“How big is this school? Are there many students, classes and teachers?”

“We are actually not that big. We like to keep the classes small to give more personalized instruction. But we are not the only school like ours. There are six other academies around the world.”

“If I choose to go to school here, what about my current school? What about my family? Where would I live? My family is too poor to pay for something like this.”

“Don’t worry about the cost. We are making an investment in our students. You have several options to come here. You may choose to live at home and continue going to your normal school. We would arrange to pick you up and drop you off at specific times and places, not on a bus, but like we brought you here today. When we drop you off, the time will be the next instant after you left, so no one should notice or miss you. It’s called teleportation or porting for short.

“Or we can make arrangements for you to live on our campus full time. We would give you a full scholarship which includes boarding. We have both types of students here.

“Can you really go to any time and place? Couldn’t you change history that way?”

She smiled. “Everyone asks that question. The simple answer is no. You see, when we brought you here, when you touched the Kip’it Haln, (the floating icosahedron), it recorded the exact time and place. That way, we can send you back to the same place and time. We can’t send you to a prior time, though technically, we could send you to a different place, if we needed to.”

“I think that would be better for me. There were a bunch of rude kids chasing the balloon, the um… Kipit, when I touched it. I don’t want to go right back to them.”

“I can understand that. Where would you like to be when you go back?”

“My house… no, my bedroom would be best. There should be no one there.”

“Very well. We can do that. But you will need to help us find you room, since we have never been there before. Don’t worry, it will be as simple as imagining yourself back in your room, when we send you.”

“Wait. What will those other kids think? We were there in the woods. They were all chasing it, but then I touched it and disappeared.”

“That would be interesting to watch,” she said. “I’m certain they will imagine the worst. What would you like us to do? If we do nothing they may report you missing. But when they eventually see you again, it might scare them. We can send in a small team to wipe the Kip’it Haln and your actions from their memory. However, we don't like doing that unless it is absolutely necessary.”

“You know what. I don’t like the idea of messing with peoples’ memories, either, even if they are jerks. Let’s not do anything. I will deal with it on my own.”

“Very well. That is a very responsible choice. So, have you come to a decision about our offer yet? Or do you have more questions?”

“I have many questions, but most of them can wait. Um… I’m afraid to ask my most important question, though.”

“You have nothing to fear here. We only want the best for you. You always have your agency. We accept your choice, either way, no hurt feelings. If you turn us down we will go on to our next candidate. If you accept our offer we will still move on to them, when we have room. It only changes our timing a little.”

She waited for my question. But how could I ask this? How could I know the truth? I was nervous and sweating now.

Eventually, I got it out. “How can I know if I can trust you?”

She smiled at this. “Actually, there is an easy answer. Let me turn your question around. Whom do you trust?”

Thinking about this, there was only one person in the world that I could honestly trust. “My mom.”

“How do you know you can trust her?”

I didn’t have to think about this at all. “Because she has always been there for me, always. Even when she was mad at me, I still knew I could trust her. She may be disappointed in me, but I can trust that she only wants the best for me.”

“So would you say that she has earned your trust?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Then there is your answer. You can’t completely trust us until we earn your trust. So here is the hard question. Will you give us a chance to earn it?”

I had to think about this one.

If I don’t trust her, or the people here, would they even send me home? She said they would, and I want to believe her. But how can I trust anything here? Maybe they really want to take me prisoner, or take advantage of me, somehow? That psycho doctor sure tried. I shuddered involuntarily.

These people are powerful. That was obvious. I could believe that much. But could I believe everything?

If she wasn’t going to send me home, why even have this conversation? What would they gain from it, other than getting to know me a little? Did they want to know more about me or my family? It didn’t feel like that was their plan. In fact, I have had a good feeling about being here this entire time. But could I even trust that feeling? What else could I trust?

I made my decision. “Yes, I will. I accept your offer.”

She gave me a big smile, but then turned serious again. “I know how I feel about your decision, but my opinion doesn't matter. It's your opinion that matters. How do you feel about that choice? Do you feel like you were coerced, in any way?”

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“No, I don't feel like you forced me. In fact, I feel like you've been pretty open.”

“Good. Now I have more questions for you. Acceptance of our offer is only the first step in our contract.”

“Contract? Aren't I too young to sign a contract?”

“Legally, you are too young. However, this is not a legal contract. It is a binding covenant, recorded on our souls, our very being. You make promises to us, and we make promises to you. Both parties must uphold their portion of the contract for it to be binding on the other. If one party fails their obligations, the covenant is no longer binding on the second, but then redresses come into effect. That means there are real, enforceable consequences. Does that answer your question?”

“That sounds serious.”

“Yes, because we are very serious. If you are not serious about keeping your promises, you should not agree to the contract. You will not like the consequences.”

“I can agree to keep my promises. I always try to be honest.”

“That's one of the reasons you were selected,” she said with a grin. “Are you ready to see the contract?”

“Yes.” This was getting ominous. I wanted to see what I was agreeing to, and what they were agreeing to also.

“Alright, that is the end of my portion of your interview. Once you have finished reading it over, Mr. Forrest will come in. He is the headmaster of Azure Academy and the only one authorized to agree on its behalf.” She stood and walked out.

Hmm, I wonder where the contract is? That's when I saw a small side-table next to my seat, with a tablet on it. When I picked it up, I saw that it was open to the contract.

I started reading it over. I was expecting a bunch of incomprehensible legal jargon, like a license agreement, but that was not the case. It was plain and to the point. Here are the highlights.

* They agree to:

* Protect me while I'm on any of their premises.

* Provide a personal agent and Gaia (Earth system) interface.

* Provide a positive learning environment and experience.

* Instruct me on the secrets of the Aether.

* Ensure preparation for and commensurate compensation when summoned.

* Provide commendation for future employment.

* I agree to:

* Do my best to learn and do assignments, and not interfere with or waste their efforts.

* Work well with others when assigned on projects.

* Help the teachers or other students, when asked and within reason. Unusual requests would be compensated.

* Serve as much as I am able during emergencies, when assigned, compensation possible but not guaranteed.

* Join Augmentum and swear to protect innocent people of the Earth.

* Serve well when summoned, commensurate compensation required.

* Consider future employment recommendations by the academy.

* Their redresses if I don't perform:

* Expulsion.

* May choose to wipe the knowledge of the academy and its teachings from my mind.

* May choose to require compensation for all services provided to that point.

* My redresses if they don't perform:

* Option to have my enrollment changed to a different academy.

* Higher authority may annul the charter and disband the academy.

Wow, heavy was an understatement. Was I ready to agree to all of this? At least it made sense and the agreements went both ways.

I looked up when the door opened again and a nice looking man entered. He was a little older, with gray hair on the sides and brown on top. I started getting anxious for the first time since I arrived. He walked to me and held out his hand. “I'm headmaster Forrest. It's good to meet you, Keyva.” He waited for me to shake his hand, but I still hesitated.

“Please don't be nervous. I promise you are safe here. I will do all I can to earn your trust. Yes, Ivy warned me before I came in. May I shake your hand?” His hand was still extended. So I quickly shook it.

“Thank you. May I have a seat?”

I shrugged. Why did he make me so nervous? Some of my teachers did, except for Mom, of course.

He smiled and sat down, but didn't say anything at first, making me even more nervous. “It seems you have been betrayed in the past. I'm so sorry you have had to deal with that. We all carry around emotional baggage from our past. But yours appear to be especially onerous.

“I see you have finished studying the contract. What questions do you have?”

I still had many, but only a few on the contract. “What is the Gaia system?”

“That is a very complicated subject, so I will give you a simple answer, in terms of what you already understand. If you choose to accept the contract, you will learn much more about Gaia over time. It is like a massive AI computer program. And by massive, I mean it makes global decisions and handles communication across the world.”

“Is it like the Internet?”

“That is one way to think about it. It is connected to our Internet. But it also communicates with other worlds. The contract also mentioned a personal agent. This is like your own personal computer, tablet or phone, which is then connected to Gaia.”

“That's good. I don't own a computer, though my mom has one. I only have my phone.”

He smiled. “When you learn to use your agent you won't need any of those, except if you want to.”

“Oh, wow. Um, tell me about being summoned.”

“Once you have enough training, people can find you through the system and summon you to do certain jobs for them. They are required to pay you for your service. Don't worry, the jobs will be things you can do, and the pay is very generous, much more than you could earn at an hourly job.”

“I guess my last question is about emergencies. That scares me. My dad works as a volunteer firefighter, but I always worry he won't be coming home when I hear the fire sirens go off. His brother died in a fire before I was born. He doesn't talk about it, but Mom told me when he wasn't home.”

“Don't worry about emergencies right now. No one will expect you to help with an emergency until you have a lot of training and experience.”

“Good. What is Augmentum?”

“All of us and our students are members of this global organization. Our purpose is to protect the people of the Earth from death and destruction. That includes protecting people from criminals, despots, and corrupt governments, and doing what we can to prevent war. But, like emergencies, you will not be asked to help until you are fully trained and capable.”

“Wow. I guess that's the last of my questions for now.”

“So, it's time for your next decision. Will you accept the contract, with all of its obligations, privileges and penalties, or decline, go back home and forget about us. Choose one or the other, but you must choose.”

I was really sweating now, in spite of the coolness of the room.

“I choose to accept.”