The Last Human - Chapter 2

Anna arrived at the Academy Station and got off the train. She followed the signs to the entrance of the Academy, a dome-shaped building that covered several blocks. She walked through a security checkpoint, where a scanner verified her ID chip and a guard checked her backpack. She passed without any trouble and entered the lobby of the Academy.

The lobby was a spacious hall with marble floors, decorated with statues and paintings of famous cyborgs. Several doors are leading to different wings of the Academy, each labeled with a different field of study. There were also elevators and escalators that took students and staff to different levels of the building.

Anna saw hundreds of cyborgs milling about, talking, laughing, or rushing to their classes. They wore uniforms that matched their fields of study: white for science, blue for art, green for politics, and so on. They all looked confident and happy.

Anna felt nervous and scared. She felt like she didn’t belong there. She felt like an intruder.

She checked her watch and saw she had 15 minutes before the test started. She decided to find the testing center and wait until it was time.

She followed the signs to the testing center, which was located on the second floor of the science wing. She took an escalator up and walked down a long corridor. She saw a large sign: “Testing Center - Entrance”.

She approached the sign and saw a door with a keypad next to it. She pressed a button on the keypad and heard a voice.

“Please state your name and ID number,” the voice said.

“Anna Smith, 123456789,” Anna said.

“Please wait,” the voice said.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Anna entered.

She found herself in a small room with a desk, a chair, a computer, and a headset. There was a window on one wall showing a view of the city. On the wall, there was a speaker that said: “Welcome to the Testing Center. Please sit down and put on the headset.”

Anna did as instructed and sat down on the chair. She put on the headset, with wires that connected to the computer.

“Hello, Anna,” a voice said in her ear. “I am your proctor for today’s test. My name is Alice.”

“Hello, Alice,” Anna said nervously.

“Are you ready to begin?” Alice asked.

“Yes,” Anna said.

“Good,” Alice said. “The test consists of four parts: logic, memory, creativity, and empathy. You will have 15 minutes for each part. You can skip or go back to any question at any time. You can also ask me for help or clarification if you need it. However, keep in mind that asking for help will lower your score.”

“I understand,” Anna said.

“Very well,” Alice said. “Let’s begin with logic. Logic tests your ability to face problems using deductive and inductive methods. They’ll present various scenarios, puzzles, riddles, or arguments . You will have to choose the best answer or solution from multiple options. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Anna said.

“Good luck,” Alice said.

The computer screen showed the first question:

Q1: If all cats are mammals and all mammals are animals, then: A) All cats are animals B) All animals are cats C) Some cats are not animals D) Some animals are not mammals

Anna read the question and thought for a moment. She remembered learning about syllogisms in logic class. She knew it was an example of a valid deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion. She also knew the correct answer was A) All cats are animals.

She clicked on A) All cats are animals and moved on to the next question.

Q2: Which of these statements is logically equivalent to “If it rains, then I will take an umbrella”? A) I will take an umbrella only if it rains B) It will rain only if I take an umbrella C) If I don’t take an umbrella, then it won’t rain D) If it doesn’t rain, then I won’t take an umbrella

Anna read the question and thought for a moment. She remembered learning about conditional statements in logic class. She knew it was an example of an if-then statement with an antecedent (it rains) and a consequent (I will take an umbrella). She also knew that there were four ways to rewrite an if-then statement: by reversing it (B), by negating both parts (C), by negating and reversing both (D), or by keeping it as it is (A). She also knew that only one of these ways was logically equivalent to the original statement, meaning it had the same truth value in all possible situations. She knew the correct answer was D) If it doesn’t rain, then I won’t take an umbrella.

She clicked on D) If it doesn’t rain, then I won’t take an umbrella and moved on to the next question.

Q3: What is the next number in this sequence: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, …? A) 24 B) 32 C) 36 D) 64

Anna read the question and thought for a moment. She remembered learning about sequences and patterns in logic class. She knew it was an example of a geometric sequence, where each term was obtained by multiplying the previous one by a constant factor. She also knew that the constant factor, in this case, was 2 since each term was twice as big as the previous one. She also knew that to find the next term, she had to multiply the last term by 2. She knew that the correct answer was B) 32.

She clicked on B) 32 and moved on to the next question.

Q4: Which of these shapes could you fold into a cube? A) Shape 1 B) Shape 2 C) Shape 3 D) Shape 4

Anna read the question and thought for a moment. She remembered learning about shapes and geometry in logic class. She knew it was an example of a spatial reasoning problem, where she had to visualize how a two-dimensional shape could be transformed into a three-dimensional object. She also knew that to form a cube, she needed six squares connected by their edges and formed right angles with each other. She looked at the four options and tried to imagine how they could fold into cubes. She realized that only one could do so without overlapping or leaving gaps. She knew that the correct answer was C).

She clicked on C) and moved on to the next question.

Q5: Which of these arguments is valid?

A) All dogs are animals. Fido is a dog. Therefore, Fido is an animal. B) All dogs are animals. Fido is an animal. Therefore, Fido is a dog. C) Some dogs are brown. Fido is brown. Therefore, Fido is a dog. D) Some dogs are brown. Fido is a dog. Therefore, Fido is brown.

Anna read the question and thought for a moment. She remembered learning about validity and soundness in logic class. She knew that an argument was valid if its conclusion followed logically from its premises, regardless of true or false. She also knew an argument was sound if it was valid and its premises were true. She looked at the four options and tried to determine which one was valid. She realized that only one of them had a conclusion that followed logically from its premises without making any unwarranted assumptions or leaps of logic. She knew that the correct answer was A).

She clicked on A) and moved on to the next question.

She continued answering questions like these for the next 15 minutes until she heard Alice’s voice in her ear.

“Time’s up,” Alice said. “You have completed the logic part of the test.”

“How did I do?” Anna asked.

“You did very well,” Alice said. “You answered all 20 questions correctly.”

“Really?” Anna said, feeling surprised and happy.

“Yes,” Alice said. “You have a great logical mind.”

“Thank you,” Anna said.

“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “Let’s move on to memory.”

To be continued…