Thistime，shedidn’taskaquestion。
Shesimplywhispered:“I’mlistening。”
Andtheplanetanswered。
Arumblerosefromdeepbelow，notseismic，butsemantic?asiftectonicplateswererecitingpoetrywritteninfaultlines。Acrossoceans，riversreversedflowforexactlysevenseconds。Desertsbloomedwithflowersthatonlyopenedatnight，petalsinscribedwithmathematicalsymbolsdescribingthecurvatureofdoubt。
InBeijing，agrandmotherwateringplantsonherbalconysuddenlyrememberedadreamshe’dhadatageeight:herselfwritingalettertothemoon，askingwhyshadowsexist。Shewentinside，foundoldpaper，andwroteitagain。Thatnight，lunarreconnaissanceimagesshowedanewcratershapedexactlylikeaquestionmark。
InRiodeJaneiro，astreetmusicianstrummedabrokenguitar，hummingwithoutlyrics。Passersbypaused，thenjoinedin，eachaddinganotebornnotfromtraining，butfrommemoryofamomentthey’doncewonderedaboutlife。Withinminutes，themelodycoalescedintoachordsoharmonicallyperfectitcausedglasswindowstovibrateintofractalpatterns。
Theseeventsmultiplied。
Notmiracles。Notcoincidences。Resonances。
Theuniverse，itseemed，haddevelopedatasteforquestions。
Monthspassed。Years。
TheAgeofAnswersfadedintohistorytextbookslabeled“TheGreatDelusion。”Educationsystemsrestructuredaroundinquiry-basedlearning。Legalcourtsalloweddefendantstopresentcounter-questionsinsteadofdefenses。Diplomacyshiftedfromnegotiationtomutualwondering。Warsceasednotbecausepeacewasachieved，butbecausenonationcouldjustifyviolencewithoutfirstanswering:*Whatfeardrivesthisaggression?*
Yet，evenashumanityascended，LinSuiremainedwary。
Oneevening，shestoodalonebesidethewellinQingShanVillage。Snowhadreturned，blanketingthehills。Shelookedintothewater。
Nostarstonight。Nocosmiceye。Justherreflection，oldernow，linedwithwisdomandsorrowalike。
Shespokesoftly。
“Whatifwebecometoogoodatasking?Whatifwedismantleeverything?beliefs，bonds，evenoursenseofself?untilnothingremainsbutendlessquestioning?”
Thesurfacerippled。
Notimmediately。Notdramatically。
Butafterseveralheartbeats，asinglewordsurfaced，formedfrombubblesrisinginprecisealignment:
>**Begin。**
Shesmiled。
Becausesheunderstoodnow。
Therewouldbenofinalanswer。Noultimateresolution。Onlythejourney?fragile，uncertain，infinitelyprecious。
Andsomewhere，beyondgalaxies，beyondtime，adoorremainedslightlyajar。
Inside，countlessversionsof陈默walkedhand-in-handwitheverysoulwhohadeverdaredsay:
“Idon’tknow。”
Andtogether，theysteppedforward。
Intothenextquestion。