Avivorous (Noha ElNashar, Visionaries)

Avivorous

“Laura, they have arrived!” A shout erupted in the control room, making everyone jump at its intensity. They all stared at him, making a blush creep its way to his face. “Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said sheepishly, awkwardly scratching his neck.

To relieve him of his embarrassment, a woman, Laura on the other side of the room got up and made her way to him, shaking her head in the process and trying to suppress her laughs. “Okay, Andrew, calm down; I’m here. Show me what you’re talking about.”

Andrew zoomed in to the heap of bodies lying down on the grass as Laura bended over to see what was on the screen. There were four figures lying beside each other in such uncomfortable positions that she knew they would suffer cramps for days following their wake. They looked so much alike. Laura had no doubt they were siblings. Before she could ask Andrew about them, the screen changed, showing a girl with jet black hair lying down, her hair covering half of her face. The strand of hair covering her nose and its movement into and out of her nose was the only indication that she’s alive. She caught a movement in the somewhere beyond the girl; when she focused on the sky beyond, she could see a helicopter flying away.

“This is one of ours,” Andrew said, pointing at the helicopter. “It’s the one that got them there.”

Laura took a seat beside him and scratched her chin like she always did when she was immersed in her own thoughts. She tried to think of where “there” is, but she came up blank. All she could see were asphalt roads and a stretch of green land far in the distance. A park maybe. She looked up at Andrew and asked, “Why are they in different places? I mean why is she dumped on the road and the others, as I recall, in the woods? Why not just put them all together?”

“That, Laura, is something only I can answer,” A loud voice entered the room, slamming the door behind him. When he walked in, everybody stopped talking. They were, in a way or another, like deer caught in a headlight.

Laura stood up and smoothed down her shirt and walked up to the muscular man who walked in, taking in his askew lips, the glasses that rest on his hooked nose, the way his hands never stopped scrabbling notes in his leather notebook. When she was right next to him, he took his eyes off the notebook and stopped writing. He smiled at her and leaned to kiss her cheek. Before she could speak or ask him anything, he said, “I am doing something, Laura. Something huge! It is both rewarding and worth taking all the risks.”
He led her to a seat and stood in the middle of the room, watching as each person turned their seats away from the screens and centered their attention on him.

“What I am doing is an experiment. A test. I like to call it Avivorous for personal preferences. But I can promise you all that if we work together, we will reap the rewards.” He announced in his bossy demeanor that he adopted whenever he wanted the crew to do something for him.

Laura raised a hand and said, “Could you tell us what exactly is that experiment about, Marcus? And what is it that you expect of us?”

Marcus clapped his hands enthusiastically and said, “It’s really simple! All you have to do is watch those people make their way through the abandoned city I have dumped them in--” Laura could feel coldness creeping its way through her body. Something about how Marcus was so excited to perform an experiment on humans felt extremely repugnant. “But,” Marcus went on. “Our role is not just watching them. Andrew, you’re responsible for telling them about the experiment and what they’re supposed to do to yield the best results.”

Andrew was about to interrupt when Marcus put a finger up in the air signaling for him to be quiet till he’s finished. “Laura,” His eyes met hers and softened. He smiled as he said, “You monitor their behaviors and actions and report them to me. And I, with help from Candice, will study them and come up with what I need.”

“And what might that be?” Andrew asked with a hint of sarcasm that Marcus noticed but chose to let go.

Just then, a red-headed girl with a messy bun and a lab coat came in, holding pamphlets and another stack of papers that had the word “Avivorous” written in bold ink on them.

“This,” Marcus motioned at the papers as Candice, the redheaded girl, started to distribute them. “Contains everything you need to know about the experiment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other things to tend to.”

And with that he left.

Andrew looked up from the stacks of paper he was holding and his eyes rested on Laura. “Before you read those papers, why do you think he’s doing this?”

Laura stayed silent for a second then shook her head and said, “Well, he’s your brother. You ought to know him best.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow at her and said disbelievingly, “Oh yeah? Well, you’re his fiancée. What about that for knowing him best?”

“Well, I guess Marcus isn’t open with anyone.” She said with finality in her voice that made Andrew drop the subject and start reading what was written on those papers. And, as they both read, they started to know why Marcus never told them about that experiment. Because if he did, they would have killed him first before allowing him to carry on such a transgression.

Paper Airplanes (Nora Keshk, Visionaries)

Paper Airplanes

Her thoughts were like paper airplanes. They were literally airplanes.

She launched a hundred airplanes outside her bedroom window upstairs. Each plane easily found its way home somewhere. They all were dedicated to her late best friend, Ethan; they all got lost somewhere in the small town.

Each clean sheet was surfaced with ink that bled through. Nonetheless, she took time to fold and crease each section of the paper to make it into a flying airplane. Each letter was filled with the love she never got to express to him. But the hundredth letter, launched in the windiest day known to the quiet town, traveled a far distance until it reached a green tree on a stranger's porch and then fell to the green patches of grass on which he would walk by to get the early newspaper, where he later found it. His wondering mind helped him unfold the neatly creased paper airplane, where it soon revealed one of her paper thoughts…

Dear Ethan,
It's been a year since you passed away – at exactly five o'clock in the morning. I was there with you, telling you everything was going to be fine. Then I heard that heart retching sound of terror; the sound of the loud, clear, and deafening flat beep coming from the cardiac monitor. 
I also forgot to mention, your mom was there too. She was asleep on the couch by the window overlooking the town. When she heard the sound, the fright on her face was beyond the one on mine.
We all miss you so much.
While you were asleep earlier in the day, I started rambling things about us, hoping you could hear me, so that the next morning I'd find out if you felt the same way.
But I never knew.
I never knew if you felt the same way I did. I never knew if you felt butterflies in your stomach the way I did when I'd hear you laugh.
And that's why I'm writing to you.
The last words you told me were, "I'm feeling tired." And now I can't help but think I'm feeling the same now that you're gone. Tired.
This is my hundredth letter to you and also my last.
All I wanted to say were the words I didn't get to say to you, and they're the most said words in the universe – I love you.
Your Best Friend, Lana

And soon enough the stranger who found the letter will be doing the same as Lana did. He'll talk to his late wife; this time sending her his paper thoughts.

Through Grey Eyes (Bothaina Ayman, Visionaries)

Through Grey Eyes

His vision was laced with dull colors of grey, black, and white. The lack of joyful colors caused his steel eyes to bore on the whiteboard. His hands were folded together, while twiddling his thumbs.
Who is he, you ask?
Nathaniel is an average teenage boy, with average grades, average life, and an average family; however, his vision differed from his normal, boring life – you see, Nathaniel is color blinded, which is inherited from his deceased grandfather. Sadly, his parents cannot afford enough money for treatment. 
Nathaniel was seated in the last seat, left corner by the window – he wouldn't want to drag too much attention, would he now? However, his mismatched clothes did in fact brought too many unwanted eyes. His wardrobe consisted of a purple baggy shirt, green pants, blue converse with red and blue shoelace, along with a blue back bag, which was almost empty. 
He gazed out the window, looking at the plain grey sky. In reality, he knew what the sky looks like; his mother explained every single detail about it – a wide, blue blanket, stained with feathery like cottons – alias the clouds. At night, Nathaniel would imagine the night sky a lady with a long inky dress, adorned with diamond rings and earrings. 
Looking down at the grass – also grey, somewhat darker than that of the sky. Grass, meaning green, like his pants, his father's eye color, the wallpaper of his bedroom. 
As a child, Nathaniel was considered to be an outsider, also "The weird one". In kindergarten, his English teacher asked him "what color is my shirt?", and with all confidence, Nathaniel answered "Black!" 
That's not right. The teacher raised a very perplexed eyebrow, then looked down at his brown shirt. He decided to ask another question regarding colors "another question, Nate," the boy nodded "what color is the sky?"
Nathaniel curled his lips in a beaming smile "Grey!" 
The class broke into laughter, leaving the boy with a big question mark above his head. Nathaniel heard the teacher mutter something about 'parents', 'call', and 'colors'. 
So, there he was, sitting in his own plain, dull world, colored in grey, black, and white. Boredom engulfed his life, depression grasped his mind, and loneliness broke his ties with the outer world. It didn't occur to him that something so simple as colors could differ in his simple life, but the fact that it did bothered him terribly.

Section Choices (Noah and Zahraa, Divergent)

I can't believe section assigned me with her.
She has no field experience whatsoever. Her subtlty is below zero. She actually went of asked the bartender for the information we wanted; she won't hold a gun, and she always has this annoying innocent smile on her face. When I ask her why she joined section, she tells me "to help the country of course to get rid of of evil spirits out there." So basically I'm stuck in India with a rookie, wack job.

I can't believe section assigned me with him.
He's so megalomaniac. He thinks he's freaking 007 for God's sake. He was so mad when I told him to ride the elephant. How can we skip that spectacular chance, I mean we won't be in India everday!
He keeps talking about killing and shooting people. I can't stand hearing gun shots and seeing blood. We have to spread love and peace. He freaked out when I asked the bartender for information, I mean the guy was nice enough to take my name and phone number in case he found anything out. Why wouldn't he understands that people are nice?

للحلم بقية (ريم, Divergent)

أدركت وجودي يوماً ما بين الأحلام المنسية
و جلست لأبحث عن ماضي بين دفاتري الَملقية 
فوجدت رسائل و حروفاً مبدوئة من دون بقية 
أحرفها قد مُزجت عَمداً بنِقاط القهوة التركية
و ظللت أحاول مرات فك الشفرات العبثية 
أختلقَ حروفاً و بدائَل عن أحرِف كانت ممحيه
تتزاحم حولي الأوراق و المُكتتبات الشعرية
و أرى مجموعة أشياء تحمل ذكرايا الرمزية
ألمح بجواري أوراق صفراء اللونِ و مطويه
ففتحت الأوراق و عقلي يتذكر مدَد زمنية
حينها قد كانت أقلامي تكتب بطريقة حرفية.
أتذكر كنت وحيدة هناك أبحث عن وطن و هوية
و أحاطت بي الأزهار، صفراء اللون ووردية،
و عصافير متمردة لا تعلم إلا الحرية.
أذني تلتقط صوتَ ما يشبه موسيقى الصوفيه
مع مزج صهيل لحصان، يعلم ما معنى التضحية
و سماء كانت غاضبة فإنساب المطر بعفوية
و الأرض و قد رويت فرحاً فتفوح روائح عطرية
فتوقفت بفكري لوهلة، عاودت قرائتي جهرية
فى أخر صفحة قد كُتب "مازال للحلم بقية"

The True Standards of Beauty (Zahraa, Divergent)

The True Stanards of Beauty

You wake up in the early morning, you feel very light and exuberant. You walk towards the mirror, yet something abrupt happens, extraordinary I'd describe. You don't see your face or any other organ of yours. You see nothing but purity, faith, kindness, felicity and passion.

You see the poems you wrote, the paintings and drawings you drew and the songs you sang. You come across the books you read, the music you listened to, the movies you watched and everything that satisfied your soul.
You watch your valiant experiences, your recklessness and the adrenaline rushes you went through. "This is uncanny" you would say. Enticement takes over. You become extremely impressed, but anxious. You see beauty, but not with the standards you've always known, with entirely different standards. That beauty has a way of perplexing you one minute, and allaying you the next. Because, what you saw in the mirror was your soul and everything it carried from the most astonishing to the direst.

You walk down the streets, you don't see bodies. You see souls. You are astonished by some, but you recoil from the others. You don't see any facial traits; you don't know whether the person in front of you is white or dark-skinned. You don't know how this person is dressed. All you see is kindness or hostility, modesty or arrogance, and every shade between them.

You see art in every possible form. You hear music everywhere, different genres, ones you've never heard, ones you absolutely admire and others that you dislike. You read poems everywhere, and everything becomes metaphorical. The world is now overly dosed with emotions, all kinds, one that put you in a state of jubilation and another that put you in frustration.

You head towards your school, to find out that everything has been altered. Everyone is a soul, without a body. You don't see baseball jackets, boots, low-kneed skirts, sleeveless T-shirts, tight jeans, dresses or even teacher's suits. You see love along with hatred. You see what everyone has always held inside. You see the truth of everyone and you stand in dismay, because you now realize that everything has exceeded your expectations.

Emily, the girl who used to be the most popular, is now getting wisps of attention or no attention at all. Hatred, evilness, envy, violence and inhumanity are now revealed, showing the truth of that girl. They flabbergast you, bewilderment and disappointment start to fog your brain. Then, you ascertain that Emily was loved for how she looked and dressed, she was so pretty yet from the outside only; white-skinned, fit body, long blond hair, hazel eyes. She has been coming with the most elegant dresses ever. She mocked a bunch of people in the school, Charlie the introvert with the bulky glasses. Anna the studious and a-bit-of-a-wallflower girl. Mia, the nerd. Mr. peter, because he always wore old-fashioned clothes. You had always seen students gather around her table at lunchtime every day, listening to her nonsense.

Then, you see Ayana, the African dark-skinned, fat introvert with messy hair. She is no longer dark-skinned or fat; she is now a collection of love, faith, kindness, compassion, art, music, poetry and inner beauty. After being disappeared into oblivion, she is now the most beautiful and admired girl in the school.

You now hear screeches from the street, shaking you out of your revere. The reverie of observing souls, of knowing the real standards of beauty and of digging deeper in everything and everybody. You now realize that you were outsmarted by appearances. Unfortunately, everyone is.
"If only our eyes saw soul instead of bodies, how different our ideals of beauty would be"

ملخبط (نوح, Divergent)

الإنسان هو الكائن العظيم اللى أعظم حاجة عملها إنه جاب علم الفلسفة والمنطق لعالم كان يعيش في الفوضى,وبذلك طوع العالم كله لرغباته عن طريق تعليم الكون النظام والمنطق والمحشى. 

!كل الكلام اللى فوق دا هرى. 

الحقيقة إن الإنسان مش هو اللى اخترع المنطق ولا الفلسفة (يمكن المحشى). الكون كله طول عمره ماشى بنظام أدق من الساعة، و لا يمكن فى يوم من الأيام يحيد عنه. حركة الكواكب، النظام البيئى (أيوة اللى احنا بوظناه هو دا) عادات كل حيوان ونبات وكل جزء من الكوكب، الألوان، الأصوات ...

كل حاجة ماشية تمام.

طب ليه الإنسان بس هو اللى يعرف علم المنطق؟ ليه هو بس اللى واخد باله من النظام والكون والحاجات دى، ليه هو شايف منطق؟ 

دا ﻷن كل حاجة ماشية فى الكون بالمنطق، إلا الإنسان. 

تخيل الموضوع كأنه شخص راكب عربية، ومش شايف أى حاجة برا العربية دى، والعربية دى بتتحرك على أرض مفهاش مطب. 

محدش هيعرف أن العربية دى بتتحرك إلا اللى واقفين براها وبيتفرجوا عاليها.

ومفيش كائن فى الكون هياخد باله من المنطق الكونى إلا الكائن الوحيد اللى مش ماشى بيه.الإنسان. 

طب إزاي ياعم؟ إزاي تقول الإنسان مش منطقى؟

تهييس ثانوية يا كابتشن تقول ايه!

لا بجد هضربلك مثال.

إحنا على البسيطة بقالنا 7000 سنة (منذ نشأة الحضارة الفرعونية، أول حضارة وكدا) ولسى لحد دلوقتى مفهمناش إن الحرب غلط وبتقتل ناس وكل الحاجات الوحشة دى. بالمنطق كدا، فى معادلة تقعد 7000 سنة ما تتحلش؟!

دا الحيوانات يا عم، الحيوانات اتفقت على نظام تتخانق بيه وتاكل بيه بعضها وعايشين مع بعض عادى! فكرك إحنا ممكن نوصل للدرجة دى من التطور؟

إحنا اعتنقنا المنطق من فترة طويلة جداً لدرجة إن إحنا فهمنا كل حاجة في الدنيا ماشية إزاي و عرفنا نطوعها حسب رغبتنا و نبقى أكتر نوع من الكائنات مزدهر على وجه الارض. فهمنا فعلا ً كل حاجة إحنا اتعاملنا معاها،بل و في حاجات مشوفنهاش و فهمناها برضه (فيزياء نظرية و كدهو) لكن ما يزال فيه حاجة واحدة إحنا مقدرناش نفهمها. الحاجة الوحيدة في الكون ده اللي مش ماشية بالمنطق (لو بصيت فوق هتلاقيها في أول الصفحة).

هتقولي لا إحنا فاهمين الإنسان و عندنا علم نفس و بتنجان؛ 

استعنا ع الشقى بالله. 

أولا ً مش علم النفس بس هو اللي اختص بدراسة الإنسان،فيه فلسفة و أحياء و حاجات كتير جداً حاول العلم بيها إنه يفسر أو يتوقع تصرفات هذا الكائن الغريب. هرمونات و مؤثرات حياتية...إالخ إلخ. 

ثانيا كل العلوم دي دقتها في قياس الإنسان و تصرفاته زي دقة الكف في قياس الطول. لا يعتمد عليها. أنا بقول كده كواحد خُضت في علوم قياس الإنسان دي فترة من حياتي، كلها قواعد تقريبية عامة و شواذها تفوق عدداً الملتزمين بها، هدفها قياس كائن مثالي مكتوب في الكتب و غير موجود في الحقيقة. ده غير إن فيه حاجات إحنا طبعا مش لاقينلها تفسير.

زي البوسة!

آيوه متعمليش فيها مكسوف، البوسة! كل العلوم البشرية من أول علم النفس السلوكي لحد الاحياء الجزيئية مش قادرة تفسر أو حتى تقترب من تفسير ليه البني آدم بيستمتع بالبوسة!

قيس على كده كتير بقى. و سبب الحيرة دي أن البني آدم مش جزء من العالم المنطقي عشان تحللوه بالمنطق! لكم شرف المحاولة برضه. 

ندي للبني آدم حقه برضه. هو الحاجة اللي كسرت روتين الكرة الارضية برضه.

أحسن حاجة البني آدم عملها، أو أكتر حاجة المفروض يعتز بيها؛ إنه متبعش المنطق و حول العالم لرغبته هو. خرج بره نطاق المنطق و مع ذلك استعمله و فهم الدنيا ماشية إزاي. أعظم هدية من الإنسان للكون مكانتش النظام. لكن إنه طوره و كسر النظام.

أعظم هدية من الإنسان للكون كانت الفوضى.