Off The Grid: Chile

I nervously slipped into the capsule that would take me to my new training ground. I was skeptical, yet trusting. I heard Spanish being spoken at a feverish pace around me as I was being prepped to lower into mother Earth. What have I done?

My departure from Antarctica was without fanfare. A bag was placed over my head upon emerging from my icy depths and I was escorted to a barge where I was set adrift. I don't recall the time that passed as I lived in an altered state throughout the passing. A sudden "thud" announced that I had hit terra firma. Was I home?

The familiar voice of my trainer soothed me as he commanded that I remain calm and stop fighting the hood, it was all part of the plan. It was then that I felt the confines of my tomb like transport that would take me into the bowels of our mother.

What seemed like hours passed before my capsule halted with a jolt. I fumbled blindly at a latching device in order to free myself from it's grasp. I was out! I removed my hood to find that I still lived in darkness. On my hands and knees I attempted to explore my surroundings. Yes, it all began to make sense to me when I felt the round hoops filled with spokes, however one was quite large, while the other was it's infant. This machine of torment would be the beast I would tame.

While feeling about I came across a small candle worth about 3 minutes of illumination combined with flint and steel. As the candle was born with light a small hand scribed note lay at my feet, instructions of a sort. It simply read: 

"Eki, you are to ride this wooden wheeled bicycle throughout this mine. You will establish a 'loop' by which you will complete laps until you receive further instruction. The darkness is meant to become your ally. It is our hope that while your rods and cones degenerate you will come to no longer need eye sight.

As with all of your training, it is not yours to question, but simply to obey. You need not worry of the logic behind this technique. Fear not, your shaman assures us that your eye sight will return at some point.

Godspeed..."