Schooled
Page 19
Lyla turned to check on Faith, who was blinking and rubbing her forearms, “You just teleported us here, didn’t you.”
Lyla nodded. She turned to face Goru again just in time to spot Milo reaching the top of the stairs behind them. “Hey, hey the gangs all here,” Lyla said in a singsong voice.”
“Not the whole gang,” Milo grumbled.
“How is she?” Goru asked.
Milo growled, “Stable, I guess, the doctor wouldn’t let me see her. There is some kind of ethical crap about not forcing a pairbond on her.”
“What?” Lyla asked.
Milo grimaced, “They are worried that if I were to see her too soon after her metamorphosis that she might pairbond to me, and they don’t want to risk that happening until she is informed of the risk. Ironically, if the simultaneous metamorphosis triggered a pairbond between them, they will be put in practically the same room.”
“And you are less than pleased about that…” Goru stated.
“She is my damn twin. You have no idea how close that makes us,” Milo argued.
“Hmm, I don’t. You’re right, I am only a triplet!” Goru snapped back.
Milo’s eyes opened wide, revealing tears welling at the corners. “I am sorry Goru! You do understand what I am going through, both of your sisters abandoned you!”
Goru frowned and remained silent. Lyla could practically feel the waves of grief radiating out from Goru. “Goru, are you okay?”
He forced a smile and nodded, “Who needs a family like that, anyway? The headmistress sent for us, shouldn’t we report to her office?” Goru gestured to the ornate door.
Everyone nodded, and as a group they went to the office. Lyla got there first and knocked loudly. The headmistress opened the door before Lyla was done with the first knock. “Welcome back. Come in, sit.”
Everyone proceeded to enter and took the same seats they had the day before. Lyla waited until the headmistress was seated too before she asked, “What can we do for you headmistress?”
She smiled, “You nine can call me Ms. D’llen. I am your faculty adviser, or will hopefully be. I was hoping you had some answers for me…”
Lyla looked around, only seven of them were present, “I believe we do, but Beaker and Millie…”
“I know, but I believe we should proceed as though they were in favor of this. They are free to refuse but I doubt they will,” Ms. D’llen stated.
Lyla had to admit she had to agree. Beaker seemed to be excited by the prospect. Millie, well Lyla had a hunch whatever Milo and Beaker decided she would go along.
“Down to business, Goru what is your answer,” Ms. D’llen asked.
“I choose to accept. Someone needs to keep these guys in check and on task,” Goru stated. Lyla knew his reasons were more personal, but it wasn’t her place to state them for him.
“I am capable of doing that,” Lyla stated winking at him. He smiled back.
“I will assume that is an acceptance,” Ms. D'llen stated, “What about you Stone?”
“I am interested. I am fairly certain i am ready to accept,” Stone answered.
“Good, Fubar?”
Fubar shook her head no, “I can’t accept. I just think I would be opening myself up to being an object of fear and prejudice.” Headmistress D’llen smiled, she picked up a tablet from a table next to her chair, “I respect that Fubar, you can remain with your other dorm-mates. Your class assignments are on this pad. Move along you’re running late.”
“Could we discuss my changing faculty adviser? Nothing against Tawny, but I think I could learn more from Mr. Wolfhand,” Fubar stated accepting the tablet.
The headmistress picked up another tablet and tapped at it, “Your possessions have been moved to orange dormitory level three, there was a fortuitous opening in the girl’s dorm.”
Lyla blinked, it was strange how quickly the headmistress had Fubar squared away. It was like she expected Fubar to refuse. Lyla watched Fubar leave.
“Scout?” The headmistress directed at the other razorwolf on the cushion on the floor.
“Damn straight, I am accepting!” Scout said and finished with a full-throated howl of excitement. The exuberance of his response was contagious. Faith’s falcon kak-kak-kakked her agreement at the emotion.
“Faith, Hope, how are you siding?” The headmistress asked turning to face the pair.
“Well, if you can’t tell from Hope’s outburst, I guess I have to be the one to accept,” Faith replied.
“I have chosen to accept as well,” Milo stated before the headmistress could ask.
“Well, that was not unexpected. The rest of you are welcome to take up residence in the top floor of the red dormitory. Your things have already been moved. I will be your faculty adviser. Your lessons will be assigned at your own pace. You will receive the first ones after lunch. I am giving you this morning to get settled in your new rooms,” She gestured to the transport platform.
"Hold it!” Maeve interrupted through the room’s speaker, “I want to join them they will need a program to keep them in line and organized.”
"It has already been arranged. You will find a room assigned to you as well, along with a little surprise,” The headmistress replied.
"Okay,” Maeve responded sheepishly through the speaker.
“I have a few projects to prepare for. If you wouldn’t mind?” The headmistress gestured to the transport platform again. It was a clear dismissal. Lyla and the others took the hint, following Goru.
- - - - - - -
There were a lot of things Maeve knew. She had access to the full electronic network of the Preserve. She had proven adept at hacking to get information, cajoling and bribing other programs to get the information she needed. But none of that comforted her at the thought of her favorite group of students moving to another dormitory unit without her. She enjoyed their company. Faith appreciated her as a person. They all did such strange and unpredictable things. She wanted to stay with them just to see what would happen next. The idea of listening to Ibu and Inu prattling on about fashion was entertaining but not very stimulating.
As an AI, there were certain limitations she faced. One of the main ones was the core deep suppression of personal initiative. She was not supposed to consider making major decisions without fleshy direction. She wasn’t supposed to be able to decide that she wanted more than the inane banter of the students remaining in the purple dorms. She wasn’t supposed to come up with the idea of hacking her way into the headmistress’s office uninvited, or unannounced. At most all she should be able to do was send a message to the headmistress requesting to be present for the meeting.
There was no time to make the request. Her chosen peers were a good portion of the way there. The meeting would be over and things would be decided without her input before she was authorized to listen in.
Maeve made a decision. She bypassed the core code and began hacking her way into the headmistress’s office and home. She broke through the firewall in time to hear the headmistress welcome her friends, “Welcome back. Come in, sit.”
There was another moment’s jiggering before Maeve had access to the cameras. By that time, everyone was seated by the headmistress’s fireplace.
Lyla spoke first, “What can we do for you headmistress?”
The headmistress smiled, “You eight can call me Ms. D’llen. I am your faculty adviser, or will hopefully be. I was hoping you had some answers for me…” Maeve did the electronic version of blinking, the headmistress didn’t seem the type to miscount, only seven of Maeve’s classmates were present, was the headmistress including Maeve?
Lyla answered the headmistress, “I believe we do, but Beaker and Millie…”
“I know, but I believe we should proceed as though they were in favor of this. They are free to refuse but I doubt they will,” Ms. D’llen stated, “Down to business, Goru what is your answer.”
“I choose to accept. Someone needs to keep these guys in check and on task,” Goru stated.
“I am capable of doing that,” Lyla stated winking at him. He smiled back.
“I will assume that is an acceptance,” Ms. D’llen stated, “What about you Stone?”
“I am interested. I am fairly certain I am ready to accept,” Stone answered.
“Good, Fubar?”
Fubar shook her head no, “I can’t accept. I just think I would be opening myself up to being an object of fear and prejudice.”
Headmistress D’llen smiled, she picked up a tablet from a table next to her chair, “I respect that Fubar, you can remain with your other dorm-mates. Your class assignments are on this pad. Move along you’re running late.”
“Could we discuss my changing faculty adviser? Nothing against Tawny, but I think I could learn more from Mr. Wolfhand,” Fubar stated accepting the tablet.
The headmistress picked up another tablet and tapped at it, Maeve could easily the headmistress was playing a word game, rather than rearranging housing. She won her level and lowered the tablet. It was clear to Maeve that the headmistress had already planned for this eventuality. “Your possessions have been moved to orange dormitory level three, there was a fortuitous opening in the girl’s dorm.” Fubar stood and left the room.
“Scout?” The headmistress directed at the other razorwolf on the cushion on the floor.
“Damn straight, I am accepting!” Scout said and finished with a full-throated howl of excitement. The exuberance of his response was contagious. Faith’s falcon kak-kak-kakked her agreement at the emotion.
“Faith, Hope, how are you siding?” The headmistress asked turning to face the pair.
“Well, if you can’t tell from Hope’s outburst, I guess I have to be the one to accept,” Faith replied.
“I have chosen to accept as well,” Milo stated before the headmistress could ask.
“Well, that was not unexpected. The rest of you are welcome to take up residence in the top floor of the red dormitory. Your things have already been moved. I will be your faculty adviser. Your lessons will be assigned at your own pace. You will receive the first ones after lunch. I am giving you this morning to get settled in your new rooms,” She gestured to the transport platform.
"Hold it!” Maeve interrupted through the room’s speaker, she wasn't going to let this chance pass, “I want to join them they will need a program to keep them in line and organized.”
"It has already been arranged. You will find a room assigned to you as well, along with a little surprise,” The headmistress replied.
"Okay,” Maeve responded sheepishly through the speaker. The headmistress had known she was present, it wasn’t a misspeak.
“I have a few projects to prepare for. If you wouldn’t mind?” The headmistress gestured to the transport platform again. It was a clear dismissal. Maeve followed the electronic trail of the transport to the new dormitory unit. She interfaced with the environmental systems and located the room assigned to her.
She wondered why she needed a room of her own. She turned on the camera in the room and was surprised with a five foot tall biochemically powered android. The head was just a standard blank, she had the option of customizing it as she chose. Maeve began going through the information packet on the android body. She logged in as the operator and began customizing the face and extruding the hair in a realistic shade of red. This was going to be fun.
- - - - - - -
Goru was the first to the transport platform. He took up a position by the control panel. A glance told him it was already set for their new quarters. He thought the headmistress had been pretty presumptuous to assume that they would accept. Then again, the odds were in favor of at least one of them accepting. Once the whole crew were standing on the platform, Goru mashed the activation button.
On the surface, the dormitory unit appeared to be exactly the same as it had been the day before. Goru went to the commissary area and discovered it too was well stocked with emergency supplies including weapons. Instead of tranquilizers, the capsules were labeled “Immobilizing agents.” Lyla looked over his shoulder. He showed her the capsule labels and glanced back for her reaction. She shrugged at him. The rest of the team had retreated down the hallway to the bedrooms.
With his curiosity satisfied, Goru decided to check out the hallway. The doors were labeled. His room was the first on the right side. Lyla was directly across the hall. They looked at each-other and simultaneously palmed open their doors. Goru’s room was decorated in the same rich burgundy as the common areas. The carpeting was thick, soft and springy. The quality was even higher than in the purple dorm. On an impulse Goru took off his shoes and stepped on the carpeting with bare feet. It felt even softer than he thought it was. He could almost sleep on it. From the doorway, Goru walked clockwise around the room. The desk and media screen shared the wall with the door. The next wall housed two doors one led to a bathroom equipped with a shower, toilet, sink and separate soaking tub with jets. It was the first time he had ever seen a bathtub up close. Minimum allotment quarters didn’t rate this kind of luxury, neither did most students. If Goru had needed convincing on his decision the tub would have been enough. Goru stepped back out of the bathroom and continued around the room.
The bathroom door wall also held a door into a walk-in closet. To Goru’s amazement, not only were the clothes he expected neatly hung and stacked in the closet organizers, but almost twice as many more in the same general style only in shades of red and Burgundy shared the space. He touched the outfits and was rewarded with a soft durability he didn’t expect. They were all high quality, despite their grunge styling.
Goru left the closet and came to the wall holding the bed nook. The bed was set into the wall as though it were a bunk in the red dorms. there were curtains he could pull closed and a shelf above the mattress just within his reach. A few real books were propped on the shelf, mostly textbooks for subjects ranging from ancient warfare and technology to comparative anatomy. There were a few books about his family, including his father. He picked it up. From the cover text it appeared the book didn’t completely vilify his father.
The last wall was covered in glass-covered shelves. Behind the glass doors sat a collection of gadgets and devices he only partially recognized. One of the textbooks had been about factor tech and at the center of the display wall sat the device from the cover. Goru could pretty accurately guess that this was one of the subjects he would be studying.
Acquainted with his quarters and with at least a small clue as to what he would be studying, Goru stepped back out into the hallway.
Lyla was returning to the hallway just as he was. “Goru, we need to talk about Faith,” She said softly.
Goru gestured to the comfortable seating next to the media screen. Together they sat on adjacent overstuffed velvet chairs. “What did you find out?”
Lyla frowned, wrinkling her forehead in an expression that screamed her worry at him, “It isn’t good. Faith is a cutter, she begged me not to tell, but we need to help her.”
Goru grimaced. He couldn’t comprehend someone wanting pain after all the beatings he received. “Why?”
“She implied it gave her an emotional release, drawing her attention from her emotional pain to physical pain she could control. What her mother did really screwed her up!” Lyla answered.
Goru thought about it. If things had been different, his reaction to abuse could have been just as dysfunctional. At least Faith hadn’t turned to drugs. Goru might have written her off if she had. It was too easy for an addict to disregard not only their well-being but the health and welfare of those around them.
“Goru, what do we do? Do we report it to the headmistress?” Lyla asked.
Goru was of the type to protect those he cared about from harm, but how could he protect someone who was harming themselves?
“We need to confront her and encourage her to report it to the headmistress herself,” Goru suggested.
"What if she won’t?”
Goru sighed, “Then we might hav
e to act.”
- - - - - - -
Faith lay sprawled out listening to music. It wasn’t a pastime she ever really engaged in. Her only real phase of music appreciation had concurred with her fascination with nursery rhymes. She could really belt out the chorus of the alphabet song, but she preferred “Twinkle Twinkle…” She lay stumped as to why her personal curriculum included a unit on human popular music. As she listened to another music video she just didn't get it. The musicians sang of love, of loss, of hope.
They tried to put the maximum of emotion in the way they put their words together, Faith was subjected to that kind of intense emotion constantly. She could feel everyone as though they were singing a rock ballad. How could listening to this crap teach her anything? "Maeve, pause playback please."
"Sure but you aren't going to get through today's playlist if you take too many breaks," The AI stated.
Faith wanted to ask Maeve what she thought the purpose was. She almost let it go, but the realization hit her that Maeve might just know what the purpose of the lessons were. "Maeve, I am really struggling with understanding why they keep assigning me these playlists. Do you have any ideas?"
Maeve let loose one of her very realistic, carefully curated laughs, "I can say why I was assigned a similar task. They wanted me to improve my understanding of human emotions."
"But Maeve I get people's emotions, all day all night, every day. I am an empath," Faith stated.
"This isn't about getting you to feel more, this is about how even a few words can manipulate emotions, imagine what you would be able to do touching people's minds. You could help people heal emotionally, not just physically," Maeve replied.
Maeve's words lit the spark of understanding in Faith, "Continue playback please Maeve."
Faith got out of bed and danced around her new quarters to the rhythm of the song. She was immensely happy with her new quarters. There was already a corner set up to keep her falcon comfortable. Hope sat on her perch and fluffed her feathers. Faith flipped through books on healing and medicine from on the shelf above her bed. Then she danced over to look at the tech in the display wall. She recognized most of it from Tina’s office. She even had her own Everett scanner to monitor psychokinetic potential.