The Preliminary Phase of the Investigation

It was five o'clock in the morning on January 22, 2030. As usual, the day dawned cloudy and it seemed that the clouds were increasingly gray.

Following recommendations from his boss, the detective Jerónimo Ghalia decided to work from a small apartment. He read the confidential report on the personality of Dr. Eugenio Newsfield:

"He was born on September 23, 1971.

He is highly organized and pragmatic, being an intellectual who knows how to make fair and equitable decisions, unconditionally dedicated to his work, and has an excellent health.

He is also constant and methodical, but is slow, has a hard time learning new knowledge and accepting new ideas, being stubborn and radical. He has a Manichean vision of the world, there are only good and bad.

He is very adept at taking advantage of others, and in all his personal, family and professional relationships, is prone to get the best benefits, by cheating and taking advantage of others. Accepts only his positions, crushes his adversaries and continually exploits his collaborators, appealing to the authority.

Of course, he is very curious and intelligent, more rational than emotional, and has harvested multiple relationships, in which he obtains many favors from others.

Because of this, he has been married more than twice, and continually changes jobs to improve his wealth and social status. So much so, that he succeeded in his Ultimate Happiness project after failing in more than fifteen businesses, throughout his life.

Possibly, he feels an immense love for humanity and a great desire to live. He is altruistic, generous, empathetic, and is constantly concerned about the welfare of those close to him.

However, he is enigmatic and suffers from an existential conflict. He continually decides between his personal gains and helping others.

Likewise, he is a tireless fighter who maintains his living standard and the privileges that society grants him, being prone to harming others, if he needs to achieve difficult goals.

On certain occasions, his character is violent and he can lose control, if circumstances do not favor him.

Undoubtedly, he has suffered trauma, especially during his childhood and adolescence, and therefore, his emotional life is varied and complex, in which a double standard persists.

Obviously, he is ambitious, values his security and material possessions, in an exaggerated way, tending to be egocentric and narcissistic, leaving other people's needs in another level.

However, a conflict prevails over his needs to seek the approval of others. He can try to hide flaws, harm others without being discovered, and present as the champion of justice and defender of human rights, without others noticing that he has hurt many people. He tends to be dishonest, hypocritical, and is a liar.

Also, he can only work where he is allowed to develop his creativity. Although imposes his authority and appeals to that of higher levels, he doesn´t respect it.

Another relevant aspect is that he is very selective when choosing his partners and collaborators, thoroughly investigating their preferences and interests. He also knows the vices and virtues of his adversaries and enemies. In this regard, he can succeed because of persistence, tenacity, and dedication.

Although he is prone to distrust of all people and is annoyed by other people's criticism. He prefers solitude and is easily depressed and disappointed. Paradoxically, despite being a great manipulator, he is also easy to be fooled, since by concentrating on his objectives, he loses the perspectives of reality.

Usually he is a risk lover. Can go bankrupt or become a millionaire. His sexual life can be very active and is prone to gambling and buying high-risk financial instruments. Since he likes to exploit his collaborators, transmits too much energy and enthusiasm, forcing them to achieve almost impossible goals.

Inside himself, a strong tendency to non-conformity and dissatisfaction with the way the world works predominates. He is not a reformer, but within his radicalism, he will pretend to be more legalistic and will support the enactment of authoritarian laws and norms.

And because of his deep understanding of human nature, he watches and evaluates people, all the time. Despite serious adversities and conflicts, he is able to assert his position and triumph sensationally.

In conclusion, Dr. Eugenio Newsfield has the qualities of a winner. On the one hand, he is an altruistic, charismatic, curious, empathetic, generous, fighter, organized, persistent and pragmatic intellectual, who knows how to make fair and equitable decisions, and make the most of the abilities of his collaborators. He feels great love for others and tries to help them, using the best of his abilities.

However, he suffers from an existential dilemma, since in his position of power, he must always decide between his personal gain and help others, seeking the approval of others and that his unethical actions will not be discovered.

And on the other hand, he is ambitious, cunning, dishonest, hypocritical, stubborn, liar and radical, he has a Manichean vision of the world (there are only good and bad), and he is very skilled at exploiting and manipulating others, obtaining the best benefits and appealing for authority, when in practice, he does not respect the laws, and sees marriage and personal-professional relationships as opportunities for enrichment.

His life mission is closely related to establishing an authoritarian system that grants him power, prestige and wealth."

Although the psychological profile, drawn up by interpreting brain waves, was not reliable (it is even illegal in almost all countries), it provided detective Ghalia with an overview of the suspect's personality. Even with this analysis, Jerónimo Ghalia concluded that Eugenio Newsfield had the tendency to act like a criminal, in order to obtain profits and be recognized by society.

Next, using the false identity of Donaldo Karter, he enrolled in the Ultimate Happiness course, paying the astronomical figure of US. $. 100,000 for the first chapter.

This amount exceeded his incomes of the last three years, and although he was well trained with all the details of his false profile, it was difficult for him to justify his surpluses in the checking account vs. annual expenses. In addition, the program issued an alert to review the current assets / current liabilities ratio, stating that perhaps the value of the properties was overestimated.

He watched the introductory video, where Dr. Eugenio Newsfield explained:

-Dear students, I congratulate you on this great decision that will change your lives.

-I know you have many doubts.

-I will try to be as brief as possible.

-For several years, I failed in many projects and succeeded in others. But, when I was successful, I was not as happy as expected.

-Rather, paradoxically, I was happier failing than succeeding.

-Several times I asked myself: Why are we not happy? What does it take to be happy? Is happiness a privilege of the gods?

-After more than twenty years of research, I was able to discover and create the great happiness machine, which is capable of giving happiness to all of you.

-Blessed and happy are you who will attain happiness!

-But everything has its price...

-Once you reach happiness, you should not reveal the secrets of happiness.

-If you do this, the happiness machine will eliminate your happiness and those secrets will disappear from your memory.

-I warn you, future graduates, especially to the new student, Donaldo Karter, whose heritage is doubtful, that erasing happiness may cause a state of severe depression, which can lead to suicide.

-I don´t want this to happen!

-For your sake, read the rules of the contract you signed online, and if you agree, go to the video of the first chapter.

This speech was recorded on the communications device of Jerónimo Ghalia, who already had an indication of why some students committed suicide. Nonetheless, it seemed almost impossible to him that the happiness machine was capable of erasing memories and leading to adverse emotional states.

He watched the first chapter of the Ultimate Happiness course. In it, Dr. Eugenio Newsfield presented the information in some slides, which he was reading:

"What is happiness?:

1. A set of positive emotional states for events, expectations and achievements of certain goals.

2. Various feelings of joy, faith, and optimism.

3. The absence of anguish, worry, suffering and fear.

4. Surpluses of positive situations with respect to negative ones.

5. Self-realization, self-motivation and self-reliance.

6. The positions and attitudes to perform favorably.

7. An overall satisfaction level.

8. The reason that justifies human existence, in accordance with the purpose, mission and meaning of life.

Happiness goes beyond all these definitions. It is a holistic concept: the whole surpasses the sum of the parts, constituting the incredible ideal emotional state, in which each one of us must develop.

How is happiness achieved?:

There are ten secrets that will be explained in the following modules of the course.

For now, we will focus on human needs and two main aspects:

1. Overcoming adverse human qualities.

2. Exploiting favorable human qualities.

The complex human needs:

Well-being is not the same as happiness. Broadly speaking, well-being is a state of temporary satisfaction, while happiness is a mysterious state of full satisfaction, which lasts over time.

Certainly, well-being is closely related to the continuous satisfaction of needs, and happiness is difficult to achieve, which depends on complex human nature, expectations and needs.

Furthermore, human beings live in a continuous cycle of need-achievement-need. When one aspiration is satisfied, others arise and so on. Therefore, there is no optimal state of maximum satisfaction and human well-being is practically insatiable.

Likewise, this cycle of non-conformity and dissatisfaction is extremely dangerous. Although it defies the monotony that characterizes animal species, contributes to finding a purpose in life and encourages to use the best of capacities and abilities, in order to lead an exemplary and virtuous life, and achieve happiness, it can be a source of anxiety, anguish, frustration, depression, and even chronic resentment and dissatisfaction.

With respect to the main needs that determine and guide people's behavior, masterfully, the psychologist Abraham Maslow classified them into five levels:

a) physiological (food, rest, sleep, breathing, etc.),

b) safety (employment, possessions, resources, etc.),

c) belongingness (affection, friendship, group membership, etc.),

d) esteem (trust, success, respect, etc.),

e) self-actualization (creativity, success, innovation, problem solving, etc.).

The first two types of requirements are basic and essential. Human beings need to: eat, drink, rest, sleep, have good health, have a place to live, recreate and function in a suitable, pleasant, comfortable and safe environment.

However, a reality that is difficult to envision is that the needs of belongingness (belonging and identifying with certain groups, family, companies, institutions, society, country, etc.), esteem (success, trust, respect, etc.) and self-actualization (development of potential) are the most relevant.

In this regard, people need to preserve an identity (belongingness), have their merits accepted (esteem), and be allowed to go further, leaving a distinctive mark on their tasks, activities and obligations (self-actualization).

Therefore, happiness is closely related to the satisfaction of the needs of belongingness, esteem and self-actualization."

Jerónimo Ghalia stopped the video and an hour later continued watching it.

During the night, he read the conclusions of the first chapter:

"1. Overcoming adverse human qualities:

1.1 The merit-fault double standard:

Although achievements are sometimes recognized, failures are almost always condemned, but justified from the perspective of those involved. This leads to a permanent search for the culprits, instead of determining the causes of problems and finding adequate solutions, prevailing the false idea that punishing the alleged culprits will solve problems. In the same way, as this double standard (maximizing one's own merits, minimizing those of others, and at the same time, maximizing the errors of others to minimize one's own faults) is so complex, it is difficult to understand and overcome it.

1.2 Envy:

This progressively leads to loss of identity and construction of a narcissistic personality, oriented towards enrichment and denial of obligations. Likewise, it is the cause of leading a life of non-conformity and dissatisfaction, in which anxiety, frustration, resentment and depression prevail.

1.3 Frustration:

It is caused by failures and the impossibility of satisfying desires, needs and whims, In this postmodern world, people are frustrated by not fully meeting exaggerated and insatiable needs of consumption, possession and enjoyment of pleasures. In addition, individuals are also frustrated (many times without realizing this harsh reality) for not having achieved their purpose in life or acted on fundamental needs (belongingness, esteem and self-actualization).

1.4 Resentment:

This is an adverse emotional state of hatred and discomfort, generated by unfavorable events, exaggerated suffering from failures, envy of successes of others and the inability to discern and use extraordinary human qualities. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the third phase of resentment, and those who fall there are unable to achieve happiness.

1.5 Depression:

This adverse mood, in which disappointment and sadness predominate, can be temporary or permanent. In most cases, it is possible to beat depression. However, postmodern culture is also a source of this emotional discomfort, because people can´t always meet exaggerated material goals, and perceive an immense existential void, generated by neglecting their fundamental needs (belongingness, esteem and self-actualization), and not fulfilling a definite purpose in life, without assessing who they are and what they do. On the other hand, there are also depressed winners, who focus exclusively on their enrichment and neglect their needs of belongingness, esteem and self-actualization, and therefore, they feel that life has no meaning (existential voids), suffering from general discontent and dissatisfaction.

1.6 Burn-out:

People affected by this syndrome (caused by overwork, frustration at not achieving various personal-professional goals, resentment, and various problems that affect persons around them) require professional support to overcome this destructive tendency that leads to: chronic fatigue, ineffectiveness, poor performance, lack of motivation, denial of certain facts, addictions such as alcoholism and serious health problems.

1.7 Bore-out:

This condition is mainly caused by lack of interest, demotivation, frustration (in an environment that does not offer possibilities for professional development), and the absence of personal goals. Individuals affected by this syndrome, who do not have challenging activities, and can´t fully satisfy their fundamental needs (belongingness, esteem and self-actualization), require professional support to overcome this destructive tendency and rebuild their lives. In general terms, many retired people suffer from bore-out, when they withdraw from their productive activities, disappointed by living annoyed and separated from the labor world.

1.8 Chronic dissatisfaction:

This adverse emotional state is common in postmodern society because people lose their perspectives of who they are and what they do in life, concentrating excessively on material (even unattainable) goals that will have a short-lived effect on their need-achievement-need cycle. Its symptoms are similar to those of resentment, prevailing sensations of living within existential voids.

2. Exploiting favorable human qualities:

2.1 Imagination and creativity:

Both abstract notions are closely related. Imagination is the ability to conceive existing or non-existent situations, while creativity is the ability to associate the inassociable, and imagine the unimaginable, in order to solve multiple problems and go further, looking for meaning to existence and overcoming non-conformity and dissatisfaction.

2.2 Proactivity:

It is the ability to analyze the past, the present and possible scenarios of the future, and decide on new actions (not required by others), in order to avoid or solve problems, using imagination and creativity.

2.3 Consciousness:

This is an essential quality that also distinguishes humans from other species. Basically, conscience is the extraordinary ability to discern between good and evil.

2.4 Love:

It is extremely difficult to explain this magnanimous sentiment. In general terms, to love is to love other human beings, oneself and even God and the good, departing from the paths of evil and injustice.

2.5 Motivation:

It is an extraordinary force, which enables human beings to overcome adversities and produce sensational results. To motivate people, it is essential to give them opportunities to succeed and satisfy their fundamental needs (belongingness, esteem and self-actualization). This must be done constantly, considering that the endless cycle of need-achievement-need persists and human well-being is insatiable.

2.6 Resilience:

It is a state of resistance, recovery and transformation, which is the result of the application of a combination of different attitudes and qualities in the face of adverse situations: a) optimism, not giving up neither losing faith, b) flexibility, accepting that it is not always possible to succeed and know when to set less ambitious goals, c) empathy, deny narcissism and understand that tragic events can happen to anyone, d) curiosity, feel the need to learn, e) emotional balance, act more rational than emotionally, facing with day-to-day problems, f) denial of the role of victim, assuming responsibility for mistakes made, g) awareness of failures, without obsessing over them and learning from mistakes, and h) courage, challenging the comfort zone. Indeed, resilience is an extraordinary "super quality" of human beings, and resilient people develop and apply various skills and abilities, strengthening themselves in the face of adversities, and becoming new persons, more mature and aware of their role and purpose in life. Of course, some winners are resilient, and those who face extremely difficult situations must assume resilient attitudes, in order to rebuild their lives again and achieve happiness."

Later, the detective Jerónimo Ghalia, overwhelmed with such information, received a call from his boss, who asked him to bring his conclusions as soon as possible. He promised to go to the office in two days.

Ghalia called the former attorney Lenea Kindjust, who started the conversation:

-Darling…

-How are you?

-You don´t get tired of receiving difficult cases!

-I know what you called for.

-I have a slight suspicion, but I need the Strauss-Gross report.

-And your boss won´t deliver it until you close the file.

-I know, the case is in the limbo.

-They took it from you and no one has this case!

-What?

-What is this?

-Are you crazy?

Lenea Kindjust realized that the file of that case was already in her email, and knowing the ways of proceeding of Jerónimo Ghalia, who didn´t respect the rules or trust his supervisor, she told him:

-Officially, I have nothing.

-Unofficially, I´m letting you know.

-I am deleting this call!

-Bye!

The former prosecutor Lenea Kindjust cut the call, without the detective Jerónimo Ghalia being able to continue speaking. Both were committing a crime by continuing an investigation with confidential information not authorized by the chief commissary.

This didn´t matter to Jerónimo Ghalia, who knew that this was the only way to successfully complete the investigation. Again, almost at midnight, he fell asleep...