Chapter 2 : prodigy wakes up , discussions about depression

Chin woke up on a bed, surrounded by four of his colleagues. “ the board of

directors “ he thought sarcastically. All but one were in full battle armour. The
suits that chin himself wore but a more bulkier version. They were lined with a
stronger exoskeleton suit capable of lifting a truck and each suit were lined with
dense kevlar that were able to absorb a snipers bullet although with great pain. Or
a shotgun at close range. Also with great pain.

The five occupants of the room are the highest ranked executives of the
multinational conglomerate Mongol inc. It consisted of Khan , the CEO . Borte , the
CFO and daughter of the original founder of the company. She was the one everyone
most expected to take over the CEO position however Khan has kept his cards close
to his chest and hasn't revealed his successor yet. Then there was ogedai who was
Bortes husband. Widely expected to be the next CEO at first, he has whole heatedly
rejected the notion and has publicly supported his wife's argument on becoming the
CEO. Then there was Em. She had first joined the company as a sales assistant but
had rapidly ascended the ranks. She was the second youngest person in this group
and arguably the one with the most traumatic childhood, which she had buried it
deep under an extraverted personality.

Khen walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He was relaxed and took his
time, like a tiger approaching an injured gazelle.
“ Don’t you know chin that suicide is never the answer? Of course we would have
killed you if you tried to escape but suicide is never the right path. You should
keep in mind how many people around the world are leaving in the most horrible
conditions a human could live : in war zones, in abject poverty or with rampant
diseases. This is why I always laugh whenever I read on how another high schooler
killed themselves because of a failed romantic pursuit. It just seems silly to
waste your life over someone who doesn’t care about you. Its the modern age of
darwinism. Only the strong who can survive public embarrassment would survive.

Chin mumbled quietly, knowing that when Khan made up his mind, nothing would change
it. But he still had to express his opinion. “ but maybe in their view suicide way
the only way out. Its like the people who jump out of burning buildings; they know
that the fall would kill them but its much preferable to burning alive. but what
about the people who live in dead end jobs or the people who are living with
depression or the ones whose entire reputations is destroyed? What type of life
would they continue to live when everyday is hell for them? Isn't it easier for
everyone if they for the first time took control over their lives ?

Khen boomed “ then they have to find another reason to live! Reputations are just
opinions by other people who don’t matter. Depression is a war that needs to be
fought over and over again and there is great pride and honour in doing so. I am
still angry that the Nazis took the phrase " albeit machct frie ", because yes,
only if people instead focussed on doing their jobs as to the best of their
abilities, they would find a certain pride towards it. Its the discipline of doing
good work that can build self respect. And even if you do feel like offing
yourself, why not volunteer ? Donate your body to try out the next generation of
cancer drugs, go to the war zone areas and deliver supplies where your death would
be in service for helping others or even just being the person in the neighbourhood
who always picks up the trash? That is one amazing person who dedicated his entire
life to keeping his street clean. Or better yet, read the stories of survivors who
have lost entire families, their limbs and the worst conditions possible and still
survived. The people who kill themselves haven't failed enough in life to know that
its the getting up after falling down that makes the difference in the world

But you are distracting me again Chen my boy! Question was why you thought suicide
was the answer?

Chen shouted “ because there was no way out literally, if we left you would have
killed us! Atleast this way we get to leave in our own terms. Its easy for
outsiders to criticise us but its because you don't know what we are going through.

“ Ahh so it was martydom that influenced your decision and not love. You wanted to
make a stand! To become a symbol ! And that is an universal sentiment. From the
coliseum warriors dying in front of their emperor to religious zealots who
sacrifice themselves while attacking others to nationalism where a man fights a war
that was decided by other men who will never come to the battlefield to ones own
children, every person wants their life and more importantly their death to mean
something. The need to be part of something great is perhaps the greatest force of
motivation. Its what pushed us to the top of the food chain. Envy, Ambition,
Greed . All human constructs that helped push us to greater levels. Nowadays,
people get silver of their social proof through their social media but they have
mistaken fame for greatness without realising that they are cousins.

“ But don’t they share the same end results of people remembering them? So why
wouldn't they just bypass the middle man and jump right ahead into the ones every
human wants : to be respected and admired.

“ They do but it feels unnatural! Imagine drinking cold water after a week in the
desert versus drinking water after drinking two litres already. In both cases your
thirst is quenched but the former one had greater meaning. Its the suffering of the
journey that gives meaning to your prize. You could helicopter to the summit of
Mount Everest, but its the climb that defines you.
Perhaps thats why you hear about the suicides and depression facing a lot of your
celebrities . The fame they received is an unnatural one since its not the fame one
needs. Greatness is when you die for something truly worthwhile , like the
revolutionaries overthrowing the dictatorship. Unfortunately , the number of
dictatorships are quite less so there isn’t any great struggle. No wars against a
common evil. No epic quest through the trechourous jungles to slay the dragon.
Its why people are more divided today. Its why they are more depressed. Its why
people find the slightest issues to make a big deal of. WE are hard wired for
struggle, but if you take that away, it just leads to more overdoses.

Chen, while still annoyed on being tied to the bed, perked up : so what can people
do ? There is no great evil, just lots of smaller ones.

“ By living how their ancestors wanted them to live : peacefully. But we all know
that won’t happen, Humans have always being a tribal species. It was crucial for
our survival in the olden times as we don't know if the other tribe is friendly or
not and it was safer to stick together. Nowadays, it has been degraded to
supporting sports teams, even the ones in countries you have never visited, much
less lived in. Its why political parties are more inclined to influence people
outside their party, because they know the people within it are already entrenched
in it. Its what businesses do to, do everything to get their first customer and
then provide minimal service afterwards. Its why people stay in abusive
relationships longer than they have to. Because the devil you know, is much better
than the one you don't know. But that's the limitation of our caveman brains. We
don't have to fear the unknown as tigers are quite rare to see in our streets. Its
better to jump, because at least if you land in another bad situation, you already
learned how to jump once. You can do it again.
So why havent you don't anything? I don't see you trying to change the world if you
know so much about the root cause. You could have saved a lot of pain and
suffering, especially with me.

Khan gave an almost exaggerated expression of shock “My my , I do respect the

sudden growth of backbone there Chen. Where were these questions since the past 17
years?

“Maybe I am a slow learner. Maybe because I believed in what you said about how
suffering leads to growth. But there are too types of pain : the pain of actual
productive growth and just unnecessary pain. Where we don't learn anything, just
how to handle it.

“ Oh but that's just a matter of your perspective khen. It was always up to you to
interpret reality, as it is always neutral. The rain would nourish a plant but
would drown the ant. You should have learnt the lesson under each painful
experience.
Also, I prefer not to change the course of nature too much. We don’t interfere on
the decisions humanity takes, in case our interventions causes the wrong effects.
You have noticed that in our history where multiple men tried to change history
before ending up with their throats slit. We prefer to let them figure it out for
themselves. Because the best way for someone not to do something? You force them to
do it. This is why dictators have to use other means to rally their people :
fighting for their country, their religion, their skin colour , their last name.
Because if you are a dictator , people would listen to you until you push them far
enough to revolt. Even a scared cat backed up to the corner, would eventually
attack; because it has nothing else to lose and everything to gain.

By then, the door opened and rionald entered the room and strode towards Khen. “
bad news boss, turns out Chen didn’t kill his lover out of a jealously. "

“ You little bi- “ Chen lunged towards the new figure but his throat was
immediately caught in a chokehold by another member and was brought squirming to
the ground.

“ Now borte, be nice. He is suicidal and lost a loved one. OF course, he is

irrational right now and we need to be understanding of it. So how did our dear
comrade pass away?
“ Poison. But its a very subtle kind. We probably need to confirm with the elders.

A collective groan went around the room.

The largest one protested while still having a choke hold on Chen on the floor “
can’t we just email them? “
Khen rose up, “ now now ogedai , these samurais are the few groups who would kill
to restore the honour. Outdated? Maybe. But it is admirable. Now, be a dear and
Chen along, we are going to get some great sake!