The world around him felt fake. The very world he had lived in for over 17 years. It was only yesterday that he had taken the subway back home and fell into the best dream of his life, yet something told him that it wasn't over. He could sense change heading for him, but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
The classes dragged on, it was as if everyone else was some brain-dead loser, only living in the present, with complete disregard for the beauty that lay beyond. During the quiz, Li could not help but dig his brain for past information about the mysterious "Covenant of Guardians"; he couldn't have cared less about the grades.
"Li! Where have you been? Weren't we going to study in the library during lunch today?"
It was the transitioning period between classes and Li's friend, Zhao Wei had caught up with him. Staring into those naive eyes, Li could only feel melancholy.
Now every male friend reminded him of Xiao Shu. In all honesty, Li couldn't even remember what had happened to that poor guy except that they were once great friends, almost inseparable and that one day, after some conflict, Xiao simply ceased to live.
"Damn, are you on something right now? Don't tell me you joined those chainsmokers in the bathroom!"
Li forced a chuckle. He had to give it to Zhao to lighten up the mood every now and then but this was only a mild painkiller. The day dragged on and Li only wished that night would arrive, then, he would have a chance at unraveling this great mystery that had presented itself.
"Me? Hell no. I'm just tired, that's all. Seriously"
Zhao stared at him suspiciously,
"Seriously man, your eyes don't look right. You're somewhere else right now. You aren't just tired."
"Zhao, hop off, come on. I'm alright, let's get to class"
Li had not intended to speak as harshly as he had but it got the message through. The two walked into the physics class together; the teacher had already begun the lecture. The lesson today was a continuation of a past lesson: Schrodinger's cat.
Dr. Yi walked up to the front of the room. With a flick of the chalk, the characters "猫" was written. A box was then drawn meticulously around it. The class fell silent.
"This is the famous Schrodinger's cat. Referencing the past lesson, can anyone explain to me what conclusion is drawn from this experiment?"
A girl in the back of the class raised her hand.
"In terms of quantum mechanics, the cat is both dead and alive until the box is opened and observed"
"That is correct, Lin, but here is where we left off, and conveniently, where it all gets interesting."
Li froze in his seat, something told him that this wasn't going to be like the previous classes. He wondered if it was only him who felt the room go cold. Dr. Yi continued,
"The very moment we open the box, the quantum state collapses. The cat is either instantly alive or dead. Our observation forces the reality we perceive to 'make a choice'"
"Dr. Yi… would that mean that it would be reasonable to conclude that our reality isn't real until we look at it?"
Dr. Yi smiled, the wrinkles on her aging face becoming obvious, yet attesting to the power of time.
"Junyi, I would say that you could interpret it that way, but bear in mind, that is but one of possibly infinite explanations. But now, let's dive deeper. Say, someone has opened the box before you. What if reality wasn't waiting for you to perceive, but how it was perceived was being decided by someone else, for you. "
Li sat back, a shiver running through his spine, it felt as if someone had just looked inside his thoughts. What is happening to my reality? Am I a Schrodinger's cat, waiting to die at any moment?Am I between two intermittently "collapsing" realities; controlled by someone else?
The lesson related to Li's current condition, so much so that he was beginning to think that there were others in this world who had knowledge of what he was experiencing. Maybe even experiencing it themselves.
Gasping, Li sat up in the bed. Looking around, it was dark around him, with the exception of a few flickering candle flames, dancing into the night
The scent of the wild filled his nose, something so alien yet much more reassuring. Looking down, he realized that his blanket was wet with sweat, but his lover lay in peaceful sleep. Taking quiet, deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down. Unlike his apartment in Chongqing, the stars here could be seen.
Li couldn't resist the primal urge to gaze at the endless starry night above him, and tiptoed out of bed to reminisce on the porch. The vast universe around him shone, ever brighter with life. Life would go on. He wondered how far Earth was from here.
He wondered what his body would do while he was here, in some world so different, so far away. He let the planet embrace him, the sounds of the wildlife synchronising with the rhythm of his heart, a longing soul in the vast expanse of space.
Boom! A shot rang out in the night, followed by a mangled howl. It was too far away to wake anyone, but he was sure that the Covenant had a night duty and that whoever was on it had probably heard it too. Li froze, both in fear and confusion. If only he had remembered more about this planet, he may have been able to respond better but even with his basic knowledge, he knew that none of the residents of this community had any weapons that could mimic such a distinct sound. The crunch of dried brush indicated that someone was running in the community. It was the masked man from before, this time with what appeared to be a large sniper rifle. Li hopped off the porch and ran to intercept him.
"Did you hear that, too?"
"Yeah, get your armor on, the two others are on alert. This isn't normal. You know that right? Li, please don't tell me you still can't remember"
Li didn't want to disappoint anyone, but in the moment, he decided that he'd be much more of a fool if he lied.
"I- I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened but… yeah, I don't remember everything."
The man shook his head but replied calmly,
"Li, it's been a lot. Wait for me, tomorrow morning, maybe we can work something out. But for now, none of the tribes here that we know of have any guns and what we heard was definitely one. Something is up in those fields over there, you stay and protect the village, wake the others up too. They are in that small hut near the chief's building. I will try to scout out the fields as best I can, if I don't return by sunrise, don't try to find me. Make sure this village is safe, there have been too many anomalies occurring throughout the systems. Don't risk the covenant."
Li nodded,
"Be careful man, stay safe out there".
The man ran to what seemed like a stable and mounted a quadrupedal ostrich-like beast that Li had not noticed the day before. Turning back, he began to run towards the building where the rest of the Guardians lay sleeping. It would be a long time before any of them would get a good night's sleep again.