Arvium [I.L.S. Beta Game #1]

4: Graduation

The walls of the Training building loomed high above the ground, towering over every other building in the Compound. It lay close to the entrance,

Aella shifted where she was standing, pulling her arms in closer to her body. She breathed deeply, feeling the cool air fill her lungs. She peered over Chloe's shoulder as she completed the eye scan.

Chloe laid her palm on the touchpad, waiting until it flowed with a green light. The door slid open and warm air wafted out toward them.

"Finally-I was about to freeze out here," Aella said as she followed Chloe into the maintenance center.

"You're fine," Chloe said, her laughter filling the air. "It was only a few minutes." The door slid shut behind them without a sound.

Aella grinned and let her arms fall to her sides, looking around at the familiar wall monitors and control platforms. She smiled as she saw a burly man step away from one of the platforms, returning his wave.

She turned her head and watched as Chloe typed in a code and the door locked behind them.

"Your shift isn't until the morning, Chloe," he called to them as he moved to a different platform.

"I know, Brody" Chloe called out. She turned from the keypad and saluted him, even though he was no longer paying attention, his hands moving quickly over the smooth surface of the raised monitor.

Aella stood straight and turned her head to the right, eyeing the elevator.

"Is the observation deck open?" Chloe called out to him.

Brody waved a hand and grunted an answer. "We'll be back after the fireworks," she said, heading toward the elevator.

Aella followed the woman into the elevator, stepping to the back as Chloe touched the panel. "I--" she said.

"Once we get to the deck," Chloe said, raising her hand.

Aella nodded, catching the determined look on Chloe's face before letting her gaze fall to the floor.

The elevator soared to the eleventh floor, the observation deck clearly seen through the clear glass door.

As it slid open, Aella waited until Chloe had stepped through the door before following her into the small room. The observation deck had graduates milling around it, tables with food along the walls. The night guard didn't turn around as they walked to a door that led to the outside.

They entered the massive three-story, domed greenhouse, the smell of fresh fruits, blossoming flowers, green grass, and clean water filling the air. Birds chirped from among the trees, and sprinklers kept the vegetation green and vibrant.

"Go ahead," Chloe told her. "I'm going to check on the stats first."

Aella watched her head down the path deeper into the greenhouse, checking the stats of each patch.

Aella turned to the left and skirted the greenery until the path ended in front of a giant tree, it's leafy crown blocking the roof from sight. She stepped closer to it, and used her hand to feel for the grooves in its trunk. She found it and located the second one, then started to climb.

When she reached the wooden platform hidden among the leaves, she pulled herself onto it, and moved forward until her entire body was laying on the wood. She rolled over onto her back and took a deep breath, bringing her breathing back to normal. She stared up through the leaves, through the cleared space. The greenhouse roof was clear glass, and let her clearly see all the way up to the Quadrant's biodome. The latticed metal and glass were barely visible in the dark sky underneath the snow that fell against it, creating white drifts that slid off of the heated surface to the ice fields outside.

She sat up, and looked down at the Compound, and beyond to the Quadrant. The hill that led to the valley was filled with trees, kept lush green by the biodome even in winter. The wall surrounding the Compound was illuminated, the swirling light patterns adding to the festive nature. The Quadrant too was brightly lit, the skyscrapers and parks filled with glowing lights. Shadows moved like ants in waves down in the valley. The citizens were celebrating with the Graduates. She squinted her eyes to the distance, where the dome curved down to meet the ground. There was the station, where bullet trains would take the Graduates to their Quadrants, or the lucky few to the Capitol.

She shook her head. "Players," she said. She bit her lip as she thought back to her trial. She couldn't remember what had happened. Had she failed? Why would the technicians have had to give her a memory wipe? Or had she succeeded? Whatever she had done, the Computer felt it best that she forget about it.

"Aella?" Chloe's voice came from below.

Aella scooted away from the edge, making room for her sister. "Come up," she said.

Chloe's head appeared as she pulled herself up onto the platform.

Aella waited until the woman had moved to a sitting position before speaking. "I don't remember my trial."

Chloe nodded. "I know." The woman stared up through the leaves, then turned back to Aella. "I didn't receive my sponsorship until several hours after the scores for my trial were posted."

Aella swallowed, a sense of unease creeping along her spine and filling her stomach. She snapped her fingers, seeing the blank screen appear in front of her. She moved her hand in a swiping motion, and clicked on the sponsorship section. It was still blank, as was the score section. Chloe had received her sponsorship to the Consular Guild, the managerial section of the Diplomatic Corps, hours after her trial. Maybe she was to follow in the same path.

She looked beyond the screen, and her eyebrow raised as she saw Chloe's smile. "What?"

The woman laughed. "If you haven't received your score yet, that means you aren't in the first list. You were placed into a higher list." She paused, and frowned. "Or you just completely wrecked the trial, but I doubt that."

Aella snapped her fingers, and sighed as her implant powered off. Placing into one of the higher lists meant more training at the Facility, a higher-ranked sponsorship, and better opportunities with from higher level qualifications. "Do you think I qualified for Consular? Like you did?"

Chloe smiled and nodded. "I think you will, or something higher. Advisor to a General like I will be, or a Council Member--maybe even Advisor to a Governor. I can see you rubbing shoulders with the government."

Aella laughed, shaking her head. "Not unless they were very short politicians."

Chloe laughed as well, ending with a sigh. "I know you did well. You are at the top of your class. I think you are too stubborn to be given anything but the best."

Aella leaned back until she was laying down on the platform. "Do you think the debriefing is over?"

Chloe joined her, moving so that her head rested on her hands. "Yeah. The Councilor will tell everyone they can expect their results by the morning. The more important positions, and those far away, will depart early tomorrow, with the second lists at noon, and the first listed positions in the evening. The Advisor positions, and I suppose now the player positions too, are hand selected by the actual sponsors, rather than a guild choosing groups of names from the scores."

Aella nodded. It was old news. She had been taught this since she was small. Sponsors would teach her further in her craft, providing lodging and a family to her while she worked until she reached the age to take on a Graduate herself. And once she reached the age of retirement, she would help teach the young in the Facilities and give her wisdom to the new generation.

She gasped as the dome lit up with a bright blue light, as the lights began to dance across the biodome as the celebration began and the first of the fireworks exploded beneath the dome and were reflected in thousands of panes. It was followed by dozens more in rainbows of colors and designs. The scarlet explosions filled the dome with the symbol of United Earth, and golden explosions rained down in streaks from the sky. The noise was deafening, even when hindered slightly by the greenhouses roof.

When her eyelids started to droop, the fireworks had stopped, but the light show was still running, telling stories of battle and success, history and love, and scenes from the Alpha Game. When they finally closed, and sleep came over her, the dream began.