The Decaying Dream of America: I Assemble Corpses and Confront Madness

Inside the lecture hall of Miskatonic University, Lin Zheng's breathing was enveloped in layers of a mixture of coffee, books, and human scents, refined yet detached.

The hall, which could hold hundreds of people, was unusually quiet; even whispers were suppressed to the extreme.

Lin Zheng sat in the back row, his baseball cap brim pulled low, his gaze passing through the crowd to the tall, slender figure in the center of the podium—Professor Finch.

Behind the podium, on a huge floating screen, a series of hypnotic data charts were slowly flowing. They were not scientific formulas that ordinary viewers could understand, but rather an abstract artistic presentation.

Lin Zheng automatically activated [Residual Dream Perception]. Currently, he can not only see images of people before they die, but it is also becoming more versatile and less resource-intensive, allowing him to perceive that these charts are not only visual information, but also carry a certain faint spiritual resonance.

It is a series of fluctuating frequencies that cleverly bypass rational consciousness and act directly on the limbic system of the human brain, stimulating specific emotional circuits.

The chart lines sometimes present an ascending pyramid structure, which is an extremely ordinary data presentation, but at this moment it symbolizes hope and achievement; at other times it plunges sharply, turning into a spiral of loss and despair.

Each visual shift precisely corresponds to the fluctuations in Professor Finch's tone and the guidance of his eyes.

Professor Finch had blond hair, a gentle smile, and a deep, penetrating voice. Every syllable was carefully crafted, striking the depths of the listener's heart.

He is explaining the core concepts of the "Emotional-Intellectual Dynamics in Urban Environments" project.

"We are living in an unprecedented information age, where emotions are no longer just ripples in the heart."

Professor Finch paced slowly, his figure mirroring the ever-changing charts behind him; he himself was the manipulator of these data.

"They are quantifiable, predictable, and even... controllable energy sources."

"In highly complex modern cities, an individual's emotional state constitutes a vast and intricate energy network."

He slowed his speech slightly, his eyes sweeping over each listener in the audience.

He is looking for targets in those mental structures that may contain heterogeneity or are more likely to "resonate" with his theories.

"Our research is dedicated to identifying patterns of this energy flow, thereby optimizing social structures and maximizing the utility of both emotion and reason."

"A stable and efficient society needs emotional guidance and rational thinking, not its unchecked spread."

Professor Finch's lecture was rich in references, from Freud's id, ego, and superego to Jung's collective unconscious and behaviorism's conditioned reflexes. He dissected these theories with surgical precision and then stitched them back together with his own "emotional-rational dynamics" theory.

This "stitching" technique bears a strange resemblance to the work Lin Zheng usually does on corpses.

However, Professor Finch assembles the intangible mind and thoughts, while he manipulates the tangible flesh and bones.

He cleverly diluted the concept of "free will" into "limited free choice" and defined "personal happiness" as "the manifestation of social utility".

In the audience, many students were captivated by his grand vision, their eyes burning with fervor, as if they were witnessing the imminent arrival of a utopian society perfectly planned by reason.

Their excitement and admiration, their applause and cheers, their emotions and reason—Finch tilted his head back, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and intoxicated himself with this spiritual feedback.

An invisible force stripped away the critical thinking of those present, constructing an impenetrable wall of thought with ornate language and rigorous logic, shutting out any questioning.

He bit his tongue hard, the pain reminding him not to be swallowed up by this torrent of emotions, and he tried his best to maintain his mental independence.

In Professor Finch's discourse, each person's "hope" and "despair" are no longer private experiences.

They are data points flowing through the social fabric, resources that can be monitored, guided, and even "harvested".

"Reason" is the most crucial currency in this exploitative system, determining the "purity" of the emotional energy that can be extracted from a person.

Professor Finch then presented several case studies.

A series of aerial views of the city appeared on the screen, with the bustling crowds on the streets simplified into dense blocks of color, and the mood index presented as a real-time fluctuating curve.

"By analyzing this macro data, we can accurately predict the degree of emotional fluctuation that a certain type of event will trigger."

"For example, how a slight fluctuation in the financial market will affect the rate of rationality loss among 'striving individuals' in a specific region, and transform it into 'loss factors' that can be recovered."

He pointed to an area marked "Kingsport Financial District." On the screen, a blue dot representing "reason" flashed continuously in the office buildings of financial elites. With several market fluctuations, the blue dot suddenly dimmed and was then replaced by red, representing "anxiety," and black, representing "despair."

Lin Zheng keenly observed that the "recyclable lost factors" that Professor Finch mentioned corresponded in some way to the "despair" energy contained in the "flesh and blood" raw materials that he knew.

"These factors, after being processed with specific technologies, can provide an efficient and stable driving force for certain specific needs of our society."

The entire lecture was a grand spiritual surgery, with Professor Finch as the skilled surgeon, dissecting human emotions and breaking them down into usable energy.

He made everyone present a potential participant or experiment in his "emotional-rational dynamics".

When the lecture ended, thunderous applause echoed through the hall as the audience, captivated by Professor Finch, awoke from an exhilarating dream.

Their eyes were filled with guided passion and blind faith.

Professor Finch paused for a moment at the podium, his gaze sweeping across the room once more, this time settling precisely on Lin Zheng.

Although it was only for a brief moment, Lin Zheng felt that gaze pierce through him.

"To all of you here, I extend an invitation to those scholars who are truly passionate about this research and possess extraordinary insight."

"Welcome to our core research team to explore the mysteries of emotion and reason and build a more stable future."

Professor Finch's voice was seductive, but his eyes were clearly fixed on Lin Zheng.

This is an unspoken guide; the fishing line gently guides the line underwater, the target is clear.

Lin Zheng forced himself to show just the right amount of "surprise" and "hesitation," and finally stood up with "uncontrollable excitement."

As he walked through the departing crowd, his eyes briefly met Professor Finch's, and he could sense a fleeting hint of amusement and anticipation in the latter's eyes.

Lin Zheng knew that he had been chosen, not because of his academic talent, but because of his "heterogeneity," or rather, he might be an "interesting outlier" in Professor Finch's theoretical model.

He stepped forward to the front desk, where a polite secretary handed him an access card bearing the laboratory's emblem.

The card is made of frosted metal, cool to the touch, and has a dark silver sheen.

He took the access card and breathed a sigh of relief.

This card is not just a pass, but an admission ticket to an unknown abyss.