Scene 23:

You leave the university with Claus. You cross the street and reach a small bookstore. Enter, and discover a space that avoids metal and glass. The wood and bookshelves laden with books offer a comfortable and even homely atmosphere in which to lose yourself. A Chopin piece can be heard from a patched jukebox.

Beyond the reception and the initial shelves, the room goes underground, having a rather deceptive size compared to the compressed cubicle that is the façade. It is almost labyrinthine, and amidst the dust and the smell of stale paper, you discover a handful of young people lying on rugs, sharing a smoking pipe. Claus grabs a random book from the shelf and settles in among the rest of the liberals. You have your doubts.

"We are not slaves to capital here, brother. Take any one and read calmly. The owner knows that if the words are not consumed, they are lost"

You grab a glass of Cien años de soledad, and take a seat on an old sofa. It feels strange to hold a real book after so long, and even stranger to be surrounded by walls of them. With digitization, old tomes are a dying breed.

"Do you want some?"

Claus offers you the pipe he is holding, his eyes reddened by the effects of the puff. You worry that the cops will catch them at any moment.

"Don't worry, dude, we help the owner pay for the quota so they won't bother us. National Security prefers us stoned and quiet, rather than high and brawling. If you don't feel like flying, well, that's respectable"

He retracts the pipe.

"Sumire doesn't like it either. It seems she didn't come, so you'll get to know her. She's tough at first, but then you kind of understand, and she's a sweetheart"

You debate with them about books, music, movies, games, trends, politics, religion, and of course, war. Regardless of the state of their minds, those young adults had their heads well furnished, and they all agreed that divine war is wrong.

"The high cost is the ideology of dogs, man. How do you keep a mutt from peeing in your bed? Well, you hit it. That's what divine war is... You beat a whole species to stop it from misbehaving. Of course you don't use a newspaper, you use bullets, and bombs, and gas, and giant robots. We're more human with dogs than we are with humans, dude. That's fucked up"

Immersed in the debates, you don't even notice when night falls. You say goodbye to the nonconformists, and accompany Claus back to the university.

Go to your dorm and rest. You need it (Scene 16)