Once, there once was a child named Wu. He was very bright but lived in poverty. He lived in a small village called Tiandi, which only had 10 families, in the kingdom of Zhongjian. Zhongjian was located in a valley enclosed by mountains on four sides with Tiandi near the center. There was a nearby metropolitan city called Haodu, but only elites and wealthy families could afford living there.
Ming was the only other child in Tiandi who was of a similar age to Wu. Ming was a boy who was always fascinated with maps. When he had free time, he would look at maps. One day, as both of them were watering the crops, they started talking about what was beyond the mountains that enclosed their kingdom.
Ming started, “Have you heard about the rumored technologically advanced city beyond the mountains?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s called Falsulumen, in the nation of Imperium. The rumors say it’s a paradise. Apparently, the place is so wealthy that the streets are made of gold and there’s food everywhere, free of charge. The rumors also say there are great buildings, larger than either of us have ever seen before. They also have a many futuristic inventions that we can’t even imagine!”
“That sounds really good, especially because we’re poor peasants, barely able to feed ourselves. Has anyone been there before?”
“Only a few wealthy people have been there. However, none of them have returned, so no one has confirmed any facts about Falsulumen. Even if you want to go there, it isn’t easy. The mythological road that goes to Falsulumen is located in the suburbs of Haodu.”
“Even getting to Haodu will take a week to walk! Not even to mention the price of the horse to get to Falsulumen! However, the idea of free food in a paradise city does sound very appealing.”
After their discussion, Wu decided to save up money for the trip to Falsulumen and some extra money just in case. He decided to plant more crops to sell at the marketplace. For the next year, Wu woke up before the sun was even up and worked hours past sunset. Finally, he had enough budget for the trip!
The next week, Wu set off to Haodu by foot. Walking for a whole week straight was hard, but this was only the beginning. By the time he got to Haodu, he had blisters on his feet and many mosquito bites. As soon as he got to Haodu, he didn’t think twice before going straight for the horse stalls to purchase a horse.
Finally, he was ready to set off after all that hard work! Wu had prepared food and water for a year of the journey. Still, water and food were scarce resources, so he ate and drank very little each day. The trip was hard but luckily he didn’t encounter any hostile locals or wildlife.
One morning, after traversing barren grassland for months, he noticed a small village. Wu observed that the signage was in a foreign script, similar to the one written on Ming’s map of where Imperium was supposed to be. The countryside of Imperium was not very different than the Tiandi, countryside of Zhongjian. However, there was one key difference. The villagers were notably wealthier, living in large clean homes. They also had many foreign contraptions that he had never seen before, like the contraption that cuts grass, powered by electricity. He saw a person carrying a box that emitted music. At first, he thought it was a foreign instrument, yet the man was not the person playing this instrument.
A few days later, Wu reached Falsulumen, Imperium. The city was so large and tall that it can be seen hundreds of miles away. As soon as Wu step into the city he immediately got lost due to the huge size. It’s at least a hundred times the size of Haodu and has skyscrapers taller than anything he had seen before. The tallest building in Haodu is only 10 stories high. In this city, there are many things he had never seen before: large flashing screens, horse carriages that move without horses, mobile pieces of glass that can be used to communicate, people with singing seashells stuck in their ears, people dressed in black and white like a penguin, people with a mini clock strapped to their wrists, and many other things.
In this city, to his surprise, all the food and shop items were all free of charge. Even housing was completely free. Strangely, all the workers in the shops and inns were like robots, working nonstop without talking or taking a break. It was weird to him how people were acting so robotically. Despite these oddities, due to the free services and high-tech surroundings, Wu decides to settle in Falsulemen.
He attended the local university at Falsulemen, which was a lot more advanced than any universities in Zhongjian. In university, Wu met Faber, a fellow student who just moved from the suburbs of Imperium. The two hung out and studied together. However, after enjoying a whole year of a luxurious life, he learned the dark truth from Faber who told him that after 2 years of residence in Falsulemen, there is a mandatory ceremony called Cerebros Abluere, abbreviated as Cerbluere, that everyone must do. During Cerbluere, the person must step into a mysterious building and go to the top floor, at 250 stories. 10 minutes later, the person will return with no visible large changes except a metal band on one of their feet. Apparently, after Cerbluere, a person can still think freely but the thoughts of the government can override their own. The government also will get to read the thoughts of the person. Wu did some more research about the Cerbluere and found out that there are speculations that this ceremony is the reason the citizens were acting like machines. There were also speculations that after your Cerbluere, you lose your freedom and become a part of the Falsulemen workforce.
Wu continued thinking, “This explains why everything in Falsulemen is free and it seems like a paradise. In reality, the perks are just there to attract new people to add to their workforce, just like slavery. When you first arrive, they treat you luxuriously but that’s only to make you stay and turn you into one of the machines.”
Finally, Wu returned to Tiandi the same way he came before he had to go through his Cerbluere. When he arrived back at Tiandi, he learned to appreciate his circumstances and that not everything that looks like a paradise really is one.
Ming was the only other child in Tiandi who was of a similar age to Wu. Ming was a boy who was always fascinated with maps. When he had free time, he would look at maps. One day, as both of them were watering the crops, they started talking about what was beyond the mountains that enclosed their kingdom.
Ming started, “Have you heard about the rumored technologically advanced city beyond the mountains?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“It’s called Falsulumen, in the nation of Imperium. The rumors say it’s a paradise. Apparently, the place is so wealthy that the streets are made of gold and there’s food everywhere, free of charge. The rumors also say there are great buildings, larger than either of us have ever seen before. They also have a many futuristic inventions that we can’t even imagine!”
“That sounds really good, especially because we’re poor peasants, barely able to feed ourselves. Has anyone been there before?”
“Only a few wealthy people have been there. However, none of them have returned, so no one has confirmed any facts about Falsulumen. Even if you want to go there, it isn’t easy. The mythological road that goes to Falsulumen is located in the suburbs of Haodu.”
“Even getting to Haodu will take a week to walk! Not even to mention the price of the horse to get to Falsulumen! However, the idea of free food in a paradise city does sound very appealing.”
After their discussion, Wu decided to save up money for the trip to Falsulumen and some extra money just in case. He decided to plant more crops to sell at the marketplace. For the next year, Wu woke up before the sun was even up and worked hours past sunset. Finally, he had enough budget for the trip!
The next week, Wu set off to Haodu by foot. Walking for a whole week straight was hard, but this was only the beginning. By the time he got to Haodu, he had blisters on his feet and many mosquito bites. As soon as he got to Haodu, he didn’t think twice before going straight for the horse stalls to purchase a horse.
Finally, he was ready to set off after all that hard work! Wu had prepared food and water for a year of the journey. Still, water and food were scarce resources, so he ate and drank very little each day. The trip was hard but luckily he didn’t encounter any hostile locals or wildlife.
One morning, after traversing barren grassland for months, he noticed a small village. Wu observed that the signage was in a foreign script, similar to the one written on Ming’s map of where Imperium was supposed to be. The countryside of Imperium was not very different than the Tiandi, countryside of Zhongjian. However, there was one key difference. The villagers were notably wealthier, living in large clean homes. They also had many foreign contraptions that he had never seen before, like the contraption that cuts grass, powered by electricity. He saw a person carrying a box that emitted music. At first, he thought it was a foreign instrument, yet the man was not the person playing this instrument.
A few days later, Wu reached Falsulumen, Imperium. The city was so large and tall that it can be seen hundreds of miles away. As soon as Wu step into the city he immediately got lost due to the huge size. It’s at least a hundred times the size of Haodu and has skyscrapers taller than anything he had seen before. The tallest building in Haodu is only 10 stories high. In this city, there are many things he had never seen before: large flashing screens, horse carriages that move without horses, mobile pieces of glass that can be used to communicate, people with singing seashells stuck in their ears, people dressed in black and white like a penguin, people with a mini clock strapped to their wrists, and many other things.
In this city, to his surprise, all the food and shop items were all free of charge. Even housing was completely free. Strangely, all the workers in the shops and inns were like robots, working nonstop without talking or taking a break. It was weird to him how people were acting so robotically. Despite these oddities, due to the free services and high-tech surroundings, Wu decides to settle in Falsulemen.
He attended the local university at Falsulemen, which was a lot more advanced than any universities in Zhongjian. In university, Wu met Faber, a fellow student who just moved from the suburbs of Imperium. The two hung out and studied together. However, after enjoying a whole year of a luxurious life, he learned the dark truth from Faber who told him that after 2 years of residence in Falsulemen, there is a mandatory ceremony called Cerebros Abluere, abbreviated as Cerbluere, that everyone must do. During Cerbluere, the person must step into a mysterious building and go to the top floor, at 250 stories. 10 minutes later, the person will return with no visible large changes except a metal band on one of their feet. Apparently, after Cerbluere, a person can still think freely but the thoughts of the government can override their own. The government also will get to read the thoughts of the person. Wu did some more research about the Cerbluere and found out that there are speculations that this ceremony is the reason the citizens were acting like machines. There were also speculations that after your Cerbluere, you lose your freedom and become a part of the Falsulemen workforce.
Wu continued thinking, “This explains why everything in Falsulemen is free and it seems like a paradise. In reality, the perks are just there to attract new people to add to their workforce, just like slavery. When you first arrive, they treat you luxuriously but that’s only to make you stay and turn you into one of the machines.”
Finally, Wu returned to Tiandi the same way he came before he had to go through his Cerbluere. When he arrived back at Tiandi, he learned to appreciate his circumstances and that not everything that looks like a paradise really is one.
