pART ii
When I realized I had no idea where I was, I felt a burning instinct emerge, but the fact is, I never got to react. The natural impulse of the fright was interrupted by an opportune touch on the shoulder, followed by a calm and jovial voice:
“Welcome to Σthos, son of the First Age. My name is Ynkö, and everything is fine.”
Just one touch, a single touch, and what was once fear now gave way to an implacable serenity. Calmer, and also curious, I sat down to assess what was going on.
Obviously, I firstly focused on Ynkö - a cheerful lad around the age of fifteen. Seated in an armchair beside me, he presented an energetic and slender appearance; his look, though happy and quiet, was mysteriously mature for his age.
Soon after, I noticed that there were other beds besides mine, all of them forming a large circle in the center of a wide wooden hall. The environment, despite being built with rustic materials, was spacious, beautiful and rigorously well planned. The great columns of the hall stood out, covered by rich ornaments which, hand-carved, evoked the virtues of skill and patience.
Looking up, I was surprised by an incredibly high ceiling, structured in rather complex geometric patterns. As soon as I tried to consider the how or why of it, however, I was struck by a buzzing in the ear and an intense vertigo. A little dizzy, I rubbed my face until I recovered and I found it safest to limit my observations to whatever was closest to the ground.
There were eleven beds in total, where other people seemed to be waking up, just like me. Next to each bed it was possible to observe a personal caregiver, although not all were young as Ynkö; some of them even seemed to be meeting good friends among those who were awakening, a scene that filled the hall with a pleasant atmosphere of fraternization.
“Where am I, or... where are we?” It was the best I managed to ask.
Ynkö opened a big smile and replied:
“You are in Σthos. We took you out of your own space-time to invite you to join our dimensional exchange program!”
I know that those words should have scared me, or at least provoked some kind of fear, but it didn’t. In fact, Ynkö was so kind and the atmosphere was so welcoming that I was feeling curious above anything else.
"Could it be that I died?" I thought to myself.
It was a good idea, but then we would have a case of emigration, not exchange.
"What if I woke up from a dream, into another dream?" was the second idea.
That hypothesis had more potential, but it didn’t fit either. As strange as those events were, I felt they were real; on top of that, and quite unfortunately, my classic back pain was already there.
Ynkö seemed to enjoy himself at the expense of my confusion. He waited as long as he could, until he could no longer contain himself, and burst out laughing:
“Come on, are you really trying to figure all this out by yourself?”
His voice was playful and affectionate, but the provocation fit like a glove.
“Wow, I don’t know what I was thinking. I have a question, please. Is this an abduction? Or... I don’t know, are we in the astral plane?”
The answer came right after:
“Well... actually those were two questions, but none of them will help you very much. Anyway, the first answer is yes, but not in the way you imagine; And the second answer is no, but “no” in a way that you can’t imagine.”
It seemed that Ynkö liked mind games. I asked him to repeat the phrase a few times, but eventually gave up. After realizing that I was unable to follow him, the young man offered to help:
“If I would guess, I think that what you really want to know is if your normal life is waiting for you just like you left it.”
I admit I was impressed. I didn’t even know that that’s exactly what I wanted to know. Certain of what he had said, and expecting no confirmation from me, Ynkö continued:
“Relax, your return to ‘normality’ is guaranteed, but now we must go through the basics.”
He then clarified that, despite the jokes, the exchange program was real. I, an inhabitant of the "First Age", had just been transported to the "Fifth Age"; more precisely to the Singularity Hall: the space-time portal of the city of Σthos.
“Although we have all the time in the world, there are some things that cannot wait. Being so, listen carefully: two questions you’ve wasted, then two more you can ask; afterwards you’ll have to decide. If you agree to participate in our program, your only obligation will be to complete it. In the end, you will be returned to your own space-time, exactly where you were before. If you decline, you will return now, just as you arrived, but without any recollection of what happened,” the youngling explained.
It turned out that Ynkö really liked playing games! What he did not know, however, was that he had bumped into a candidate who not only shared his taste, but also was already fully awake. Additionally, I had already understood the most important rule of the game: "lousy questions lead to useless answers".
After thinking for a moment on which strategy to adopt, I decided that my first question was going to be a full-frontal assault.
“What is the reason for this exchange program?”
Ynkö smiled, making it clear that he was one step ahead of me.
“This program serves so that human beings from different eras can share experiences with each other, learning and growing together.”
What a failure, the answer was so obvious! Kind of nervous, I even tried to correct it:
“No, no... I meant what does this have to do with me… why was “I” chosen?”
“Is that your second question?” Ynkö reminded me.
I became silent, quietly shaking my head in disapproval. My plan had gone down the drain. There was only one more chance, and I needed to think better; I needed to find the main question, the one which would help me decide.
I confess that it took me a long time, but I finally realized that deep down I had already made a decision, and in fact I did not need any answers. The last question, in this case, was just an elegant piece of the game: it did not need to be spoken, nor did it need to be answered, it just needed to be sought.
I felt a great inner clarity, and grateful for the game, I decided to end it on par with the young man who led it:
“Okay, how do I check in?”
Ynkö stopped for a second, unable to hide his surprised reaction. Swift, however, he soon shook his head and pulled himself together, proceeding enthusiastically:
“Well… I liked you! The check-in is very simple: just tell me your name. I’ll then register it at the Abacus, and that’s it, your exchange will officially commence!”
Excited by the moment, and with no idea of what an abacus would do in this case, I said with will:
“My name is Nahmas Connor!”
It was not what I expected, but upon hearing the reply Ynkö reacted with disgust; he began to grumble at himself, saying the name was not “good enough" because it was “as exciting as a glass of warm water". I was about to remind him that I could hear everything when the young man stopped, opened his eyes and, with the expression of someone who has just had an epiphany, said:
“Namascoin!”
“Namascoin?” I asked, hesitantly.
Ynkö then leaned to the side, towards a curious stone totem that ended at the height of the arms of his chair. He placed his hand on a glass plate attached to the top of the artifact, and shaking his head in affirmative sign, said:
“Yes! NA... MAS... COIN.”
The plate then shone in violet, and from it beams of light of the same color ran through the veins of the rock totem, descending to the ground. There was no need to think too much - everything indicated that I had just been registered in the exchange program as "Namascoin"!
“But... what do you mean, Namascoin?” I asked again, even more distressed.
Ynkö then stood up, put his hand on my shoulder, and said:
“Believe me, my friend, it’s perfect! You are officially an Applicant now. Come with me, we have a lot to do.”
