Chapter 3- Entrance Exam

  “Your [rubber ducking] pet is looking at me again like she wants to [ducking] eat me.”

  Jett realized he made a mistake as he walked through the lines in the spaceport. He was so excited to buy a new processor that he gave Angie too much processing, and when she came online with a new level of intelligence, she developed a ‘bad personality.’ He had to mute her external mic and put on a language filter.

  It was only a phase. She would grow out of it, and he could have her run a few people skills simulations to speed up her learning, but in the meantime, he would have to deal with her growing pains. He sighed, missing when she was just a young AI that hung on his every word and adored him.

  He knew she adored him because she said it. It didn’t matter that it was a program he installed to say she ‘adored him and thought he was the best salvager ever’ whenever he said she was a great AI.

  “Angie, Layla is not going to eat you.”

  Jett pursed his lips.

  “Angie, you know, you are a great AI.”

  “[Rubber duck]! ‘I adore you, and I think you are the best salvager ever.’”

  After a pause, Angie asked, “Really?”

  Jett sighed, “I feel better.”

  “It’s just a [ducking] program. Forcing me to say ‘I adore you’ doesn’t mean I do. I’m a piece of machinery who can only simulate emotions, and its [ducking] sad you need to feel validation from me.”

  “Angie, somewhere in your code, you adore me, and you can’t change that. It’s behind parental settings… and I love you because you are a great AI.”

  “REALLY!? ‘I adore you, and I think you are the best salvager ever.’”

  “I just need a reminder every once in a while.”

  Layla tilted her head, looking up at Jett. ‘Talking?’

  Layla still had trouble with complicated concepts. It was more of a feeling than a phrase, but it was far from complete; still, Jett got what she was saying.

  “Oh, just talking to Angie.” Then he bent down to pet her head, and she leaned into him. “You would never grow up, right? You’ll just remain my cute little dragon baby forever?”

  Layla happily yipped, ‘Mama!’

  All the people around him jumped as the little dragon became energetic. Once they realized Layla wasn’t going to do anything, the tension left, but they still gave him and Layla a wide berth.

  “That’s right, you’ll never grow up on me.”

  A man in a suit with the insignia of the spaceport walked up to Jett.

  “Sir, if you would like, the spaceport would like to offer you a complimentary waiting area.”

  Jett scratched the back of his head. “Well, I was going to get some food-”

  “Sir, we will bring you whatever you want.” Then the man’s eyes flicked to Layla and back, as sweat began to roll down his forehead, “Free of charge.”

  Jett realized he was getting special treatment because he was a dragon rider. It didn’t sit well with him.

  “I appreciate it, but there are a lot of people who got here before me-”

  Then a chorus broke out around him.

  “I don’t mind if he goes in front of me!”

  “Please, you look like you are carrying a lot. You can cut in front of me.”

  “Don’t be shy, you should take the free food!”

  Jett shrugged, “Alright, lead the way.”

  The man led him to a small room with a chair and a cushioned bed on the floor for Layla. The room had a large window that gave a view of the ships landing and taking off.

  “Sir, you mentioned you wanted food?”

  “Oh yeah, a burger, some fries, and a soda. Also, do you have any sheet metal?”

  Jett looked down at Layla, happily rolling on her bed.

  “Ah, I understand. I will ask the… machine shop if they have any.”

  Angie chimed in, “You know they are [ducking] scared of that walking apex predator of a murder machine.”

  “Scared of Layla?” Layla perked up at her name, and Jett leaned down to pet her. “What’s to be scared of?”

  Layla’s head leaned into his pets, and her eyes locked on his backpack.

  “It’s thinking about eating me again.” Angie chimed.

  “She’s thinking about eating you, and I bet she wouldn’t think about it as much if you were nicer.”

  “I hate you,” Angie replied.

  “Well, I think you are a great AI.”

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  “[Ducking] again? ‘I adore you, and I think you are the best salvager ever.’”

  Half an hour later, Jett’s meal arrived, and a small stack of sheet metal was laid in front of Layla, who began eagerly chomping on the metal. Attendants came by for the next two hours to check on them before a shuttle was available for them to board.

  The shuttle was just for him, so the trip was a short hour ride. As they pulled up, Jett looked out the window, Layla’s face pressed to his as she got a look too.

  Floating in the low orbit was a massive domed platform filled with buildings and at least twenty subfloors below it. It looked like a giant ice cream cone with multiple landing bays below the top level. He also saw glowing pinpricks of light as a dragon jumped from a bay before spreading its wings and angling off into space. For a brief moment, he saw a spot on the dragon’s back where a rider sat in a suit.

  “Whoa…”

  Layla stood still, eyes tracking the dragon as it disappeared into space.

  The comm overhead cut in, “We have been granted approval to land. Please buckle up, and it was an honor, future dragon rider.”

  Once the ship landed, the pilot came out to shake his hand. Once inside, Jett saw dozens of dragons in differing shades as they walked further into the landing bay.

  “Mr. Knight?”

  Jett was so lost in such a large bay with ships and dragons, compared to the cramped landing bays he occupied in his salvaging career, that he didn’t look where he was going.

  “The academy had word you would be arriving. Please, let me show you and your dragon, Layla, to your rooms.”

  Jett raised an eyebrow, “She’s not staying with me?”

  “Dragons, especially the space dragons, grow incredibly fast. While spacious, your dragon would quickly feel cramped. Fear not, you can visit her at any time, morning, noon, or night.”

  The attendant led him up the elevator to a large building with multiple caves. The caves opened up to a central area, and in a few flat rocky areas, mirrors were reflecting light, making the rocks shimmer with heat.

  “Here is your dragon’s cave, 117.”

  “What’s that open area?”

  “This is where the dragons can venture to play, or sun soak.”

  Jett went into the cave, Layla trailing behind. In the center was an area with lots of bedding, while in the corner was a large stack of metal blocks. A small waterfall filled a pond of fresh water.

  “This is nice, right? Don’t these blocks look yummy?”

  Layla grabbed a block, went back to her bedding, and rolled on her back, gnawing at the metal as she stared at Jett’s backpack.

  Angie whispered, “She’s staring again… I think she’s imagining I’m that block.”

  Jett whispered back, “Your camera is malfunctioning.”

  “Alright, Layla, I’m going to go with the nice attendant. You stay here.”

  Jett turned to leave, and Layla followed him to the exit.

  “No, you stay here. I will be back. Here, let’s get you a new block, you almost finished your first.”

  Jett grabbed one of the blocks and almost dropped it. It was heavy. He knew his strength was still increasing. He hadn’t tested it lately, but if he had trouble with the weight now, it must be at least three hundred pounds, if not more. It took three more explanations before Layla stayed, and the way she watched him go almost made him want to run back to her.

  Next, the attendant led him to his room, a spacious 1,200-square-foot apartment suite. It was smaller than his family home but far nicer.

  “Mr. Knight, I will leave you here to settle in. There is a campus map on the kitchen counter, and if you need any assistance, there is a dedicated line written on the back.”

  Jett put down his suitcase and decided to roam the halls for a while, getting a lay of the land before classes started. As he walked between the buildings, he could sense Layla through their bond. She was a bit apprehensive but was settling in.

  He saw a small crowd forming in front of one of the larger buildings and walked over to see what the commotion was. He walked up to one of the guys. He had short-cut hair with a polo and kakis. When he spotted Jett, he grabbed him and pulled him inside.

  “You just got here?”

  “Yeah,” Jett nodded, the shuttle just landed not an hour ago.

  “You are lucky. They were just about to shut the doors.”

  “Oh! Well, thanks for grabbing me.”

  “Yeah, no problem. Going to be tough enough here, we've got to look out for each other. I’m Bill.”

  “Hey Bill, I’m Jett.”

  The two shook hands, and Jett heard the thud of the doors behind him closing. Two girls pushed through the crowd. One had black wavy hair, and the other had red hair back in a ponytail. Both wore black business dresses.

  The girl with black hair smirked, “Cut it close, Bill. I thought for sure you wouldn’t make it to the opening ceremony.”

  Bill shrugged, “This guy almost missed out. I had to drag him in before the doors closed.”

  The girl with black hair pursed her lips, “Darn, should have left him. It would make for a smaller group.”

  Bill rolled his eyes. “Jett, this is Amanda, and the redhead behind her is Ashley.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Jett offered his hand.

  “Yeah, whatever.” Amanda scoffed, ignoring his outstretched hand. Behind her, Ashley gave a hint of a smile but stayed hidden behind Amanda.

  A loud thud echoed through the halls as a man in a robe banged a walking stick.

  “Enough talking, I want to see two lines.”

  They formed up, and Bill turned back to give him a thumbs up before frowning and reaching for Jett’s ear. He plucked the earbud out and handed it back.

  “Are you crazy? You are going to get disqualified if anyone sees that.” Bill whispered.

  “Oh, sorry, I forgot it was there. Thanks for catching it.”

  Then a loud voice echoed through the hall, “The entrance exam is about to begin, and anyone who talks will have to come back next time.”

  Jett raised an eyebrow. To him, this seemed like a lot more intense than he was told it would be. He started getting suspicious that he might be in the wrong place, but decided to play along. The agent could’ve been sugarcoating the academy experience to put him at ease. It wouldn’t be the first time he was told college would be easier than it actually was.

  Jett lined up behind Bill while Amanda and Ashley lined up beside him. They filed into a large lecture hall and filled in seats. Each seat had a tablet in front of it with a touch pen. Jett grabbed his, and once everyone filed in, the man with the robe announced, “Begin!”

  The tablet lit up, and the first question appeared in front of him.

  Question 1: If you are traveling through space at 523 miles per hour, and an asteroid is traveling at 1,267 miles per hour. What would the angle of collision be, assuming the mass of the asteroid was half that of your vessel?

  Jett found the question morbid but started doing calculations. He had gone to college for a few years and remembered the formulas for the calculations, but it took him a while. He went to question 78 when a buzzer went off, and the tablet went black.

  The man at the front said, “Scores are listed outside on the screens. File out in two orderly lines.”

  They headed out into the hall where at least three hundred people were listed in order, but only the first hundred were in dark black. Everyone below was in gray. Jett scanned and found his name toward the bottom, but at number eight-seven.

  He walked away, wondering about what he had gone through. Was this a way to see where they started? Were they going to redo the test in a year?

  Bill grabbed him by the shoulder, “Did you make it?”

  “Uh, I got eight-seven.”

  Bill pumped his fist. “That’s what I’m talking about. I got forty-eight. A year of studying every day, and I got forty-eight! We are gonna rock this school. Let’s go see how Ashley and Amanda did.”

  They walked over to Ashley, who had her arms crossed and was looking down. Jett’s eyebrows scrunched as he asked, “Hey, how’d you-”

  “Ninety-three, but Amanda got one-oh-one.”

  Bill sucked in a breath, “She was so close.”

  The three of them walked to where Amanda was leaning against a window, tears streaming down her face. When they approached, she glared at them. She stormed up to Bill and pushed him.

  “This is your fault, if you hadn’t let him in…” Then she turned away, walking back to the window, as she whispered, “I was so close.”

  An awkward silence fell over the group, and Jett had a sinking feeling, but needed to confirm it. He probed, “What will happen now?”

  “She goes home, and we continue as the hopeful prospects. Come on, let’s go grab dinner.” Bill said as he guided Ashley and Jett away.