A strange new species?

Observations, while at lunch, in the disambiguation style.
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At a large, sprawling location in a suburban little town called La Jolla, there roam thousands of young humans; this area, known as University of California, San Diego, is a designated schooling zone, where these young humans receive what is known as an education. “University” indicates that these young have moved beyond their “primary” education, and have continued pursuing a “higher” education. They are “taught” by “professors” – older humans who are apparently gifted with wisdom and have been charged with dispensing said wisdom among the young. They appear to be the modern-day Wise Man and Wise Woman.

A clock tower at this University tolls the time by pealing at every hour; when the clock strikes twelve times, hordes of the young humans rush to what appears to be the most central location on this “campus” – a place known as “Price Center.” Why it is called thus isn’t quite clear – perhaps it is because these young have to pay a certain price to gain entry. It’s hard to be sure.

In any case, it is at this “Price Center” – which many of the young refer to simply as “PC” (and by which I shall henceforth refer to it as well) – that the young feed themselves. Gone are the rituals of hunting and gathering; instead, a far more confusing process takes place. Should a young human wish to feed themselves, they approach their designated feeding ground (“restaurant”) and oftentimes stand in a somewhat straight line behind other young humans. These people “standing in line” do not speak to one another, unless they have been previously acquainted; for the most part, the young look straight ahead, with no discernible expression on their faces except, perhaps, boredom.

Once the human has reached the front of the line, there is nothing standing in the way of their repast but another group of humans. The hungry person is separated from the other people by a counter, which sometimes displays the food the hungry person desires to eat. The people behind the counter are called “workers” – they assemble the hungry person’s meal, which the hungry person then receives after handing over strange pieces of paper which seem to be this species’ monetary system. The paper is referred to most often as “cash” though in common terms, it can also be called “bucks” (not to be confused with male deer) or “dollars.” I’ve also heard it called “stacks” and “gees” (though what this means I cannot possibly decipher).

There is no evidence that the workers have hunted and gathered this meal that the purchaser acquires from them; it indeed appears that the purchaser must acquire its meal by paying for it simply because they themselves did not arrange it. The food at “Subway” (one of the restaurants where people can purchase their food) appears to be cooked slabs of foreign meat, slapped onto loaves of bread and garnished with vegetables. An interesting meal for the human, it appears to be a popular choice among the young, judging by the length of the line. Subway competes with “Panda Express” (which doesn’t actually sell pandas) and “Burger King” (again – no king in sight).

The young people assume strange habits after purchasing their meal – some flock together to eat at what are called “tables” – flat pieces of metal lying across short pillars of similar metal - scattered around PC, while others partake of their meal alone. Those eating alone usually clutch a small device to their head at all times; these males and females speak into the device loudly and rapidly. Perhaps they are receiving instructions on how to consume their meal? Other loners plug into their heads long cords, which are attached to a small device shaped similarly to those that are held to the head. Those utilizing the corded device do not speak into it, however; as I walk past some of these young, it becomes clear that loud noises are being pumped into their heads via the cords. I can only assume it is music. A few lone humans eat while flipping through large stacks of paper bound together – “books,” as it were. These are apparently non-sentient sources of knowledge.

These young humans are a fascinating subset of the species and I plan on continuing my observations of this group.