In the most remote monastery in the highest mountains Pamir Mountains dwells a great spirit. Wise and enlightened, it perceives the true nature of all it sees, and knows the many secrets of the world. But the monastery in which it dwells is abandoned, and a sign rests at the door. “Be warned, traveler,” it reads in archaic mandarin, “wisdom does not bring happiness.”

Ice crunched under Joshua’s climbing boots as pushed through the monestary doors. His shiny climbing hooks dangled from his belt, a thick pack thrown over his back. His coat was a bright blue, puffy with insulation. The hood was up. Frost formed on his eyebrows.

In front of him was a young woman.

Twenty-something. Modern. Bright. She smiled at him when he saw her. Her clothing hardly fit the surroundings, her jeans and grey tank-top unbefitting a Buddhist Monastery. Her hair was an artificial blue, a streak of white running along her bangs. She had a cellphone in her pocket, the edges of its pink case visible, and her left ear was adorned with a variety of steel piercings.

“Uh…” Joshua said, slowing to a stop just past the doorway. “Hi.”

“Heyyy-oh,” she called back sing-song, offering him a broad wave.

“Are you, uh…” He hesitated, looking back behind him to make sure the route back into the sun was clear. “Did you come here looking for the spirit too?”

Her smile brightened a little. She gestured at her bare arms, then took a single pointing finger to emphasize her thin clothing, and then she gestured all around them, where frost covered every surface and only the snow-leopards and mountain birds dwelled.

“Oh,” Joshua said. “Sorry. I was expecting something more dragon-ish.”

“Well, you know how it is. Blah blah, my true form would scorch your mortal eyes, et-set-er-ah.” She gave a wide, expressive shrug. “What’s up, seeker of wisdom?”

“Uh…” He cleared his throat, the color draining from his face. The words he’d spent so long thinking about on the journey here tangled in his mind. Finally he blurted out: “Why am I depressed?”

“Your internal mental image of what a ‘good life’ consists of was formed during an unprecedented period of extended national improvement and economic growth.” Her voice was friendly and matter-of-fact. “So even if you’re doing quite well by the standards of your era, you feel like a failure.”

“Oh,” he frowned. “How do I fix that?”

“Make more money, I guess? Or you could lower your standards. As far as your personal self-worth goes, they’re equally good.”

Joshua furrowed his brow. His throat tightened. It took him a moment to ask. “I always wanted one of my children to inherit the family business, but they all ran away to college as fast as they could. Why don’t they care?”

“You live in a small town,” the spirit explained. “Shifting population demographics assure that, no matter how well you run your business, it will go under within two decades. While your children probably wouldn't be able to articulate it in those terms, they have a subconscious social sense of ruin they don’t want to base their futures upon.”

His hand went to cover his mouth. His eyes looked away. “Fuck it. I… fuck it. So I don’t even need to ask why the business is struggling.”

“Actually, that has less to do with demographics and more to do with the rise of the internet and low-cost commoditization of last-mile shipping and delivery. It really increases competition. Amazon et al.” She held up her smartphone. “You know?”

“No, I don’t fucking know!” His hands balled into fists. “I came here for wisdom and all you’re doing is babbling about nonsense!”

“I’m ‘babbling’ about the underlying forces of the world that control your life.” She reached out to take his hand in hers, and gently coaxed his fingers open. “I know it’s not what you want to hear. You have your little world, and you want to believe that everything good and bad under the sun is contained in that sphere. But it’s not. You can’t understand your place on this earth until you accept into your heart that these things matter. That there is a bigger picture, and you need to understand it.” She squeezed his hand. “Can you do that?”

“But you’re talking about math. What about fate and…” He gestured at her. “Magic and stuff?”

“Magic’s important! But so is Linux.” Her tone was bright.

“You want to learn about Linux?”