Later on in the evening, Hiro had a brilliant idea on how he would perform his graduation speech. He was at his bedroom desk either scribbling complicated sketches and schematics on his notebook, or researching countless webpages and videos on how to manipulate wireless electronic frequencies.
"Alright, I think I know what I have to do now." Hiro said with hesitated confidence. Throughout the rest of the night, Hiro planned to design himself a smartphone app that combined elements of hacking, teleconferencing, and wireless communication into one. Hiro was performing various input gestures around his computer like typing, clicking, swiping, sliding, and voice-to-text recording, with many of these movements being performed simultaneously in order to keep up with the thousands of lines of code required to create the different mechanics and functions of his app.
The matured prodigy stayed up late to work on his project, sacrificing a few hours of sleep in return for intense rounds of testing and simulation. The first few trials ended pretty horribly with his bedroom lights blowing a fuse or his computer temporarily flickering and smoking when Hiro pressed a button on his smartphone app, but through much perseverance, countless bags of gummy bears, and piled-up cans of mocha, he finally got his program to work perfectly.
"YES! It finally works! Oh, I can't WAIT to see my new plan in action when I get on stage for my graduation speech tomorrow!" Excited, Hiro energetically jumped and laid on his bed like it was a child's bounce house, put on his blanket, and hugged his big, white, comfy pillow: Baymax's arm, good night.
"Good night, Baymax."
"I hope you have a comfortable slumber as well, Hiro."
"I am… *yaaawwwn* Mmm… Satisfied with my care… Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…"
With the lights automatically turned off, Hiro slept like a baby in the arms of an inflatable angel. He was sheltered from the hazards of the outside world, where the sounds of ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks became so routine, they just became the sad lullabies for the sleeping people of the city.
In the moments Hiro was awake, he was like the soldier of a battlefield world. Through all his hidden bruises, scratches, and wounds, he tried his best to conceal his inner suffering and show everyone that he can be strong, that he can be independent, and that he can take action when the time comes.
However, Hiro transforms into a vulnerable child when he goes to bed, content to hold tight the things that he depends on so that they may never be taken away from him. Baymax's arm acts as unconditional comfort for Hiro, where no matter how many times he hugs it and no matter how tight, the white pillow never fails to satisfy his occasional void.
The next day, Hiro was at the graduation ceremony in San Fransokyo Park. The giant patch of dried grass was dark gold, and the series of decapitated trees that surrounded the patch were burnt black. The graduation ceremony took place at the edge of the park near the city, and Hiro was seated at the front area, where all the graduates were and they all wore blue San Fransokyo graduation gowns. The parents and professors who attended also sat on gray foldable chairs that were behind the graduates' seating area.
There was a large wooden stage of reasonable height in front of the entire seating area. There were stairs on both sides of the stage that granted access to higher elevation, and at the center of the stage was a podium. Behind the stage was a gigantic inflatable theater screen that broadcasted the sitting graduates.
Some of the graduates waved at the camera man and others made funny faces, trying to make distract themselves from their cursed reality. Behind the entire ceremony were formidable urban buildings that were cluttered with electronic billboards, advertisement screens, and commercial videos that seemed to flicker for eternities. The scorching orange dawn contrasted with the frigid cold winds and from this distance, the people could still see black smoke rising from the explosions and fires scattered around the bleak city landscape.
Hiro was pretty nervous. He was sitting with the rest of the somewhat taller students, having his stomach suffocated by the intense fears of anticipation. For every second that passed, his peers grew taller and darker until they appeared to take on the form of black, 10-foot alien creatures. He could never understand how these tall beings were unfazed; their arrogant laughs and twisted grins only seemed to creep and confuse Hiro further.
A couple of hours after the ceremony began, the black smoke that rose from the continual explosions and fires seemed to darken the crimson-tan skies up above. The main introduction, the formalities, and some student speeches have since passed and the principal of San Fransokyo Institute of Technology called forth the young man's name, Hiro Hamada.
"We would like to call to this stage a talented boy named Hiro Hamada. Believe it or not, this student has graduated SFIT at the ripe young age when most would start attending: 18 years old! Come on over, Hiro!" This impressive feat of youth caused the inspired audience to clap louder than normal, with the loudest cheers being heard from his friends and family. "Woohooooo! Nice job, Hiro!" As Hiro stood up, he could see and feel the golden blessing of support radiating from the audience's applause; he knew then that he had no reason to feel scared.
As the young inspiration walked past the seated crowd, he deeply cherished the hard-earned recognition and fame he received. Enduring countless hellish moments in his past, he knew fully well that precious moments like this happen only once in a lifetime. He looked at everyone with a grateful smile on his face, and he recorded a permanent video in his head the proud faces of the people, the kind words of the university principal, and the cheers of his family and friends.
Once in a blue moon, there will come a time. When the masses of people all come together to celebrate the hard work and efforts put forth by one another. No longer will they judge each other solely for their flaws and imperfections, but they will more so admire people for their shining light within.
These comforting thoughts lingered in Hiro's mind as he contently walked up the steps to the elevated stage. The principal told him as he approached, "Now, despite your massive accomplishment, we still want to be fair to all the students here and just like everyone else, you'll only be allowed at most 2 minutes for your graduation speech. Do you have any multimedia elements you want to incorporate for your presentation?"
"As a matter of fact I do. It's on my smartphone app." Hiro confidently replied to the microphone the principal gave him. "Alright, you can go ahead and start your speech right now."
The camera man focused the camera view on Hiro Hamada, eager to listen to what he has to say himself. The perfect camera angle of the prodigy was broadcasted onto the giant screen. When Hiro looked behind him to see how he looked in front of the podium, he was cautiously admiring how he appeared on the big screen. "Hehe, I sure look REAL handsome at this angle!" he thought to himself. After he heard the loud sound of the two-minute timer counting down, he faced the crowd and pressed a button on his smartphone app. From then on, he knew right at that moment that the fate of the entire city laid on his hands.
Suddenly, all the electronic billboards, advertisement screens, and commercial videos that were scattered around the city switched channels and started broadcasting the young man live on San Fransokyo. Screen after screen and building after building, his message was being sent across all directions and the information travelled across the urban roadways at the speed of light. Hiro took a deep breath and looked straight at the camera man with a golden stare.
"If you're watching this right now, then you're probably wondering, 'What in the world is this kid doing on all the electronic billboards of the city?' Well, I have come to tell you that this city has been suffering for far too long and I believe that it is time to make a change in the way that things currently run around here. If you're wondering, my name is Hiro Hamada, and I am currently at the SFIT graduation ceremony broadcasting my graduation speech."
The people all over the city looked up at the live stream of Hiro Hamada, eager to find traces of hope in their desolate situation. They found themselves a motivational leader: someone who can help resurrect them from their depression and give them the sacred words of strength they needed to hear.
"One interesting fact about me? I'm only 18 years old. I am graduating college already at this young age and if I can accomplish this much with my life thus far, then every single one of you can take the necessary steps to stand up for justice. We can't let these criminals trample over our lives any further. We must stand up for what's right, and if you are ready to take this next step, I want you to scream at the top of your lungs, 'Goodness will prevail!'"
Two seconds after Hiro said his speech, voices of people were heard shouting praises to goodness, and it almost seemed as if the entire city turned into an African American church, ready and eager to proclaim the name of a higher power that can lift them off of their sins of darkness.
The terrorists and criminals had a different plan, however, and they all seemed to migrate towards the graduation ceremony with their guns, ammo, and grenades ready to deploy. Hiro sensed this imminent danger and decided to transition to step two of his plan. He pressed a second button on his smartphone application, and unbeknownst to the people of the city, the broadcast made its way across electronic billboards and television sets of all major security centers around the world. His message was being seen internationally amongst various nations, cities, and creeds and it brought humanity to a whole new level of awareness that probably won't be felt for decades or centuries hence.
"I am here to share a really important message for you all. There is a major city named San Fransokyo that is about to fall to shambles due to the rise of criminal and terrorist activity over the years, and our current security forces are immensely outnumbered. We need aid from the major military and security departments around the world, and this is where you come in."
Hiro could see the criminals and terrorists coming in running and grabbing the people at the ceremony. The innocent people were kicking and screaming and trying their best to escape. The masses of parents, students, and teachers were all courageously fighting for their lives, kicking the monsters in the groin, breaking their arms, and limiting their access to their weapons. The grenade explosions, bullet shots, arson fires, and smoke clouds spread like an infectious plague of war. After hearing the young man's speech, however, they became more determined to ensure that goodness will prevail.
Their perseverance gave them the strength to yearn for victory from this raging intense Armageddon, and from this moment, Hiro pressed another button on his smartphone app that broadcasted this eternal war of good versus evil. His smartphone enabled its back-facing camera and recorded the bloody events of the revolution live. Powerful civilizations scattered across the planet were watching in shock and horror and unanimously decided to send in their best troops of military defense in order to help San Fransokyo win the turbulent battle.
"We need your help! Send us your best soldiers, policemen, doctors, etc.! This city is in great distress and it is only a matter of time before I…"
The screeching buzz of the timer came in almost perfect timing as…
BAM! A bullet was shot right at Hiro's arm, causing him to drop and shatter his smartphone. People fearfully gasped and panicked watching the poor boy collapse from pain.
The young boy could no longer contain his pain, "Aaaaarrrgghhh!" Hiro's screams of agony were loud enough to be echoed amongst the geography of the park. His right arm's blood splattered across his face and the bullet hole was the excruciating size of a microbot. Unbeknownst to Hiro, he was extremely fortunate, for the shooter aimed directly at his forehead with the intention of giving him a fatal blow, but the young boy moved his arms just in time.
After a couple of minutes, Hiro fainted from the extreme loss of blood. His body was relatively scrawny and was not built to handle the rapid release of hemoglobin from his body. To him, everything he saw just seemed to blur away into nothingness and the only thing that he recalled is the concerned and disappointed looks on the faces of the people. He could faintly hear the sound of an ambulance siren somewhere in the corner of his subconscious realm, somewhat assuring him that maybe, just maybe…
"Everything will be okay…"
To be continued…
