room did she remember to ask.
"Erm...what is the nature of this change you talk about? Is it describable in words?"
The man stopped at the door, then turned his head back.
"Not completely, but you may see it like this. If you realise I've been dropping you hints. Suicidal tendencies and great disasters occupy the same E8 area, so what do you think?"
Lisa was horrified.
"The apocalypse?!"
To be continued...
"I see...well, meet me at Outram Park MRT in 1 hour's time. I'll be wearing a red cap."
The man didn't say anything more, and Lisa was left wondering what it was all about. She was sure that anyone who dealt with people like Kin couldn't be simple. She had to be prepared...mentally...physically.
As it turned out, the person who showed up really wasn't simple. It was already so hot yet he wore a thick brown coat as if it was the tundra. The red cap he wore simply didn't make him look sophisticated, rather a failed hybrid of a kid trying to be a man. Lisa cautiously approached him. He too was wearing sunglasses, could he be like Kin?
The man saw her approaching and greeted her. He took off his sunglasses and Lisa was relieved that his eyes were perfectly normal.
"We'll talk as we walk, it's not too far from here," was all he said to her for the next 5 minutes. Lisa followed him into SGH, did Kin want her to be a nurse? She had no nursing experience or whatsoever, her whole life had been dedicated to herself only...
"No, you're not going to be a nurse," said the man grufly, as though he had read her mind. "Kin found you for a purpose, after saving your life, he expects repayment."
Lisa finally said something.
"How did you know what happened?" she asked.
"Kin always finds the same type of people. People who are attempting suicide or have suicidal tendencies. He's gathering them to accomplish his goals, at the same time helping them find a new lease on life."
Lisa decided to wait to see more before she said anything else. Kin and this man, what were they up to? She didn't need to wait too much longer. The man took her to the emergency ward and entered the elevator. He pushed a sequence of buttons, 1,3,8,2,8,6. To Lisa's surprise, the elevator emitted a strange murmuring sound. Colourful lights were emitted from outside the door.
"Put this on," the man gave Lisa another pair of sunglasses. "The finale's as bright as a nuclear explosion."
Lisa hastily put on the sunglasses, just in time. After a brief period of darkness, a blinding flash came from behind the door.
"We were told never to look at the sun directly," said the man. "Even with sunglasses. A nuclear explosion is at least 20 times as bright. Those sunglasses are made of special material, it can protect anyone of us. It was Kin's idea to put the blinding light to blind any outsiders who may have decided to stray in here. That way, anyone who shouldn't see what you're about to see, would never see anything ever again."
Well that was freaky. The lift door opened slowly, and the light vanished, revealing a gigantic factory like lab. There were many people working with complicated instruments, all dressed in neat lab coats.
"Where is this place?" Lisa asked. She hadn't felt the lift move at all.
"You're in a sealed dimension," said the man. "Kin saw this dimension hidden under SGH, and was elated by the coincidence. It was perfect for building a hidden lab. In the 3 dimensional world we live in, there is no way this place could be seen by a normal human. Only people with the Eyes of the Oracle can see it."
"Wait...you mean Kin's not the only one?"
The man gave her a glare, then smiled.
"I see Kin hasn't told you. Today in this world, there are 2 people with the Eyes. There may be more, but we don't know how the project's going."
"Project?" Lisa was confused now.
"Project Oracle. The ingenious project to create people who can see true reality. Ever since the solving of the 248 dimensional E8 Lie Group, there have been hundreds of scientists hoping to find a way to exploit it. There was one, his name was Damien Lee. He was a brain scientist, and he found ghastly parallels between E8 and the patterns of the brain. The brain patterns which we understand today form an incomplete picture of E8, but now that we know E8, we could work out a way for the brain to implement the remainder of the dimensions. It has been said that E8 could be the key to finding the theory of everything in physics, so Lee deduced that a brain that works like E8 could see true reality. As such, he collaborated with stem cell researchers to create a hybrid human, one whose brain could do such a thing. That was how Kin came into this world."
Lisa pondered over what the man had said. She had heard of the famous theory of everything, how great scientists have been trying to solve that problem for years. The E8 was totally new to her though.
"So... what have you brought me here for?"Lisa asked.
"Let me finish the story first, I'll explain it as I speak. Damien Lee was proud of his creation at first, but he totally underestimated what true reality could do to a person. Kin was born with infinite compassion, almost the heart of a boddhisatva. However, he was afraid to go outside to see the world. When he was only three, he told Lee, 'I don't want to leave the house, everywhere I go, I see pain, suffering, it's terrible...'. Naturally that puzzled Lee. Singapore was such a stable country, what pain and suffering could there be? Lee asked Kin to elaborate, and Kin described how he saw greed, anger, envy, jealousy, present everywhere he went. When Lee pushed for more detail, Kin said it was beyond the human language."
Lisa nodded. Kin had said that to her as well.
"But Lee somehow didn't realise what this all implied. Kin saw that Lee had harboured similar thoughts as well. The creation of Kin was for the purpose of becoming famous. Kin wanted to show gratitude to Lee for giving him life, but it got to a point where Kin didn't want Lee to make anymore mistakes, so he killed him in compassion."
That really made Lisa jumped. She heard of euthanasia, but this was ridiculous.
"After that, Kin escaped and found like-minded people, who saw the world as a dark place full of suffering. To them, to me included, he is the hope for the world, one who can change it for the better. Now, why does he choose people like you?"
Lisa looked at the man, finally, she was going to get her answer.
"Kin understood the E8 pattern very well. He could see it in practically every aspect of nature. For people with suicidal tendencies, their brain pattern would occupy a special portion of E8. The very same portion is occupied by events which cause great sadness, such as natural disasters or wars. Despite that, that portion also has the ability to change things for the better. In his words, great disasters are tragic, but they make people learn. When you lose all your possessions in a flood, you realise how illusive everything is. When you lie in bed from an incurable disease, you realise how useless modern medicine really is. For people who survive, they carry this invaluable lesson, and forever become better people. Likewise for suicidal people, if there is someone who can save them from killing themselves, and can talk them round, such people will have a brighter view on life, a more enlightened one. What Kin saw over your shoulder was a representation of E8, with the patterns of your brain highlighted in that special area. At least that's what he says he sees, in truth, no one can describe it."
Lisa was actually quite fascinated.
"My God! You're saying a mathematical model like E8 can explain so much?"
"Exactly. That is the power of E8, that is Kin's power. Now, he wants to make use of the brain patterns of such people to bring about change to the world. He is collecting their energy, and once he has enough, he would unleash it on the world and make it a better place."
Lisa was delighted. She was going to help in changing the world! She never realised that she could actually be so useful. As a matter of fact, she was so happy, that she neglected to ask a crucial question. It was only after the man took her to a waiting room did she remember to ask.
"Erm...what is the nature of this change you talk about? Is it describable in words?"
The man stopped at the door, then turned his head back.
"Not completely, but you may see it like this. If you realise I've been dropping you hints. Suicidal tendencies and great disasters occupy the same E8 area, so what do you think?"
Lisa was horrified.
"The apocalypse?!"
To be continued...
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Eyes of the Oracle (part one)
Once again, Lisa had no luck with the cash. She had decided to take the risk, borrow $300 000 from the loan sharks and multiply it at the IR, that was her plan. But now, she was left with zilch. She had tried everything, pray at the church, pray to the kitchen god, any god she could think of, all turned a blind eye to her fate. Now not only was she bankrupt, she had loan sharks to deal with as well.
She was stricken with tonnes of choices and decisions, she could run away to another country and start a new life there, but how could she even afford to travel? She could recoup her losses by starting a small business, but that wouldn't stop the loan sharks from coming after her. She could go to a temple and become a nun! no...no...no. Or she could just kill herself...that would solve everything wouldn't it?
Lisa decided that was it. She would end her life. She had lost everything, her business, her family, her pride... She climbed to the top of her flat, and looked below, the ground of the carpark looked very serene...
"Giving up on life is not how one should live, isn't it?"
Lisa turned around and was surprised to see a young man, dressed in casual t-shirt and jeans, staring at her through sunglasses.
"What do you know? Please, just leave me alone..."
The man didn't move, and pretended not to hear what she said.
"Call me Kin, I've followed you from the casino."
Lisa was becoming hysterical.
"I don't owe you people anything! Leave me alone already!"
"I didn't follow you to get money, I followed you because I saw something above your shoulder, which made me curious. I was right, it was a sign that you were going to kill yourself."
Lisa quickly glanced over her shoulder. She didn't see anything.
Kin chuckled.
"You can't see it, but I can. I can't describe it either because it eludes words."
Lisa gave him a sour look.
"I have no idea what you are talking about..."
Kin took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of glowing transparent eyes which emitted occassional sparks. Lisa screamed but found she couldn't move! Kin put his sunglasses back on and began explaining as if it was the most natural thing to happen.
"If you go to some science centres, and then to their life sciences section, you may see statuates of bird heads or bee heads. They are huge and you can actually see from inside them. For the bees, you see multiple images just like the bee does, and for the bird, you see a binoculars type of image. To these animals, this is their reality. For you humans, the world you see is your reality, however, I was gifted with a special ability. My eyes can see true reality...my eyes are the eyes of the oracle!"
Lisa was scared, and was wondering at the same time why she couldn't move.
"Humans can manipulate things that are available to perception by the 5 senses. I can see more than just what 5 senses tell me, so I can manipulate more. I have binded spacetime around your body, that's why you can't move. I can't tell you how even if I wanted to, because all this is beyond the human language. However, I do feel cut out to give you a lecture on how precious life is."
Lisa finally regained some courage to speak.
"What kind of monster are you?!"
Kin didn't look the least bit offended.
"I had people calling me that ever since I was a kid, but somehow, I could see what was going on in their heads, and all I felt was pity. I didn't have any friends, but I didn't need any, for I could see how everything really is, and I could do anything. I saw the pain that comes in relationships, and how the joy that comes with it is illusory. I desire not and want not, I would thus prefer to call my eyes a gift."
Lisa then felt the bind around her loosen, she could move again. The first thing that she did was run! Kin made no attempt to follow her, so she ran as fast and as far as she could. Finally, after running at least ten streets and dead beat from exaustion, she sat down in an alley to catch her breath. Just her luck, the loansharks were doing business in the same alley.
"Oh no...please, give me more time!" she pleaded with them.
"No money, heh...we'll let you off for 3 days if you pleasure us a little..."
Just as Lisa was about to lose her chastity, everything came to a halt. And by coming to a halt, it really was to a halt. The loansharks stood frozen, not moving.
"I stopped time," came a familiar voice. Kin was back, standing right beside her.
"How the hell!" Lisa found she couldn't move again.
"Lisa, just listen to what I have to say... Your life was a gift from God. You are expected to carry on living no matter how great the odds. How can you just give up on life that was so hard to come by? Even by borrowing from the loansharks you were already giving up. If you die now, you won't be having a very pleasant afterlife."
Kin then grabbed Lisa's arm and took her out of the alley to a park. He was so strong that he practically dragged her around like a rag doll. When they arrived, he unfroze time.
"Call this number," he said, passing her a slip of paper with a handphone number written on it. "This man is looking for a new employee. It's a very simple job, but it can help you survive. Just tell him Kin found you."
Lisa was still too shocked to say anything to him. She looked on as he walked away from her, went behind a tree, and disappeared!
Trying to dismiss what she had seen, she looked at the slip of paper and decided to call the number.
"Hi...my name is Lisa, Kin found me..."
There was a long pause...
To be continued...
She was stricken with tonnes of choices and decisions, she could run away to another country and start a new life there, but how could she even afford to travel? She could recoup her losses by starting a small business, but that wouldn't stop the loan sharks from coming after her. She could go to a temple and become a nun! no...no...no. Or she could just kill herself...that would solve everything wouldn't it?
Lisa decided that was it. She would end her life. She had lost everything, her business, her family, her pride... She climbed to the top of her flat, and looked below, the ground of the carpark looked very serene...
"Giving up on life is not how one should live, isn't it?"
Lisa turned around and was surprised to see a young man, dressed in casual t-shirt and jeans, staring at her through sunglasses.
"What do you know? Please, just leave me alone..."
The man didn't move, and pretended not to hear what she said.
"Call me Kin, I've followed you from the casino."
Lisa was becoming hysterical.
"I don't owe you people anything! Leave me alone already!"
"I didn't follow you to get money, I followed you because I saw something above your shoulder, which made me curious. I was right, it was a sign that you were going to kill yourself."
Lisa quickly glanced over her shoulder. She didn't see anything.
Kin chuckled.
"You can't see it, but I can. I can't describe it either because it eludes words."
Lisa gave him a sour look.
"I have no idea what you are talking about..."
Kin took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of glowing transparent eyes which emitted occassional sparks. Lisa screamed but found she couldn't move! Kin put his sunglasses back on and began explaining as if it was the most natural thing to happen.
"If you go to some science centres, and then to their life sciences section, you may see statuates of bird heads or bee heads. They are huge and you can actually see from inside them. For the bees, you see multiple images just like the bee does, and for the bird, you see a binoculars type of image. To these animals, this is their reality. For you humans, the world you see is your reality, however, I was gifted with a special ability. My eyes can see true reality...my eyes are the eyes of the oracle!"
Lisa was scared, and was wondering at the same time why she couldn't move.
"Humans can manipulate things that are available to perception by the 5 senses. I can see more than just what 5 senses tell me, so I can manipulate more. I have binded spacetime around your body, that's why you can't move. I can't tell you how even if I wanted to, because all this is beyond the human language. However, I do feel cut out to give you a lecture on how precious life is."
Lisa finally regained some courage to speak.
"What kind of monster are you?!"
Kin didn't look the least bit offended.
"I had people calling me that ever since I was a kid, but somehow, I could see what was going on in their heads, and all I felt was pity. I didn't have any friends, but I didn't need any, for I could see how everything really is, and I could do anything. I saw the pain that comes in relationships, and how the joy that comes with it is illusory. I desire not and want not, I would thus prefer to call my eyes a gift."
Lisa then felt the bind around her loosen, she could move again. The first thing that she did was run! Kin made no attempt to follow her, so she ran as fast and as far as she could. Finally, after running at least ten streets and dead beat from exaustion, she sat down in an alley to catch her breath. Just her luck, the loansharks were doing business in the same alley.
"Oh no...please, give me more time!" she pleaded with them.
"No money, heh...we'll let you off for 3 days if you pleasure us a little..."
Just as Lisa was about to lose her chastity, everything came to a halt. And by coming to a halt, it really was to a halt. The loansharks stood frozen, not moving.
"I stopped time," came a familiar voice. Kin was back, standing right beside her.
"How the hell!" Lisa found she couldn't move again.
"Lisa, just listen to what I have to say... Your life was a gift from God. You are expected to carry on living no matter how great the odds. How can you just give up on life that was so hard to come by? Even by borrowing from the loansharks you were already giving up. If you die now, you won't be having a very pleasant afterlife."
Kin then grabbed Lisa's arm and took her out of the alley to a park. He was so strong that he practically dragged her around like a rag doll. When they arrived, he unfroze time.
"Call this number," he said, passing her a slip of paper with a handphone number written on it. "This man is looking for a new employee. It's a very simple job, but it can help you survive. Just tell him Kin found you."
Lisa was still too shocked to say anything to him. She looked on as he walked away from her, went behind a tree, and disappeared!
Trying to dismiss what she had seen, she looked at the slip of paper and decided to call the number.
"Hi...my name is Lisa, Kin found me..."
There was a long pause...
To be continued...
Introduction
i created this blog specially for the purpose of showing off my supreme creativity in the form of writing science fiction short stories.
why short stories? well, cos i dun have the motivation or discipline to write a book! why sci-fi? cos i like sci-fi, i dun read lots of sci-fi, but i've been writing them in my free time. too bad i lost those stories, they were really good.
i find many sci-fi stories theses days too matured. i mean i read them, and my mind wanders somewhere. it's like, some futuristic setting, with politics and human affairs and stuff, then in comes weird science. i like more simple, childlike stuff, like robots fighting, superhumans and weird gadgets. so my stories will mostly centre around areas which are easy to understand yet appealing to mostly everyone.
i will write the stories in parts, this allows me to write without thinking too much at once and also because i dun want to make my blog look draggy.
ok, tht's all, pls enjoy
why short stories? well, cos i dun have the motivation or discipline to write a book! why sci-fi? cos i like sci-fi, i dun read lots of sci-fi, but i've been writing them in my free time. too bad i lost those stories, they were really good.
i find many sci-fi stories theses days too matured. i mean i read them, and my mind wanders somewhere. it's like, some futuristic setting, with politics and human affairs and stuff, then in comes weird science. i like more simple, childlike stuff, like robots fighting, superhumans and weird gadgets. so my stories will mostly centre around areas which are easy to understand yet appealing to mostly everyone.
i will write the stories in parts, this allows me to write without thinking too much at once and also because i dun want to make my blog look draggy.
ok, tht's all, pls enjoy
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