The story begins when Michael tells his fellow classmates about the zone game, which is a sort of meditation as a sporting event. The goal is to minimize or eliminate intrusive thoughts (or mental activity in general) and be fully present. You measure progress by counting the number of intrusive thoughts you notice in a particular length of time. Ten intrusive thoughts in ten minutes, for example. When you reduce such mental activity to, say, fewer than ten intrusive thoughts in an hour, you are eiligible to apply for adept status. To attain adept status a player submits a sample of what she or he has learned from a quiet mind. This may be in verbal, pictorial, or objectified form, and helps the umpires determine the level of proficiency of the player.