Last Episode of Earth [Part II]

Previous Story: Last Episode of Earth [Part I]

‘The Idea’

(etsy.com)

Meanwhile, out in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. There’s a huge planet lived by unknown-things, let’s call them as ‘The Idea’. We can never imagine their appearance, they can be anything they want. They are much older than the age of the universe. They are billion times more modern and smarter than all living things. They do what they want. They know what we do, every single thing. Even just a blink of your eyes. They created something from nothingness with pure will. they used the very best technology to control every single thing in the universe like the orbits and rotation period of all planets, gravity, the black holes, the comets, the stars and even time. They are the one who created all lives by putting a single cell on planets, earth was no exception.

Nevertheless, they are not kind and loving things! They demanded sacrifice, because the puny inhabitants of earth displeased them! What’s happening on earth made ‘The Idea’ really upset. Humans preferred to kill their amazing creatures, all animals and plants rather than living in harmony alongside nature. All human beings on earth repeats the same mistake, just like they did on Mars and Pluto. That’s why ‘The Idea’ burned Mars into ashes, and froze the Pluto into ice! Now, it’s earth’s turn. ‘The Idea’ will terminate the earth very soon.

How do they terminate earth? The first thing was to stop the rotation of earth. That day all the people realized that the earth had stopped spinning. Every spot on earth became permanent day time on half and the night time on the others, all year long. The temperature to be much hotter than ever on day time side, and much colder on the other side. It caused an unstable atmosphere that made huge storm always happen very often, destroying everything. All the people are discouraged, they couldn’t do anything! They stopped working, all they could do is only stay at home. 80% of the world’s population were hungry and there was a spread of the plague. One by one, they were going to die.

“It's the end of the world! Run for your life!” Said every president.

“What's happening today has been written in the bible. This is just the beginning for our eternal life. God promises that for those who believe!” Said every religious leader.

The second thing, ‘The Idea’ dropped the giant meteor (the diameter is about 10 kilometers). It goes on a terrible rampage, striking fear into the hearts of the populace. The meteor creates panic in the streets, earth lies in ruins! All the people were trying to save themselves. They all ran to an airport, thinking that a jet plane could save their lives, some of them just hiding in the bunker and begged to God for his mercy. Unfortunately, ‘The Idea’ ignores their pleas for mercy and the doomed just writhe in agony!

A Meteor Hitting The Suface

(darkbrownharis.co)

“Professor! It’s time!” said Zeta.

“What the hell are you doing, prof?! The end of the world is here! We must hurry to our space ship! You can’t just lie on bed like that!”

“O, Zeta, my boy. I’m very old. I have been getting sick since the earth stopped spinning. I will not make it. My death is near. I was thinking that you have to go away by yourself. You can do it! I have prepared everything you need. i have also already put coordinates of our new planet, and the fuel tank is full, more than Enough to run the ship at the highest speed of light. You can do it!”

“But, prof...” Zeta started to cry. “I have no one besides me. My Dad is already dead. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m so sorry, boy. if i come with you, i will be a weight around your neck. Look at me, i am not able to stand on my feet anymore. There is no time, you must go now!”

The meteor already hit the surface. It caused an enormous amount of dust, ash and other materials to fly into the atmosphere, blocking the radiation from the sun. It leads to mass extinction, wiping out many of the world’s existing species: humans.

At the same moment, Zeta just reached the atmosphere, he is ready for his new journey to the next new planet. He was the only human who witnessed the destruction of the earth. From the distance. The earth slowly became a red planet, it was on fire and soon it would explode.

        “Hasta la vista (good bye), my baby blue earth.” said Zeta, as he flies million light years away from earth. He was the only human remaining.

*****

         To Be Continued................

Review: 4'33'' (of Silence) by John Cage

vimeo.com

scientist have identified the oldest musical instrument in the world. this artifact looks like a flute made of bird bone and mammoth ivory. this flute is between 42.000 and 47.000 years old which means music has always been a part of human life for many years. music is also one of things that can be universally accepted (a universal language). for many people, music is enjoyable entertainment that can make your body twist and dance or even for religious purposes. some artists use music to spread their message. we can find messages of peace in reggae music, for example.

most of us agree that music is always relate to these elements like tone, rhythm, melody, lyric and musical instruments that must be present in every song and musical work. on the other hand, you will find something extremely different when you hear or see the video of 4’33’’ (four thirty three) by John Cage, because all you can hear is four minutes and 33 seconds of silence.

John Cage was an American composer and pianist in the Avant-Garde period (late 19th century). in 1952, Cage composed his best known and most controversial creation, 4’33’’. that’s also called “a silent peace”. the debut performance for this piece of art was given to David Tudor in Living Theater, New York. during his performance he only set silently at the piano, opened the keyboard lid, then he closed it and reopened it three times as there were only three ‘movements’ in this absurd performance i have ever watched.  i wonder what i would do if i was in attendance. i might have been fooled and left the room with no doubt just like everyone did that time. i think it’s a normal reaction because we will never be in an empty gallery, we will never be in a concert without sound. everyone has a concept of how things should be, how a gallery should be (presenting sculptures or paintings). sitting silently for any length of time is not something that people expect.

now we need to see the piece of art in a different light. we need to find the reason behind why John Cage made this piece. before he created this piece, he was in India to learn about Zen Buddhism and in Buddhism, silence is the only one appropriate reaction to a variety of different question, such as ‘does god exist?’, ‘where do we go when we die?’. human language is limited and can’t define the absolute truth. that is why silence is the only answer or response according to Buddha.

rugusavay.com

on the other hand, Cage found that there is no such thing as silence. something is always happening that makes a sound which is related to body language, expression of our mind, feeling, etc. Cage also found that music can be in harmony with nature as ‘art is the imitation of nature in her manner of operation’. in 1951, he found himself by sitting in a room fully soundproofed to experience absolute silence. he was right, there is no such thing as silence. he only heard two sounds, one high and one low. the high one was his nervous system and the other one was his blood circulating. after that he said, “until i die there will be sounds and they will continue following my death. one need not fear about the future of music”.

it’s impossible for us to experience absolute silence, we will always have something to hear that can’t be avoided. it brings to mind another point of view, the chirp of cricket can be just as musical as the Nocturnes by Fredic Choppin if you choose to hear it that way. Cage wants to make us more sensitive to the various sounds that surround us in this world at all times in our lives. furthermore, 4’33’’ is not about listening to nothing, it’s much more than that it’s about listening to everything.

references:

news.nationalgeographic.com/news

buku: apa itu musik? by karina andjani

Intropeksi 2 Menit

www.simplypsychology.org

bagi anak psikologi pasti mengenal nama erik erikson, seorang psikolog asal jerman yang juga berdarah denmark. ia mengagas sebuah teori yang dikenal dengan teori psikososialnya atau biasa disebut dengan delapan tahap perkembangan manusia (lihat tabel di atas). erikson membagi tiap tahap berdasarkan usia manusia. namun dalam tulisan ini, aku gak akan menjelaskannya lebih jauh. aku ingin mengajak kalian membayangkan kedelapan tahapan itu diperkecil skalanya ke dalam usia akademis (kita) sebagai mahasiswa. 

usia akademis ku udah mencapai enam dari tujuh tahun, hanya kurang satu tahun lagi dari seluruh sisa 'hidup' ku sebagai mahasiswa. mungkin kalau aku masukan dalam delapan tahap psikososialnya erikson, aku udah berada di tahapan terkahir: ego intergrity vs despair atau dalam tahap usia lanjut. dimana menurut erikson, dalam tahap ini orang cenderung melakukan intropeksi diri atas prilaku yang telah diperbuat selama hidupnya. kalau semasa hidup mencapai keberhasilan maka ia akan berpuas diri (intergirity). tapi sebaliknya, bila tidak, maka ia akan merasa beruputus asa (despair). lalu, dimanakah aku di antara dua itu?

***

sebelum menjawab pertanyaan di atas, aku juga mau mengajak kalian melihat apa yang udah aku perbuat dimasa 'hidup' ku sebagai mahasiswa: 

aku sama seperti kalian, aku merelakan diriku bergelut dengan bangku kuliah dengan setumpuk tugasnya yang mengiringi setiap langkah, setiap jengkal pikiranku. terkadang aku juga bolos kalau lagi males kuliah: tidur di kosan sampai siang, nonton film drama yang aku beli, atau playing my guitar all day long which always out of tune that can never please anyone, but myself. di lain waktu, bersama temen kampus aku berdiskusi tentang banyak hal: mulai dari keilmuan sampai kemanusiaan, sayang, cuman berakhir di atas meja gapleh.

selain belajar dari bangku kelas, kata orang bijak: kita juga harus melatih soft skill untuk memenuhi pengembangan diri. bagi para mahasiswa, soft skill selalu erat kaitannya dengan organisasi. maka dari itu, aku pun menjadi salah satu anggota organisasi tingkat universitas di kampus ku, sampai sekarang aku masih aktif. apalagi alasan dan motivasinya selain untuk mendapatkan pengalaman yang bisa aku tulis di curiculum vitae dan juga untuk mendapatkan jaminan modal sosial (networking) yang nantinya bisa aku manfaatkan sesuai kebutuhan?

saat itu aku gak memahami betul apa itu aktivisme, yang aku tau setiap orang atau mahasiswa yang menjadi anggota organisasi kampus disebut dengan aktivis. kalau benar begitu, aku udah melebeli diriku seorang aktivis. tapi, sebenernya aktifitas di orgnaisasi gak jauh berbeda dengan dengan bangku kelas. aku juga harus mengerjakan tanggung jawab dalam bentuk tugas dari program kerja tiap tahunnya, dan itu gak sedikit, yang terpaut pada target tertentu dan juga deadline, mengadakan latihan, serta kegiatan yang makan banyak waktu. gak heran kalau kadang aku perlu mengorbankan sedikit waktu kuliah demi loyalitas terhadap organisasi. buruknya, jadwal kuliah dan organisasi yang (aku anggap) padat jadi pembenaran buatku untuk gak melakukan hal lainnya yang lebih bermanfaat (untuk orang lain).

kata orang bijak lainnya: selain perut, otak juga perlu diberi makanan yang bergizi. mulai saat itu aku mulai suka baca buku, entah itu buku fiksi atau non-fiksi. aku baca apapun yang menarik hatiku. apalagi alesannya selain buat menambah wawasan dan memperkaya diri sendiri dengan pengetahuan yang lain? lebih dari itu, khususnya buku-buku fiksi, bisa membuat kita flying through imagination, membuat kita lupa akan waktu, membuat kita lupa akan realitas di sekitar kita. di satu sisi aku pikir itu merupakan hal yang baik, tapi aku juga menemukan sisinya yang buruk. kenapa? karena ternyata memiliki wawasan itu tidak akan menyelamatkan apa-apa dan siapa-siapa.

***

deviantart.com

bagaimana menurut kalian? apa yang kalian pikirkan dari tulisan ku di atas? mungkin sebagian dari kalian ada yang menganggap, apa yang aku lakukan adalah hal wajar yang biasa dilakukan oleh mahasiswa lainnya. tapi coba kalian lihat dari perspektif yang berbeda, karena bagiku itu justru adalah sebuah kegagalan ku sebagai seorang mahasiswa. di tahap ke delapan dari teori erikson ini, di usia akademis yang udah renta. hasil intropeksi ku justru leading me to hopelessness (despair).  ya, aku telah gagal or generally speaking, i've done things that i should not be proud of...

tanpa disadarai apapun yang telah aku lakukan selama enam tahun ini, semata-mata hanya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dan kesenangan ku sendiri. seperti kuliah: yang (akan) aku selesaikan sebagai syarat untuk mendapat gelar sarjana, mendapat kerja yang layak, menjadi buruh industri, mendapat penghasilan, menghidupi hidup ku sendiri, bukan begitu? begitu pula dengan loyalitasku terhadap organisasi, apa lagi yang aku peroleh selain untuk kepentingan ku sendiri, seperti menambah pengalaman dan netwroking? selain itu, apalagi yang aku peroleh dari membaca buku, selain kesenangan dan kepuasan pribadi untuk mengetahui banyak hal yang tidak akan pernah menyelamatkan apa-apa dan siapa-siapa?

aku telah menjadi orang yang sangat egois. aku hanya memikirkan diriku sendiri. padahal, selama ini aku menumpang hidup di kota ini, mendapat apapun yang aku butuhkan. tapi aku udah menutup mata, lupa bahwa aku adalah seorang mahasiswa, seorang manusia, dan juga bagian dari masyarakat. tapi tidak ada sedikitpun dari tindakanku yang kongkret dapat bermanfaat bagi kota ini, bagi masyarakat sekitarku. bukankah seorang mahasiswa harusnya hadir di tengah masyarakat? dengan intelektualitasnya bukankah seharusnya mahasiswa dapat melayani dan membantu masyarakat mencari solusi atas permasalahan yang ada? menjadi agen perubahan dan sebagai pengontrol sosial di lingkungan atau masyarakat sekitarnya? dan dengan 'kebebasan' yang dimilikinya bukankah mahasiswa bisa melakukan banyak hal?

***

aku gak tau apa yang aku tulis di atas itu benar bagi kalian atau gak, setiap orang selalu punya standar kebenarannya masing-masing, setiap orang selalu punya konsep gimana seharusnya manusia menjadi dan gimana seharusnya mahasiswa menjadi.

Mimpi saya yang terbesar, yang ingin saya laksanakan adalah, agar mahasiswa Indonesia berkembang menjadi “manusia-manusia yang biasa”. Menjadi pemuda-pemuda dan pemudi-pemudi yang bertingkah laku sebagai seorang manusia yang normal, sebagai seorang manusia yang tidak mengingkari eksistensi hidupnya sebagai seorang mahasiswa, sebagai seorang pemuda dan sebagai seorang manusia. - Soe Hok Gie