5 Prequel 5 (1/2)
Continuation of history before entering M1 at 2142
”Who are you and what have you done with Etana?” she asked sarcastically. She used a kind tone, but it was lost on Etana.
”Who are you and what happened…” he was about to make a rude remark about what happened to her legs, but he caught himself. Not because he was worried about offending her, but she had lost her legs in the same accident that had killed his Mother. The reminder was a self-inflicted punishment to Etana. ”...to your hair.”
Cisse touched her head, thought for a moment ”nothing,” she answered.
”Exactly,” he said and messaged her a list of the top ten salons in Paris.
She waggled a finger at him.
The intake for this year was one thousand two hundred and seventy-five students. It was the same every year. There were five houses with two hundred and fifty-five students each.
Although it was a boarding school with astronomical fees if you did not pass and rank in the top thirteen hundred students, you would not be accepted. Although Fortescue was a tier three school, they always had more successful applicants than places. It was one of a few Academies in Europe and the only one in Paris. There were three in London, which hurt local pride, two of which had sprouted from the famous universities Oxford and Cambridge.
And Germany had three Academies also, it was an industrial giant, a mecca for mech manufacturing, three was a low number for it.
Etana completed the Math, Physics, History, Language, Chemistry, Logic and problem-solving tests. As long as he passed the physical test his results in the academic subjects was sure to place him in the top one hundred, let alone thirteen hundred.
He had not had time or energy to revise the academic subjects, but he excelled naturally at Math, Logic and problem-solving. He was no slouch at physics either, but it was massively broad with some subjective questions which he could not recall the exact answer to. Myrmidon was no assistance, cybernetic activity was monitored and effectively disabled during the exam.
There were at least two thousand thirteen-year-olds taking the tests in waves, Etana had not yet turned twelve and was still the smallest in his group of a hundred. The sprint was first followed by the eight-kilometre run for the physical test.
He was able to place middle of the field in the sprint, coming sixtieth out of his group of one hundred. And in the eight-kilometre run all his training paid off, he came in the top thirty. The fastest runners were miles ahead, however, a full six minutes. Etana was a long way from the peak students in the physical discipline.
He wondered why it was so important. Surely you could control a mech with a cybernetic implant, and if you were taking an engineering focus, it would not matter at all.
He heard another student, who was slower than him complaining about this very topic.
”Are you crazy?” came the response for a serious sounding girl, ”you cannot pilot a mech if you are not fit.”
”uh why?” asked the boy.
”Because, noob, it's not like VR gaming. We wear suits and when you move your arm the mech's arm moves. When you jump the mech jumps,” she replied disdainfully. ”How could you possibly operate a Mech for more than ten minutes if you are as fit as a sloth.”
”That's stupid,” he replied with no reason why it was stupid whatsoever. But Etana was inclined to agree. He would have to find out the reason later.
Etana barely completed the sit-ups and push-ups in the time permitted and only just passed the squeeze test as well. Most students completed the squeeze test effortlessly. He wondered how much time they spent preparing for this test.
After the obstacle course, he had completed all the elements. Myrmidon was permitted during the physical tests, and it had been monitoring his progress.
Myrmidon: out of these one hundred and twenty-three students you ranked ninety-four which extrapolates to rank eighteen hundred and eighty. This will affect your overall entrance rank, but, as long as you passed all elements and rank under twelve hundred and seventy-five, you will gain entry.
Daedo: what time do I need for the obstacle course?
Myrmidon: it's on the board, ten minutes.
Daedo: uh, I see.
It did not seem strange to Daedo that he had seen the board with his eyes, but he was tired and worried, so it did not register. Where Myrmidon had perceived the board with the same information that Daedo received, through his vision, and the AI had noticed the and recognised the significance of the board. This was one of the facets of their symbiotic relationship.
They watched the previous students complete the course. This enabled Myrmidon to monitor and advice Daedo during his completion.
Myrmidon: keep your head down, it's too high for the logs.
Myrmidon: catch your breath before the climb, your heart rate is one sixty, walk the twenty metres.
Myrmidon: the students who rolled forward after this drop performed the best.
Between his practice and Myrmidon's advice, Daedo was able to complete the obstacle course in nine minutes and forty-four seconds. Only sixteen to spare. But that was all that mattered.
He had passed the entrance exam.
Daedo would be attending Fortescue Military Academy in the year 2142.
Tier One Academies by Rank
Huawei MA
DaVinci MA
Svarksi MA
Oxford
Harvard MA
Massachusetts Military Academy (offshoot of MIT)
Tiger Eight MA (Asia)
Melbourne Military Academy
Toykyo Mech
Munich LMU
Bavarian MA
Stanford Scientific
Tier Two Academies by Rank
Berkley MA
Cambridge
Aachen MA
Duntroon MA
BAE Systems MA
Boeing NA MA
Mercedes MA
SAAB MA
Taiwan Tech
Renault MA
Abu Dhabi MA
Hitachi MA
Tier 3 Academies by 2141 Rank
ETH Zurich
Lockhead Martin MA
Heidelberg MA
Humboldt MA
Fortescue MA
Templars MA
KAIST
Tsinghua MA
Seoul MA