Rain leaned against his desk, exhausted. His eyelids were nearly closing every second.
The afternoon lesson dragged on sluggishly—so dull that even the sound of his own breathing seemed more exciting than the content being taught.
On the front wall, a large projector screen displayed a pale-colored rock being scanned in great detail—nanostructures, 3D models of ancient fossilized shells, and protein layers of prehistoric organisms, X-rayed with energy waves far beyond the basic curriculum.
All the students stared at the screen, trying their best to pay attention, except Rain, who didn't even care what the images were.
He neither understood nor wished to understand how memorizing sub-cellular structures or isotopic distributions of shells would help him, except for passing the upcoming elimination exams.
He zoned out for a moment until the screen switched to a blurry photo of "something" resembling roots—or some complex biological network beyond description.
"The image shows the Neural Mycorrhizal Construct, or NMC—a network of bio-fibers like roots found beneath the surface of the land, more than 1,200 meters deep… This structure is not ordinary roots but a semi-organic, semi-quantum framework communicating via bio-quantum entanglement through glutamate-like organic substances mixed with conductive materials…"
The image zoomed closer, revealing thin lines resembling nerve fibers flowing within the roots.
"These fibers are called Cognifibers, similar in form to axons in the human brain. They transmit excitonic pulses and can accelerate energy production through symbiotic bio-fission…"
Time passed slowly. Rain rested his face on his hand, bored out of his mind.
"According to data gathered by Neurospatial Tomography technology, these roots produce energy crystals called 'Nexocytes'—transparent objects capable of releasing electricity 1,023 times that of a standard hydrogen battery…"
"Each Nexocyte cannot be directly extracted. It must 'ripen' inside roots fed with high-level organic molecules—coincidentally, the human body, with its functioning metabolism, is the most 'complete' raw material to speed this process…"
Some students turned pale; others looked away; some were confused, and a few were zoned out, drooling. But the Instructor didn't care and continued in a monotone voice:
"Energy is life, and the energy produced is what allows our lives—those sitting here—to continue… blah blah."
Rain blinked slowly, feeling something drifting inside his skull. His brain seemed shrouded in fog.
He didn't even know what he was doing.
His saliva started to drool; his eyes began to droop.
…The image on the screen changed again.
This time, it showed the structure the system called
"Autotrophic Symbiotic Bioform No. IX-A" —
or a blurry image of a massive root system.
It expanded to fill the entire screen: gigantic pale roots tangled in layers,
looking like the nerves of a blind living creature.
All the students sat silently — not because they understood,
but because none of them did, and no one dared to ask.
; "At the nano level, these roots consist of semi-organic neuroconductive channels
capable of transmitting nerve currents at picoampere levels,
and they perform distributed cognition via excitonic pulse connections
with energy fibers we call 'Cognifibers.'"
Rain remained staring blankly.
"This structure does not sustain itself by ordinary organic substances…"
…
"but uses life forms with high bioenergy density as their power source…"
The classroom was still completely silent.
Some kids blinked slowly and breathed more rapidly,
while most didn't understand what they were hearing.
"When molecules within living organisms undergo fission-based decomposition,
vast amounts of energy are converted into units called Nexocytes,
which are high-level energy crystals."
Images of glowing crystal clusters slowly rotating appeared on the screen.
Some seemed to still contain embedded tissue cells inside.
"One Nexocyte can power a mid-sized city for an entire week."
Gaia, who was idly drumming his fingers on the desk, suddenly widened his eyes when he saw the crystal images on the screen.
It looked familiar, like he'd seen them somewhere before—but he couldn't remember exactly where.
Yet the memory felt vaguely present, just out of reach.
Some children began whispering to each other.
One raised a hesitant hand, but the Instructor did not acknowledge any questions.
"Although the specific species providing the highest energy value remains unidentified,
field data shows one organic source found exclusively within the educational system
is exceptionally suitable material."
The screen switched to a statistical graph showing "Bio-density" values of unnamed energy sources.
One bar displayed: "S-Class Educational Subject – Max Output Efficiency 98.7%."
Rain started paying attention,
but inside he felt a fluttering discomfort without knowing why.
"To stabilize this system,
systematic raw material selection and cognitive filtration
must be performed before integrating into the root network."
"Blah blah blah…"
***
The system cut the image, muted the sound, and let the light fade.
No further explanation or confirmation.
Only the sound of cool air passing through the air filter
and the silence of the children remained.
Everyone sat frozen like overloaded robots,
struggling to process the flood of information.
_____________________________________________
back to the dorm.
Rain lay still as if lifeless,
barely moving a muscle on his own bed.
Zheairn poked Rain repeatedly, hoping for a response.
He smiled widely, tireless, then tried calling out.
Poke... poke...
"Hey, are you dead or what...?"
Poke... poke...
"Hey, hey!"
Zheairn paused for a moment, then poked again.
"Helloooooo!"
No reply. No movement from Rain.
He stared blankly up at the ceiling, lost in a daze,
as if spaced out after a long, boring afternoon class.
Zheairn glanced at Elisa and Gaia beside him,
then shook his head lightly, tired.
"He's dead now…"
Elisa sat down at the edge of the bed, yawning softly.
Her heavy eyes looked ready to close,
and her dry voice came out with little surprise:
"I'm not really surprised…"
Gaia, leaning against the wall, looked up and scratched his head gently.
"I think we should just split up and get some rest."
It seemed like everyone was completely exhausted
after a class that suddenly grew overwhelmingly intense.
The real lessons were only just beginning today,
after all the previous ones had been simple and light.
***
Zyn was already fast asleep, out cold on her bed.
Gaia slowly made his way back to his own and, the moment he reached it, collapsed onto the mattress without hesitation.
More than half the children in the room had already dozed off, all resting simultaneously for the first time since arriving.
The remaining half—those who still had energy to spare—either wandered the halls or passed time in the indoor playground.
Zheairn, unlike the others, wasn't fully sleepy yet.
He remained seated beside Rain's bed.
His own bed was right next to Rain's—just one number apart—on the upper bunk at the far end.
After the others had all settled in and drifted off, he sat in quiet idleness, unsure what to do.
Eventually, with nothing else on his mind, he returned to lie down on his own bed.
The lights in the room were still on,
as the scheduled dimming time hadn't quite arrived.
Only a few minutes remained until 6 PM.
And then—
Ding... ding... boooong...
The moment the soft chime rang out to mark 6 o'clock,
the lights dimmed slightly with a soft hum,
casting a gentle haze across the dormitory,
as if the entire room was exhaling.
***
24 days left before the separation