Etana Daedo was nine years old the day he was to attend his first academy entrance trial.

“Etana are you ready?” his father called.

“Yes, Father,” he answered as he left his room. It was the year 2139, and Etana was prepared for the most important day of his short life.

“She’ll be here soon. I had to promise we’d go with her,” Ikaros said.

Etana nodded. It didn’t worry him. Cisse seemed to affect his father more.

A hovervan pulled up outside the front door to their small home, and a door slid open.

“Hurry up, get in,” Cisse called from the van.

Ikaros rushed his son down the pathway and into the vehicle. They sat opposite Cisse who was still in her hoverchair, which was locked into place. She’d had to order a special hovervan to accommodate her chair.

“Let me have a look,” she said excitedly, grabbing Etana and bending his head over to the side. “Wow, it’s big! Is it military grade?”

“Yes, its gen three military-grade from Svarski,” Etana said.

“It’s not big though,” Ikaros said. “His head is small.”

Cisse scoffed. “His head is massive! Look closely at your son, Ikaros. Now look at mine. It’s a gen two civvie.” She looked lost in thought for a moment before she asked, “Have you put any apps on it, Etana?”

“No, it was only installed yesterday,” Etana said.

Cisse looked at Ikaros. “Don’t you think it’s a bit premature?”

“Why?” Ikaros said defensively. “He finished cyberschool early with almost perfect scores; how hard could it be?”

“The others are thirteen,” Cisse said sternly.

“If it took them that long to finish cyberschool, he’ll trounce them!” Ikaros declared.

“They don’t do cyberschool, not this crowd. They have tutors. Human tutors,” Cisse informed them.

“I’m not concerned,” Ikaros said.

Cisse leaned forward and summoned him closer. “I’m helping with the fees. I know you don’t have enough, and I have bitcreds from the settlement too.”

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Ikaros’s face darkened and he went rigid. He looked out the window as the countryside peeled away for the city. They lived just outside Paris, and the fifty-minute trip couldn’t be over quick enough. “If bitcreds were an issue, he could attend a regional academy,” Ikaros said finally.

“Fortescue is only Tier Three, and with your employee discount, I can’t imagine you would get a better deal anywhere else,” Cisse said. “These military academies are not cheap to run. Not with the cost of mechs, exos, facilities, and living expenses.”

“As much as I hate Fortescue for what they’ve done to us, it was always Laine’s dream that he attend and become something,” Ikaros said, the sadness evident in his voice. He continued to look out the window before saying softly, “Okay.” He didn’t make eye contact with Cisse.

Sensing the tension, Etana looked out the opposite window, not wanting to intrude on the adults’ conversation. They always underestimated him; he was able to piece together everything from a few conversations. His father and Cisse possessed a false sense of security in thinking a young boy would not comprehend their words.

Cisse and his mother had worked together at Fortescue as power engineers, and his father worked in another part of the company as a robot mechanic. Ikaros was apparently an exceptional mechanic, saving the company thousands of bitcreds a year.

Etana’s mother and Cisse had been working on an experimental reactor, known as the Zero Point Energy - or ZPE - Reactor, when an out of control experiment caused an explosion that killed his mother and almost killed Cisse.

Both Ikaros and Cisse received payouts from Fortescue. Etana was sure there was something in the details about negligence or responsibility for the accident on the company’s part. It was these bitcreds that were paying for his entrance into the military academy. Otherwise, it wasn’t something they could normally afford. Only the richest one per cent of the population could.

“We’re almost there,” Cisse said after a long stretch of silence. Etana and his father had been staring out separate windows for what seemed like an eternity.

The grounds of Fortescue Military Academy were extraordinary. The first impression it gave, with its sandstone walls and grass-covered lawns, was that of a medieval castle. It was impossible to house almost eight thousand cadets in the few buildings that were topside. The Academy proper was an underground city.

His father walked with Etana to the registration desk while Cisse followed behind in her chair.

The robot attendant scanned him and sent him to the trialist’s arena topside. Every other attendee was much taller than the nine-year-old Etana. They were all thirteen or older, and it seemed like most of the three thousand trialists were staring at the short boy.

There was a barrage of academic tests including logic, human studies, philosophy, strategy, abstract thinking, and problem-solving.

Then came the physical tests, which involved an obstacle course with climbing, balance, coordination, strength, and stamina assessments.

He was not prepared for the physical assessments and failed dismally. Tragically he was given a DNF when he was unable to complete the course, and it made him wonder if he was going to be disqualified from the entrance exam entirely.

“Son, it’s fine,” Ikaros said, but he looked worried. He glanced back at Cisse, and she looked as worried as he did.

They headed back to the trialist zone and waited for the virtual attendant to give Etana his overall results.

As he walked into the zone, a large display appeared in front of him. It had the results of the individual tests, but his eyes quickly skimmed past them down to the bottom. ‘UNSUCCESSFUL’ was all it said. He didn’t bother looking into the details of the academic scores; it was pointless.

Dejected, Etana turned and faced his father and Cisse. He had failed them. But that was nothing compared to the feeling that he had failed his mother.