{"sf1_id":690263,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Academia.3","author":"MagnumGit","words":1581,"posted_at":"2014-04-08T06:06:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Drama","Future","Human","Sci-Fi","Series","War","dystopia","humanoid","space"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/690263-academia-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/690263","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=690263\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nIt was later in\nclass that he realized how little he had missed.\nApparently there\nwere many people absent. Some sick, others gone without notice or reason, but\nas of late that always seemed to be the case. He was one of the only two who\nwere late because they themselves had problems with their old, and failing\nPDD's. Even the Instructor was late, which was of some small, unfathomable\ncomfort to him. Perhaps, he enjoyed seeing those in power fall prey to their\nown disillusions of infallibleness. \nBefore the lesson\nbegan in full though, another more unique individual entered the room. She\ngarnered the eyes of the class far longer than anyone else would, any humanoid\nthat is.\nShe wasn't human,\nwell, at least at least in the traditional meaning. She was something\ndifferent, yet similar. She was an 'Abhuman', a person yet not a person.\nGovernment and Militarily controlled and collared, usually separated from the\ngeneral public, either used for intense manual labor or military services due\nto their innate aggression and varying capabilities. Her name was 'Gwen-D', or\nAH-697423GD. A regulated Hybridism Abnormal. She stood only a few inches taller\nthen Daniel, and had pale skin. Her eyes were dull pale\ngreen, borderline grey some would say, but they shone with a malevolent\napathy, cunning, and something Xenos. It was her hands that were one of the few\ndiscrepancies that put her apart from the sacred human form, four fingers instead\nof five, ending in overhanging fingernail-claw-like protrusions. He supposed\nthe same went for her feet, but the most prominent feature had to be her ears.\nThey curved back and were animalistic, covered in short hairs; they were long\nand parted her hair, they twitched, following every noise in the classroom. \nNarrow eyes panned\nthe rows of empty desks in the lecture hall until she found a free one next to\nhim. She always sat next to Daniel. They were both outcasts in a way. Her more\nthen him, he rarely noticed this, but there was another thing about her, up\nclose it was hard to see, she mainly kept her head low and mouth closed, but he\nknew that it was filled with needles. Two rows of teeth, the second row\nextending like horrid fangs, and a barbed tail hidden within her pant leg. \nShe was Alien, a\nbastard cross between two species and the workings of scientific malpractice.\nYet her 'kind' still grew every day, the Military sought them out, and Slave\ntrading rings saw them as exotic goods to expand into. \nDaniel didn't\nknow what he thought of them- her kin- she was the only one he met in person,\nthey both rarely talked, yet she seemed trail him. Her eyes met his after he\nstared for too long. \n\"What.\"\nShe snapped. He saw the flash of needles in her mouth, matched with daggers in\nher eyes. \nHe looked away.\n\"Nothing. Just staring.\"\nShe now looked at\nhim fully. \"At what?\" She asked, it almost sounded like a demand. \n\"You, I was\nthinking.\"\n\"About,\nwhat?\" She asked for the third time, her impatient nature causing her to\nsqueeze her hands into fists. He wondered if that hurt her: her inhuman\nfingernails. \"I dunno,\" he answered truthfully once more. \"I\nguess it's just something to do.\" He reasoned. \nShe glared at\nhim, more in confusion then anger. \"You're an idiot.\" The inhuman\nwoman focused her attentions on herself. Idly she clawed at the metal band that\nwrapped around her neck, it was no fashion accessory -it was part of her\nexistence. It was a constant companion, a monitoring device.\nThe seemingly\nbenign band of metal, no more than a half inch wire wrapped around her neck was\nable to record everything: where she went, what she did, what she said and whom\nshe talked too. It knew when she took a shower, when she ate and what time she\nwent to sleep. It knew that and more, it knew what emotions she felt and her\nreactions to those around her. It was her collar in every meaning of the word.\nUnder lock and leash by the District Abhuman Supervisor who knew everything\nabout her at any given moment. \nThat was another\nreason people stayed far away from her. Fear of her constant companion, who\nknew who might be listening to their conversations, recording every word they\nsaid for later use and persecution.\nShe sent another\nhateful glare at him from two seats over; he was staring again. She tied her\nrough, pale blond hair back into a ponytail, as it would cause her problems\nlater.\nOne of her ears\nperked, she placed her Academy Networked HoloCron (ANH)\ninto its receiver on the desk in front of her. The device blinked green twice before\nsynching with the system and uploading her profile and attendance. The display\nlit up before her, she ran her hand through the assorted files and pulled up\n'Tuesday's' work-chart. She shot a glance at Daniel. \"The Instructor is\ncoming, you should get ready.\" She casually advised him, shoving her bag\nunderneath her desk before sitting up in her seat.\nDaniel had long\nsince learned to trust the Abhumans' instincts. He lazily removed his own\nHoliCron and set it in the receiver before him. The\nInstructor walked in seconds later. It was the Forge Master himself; the doors\nautomatically parting before him the same as so many crowds. He took a\nmoment at the top of the steps to gaze at the many rows of empty seats and\ndesks. His gaze eventually fell on Daniel and Gwen. Daniel shriveled under the\npunitive gaze of the Forge Master who would be filling in for their primary\ninstructor. The absentee instructor had been missing since last night, as they\nwould later find out during opening notes. Daniels' lackadaisical attitude\nworked only to earn him a disapproving frown that stung more than words. \nGwen raised an\neyebrow at him, looking almost as condescending as the Forge Master; he\nshrugged in return. With undisguised humiliation marking his face, Daniel returned to prepping his desk,\nshoving aside detritus that seemed to always find its way into his bag as he\npulled out yesterday's notes. \nThe Instructor\nprepared his own HoliCron at his Podium set before the bleachers of desks\noverlooking the stage. The lights dimmed as the large projection screen behind\nthe Forge Master bloomed into a 3D projection of a crimson anvil at the base of\na tree, the academies personal crest.\nThe class portion\nof the session began with opening notes, as always. The Forge Master then went\non to talk about the current state of affairs in the southern district. They\nwere receiving a shipment of metals early; this would extend their normal\nmonthly quota to bi-monthly for the foreseeable future. \nThe Forge Master\nwent on to discuss other topics concerning Odon, but Daniel wasn't really that\ninterested. He only listened when it was concerning the Northern District or anything\naffecting him directly. \nThe Northern\nDistrict had a new attraction opening in one of the various skywalk parks, a Mayahg\nliving garden. His head picked up at this, he'd only ever seen net-vids of the\nfamous walking plants and slithering vines of the world of Mkas-IV. He'd very\nmuch like to see one in person. \nA few more\nminutes passed on like this; the Instructor commented on the eastern and\nwestern district as well, how the Agro-Facilities were exceeding their monthly\nquota and how it was a small victory for them all. But after the USCA content\nfiltered news was shared with them, it became business as usual.\nMorning Practices\nbegan as the Forge Master demonstrated the process of configuring the\nunderlying superstructure of a standard USCA Red-Hawk fighter, then went on to\nexplain the properties of the derma-plating that went into it's construction. The\nclass went on to attempt to design several computerized examples of a solid\nsuperstructure, using 3D models on their HoliCrons. Fingers darting over the\ninterface to make the virtual blueprint, the class worked in absolute silence,\nthe Forge Master observed them all. \nGwen was done\nrather quickly. Finished, she dragged the design over to the deposit option.\nThe file uploaded and she leaned back in her seat, hands clasped together on\nthe table in front of her. Daniel eyed her; she had always been like this, she\nnever stood on ceremony when it came to work. She did allow herself to relax\nthough, her shoulders slumped and she leaned back in her seat a bit, the\nuncomfortable plastic chair creaked slightly and caught the Forge Masters'\nattention. \nHe paused before\nchecking his drop box on his HoliCron. He extracted Gwen's blueprint, as well\nas a few others that had been finished. He raised an eyebrow at Gwen's design.\nHis eyes met the Abhumans and he nodded in approval. He then looked at Daniel\nnext to her. He stared for a moment before sighing, a small shake of his head\nbefore he went back to viewing the remaining few. \nDaniel sat\nstraighter, slightly confused, his hand hovering over the send button for his\ndesign. Somehow, he felt as if he had disappointed the Forge Master.After morning\npractices concluded, Gwen received a slight nod of recognition for her work.\nThey were called upon to stand, forming into a line and following the ancient\nman through narrow halls, 'till they stood before a massive steel door. \nIt had become\ntime to enter the Forgeworks.\n"}