Term 1, Round 1
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The hovervan Daedo was riding in zipped through the streets of outer Paris, its route optimised to deliver its occupant swiftly to the Fortescue Military Academy’s main gate. The closer it got to Paris, the more vehicles it merged with in a stream. They were like a school of fish, moving seamlessly from lane to lane at high speeds, never slowing, never colliding.
He had a small backpack in his lap and was wearing his bodysuit. He and Myrmidon had studied the orientation and induction documents meticulously. The last thing he wanted was to be embarrassed in front of the crowd of snobs he was about to encounter. He took comfort in the fact that he had Myrmidon. He needn’t make any friends, and if at all possible, he would avoid the awkwardness of socializing altogether.
It was lost on Daedo that he was the most watched and followed player in CyberMech; he rarely interacted with teammates and almost never spoke to his fans other than short text snippets, which Myrmidon wrote half of the time.
To him, the bitcreds accrued from streaming were a direct result of his unique playstyle and professional performance. If the fans didn’t like it, they would not watch. The irony was that the second most popular player was a twenty-one-year-old woman who spoke to her fans regularly and shared personal images and vids. Her fans lapped it all up. They were polar opposites in terms of public relations. Some commentators thought that his mystery was strategically genius, and theories regarding his actual persona were part of his or her appeal. For all they knew, Daedalus could be an old woman with a voice changer app.
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The bodysuit had arrived in plenty of time. Myrmidon tracked it all the way to their door as a delivery drone dropped it off directly from the plant in Germany. There were millions of delivery drones operating in their designated airspace all across Europe, and a person usually would not know if the drones were carrying something worth 0.1 of a bitcred or fifteen hundred like his bodysuit.
Daedo and Myrmidon had spent the entire day testing out its features and adjusting the settings including the establishment of the biosecurity checks. None of the other cadets would be able to play stupid tricks by waylaying his suit or worse. Myrmidon had synced and calibrated all the sensors. It had a view of the world like never before. A multitude of microscopic next-gen visual lenses, auditory sensors, radar, lidar, and thermal detectors allowed Myrmidon to see and hear everything in close proximity.
Daedo: How are you coping with the sensory overload?
Myrmidon: I am removing some of my core programming in relation to CyberMech and adding code for data analysis of the suit’s sensors.
Daedo: Good idea. We should remove all the manoeuvrability code we added to the core and relocate it to the cloud. You operate best when your core code is lean.
Paris was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The architecture in the outskirts was twenty-second-century glass with elegant structures, while the central parts of Paris where heavily regulated to maintain the sandstone look, limiting building height to a few stories. There were no glaring or colourful signs; there was no need. Everything was easily found using apps, and if one really wanted, they could use a visual overlay which made central Paris look garish.
The hovervan made its way south running along the Seine towards Versailles. The Fortescue Military Academy occupied grounds to the north and west of the Palace of Versailles. It was a magnificent area with grassland and forests close to central Paris. There were too few buildings for an academy housing over seven thousand cadets aboveground. Most of it was built underground to maintain the aesthetics of the area.
The academy was the size of a large town itself, far too large to house less than ten thousand cadets and staff. It also had two thousand robot servants that did everything from cooking and cleaning to maintaining gardens and grounds security.
Aboveground, the structures were made of elegant sandstone with clay tiles and were at most two stories high, probably due to its proximity to Versailles Palace; glass monoliths would have dwarfed the palace, ruining the scenery. From the layout drawings, Daedo knew that the aboveground buildings were a façade, used only for teachers and offices. All the cadet living quarters, lecture halls, labs, and arenas were underground. The battle arenas stretched for kilometres in all directions and were more than a hundred metres belowground in places.
As Daedo’s hovervan approached the main gate, it became apparent that he was one of the very few using public transport. In the park outside the academy were VTOLs, fancy reactor bikes, luxury carriers, military carriers, and even a few mechs.
Both he and Myrmidon were fascinated.
Myrmidon: We have seventeen minutes before we have to report to the auditorium. I calculate it will only take two minutes to run from here. That leaves fifteen to inspect the vehicles.
Daedo: You don’t have to tell me twice.
Daedo ran to the first military carrier. It was parked with presumably no one inside, but as soon as he approached, a security bot stood up on the roof. It had been lying down in what was a bed moulded to its shape on top of the vehicle.
He didn’t let the appearance of the bot deter him. It would have strict rules of engagement, and unless he broke the law, like damaging or attempting to steal the craft, it could not touch him. Even if he was stupid enough to commit a crime, it would be authorised to prevent and detain him only. If he only looked, it could do nothing other than appear menacing as it brandished its handheld railgun.
“Woah,” Daedo said. He had never seen a handheld railgun in person.
The carrier was impressive. Its alloy armour was exotic and unknown to him. The wheels and tires were massive. It looked like a tank; it could certainly take a hit. He resisted the urge to touch it.
“Why are you looking at that piece of junk?” someone asked from behind him.
Myrmidon: House Osiris Squad One, male M3 cadet. Unknown identity.
Myrmidon was helpful; he recognised the year and hour by the colouring on the boy’s suit. Pity he couldn’t give tips on what to say. Myrmidon would have to work on that.
“Err,” Daedo non-answered, turning to look at the older boy. He wanted to ask why it was a piece of junk but got tongue-tied for some reason.
“My company makes the Marais UTX,” the boy said. “It has fifteen per cent more durability, thirty per cent more acceleration, and two superior robot sentries. And it’s about the same cost as this thing; I don’t know why anyone would buy it.”
Daedo just stood there looking dumb.
“I am Jeram Marais.” The boy held out his hand.
Myrmidon: The Marais Trust owns forty-two per cent of the Marais Group shares and fifty-one per cent of the voting shares.
Daedo: What’s a voting share? Never mind. So, it’s his family’s company?
Myrmidon: Yes. The trust has sixteen beneficiaries of varying size.
“Etana Daedo, M1,” Daedo said, shaking Jeram’s hand awkwardly.
“A word of advice, M1. Once we pass through the gate, only use last names,” Jeram said.
“Okay,” Daedo mumbled.
“Remember what I said. Junk.” And he pointed at the offending military carrier before scampering off through the gates.
Myrmidon: We should leave as well. Time of arrival is now four minutes. We may need the contingency of two minutes in case of congestion.
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Daedo acknowledged Myrmidon's advice and began to run towards the auditorium. He began to walk once he was inside the main gate, he then passed through an unobtrusive security scan, before entering the foyer to the first years’ auditorium.
This was one of six underground auditoriums, the one designated for M1 cadets. The foyer was comprised of a waiting area and a mass of electromagnetic rail elevators embedded on two walls; one for entry and the other for the exit. Daedo was one of the last to arrive and joined a cluster of cadets in an elevator that took them down and across to the auditorium.
There were 1,275 cadets in M1, comprised of five houses with 255 cadets each, all crowded into the auditorium looking for a place to sit.
A short, thin man in a dark grey suit with cobalt trim stood on the dais, flanked by five other adults wearing white suits with different coloured insignias: purple, green, red, blue and one that had white with small amounts of black. The colours signified the different houses – Horus, Osiris, Amun-Ra, Shu, and Thoth.
The man in the dark grey suit said, “Welcome to Fortescue Military Academy, M1 class of 2142. Stop wondering where you will sit; you will be standing for the duration of this induction. My name is Commander Malet. I am the head of M1 and will follow you through to M3, as will your house leaders. Let me introduce them now.” He turned, indicating the house leaders in order from his right to left.
The first was a tall, blonde man with a tinge of red in his short hair and a neatly trimmed beard. “This is Master Becker of Horus,” Malet said. “He hails from The Bavarian Academy. His achievements, as well as those of all the masters, can be found in your induction brief. These achievements include leading his Squad Zero team to victory for the last three years.”
The second was an older woman with pale skin and dark hair. “This is Master Ustinov of Osiris. She is an alumnus of the highly regarded Svarski Military Academy. She has a wealth of knowledge on tactics and strategy from her many years as a master in a Tier One academy. We are lucky, especially House Osiris, to have her guidance.”
The third was a red-haired, bearded and freckled man, probably in his early thirties. “This is Master Gilley. He hails from several academies; please refer to your brief.”
As Commander Malet introduced each master, they stepped forward, and a banner appeared on the wall behind them. There were three banners with their colours and insignia. The masters spaced themselves apart on the dais to align with the banners behind them.
The fourth was a tall, olive-skinned man with dark hair, a pointy beard, and moustache. “Allow me to introduce, for the first time to the Fortescue Academy, Master Haddad, who graduated last year from the promoted Abu Dhabi Military Academy. They achieved first place in the third tier – our tier – and were therefore promoted to the second tier. Master Haddad was instrumental in this achievement. We are fortunate to have him here at Fortescue Military Academy. He will lead House Shu.”
Daedo looked at the fifth and last master. The master was dressed in an almost pure white armoured suit with patches of black underneath the armour plates and a full-faced helmet.
The face of the helmet had no visible air or eye sockets. Like Daedo’s holo helmet, the front of the face was a flat plate, and it most likely had eight or more cameras pointing in all directions. From looking at the master, he could not tell if they were a man or a woman.
“And lastly, we have Master Nader of House Thoth,” Commander Malet finished. He mentioned no history or origin at all for Master Nader. He didn’t even mention if the master was a he or she.
The insignia for House Thoth on its black and white standard looked like an abacus. All of the standards had obscure patterns in different shades of their colours. Amun-Ra was several shades of red from light to dark. Similarly, Shu’s banner was several shades of blue, predominately light with a dark swirling insignia which was indicative of a gust of wind.
While the suits of the first four houses were all white with small amounts of their house colour, which denoted year level and achievements, Thoth was different. It had two colours on its banner – if they could be called colours – black and white. And its suit was a stark contrast in style from the other four houses. It started off black with white epaulettes and patches added in accordance with advancement and achievements.
“Now down to business,” Master Malet announced, breaking Daedo out of his reverie. “We have 1,275 cadets in attendance in each year. With this being your first year, you will be assigned a house.
“We could stand here all day and announce the assignments, or we could direct message you. But if you had read your induction documentation thoroughly, you would have already given the academy privileges on your suit to adjust colour. With that being a mandatory feature of your suit this will, of course, be no problem for you. This is your first test. We will now learn which of you cannot follow simple instructions.”
With a wave of his hand, most suits in the room rippled to white, with a splash of colour denoting their house assignment.
“All cadets whose suit did not change colour will receive one personal and one house demerit,” Commander Malet said coldly. “I suggest you read the relevant part of the induction document now. You have thirty seconds before receiving your second demerit.”
Daedo immediately knew which house he was assigned to. His suit did not turn white; it had stayed black, but two small white patches appeared on top of his shoulders. He was Thoth. The house with primary aspects of calculation and research.
Myrmidon: We were both incorrect.
Daedo: We should have known. They only have our academic results and profiling to base house selection on.
Myrmidon: The document also refers to siblings. There is a predisposition to be placed in the same house as a sibling, although not an absolute rule.
“It is good to see the majority of cadets followed the instructions,” the commander said. “Please proceed to your designated house area as marked on the floor and ceiling.”
Coloured lines sprouted from the banners behind the house masters and headed down the auditorium on both the ceiling and floor, clearly designating the correct area for the cadets. Being shorter than most, Daedo headed to the front and pushed his way through the crowd to stand at the far-right corner looking forward and left across all the masters.
The masters were standing from right to left, facing out towards the cadets. Master Nader was on the far right, where Daedo was standing with his backpack.
Part of his fees paid for general house clothes, which would be supplied to their room upon arrival. All academic material was digital, and the only hardware required was his military-grade cybernetic implant. The uniform was strictly his polymer bodysuit, which was ultrasonically self-cleaning. The only item in his backpack was his helmet, which, in hindsight, he could have fitted to his back as other cadets had done. He could see a few of them with large luggage bags, while most of the others had nothing.
“I like your bodysuit,” said a girl standing directly behind him.
He turned to look at her. She was wearing the same custom Axel suit and wasn’t much taller than him.
Myrmidon: She has a few modifications that were not available in the store. I am not even sure what they are, but I can see two divergent modifications.
“Ah … um …” he stuttered, nodding at her bodysuit. “Nice suit. Um …”
She held a finger to her lips and indicated the stage. She had dark, straight hair, slightly shorter than shoulder length. It appeared she had less white on her shoulders than Daedo. It would take Myrmidon's precise sensory analysis to work out the epaulettes.
“You will be grouped into thirty-one squads of eight,” Commander Malet was saying, “in addition to Squad Zero which will have seven cadets. The top-ranking cadets, based on the entrance exams and profiling, have been placed in Squad Zero.” He gave no reason for the dissimilarity in numbers between Squad Zero and the rest of the squads. The number of cadets per house had significance – 255 was the max value of the eight-digit binary number. Teams of eight also had significance; the inter-academy competition team event was eight mechs. It was also the same number of team members in a CyberMech match.
“A number from zero to thirty-one will be generated on your suit, in house colours, and will remain for the entire year,” the commander said and waved his hand again.
Much to Daedo’s surprise, a zero showed up on his upper right chest, and Myrmidon informed him there was one on his back as well. He looked around at the girl who had spoken to him, wanting to see what house she was placed in. She had been friendly and had an interesting suit. There was less than a three per cent chance she was in his same squad, yet there it was on her right shoulder – a zero. He opened his mouth in surprise, and she smiled back.
“Axel bodysuits are for the elite, so I’m not surprised,” she said.
“You have four minutes to assemble in your groups, and then you will head to your quarters for accommodation acquisition and your first team building assignment,” the commander said. “Get to know your teammates’ strengths, weaknesses, and disposition. You will write a report on each of your teammates and submit it before 2100 this evening.
“Follow your induction document closely from now on; demerits will ramp up for compound infractions.” He finished by saying, “All personal demerits will affect your ranking, and house demerits will be viewed poorly by your peers and house master.”
“What’s your name?” the girl asked.
“I am Daedo. What’s yours?” he said slowly. He knew that they were supposed to refer to themselves, their fellow cadets, and their teachers by their family name, and he was becoming more comfortable talking to other cadets.
“Axel-P,” she said.
“Axel-P?”
“Yes, my family name is Axel. My twin brother is in M1. He is Axel-J. His first name is Jules and mine is Pascale.”
Daedo: Myrmidon, I think her family made the suit we’re wearing.
Myrmidon: That could explain her unknown modifications, with a high probability that they are experimental or restricted.
Daedo knew not to call her Pascale, but he thought she might be wrong about being called ‘Axel-P.’ It was probably supposed to be ‘Axel-Zero,’ given what the academy documentation on naming convention stated.
“Are you sure that I’m not supposed to call you Axel-Zero?” he asked.
She was looking around for other zeros. “Oh yeah, probably. We worked out this system at home. I only skimmed the induction manual. We should wait here; it’s logical that zeros should head to the front, and we’re already here together.”
It did not take long for the seven members of Squad Zero to gather. They were all rank zero for a reason, and for the first time in his life, Daedo was curious about others his age.