Students From Whiteroom

Whiterooms

Someone's voice echoed through the room, waking me up. The sound came from the speaker behind the white wall. The wall where the sound appears has many small holes so that sound can enter my room. A picture or maybe a video, appeared on the wall of my room.

The wall has a kind of system that allows most walls to function as a monitor screen that can display video.

Now on the wall monitor there is a video featuring a person calling himself “Guru”.

He always taught me things in the outside world. So even though I was confined to this room, I knew a lot about how far the civilization out there had progressed.

Today he is showing a film from the outside world. He has also previously shown several films as a learning medium. The film tells the story of a theft.

I was amazed by the thief who could open the door with just a wire. Someday, I hope I can do it too.

And the lesson of the day was finished when the film ended.

I ate breakfast that had been available on the tray since I woke up. Maybe the breakfast was put down while I was sleeping.

Today the menu I ate was rice and milk. I think this food was chosen because of its white color.

For as long as I can remember, I've never seen a color other than white in my entire life. Whiteroom never let me see any other colors in this room, except from the monitor screen.

This was probably meant so that I could focus on the monitor screen on the wall. Because, it was only from the screen on the wall that I could see the colors of life.

While thinking about it, I devoured the food provided. The rice I ate was tasteless, as was the taste of pure milk that was bland and a little fishy. I'm sure, teachers and researchers out there have been thinking about the nutrients in these foods. It's just, they don't seem to care so much about the taste.

I have never seen any other colorful food with such a varied taste. However, of the few movies I've seen on wall monitors, many people out there are starving. Even experiencing poor nutrition with their thin bodies are only bone clad in skin.

I am grateful to be able to enjoy such nutritious food now. And luckily, I was able to understand how many people lived by bearing the weight of the burden of life. Because it is one form of lesson given by the "teacher" so that I can be more grateful and not complain with the food I get.

Finally my breakfast was finished. For a moment, I found something unique. It is similar to the thing in the movie. Maybe this is what is called a wire.

The color is shiny white, different from the white color in this room. It can reflect light like a mirror. I quickly kept it in my pants pocket. Because I feel this thing is so special. The color is so attractive.

Not long after that, the sleepiness started to feel. This may be due to sleeping pills that have been mixed into the food I eat.

As far as I can remember, my routine in this room is only a little. Sleep, eat, and learn. Sometimes, I also take a shower and urinate in the bathroom in my room. The rest I used to stare at the white color with a blank mind.

Perhaps, this is what is called pseudo-peace. Roughly speaking, this is the true sense of silence, loneliness and emptiness.

I have been in this room from a small. I have never felt such an emotional thing as the affection of parents.

Maybe the first thing I saw when the baby was not the parents' parents, but the white color of this room.

For now, learning is everything.

By learning new things from the video shown on the wall, I can imagine how much fun life can be outside. Even so I have considered this place as “home” so there is no reason for me to go from here.

Slowly, my vision began to dim. The sleepiness grew stronger and forced me to go back to sleep. Fighting this drowsiness is useless. I also let this sleepiness drag me into dreamland.

* * *

A terrible vibration woke me up. I felt the room I was in swaying. This is the first time I have felt something like this. There was something inside me that told me to leave. But where to go? The door to the room I was in was always locked.

I remember the movie I just saw. Couldn't the thief in the movie easily open the door with just a wire?

I will try to do the same.

The first thing I did was ascertain the size of the keyhole. Then, the wire I have I made became crooked.

I carefully inserted the wire into the keyhole. I have estimated how to make the pin inside the lock can be lifted so that it can unlock the door. After a while I moved the wire, there was a clicking sound from the door. I finally opened the door.

This is my first time out of this room. I saw a lot of doors running down the hall. There are still many children like me who live in the white room.

However, this is not the time to sympathize. My freedom is not guaranteed either.

Suddenly I felt a great tremor. The lights hanging in the hallway swayed violently. Finally, the electricity extinguishes all the light that is here. Things go dark.

For the first time, this place experienced such a powerful shock. The place shook a few times after that.

I slowly searched for the exit. However, after a long search, I did not find it. All I found were the doors of the same room as mine.

I quickly thought, because after the tremors stopped, the workers who run the place would come back. And, I would be forced to return to the white room and be confined there until an unspecified deadline.

I don't want to go back before I can see the outside world. It was my unanimous decision. Because it was my ambition after a few times I watched videos about the outside world.

About how green the forest, the blue of the ocean, and the chirping of birds. I want to see all of that.

All to increase my knowledge of the world. Curiosity has been pinned by the "teacher" to me from some of the videos it plays on the wall screen.

I also investigated, the reason I did not find any out. The vibration is still slightly felt, but in a distant place there may be a larger vibration going on. Maybe I'm in an underground bunker. While assuming this, I. Matching my conjecture with some of the scenes I've seen on the wall screen.

There are some underground bunkers that are resistant to earthquakes. But there are also some natural events that can shake the solidity of underground bungjer.

One of them is....

Okay. I will check it with my own eyes. I decided that this place was an underground bunker. Searching for the door is useless.

I climbed the ladder, betting that there was freedom up there. Exactly as I thought. Vibration after vibration was felt more and more as I had climbed some stairs.

For the first time I saw the outside world. The wind greeted me calmly. The stars are scattered in the night sky. In the distance there are some collapsed buildings.

In the distance I saw sirens flickering car lights. One of the passengers came to me. Help seems to have come. I was able to be free of the whiteroom by utilizing this evacuation process. This is an opportunity that doesn't come twice.