Puzzle Madness

Chapter 55 Cognition
Section 1: What is a miracle in today's society?

Doudou looked at the words "Miracle" enlarged and painted in bright red. They were awkwardly embedded in the center of the picture, surrounded by warm yellow.

"You know what—calling it [Miracle] is really weird."

Richard was still leaning against the wall. He rubbed his hands together, leaned forward, and looked at the screen sideways:

"This training material is not just for Chinese-speaking regions; it's also sometimes used to train people in Europe, America, and Latin America. The term [miracle] was easier to understand and more popular before."

"And didn't I say that representation is just one of the terms? You just used several pronouns."

Richard turned his gaze back from the screen and saw Doudou had just taken a pen and paper from the corner cabinet in the box and was seriously taking notes:

"Doudou? You're so serious, you're even taking notes? Isn't it too dark?"

Without even looking up, Doudou's pen left traces of light and dark marks, poking holes all over the paper.

"Oh, it's okay. I can see it. I didn't write it down for me. I was going to write it down for my deskmate to show her when she comes to my house to play Streets of Rage in a few days. I can't remember it in my head alone."

"Tonight looks like it's going to be quite interesting. I need to let her know."

The mathematician straightened up from the sofa, stretched his neck, and looked at Doudou's notes:
"So, Doudou, you actually have friends? And they even come to your house to play?"

As if sensing the danger in his words, the mathematician quickly revised the content:

"Uh—I mean, I thought everyone in this world was your friend except your enemies?"

Doudou turned his head and glanced at the mathematician:
"Huh? Aren't you my friend? I even came to your house tonight. Don't you want to be my friend anymore?"

The mathematician's back, which had rarely been straight, suddenly hunched again:
"Ah? Ah? No! How could that be? I'm just not good with words. I'm not very good at socializing."

As he spoke, he picked his knuckles and laughed awkwardly.

The mathematician's mind began to imagine how Doudou's deskmate was frightened by the fear of life and death and had to play games with Doudou - so much so that he couldn't help but empathize with him:

"Your deskmate also knows that you have this superpower? Doesn't she find it strange? Don't your other classmates find it strange? Then why doesn't anyone know about these special things about you?"

Click!

Doudou put down the pen he had accidentally broken and opened the cap of a new one:
"I've already told you. I'm not hiding anything. Of course she knows. Could others know? Could others not know? I didn't ask them, and they didn't ask me. I can't read minds—"

The mathematician leaned closer:
"So, everyone in school actually thinks you're an ordinary student. Is that right? That's too strange. Ahem, no."

As if realizing his gaffe, he quickly tried to make amends:

"What I mean is—how could Doudou's talent be hidden? It's like the old saying: 'When a needle is in a bag, its tip is immediately visible.' So many of my classmates haven't noticed Doudou's talent. They're truly blind."

Doudou finally raised his gaze. The dim blue light on the screen outlined his unblinking eyes:

"Doctor, you weren't so flattering a few hours ago? Why are you so smooth-talking all of a sudden?"

As for Richard, he frowned when he heard Doudou's words; the remaining half of his face was hidden in the darkness of the box, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

He took his glasses from his shirt's breast pocket and looked at them in the light from the screen, thinking:
"Doudou, Doctor, you guys take a look first. I'll remind you of the key points."

On the other side, the screen embedded in the wall was still playing.

A sudden female voice began, her soaring, rhythmic, and deeply emotional voice proclaiming: "[A miracle] is the smallest unit of desire. Its fulfillment represents a connection between humanity and the world—"

drop!
There was a slight sound and the picture froze.

"Why pause again?"

There were fewer and fewer fluctuations in Doudou's words - this was an ominous sign.

Richard put down his hand that was pressing the buttons on the console:
"Sorry, there's another layer of misleading information here, I almost forgot to remove it. Look at my stupid brain, haha."

Click:
Another pen in Doudou's hand broke--
Impatience seemed to gradually take shape, rolling around in the box.

But Richard didn't seem to hear the jarring sound at all. He turned back and adjusted the TV's RGB color gamut on the control panel. The buttons on the panel clicked. A colorful flash of light appeared, and the original warm yellow background turned into a bright blue that was almost blinding.
The originally conspicuous subtitles were also filtered out, and a layer of vague paleness emerged against the blue background:

Richard then pressed the mute button again before continuing to play:
"Just read the text. The audio part is all misleading."

Subtitles scroll across the screen:

['Miracle' is a general term for a series of complex phenomena. Currently, it can only be theoretically explained by parapsychology and sensory mechanics, and cannot be replicated or confirmed through experiments. All known cases are isolated.]
[First, please put aside your old understanding and re-establish your understanding of the word and concept of "miracle."]
[Follow the table below to associate letters with words.]——
MIRACLE:

M - Multiple personality disorder/Murder.

I – Insomnia/Imposture.

R - Retrograde amnesia/rape.

A - Aberration/Arson.

C—Cyclothymia/Counterfeiting.

L—Lacunar amnesia/Larceny.

E——Erotomania/Extortion
-
Complex, table-like text appeared on the screen - English, Chinese and symbols mixed together; coupled with the blurry and trembling picture, it made people's eyes hurt.

Doudou turned his head away, not even taking notes—his gaze seemed to become material, like two metal spears, piercing towards Richard standing next to the screen:
"What a mess? I need to memorize it? I can't remember it. Are you good at English? Can you help me with my summer English homework?"

The air-conditioned video room box suddenly became too cold - the mathematician hugged his knees and huddled in the corner of the sofa.

Richard's hands involuntarily groped around, trying to find a shelter, but there was only hanging wallpaper around him:

"Well, they're all bad words anyway. Just remember this bad vibe—" He wiped the sweat that had formed on his nose with his knuckles and smiled sheepishly. "Our stupid company is like this. We love to have native English speakers in charge of training and other useless things. I'm fast-forwarding."

He lowered his head to avoid Doudou's gaze and quickly clicked the fast-forward button; the old form faded away and new letters emerged.
-
[There are currently two known reasons for the occurrence of "miracles":]
[1. Mental disorders and mental illness. For details, please refer to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) published by the World Health Organization.]
[2. Behavior that violates social, cultural, moral, or local laws and regulations. Different documentation will be required depending on the country and region.]
[Both of the above situations can produce a 'miracle'; however, no clear pattern has yet been found to differentiate the effects of the two causes. In 15% of cases, the historical records contain both of the above situations.]
Doudou frowned, his eyes narrowed into slits. With the same reverent attitude as a student reading a lesson plan on the projector, he kept hesitating:
"Hmm. Hmm? Hmm."

Richard raised his hand and pointed at the screen. He almost wanted to pick up the broom in the corner and use it as a pointer:
"We usually call them separately. The ones in the front are called patients, and the ones in the back are called criminals. This is easier to remember and more concise. It also makes it easier to classify them when we go on missions."

[Miracle caused by the first reason is mostly impossible to control, adjust or terminate autonomously.]
[Miracle caused by the second reason mostly requires the performance of ritualistic actions to invoke: the specific procedures of the ritualistic actions have not been found to have obvious regularity.]
[Besides background checks, the method by which a miracle is triggered is the only means of identifying the cause.]
[All cases discovered so far are caused by the above two reasons.]
"what."

The mathematician, who had been silent, suddenly sneered:
"In today's society, who hasn't made mistakes or been ill? Is there anyone who is completely mentally healthy? Except for those young--" He glanced at Doudou and cut himself off.

Richard did not comment on the mathematician's exclamation, but continued to focus his attention on the screen.

(End of this chapter)