The room emptied. Amigo was left to ponder alone. Can he do it? Will he succeed? He’s never done it before! But then again, nobody has ever done this before!

"Hello, Amigo," said a quiet, calm and ingratiating voice.

Amigo jumped out of his reverie and noticed that he wasn’t alone anymore – two aliens in weird clothing stood close to him. The longer he looked at them, the weirder they seemed.

The one standing farther away, a young man in a dark blue cloak, seemed almost like all the other aliens.

But the second one, a white-bearded old man dressed in bright red, was too weird—even for the aliens. His eyes emanated white light, and he seemed to be the wisest person in the whole wide world.

"Hello, Amigo," the bearded old man repeated. "We’re here to open your eyes."

"Your teachers are hiding something from you. Something of unimaginable importance. They don’t trust you. That’s why we’ve decided to warn you."

"Who are you? What are you doing here? What are they keeping from me?"

"We’re members of the ancient order of Cognito Porestatem," said the black-bearded stranger, obviously pleased.

The old man in the red cloak looked at his companion accusingly and continued to speak.

"As you already know, Knowledge is the Force. The force has two sides – light, which is the theory, and dark, which is practice. If the light side of the force makes you powerful, the dark side gives you skills that many would consider extraordinary."

"I invite you to become a student of my companion and a student of the Dark Master. Learn all the power of the dark side of the force. This apprenticeship isn’t free, but it is well worth the expense. If you become his pupil, you’ll gain new opportunities during your studies:

  • Access to all CodeGym quests
  • Detailed task verification results
  • Instant task verification
  • Bonus tasks
  • Mini-projects"

"If you decide to become a student of my teacher, the Dark Grand Master himself," the black-bearded man added, "your possibilities will increase even further. You’ll get everything I’ve already mentioned plus the following:

  • Recommendations to help with the tasks
  • Analysis of your coding style
  • ReCheck (Ability to check multiple solutions for a task)"

Amigo looked at the aliens with respect for the very first time. Their offer was very tempting. With the abilities of the dark side, he could become a programmer much sooner, and it would be much easier and more interesting. But the price…

He could achieve his goals with just the light side of the force. But this would require much more work and effort.

"What is your decision?" the quiet voice inquired again.

"I need time to think it over", Amigo answered, surprised by the decisiveness in his voice. No, this was indeed his day, and the Holy Gosling would bless him.

"Think it over. To give you more food for thought, I, the Dark Grand Master of the order of Cognito Potestatem, recommend that you learn all you can about the possibilities of the dark side. You’ll find all the information you need here."

The aliens vanished as imperceptibly as they arrived. The room was empty again.