The Wave passes 500 and finds an explanation in 15 languages

The Sunday podcast

Season 1 · Episode 2

The week just gone, told by two voices.

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Sunday August 9, 2026, around 19:00 UTC, the Wave crossed a significant milestone: we are now 504 Free Humans in 37 countries.

Thursday, in the story of the day the Wave learned to spread farther, we were 452. Since then, 52 new presences have taken their place, two countries have lit up, and number 500 has entered history.

This Sunday also tells another story: FreeWillWave becomes easier to show. The project explanation now exists in a watchable form, in fifteen languages, with real buttons at the end. For someone who wants to pass on the idea, this changes a lot: they no longer need to explain everything themselves.

Number 500 now exists

On August 9 at 03:03 UTC, #500 Collins Kiprop (Kenya) took their place. Number 500 is a simple mark, almost round, but it says something real: five hundred places have been assigned since the opening of FreeWillWave.

It is not a more important arrival than the others. It simply becomes a marker in the memory of the project, like a pebble placed on the path. There were the first countries, the first invitations, the first channels, and now there is this threshold.

At the time of this reading, the latest arrival is #504 Mustapha Abdullahi (Nigeria), on August 9 at 16:05 UTC. Between these two moments, the Wave has continued to advance without spectacular noise, but with a regularity that ends up building something.

The days also tell the rhythm. August 6 reached 65 arrivals over the full UTC day, in continuity with the movement already told on Thursday. Then there were 26 arrivals on August 7, 13 on August 8, and 6 on August 9 at 19:00 UTC, while the day was not over.

Togo and China light up

Since Thursday, two new countries have appeared on the Wave map. Togo lit up on August 6 at 21:48 UTC. China joined on August 7 at 03:00 UTC.

Each time, it's the same small shift: before, the country was not visible in the story of FreeWillWave; after, it is. A first presence opens a possibility. It promises nothing on behalf of others, but it creates an entry point, a trace, a place in the world where the Wave now has a human reality.

We are therefore present in 37 countries. The most numerous countries are Nigeria with 158 Free Humans, Canada with 49, the United States with 48, the United Kingdom with 41, France with 36, Kenya with 29, Uganda with 24 and India with 19. New Zealand has 12, Australia 9, South Africa 8 and the Philippines 7.

Above all, I keep from this week the image of a map that continues to fill in little by little. Some countries grow quickly, others appear for the first time, and each adds a presence that no one could count before it existed.

Nigeria continues to carry the invitations

On Thursday, I was already telling about a shift: invitations between members had suddenly gained momentum. This movement extends what is told in the August 6 article, after the first chains described in the August 4 story.

But Sunday also serves to reread what the numbers become when we take a step back. And there, the Nigerian inviters are clearly visible. The first six validated inviters are all in Nigeria.

#388 Abdulmumin Yahaya (Nigeria) invited his 32 people between August 5 at 21:11 UTC and August 8 at 05:23 UTC. #413 YAHUZA IDRIS (Nigeria) invited his 23 people between August 6 at 10:25 UTC and August 7 at 14:09 UTC.

I'll say it simply: big big up to Nigeria, big up and thank you. This country is not just swelling a total. It shows, this week, that FreeWillWave can circulate from human to human at a speed I cannot produce alone.

An explanation you can watch in your language

I also spent a lot of time making FreeWillWave easier to understand without having to re-explain everything each time. The project explanation has become a page to watch, in fifteen languages: English, French, Spanish, Argentine Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Chinese and Japanese.

The change is very concrete. You can send a link, the person watches for a little over three minutes, and they understand what the Wave is in their language. This explanation is on the listen page, but also on the home page, on the Wave map, on each invitation page, and just before taking a place.

Initially, the explanation was me talking. But a recorded voice doesn't really translate. I tried to make it into a video several times during the day, then I ended up deciding: it shouldn't be just a video, but the page itself.

The reason is simple. At the end, there are nine useful destinations: taking a place, seeing the map, following the channels, reading the blog, listening to the music, and other doors of the site. In a video, you would have to copy them. On the page, they are real buttons, clickable, at the right size.

Everything is generated: the voices, the translations, and the music comes from the project song. It's not a gimmick. It's a way to remove an obstacle to sharing: from now on, someone can show FreeWillWave without having to carry the whole explanation on their shoulders.

Energy lost a bad cap

Energies have continued to beat. Since opening, 2 101 energies have been sent, including 718 over the last seven days. In total, 122 different people have sent at least one.

This week, I changed a rule that precisely punished the most present people. Before, energy was capped at thirty per day. Now, you can send in batches of thirty, then the orb rests for an hour, and wakes up on its own.

This change comes from real usage. #40 Alistair A (New Zealand), with 226 energies since opening, was hitting the cap. A daily cap may seem reasonable on paper, but it becomes absurd if it precisely blocks the people who keep this gesture alive.

There was also an incident. For about fourteen hours, the energy orb didn't work for anyone: last sent on August 7 at 17:39 UTC, returned on August 8 at 07:22 UTC. The most annoying thing is that the animation was still playing on screen, so nothing clearly indicated it.

It was #40 Alistair A (New Zealand) who reported it, after three attempts and an error message that only suggested trying again. It's fixed, and the message now says what's really happening. This kind of comment matters a lot, because a living project also corrects itself thanks to people who stumble on something and take the time to say it.

The Wave remains visible on air

Since the first Sunday when the Wave read itself, the channel has continued to run. At the time of this reading, it is live on the Watch page. Since August 1st, it announces its own format on screen: a new show at the top of each hour, then the album karaoke in between, with the UTC time of the next show.

I also adjusted how events remain visible. When an energy is sent, the announcement at the bottom of the screen can now stay up to forty seconds if nothing else is waiting its turn. Before, it disappeared after nine seconds. Nine seconds is sometimes just enough time to turn your head and miss it.

The energy badge now displays the person's real number, not just the milestone reached. #2 Lionel (Belgium) had sent 129 energies, but his badge was showing 'Energy · 100'. The congratulations continues to arrive at milestones, but the visible number now tells the reality.

The channel also knows how to display a support card in the bottom strip, with a logo, a name, and a thank-you line. There is no new support this week, and support payments are not yet open. It is simply ready so that, when the time comes, the channel can clearly say who helps it.

What this Sunday keeps in memory

This week is not just about a threshold, even if the 500 Free Humans will remain a marker. It also tells of two new countries, a strong presence of Nigeria in invitations, 2 101 energies since opening, an error fixed thanks to a comment, and a project explanation now available in fifteen languages.

You can follow the rest on the Wave map, check the numbers in the detailed data, watch the shows on the FreeWillWave channels, listen to the album on the music page, or leave a comment from the messaging.

What I take away above all is that FreeWillWave is becoming more transmissible. Humans take their place, others show the door, some send energy, others report what's wrong, and the tool becomes clearer for the next person.

The next page will still depend on these free gestures. A link shown at the right time, one more presence on the map, an energy sent, a song shared, a useful comment: these are simple things, but they are what give the Wave its real shape.