Falcor’s brow furrowed, his fingers quivering as he slowly fit the S-piece into the socket of the Q. The interior of the box that he was fitting the pieces into bathed him in a soft golden light. With a satisfying click, the yellow cube shuddered open, revealing a slightly smaller red one. Smiling, Falcor took the empty box and placed it on his shelf, a simple wooden slat showing off a series of descending boxes. His parents would be proud.

After all, Falcor was as close to the perfect child as one could get, something that his parents never seemed to stop pointing out. “God forbid,” his mother would always say, “that you turn out like the boy next door.”

Samuel, a young man five years older than Falcor, had completed three of his boxes in his first year of schooling. At some point after that, he decided he had no reason to continue unlocking his Box, and proceeded to connect his pieces into lifelike statues that filled his downstairs and covered the interior of his boxes with layers upon layers of paint. By the time he finished his five years of school, to look into one of his boxes was to look into another world. Naturally, such a disappointing son was disowned by his parents, who traveled constantly but were strict enough to hold their son to a high standard.

The box phenomenon had replaced the outdated American education system decades ago. In September 2020, a Chinese scientist attempting to find a way to communicate with bats stumbled upon a weapon that could match the frequency of many modern buildings, causing them to shatter. In a frenzied response to their rival’s newfound technological prowess, the United States had commissioned university professors from around the country to duplicate the Chinese weapon. Unfortunately, and much to the dismay of the Chinese scientist, they only developed a machine to communicate with bats. The Chinese scientist then obtained one of these machines from a friend at Stanford, sold all of his possessions, bought spelunking gear, and spent the rest of his life camping outside of the Jiuxiang caves. Out of ideas and options, the U.S. president retired to her office, got drunk, and prayed.

The next day, the death of Wilson F. Buffett led to the discovery of vast underground warehouses ten miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. Millions of square foot Boxes were found, each the same shade of green, with a small bag of odd metal pieces hanging in a pouch on the side. Nearing the end of his life, the great-grandson of the famous Warren Buffett had reflected on his accomplishments, and realized he had done nothing but watch his inheritance grow and play with monkeys in his Bali beach house. Though not dissatisfied with this, Wilson decided that he might as well do something with his money, since he no longer needed it, and went to work trying to create a toy for anyone with some free time on their hands.

The purpose of the boxes was a secret that he took to his grave, as he died a day before his doctors had predicted. Upon this discovery, a Box was brought back to the White House, where cabinet members, puzzle makers, education experts, and the president’s daughter attempted the game for days.

Later that month, the U.S. government made two announcements: the implementation of a new educational system, in which a Box would be instilled in every the household of every child who passed a qualifying test at the age of ten, and that the president had shaved her head and moved to the Vatican.

The change was met with outrage. In their anger, people tried to break open their Box to see what was so special about it, but they could not. Any attempt to break into a Box would cause its many layers to chemically fuse. Anyone who sawed through their Box would find nothing more than a biohazardous lump of plastic and metal.

The people’s outrage turned into puzzlement, which led to indignation, which led to an insatiable desire to discover the message that the world’s richest man had left for the people of the United States.

The Box, it turned out, was the perfect education tool. Somehow, successfully fitting the pieces into a box and causing it to unlock was the most efficient way to develop the human brain. Learning the pieces taught the alphabet. Arranging them taught intuitive geometry. Box levels that moved internally taught intuitive calculus. Each pattern would introduce a new style of thinking, making the user smarter.

At the age of ten, children began being sorted. Those who passed a test would receive a government-issued Box with an automatic lock to ensure that exactly five hours a day were spent working. Those who did not pass the test were sent to an industrial school to learn less important jobs. They became electricians, construction workers, poets, and so forth. The educated elite were to invent and develop new ways to catch up to China’s superweapon, which had, incidentally, only been used to destroy abandoned buildings, rocks on mountain roads, and the island of Taiwan.

Only two people were known to have reached the last layer of the Box. One was a graduate student at MIT who had purchased his Box for an exorbitant price, and the other was a serial killer in San Quentin, who had asked for a broken Box, and accidentally received one in perfect working order. Both committed suicide after opening the final box. The rumor was that the contents were so wise and fantastic that both suddenly understood everything about everything and were so content that they no longer needed to live.

Falcor was an especially gifted child, and was slated to enter secondary training for particle physics after his five years. The government tracker on his Box indicated that he was on his 52nd level, but he was actually on the 127th. Though the Box was uncrackable, the government’s technology was not. Falcor did not work five hours a day, but eighteen. He had always believed that he was meant to be the best Box user, and worked tirelessly to reach the final step.

On level 128, Falcor fitted the final E-piece into position and held his breath as the Box swung open to reveal its contents.

DESICCATE

SILICA GEL

THROW AWAY

DO NOT EAT