Floor 21

Floor 21

There is a section of TVG [Taipei Veterans General] that I do yet not dare enter. I have come close to it, I have seen signs pointing to it, but I am still afraid of venturing into it, because, despite the many tests and trials I have already experienced, I do not believe I am ready yet. 

I am referring to a top secret facility on the upper most floor of the main research complex named “The Hall of Great Virtue”. Legend has it, only those bravest and most daring and heroic members of monkeykind who are nearing the end of their final mission are allowed to enter that secret facility. To be allowed in is a great honour, for the achievements and successes of the said monkey are celebrated and remembered by friends and family with the assistance of specially trained scientists and technicians. After you enter, you can retire in complete peace and comfort.

The name “Hall of Great Virtue” comes from an excerpt of the Book of Changes which reads: “Life is a special kindness bestowed by the Universe”. Indeed, in this vast Universe, with so much yet unexplored, with so little we claim to know, and with so much we do not yet know, the fact that I am here, living and breathing at this very moment, is nothing short of a miracle. What Creature, what Being, what great Force has been so very kind to breathe me into being? Is it purely the coincidental union of subatomic particles and molecules? If so, what processes drive our thoughts, movements and our will? There are also temporal paroxes that may even bewilder Einstein. How have events in our past shaped our present, and how does the present (or even the past perhaps…) go on to shape the future?  And there is one puzzle, which even the greatest philosophers and most learned scientists cannot even begin to address, let alone solve: What is the objective and mission of our lives? Perhaps answers to these questions will be found at the end of a monkey’s final, final mission.

What happens behind the air-lock doors that lead to the Hall of Great Virtue is a total mystery.  Some say there are special chambers adorned with bright, bright lights. Others speak of a dark void, much like a Black Hole which sucks you in, and from where there is no return. Some report hearing loud laughter and songs of joy. Other have heard what sound like prayers or perhaps even sobbing. I do hope that one day I will be ready, and can enter such a facility with my held up high, and with my heart at ease. One day, when I am given my final mission, I do hope I can look back and use all that I have learned and experienced to solve the most daunting task in the Universe.

For now, I can only stand and watch from afar those who are admitted into the Great Hall of Virtue with awe and inspiration. For every being is precious, every mission is invaluable, and everything comes together to make up this great big Universe whole and complete.