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Chapter 4: First Day of Classes


Alexa took out her electronic tablet and checked her class schedule. Temporal psychology was her first class. Umbra showed her to her dormitory so she knew where her room was, and she put her spare uniforms away. She had enough time to get to her first class on time. There was a digital map on her electronic tablet that guided her to the classroom.


When she got to class, Stratus and her brother were there, as well as Gamma. The class was an even mix of boys and girls. There was a huge electronic monitor on the front wall of the classroom. When the bell rang, the teacher entered the classroom and the class door slid shut. He checked an electronic tablet of his own, and took roll call. Once he knew all the students were present, he activated the huge monitor.


"Most of you are very familiar with how we all got here," said the teacher. "But I want to illustrate it on this monitor, in case there are those of you who don't quite understand the details."


He pushed a button on a control console on his desk, and an image appeared on the monitor. The blackness of space was punctuated by silver strands spiraling from the left side of the screen to the right.


"As you can see, this is an artistic representation of temporal space, also known as the dimension of time; that is a misnomer, because time, like space, is three dimensional. Every star that has ever existed on our galaxy leaves a gravitational signature in temporal space. These trails spiral through the time continuum from the distant past, to the distant future."


The teacher used a stick to point at a thick silver area on the screen.


"This is the gravitational trail of the black hole cluster that almost ripped apart the star ship your ancestors arrived here on. When the star of the planet we had colonized went supernova, we were the last to evacuate. The shockwaves almost ripped our star ship apart. Our chief engineer chose to phase into temporal space to escape the blast, not knowing that a black hole cluster at the center of our galaxy would pass through that area of the galaxy. Since time is space in temporal space, even though it would be millions of years before that black hole cluster would pass through that area, in temporal space, anywhere the gravity well of that cluster exists wherever it had been in the past, or would be in the future."


A male student raised his hand. "How did they escape?"


"The helmsman utilized a slingshot trajectory that forced us over one million years into the past."


The boy raised his hand again. "Why didn't they try to travel into the future, instead of the past?"


"Good question. In the era we are from, we frown upon people from the past arriving in the future. We don't want them to use future knowledge to gain an advantage over past events. But the secondary reason is that the star ship was being ripped apart, and the past was the safest direction to travel in order to get out of the gravity well of the black hole cluster.”


Alexa raised her hand, and the teacher called on her. "Do people in the era our ancestors came from know we're in the past?"


"That's another good question," the teacher replied. "As far as we know, they think our star ship was destroyed in the supernova, there was no evidence that we survived. And we have been exceptional at staying out of the way of history, so nobody in that era knows we were stranded in the past."


The teacher looked at his electronic tablet. "The topic I want to discuss today involves how people react to being told that time travel exists. By a show of hands, how many of you have told ephemerals that you are a Futurian?"


Several kids raised their hands, including Alexa.


"How did those people react?" The teacher called on a girl in the front row.


"I've told three people, one of them thought I was crazy, one of them believed me, and one of them got paranoid."


"Paranoia is a common response to an ephemeral being told the truth about time travel. It gives some people anxiety. You have to be careful who you tell the truth of your existence to, because you don't want to create panic."


The bell rang that ended class, and the teacher gave them one last piece of advice: "Remember, we need more engineers and scientists! We don't need as many artists, actors or musicians, although if you could follow both the sciences and the arts, that would be best."


When the class was over, Stratus asked Alexa what her next class was.


"I've got P.E. next," Alexa replied.


"I think my Cousin Gamma has P.E. with you!" said Stratus.


When Alexa changed into her P.E. uniform in the locker room and met with the coach in the main gymnasium, he said that he would be teaching them swimming today.


"First year won't get in the water today, you'll have your first day tomorrow," said the coach. "Once you see the swimming area, I think you'll see why. I have some second year students who will demonstrate for you."


When the first year students reached the swimming pool, Alexa was astonished to see a sphere of water floating in the air. Huge pieces of metal extended on six sides of the ball of water; they seemed to be generating force fields that kept the water aloft. A group of second year students stood on a balcony above the water, ready to jump in.


The coach blew his whistle, and the six students leaped into the water. They swam toward the center of the water sphere, but the color of the water was dark enough that they couldn't be easily seen. After swimming for less than a minute, a boy emerged carrying a globe about the size of a softball. He placed it into a holder that had empty slots the same size as the ball.


"Fifty points!" said the computer.


A girl jumped out with a globe, and placed it into an empty slot.


"Thirty points!" said the computer. This went on for some time, until each slot was filled with the metallic globes. The students emerged from the water and re-joined each other on the balcony where they had started from.


"As you can see," said the coach, "If we had two teams playing against each other, it would be a pretty good team sport. This sport became popular in the early 22nd century, and has remained popular ever since. One thing you first years need to understand, is that we refer to future centuries in the past tense. Just get accustomed to it!"


For the rest of the class period, the coach took the students around and showed them the weight training area, and a track they could race on which was indoors. When P.E. was over, Alexa went to the snack bar, where her friends Gamma, Umbra and Stratus were waiting in line.


"Hi Lexie," said Umbra. "Do you have your school credit card?"


"Sure do!" said Alexa, holding it up in the air.


"Did you know that the snack foods here are nutritious?" Umbra asked.


"Really?" Alexa asked.


"They have the proper ratio of protein, complex carbohydrates and fats. You could live off of the pastries here!"


"And best of all, they won't make you fat!" said Gamma, and all four girls laughed.


When the girls had purcahsed their snacks, they sat down at a table together and ate their food.


"What class do you have next period, Lexie?" Gamma asked.


"Neutrino dissimilators," Lexie replied. 


"My brother Stratum has that class next period," said Stratus.


"You really need to pay attention in that class," said Umbra. "There is a test you need to take in order to get your neutrino dissimilator activated. It won't work unless you pass that test."


Lexie made sure to follow Umbra's advice, by studying the neutrino dissimilator text book in her electronic tablet. When Alexa arrived in class, she studied the text book on her electronic tablet as she waited for the class to start. When class started, the teacher took roll and began to explain the structure of an atom.


"The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and neutrons. Protons have a positive charge, while neutrons are neutral. Electrons orbit the nucleus, and they have a negative charge. Protons and neutrons are composed of smaller particles known as quarks and gluons. A dimensional field surrounds the person being miniaturized, and opens a singularity within the center of each quark and gluon particle."


Stratum raised his hand. The teacher called on him.


"Aren't there two dimensional fields?" Stratum asked. "One opens a singularity the same size and shape as the person being miniaturized, and in the other dimensional field, the singularities pull matter from the center of the quarks and gluons into the first dimensional field?"


"Yes," said the teacher, "you really seem to know your stuff. I was just starting off with the basics for the students who are unfamiliar with this technology."


The teacher pointed his teaching staff at two transparent plastic boxes. One was vertical, and the other a horizontal shape.


"If you swallow a miniaturized person," the teacher began, "but you needed to vomit them up, which would be the best container, and why?"


Stratum again raised his hand, and the teacher called on him. "The horizontal container would be best," said Stratum, "because the vomit would be spread out over a wider area, allowing the captive to reach the surface more easily."


"Excellent observation," said the teacher with a smile on his face. 


Alexa took notes on her electronic tablet by typing with her fingers on the touchscreen display. She already knew the structure of an atom from talking to Santiago; his father and grandfather were electricians and he had volunteered information about atoms since they were a lot younger. Alexa raised her hand, and the teacher called on her.


"When is the earliest that we are allowed to take the test for this class, so we qualify to have our neutrino disimilators activated?"


"You could take the test today," said the teacher, "but very few people in our history have passed this test on the first day of class!"


"I want to take it now," said Alexa. "I think I'm ready!"


"Maybe you should wait longer," said the teacher. "To give yourself more time."


"I'm ready now," Alexa replied, "the study guide wasn't that long, and I've absorbed the information as well as I'll ever be able to. I don't think I'll need more time."


"If you say so," said the teacher. "I'm uploading the test to your tablet now," the teacher hit some buttons on his touch screen tablet. "Are there any other people who need to take the test today?"


Stratum raised his hand, and the teacher uploaded the test to his tablet as well.


When the test was completed, Alexa notified the teacher, and it was graded by the computer.


"You scored one hundred percent, Alexa!" said the teacher. "Congratulations!"


Stratum also passed, but scored ninety-eight percent. He turned to Alexa and said, "There's only one person in our history who passed this test on the first day and scored one hundred percent!"


"Who was that?" Alexa asked.


"Morgan Lefevre!" said Stratum.


"Really?" Alexa asked.


"That may be why she appeared to you in the form of a hologram," said Stratum, "she knew you would pass this test just like she did! Everyone in the academy will be talking about it!"


The teacher asked both Alexa and Stratum for their neutrino dissimilators. He inputed the data code that unlocked them, so they were functional.


By the beginning of lunch time, Alexa found out that Stratum was correct. Gamma and Startus sat with her, while Umbra sat at a table with her friends, who were in the same grade as her.


"Stratus, I have a functional shrink ray now!" said Alexa as she held her neutrino dissimilator up for all to see.


"Everyone thinks you're going to turn over to the side of evil," said Stratus. "If you do decide to become the apprentice of Morgan Lefevre, don't let the school officials know about it."


"How could I do that without them knowing?" Alexa asked.


"Beleive me, it is possible," said Stratus. "My older sister has told me about people over the decades who have worked for her to develop lost technology."


"The only thing that passing that test has made me sure of, is that I'm going to become an engineer some day, instead of a lawyer!" 


"But that's exactly what Morgan Lefevre wants from students like you!" said Stratus. "You would be useless to her as a lawyer!"


"It doesn't mean I've lost sight of what a lawyer does," said Alexa. "I still have debate class as an extra-curricular after my last class."


"Whatever you do, don't defend Verso house!" said Gamma.


"Why not?" Alexa asked.


"Because everyone will think you're turning to the dark side!" Gamma replied.


"Defending Verso house is the only reason I want to join debate in the first place!" Alexa replied.

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