The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Epilogue - Part 3
“Um, so, about that time I said I wanted to quit the part-time job…” Tomomi got right to the point.
“Ah. I forgot to inform you that verbal resignation applications are not accepted here.”
“Yes?”
“Therefore, whatever you say to me is invalid. From now on, make sure you submit your resignation in writing.”
Uroma was very decisive and imposing. In short, he was supposed to be telling me not to quit, but what was with this attitude? This guy is just as annoying as ever.
“I understand. If you insist so much, I’ll make a special effort not to quit. Just this once.”
“Of course. Since we haven’t gone through the formalities, there is no way for you to quit or not.”
As he spoke, Uroma settled into the chair at his office desk. For now, Tomomi also sat down on the folding chair that seemed to have naturally appeared nearby. The strange system of this place seemed to be the same as ever.
“Doctor, I met Mr. Ishikawa, Ms. Kikuchi and Ms. Kiyokawa before I came here today. Yet none of them recalled coming here for counseling. Though I’m not sure about Tsubaki and Mr. Akiyama.”
“I see. Well, people’s memories are like that. People forget information that they deem unnecessary, that’s all.”
“Unnecessary…”
I don’t think so. To any client, the man in front of them would have left a deep impression. It’s not something one can forget.
No, to begin with, what exactly is this man??
“Dr. Uroma, what are you? You’re obviously not a normal human being, are you?”
Before she knew it, Tomomi had uttered these words. Uroma replied lightly, “Well, I suppose so,” as if to pass it off.
“It’s probably very difficult for you to understand this right now. But I’ll give you an analogy that might help you more or less comprehend what I’m about to explain. I’m studying brain science.”
“Brain science?”
“Yes, this is just between you and me, we can stop the second hand of a clock very easily. Without using any tools, without touching the clock…” Uroma pointed to a corner of his office desk. Without realizing it, a small alarm clock had been placed there. It was an analog type, and the second hand was ticking regularly.
“Tomomi, from now on you will stop the second hand of this clock for a few moments. The process is very simple. All you have to do is look away from the clock, look at something else, and then look back at the clock again. Try it.”
“Hah?”
Although she was uncertain, she did as she was told and shifted her gaze. Yes, once she drew her gaze away from the clock and then returned to it – and at that moment, Tomomi was positive that, very slightly, the second hand of the clock seemed to have stiffened and halted its movement.
“W-What is this?”
“It’s an optical illusion caused by rapid eye movement called chronostasis.”
“An optical illusion?”
“Yes, no matter how the viewer moves his or her eyes, the hands of the clock never freeze. That is what the human brain perceives. The reason for this is that when we move our gaze from one place to another, there is a blockage of visual information in our brain called saccadic suppression. This allows people to move their eyes rapidly without experiencing blurring of vision. When moving our eyes, we are shutting out the images in the middle of the movement. And that is why the hands of the clock at the end of the gaze appear to stop moving for just a moment.”
“H-Ha…”
By simply shifting your gaze, visual information is being blocked? This explanation doesn’t quite make sense.
“This implies that by simply moving our eyeballs, we can easily lose the ability to fully perceive images of the outside world. Visual information is constantly being blocked as we move our eyes. The image we have of the outside world and the actual image are not the same. The hands of the clock have not been suspended, but they give the impression of being suspended. However, this raises a question. Which can be said to be the truth for you, the illusion that the hands of the clock seem to have stopped, or the actual image that has not stopped?”
“Of course, the one that hasn’t stopped. The one that looked like it stopped was only an illusion.”
“Well… Then, what would you be thinking if I didn’t tell you right here that it was an optical illusion that the hands of the clock seemed to have stopped?”
“Eh??”
At once, Tomomi was at a loss for words. If you say it like that, you are right. An illusion is something that is indistinguishable from the real thing if one does not realize that it is so.
“The image we have of the outside world is, in fact, extremely vague. There are gaps in information that can never be recognized. And the same can be said for our inner world. One’s perception of the world is always full of holes, incomplete, and uncontrollable.”
Uroma suddenly chuckled.
“And what does it matter if a man’s shadow appears in the midst of the emptiness of the world? Truth is nowhere to be discovered in the imperfect world of human beings, full of empty spaces. This world is always full of voids that are beyond human perception. And it is this emptiness that shapes me as a man.”
It was too abstract and gibberish for Tomomi to understand. But she was vaguely sure of it. Ah, this guy is probably lying again with his scientific talk followed by a bunch of random words that sound like that… This is exactly what it means to be fooled by someone.
“W-Well, okay. If you prefer not to talk about yourself, that’s fine. At any rate, I look forward to working with you in the future.”
“I guess so. I’ll ask you to continue to work hard as my right-hand guy.”
Uroma then pointed to the containers of tablets scattered around the room.
“I guess the first thing I’d like you to do is clean up here.”
“Hah.”
After all, is that all there is to do here? Tomomi reluctantly rose from the folding chair and proceeded to begin cleaning the counseling room.