18 M1 - Term: 1, Round: 1 (2/2)
”Why would he do this?” Gaumont asked. ”Wait. Do you think someone solved the first problem?” He asked looking directly at Daedo.
”Sorry,” Daedo said, ”we are running late for Physical Training.” He grabbed hold of Axelzero's hand and made for the door. ”Don't have time to discuss this now.”
Axelzero blushed every so slightly and followed him out. The trio made their way to the Thoth Physical Training Gym. There was another benefit in belonging to Thoth the math and engineering fortress of the Academy. The Gym which was the same size as the other houses for M1 to M3 was almost empty.
”Was it you,” Vannier asked, ”because your schedule had you down for review time, but you left the arena and went somewhere.”
”I was summoned by Chief Albert,” Daedo answered.
”So it was you!” Axelzero accused, ”did you solve the problem on the second day? I thought you were not going to spend much time on Math and Physics?”
”Yes, and yes,” he answered.
”Wait,” Vannier stopped and turned to face him. ”So you just popped up the problem that I do not even know how to begin to solve, and you solved it in an hour in your spare time?”
Daedo nodded innocently, ”it was difficult, just not time-consuming.”
”So you are the reason we have these problems early?” Axelzero asked.
”Yes, but don't bother with them, just get the core work done,” he answered as they began to walk again.
”Why?” asked Axelzero in a higher tone.
”Because Chief Albert asked me to take on some harder problems, ones which no one can do apparently, and I refused saying I was too busy. So he switched out our scheduled problems for four that he wanted me to look at.” Daedo answered.
Vannier stopped again and stared at him her mouth open. She closed it when she realised she was standing there open-mouthed. ”I do not know where to begin,” she said finally. ”At least I can smash you in the obstacle course my puny genius.” Before she began to run the last part to the gym.
”Who said he's yours?” retorted Axelzero running after her.
Daedo shrugged and ran after the girls. He did not even want to contemplate what they were discussing.
It was Friday during breakfast that the news of their workshop finally came through. Daedo had sent creds to Axelzero's lawyers in exchange for shares in a new company. This company was named Daedalus. As the major shareholder and the fact he had the rights to the name all the squad who were purchasing shares insisted on using it.
Barran said it was either ”Daedalus” or ”Ranky Turtles”. It was a threat. Daedo succumbed and showed them what the name Daedalus meant; its origins. They all agreed it was perfect. Daedalus was the master builder from ancient Greek lore.
Only Picard and Gaumont were not shareholders, one by choice and one by circumstance. Even when a token share was offered to Picard she refused, her pride would not allow such a gift.
”The lawyers have said we need to put in funds for the company so it can pay its bills in proportion to our shares until it can start earning its own funds. It doesn't have a lot of costs just tax on the land, utilities and the like. Since we purchased the building, we do not have to pay rent. But we should find a way for it to make a small about of creds for future costs and upgrades,” she said.
”Why don't we register my AI foundation code as a product of the company to sell?” Daedo asked.
”We would need a way of selling it,” Axelzero said, ”it needs to pass through controls and stuff. It is not something any of us know about.”
”What if we just made money off its patent, like my parents do,” Vannier said, ”someone else does the certification, manufacturing, marketing and selling. They put their brand on it and pays you royalties. In this case, I doubt an AI needs much manufacturing, but the regulatory controls would need to be navigated by someone with that expertise. The only other solution I can think of is we hire a specialist to run the business for us. But who could we trust?”
”Trust no one,” Barran answered, ”and keep your railgun handy.” He laughed and then added, ”I like the patent idea. We don't have the time or patience to mess about with this stuff. And if little genius over here comes up with more ideas, we can continue to register patents until Vannier's family become jealous.” He beamed a smile at Vannier making her wish she never proffered the idea.
She shook her head, ”it is a big world, there is plenty of room for fifty companies like my parents and there probably already are.”
”I think your family would be ideal to assist with this,” Axelzero directed at Vannier.
She nodded. ”I will do my share and get their experts to help, they specialise in patent law and know who to send it to within Svarski, DaVinci and the like.”
Barran clapped, ”problem solved!” He turned to Daedo again, ”you did well on the obstacle course today, its only been a week, what did you get fifty-eight something?”
”No, it was fifty-nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. I really wanted to crack the sixty,” Daedo answered.
”And you began the week with seventy-seven?” Barran asked whistling.
”Yes,” Daedo answered.
”I wish I improved that much, I slipped to fourth overall at thirty-six point four-nine. Hey, wait!” Barran exclaimed suddenly, ”did you beat Gaumont's best time?”
”He did,” Axelzero said proudly, she and Vannier had been taking Daedo for a third gym session every evening and working him like an everlast robot until he dropped. ”Gaumont's best time is still over sixty minutes, so Daedo progresses to stage two of his training.” She looked at Picard.
”Well, if we keep the rabbit chase up, you would be next Axelzero, you come in fifth at forty-eight point five-one. That gap is wide, and although his first gap was wide, it gets progressively harder to improve as his time comes down.” Picard said.
”We have one week left of this course, which goes until next Friday, it is closed on the weekends for course changes and repairs. That is seven more runs if he can knock-off slightly more than a minute per run he could get under fifty-minutes which gets him almost down into our territory. Most squad zero cadets run the course in under forty-one minutes, but we are Thoth.” Picard added.
”I don't want to hear we are Thoth excuses,” Daedo said. Not much got him angry, but that sort of talk did.
Picard held up a hand, ”agreed, I was thinking about your ranking with-in Thoth, the course will be weighted much lower than Math and the like. Not that I care, I am with you, hell I don't even know why I am in Thoth!”
”Because you are smart Picard,” Daedo answered. He knew all his squadmates had strengths and weaknesses. Only Barran did not excel in Math and Physics compared to other Cadets, and they all knew he was in Thoth because of his sister who did. All of squad zero excelled across multiple disciplines, some were exceptional in one or two.
Barran excelled physically, and he coped with stress very well. His attitude seemed carefree, but it was a strength, not a weakness. He did not worry, and he showed little fear. Other than when assessing calculus equations for three-dimensional vector shifts.
Vannier was superb in all disciplines, she was rank two in Thoth, while she seemed wiser and more mature than the rest of the squad, showing support and leadership where needed. She was able to charm her way through most social situations.
Mace was the third rank in the squad behind Vannier. She was intelligent but hid her intelligence, which showed her to be cunning. She rarely spoke or offered advice, but when she did it would be wise to listen because what she had to offer was gold. The only person she seemed to connect with was Daedo himself, she kept her distance from the rest.
Axelzero was an allrounder, she neither excelled in anything nor lacked. She was always willing to help her squadmates. She was also organised, energetic and cheerful. Daedo liked having her for a friend, and it was a new sensation for him.
Picard was probably the least gifted in squad zero. She made up for this with determination and experience. She had worked hard all her life and already excelled at gunnery before entering the Academy. If she had a weakness, it was also her strength. Her mental strength and stubbornness were both. Her determination was inspiring as was her work ethic. But on the same token, she was stubborn with something she thought she already knew.
She often blamed the rich for situational circumstances and did not seek to overcome them. Seeing it as the fact that she needed to work around rather than an obstacle she could overcome.
Lastly the problem of the squad, or was he just the voice of the past reminding them what others would be doing. Gaumont had shown a strong will and a drive to succeed.
The main issue was he did not act as part of the squad, but a cadet alone who had other cadets to do group exercises with. Daedo did not judge him too harshly, he did the exact same thing in CyberMech. He had disdained all teamwork and gone alone as a lone wolf. Even this could be utilized in a combat scenario, Gaumont would be given a lone wolf role to play.
The Houses were not meant to be a way of putting cadets on career paths. When strictly reading the Academy's guidelines the Houses were just meant to group like-minded cadets to form bonds and succeed together. That is why cadets who were different, like Barran, were not put in another House when their sibling was in Thoth. Each squad needed diversity, it was the diversity of skills which made them stronger when they came together as a team.
Picard shrugged, ”well I am at forty-one twenty-five, and Mace is at thirty-nine fifty-five. Only Mace and Barran are under forty minutes. When I look at the squad zero times from the other four houses, we are well behind the other squad zeros.”