Frodo was the head of the Rift Valley City recruitment station. He held the rank of lieutenant colonel. Years away from active duty had changed his appearance.
"Zusanna, I need you to help set the criteria for new recruits and upload them to the central AI, ‘Fia,’" Frodo said to his deputy.
“Sir, this seems unusual. We have never done this before. For hundreds of years, ‘Fia’ has always handled recruitment automatically, following preset rules,” Zusanna replied.
Across the universe, governments relied on powerful central AIs to handle daily tasks. This system improved efficiency and reduced costs. As long as the AI had power, it could operate nonstop. These AIs had abilities far beyond any ordinary intelligence.
A country with billions of people and vast distances was beyond Earth’s imagination.
For example, an emperor on Earth might handle 100 tasks a day. In the Kabas Empire, the emperor handled billions. This would be impossible for any human.
The vast size of the empire and its population created a problem. To manage this, the Empire relied on AIs. The system now operated like a machine, following preset rules under the AI’s control.
When changes were needed, department heads had to approve them and upload the new rules to the AI. After that, the AI would follow the updated instructions.
“Deputy, keep an eye on the news. The Empire’s economy has been in decline for years. Many people rely on synthetic food, and they are unhappy. The Panhua people, on the other hand, are thriving. Many have become richer, increasing the wealth gap. A recent report from ‘Dubit,’ an independent company, showed that while the Panhua make up only 2% of the population, they hold 18% of the wealth. This has caused public anger. The Empire’s leaders have noticed. They want to suppress the Panhua to ease the public's dissatisfaction,” Frodo explained.
Zusanna frowned. She had seen the report and felt uneasy. As a Kabas citizen, she had been taught that the Kabas were the greatest people in the universe. Seeing the Panhua, a defeated tribe, hold so much wealth made her uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, similar situations were unfolding on thousands of planets in the Kabas Empire.
“Frodo, Zusanna, your authorization is complete. The Rift Valley recruitment station will now use the new template to assign recruits,” a woman appeared as a hologram, dressed in a gray Imperial uniform with gold trim. She quickly disappeared. This was a projection from the central AI, ‘Fia.’
In the recruitment hall, the metal floor creaked as hundreds of silver-colored dispatch rooms rose from the ground. The rooms were sealed, with only two doors: one for entry and one for exit. New recruits entered through the front door and exited through the back. No one knew what happened inside.
Long lines of recruits waited in front of each room. Some were excited, some were calm, some looked discouraged, and some were anxious. They all waited for their final assignment.
Jackson was one of those with a serious expression. He wasn’t sure which branch of the military to join. On Earth, he knew about the army, air force, and navy, but in this interstellar world, such divisions no longer existed.
The military in this world relied mostly on warships as their core armed forces. Jackson wanted to join the warship engine department, where the work was mostly manual labor.
On Earth, Jackson was a student at Capital Tech University. He was considered well-educated. But after taking over Justin’s body, Jackson inherited only part of Justin’s memories. Many details were unclear. Compared to the people here, Jackson’s education was like that of a child. That was why he decided to take this path.
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Jackson also wanted to become a warship pilot, like Trelia. Pilots worked closely with the captain on the bridge and had good chances for promotion. Many captains started their careers as pilots. If Jackson was skilled and lucky, he could become a captain and start his real military career.
In this universe, being a soldier and holding power could help Jackson find Earth and return home.
“I want to be a warship pilot. I’ll sign up for that branch. What about you?” Li Feng asked eagerly.
“I...” Jackson began to answer.
“Haha, buddy, you can’t be a warship pilot. In Empire’s Eagle air combat game, you were killed 501 times by one person. That shows you don’t have the skills to fly a warship. The Empire has too many warships for you to destroy. When we sign up, the central AI will check our records. Yours will get you rejected right away,” Li Feng interrupted.
The two had been childhood friends, so Li Feng wasn’t shy about speaking his mind.
“Li Feng, what’s there to brag about? Jackson can sign up as a pilot. His school grades were always better than yours,” Trelia, who had been quiet, defended Jackson.
Jackson smiled at both of them. “You two, stop arguing. Let’s focus on ourselves,” he said, trying to show maturity.
These were Jackson’s new friends, and he needed to get along with them.
Trelia had some feelings for the original Justin, so those feelings naturally extended to Jackson.
Justin wasn’t the best student, but he was good-looking.
Li Feng, on the other hand, was more average. His name, “Feng,” reflected his body type—he was a bit overweight.
In this advanced world of biotechnology, cosmetic surgery was common. But people here preferred natural beauty. Artificial beauty was seen as cheap. Natural looks were considered the ideal.
Trelia was the first to enter one of the silver dispatch rooms. A few minutes later, she came out smiling, holding a brand-new uniform.
She waved at Jackson and Li Feng from a distance, pointing to a spot, signaling them to meet her there.
The recruitment hall was crowded, with hundreds of thousands of people. The three of them could only communicate through simple hand gestures.
After responding to Trelia’s signal, Jackson walked confidently into the dispatch room, facing the first major decision of his new life.
As soon as Jackson entered, the door behind him silently closed, sealing him off from the outside world.
“Please place your wrist in the scanner,” a mechanical voice instructed.
Jackson knew his identity chip was in his left wrist. He placed his arm into a square box with a round hole. The hole tightened around his arm, as if it was molding to his body.
A sharp sensation ran through his arm.
A screen suddenly appeared in front of him, displaying:
“Name: Justin, Age: 18, Gender: Male, Education: High School, Race: Panhua Tribe.”
The mechanical voice spoke again, “Please remain still for one second for biological verification.”
Jackson stood perfectly still, not even daring to blink.
A green light curtain from above scanned him in 360 degrees.
“Iris match, appearance match, blood type match, bone marrow match, DNA match. Biological identity confirmed.”
“Please lie in the life pod for natural soul verification,” the voice said again.
A simple life pod rose from the floor. Jackson nervously lay inside. He had just taken over Justin’s body. Now they were testing the soul. Jackson didn’t know if he would pass.
But he dared not resist. This sci-fi-like dispatch room could destroy him in an instant.
This was the first time Jackson had heard of such a test. If he had known, he would have preferred being charged with treason than coming here to enlist.
Now, with no choice, he had to go through with it.
As soon as he lay in the life pod, sensors attached to his body. His consciousness blurred, and he found himself in a white room. A golden tetrahedron-shaped energy cluster hung from the ceiling, with data flowing inside.
Jackson tried to focus on it, but before he could see more, his consciousness snapped back to his body. His eyes opened. The life pod had sunk back into the ground.
He was sweating. His heart was racing as he waited for the final result.
“Natural soul match confirmed. Biological identity verified,” the mechanical voice said.
Jackson let out a long breath. The brief moment felt like a century.
With a soft click, a tray extended from the wall, holding a gray uniform with blue edges and a metal identity tag.
The screen in front of Jackson displayed: “Justin, congratulations. You are now a proud interstellar paratrooper of the Kabas Empire. Report to 996th New Recruit Training Camp, 11th Regiment, 6th Battalion, 7th Company. The Empire endures!”
The screen disappeared, and the door to the dispatch room opened automatically.
Jackson was stunned.