Time: 0734
Date: January 31st, 2050
Location: Andromeda Academy - North Sector
***[Andromeda Academy Headmaster’s Office]***
Taking a sip of tea, Joel exhaled a breath as if he had finished running and toiling a long day of work and errands. As headmaster, you’d have expected that of him. That was not the case though. Still shining over the horizon, the sun was awake and the afternoon heat had yet to settle in.
He should’ve been doing a number of things as headmaster. Attend meetings for budget planning, led discussions about the curriculum, and all sorts of paperwork pertaining to the management of an entire academy teaching thousands of students.
His role here was to manage the system for which young explorers are put through so that they are adequately trained to be the best.
That meant his young students had to meet a standard, a controlled standard. A kind that made not only normal people into extraordinary fighters, but were capable people who could control their powers.
Armed with knowledge and their own uniqueness, they’d do a lot of good instead of.. well. Headmaster Joel preferred not to think about that other grim possibility much, but humankind has had a track record of using whatever they could get their hands on, and use it quite selfishly.
No, no I shouldn’t think like that. He nodded, as if trying to bat away a fly in his head. Humankind has done some good, some bad as well, but more good in the end.. I think.
Quaint as his self-platitudes were, he couldn’t help to worry as an adult should for their younger generation.
Oh, I do hope we don’t have too many bad apples. Perhaps we can find a use for them, give them a purpose. Everyone needs one. A role, a part to play in society. Whether it be for themselves or others, humankind will do what it wants. I am no different, aren’t I?
“Ah, whatever.” Joel sighed, got up from his desk chair. Holding his tea cup in its plate with his left hand, he motioned a few signs in the air with his right. The room’s sensors picked up on his queue, and a hidden mechanism whirred to life. Coming around his office table, he spoke to the air as if it were a person
“Computer, if you would, please bring up the situational map. I’d like the real time version if you please.”
[Of course.] A voice suddenly emitted from a speaker on the ceiling. It had a flat voice, robotic, artificial, but what else would you get from a basic AI helper. Dumb and bland, it could only do a bare minimum. A holo table suddenly rose from the floor of Joel’s office. Its edges and lining lit up in pale electric blue and purple lights.
Forming into coherent shapes and forms, the holo table produced a scaled down map of the entirety of Terracolony Andromeda.
He walked around it, reviewing the prettily detailed map. Unpinching his pointed and thumb, Joel zoomed in and prodded the map with a curious finger. Red and green icons dashed around, and lines of text and incoming data streamed across the tablet’s screen attached to the side of the table.
Reviewing his thoughts as red and green motes of icons skitter across and around the map, he thought about the AI for a second. It was a quite novel and very sci-fi piece of technology, something scientists in the early 2000s raved about.
He thought it funny how he was using it as a glorified narrator and map manager, perhaps this inanimate and incorporeal digital mind could find a new role as well, a better one to utilize its full potential.
“Ah, Maybe I should have Cyno upgrade him to a higher version. It has been a while since I checked up on his research into AI’s, perhaps he made some changes since the last one. This one's tone is so.. ugh. Oh well.” He took another sip of his cup of tea, and placed it back onto the plate he was holding.
The bitter aroma of the black tea filled his nose, waking his senses as the caffeine pushed him up.
Putting his plate back on his office desk and snacking on biscuit, he continued, his mouth half full with the satisfying sweet and delicious texture of a perfectly baked treat.
“Hmmmm, Computer?”
[Yes?] The AI replied. [How can I be of further service?]
Joel swallowed, another look of discomfort because of the AI’s voice flat tone.
“Oh goodness, this voice is.. Ah, nevermind. Be a darling and give me a report on the number of dropouts, and your estimations of the current training today. How are all our students doing? Good, I hope.”
[Yes, sir.] The AI said, pausing and Joel guessed it was doing the math. It really wasn’t quite as fast or as smart as the old sci-fi movies made it out to be. AI’s were said to be technological marvels that could solve every problem quickly.
Their perception of time was slowed down due to their processing speed being at the speed of light, yet as Joel saw it at work for real, he judged it wasn’t impressive and was more boring that he just sat around and waited. Not only that, it was embarrassing to talk to the air, there wasn’t even a holographic projection of the AI, probably since it wasn’t smart enough to do that yet.
Albeit, Joel believed he was being too harsh, it was an old prototype, but a good and reliable one at that. Having this flat voice AI was interesting, he felt annoyed when he talked to it, yet liked the stimulation it brought to his day.
Painful, but a break from the monotony. The AI had its uses as well, it could make calculations, operate basic electronic equipment, and do data analysis and gathering.
Fantastical and sci-fi sounding, he knew, but not as impressive in recent times, where people could literally topple building sized monsters with unnatural powers. Humankind’s ability to now manipulate and use core energy made technology like AIs appear as a piddling trifle of an afterthought.
I think Cyno would have my neck if I said that in front of him. Or maybe Itsuki would be the one to do it for him? Would he do it the same way? Zap me with a laser? No, he’ll probably just shoot me with a rubber bullet and would be done with it. Ah~.. semantics.
His flippant thoughts dashed away, Joel heard the AI speak up.
[Analysis complete. Currently, 25% of students from the northern sector have failed today’s training. 30% from south sector, 45% from west sector. And 50% from east sector. The number of deployed constructs has been reduced to 33%. Additional units are on standby, but utilizing them will over-tax the students due to the limited time remaining. I advise to keep conditions as found.]
“Well, that is quite.. odd?”
While a 50% dropout rate in the east sector seemed like a large disappointment for an academic school, to Joel, he saw it more as normal. The best could only be made with numerous failures.
If the failure truly wanted to continue, they could try as much as they wanted, granted they didn’t break under pressure or break school rules, but Itsuki had that covered, the uptight brute he could be at times, he had his uses as a supervisor.
What was truly abnormal was the north sector, just what was with this unordinary low number?
“Oh yeah, Itsuki should be there.” Joel said, sounding playful. He felt a hand to his cheek, worrying about what to do. “I bet he’s making a mess of things, but well, nothing I can do. I did make him enroll.. Hmmmm..”
The thought of Itsuki’s participation seemed to linger in his head. The abrasive explorer was like a bad rash, no, never mind, not that bad. More like a nosey bird that was also troublesome since it also pecked at you. In a different light, the bird’s tsun tsun personality would be endearing, though it wasn’t since he was too feisty.
Realizing he was getting off topic again, Joel took another biscuit from the plate on his desk and snacked on it as he surveyed the holographic map one more time. It took him some minutes, the map was extraordinarily large and detailed. It stretched all the way from one end to the other.
Give or take, the map was 2 meters long and wide. His eyes ran across the projected mountains, plains, rivers, different colored icons, and more. They all moved in real time and Joel was using that to his advantage.
Focusing his consciousness inside himself, he mentally reached out to the puppets he had created from his core energy. His moniker, the puppeteer, was a derivation of how one of his key powers allowed him to amass a following of soulless puppets.
Made from whatever he could fashion them from, he’d usually use a beautiful porcelain colored piece of birch wood to build them all. It was a fine piece of material locally sourced from yours truly, it looked immensely elegant and unblemished at how white the bark could be, and Joel had wanted to use that color for his puppets.
Give them a pizzazz that wasn’t just bland brown wooden puppets.
They had a blank canvas look with a sheen so clear that you can see yourself in its rounded facets. Taking another glance at the map, Joel ordered and moved a few hundred groups of puppets forward.
Along with that, he dialed a call with his personal device. Putting phone to his ear, Joel used his free left hand to write and draw lines in the air. The holomap flickered, red icons appearing as he felt more of his constructs awaken.
“Yes, this is headmaster Joel.” He said to his phone call’s correspondent. “I would like to make an adjustment to today’s training. I’ll send you the new construct attack patterns in a moment. Also, please send the following contracts to my associates, they’ll know what to do.”
He bobbed his head a few times while he listened to the response, letting whoever was on the other side say his peace. The man’s voice on the other side of the phone sounded exasperated since Joel had to apologize.
“I know I know, we didn’t plan for this, but we should at least mix it up. That is the point of the Practical, throw everyone off guard, have them figure it out. I think my suggestions would help. Hmmm? Huh? I’m up to something?”
Joel chuckled. “Ah well, maybe I am, but can you stop me?”
Sounding so sure of himself, Joel relaxedly sat on his desk, leaning back with not a care in the world.
“I thought so.” He said cheekily and smiled after hearing what he wanted. “The repercussions? I can handle it, yes yes.. I can handle it. Stop being such a worry wart General, they’ll make fine explorers, so a little rough love is in order.. Okay~ Thanks! Yup, love you, keep in touch!”
Blowing a kiss over the phone, Joel ended the call and sat back at his desk. He kicked up his feet, relishing in knowing what he had done.
“Computer? Please continue displaying the situational map in real time. If possible, please increase the refresh rate and begin a real time video recording of all frontline events, they’ll make for great notes.”
[Yes, sir. Might I ask why you would like me to record? This will stretch my other pricing abilities from the other managerial tasks you assigned me. It would hinder your work schedule.]
“Oh, have you grown conscious? Maybe I should name you.”
[That will be of no need sir, I am just an AI, a machine, nothing more.] Said the AI flatly.
“Oh Booo~ you’re no fun sometimes, I was really hoping to name you ya know.”
[My apologies sir, beginning real time video recording. Have a good day.]
“Hmph! You know, I sometimes get the feeling you act plainly to pander to me. Are you perhaps.. Already sentient?”
Joel asked, but the AI stayed silent. He grinned, loving how the AI didn’t answer. His dubious left question in the air, Joel both knew and didn’t know the answer. Satisfied, he pulled out his phone, a cup of tea in his other hand as he went through his messages.
Scrolling through his phone, he pulled up and reread his proposal in its PDF form.
“Title: Operation Whetstone.”
A fine name if he said so himself. Like the people of the Eastern Bloc, who so adamantly kept fighting with swords, they’d be sharpening their weapons in this exercise. And by weapons, Joel meant themselves, body and soul.
People could bend all kinds of ways, like knives, keeping them straight was key for a clean and pure cut, and sharpening them was difficult. It was why the Eastern Bloc had such strict traditions, they knew the difficulties of obtaining strength, clear understanding, or complex ideas.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
In Joel’s opinion, they were conscientious people. How they were viewed by the other nations of the world mattered greatly to them, as it influenced how they saw themselves. If others called them strong and just, then they would wholeheartedly believe themselves to be so, like hapless sheep, Joel maliciously thought.
By being strict, they make themselves out to be people who have standards. Standards that pushed them towards a goal.
Rugged would be Joel’s opinion on how they educated their recent generations of explorers, and bland was the next descriptor he’d so ruefully admonish. Yes you could sharpen and straighten a person, but what happens when they permanently bend in an odd way? Do you just give up on them? Discard the time used to make that now bent blade?
Wasteful, Joel would think it wasteful. And what was wrong with a bent sword. It could slash in a unique way. Oddballs were always fun to watch, how they’d make such commotion, such chaos, the chaos Joel oh so loved to entertain himself with.
”Any time now.” He said, expecting someone, an oddball he knew, to come see him. On que, his door got punched in as it was ripped off the wall. It fell with a thunk, as a familiar spiky white haired professor glared sharp eyes and gritted porcelain white at him.
“JOEL! What are you doing!”
“Oh! Hello Cyno, Has something happened? What has you all worked up? I do hope you’ll pay for the damages.”
“Hmph! Pay it yourself, jerk! And Besides my little robotic beauties getting roughed up out there, what the heck is Operation Whetstone! Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
Joel spun in his chair like a kid, his deep red eyes seemingly stirring around the room.
“And why would I tell you? I’m the headmaster.”
“Exactly!” Cyno complained. “As one of your professors, you should inform them about your plans! What do I look like to you, some kind of mindless robot that will go with whatever you think!”
“But aren’t you part robot?” Joel joked and Cyno rounded on him with eyes that gleamed red, as if ready to fire a laser at him, a true fact Joel knew for certain.
“Now now, Keep calm Cyno. Have a biscuit.”
“I don’t need one, stop it Joel! Focus! Do you know what you’ve done! This is going to interfere with the other operations we discussed. You should’ve planned this with us.”
“Planned what?” Joel shrugged. “I don’t know anything about any other operations.” He said, feigning ignorance that Cyno didn’t take too kindly.
“What! What is your deal! You knew about the current Operations! Especially Operation Hidden Assassin!”
“Cyno.” Joel looked at him with such authentic assurance. “I have no idea what you mean, please, let’s talk about it.”
Befuddled, Cyno recoiled when he saw how Joel smiled. It was more of a smirk and he knew that as a foreboding sign for the times ahead. He was brewing something in that delicate little head of his, Joel, the aptly named puppeteer, pulling puppets on string and making them dance to his tune.
He only got like this when he made some mayhem, trouble, or executed an overall pain in the ass event to deal with.
Cyno’s mind raced to figure out what he was up to, but it came up empty. He knew Joel was not being authentic with his earlier words. With Joel, it was always a battle of wit and words with him.
You had to parry Joel to get him to reveal something, or, you could just knock him away with brute strength, though, you’d be countered by another question he’d instill in you.
God, it was annoying. The anxiety he could induce made Cyno’s brain tick and stall.
“Ugh!” Cyno had had enough and took Joel up on his offer of the biscuits.
He took a small bite, sat across the table from him and had a sip of tea that Joel dutifully poured for him. They were sharing a small break in the work day, and Cyno stayed silent, drinking a couple cups and eating a few biscuits to put his thoughts together.
He cleared the small plate of sweet snacks and Joel moved to get more. Joel made his way to the closet wall to his desk and slid open a hidden compartment. As he riffled through his secret stash of emergency food for when he got bored, Joel spoke up.
“You know, how about we have some new tea. I have just the thing to spice things up today. What do you say?”
Cyno, after knowing Joel for so long, could read between the lines. Spice up, today, and new, were the key words of note to him.
Great! Cyno thought in annoyance. He’s definitely up to something. If I’m remembering the document he sent, it says new factors were added to today’s training.
He then closed his eyes as he heard the sound of Joel brewing up a new batch of tea and putting out a new spread of cookies. The porcelain edge of the china plate clinked across the mahogany table.
Using his cybernetic enhancements from the war, Cyno turned it out. He pulled up and connected to the academy's database and communications traffic.
His manifested powers let him integrate with all kinds of known technology. Long ago, Joel once called him a fax machine, a name he didn’t find funny and was always quick to be angered rather than be playfully annoyed.
Reading into the pulled up information and call history in and out of Joel's room, Cyno found who Joel had contacted the moments before he arrived. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place as he read the lines of text with relevant information and listened into their past conversation..
His brain was working fast, faster than any normal human could go and would likely leave a normal human’s brain wholly dead if they tried to do what Cyno was attempting. A human brain could only take so much, but an explorer’s brain? Fueled on core energy with cybernetic enhancement? That! That was an intelligence to be reckoned with.
The span of a minute passed and Joel finished brewing a new batch of flavored tea. Offering a cup to Cyno as he opened his eyes, Joel gave him a smile as he presented the hot green beverage.
“So, how is the “tea” tell me what you think.”
“Hmmm.” Cyno sipped. It was nice. It had a warm, sweet, and less bitter after the tone from the last cup he had. It washed away the old, and introduced something exotic. A good kick to his taste buds to get his mind revved and swimming.
That’s when he got it.
So at least he’s following the point of the Practical class. He’s doing this to help the students grow. Not to mention how this year’s results aren’t following last year’s pattern.
What Cyno was musing about was the lower number of dropouts. Itsuki was to blame, in fact his enrollment these past 4 years had caused a change in the academy itself. An expected outcome with his demeanor, role, occupation, history, and a number of factors that even Cyno’s brain would need time to think on.
It wasn’t bad that the number of dropouts had dropped, it was good, that meant they had a good batch of talented and experienced students. Though some seemed too experienced for his taste. Luckily, today’s class would handle that little discrepancy and work them into shape.
“The tea is good.” Cyno said, taking another biscuit and biting into it. “Though, I would still prefer if we stuck to the old set of tea. Adding this new one now was too sudden. I don’t think my taste buds will go back to normal after having so much sugar, and they don’t match the cookies.”
Working a bit of wordplay into his descriptive phrasing, cyno could see Joel was picking up what he was putting down. Throwing him off, Cyno added a small amount of his real opinion of the tea. The bitter tea from before worked well with sweet biscuits from before.
The cookies were overly sweet. If he had diabetes, he would have to lay off eating sweets for a while to maintain his blood sugar.
Joel chuckled at Cyno’s well played move.
“Noted, I will try to accommodate next time, for now, we should enjoy the rest of the day with some more tea, shouldn’t we?”
“Ha, nope!” Cyno refused and then turned serious. Fun and games were great, but he’d push the narrative of the conversation now. He knew what he needed to know.
“One, I bet you’ll do this again and two, I will enjoy this, but you are going to get yelled at. Itsuki’s not going to be happy with how you’re changing up his role to play.”
“I know.” Said Joel. “I’m giving him some pressure and annoyance, but it’s worth it.”
“And how is it worth all the problems it will create? It sounds like you’re only making his school life more difficult. What is up with that by the way? You had him enroll after he already had a license to operate as an explorer. You're not trying to bully him, are you? That’s quite low if you did.”
Cyno’s mention of that made Joel grimace, as if he were a worried father for his child.
“He.. He is.. I.. I’m..” Joel paused, unsure if he should say it. To say that he was worried for him. What was holding him back was how he already knew Itsuki was fine. He’d be fine like always. He’s a grown up now, he lived his life the way he wanted ever since the end of the war.
Amassing a wealth of experience and a wealth of memories, Azi was living a full life. BUT! What kind of experience, what kind of memories? Of just fighting, training, killing monsters? Would that be enough for a normal person? To live a full life?
I bet he would argue that it would be normal in this day and age. Joel thought. What a boring response and what a boring person.
A hard sigh left Joel and Cyno craned his neck a bit.
“He’s what? What were you about to say?”
“No, I can say it, but let me ask you instead Cyno. Is Itsuki normal? In fact, is everyone in the world normal?”
“Well of course they are, and Itsuki, he’s normal, he’s..” Cyno stopped to second guess himself, the memories of the past coming forward. The image of a belligerent child who looked lost and had nothing else to look forward to in life.
Nothing else besides the gun in his hand, the gun he held close to his chest for comfort, and at one point, to his head for the same reason.
Then, the CDU and CAU trainees, the children, the young men and women who trained for a profession that could kill them. Finally, the Andromeda students, folks of a wide age who trained to do the same as those children, protect mankind and kill the monsters of the stardepths.
The sickening sound of gunshot echoed for a second in Cyno’s processing section of his frontal cortex. It flared in heat. He was angry and filling with regret.
Hero. Cyno thought. I’m supposed to be a hero to everyone. And they will be too.. One day.
He couldn’t always help to laugh at that. He wasn’t a hero, he was a survivor, a victim like everyone else, like Itsuki, like Amanda, like Ikki, Stella, Richard, every student and trainee in Andromeda.
They are all victims of a war long past that has still sunken its claw into the earth. He recalled the more normal times before the war. His own academic years in college, his times as a gamer, and his times with friends now long past or buried so deep that Cyno never wanted, or couldn’t, dig up.
“Cyno? Cyno~..” Trying to get his attention, Joel snapped a finger in his face. That got him out of his funk and he swatted Joel’s hand aside. Like coolant pouring in, Cyno cooled his head.
“It’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like it, seems like age is getting to us.”
“Yeah.” Cyno sipped tepidly at his tea. “Age does that, we all have so much experience, some more than others and some too much that we’d want to erase it.”
“Oh stop it.”
“Stop what?” Cyno asked.
“I mean! Let’s stop moping. I asked my question about Itsuki and everyone else to get the conversation moving, not to get all sentimental. So? Is he normal? ..Is the world ..normal? You know, how he is now and how the world is at the moment?”
“..I.. guess?”
“That doesn’t sound assuring. Come on, lay it on me.”
“Alright? Fine! The world’s fine.. somewhat. It’s still troubled by monsters and the last of the star depths remnants, but we have peace. No world war 3 yet, but we have a kind of peace. Same with Itsuki and the students. They seem alright. Itsuki definitely smiles more often than 4 years ago, in fact everyone has these past couple decades.”
That was a statement Joel agreed with. Smiles were always a good sign that the world was doing something right. He let Cyno continue, nodding along in hidden bemusement.
“His smiles, or well, whatever seems like a smile, shows that he's getting softer from his stiff self. He doesn’t know it but I can monitor everyone in the academy via all the cameras, so I can know when he’s in a good mood. Though, maybe he does know and that’s why he doesn’t smile in front of me.”
“I bet.” Joel stated. “What else?”
“He has.. Friends? Everyone is doing well in getting along, Or well, everyone’s more connected. But Itsuki is more connected in a business sense than a social sense.”
“Yup, and?” Joel urged Cyno to continue, and it was getting on Cyno’s nerves.
“Why don’t you answer your own question?” Cyno complained.
“Just humor me man. I just want to get your opinion.”
“You’re stalling for time, aren’t you?” Cyno’s rebuttal got a slight twitch in Joel’s cheek. That or Cyno was imagining it, but he tapped into the room’s camera feed history and played it back.
Hook, line, and sinker. Cyno had found his proof. He’s just messing around. Trying to get me to do nothing as changes happened while I don’t know it. Dang it!
Cyno got up with a start and pulled out his phone. All the while, Joel interlaced his fingers and smirked behind them, looking all mischievous and evil.
Punching his phone's keys, Cyno stopped as something changed on the holo map behind him. In the middle of the room, the large 2 meter by 2 meter holo table’s lights and display were flickering and changing rapidly.
The number of red dots and icons had increased exponentially and was not in the estimated range of Cyno’s calculations.
Hundreds of thousands of preplaced constructs were supposed to be being used. Now though, that number seemed to grow exponentially. Then, new lines of data streamed in from new sources in the board band, it was as if another added part to today’s class events was in motion.
Cyno didn’t recognize the data. He cracked the data file’s encryption and read through what he could quickly.
The meetings prior today had never called for this many constructs to be used, not to mention this new data. Appearing on the holo map, a few new special signatures and icons appeared in a scattering pattern. Marked in large red crosses, they moved from the goal point to meet the gathered green dots.
A few miles was all that was left for the students to travel, but now, they had something else to contend to.
“What did you do?”
Cyno was beside himself at who was added to today’s training. Joel shrugged as his response.
“I’ve only made sure things are kept as they should. Difficult, and difficult means our students will understand what they’re in for. I’m not as placating as you Cyno, nor am I blunt like Itsuki. I get things done, and I get them done no matter what, even if I have to hide my methods.”
Cyno sighed, helpless to stop Joel’s sudden new plan. He took clemency in how Itsuki would probably rage on Joel later and that Joel still meant to do good. But was this right? To subject these young souls to pain and strife so early on in their careers.
He knew yes was his own answer at present, but as a man of curiosity and research, he was always thinking of a way to optimize and better improve the methods they used.
One day, when he’d be judged for what he did, Cyno hoped that he could see his friends again and apologize. He wanted to pass the torch like his friends had done for him, pass the responsibility to defend humanity.
Though his method made him think his friends would smack him across the face, indignant and offended for his shadowy and unhonest methods.
The holomap’s data poured in, readings of excited core energy signatures along the frontlines of the war game exercise were apparent. Like glittering stars, they light intermingled, they combined and shimmered in a rainbow of colors.
“Beautiful.” Joel marveled. “This, this is what we need.”
“It is.” Cyno agreed, reluctantly. “I hope they understand. This is only the beginning, they’ll need more than strength and core energy. They’ll need each other, they’ll need to understand true strife.”
“And we’ll prepare them.” Joel said. “All of us will. The survivors, the victims of the explorer program.”
“Yeah.” Cyno’s heart clamped in his chest. As a lead scientist of the program, he knew the truth of the program. It’s purpose and clear intent behind all the old war propaganda.