Filed under [
framework material-agency
I sit, cross-legged, in front of the sandbox. Its smooth silicon particles glitter in the late afternoon sun. The open pagoda that hosts my class is a hundred meters wide; a square-shaped, flat, domed expanse interrupted by dozens of workstations like mine, perfectly placed to provide a view of the sea to the front, mountains on the left, and Mother’s majestic forms in the hazy distance. Mother sings: a continuous, low vibration, faint but always present. The song has been part of my daily life for the better part of my - admittedly short - life.
I took great care in adjusting the paper screens, so that the breeze wouldn’t disturb the smooth, fine-grit surface of my workstation. In a mix of excitement and apprehension, I pick up the smallest of three styli. It’s made of oak, smooth and thinner than a chopstick, polished by thousands of fingers. I bring the metal tip to the top of the sandbox, and stop inches away from the surface. This is the first time I speak to Mother without my mentor’s guiding hand, her impeccable rhetoric. Her inscrutable, infallible humor. I spent sleepless nights choosing the right words and sharpening my inflection. I obsessed greatly over fine-tuning the emotive charge of my statement. I studied Mother’s moods over the last few days, listened closely to minute variations in her song. I’m as ready as I will ever be.
I position the stylus on the fine sand and write in decisive, quick, precise motions:
A pond, smoothly iced;
A carp’s glimmer from beneath!
Memories of spring.
It is done. I straighten my back, clean the stylus carefully with a silk handkerchief, and place it back in its recess on the workstation’s wooden frame. I stand up, bow slowly, and leave. The low, reverberating hum might have changed in tone; but it might also be my imagination.
Later that evening, during communal dinner, a courier hovers to my table and positions a folded piece of parchment in front of me. I unfold it slowly, doing my best to hide my excitement. The message reads: X2B emissions increased by 27 units per second. Oscillation stable within +-0.2 range. I smile in satisfaction and continue eating my supper.