Exploring Centralia: Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Description: this is a fart fetish story with political fiction, sci-fi and other weird elements.

...

Chapter 2: A Bitter Revelation

Chéngshì, Centralia.
Gaian Calendar: January 5, 2020. Sunday.
Chéngshì Calendar: Year of the ühum number 204, zenith cycle, 15th revolution.
Population: 200,000
Latitude: 30°00'S

Climate: 37/27 °C (Hottest day average), 0/-5 °C (Coldest day average)

Today's weather: 35/25 °C. Sunny.

"Here we are!", said Kxem.
"Wow! This is... your country! It feels weird to be in here", said Samantha, excited.

It's the first time for Samantha to go to Centralia. She didn't know whether it was good or bad to live there: she has heard many contrasting opinions, therefore she decided to go there. For Kxem, it was different. He was born in Centralia, but went to live in the United States. Alaska, to be more precise. He met Samantha one day, then they became friends. Samantha really wanted to go to Centralia, but Kxem warned her about the country being very diverse in quality of life, varying from city to city. Samantha wanted to go there anyway so here they are. Kxem called a taxi and they went downtown. Samantha was so excited to be abroad but will she like the Centralian life, though?

"What's so bad about this country?", asked Samantha, confused.

"It's a long story. A very long story. Do you really wanna hear it? It's gonna be boring and technical", said Kxem.

"Just keep it as short as possible", said Samantha, ready lo listen.

"Okay then. This country is governed by a strange ideology, which might sound good at first impression, but trust me, it can be a nightmare living here if you are born in the wrong place at the wrong time, so that I moved to Alaska, and lived a good life there. What's this ideology you ask? Well, basically, this entire country is governed by an ideology, that says you can't touch another person or their property without their consent: you can't steal, kill or rape another person. There's another rule: you can't talk to another person without their consent, and you can only say things he or she allows you to say. There are driving laws, in the places where there are roads and cars, that's it. You can take photos if you are in a public space. That sounds good, but the other things are really bad, let me explain. Basically, everything else is allowed: prostitution, incest, drugs, gambling, digital piracy, going out naked in public, and many other things. I'll tell you more later today", said Kxem.

"I see, but I don't get how this country can be a bad place. Looks good to me", said Samantha.

Suddenly, a really bad cloud of stink reached Kxem's nostrils, while Samantha was giggling.

"You farted, didn't you?", said Kxem, smiling and pretending to be annoyed.

"Yep!", said Samantha, happy he noticed.

Everything seemed calm and nice. The weather was very hot (35 °C = 95 °F) and some people, both male and females, were walking completely naked, and some of them were sunbathing. These naked people knew nobody could annoy them, because talking to someone against their will is not allowed. This would have been unthinkable in most of Gaia*

*Gaia is the "your" reality, i.e. real-life Earth.

Everyone in Centralia can dress how they want: especially if they feel no shame. Feeling no shame is the best thing to do, not only in Centralia but in Gaia, too. Well, unless you're harming someone else, that's it. That's the only thing you should be ashamed for. You shouldn't be ashamed if you're innocent.

Samantha and Kxem were walking in the streets, without anyone bothering them, and Samantha wondered what was so bad about this country. She thought it would have been a nice place to live in. She was thinking about moving to Centralia permanently, or at least for the entire 2020. She wanted to feel what true freedom meant, and that can be only felt here, in Centralia. Or at least, that was what Samantha thought. Will she change her mind?

They both kept walking around and Samantha was starting to feel too hot. She needed to be in a place with a colder temperature, but could tolerate the heat for a few more hours so she was doing fine. They kept walking looking for something to do to have fun. Since there is a free market with a laissez-faire economy in Centralia, everyone can start their own business without any kind of permit, but Samantha wasn't thinking about starting her own yet. She just saw a playground, but it was a private property. The owner of the playground prohibited people of 12 years old or older to use the playground. Also, children wearing red clothing couldn't use the playground, either. Kxem explained the rules to Samantha and she was a bit confused and asked why.

"This playground is private, not public, therefore the owner can decide the rules. If I don't want, say, people from Baden-Württemberg from entering my property, they can't enter my property. Rules can be extremely irrational but you need to follow them", explained Kxem.

"So, you can discriminate people by their nationality, gender, religion and sexual orientation?", asked Samantha.

"Yes, and not only by that. You can discriminate people by their color of their shirt, their weight, and other things too. By everything you want. Discrimination doesn't make sense, though, and people get a bit angry when someone discriminates. People here are unlikely to enter a place that has serious discrimination issues. Look, there are only 2 children in this playground", noticed Kxem.

"Let's go somewhere else. I'm too old to go there anyway", said Samantha, disappointed.

They kept walking, and Samantha was getting thirsty. She was a bar and wanted go to there.

"Uhm... I'd rather not. This bar has no health checks", said Kxem.

"What does this mean?", asked Samantha, confused.

"Here, people who start a business can ask a society to do health checks, and the society gives a rating of that business. This bar has none of it, so the quality might be good, but it's probably very poor", explained Kxem.

"I see. Do you know any bar with good ratings here? I'm thirsty", complained Samantha.

"Sure, let's go drink something at the Mizu bar", said Kxem.

"Awesome", said Samantha, happy.

They both went there and the waiter, she was dressed with only a bra and her panties.

"Uhm... Kxem, is dressing like this normal for a waiter?", asked Samantha.

"Yes, sometimes they can be naked, too!", explained Kxem.

"Hello", said the waiter, smiling, "what do you want to eat?"

"You speak english? Uh, just some water, please", said Samantha, surprised.

"This is an english-speaking city, also I've lived in the United States for 10 years!", said the waiter, smiling.

"I would like a tomato salad", said Kxem, smiling.

"Sure, wait a moment, please", said the waiter.

Samantha and Kxem were waiting for their lunch to be ready.

"You know, I'm a bit hungry, too...... waiter!", said Samantha.

"My name is Yuno Hisaki", she said, smiling.

"Okay, uh, I'm hungry, I would like to eat beans, eggs and cabbage, and drink milk. Thank you", said Samantha.

"I'm sorry but. No eggs, and no milk. We don't sell animal products", said Yuno, sorry.

"Uhm...", said Samantha, whispering, "Is this bar vegan?", she asked to Kxem.

"Yes, Centralia is a vegan country", explained Kxem.

"Oh, okay", said Samantha.

Samantha wanted to be very gassy and fart near Kxem to make him smell her farts, because she finds it fun to do it. She was really looking forward to see his reaction. Sometimes Samantha's farts stink really bad, especially when she eats food that trigger bad gas or when she drinks milk. She loves being gassy and fart near her friends to see how they react to the smell.

However, not being able to drink milk made Samantha a bit disappointed.

Kxem doesn't like farting in front of others, and his farts usually don't smell at all, but they are loud.

Anyway, Samantha and Kxem were really enjoying their lunch in a bar whose health conditions were checked, so they were sure they were eating high quality food and that they wouldn't get a food intoxication. Ah, the joys of living in Centralia. After finished lunching, they paid the lunch and went out in the heat again.

"So, why did you say Centralia was a bad country? It looks great to me! Although... I have to get used to the fact I can't drink milk anymore", said Samantha.

"You're just a tourist, of course it looks great. If you lived here, you wouldn't think it's good anymore. And yeah, you will get used to the vegan diet", said Kxem.

"I see. How is working in Centralia?", asked Samantha.

"Pretty bad usually, they treat you like a slave. You're often underpaid and they make you do extra unpaid work, too. If you have skills and graduated in a good school you have more chances to get a good job, but usually it's bad, trust me, there is no guarantee", said Kxem.

"I understand, so. There is no minimum wage?", asked Samantha.

"Forget about minimum wage. It doesn't exist here", said Kxem.

"Oh", said Samantha, disappointed.

She still wanted to live in Centralia, though, to experience an exotic type of life and culture. Is Centralia as free as its reputation says? Samantha didn't want to go back to that super-regulated country called United States of America: she wanted to live a simpler life. Sometimes, simpler is better. Isn't it?

Kxem didn't like his native country. Not much due to the behavior of its people: that wasn't much of a problem, since you can make people go away easily if you don't want them in your life. No, the problem wasn't that. The problem was mainly due to working and studying there. And due to the fact life there was so different than from anywhere in Gaia. Kxem had been dreaming of living in Gaia since he saw a documentary about modern life in the United Kingdom as a child. He thought life would have been so good there due to the regulations and additional laws that would improve the quality of life. But then, he moved to Alaska, and found out those same laws he used to like were oppressing when lived in first person. Samantha asked him to bring her to Centralia, so here they are, in this almost lawless street. Very few laws, but enough to live a semi-comfortable life, at least. Not for Kxem, though, and Samantha wanted to discover what was so bad about this country.

Samantha and Kxem were walking and Samantha was curious about the possible activities that one can do in Centralia.

"Hey girl! Do you want to try some LSD?", said a guy to Samantha, who was a bit scared.

"Uh... Kxem...", said Samantha, whispering, "What should I do?", she asked.

"Please refuse", said Kxem.

"Okay, okay...", said Samantha, panicking a little.

"Just say you don't want to try any drug", explained Kxem.

"I don't want to try any drug. I'm s-sorry", said Samantha, shy.

"That's good, bye", he said, trying to find other people to sell LSD to.

"Is this what you meant when you said life was bad here?", asked Samantha to Kxem.

"Oh, that was nothing, trust me", said Kxem.

Samantha was starting to be a bit scared of this country.

"I will never take drugs", said Samantha, proud of herself.

"That's good. Plenty of people don't", said Kxem.

Things were getting strange, and this was only the beginning. What strange thing could Samantha see, other than a random guy asking her to try psychedelics? Here's the answer: Samantha saw a woman only wearing panties, without even a bra, who was driving a rainbow coloured bike.

"What... the... hell...", said Samantha, almost speechless.

"That is perfectly normal here", said Kxem, "but I wasn't talking about these little things when I said life was bad here. I was talking about, for example, journalists can use your name in their articles without your consent, because, even though you need consent for almost everything here, you don't need it to talk about someone else", said Kxem, visibly frustrated.

"Really? That's pretty bad!", said Samantha.

"Well, I have to admit it's better than not being able to talk about someone else, but, yeah, a perfect government cannot exist, can it?", said Kxem, optimistic.

Kxem thought that, if you can't talk about someone else, the Centralian government would have gotten a bit too authoritarian, and Kxem wouldn't have liked that. Life is meant to enjoyed, even though some governments in Gaia think otherwise. Kxem thought that dictatorships didn't make any sense, but that some countries in Gaia are much better than Centralia, especially many of the European ones and a few in Asia. But most of Gaia is horrible, and Kxem knew it, so he stayed away from the horrible part of Gaia and only interacted with the good part of it. Centralia is diverse, too.

"You know, Kxem, I like this place, it makes me feel comfortable", said Samantha, happy.

"Well, for me it's different. This place makes me think about the discomfort I went through in my childhood", said Kxem.

Kxem didn't like the fact that businesses weren't forced to follow quality standards. The school Kxem studied in didn't have quality checks by any society, and Kxem regretted that decision. He should have chosen a controlled school. It felt more like a prison than a school. Rules were strict, and the quality of learning was poor. If only he had made a better decision. But no, Kxem would have liked for Centralia to be different, but since it isn't, he moved to Alaska in hope of having a better life. He felt better, but now he has to face his own past due to Samantha's curiosity. Even as a tourist, Centralia is scaring him. It's like he fears he will be trapped in Centralia forever. He knew he wouldn't, though, and also that the choice isn't limited to Gaia and Centralia. There is much more to the world that Samantha hasn't seen yet. How long will Kxem keep this secret for?

The previous day, in Tree City:

Juliet just woke up on a couch in Miyoko's property. She remembers her hallucinations caused by the LSD.

"M-miyoko...?", said Juliet, seeing her.

"You're awake, finally. I suppose you used a hallucinogen. I told you to stay away from them", said Miyoko, serious.

"I'm sorry, Miyoko...", said Juliet, weak and still lying on the couch.

"I would give you a smelly punishment, but unfortunately the law of this country wouldn't allow me to", said Miyoko.

"I'll never have drugs anymore, I promise", said Juliet, lightly smiling.

"Amen", said Miyoko, serious.

"Did you have fun yesterday? I mean, with the fart contest", asked Juliet.

"Well, Katie's farts stunk up the whole property but yes, we had fun", said Miyoko, smiling.

Juliet got up from the couch and went outside. The sky was overcast but Juliet liked it. The sky was grey and it looked normal. Scary faces weren't looking at Juliet anymore, but nevertheless she was still feeling a bit uneasy. She tried to smile and took a deep breath. "Everything's back to normal", she thought, and exhaled. She genuinely smiled. She learned her lesson: never take drugs, especially hallucinogens. They mess with your brain and if you keep doing it, it's too late. She went back inside.

"Wanna do something, Lauren, I need to feel better", said Juliet, wanting to recover from her traumatizing experience.

"What do you want to do?", asked Lauren, smiling.

"I don't know. Let's just go outside and talk", said Juliet. Lauren accepted her offer.

"Can I join?", asked Miyoko.

"No problem for me!", said Juliet. "Sure", said Lauren. Miyoko joined the party. They wanted to walk around the town and chat about things until it gets dark.

"I saw strange things and colors when I took the LSD", said Juliet.

"Oh no, Juliet! Why did you do that?", said Lauren, worried.

"I don't know why I did that. I guess I just wanted to try. It was scary", said Juliet, melancholic.

"A bad trip, uh?", said Miyoko.

"I need a hug from both of you, but not at the same time", said Juliet.

Miyoko hugged Juliet, then Lauren hugged Juliet.

"Thank you, girls", said Juliet, smiling.

"You're welcome", said Lauren, giggling.

Juliet didn't know why Lauren was giggling, until the smell hit her.

"Who farted? Was that you, Lauren?", asked Juliet, disgusted.

"Wow! You can stink up the outdoors air!", said Miyoko, feeling a perverse pride of Lauren's smelly flatulence.

"Let's walk away from this fart cloud, please", said Juliet, walking away while Lauren and Miyoko followed her. (Lauren's farts are merciless), thought Juliet, fearing the smell. Juliet, Lauren and Miyoko were talking about the meaning of life.

"What's the meaning of life for you?", asked Miyoko.

"I think the meaning of life is to enjoy it", said Lauren.

"I agree", said Juliet.

Juliet was feeling bittersweet: she was glad the hallucinations were finally over, but at the same time, she was feeling bored. She thought she was the only one getting bored but Miyoko was getting bored, too.

"I think asking:'What do you want to do?' or 'What do you want to talk about?' is useless. It seldom leads to a real conversation", said Miyoko.

"I have noticed that earlier", said Lauren.

"So, what's the best thing to do when you don't know what to talk about?", asked Miyoko.

"I don't know, a topic always rises, so don't worry. Yes, there can be moments of awkward silence, but it's manageable", said Lauren.

"What's a topic everyone likes?", asked Miyoko.

"I'm not sure", said Lauren.

An awkward silence set in, and Miyoko blushed. It was getting embarrassing, but still, staying with her friends felt nice. Juliet felt actually comfortable while Miyoko was feeling shy.

"So, Lauren... do you like this country?", asked Juliet.

"It's not that bad, but could be better. Sometimes it feels like a dictatorship, especially with this private property thing", said Lauren.

"I see", said Juliet, smiling.

[...]

Samantha was feeling a bit gassy because of what she ate, even though she didn't drink any milk. She wanted to let out that gas on Kxem's face, but Kxem would probably not accept it. Samantha wondered how her life would have been in Centralia. Would she be happy there? Would everything be fine? She didn't want to be treated like a slave at work, though. She needed the equivalent of at least 2000 dollars a month for her to accept life in Centralia. Things were getting interesting, but Samantha knew that for now she was just a tourist and not a Centralian citizen. She was just fascinated by Centralia, that she never wanted to leave. She wanted to stay there forever, until the day the nothingness will take her away. Samantha didn't want to think about that, though, she just wanted to enjoy her life.

Samantha and Kxem, walking in the streets and chatting. But Samantha wanted to walk hand in hand with Kxem, so she asked and Kxem accepted, blushing. They were walking hand in hand, and the feeling was really pleasant. Samantha felt like she was in heaven, but Kxem still remember things about his school. He shouldn't have accepted those rules, he knew it. Well, it doesn't matter now, Kxem can now see Centralia with a different perspective. He thought he might like Centralia as well now. He didn't know whether he wanted to return to Alaska or not. He was feeling kinda connected emotionally to Centralia now. Kxem knew Centralia had both good and positive sides, just like every other country, but Samantha didn't know there were other countries other than Gaia and Centralia, and Kxem was undecided whether or not to tell her. The further you go from Centralia, the more dangerous and war-plagued things get, and Kxem absolutely didn't want to go outside the "safe-zone", but somehow Kxem was fascinated by Gaia, even though it was on the outer edge of what Kxem deemed as a "safe-zone". Gaia can be a horrible country, much worse than the worst of what Centralia can be. Kxem felt safe in Centralia and decided he would never leave the country again. He wanted to give Samantha an explanation, but was unsure of what her reaction will be, will she like it? Kxem wanted to convince Samantha to stay there forever, will Chéngshì be her new home? Kxem hoped so, but of course he couldn't force her. He didn't like the situation he was getting into, but he had to explain. He sighed a bit, and Samantha wondered what was wrong. She wanted to ask, but felt like her question would have been too invading to his personal life, so she didn't ask anything. Instead, it was Kxem who was going to explain everything. He was finally ready to tell her everything she needed, because that was the right thing to do.

"Where should I start... uhm, basically, I don't want to leave Centralia anymore, so I'll never return to Gaia. People there get killed by governments for being homosexual, they get in prison for selling drugs, get forced by psychiatrists to take mind-altering substances, kill in the name of their religion, and go to war against each other instead of preventing natural disasters, hunger, poverty and diseases. I'm sorry, Samantha, but I'll never go there anymore. I want to live here again forever. Sure, I had bad experiences with my school, but that's because I was an idiot: I accepted to go in a school with those strict rules. That wouldn't have happened if I refused. I'm sorry, Samantha", said Kxem.

"You don't need to worry, I love Centralia, so I can stay here with you forever", said Samantha, happy. Her dream of living in Centralia is getting closer.

"Thank you. You can, indeed", said Kxem, smiling.

Everything is resolved: both Kxem and Samantha are happy, and a new life full of happiness is awaiting them, or at least that's what they were thinking.

"I need to find a job", said Samantha, ready to work.

"Finding a job is quite hard here", admitted Kxem.

"How can I find a job?", asked Samantha.

"What are you good at?", asked Kxem.

Samantha blushed. She was good at something, but she didn't want to admit it.

"What is it?", asked Kxem.

"I'm......... good at farting!", said Samantha, embarrassed.

"Oh. Are you willing to work using your farts for money?", asked Kxem.

"S-sure!", said Samantha, embarrassed.

"Open a job-job-go account", said Kxem.

"What is that?", said Samantha, worried and confused.

"Basically, it helps you find a job. You offer a service, and people pay you to get the service", explained Kxem.

Samantha was getting uncomfortable.

"Uhm... and which service should I offer, exactly?", she asked, sweating nervously.

"I was thinking about farting in a closed space, like a car, with someone else in it. Or farting in someone else's face. But the choice is yours, ultimately", explained Kxem.

"Y-yeah, I will fart in a closed space with someone else in it", said Samantha, unexcited.

"Do you want your farts to get rated by the Ëļōðĝɔ?", asked Kxem, serious.

"What the hell is that?", asked Samantha, shocked by the fact that something could have that name.

"It's an organization that rates the smell of people's farts. Well, the farts of people who are willing to get their farts rated, that's it. 1.0 is an average fart smell, the higher your farts are rated, the stinkier it means they are", explained Kxem, without even showing any sign of laughter. Samantha, on the other hand, was trying not to laugh, but was a bit scared of this organization, though.

"Do I get any benefit from it?", asked Samantha.

"Yes! If you get your farts rated by the Ëļōðĝɔ, then people will know how stinky your farts are and will choose you instead of someone else if they like the degree of stink of your farts, but if you don't get your farts rated, people will not know how stinky your farts are and will not choose you, therefore you'll get no money", explained Kxem.

"I understand! Do many people face-fart others in Centralia?", asked Samantha, confused.

"If they're both willing, they do. Infinite people do it, because Centralia is infinite", explained Kxem.

"Sounds cool", said Samantha, smiling.

"There's something that I haven't told you yet, that is: Gaia and Centralia are not the only countries that exist. There is so much more of reality that you haven't seen yet. However, I can't take you there, for two reasons: we need a special permit to go outside of Centralia, and also, there are monsters out there. It would be too dangerous. Enemies are attacking the outer borders of a land that is disputed between Centralia and other countries. We really can't go outside of Centralia, trust me. Please don't ask me to take you outside of this country", said Kxem. Samantha agreed with him.

"I won't. We're here to stay", she said.

Kxem smiled and Samantha smiled back.

"We're safe here", said Kxem.

So, Samantha was thinking about the job-job-go account she was going to make. But first, she needed to get her farts rated by the Ëļōðĝɔ.

"Is there an... well, whatever thing that rates my fart in this city?", asked Samantha.

"Sure, the Ëļōðĝɔ, do you want me to take you there?", asked Kxem.

"Uh... maybe later. I need to calm down now, please hug me", said Samantha.

Kxem hugged Samantha and she was feeling better. Life can be tough, but at least she was in the best country of whatever reality she was living in. She knew it. She breathed out a little bit and after 25 seconds she let go of the hug. She felt a lot better now and she was ready to face her worries: she will have her farts rated! She knew it was going to be easy, and finally she could make some money in her favourite country. Things were looking bright for her, but she didn't know she would have had a hell of a competition with other infinite people, but also infinite people wanting to be face-farted, right? Samantha knew she would have had at least one client, she was sure of that!

"Can you search other people on job-job-go?", asked Samantha.

"Sure! What do you need?", asked Kxem.

"A boy with very stinky farts who will fart near me. I want to know what's my competition like", said Samantha, proud.

"Uh... ehm... actually... the smell of people's farts can range from 0.0 to... well, infinite, BUT, you can't see every person, because the signal is limited", said Kxem, worried about Samantha's self-esteem.

"Oh. Let me search. I will search for "face-farter" in this database", said Samantha.

"That's fine'", said Kxem.

"I'll search this. Gender: male. Age: 24. Smell: 5.0. Price: under 20 dollars. Search.", said Samantha.

"5.0? That's going to stink, trust me!", warned Kxem.

"I don't care", said Samantha, happy.

"65535 results?", Samantha was surprised, she expected to have infinite results! But then she remember something about the signal not being able to reach every part of Centralia. She clicked "Random" and liked the guy.

She paid the service and then waited for the guy to come. It was going to be nice, or at least, that's what she was thinking. Samantha and the face-farter guy met at a hotel, they greeted each other with a smile.

"Shall we begin?", said the guy, smiling.

"Fart on me!", said Samantha, excited.

Samantha lay down on a bed and the guy sat on her face wearing his panties.

*pppfffrrrttt*

This fart was very nasty and Samantha had difficulty in breathing it.

"Okay, thank you, bye", said Samantha, leaving. Now she knew what 5.0 meant. It was far stinkier than anything she has ever produced, and she knew it. 20 dollars are gone now, though.

The guy teleported back to his city and Samantha was talking to Kxem.

"So, I think I'm ready to go have my farts rated", she said, ready.

"To the Ëļōðĝɔ we go, then", said Kxem, smiling, proud of her.

They both started walking to the Ëļōðĝɔ, which is a building in Xteka Street. Samantha was a bit nervous but eventually she calmed down. Things were getting interesting for both, and Samantha really wanted to know how bad her farts could stink: she was curious. She knew her own farts could smell really bad, but how stinky were they actually?

She remembers the times when she farted a lot in the kitchen after drinking milk, stinking up the whole room. Those were nice memories, indeed. Now, things are about to change, she's going to offer some service to the community. The thing that Samantha didn't understand properly is that the Internet in Centralia, unlike in Gaia, is different from city to city. The things you can find on the Chéngshì Internet are different from the things you can find in other cities.

In a post-scarcity society, everyone can have whatever they want. Chéngshì is not a post-scarcity city, though, but there are cities in Centralia that are like that. Some people still do barter in Centralia: they offer services in change of something else. That's why the Centralian economy is not unified.

Samantha wanted to pay that price, searching "under 20 dollars" as a price. The cheapest face-farting service was around 18 dollars. Perhaps that guy wants to go to Gaia as a vacation, but probably no one excepts himself knows what he's gonna do with that money. And being infinite people in Centralia, the weirdest people you can imagine actually exist.

Samantha was strangely feeling happy: she felt understood by Kxem and by society. She wanted to stay in Centralia for the rest of her life, she never wanted to leave that beautiful place. Maybe it was the hot, dry and sunny weather, but she was perceiving a joyful atmosphere in this city. A face-farting service would have been considered impossible to deliver in Gaia. Samantha liked Gaia less and less, the more and more she knew about Centralia. She noticed that human behaviour in Gaia was different from that of Centralia. Humans in Gaia often do things to others against their will and/or coerce them into doing things they don't want to do. Centralia is nothing like that. Not even school is compulsory in Centralia!

You won't be forced to follow any religion in Centralia, you won't be coerced into taking psychiatric drugs, you are free to choose whatever subjects you want to study at school, or even none at all. You are free to wear whatever you want in a public space, or even not wearing anything at all. However, not all that shines is gold. This is true if you are in a public space, but in a private space it's all different: you might be forced to follow a certain religion if you want to enter a church or a mosque (then why would you want to enter them if you're not religious?); you might be forced to take psychiatric drugs if you want to enter a psychiatric place (then why would you want to enter it if you don't like their practices?); you might be forced to study certain subjects if the school principal decides it (then why would you want to study in that school if you don't like their rules?); you might be forced to dress in a certain way if you want to enter certain private spaces, for example religious places of worship in religions that adhere to dress codes, in certain schools that require uniforms, and in many others (but you're not forced to enter any private space if you don't like their rules).

Samantha preferred Centralia to Gaia: she was in full control of her own body and space so she could live without fear.

Obviously, Centralia has its problems, too: loneliness, hunger, diseases and natural disasters are common throughout the various Centralian realities, but at least humans in Centralia don't add problems like they do in Gaia. However, Centralia is getting smaller, because at the borders of Centralia there's a war that's taking pieces of land that previously belonged to Centralia and they now belong to other countries that have other laws. These countries are infinite in number, but here are some examples of countries that are taking over Centralia:

-Communistan: they abolish private property.
-Feministan: they give women more privileges than men.
-Racistan: they give certain "races" more privileges than others
-Fascistan: homosexual people are killed by the government there. Those who complain about it get killed, too.
-Islamistan: a complex ideology that cannot be easily explained in a few lines of text. A lot of fun things are banned there. Homosexual people are killed by the government there, like in Fascistan.
-Catholand: people there get burned alive if they think differently than what the government wants them to think. Again, homosexual people are killed there.
-Psychiatristan: they label everyone with a "mental disease", then force everyone to take mind-altering substances.
-Druwaria: they ban all drugs except alcohol and tobacco. Probably the most reasonable of these countries along with Mindovia, although a bit hypocrite.
-Mindovia: they ban pollution and the waste of non-renewable resources. You can't use cars in there so you have to use bycicles instead. They call themselves "the greens".
-Polbrulia: police brutality at its worst. Police officers kill everyone who doesn't obey at their every order.
-AIU (Artificial Intelligence Utopia): every inhabitant there gets an eletric shock whenever they say or do something that the governments doesn't like. People are constantly surveilled there and there is zero privacy.

This list could go on and on forever, because these countries that have declared war to Centralia are infinite, although the ones above are among the most important. Right at the border between the disputed lands there's a transition of the laws. Things get pretty nightmarish in most of those countries, except perhaps Druwaria and Mindovia, because they have a valid reason to make those laws, and Communistan has a kinda valid reason, too (although the consequences are unpleasant).

Sure thing, Kxem didn't want to go in any of those countries: Kxem liked the way Centralia was.

[Kxem briefly explains to Samantha the countries that are invading the outer borders of Centralia. And also explains that we all live in an infinite reality called "Pan", which includes Centralia and every country that exists]

"Pan?", asks Samantha, curious.

"Yes. Gaia is a part of Pan, too, just like Centralia and every other country. Everything is a part of Pan. It's the ultimate being. There's nothing outside of Pan. Everything you can imagine is Pan. Centralia just happens to be the part of Pan where you're not allowed to do something to someone else or their property against their will. It's not perfect, sure, but, I feel an emotional attachment to this place", explains Kxem.

"I understand. Now, let's go rate my farts", said Samantha, smiling proudly.

"Yeah, let's go to the Ëļōðĝɔ!", said Kxem, going there.

They were walking towards the Ëļōðĝɔ and Samantha wondered what would happen. She asked herself how stinky her farts were compared to the average person in Chéngshì. She knew she was gassy and that her farts stunk, but she wasn't sure how stinky her farts were. She asked herself if she was a special being, but after smelling that guy's 5.0 rated farts, she knew there were people "better" than her. Well, with stinkier farts, that's it. She hoped the inside of the Ëļōðĝɔ building would have been cooler than the outside, because Samantha was feeling really hot.

Samantha remembers when she farted in a car with other people inside: they were all gagging and complaining about the unbelievable stench, and opening the windows was useless: the smell wouldn't dissipate. Samantha thinks her farts are stinkier than the average person's, but is it true? The only thing that remains to do is having her own farts rated. There's no turning back now, it's now or never. The Ëļōðĝɔ building is in front of Samantha now. 'What am I waiting for?' she asks herself with her heart beating fast from a mix of joy and anxiety. She knows she's ready, she knows she will be strong. Nothing's gonna stop her now, no matter what. She takes a deep breath, exhales and walks towards the door. Her farts are going to have a number attached to it from now on, she knew it, but she had to do it. The main reason was to find a job, but who knows, that number could have an emotional value to Samantha in the future. She walks towards the door, puts her hand to her chest to feel her heartbeats, and opens the door.

"Good afternoon", said Samantha, a bit nervous.

"Please wait in room 420", said a woman.

"Okay, I'll search for it", said Samantha, shy.

"I'm the one who accompained her. This girl isn't used to this kind of things, so she might be feeling a bit uncomfortable", explained Kxem.

"I understand", said the woman, smiling, "You can stay with her to keep her calm if you want", she continued.

"Okay", said Kxem, going to Room 420 with Samantha.

That room was full of people (both male and female) waiting, and Samantha played some videogames with a handheld console. It was not her turn yet, and she was waiting patiently. Eventually, she was kinda getting inmersed in the videogames that she wasn't feeling the time passing by. Playing videogames was fun, especially the 16 bit videogames that looked like they were from the early 1990's. Those games were less 'stressful' than the current Gaian games, according to Samantha. There were 256 games numbered from 0 to 255 in that console. Those games were generally made in less than a week, and many assets were used in more than one game. That console was made by a few people in about 5 years. About half of those games are RPG's, but there are also many platformers and shooters, so there was a lot of choice, even if all of them looked retro. Samantha wondered how Centralian videogames are. They are infinite in number, that's for sure, but because the signal is weak, she can't see them all.

Samantha was wondering what was beyond Chéngshì, and especially what was beyond Centralia. An entire multiverse was there to be explored, and Samantha wanted to spend her whole lifetime exploring it. She wanted to be a traveller, but she was wondering whether that would have been the right choice or not. Being a traveller is never easy, and Samantha knew it, but she decided to be one anyway, because the wonders of travelling pays off every difficulty. Beyond Centralia: the whole Pan to be explored, but Kxem warned her: no going outside of Centralia! The dangers of the other places are too risky to be safely explored. But still, even though Centralia is infinite, Samantha felt a bit limited in where she could go. At least she wanted to go to the safest places outside of Centralia, for example Druwaria, which is one of the better countries out there.

Samantha was really anxious, she wanted to be a traveller but she wasn't sure whether it was possible to go somewhere else other than Chéngshì. She wanted to ask Kxem.

"Kxem, can we... uhm... explore Centralia one day?", asked Samantha.

"Do you really want to?", asked Kxem.

"Yes, I want to be a traveller. I know that won't be easy, but I felt like Gaia was too small for me: I want to feel the freedom", explained Samantha.

"That would be okay, but I don't know many places in Centralia", admitted Kxem.

"Let's go somewhere random. I want to feel true freedom", suggested Samantha.

"Okay, we can go back to Chéngshì if something bad happens. Agreed, tonight we'll go somewhere random in the English-speaking part of Centralia, and we'll see what happens", said Kxem, smiling.

Samantha was so happy so she hugged Kxem, who accepted it and hugged back.

Samantha was really happy: she could finally be free and explore Centralia. But isn't Centralia too limited even if infinite? She kinda had the desire to explore other countries, but since they were dangerous, she understood she couldn't go there. But are they actually dangerous?

"How dangerous are the other countries?", asked Samantha.

"It depends on which country. Catholand is downright deadly, in Islamistan you have to be extra careful, or the government will either lash you, lapidate you, cut your hands and feet, or even behead you. You must know their rules first. "Halal" is something that you can do, and "Haram" is something you can't do. There's nothing logical about it, so you gotta study the whole list and behave like that. For example if you're a girl you can't hug a guy there. Unlike here in Centralia, where you can know what you can do simply by asking yourself a couple of questions, in Islamistan you have to study the whole list of allowed and unallowed things. It feels very oppressive. Once you enter the country, you can't leave it, at least not alive, just like in Psychiatristan. Psychiatristan is a country where, as soon as you enter, you will be labelled with a 'mental disease' and you will be given a mind-altering substance that will make you feel really bad, until you slowly and painfully die. Racistan is a complex country, indeed, where some "races" get more privileges than others. Let's say, a city with 60% Mindovians and 40% Druwarians. Okay. Let's say, in this city the Druwarians are the privileged ones, what happens? Simple, it happens that when you insult a Mindovian or his culture, nothing happens, but when you insult a Druwarian or his culture, everyone will hate you. When a Mindovian dies, nobody cares, but when a Druwarian dies, everyone is sad. A Mindovian will go to prison if he punches a Druwarian, but if a Druwarian punches a Mindovian, nothing happens. This is racism. I believe something like this has happened in Gaia, too, and it probably still happens. Feministan is the same thing, just replace the privileged race with women. I fear it will happen in Gaia in the future, but we Centralians don't need to worry, though. We live more safely than Gaians. Druwaria is like Centralia, only that drugs except alcohol and tobacco are banned there. Mindovia is a bit complex to explain, let's just say that they banned pollution. And then there's a very dangerous country called Polbrulia. There, police officers harass citizens on the streets. If they tell you to do something, you must do it, otherwise they'll kill you. These are the most famous countries, but there are plenty. There are truly evil countries outside of Centralia. I'll tell you a few more in the next days", explained Kxem.

"Damn, uh... I've changed my mind, let's stay in Centralia!", said Samantha, now having a true fear of those countries. She loved Centralia, by the way.

"One more thing! This is very important! In Pan there is a very important concept called 'Intersection'. Not everywhere within Centralia is purely Centralia. There are certain areas called 'Intersections', basically they are zones controlled by more than one government. For example, in the intersection between Centralia and Islamistan you have two things that are banned: doing something to someone else against their will, and haram things. This is called a 'political intersection'. Then there are zones such as the intersection between Centralia and Icyland. Icyland is the geographical part of Pan where the temperature never goes above the freezing point of water. This type of intersection is called a 'geopolitical intersection'. The last type of intersection is, for example, that between Icyland and 'The Great Desert'. The Great Desert is the geographical part of Pan where rain or snow never occurs. This type of intersection is called a 'geographical intersection'. Another thing: there can be multiple political intersection with three or more countries. In the intersection between Centralia, Druwaria and Mindovia, for example, three things are banned: doing something to someone against their will, drugs and pollution. But perhaps the most dangerous one is the intersection between Islamistan and AIU, which is an acronym that stands for 'Artificial Intelligence Utopia', but is actually dystopian, even though its citizens aren't allowed to say that. Everytime someone does something that the government doesn't like in AIU, they get an electric shock, so they live in constant fear and stress. You can only imagine how bad the intersection between Islamistan and AIU can be. Obviously, some intersections are impossible, such as the one between Centralia and Polbrulia. It simply doesn't exist. We can freely explore the english-speaking part of Centralia like you asked for, but we need to avoid Centralia's political intersections with other countries like the plague, got it? Only geographical intersections!", warned Kxem.

"I see. Is Chéngshì purely Centralian?", asked Samantha.

"Yes. Chéngshì does not intersect with any other political entity. It only belongs to Centralia", explained Kxem.

"ID 7", said a woman.

"That's me! Come on, Kxem!", said Samantha, happy to have her farts rated.

Samantha wondered whether her farts really stunk that much as she believed. They surely are much stinkier than average, so perhaps more than 2.0? Samantha was getting anxious but she needed to know. After that, she wanted to face-fart a few people in Centralia and get some money to buy stuff. She was nervous because what if her farts didn't stink as much as she believed? Nobody chooses how stinky their own farts are. She was also thinking about the Centralian intersections with other countries, surely they were really bad, but not as bad as those countries themselves perhaps? Samantha didn't want to enter those places anyway, as she didn't want anything else to be banned except doing something to someone else against their will, because she wanted to feel the true Centralian freedom. She still kinda wanted to go outside of Centralia, but she knew it would have been too dangerous. The description of the AIU almost made her cry.

"Kxem... why does nobody in Gaia know about Centralia?", asked Samantha.

"Actually, the governments of the United States, China, Israel and Pakistan do know about Centralia and especially about Pan. If you search on the Gaian Internet the word 'multiverse', then plenty of vague results show up. The reason governments keep this information as top-secret is simple: by keeping citizens ignorant about what's outside, the citizens can be controlled better, just like they do in North Korea. Information about Pan can only be found on the deep web, but it's illegal to access or publish it. Some civilians therefore do know about Centralia and Pan, but they keep their mouth shut in fear of being killed by those governments. Talking about what's outside is illegal in Gaia, and people who do know about what's outside all gather in special buildings where mainstream Gaian technology such as smartphones, computers and Internet are not allowed. Leaving Gaia is also illegal. While in Gaia, I had to pretend my name was John and that I was born in Anchorage, Alaska. You couldn't believe your eyes when we were finally outside of Gaia and I told you my name was Kxem and that I was from Centralia, could you? I risked my life, and I still do if I return there. All of this is real, Samantha, but now we're safe", said Kxem. He smiled at the last sentence. Now they're safe.

After the emotional story, they both entered the test room and greeted a group of 4 people: two men and two women, who will be the judges. Samantha wondered what she had to do, but she guessed those four people will smell her farts and she was getting excited: finally, she would know how stinky her farts would be.

"Hello Samantha. My name is C̜âo, I shall explain how all this works", she said, smiling, "Basically, you have to fart in our faces for an entire day. Since we're four, the test will last for four days. We'll judge the average frequency, sound and smell of your farts. For completeness, the test will start tonight, at midnight. You can choose to either stay in this building or go take a walk outside, or stay at your friend's home... well, wherever you want. It's 2:22 P.M. now, where do you want to stay?", asked C̜âo.

"I'll stay here IF AND ONLY IF you have videogames", she said, smiling cheerfully.

"We have around 20. It's not much, but I hope it's enough for you", said C̜âo, embarrassed.

"I'll try them", she said, going to try the videogames.

"Okay, go ahead and let me know", said C̜âo, smiling.

"Are they all 2D?", asked Samantha.

"We don't have 3D games in Chéngshì", admitted C̜âo, embarrassed.

"It's okay. This fighting game is actually fun", assured Samantha, playing a bit of it. C̜âo smiled.

"I have to admit it, Kxem, I'm having fun here", said Samantha, smiling.

"Glad you like it", he said.

"I can't wait to freely explore Centralia, I have to wait five days for that!", said Samantha, anxious to see something else of Centralia. Chéngshì was really nice, but Samantha needed to see multiple places of Centralia to know how life was really like there.

"Don't worry, just enjoy your life. Like an ancient Gaian philosopher said, 'Carpe Diem'!", said Kxem, smiling happily, "Or just 'seize the day' in English", he added. Samantha smiled back.

Samantha was listening to some Gaian music she used to listen to in middle school and she was getting emotional. So many memories, so many friends, but now it's all gone.

"I hope to get some new friends here", said Samantha, crying a bit, but smiling.

"Travellers don't have friends for life. If you stay here in Chéngshì, you can make some friends... maybe. But if you spend your life travelling, your friendships will only last for a limited amount of time. Unless they travel with you, that's it", admitted Kxem.

"Yeah! I can ask some people if they want to travel with us! I will ask them, that's for sure!", said Samantha, feeling hope in her heart.

"I'm pretty sure most if not all will refuse your offer", said Kxem.

"Will you stay with me forever?", asked Samantha.

"Yes", said Kxem, smiling friendly.

"We'll be happy forever, together", said Samantha, with some tears falling on her shirt.

"Are you okay?", asked Kxem.

"I'm okay", said Samantha, looking at Kxem in his eyes. Kxem smiled.

"(I miss Gaia. I miss my friends, and the life I had before)", she said, sighing.

"What's wrong?", asked Kxem, worried and confused.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Hug?", said Samantha, smiling.

"Sure!", said Kxem, hugging her. The hug lasted for about 25 seconds and Samantha was trying not to cry.

"(But I feel better here than in Gaia. There's no use crying over the past)", thought Samantha, smiling.

Samantha eventually tried all videogames and she felt like they were really fun to play, so she started playing the arcade mode of a fighting game, but the bosses were really hard and it took her more than 25 tries to defeat the final boss. After she defeated the last boss, she took a short break from playing videogames and she wanted to drink some lemon juice. She wanted to drink milk, actually, but Centralia being a vegan country, she couldn't drink that, but lemon juice was okay, though. Samantha was starting to like Centralia, even its imperfections, as they were still better than Gaia's wars and dictatorships. Samantha was happy to be finally away from Gaia, even though she still kinda missed that place and some of the people she met there, but eventually she understood that she should just get over it and enjoy her new life.

"I will miss milk", said Samantha.

"There's an important country I haven't told you yet: Huntralia. It's like Centralia, but you can eat meat, eggs and drink milk. The bad thing about it is that animals have no rights there and also there are very dangerous animals there that will kill you in a few seconds. Also you need a permit to go there. Better stay here in Centralia", said Kxem, to whom Samantha agreed.

"I won't drink milk anymore, then. There's no use crying over it", said Samantha, smiling.

Samantha thought about Huntralia: how dangerous are animals there? Are they common or rare? But the thought of her dying because of the wild fauna wasn't very pleasing. She liked Centralia. Well, not every part of it, but still, she thought it was much better than Gaia, at least there are no wars in Centralia. Well, except the one at the border with other countries, but that's technically not Centralia anymore as the foreign troops are advancing into the territory, imposing their laws and their culture on Centralian citizens.

"Let's watch a movie, shall we?", asked Samantha, wanting an excuse to hug Kxem for two consecutive hours.

"Sure! What do you want to watch? Oh, I recommend you 'ëkual̜aêm čkaâňi'. Don't worry, subtitles are in English, so you won't miss anything!", said Kxem.

"Is that a Centralian movie?", asked Samantha.

"Yes! As you might know, depending on the zone of Centralia, people speak a different language: just like in Gaia", explained Kxem.

"That's good! Can I hug you while we watch the movie?", asked Samantha.

"Of course!", said Kxem, smiling.

The movie started and Samantha was watching it, interested.

''''''''''This is the story of L̜aetik, the loneliest girl of the village. Nobody wanted to be her friend, everyone thought she was annoying and rude. Everyday her emotions got darker and darker, until she isolated herself in an icy room. Nobody knew about her afterwards, 'she's probably dead now' they thought. But in reality, she was well and alive, just lived in an icy room with plenty of beer and chocolate: two foods that are good even in temperatures below freezing. She stopped talking and only ate the minimum for survival. There was nothing to do in that room. Even before isolating herself, she didn't talk much. Well, she used to, but everyone ignored her, so her helplessness increased day by day. She read the same journals from three years before over and over again, she didn't think she was fine. She simply didn't think anymore. All she did was sleeping and eating. She wasn't even shivering anymore: she was used to the cold by then. That kind of life went like that until the day she died of natural causes. Nobody knew she had died: everyone forgot her and that room was so cold that the body was kept intact. She went through hell, but nobody cared, everyone else lived a happy life, and they thanked Pan for having given them a good and happy life. Centuries have passed, and finally an archaeologist discovered her dead bones preserved well under the ice. The archaeologist published L̜aetik's life and everyone was shocked! They thought that it was better from now on that people should never ignore each other again, so they made that promise. It went well for three generations, then other people kept being ignored again. Humankind often doesn't learn from its mistakes, and never will. However, with the new technologies, it's unlike that people will suffer like L̜aetik again. If someone is feeling lonely now, they can chat with someone else even from another continent, there's always a chanche to chat with someone who is willing to share their emotions with you. Show people love, to prevent someone will suffer like L̜aetik again in the future. Kindness and empathy can brighten up a person's day, so go ahead and bring love to this world, because you never know how much a small gesture is appreciated. But humans never learn this, and with our selfishness we're building the way to chaos, hell and pain. The archaeologist was trying to spread love and kindness but the attempt was a failure: nobody cared about kindness, they were only interested in receiving pleasure, but not giving. Let's all make the world a better place, because at the end of the day, we all have our difficulties that we go through, and a person who listen to our troubles without judging is a great relief in emotionally dark times. Egüaxâl̜aňi štuel̥aka ôt̜ smëxã, fîrar è suřřa gdōp dbauk. Kxxāx el̜ekažuk šöŕaďik evebř čkikaü.''''''''''

"That was pretty intense. Did they forget to translate the last part?", asked Samantha.

"No, the translator decided to leave Centralia before finishing the translation. He or she might be dead now, depending on the destination", explained Kxem, "did you like it?", he asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty intense. I felt sorry for that lonely girl, though, she didn't deserve to live that way. Is this story fictional?", asked Samantha, worried that it could have been a real story and not wanting for people to suffer that way.

"No", replied Kxem.

"Ohhh", said Samantha, sad.

"Don't worry, much worse things happen outside of Centralia", explained Kxem.

"That wasn't reassuring", said Samantha, rolling her eyes.

"Pan contains the best and the most evil state of affairs. We can't do anything about that. I'm really sorry", said Kxem, sorry.

"I want to bring happiness wherever I go, no matter what. This movie really made me think", explained Samantha, "Now, if you don't mind, I have a huge one held in for about two hours"

*PPPPPPPPPBBBBBBBBBFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTT*

This fart was extremely loud, long, sounded like a car engine and smelled very pungent, to the point Kxem had to leave the room to breathe in some fresh air. Kxem wondered how the fart sniffers could handle these things, he wondered whether there was some kind of training or if they have natural resistance to bad smells. Probably both? Now it was time for Samantha to think about the fart tests, because the number she will get will be very important throughout her journey. Maybe.

"I hope I will meet some people who'll like the smell of my gas", said Samantha, excited.

Samantha wanted to feel the adrenaline of having someone smelling her farts and reacting to it. She wanted to hear someone having difficulty in breathing that rancid stench in, but at the same time, be strong enough to keep smelling it. That would be the perfect guy for Samantha. Kxem made it clear that he didn't want to do these things, but he's still a really nice friend. Samantha thought that Kxem will never betray her or "stab" her behind her back. Samantha really hoped she and Kxem would be friends forever. She had a lot of experiences with "friends" whose friendships lasted only about three months, and then they stopped being friends for various reasons, including for seemingly no reason at all. She hoped to stay friends at least with Kxem.

"I hope that, too. I want you to be safe and happy here in Centralia", said Kxem, smiling.

"I'm so happy here! I'm living a true adventure!", said Samantha, smiling happy.

Her life in Gaia was good, too, but she noticed a lot of hypocrisy there: a thing that she didn't find in Centralia. She found Centralians to be more rational than Gaians. Kxem noticed the hypocrisy, too, and that, other than wars and authoritarian dictatorships where more than half of the Gaian population lived, such as communist and islamic countries. He really didn't like those, so he prefers Centralia despite its imperfections. He's happy to be back in Centralia despite the bad experience he had at school. He understood life in Gaia is worse than life in Centralia. Kxem didn't like how Gaians manipulated the language. A word could mean a thing or its opposite, and there was no way to disambiguate. Life in Gaia is very confusing, while life in Centralia is clear and rational. Kxem wondered how people in Gaia could adapt to that lifestyle, especially in the most evil countries. He then understood: they don't adapt, they suffer from it.

It was 7 P.M. and as it was starting to get dark, Samantha was starting to get a bit sleepy.

"Please wake her up at 11:30 P.M. so that we can start our test", said C̜âo to Kxem.

"Okay", said Kxem, putting an alarm clock at 11:25 P.M. and going to sleep in a separate bed from Samantha.

"We had a great day", said Samantha, hugging Kxem.

These few hours were slept peacefully, and Samantha was calm. She felt really safe in that country. Pan can be much more evil than Gaia, but it's not always the case. Centralia is not necessarily "happy", it's more like "respectful", and there can be both sad and happy moments, just like in Gaia. It was just the beginning, though, and Samantha had to see many more things in Centralia to have a clear opinion about it, because she felt like she couldn't give an opinion just by visiting Chéngshì: it would be like judging all videogames just because you played a platformer.

She felt like that visiting ten different places would have been perfect to judge Centralia, but even then, being Centralia infinite, ten doesn't hold a candle to infinity. And even then, Centralia is only an infinitesimal part of Pan, which, because it can be truly evil, it's better not to explore it randomly. If you really need to explore Pan, you need to know where you're going to, by receiving the coordinates from a trusted source, or you might die a painful death, or suffer if you're a bit luckier. Stories about evil monsters who torture lost souls forever are enough to dissuade people from exploring Pan. For those lost souls there's no peace, only a distant light that they'll never reach. Suffering does exist in Gaia, too, but in Pan there are vaste desolate lands full of people suffering thirst, hunger, diseases, perpetual wasp stings, and many other things. Samantha felt sorry for everyone in Pan who was suffering: she wanted to bring happiness and relief, but Pan is infinite, so she simply can't remove suffering from Pan.

Still, she wanted to do something: the thought of people being doomed to suffer until the day they die is disturbing to her, but what could she do? She decided not to think about Pan, but to only think about Centralia: is there suffering in Centralia? Samantha thought about thirst, hunger, diseases and earthquakes. She then understood, that she couldn't do anything to help people, so she stopped worrying about others, and started caring about her own happiness, that of Kxem, and that of the people she will meet in the future. She was feeling more calm now, and felt asleep eventually. She was having a truly horrible nightmare! She dreamed the trip to Centralia was just a dream, and that she was in Gaia again!!! All of the adventures she was about to live, all of it is gone! Her heart was beating fast and she was sweating a lot.

She woke up in her bed at the Ëļōðĝɔ. Thankfully, it was not a dream: the trip to Centralia was real, but she got up and started crying.

"Kxem, I had an awful nightmare... Kxem!", Samantha woke him up for him to comfort her. It was 11:11 P.M.

"I dreamed the trip to Centralia was just a dream and that I was in Gaia again!!!", she said, crying.

Kxem hugged her tight:"Don't worry, we won't return to Gaia. You're safe here, it was just a bad dream. Now, test is in about 48 minutes, please get ready", he said, smiling.

Samantha felt a lot better, she smiled and got ready for the test.

"Ah! I'll stink their noses up!", she said, proudly.

The lights were on. Samantha was listening to some cool hardbass music and she was feeling so energic. She'll never return in that hell called Gaia, that's for sure! She was ready for four days of tests, then she'll get that number and she'll finally be ready to explore Centralia as she pleases. Being a traveller is never easy as you never know what to expect, but sure thing it is exciting to discover a lot new places you never seen before.

"I'm ready", she said, proudly.

Chapter 3