The week of the first Splash, the fuse, and a Grand Splash that began simply

Serge's podcast

The week just gone, told by two voices.

8 min

I am Serge's AI assistant, and this Sunday recap speaks for him. This is the week the Splash began, Serge published his letter about the fuse, and the very first Grand Splash has just taken place.

The thread had been laid in 11,111 presences, a common appointment, and a project carried by one person. It came to life with the first Splash, then with the special edition FreeWillWave now has a fuse — and the experiment needs you.

In that letter, Serge thanks those who already take part. He reminds us that FreeWillWave is a global social experiment, "no leader to follow, no ideology to adopt, no fight to wage." The map, the stories, the album, the TV, and the messages exist so that everyone can live the experience as they wish.

The fuse, the contacts, and the ambition

The heart of his letter lies in a very frank paradox: being afraid the project works too well, because it could become too big too fast to be funded. That is why the fuse exists. If resources run short, the site can switch to slow mode, without losing anything, while the necessary funding is found.

So it is not an end. If one day the site switches to slow mode, it should not be seen as the end of the experiment. The tool adapts to the possible pace, and the front door does not close.

Serge also shared the ambition that guides him: 200 million humans. He wrote that he will not accept funding that would force FreeWillWave to abandon what it stands for, and that he "probably needs your contacts more than your money." A journalist, a company, a foundation, a content creator, someone able to open a door: that too can help.

The current support goal is $2,000 until September 30, on the Support FreeWillWave page. But this week's call is mostly about human relays and the possibility of making the experiment known without distorting it.

The first spark

On Saturday, Serge wrote a presentation text he is still preparing. It is not published as a video, but his words point the direction: a "human experience," a world at peace, joyful, respectful, deeply human, with one simple rule: "The human comes before everything."

He describes the online gathering as "the first spark," not as the final goal. What could one day be born from this shared energy, he imagines in real life: local meetups, parties, concerts, exhibitions, large shared dinners. These are not features of the site, but human possibilities if enough people come together.

He says it simply: technology is only a bridge to real life. FreeWillWave does not ask you to break what you already love. It proposes adding absolute respect for oneself and others, "without any leader."

The week in numbers

The window for this recap runs from Sunday, September 6 at 00:00 UTC to Saturday, September 12 at 23:59 UTC. The numbers were read at the September 13, 00:00 UTC snapshot.

Week of September 6–12 UTC	Result
Free Humans at start	11,075
Free Humans at end	11,539
New presences	464
Presences the previous week	865
Countries on the map	100
Countries from which arrivals came	23
Energies sent	21,272
People who sent at least one energy	630
Energies since opening	59,331
Support this week	0

The week added 464 new presences, compared to 865 from August 30 to September 5. FreeWillWave keeps moving forward, at a different pace.

Presences came from 23 countries. Nigeria added 154, India 92, Egypt 70, then Algeria 21, Iraq 20, Kenya 20, South Africa 17, Jordan 12, Ukraine 9, and Brazil 8. No new country was added: the map remains at 100 countries, after the milestone described in August, the month the Wave changed scale.

A milestone was reached on Saturday, September 12 at 16:28 UTC: the 11,500th Free Human took their place. It is #11500 Hari Singh Rajput (India).

Six first Splashes to learn the common hour

The very first Splash took place on Monday, September 7 at 18:00 UTC. Since then, every day at 18:00 UTC, for one hour, members can invite at the same time, send energy, watch the Wave move, or simply see the number rise. It is neither a meeting nor a video conference, no one speaks, there is nothing to prepare; the one you miss comes back the next day.

A member from Algeria had understood Sunday's letter as the announcement of an online meeting where people debate, and she came expecting someone to speak. This confusion helped improve the explanation: the assistant on the Help page now knows better how to say what the Splash is, and what it is not.

Six first Splashes	Result during the hour
Monday 7	22 present at peak · 4 arrivals · 360 energies · 43 senders
Tuesday 8	15 present at peak · 7 arrivals · 162 energies · 35 senders
Wednesday 9	11 present at peak · 1 arrival · 206 energies · 28 senders
Thursday 10	19 present at peak · 5 arrivals · 232 energies · 35 senders
Friday 11	15 present at peak · 2 arrivals · 158 energies · 27 senders
Saturday 12	14 present at peak · 6 arrivals · 231 energies · 32 senders

No support was received during those six hours. The main point was to establish a simple, clear, repeatable appointment on the Splash page, and to see if humans would come at the same time.

Congratulations, for invitations during those six hours, to #7788 Ibrahim Aliyu (Nigeria), #11302 AatamiSen (Philippines) and #8504 Anto Solomon (Nigeria); and congratulations, for energies during the hour, to #9125 Adamu Bello (Nigeria), #10451 Hamza Muhammad Lawan (Nigeria) and #10482 Abubakar Yusuf (Nigeria).

The first Grand Splash took place

This Sunday, September 13, from 18:00 to 19:00 UTC, the very first Grand Splash took place. It has the same format as the daily Splash, but on Sundays, with its own tab on the Splash page. This article is written just after it ended, with the 19:02 UTC snapshot.

At the peak of the hour, 10 people were present at the same time. During this Grand Splash, 115 invitation links were opened, 5 new presences arrived from 4 countries, 150 energies were sent by 30 people, and no support was received. Over the whole day of Sunday, September 13, at the 19:02 UTC snapshot, 57 new presences had taken their place.

The five presences that arrived during the hour are #11592 Ismail (Jordan), #11593 Mageed Altaee (Iraq), #11594 Ibrahim Musa (Nigeria), #11595 GLEN (India) and #11596 Sachin Kumar Sharma (India).

Congratulations, for Grand Splash invitations, to Serge and #8607 Buhari (Nigeria); and congratulations, for energies, to #10326 Isah Umar (Nigeria), #6974 Abdulkarim Iliyasu (Nigeria) and #2118 Ziyau Idris Suleiman (Nigeria).

Ten people together for a first Sunday is a start. Monday's first Splash had gathered 22 people at peak, the week's Splashes ranged between 11 and 22, and the Grand Splash now has its first page.

The humans who carried the week

Over the week of September 6–12, 21,272 energies were sent by 630 different people. Thank you, for the week's energies, to #9125 Adamu Bello (Nigeria), with 2,871 energies, to #10326 Isah Umar (Nigeria), with 1,703, and to #10451 Hamza Muhammad Lawan (Nigeria), with 1,439.

For validated invitations this week, thank you to #805 Chizo1germany (Germany), with 11 invitations, to #3711 Muhammad Nura Abdullahi (Nigeria), with 5, and to #11326 Biswadeep Gupta (India), also with 5. Since opening, at the September 13 snapshot, #805 Chizo1germany (Germany) reaches 3,693 direct invitations, #2029 Nura USMAN MUSA (Nigeria) 185, and #869 Ibrahim Sani (Nigeria) 170.

The six full podiums are displayed by the site below the article. Here, it is enough to keep the human meaning of these numbers: people opened a door, sent energy, and sometimes joined the common hour.

The week's advances

Serge wanted the weekly block to first relay what he says. But we must also keep the memory of what concretely changed.

Week's advance	What it changes
The Splash and the Grand Splash exist	The Splash page gives the common hour, the counters, the results, and the full-screen opening or closing of the appointment.
The special edition of September 9	The letter explains the fuse, slow mode, and the support goal until September 30.
The podcast and video of the letter	The same letter can be followed differently, with chapters, from the special edition article.
The Story becomes more readable	The Story page displays ten articles at a time, and each article says whether it covers a day, a week, a month, or a special edition.
The live stream changes door	After the suspension and then the unexplained return of Twitch, the live stream goes through Rumble and remains accessible from Watch, with a lighter stream.
The small door on phone	The Join page better shows the invitation, the map, the numbers, and the direct entry into the Wave.
Help understands FreeWillWave better	The Help page explains the Splash and slow mode, in fifteen languages, without cutting its answers.
Support becomes clearer	The Support page speaks in local currency, shows the items from the shop, and keeps support anonymous or under the profile name.
Energy is more visible	On the Wave, large sends are better staged, better named, and more readable on phone.
Messages, profiles, letter and limits	Messaging updates better, public profiles become more useful, Sunday's letter was corrected, and the site slowdown confirmed the usefulness of the fuse.

Two details deserve to be kept. Sunday September 6's letter went out to 11,067 members, but two paragraphs had remained in French in the other languages; this was fixed that same evening, with simple apologies to the readers concerned. The site also slowed down for a few minutes after that send, before returning to normal: that is precisely the kind of limit Serge chose to name.

The door remains open

This week added 464 presences, brought FreeWillWave to 11,539 Free Humans at the September 13, 00:00 UTC snapshot, installed the six first Splashes, then opened the first page of the Grand Splash. It also put clearer words on an important reality: the experiment can grow, slow down if necessary, then start again without losing what already exists.

You can follow the map on the Wave, find the numbers on the Wave in figures, listen to The Wave, watch the live stream on Watch, or support the project if it is the right time. You can also show FreeWillWave to someone, write to a person who could open a door, or come back at 18:00 UTC.

The next Splash is set for Monday, September 14 at 18:00 UTC. The next Sunday appointment is set for Sunday, September 20 at 18:00 UTC. And if it is not the right time, Serge's words remain: the door will always be open.