ecstasy

Chapter 54 Miracle

The small private room wasn't actually small, and the lighting was dim. A gray CRT screen, with rounded corners and a thick, silvery-gray casing, was embedded in the center of the wall. The screen took up a third of the wall, and the striped wallpaper surrounding it had peeled and fallen, the gaps covered by posters advertising alcoholic beverage packages and popular movies and TV series.

The TVs in the video halls are much larger than what ordinary people buy - most are 75 inches to 90 inches; they are between the screens of movie theaters and home TVs, but there are some scratches and stains on the screens.

There are six seats in the front and back, all of which are soft artificial leather sofas with backrests; they are arranged on the left and right, with a small coffee table in the middle, on which are placed wet towel rolls and tissues; the armrests of the sofas are full of holes scratched by passing customers, and the beverage holders installed next to them are polished to a shiny oily finish, giving people the illusion of gems in the dim light.

thump!

Without a word, Doudou leaped to the front row and half-lay down: the sofa's springs creaked and groaned; it had been marinated in tobacco and cheap perfume, leaving a pungent smell. The video hall didn't ban smoking, so Doudou didn't care.

The mathematician took small steps and huddled into the seat in the corner, placing the cardboard box that he never left behind at his feet and hugging his knees.

-

Richard had no intention of sitting down. He stood by the counter, picking and choosing the videotapes in the shopping basket: it was called a "console", but in fact it was just a VHS tape recorder stuck in the wall to prevent some customers from stealing it.

He finally picked up the 1993 Traffic Safety Warning, waved it above his head, and then inserted it into the cassette slot on the wall:

"The Jiaozhi Autonomous Prefecture, as well as some other regions and countries, are all produced by the manufacturers and subsidiaries of Asia-Europe Post."

"Given the low viewing rate and distributed nature of these tapes, they could also be used in other public safety areas, particularly where confidentiality is a high priority."

"So some batches of videotapes aren't just warning tapes; they also contain other information."

After finishing his serious commentary, Richard picked up the remote control and pressed the buttons carefully in his hand - first the number buttons and the volume button, and then switched the chapters of the videotape back and forth: if you didn't know, you would think he was practicing the cheats in "Contra".

beep!

The screen suddenly went dark, then lit up again—but instead of a message about [traffic safety], it showed a warning, with crude, blurry white text floating against a blue background:

[According to the relevant provisions of the Public Security Regulations, unauthorized viewing of this content will result in administrative detention for a period of no less than 15 days.]

Doudou raised his hand and pointed at the subtitle:

"Oh, no—does adding this warning page make it more tempting to read? I wouldn't even want to read it without it."

Richard held the remote control in one hand while adjusting the knob on the console. Video studios generally provide two sets of controllers for easy adjustment while watching:

"We use a complex screening process: complete viewing prevention is impossible, and unnecessary. The first layer of encryption protection is the keystroke sequence I just pressed; there are other methods behind it. This is enough to exclude some viewers - curious people cannot be dealt with by just a few warnings."

"Beware of gentlemen, not villains—Oh Doudou, I'm not saying you're a villain, I'm talking about me."

He turned around and pressed the play button on the console embedded in the wall.

Hearing what Richard said, Dou Dou raised his eyebrows - he didn't know if it was an illusion: Richard seemed to deliberately throw away all his previous restraints; but Dou Dou really didn't intend to interfere with his explanation of "Interesting Things".

Richard tapped the screen with his fingertips, signaling to the two audience members:

"Well, this videotape is part of our training materials. Sometimes we need to develop some downline personnel on a temporary basis, or urgently arrange for new colleagues to join the company, but we don't have time to deal with training matters, so we will use these resources."

"The teaching materials are designed, so they should be easier to understand than if I just kept repeating them."

There was no background music, only harsh white noise, blasting out from the speakers in the four corners of the box.

A broad line of black Song-style characters emerged from the warm yellow background, hovering in the center of the screen. As if someone was using a mobile phone next to the antenna and affecting the signal, the characters were blurred and distorted from time to time.

Doudou scratched his nose and read out the subtitles:

"'The Definition, Discovery, and Identification of Miracles'? That title is actually quite relevant."

Beneath the Chinese characters were several lines of other languages—DouDou could make out English and Russian, but the others were hard to discern. He frowned, his voice rising a notch:

"Hey? Wait, why is it a [miracle]?"

"So you call things like special abilities "miracles"? Why is that different from what you said before?"

Richard crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to the screen - it seemed that he was not going to sit on the sofa:

"This is an old version, just for show. 'Miracle' was a concept the marketing department packaged a generation ago, but it received only mediocre reviews. Senior management thought the term wasn't trendy enough to sell, and that it was too religious and inappropriate."

"After the concept was iterated, the marketing department gave me two mugs with ugly designs."

Doudou sat up straight, looking like he was listening attentively.

"So what is it called now? Is it the [symbol] you've been talking about?"

Richard shook his head slightly, stretched his neck forward, and looked at the contents on the screen at an angle:

"Doudou, didn't I tell you all this before? How come you forgot all of a sudden?"

"The marketing department is changing so quickly that we try to stick to the same title internally to avoid misunderstandings in communication—especially in the Special Package Handling Division where I work. These operations departments are very demanding on information accuracy."

"As for now. What is it called now?..."

“[A state of ecstasy caused by inspiration and revelation beyond sensory experience, resulting from the human yearning for truth and wisdom beyond the real world.]”

"That's the slogan we handed over; it's printed on mugs. I've memorized it after using it so many times. The marketing department plans to call these superpowers uniformly:"

"Crazy."

-

After saying this word, Richard fell silent.

Doudou suddenly realized he should show his support and quickly spoke up. He felt strangely uncomfortable with Richard's lecturing attitude, but he was also eager to hear what was going to happen next.

"First of all, you did say it's called [Frenzy] now, so there's no need to suddenly stop talking and create such drama. Secondly, that word doesn't seem that cool. But who came up with that slogan? That one sounds pretty good."

The mathematician had been silent since he found a seat at the back and shrunk into the sofa - but now he suddenly spoke:

"Plato—that's what Plato said. "[Ecstasy] is the Chinese translation, Theia Mania, which means divine madness. That's what Plato meant; to separate this state from ordinary mental disorder."

Richard lowered his head and continued sorting through the videotapes in the shopping basket. He didn't give the mathematician any praise, but he didn't respond to Doudou either:

"Who cares? If it sounds nice, it can get more funding and make project approval easier. [Miracle] has too much religious connotation, and the higher-ups don't like it."

But once the mathematician opened his mouth, he was determined to use up all his saliva:

"I feel like these layers of so-called [protection] measures are completely useless. Once the first person discovers it, won't anyone who wants to see it be able to see it? For example, if someone accidentally sees it by clicking the wrong button, it becomes an urban legend, and suddenly many people rush to see it."

Doudou raised his arms and shook his hands, signaling the scientists behind him not to dwell on this matter:

"Oh, no one would care. Even if someone stumbled upon something, well, they'd see it, and at most they'd tell their friends a few words, and maybe even think it was a TV prank or something. And it has to follow this fixed order. If it gets out of hand, the big companies will start playing the "all-powerful" game with you."

"Aren't you a victim of something like this, Doctor? Why are you still so stunned?"

Richard shrugged and spread his hands nonchalantly:

"Well, it's not very confidential; it's okay for someone to burn a copy."

Doudou fluttered to his feet, grabbed the remote control on the coffee table, pressed the play button, and interrupted the conversation between Richard and the mathematician:

"Okay, that's enough: shut up, everyone, I'm going to get on with the movie."

Chapter 55 Cognition

Section 1: What is a miracle in today's society?

Doudou looked at the words "Miracle" enlarged and painted in bright red. They were awkwardly embedded in the center of the picture, surrounded by warm yellow.

"You know what—calling it [Miracle] is really weird."

Richard was still leaning against the wall. He rubbed his hands together, leaned forward, and looked at the screen sideways:

"This training material is not just for Chinese-speaking regions; it's also sometimes used to train people in Europe, America, and Latin America. The term [miracle] was easier to understand and more popular before."

"And didn't I say that representation is just one of the terms? You just used several pronouns."

Richard turned his gaze back from the screen and saw Doudou had just taken a pen and paper from the corner cabinet in the box and was seriously taking notes:

"Doudou? You're so serious, you're even taking notes? Isn't it too dark?"

Without even looking up, Doudou's pen left traces of light and dark marks, poking holes all over the paper.

"Oh, it's okay. I can see it. I didn't write it down for me. I was going to write it down for my deskmate to show her when she comes to my house to play Streets of Rage in a few days. I can't remember it in my head alone."

"Tonight looks like it's going to be quite interesting. I need to let her know."

The mathematician straightened up from the sofa, stretched his neck, and looked at Doudou's notes:

"So, Doudou, you actually have friends? And they even come to your house to play?"

As if sensing the danger in his words, the mathematician quickly revised the content:

"Uh—I mean, I thought everyone in this world was your friend except your enemies?"

Doudou turned his head and glanced at the mathematician:

"Huh? Aren't you my friend? I even came to your house tonight. Don't you want to be my friend anymore?"

The mathematician's back, which had rarely been straight, suddenly hunched again:

"Ah? Ah? No! How could that be? I'm just not good with words. I'm not very good at socializing."

As he spoke, he picked his knuckles and laughed awkwardly.

The mathematician's mind began to imagine how Doudou's deskmate was frightened by the fear of life and death and had to play games with Doudou - so much so that he couldn't help but empathize with him:

"Your deskmate also knows that you have this superpower? Doesn't she find it strange? Don't your other classmates find it strange? Then why doesn't anyone know about these special things about you?"

Click!

Doudou put down the pen he had accidentally broken and opened the cap of a new one:

"I've already told you. I'm not hiding anything. Of course she knows. Could others know? Could others not know? I didn't ask them, and they didn't ask me. I can't read minds—"

The mathematician leaned closer:

"So, everyone in school actually thinks you're an ordinary student. Is that right? That's too strange. Ahem, no."

As if realizing his gaffe, he quickly tried to make amends:

"What I mean is—how could Doudou's talent be hidden? It's like the old saying: 'When a needle is in a bag, its tip is immediately visible.' So many of my classmates haven't noticed Doudou's talent. They're truly blind."

Doudou finally raised his gaze. The dim blue light on the screen outlined his unblinking eyes:

"Doctor, you weren't so flattering a few hours ago? Why are you so smooth-talking all of a sudden?"

As for Richard, he frowned when he heard Doudou's words; the remaining half of his face was hidden in the darkness of the box, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

He took his glasses from his shirt's breast pocket and looked at them in the light from the screen, thinking:

"Doudou, Doctor, you guys take a look first. I'll remind you of the key points."

On the other side, the screen embedded in the wall was still playing.

Suddenly, a female voice began her high-pitched and emotional voice:

"[Miracle] is the smallest unit of wish. Its realization represents the connection between humanity and the world—"

drop!

There was a slight sound and the picture froze.

"Why pause again?"

There were fewer and fewer fluctuations in Doudou's words - this was an ominous sign.

Richard put down his hand that was pressing the buttons on the console:

"Sorry, there's another layer of misleading information here, I almost forgot to remove it. Look at my stupid brain, haha."

Click:

Another pen in Doudou's hand broke--

Impatience seemed to gradually take shape, rolling around in the box.

But Richard didn't seem to hear the jarring sound at all. He turned back and adjusted the TV's RGB color gamut on the control panel. The buttons on the panel clicked. A colorful flash of light appeared, and the original warm yellow background turned into a bright blue that was almost blinding.

The originally conspicuous subtitles were also filtered out, and a layer of vague paleness emerged against the blue background:

Richard then pressed the mute button again before continuing to play:

"Just read the text. The audio part is all misleading."

Subtitles scroll across the screen:

['Miracle' is a general term for a series of complex phenomena. Currently, it can only be theoretically explained by parapsychology and sensory mechanics, and cannot be replicated or confirmed through experiments. All known cases are isolated.]

[First, please put aside your old understanding and re-establish your understanding of the word and concept of "miracle."]

[Follow the table below to associate letters with words.]——