“Do not go gentle into that good night—”
An Zhe and Colin walked down a long, narrow white corridor. There was the sound of simultaneous reading, a collection of tender voices vibrating around them like there was an echo. This was the sixth floor of the Garden of Eden and the man who brought them here was in his 30s and called Lin Zuo. He looked gentle in his white short and thin gold-rimmed glasses.
The two of them were taken to the office and Lin Zuo questioned, “How is it going here?”
Colin replied, “Very good.”
Lin Zuo told them, “The conditions in the main city are better than the outer city.”
An Zhe realized it. During the time when he was in the outer city, he never thought there was a giant building like the Garden of Eden in this world.
In this corridor, excluding the officer, there were 10 rooms. Five of them were classrooms and five were children’s dormitories. The dormitories were full of small beds and each one could accommodate 100 people. According to Lin Zuo, the Garden of Eden consists of 10 such corridors and each one held children of the same age. In other words, there were 4,000 children close to the age of six.
“Once the children turn six years old, most of them will be sent to the outer city for adoption. However, now that the outer city has fallen, the main city has to take over the education work after they are six years old. There is a shortage of manpower so it is fortunate that you are here.” Lin Zuo continued, “We don’t dare to hand over children under the age of six to newcomers so this group of children will be assigned to you once they turn six years old.”
An Zhe said, “Okay.”
“At present, further educational arrangements haven’t been. Can the two of you follow me to familiarize yourself with the process?”
Colin nodded. “En.”
Lin Zuo smiled and took a few manuals off the shelf. “This is the textbook and the rotation arrangement. Take a look at it first and ask me if you have any questions.”
An Zhe took his share.
There were two education courses here. One was language and literature and the other was mathematics and logic. An Zhe had received the language and literature textbook. The six year old children had already mastered basic reading and grammar. The textbook consisted of short fables and poems. An Ze had learned these things well so there were no syllables or words that An Zhe didn’t recognize.
After examining the textbook, it was time for class. An Zhe moved a set of tables and chairs to sit in the back corner of the classroom. He held a child’s seating chart. Lin Zuo had told him to attend class and gave him the task of recording the children’s attendance. If a child took the initiative to answer questions or ask questions, they should be given extra points. If they whispered or did irrelevant actions then points should be deducted.
The children all turned their heads and looked at him. Their skin was very soft and their eyes were pure and clean. They wore uniform white clothes, black shorts and had similar short hair styles. Thus, it was hard to distinguish if they were male or female for a while. They whispered a few times as they continued to look at An Zhe. An Zhe smiled at them.
Several of them also smiled at him. One of them blinked, eyelashes fluttering as he asked, “Are you the new teacher?”
An Zhe said, “Yes.”
“Wow.” Another child whispered. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
The cub replied, “You’re welcome.”
Another child asked, “What is your name?”
An Zhe told them his name.
One child said, “My name is Bai Nan.”
“My name is Jisha.”
“My name is Du Cheng.”
Of course, there were some indifferent children, such as the one in the corner who looked at him before turning back. However, the excitement around An Zhe didn’t last long because Lin Zuo came in. The children immediately dispersed away from An Zhe and went back to their seats. Lin Zuo looked around to confirm that no one was absent before starting the lecture.
He was talking about the poem An Zhe previously heard in the corridor. It was the last one in the textbook and more complicated than the other contents. He had heard the children in a classroom reciting it when he walked along the corridor.
The children first read the poem from beginning to end.
“Do not go gentle into that good night.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
“Though wise men at their end know dark is right.
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.”
After it was read once, Lin Zuo stood at the podium and asked, “Is there anything you don’t understand?”
One child raised his hand. An Zhe compared it to the seating chart and saw it was the child called Bai Nan. Bai Nan stated, “I don’t understand anything.”
The other children laughed.
Lin Zuo told Bai Nan, “Narrow the scope of the question.”
“That…” Bai Nan scratched his head, his tone hesitant. “Why can’t we go gently into the night?”
On the form, An Zhe added one point for Bai Nan. Then he glanced at Lin Zuo and waited for the answer.
He didn’t know the answer to the question Bai Nan asked. In the Abyss or at the human base, he had seen too many times when twilight gradually replaced the day. Every night, he gently landed on the ground with no resistance.
Lin Zuo’s eyes swept over them, lips slightly tightening in a serious arc.
“This is the last text of your course this year,” Lin Zuo told them. “It has different meanings from all the previous texts so it might be a bit difficult for you.”
He turned and wrote the words ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ on the whiteboard and then turned to the children under the stage.
“This is a poem composed of metaphors and symbols,” Lin Zuo said. “Do not go gentle into that good night. It means to not accept death meekly.”
An Zhe’s eyes widened slightly as he wrote down the sentence on his notebook. Later, Lin Zuo started to explain from the first sentence and An Zhe carefully took notes. After speaking, the children read the verses again from beginning to end.
“And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray,
Do not go gentle into that good night.”
An Zhe’s pen paused as he was taking notes. He looked out the bright window. Not far away, the twin towers were shining in the sunlight. The city slowly unfolded and the edge disappeared into the blue sky. He knew that the city hadn’t yet entered that good night and was trying not to enter it.
After a day of classes, Lin Zuo got off work and handed the children over to An Zhe and Colin. They were take the children to dinner with the life teacher and then gather in the dormitory to watch today’s news. In order to enhance their feelings with the children, An Zhe would answer any confusion they had about the news. They could only leave work after the news was released.
The well-fed children were mentally active and they argued and talked in the corridor. An Zhe felt like 10,000 mosquitoes were screaming in his ears but he tolerated these human children. Even in the Abyss, monsters would treat their children gently—but only their own.
It wasn’t until it was news time and the life teacher took out the grading sheet that the children became quiet. They spontaneously formed a circle around the big projection screen and sat in the middle.
He looked at the screen when he suddenly felt something touch his finger. He looked down and saw that it was the child called Bai Nan who sat beside him and grabbed An Zhe’s finger. An Zhe didn’t have too much physical contact with humans. He had a deep memory of when he bumped into Lu Feng and was hurt by the badge on his chest. However, the body of the child was soft and different from Lu Feng.
The human child stayed quietly beside him, just like the spore remained quietly in his body. An Zhe obtained a false peace through this illusion and touched Bai Nan’s head.
Then Bai Nan leaned against him and clung to his arm. At the same time, another child called Jisha leaned over. This child looked like a girl as she wriggled toward him. Colin was also receiving affection from several children. It seemed the nature of all biological children was to get close to adults.
Even so, there was still a lonely child sitting cross-legged in his own position, unmoved. An Zhe remembered that he was called Sinan. Sinan also never asked questions in class. He glanced at Sinan and smiled but Sinan just turned away back to the big screen.
The news had begun.
“After the combing of District 6, the number of monsters in the outer city has decreased significantly. The military’s second air formation took off at 6 a.m. this morning and landed in District 1 to support the outer city. Colonel Lu Feng of the Trial Court will direct the existing team to carry out the recovery operation of the dispersal centre…”
An Zhe suddenly heard a familiar name. Since coming to the main city, he had never seen Lu Feng. This person had gone to the outer city again.
Suddenly, Bai Nan whispered, “It’s the Judge.”
Jisha added, “I’m so scared.”
An Zhe asked them, “What’s wrong?”
Bai Nan replied, “The news often talks about how many people were executed by the Judge.”
Jisha added, “He often goes to the Abyss. The Abyss is so scary.”
An Zhe touched her head. “Don’t be afraid.”
Jisha wrinkled her nose.
“You are human and the Judge will protect you.”
Jisha continued to wrinkle her nose.
Bai Nan wondered, “Teacher, have you ever met the Judge?”
At the same time, the news said, “Here is a line from a war correspondent.”
The camera flashed. A reporter was interviewing an officer in a black uniform. At first, An Zhe thought the figure was Lu Feng but the next moment, he discovered this wasn’t the case. The man was the young judge who was often next to Lu Feng. His name was shown and it was Seraing.
An Zhe softly responded to Bai Nan’s question, “Yes.”
“What does he look like? He doesn’t show his face on the news,” Bai Nan inquired.
Jisha also interjected, “Is he very fierce?”
The children all looked over, seemingly interested in the question.
“He…” An Zhe recalled Lu Feng’s appearance and tried to judge using human aesthetics. “He is a bit fierce but he looks good.”
“What does he look like?”
This child’s question was harder than before. An Zhe didn’t know how to make a comparison. He was thinking hard when he suddenly remembered the colour of Lu Feng’s eyes. This type of cold dark-green was like the aurora in the sky.
He replied, “Like… the aurora.”
The children had doubts in their eyes. At this time, An Zhe saw the life teacher give him a thumbs up.
“You deserve to teach language and literature,” the life teacher told him.
An Zhe didn’t know if the teacher was complimenting or criticizing him so he just smiled.
Time in the main city passed day by day. Before he knew it, he had lived here for almost a month.
Life in the Garden of Eden was very peaceful. At most, there were some arguments between the children. On several occasions, An Zhe walked under the Twin Towers but both towers needed a card to enter. He didn’t have permission to enter. In order to see the spore, he first had to know where it was in the Lighthouse and be able to enter the Lighthouse. Now these two goals were far away.
At the same time, the news became increasingly more encouraging. Just 10 days ago, Colonel Lu led his team into the heart of the dispersal centre and carried out a detailed plan of action. The news specifically emphasized that the Trial Court regularly went to the Abyss and they were extremely experienced in dealing with monsters.
Five days ago, the military officially recovered the dispersal centre and cleared the remaining monsters, carrying out a large-scale cleanup and disinfection. A team dispatched from the Lighthouse entered and started repairing the equipment.
Today, An Zhe intended to continue listening to the news but this day, Lin Zuo had to work the night shift so An Zhe got off early.
It was 6 o’clock in the evening in summer and the sky was still bright. Only a thin layer of grey-blue slowly spread in the western sky. An Zhe swiped his card and the glass door of the Eden building slowly slid open. He went out along with Colin, who also got off work early.
It wasn’t regular off-work hours and there were few pedestrians on the street. An Zhe walked through the streets, taking the short path to the shuttle bus. He and Colin didn’t like each other so even if they were going the same way, they were far apart.
The world was originally very quiet. Just as An Zhe was able to pass through his small street onto a wide road, there was the sudden sound of footsteps behind him. Then a white shadow passed by him. An Zhe frowned at the short white figure. He was certain that it was a little girl.
The children in his class, both boys and girls, were very similar in appearance and age. This child was undoubtedly a girl. She had a particularly slim body, black hair that fell loose to her shoulders and she wore a white dress.
The road was ahead and there was a car driving on it. An Zhe called out, “Be careful!”
Just as a car rushed past on the road, the girl seemed to be frightened and suddenly stopped. She gasped and looked back at An Zhe. Her eyes were frightened and she looked distraught.
An Zhe wondered, “Can I help you? Are you a person of the Garden of Eden?”
Unexpectedly, his words caused the girl’s state to worsen. She shook his head and ran straight towards the road!
An Zhe quickly followed.
At this moment, a black figure appeared at the corner of the street. His actions were clean and simple as he stood straight in front of the girl. The girl stepped forward and the man leaned down to pick her up. The man took a few steps as the girl struggled violently, but she couldn’t do anything.
An Zhe who had just arrived here, “……”
Their eyes met.
An Zhe greeted him. “…Hellow.”
Lu Feng replied, “Hello.”
An Zhe wanted to ask him if the dispersal centre had been recovered but at this moment, he had more important words to say. These words had been brewing for a month. On the train that day, Lu Feng had been in a bad mood. He wasn’t very happy and An Zhe speculated on the reason—in this world, few people could look at the colonel rationally. Combined with the colonel’s actions of saving the little girl from the dangerous road, his sentence was even more justified.
“Colonel,” he stated.
Lu Feng slightly raised his eyebrows. “What’s the matter?”
The girl was still struggling. Her eyes were dull, her hair was messy and she didn’t look right. Lu Feng casually patted her on the back. His technique was rough but at least his intentions were good.
Thus, this sentence was once again corroborated. An Zhe glanced at the little girl before looking back at Lu Feng and declaring sincerely, “You are a good person.”
There was a slight smile on the colonel’s face. It wasn’t a sincere smile but rather like he was hearing An Zhe’s obvious lie. The next second, he used one hand to control the little girl while raising his communicator with the other hand. “Intersection 7, the target has been captured.”
He glanced at An Zhe lightly as he spoke.
An Zhe, “……?”
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