Chapter 15:
The Quietus Cloud, The Witch Curve, and The Five - A mathematical, historical, and philosophical tale set in a world where the sun is about to end and a cloud covers the entire earth in eternal twilight
What did the members of the Big Five do when the news of Mr. Herzwarm's death came on the afternoon of January 1st? Here are their stories.
1. Bathing in warm water with chrysanthemums
Mrs. Agnesi Sulis Zeusleben walked away from her sleeping daughter. The middle-aged woman had just accompanied her teenage daughter to play video games together. Or you could say studying together, because the video game they were playing was a game called Euclidaemon. The game was a game that contained materials from the mathematical treatise "The Elements" by Euclid.
The attitude of being willing to play together with her daughter was what made Mrs. Zeusleben's daughter prefer to live with her mother rather than with her father. Currently, Mrs. Zeusleben and her husband live in different houses. But Mrs. Zeusleben and her husband are not divorced; they both still wear their wedding rings.
"Roslyn, is the water ready?" Mrs. Zeusleben, who had arrived in a room, asked a female maid.
The room was a special room in Mrs. Zeusleben's house that was used for soaking in hot water. In that room, there was a large pool, reaching 10 x 10 meters in size. Around the pool, there were various rocks and native plants that showed a natural impression.
"It's ready, ma'am. Your change of clothes and towels are also ready," said the maid who was asked by Mrs. Seusleben. In addition to answering questions, the maid quickly helped Mrs. Zeusleben take off her clothes.
Not long after, Mrs. Zeusleben's entire body, except her neck and head, entered the pool. That meant Mrs. Zeusleben's back, which was covered with wing tattoos, also entered the pool—the wing tattoos were what added to the impression that the nickname "The Angel" was very suitable for Mrs. Zeusleben.
Only about three minutes did Mrs. Zeusleben enjoy the warm water with a scattering of chrysanthemums; Roslyn, the maid, turned to meet Mrs. Zeusleben. "I apologize if I'm being presumptuous, ma'am, but maybe there's news that you should see," said the maid.
The news was the news of Mr. Herzwarm's death.
2. Playing the piano
Mr. Braun Bertram Wernherluft was dancing his fingers on the black and white keys of the piano. He was nurturing his artistic soul while simultaneously playing back memories of his youth. Why is that? Because the composition he was playing at that time was a composition he made when he was young.
The piano that Mr. Wernherluft was playing was located in his room. In his spacious room, besides the piano, Mr. Wernherluft also kept a cello. Just like the piano, the cello was not just a display because Mr. Wernherluft was also good at playing the cello.
Among the tinkling of the piano, suddenly a very loud sound was heard that sounded repeatedly. "What's going on?" Mr. Wernherluft immediately stopped playing the piano and walked towards his cellphone that he had thrown on his bed.
"Hello, what's up, Mr. Bushy Mustache?" asked Mr. Wernherluft, answering his phone call.
The person Mr. Wernherluft called the Bushy Mustache is Mr. Huttereich Blitzkaper Waldwuff. Currently, Mr. Waldwuff is the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Deutschtonia. "Have you seen the news? He's the one who doesn't like our movements, isn't he?" asked Mr. Waldwuff, straight to the point.
"What? You mean Mr. Herzwarm? What news? OSHI sake?"
"No!" said Mr. Waldwuff.
The news that Mr. Waldwuff meant was the death of Mr. Herzwarm.
3. Conducting an experiment in a sea
"Hahahahahahaha ..." Mr. Celebiates Iyilipmann's laughter boomed. The laughter emerged after Mr. Iyilipmann pressed a button on a remote he was holding.
"Seeing something that didn't work, why are you laughing, Mr. Iyilipmann?" asked someone who was accompanying Mr. Iyilipmann at that time.
At that time, the two of them were in one of the many research places of the Five. The place was located on a floating building in the open sea of the Republic of Polskachia. Yes, they were working on a research site outside the Republic of Deutschtonia.
During this holiday, coincidentally, both of them still had a research schedule that had been planned long before. The research they were doing was an experiment to mix water with a substance they created to produce a liquid that could be used to "farm saltwater fish" in the sea or ocean.
But so far their efforts have not yielded results. In fact, the last liquid mixture they stirred only produced greenish foam. That's what made Mr. Iyilipmann laugh.
Mr. Iyilipmann answered the question asked by his assistant, "In my opinion, it's better for us to laugh at failure than for failure to laugh at us. That's my philosophy, Malthusze."
Malthusze, the assistant, just shrugged his shoulders. Then he glanced at his watch and commented, "Mr. Iyilipmann, it seems like it's break time. Let's take a short break."
Mr. Iyilipmann agreed, "Ooo... Yes. Please. Ooo... Come on, come on."
Malthusze had turned around and left Mr. Iyilipmann behind him when he decided to reach for the gadget in his pocket. When looking at his gadget, suddenly his face looked surprised. He immediately shouted, "Hey, Mr. Iyilipmann. You have to see this news!"
The news was the news of Mr. Herzwarm's death.
4. Accompanying a visit from international representatives to a museum
"This is a rudimentary telephone designed by Johann Phillip Reis," one of the guides was heard explaining.
The guide was performing her duties, explaining various things to guests who came to the Museum of the History of Technology in the capital of the Federal Republic of Deutschtonia. The guests who came at that time were state guests. In addition to two guides and several guards, there were also several Deutschtonia citizens who were appointed to accompany the group of guests.
One of the Deutschtonia citizens who accompanied the visit to the museum was Ms. Dorothy Miriam Szyschulz. However, when the guide was explaining the old telephones, a female guard moved closer to Ms. Szyshulz. The guard whispered some news to Ms. Szyshulz.
The news whispered by the guards was the news of Mr. Herzwarm's death.
5. Enjoying the heat of the fire in the fireplace
Mr. Enrico Smarta Starkgeist was on vacation in his private home on a mountain called the Brocken.
At that time, Mr. Starkgeist was in a room alone. He sat in a large chair, with both his legs raised and stretched to another chair that was smaller. Near Mr. Starkgeist, a fireplace was burning whose heat source came from burning wood. Above the fireplace, a chimney spread out that led to the roof.
Mr. Starkgeist's eyes stared at the fireplace, then up at the ceiling, then down again at the walls of the room he was living in. The walls of the room were a room covered in bricks. There were no other materials, be they walls or wood or anything else, that covered the bricks.
At several points on the brick-covered wall, several photos of Mr. Starkgeist were visible. There was a photo showing Mr. Starkgeist standing alone in a research place for the Five. There were photos showing Mr. Starkgeist with his co-workers, a photo of the young Mr. Starkgeist with his boxing club mates when he was still active in sports, and a photo of Mr. Starkgeist with his dog before the dog had passed away at this time.
When Mr. Starkgeist's eyes were staring at his memories, suddenly his ears heard his cellphone ringing. Mr. Starkgeist immediately reached for the cellphone he had put in his shirt pocket and immediately responded to the call, which turned out to be from his personal assistant, "Yes. What's up, Juanma?"
Juanma immediately explained the matter: "I apologize, Mr. Starkgeist, if I disturbed your vacation. However, it seems there is news that you should know."
The news was the news of Mr. Herzwarm's death.
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