Chapter 7 Chapter VII

The new year has started again.This "year" is the year of the new planetary system, which is different from the solar year used by humans in the past.It spans 1,825 days in the calendar (equivalent to five human-used solar years, or 43,800 hours on past clock faces). All things greedily suck its light and heat.As a result, the ice melted, the oceans heated up, and the weather warmed up. The earth wakes up, and the 100 million people living in its arms are also making noise, stirring up the uneasy spring.Humanity survived once again.Farmers began to dig the land; ashes workers closed the ash kilns, and started carpentry or repairing bridges and roads; worshipers of giant ice from all over North America began a long journey to Niagara Falls to worship the giant ice break.

After a short 30-day spring, a long, hot summer ushered in.The crops grow crazily and mature quickly; immediately after harvesting, they have to plow the ground quickly before planting; after harvesting the second season, they have to rush to plant the third season.The ice caps at the two poles melted, and the sea water rose; the influx of sea water caused floods, which often submerged coastal cities.They rushed to spread: Another good year!The Lever Building was flooded, its huge flat roof lost to the sea in the setting sun. All spring and summer, Troppel has been learning how to be a wolf and live the life of a wolf.

What makes him unhappy is that the so-called learning is nothing more than supervising the kindergarten in the wolf settlement, which is far from what he wants to do.Fortunately, since his task is to learn, supervising the kindergarten is also a kind of learning.Thinking about it this way, he learned to do it. Changing roles all of a sudden, and standing in front of the three-year-old child, he discovered how subtle and complicated interdependence exists between "wolves" and "sheep" in order to survive.We must not simply regard "wolves" as beasts that eat "sheep". Although wolves are rare, they are distributed in the society of sheep and act as catalysts for social change.

A simple children's enlightenment book reads: "You, sons of wolves, are good at mathematics and speculative. Talking with friends is a game of money. Complicated compound interest calculations are just a piece of cake. You don't need to write and do mental calculations. .There are so many mediocre people in the world, but I hope you will sigh!" It's so convincing!Haven't I been like this for years?Troppel thought about it while reading to the children. "Sheep are afraid of wolves. Under normal circumstances, wolves can always protect themselves against sheep. But living among sheep for a long time, they are always in danger of being discovered and executed." Is this not true?Troppel thought.

"As far as the wolf is concerned, the most dangerous mission is to be sent to live in the flock. Although the situation is dangerous, it is very necessary. Because without the wolf, the flock will eventually die of stagnation, degradation, and starvation." No need for citations.In short, sheep cannot be alone and cannot repair their own fences. Articles are naked.The children were also fond of—Troppel was at a loss for words for the moment—fighting.He found that although his behavioral taboo had been broken, the verbal taboo still lingered. In a sense, the life of a wolf is not necessarily happy.In the same world, while some kids are learning "children's meditation tips," here are kids learning how to fight.In order to compete for the annual title of "Big Bill Zekendorf", the children must participate in a strange fighting game called "Zeckendorf vs Hilton", which often ends in blood on both sides.

Nobody here - not a single one - practiced zazen "All things are related." Troppel himself was warned not to attend.Handel once said to him sullenly: "We don't understand this, and we don't like what we don't understand. Remember, Troppel, we are wolves, suspicious animals. As children grow up, we Let them practice some kind of meditation, know a little, or pretend to know a thing or two about zazen, in case they are sent out to the flock, and they can meet their needs. But that's all, no other form of meditation. Sitting meditation activities are not allowed.”

"Not allowed?" Anyway, the tone annoyed Troppel.His anger is about to rush up again. "Not allowed! Because we doubt it. We know it is an indisputable fact that some people suddenly and mysteriously disappear while they are in a meditative state. Yes, the sheep talk about zazen makes sense, but we don't want to disappear. Disappear Not necessarily a good thing, is it? That's how we judge. No meditation, you hear, Troppel?" Regarding this point, Tropel was still unconvinced, and always wanted to argue clearly with Handel.However, he could not find an opportunity to talk, Handel was always busy and had no time to spare.Finally he waited for an opportunity.It was customary for all adults in the wolf quarters to attend infantry drills twice a week on a regular basis at what Handel called a "soccer field."Anyone who wants to escape the dreary sheep country and live in the free and progressive wolf country must participate in this exercise.This is the price to pay, the obligation to fulfill.That day Tropel was out of breath, but he ran over to Handel to lie down, held his breath, and boldly said to him: "Handel, let's talk about the meditation."

"What's there to talk about?" "Well, I suppose you don't quite understand that," Tropel said tentatively.He knows what he has to say.How can the wonderful feeling of being one with nature and man be bad?He doesn't understand.Besides, although supersession is terrible, but after all, it rarely happens, so what's the point?These principles seemed very clear to him, but he was not sure how to convince Handel to understand them too.Tropel further said: "Handel, when you succeed in sitting meditation and comprehend the mechanism of Zen, you will become one with all things in the universe and get a feeling of transcendence. Do you understand what I mean? No feeling can On a par with this, it's an indescribably elevated state: calm, perfection, harmony, serenity."

"That's the cheapest hallucinogenic drug in the world," Handel said contemptuously. "Oh, come on, that's—" "It's also the cheapest religion in the world. Penniless morons who can't afford to worship gilded idols, they worship their own navels, that's all. Doing deep breathing also triggers their hyperoxia. What else can they do? Nothing! So they have to hypnotize themselves, there is no other way. To self-hypnotize by meditation, so they learn it, brag about it, treat it as It is a panacea, and I hope that if I learn it well, I will be freed from paralysis."

Troppel sighed: this man is so stubborn.Soon he came up with another move, put his elbows on the ground, raised his upper body, and said, "You haven't overlooked anything, have you? What's going on?" Handel said with a sullen face, "We can't understand that question." "It is true that self-hypnosis cannot explain—" "Of course, self-hypnosis cannot explain—" Handel said, imitating Troppel's tone viciously, "yes, we don't understand Transcendence, we're afraid of it, come on. Please don't tell me any more about supernatural acts of transcendence, the complete negation of duality, the unity of Brahma and the world, and other such lurid theories.

[①One of the main gods of Hinduism, the god of creation, also refers to the foundation of all living beings. ——Translator's Note. 】 You don't know what it is, and neither do we. said, rising to his feet. "The only thing we know, and the only thing we care about, is that someone has disappeared because of it, and we don't want that."For this reason, we don't meditate, and none of us -- including you. " Formation drills are a really stupid idea.Could it be that just a few small teams can defeat the unreachable pyramid on Sakya-Mata Peak by adopting the tactics of attacking from the front and outflanking the flanks?However, it is not without merit.Formation drills, coupled with a daily 3,500-calorie diet, made Troppel not only fat and strong, but also a brand new feeling in his heart.He has not lost his original lust.That was the driving force of his life—or something else, in short, it was the fundamental reason why wolves were different from sheep.So what is this new feeling?Is it happiness?Let's put it this way, if happiness is a sense of ideal, a kind of expectation for the realization of ideal, then Tropel's feeling can be called happiness.He had never felt this way in his previous life.In the past, there was only an instinctive impulse to pursue interests that could not be restrained.Today, that instinctive impulse has weakened, or almost disappeared, because in the society he lives in now, the pursuit of profit is allowed and encouraged. Troppel chugs through the New Jersey fields with his tractor, plowing the melting snow.As he worked, he hummed happily.Of course, the trace of doubt in his heart still remained: How many small teams can deal with the pyramid?Suddenly, Troppel stopped the tractor with his foot, and instead of turning off the engine, he only turned off the accelerator to reduce the roar of the engine, and then walked away.At this time, it is the midsummer season of the pyramid calendar, and the weather is extremely hot.He is tired, he should take a rest and get something to eat. He sat down in a shady place under a tree, as farmers used to do, took out a sandwich and ate it.The place was only a mile from Princeton, but there was no one in sight except him.Rather than staying in such a ghostly place, it would be better to reach the border of hell.The sheep migrating north will not appear in the area of ​​Princeton—due to the intentional arrangement of the wolves, they "happen" not to pass here.Suddenly something moved in the woods across the clearing, and Tropel caught a glimpse.He stood up to get a better look, but saw nothing.Wolf?Is it a real wolf?It could have been a bear, too—wolves and bears were rumored to be common around Princeton.Tropel knew that these rumors were mostly instigated and encouraged by people like Handel, and they were extremely false.Still, he believes some of the rumors are true. He stood up, picked up some withered grass left over from last year from the head-high weed pile, picked up a few dry branches under the tree, and lit a small fire.Then put a small pitcher on top to boil water for coffee.Then sit down and meditate while eating a sandwich. [①The name of a state in the United States, located in the northeastern United States. ——Translator's Note. 】 【②It is said that it is the place where the souls of unbaptized children and good people lived before Christ was born. ——Translator's Note. 】 From supervising kindergartens to farming fields, maybe it is a kind of promotion.Handel had promised Troppel a good job in the expedition.This expedition may be able to reveal some of the pyramids' great secrets.However, I am afraid that this opportunity will be missed, because the preparations for the expedition are still far from being completed. Troppel chewed his sandwich and thought: Why are the preparations for the expedition always endless?It is crucial to get to Sakya-Mata Peak while the weather is at its warmest – otherwise it will not be possible to climb it at all.Generations of mountaineers have proven this.And the warmest weather will soon be over. He lazily added a few more twigs to the fire, then sat there, motionless, staring blankly at the pitcher, as if trying to see through it.The blazing fire, the boiling water, and... Troppel became more and more fascinated. The pyramid on the distant Sakya-Mata peak has felt, or heard, tasted something strange. Maybe it’s because the received pulse waves in the h-f frequency band have changed, from the original endless “de-de-de” sound to the current “de-beep, de-beep” sound, maybe it’s because The infrared electromagnetic waves sent back are suddenly mixed with some ultraviolet electromagnetic waves.Anyway, in short, the pyramid discerned a strangeness. A crop grown by the pyramid is about to ripen, waiting to be harvested. The ripe crop was the carrier of an intelligent component called—the pyramid itself didn't care what the name was—named Tropile.Tropel himself was unaware of his mutation as a crop and ripening.He only knew that what he observed at this time were all nine forms before the water boiled.Such a precise observation is the first time in a year. Those 9 forms look like—what do they look like?Oh, to a layman, it looks like nothing, and only those who practice meditation by the water can understand its mystery.At this time, Tropel observed, felt, and was intoxicated.He tolerates and absorbs the most perfect and mysterious form evolved from various elements such as time, sound, bubbles, changing transparency, and the faint smell of water vapor. Troppel's jaw drooped on his chest, his limbs completely slack. At this moment, his distracting thoughts ceased, and his mind was calm and clear.He thought, this is an excellent opportunity to fully understand the meaning of Zen.He was reminded of the theory of "all things are related" (overhead, air eyes like deformed glass slowly appearing in still, thin air). In his empty, empty mind, there was nothingness.There were no gas eyes, no pyramids, no wolves; the newly plowed land was gone, and the boiling water that was bubbling and bubbling happily disappeared—he had begun to fall into tranquility. Time passed, or stood still—it was all the same to Tropel, because time no longer existed.He found himself on the verge of enlightenment (the air eye on his head was spinning). "Pa-pa-pa--" What is ringing?Mosquitoes fly by, or muscle twitches?Troppel changed his mind a bit, almost raised his head, and almost saw the mysterious airy eyes.What really mattered, the only thing in the world, was in his mind. he knows it.He was ready to catch it.Again! He let an unsolvable question float into his mind to calm his distracting thoughts: Two slaps make a clacking sound, what sound does one slap make?He guessed at the charade like a cat playing with a ball.Gradually, the brain began to approach the state of invalid thinking, the door of tranquility, and the state of ecstasy.And the real unconscious was creeping up on him! He is Glenn Tropel, and not just Glenn Tropel; he is the boiling water, and the boiling water is he; he is the tepid fire, and the tepid fire is—yes, heaven. sky.One thing is another, water is fire, fire is air.Tropel is the first bubble that rises, and the succession of bubbles is the ego, that is—the answer to the unsolvable question is getting closer and clearer.Then, all of a sudden—not all of a sudden, because time no longer existed—the answer froze, stopped there!I can't move!The answer is myself; the vault of heaven is the answer; the answer is of heaven, of heat, of water;Then there was a muffled thunder.But seeing the flame flickering, the solitary smoke scattered.Immediately, the flames rose again, the solitary smoke straightened again, and everything returned to normal. Troppel was gone.