"WE HAVE COME HERE TO INVESTIGATE.
WE HAVE COME HERE TO UNEARTH.
WE ARE HERE TO DISCOVER, DEFINE, AND DIRECT.
WE HAVE TO MASTER IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND.
WE CAN DO A GREAT MANY THINGS!"

Such is the directive of The Administration overseeing the Forest affairs.

From the grounds of The Administration, The Forest could hardly be seen. But The Forest was present. It was always present. If you were anywhere else in The Administration, it was obscured by something. It was obscured by the cream-colored buildings of the engineering workshops, and by the four-story garage that housed the personnel vehicles. It was obscured by the employee housing units, research facilities, meeting halls, TV antennas, alleyways and the central square.

But even a person who had never in their life seen The Forest, who hadn’t heard of The Forest, hadn’t thought about The Forest, hadn’t been afraid of it, or hadn’t fantasized about it - even a person like that could easily guess that it existed, simply because of the existence of The Administration. The Forest existed, and this enormous, gloomy building concerned itself with its fate.

Just about the only place one could actually get a good look at The Forest was the White Cliffs. From there, The Forest looked like dappled, fluffy foam; like a gigantic, world-encompassing porous sponge, overgrown with coarse moss.

Of course, throughout its operations, The Administration sent many scientists and engineers on missions into the thick of the wilderness to conduct their experiments and document the unordinary activities reported to have been observed in The Forest. But for the vast majority of The Administration workers and employees, the access was restricted.

The directive reads on: "We work together day in, day out with the common aim of learning, understanding, and harnessing the energies of this untamed wilderness. Eventually, everything here will be knocked down and, in its place, we will have dazzlingly beautiful structures made out of transparent and translucent materials - swimming pools, air parks, crystalline bars and diners! Libraries! Laboratories! Soaked through with sunshine and light!"

People! I tell you: I have been among the few privileged to have been granted entry into The Forest. I've set foot in it. I’ve conducted the research on behalf of The Administration, and I can confidently say - it’s all lies and nonsense! What we've been doing here is all wrong! We DON’T understand ANYTHING. We are watching from the outside with the biased eyes of a stranger - a stranger who doesn't understand a thing, and for that very reason imagines that he understands everything and has the right to judge.

My brain has become overgrown with Forest. What are we doing in this place? I don’t think we can ever understand.

It’s time to leave now. The Surpassment is coming!