Ryan’s mind felt like it would explode at any moment from so many things he needed to stop and reflect on. Even so, in the little time he had, few answers were found.
Without knowing when or how, Ryan finally found himself in an empty room with only an evaluator at the teacher’s desk staring at him.
"This is where we part ways, Ryan."
Cyntia said as the rest of the entourage soon said their goodbyes behind him.
"In case you pass the test, we might meet again, but don’t blame yourself if that doesn’t happen.
After all, you can count on your fingers how many have passed this test, and each one of them had years of preparation.
Meanwhile, you’re just some ordinary teenager. Understand? I don’t mean to offend you, but that’s just how it is."
Ryan didn’t turn to confront her, he simply moved forward toward his destination while reciting an old piece of advice:
"A damned old man once told me that resigning yourself saying, ’That just how it is’ is the discourse of the weak and powerless. That those who are strong never bend to common sense.
I can’t say what kind of person you are, Cyntia, but I know well that I’m the second kind. While others bow down and accept the world as it is. The reality that you all bow to bends to my will. And today, I’m here to show you what it means to be strong."
Cyntia said nothing, only nodding before leaving with Aron and the others.
Ryan soon sat down at the desk with the test turned toward him.
The instructor didn’t stand up, but soon said,
"You have 6 hours to take the test, each question answered must be marked on the answer sheet.
Should you attempt to cheat in any way, know that there are dozens of cameras aimed at you, from every possible angle. So we will know. That said... begin."
The timer above his desk soon started to go Tick-Tock.
Meanwhile Ryan breathed deeply. He was still under the effects of Overclock, and so the first thing he did was check just how distorted time was.
Thanks to the drug Ryan experienced time much more slowly than normal, so those six hours stretched into much more. Doing some mental calculations, Ryan soon reached a conclusion.
’24 hours. I have a whole day to take the test.’ Ryan breathed deeply, before reading the first question.
Many wondered what Ryan’s strategy would be to pass a test made to be impossible.
Some believed he would try to study as much as possible before the test or even come up with some extremely inventive way to cheat without getting caught.
John even offered several times to break into the university and steal the first test content, but Ryan refused, knowing the risks involved.
However, now that he was finally face to face with the test, he would finally reveal the trick he had kept up his sleeve.
"All of this came from a question I asked myself some time back." The instructor suddenly frowned as Ryan started talking to himself. "I asked myself a silly question, but one that intrigued me. After all, what is sociology?"
In a room far from there, several people stared at wide monitors, each one showing one of the angles on Ryan.
They soon brought their hands to their chins thoughtfully, while a clipboard rested in their hands.
Ryan had long known that this test gave different scores based on the idea of being an Enlightened One, a Sage, or simply a Paragon as Ryan preferred to say, a model of human being to be pursued.
So instead of hiding his tricks, it was better to reveal them and earn extra points.
"After thinking a lot, I came to the conclusion that Sociology is nothing more than Psychology applied to groups. So I asked myself, what is Psychology if not Biology applied to human behavior and patterns..."
The people secretly observing grew even more intrigued.
"And what is Biology if not organic Chemistry? And what is Chemistry if not one of the branches of Physics applied to atoms and molecules? And isn’t Physics just applied Mathematics?"
Ryan laughed, entertained, as the observers’ hearts beat faster and faster with excitement.
"And what is Mathematics if not Logic arising from human thought in Philosophy."
Ryan picked up his pen confidently.
"And what is Philosophy if not humanity’s incessant questioning to know who we are in this vast universe?"
"Therefore, Philosophy is nothing more than humanity’s constant cries seeking to know who we are and for what reason we were here. We could say that Philosophy is born from Sociology as much as from human Psychology."
Ryan breathed deeply. "Everything is one, and one is everything.
All knowledge arises from the same base and spreads into branches ever more distant, but all coming from the same inspiration.
Perhaps this is humanity’s great folly. Believing that creating these barriers of knowledge makes truth something our minds can grasp.
But I think differently... I think that accepting the truth in its entirety, without philosophical or conceptual barriers, is the correct path. And this is what I’m going to prove."
Ryan spent this entire time dedicated to understanding: What is the root of all knowledge.
He made maps, large linear maps.
He understood that a human being couldn’t discover exponentiation without first understanding multiplication, and couldn’t understand multiplication without first understanding addition.
But he also couldn’t discover addition without first discovering logic.
All knowledge worked this way.
But if Ryan knew the root of all of it, that meant that even if he didn’t know a single piece of more advanced knowledge, he could rediscover it on his own, by knowing the most fundamental parts that composed it.
Therefore, instead of spending five years studying advanced and complex knowledge for the test, he compressed the time to weeks studying only the most basic elements and relying on his own mind to rediscover the necessary concepts during the test.
"I found the tree of knowledge and I ate not of its fruit but of its root." Ryan said, taking the test calmly.
After all, he still had a whole day for it.