23 Squad 13 2 (1/2)

Sasha Grace opened a discussion with her researchers. The researchers peered to the new transfers.

They arrived in an empty room. The new transfers found a chair prepared for them and sat down.

”I've already introduced myself, but I'll say it again. I'm Sasha Grace, and I'll be taking care of everyone for the next five weeks. Just call me Professor Grace. This will be like the adjustment period before you were officially incorporated into first year. Before you're officially transferred to year 2, I will make your physical bodies. After these five weeks, you will no longer have a child's body. In five weeks, you will have the body of a 15-16 year old. In half a year, you will mature into a full adult. I'll be here to take care of your physical and mental health.”

Grace's voice had a calmness to it. Her voice was husky, but seemed to float about leisurely.  The expressions of the children were incredibly tense. They will be adults soon. The day had come and they couldn't help but feel fear.

”Professor, I heard that some people die.”

Han spoke. Grace narrowed her eyes.

”My job isn't to push your abilities to your death like the drill instructors have been doing all this time. As long as you're alive, I will do my utmost to keep it that way. Rest comfortably while you're here.”

Grace exited the room, leaving the youths to themselves in the empty room.

Great exhaustion was plainly visible below her eyes. The young youths would, again, be running towards death's doorsteps. Grace had a hard time trying to cope with every new batch.

'I'm the only one who can produce the most survivors.'

There was nobody more skilled than Grace from within the military medical department.

Only males were chosen to become psykers. Statistically, the gender ratio for psychic children was 5:1. There were far more males than females.

From time to time, genius psychics are found amongst young girls. However, only males were selected to become official psykers.

”Females are naturally more emotional and this causes a high case of emotional instability….”

This was the reason a line was drawn for the disqualifying female psykers.

In the beginning days of Ark's institution, many females had been recruited. The females had mostly done better than the males during the first year.

However, a majority of females struggled during their second year, and suffered mental breakdowns of all sorts.

'Females were not created to become machines of murder.'

Females had a hard time mentally coping with their new adult physical bodies. Combat stress tolerance, military tactical skills, psychic energy stability – they had proved to be unstable in all aspects.

They also menstruated, which affected their already unstable body with an attack of hormone imbalances. If they were forced to stop menstruating through surgery or drugs, there was a high risk of depression and sense of shame which could ultimately cripple them forever.

They didn't have the luxury to spend an extended amount of time training the female soldiers and there were an endless amount of problems relating to mental health. The number of female psykers who had been able to endure through until the end were few in number.

”In the end, cost efficiency was the ultimate deciding factor.”

Grace mumbled.

One female psyker equated to about three male psykers, in monetary costs.

Excluding the few females psykers that Ark had produced in the beginning stages of Ark, every psyker produced by Ark had been male.

”The brat who asked me the question from before, ah, his name is Han Lee. It's been a while since I saw a Korean.”

Grace quickly read over the new transfers' profiles one by one. She frowned upon Kuro's profile.