Machinist of Mana

I had a couple of weeks until my field trip, but during that time my teachers seemed driven to make sure that I was going to be up to speed. Which with the extra lessons that the Headmaster had foisted upon us meant that I was firmly to the grindstone. Basically I worked all day until I fell into bed heavily at the end of the day.

It was in the evening as I lay there that I realized that this too was a test. Our Headmaster had twice seen me take a leading place in some incident, and twice I'd succeeded. I was winning, and doing so well. Now he was giving me a chance at a special event, where I would be seen by potentially important people. If I understood him he wanted to make sure that I didn't disappoint.

Well, I'd never been one to take a challenge lightly, and so when I woke up the next morning I went right back to it with fervor. From nearly the moment I woke up I pulled my books in close to begin tearing my way through the homework and reading. I was fast, and my memory was sharper than it had even been my first time through life. Each passage caused me to struggle, but each passage got me that much closer to victory.

As I went through classes that day my teachers seemed to notice too, that even though I had to listen to what they were saying I was pouring over other things too. Professor Killic saw me and smiled, for he recognized the look on my face.

“How are you proceeding Percival?” he asked after class had let out. I had a little bit of a break before my next one and didn't see any reason to move when I had plenty I could do here right now.

“Well enough Professor. If all goes to schedule I'll be ready well before it is time to leave,” I assured him.

“Good, good, just so long as your work doesn't suffer I foresee no issues. Your last essay was a bit interesting, a pure voting model with all equal. Similar systems are used for smaller villages and the like, but postulating what a society would look like if it were universal is interesting.”

“Doesn't take much sir, it would fail,” I answered.

“Yes, yes, the inherent issue of the powerful refusing to allow themselves to be lowered to the same level as the weak. I cannot see a potent mage accepting something like that,” he nodded.

“Even before that sir, a pure democratic system fails. People are reactive, and far too much so. If everything can be voted on then they will strip the rights from those they dislike, and unbalance it quickly. There has to be a theoretical backbone, something difficult or impossible to destroy that protects everyone,” I explained, the difference between a republic and a pure democracy was important.

“Even those you dislike, the disgusting and horrid?” he asked, posing an old argument.

“Especially them sir. So long as they remain within the strictures of the law they must be free to be wrong. Without that how will we ever truly know and dismantle their views?”

He laughed. “Percival, one day I think you'll be a man to watch. Perhaps I disagree with some things with you but do you know how many of those your age actually think about what they believe? Ah, it is refreshing.”

I held out a few papers for him. “Well, then I think you'll enjoy these. I've only got two more left of those you've assigned me.”

Working on my core, and getting it done would have been amazing, but sadly there really wasn't enough time. There was only one way to do it, with no shortcuts for me, and that way involved hour after hour of meditation. Professor Ruian of course was fully in support of me trying, but understood that it wasn't feasible. She made up for this by giving me extra homework the local form of coding.

There was no case for me being a computer scientist, but I'd had to work with the machines enough that I quickly made my way through it. We were still on the basics, how to do the simplest of functions and make the simplest of things. There was a lot to it after all, but that came in time, first one had to build the foundations. While I was unfamiliar with the particular language the experience with those did at the least give me a head start.

Surely there was more left of the records of that ancient elven king who'd made the cores. Perhaps one day I'd travel to those ancestral lands and learn more about him, more about both where my family came from and someone who I was almost certain must be another inter-world traveler. The only thing tempering that is that grandfather was from there and almost never spoke of it. That was odd, as older people did tend to reminisce, but he didn't, not at all.

Putting those thoughts aside I continued with my work, with the exercises, the classes on combat, math, science, and the like. All the extra war-games we had to do seemed almost natural as I focused everything I had into getting ready, being where I needed to be. For I had no illusions that if the staff thought that I wasn't, they'd deny me this chance.

Before I knew it, the day had come. It would be a short trip, and days before I'd packed all I would need, uniforms and underclothes, all ready. Button by button I put on my outfit for the day and prepared myself, before I left the dormitory though a visitor came.

Headmaster Logan wasn't one to wait for anyone in a place where he was permitted to be and stepped into my room like he owned it, looking around at how I'd set things up. At least it was clean, rather than the disaster that I normally kept. A small amount of foresight that I'd be away making me pick up the clutter and the mess.

“Acceptable,” he declared, seeming to want to add 'barely' onto the end, but withholding it.

“Sir,” I said in greeting.

“At ease, I've merely come to give you a final once over, and issue you your weapon for this operation.” At my look of confusion he held forth a sword, a proper war weapon like the training ones we used in exercises. “That cane of yours may be a good sidearm but you'll be acting as a guard, trainee or not, and you must carry a proper blade. This is your responsibility and it will be returned to me in good condition or I will have a full accounting.”

I gulped as I took it, having never been actual military in my previous life, but having heard the horror stories of what happened when a man lost his weapon from friends. There were no doubts in my mind that if I returned without this sword that I might as well find another to throw myself upon.

“Understood sir.” Were the words that finally made it to my lips as I gripped the hilt of the sword. I knew it was enchanted, probably with the standard issue things, as I could feel the magic flowing into it ever so slightly.

“Good, now let's go.”

I picked up my bags and followed after him as he marched towards the front of the campus. It was odd, leaving this place again. For weeks I'd been here without a break, not really having time for any more trips to the city, and soon after I got back it would be time for our yearly break, but for now I was heading towards a new destination, to meet with others and show off the merits of our school. Would there be others like me there? Other youths pulled into this? Or would I be alone for now, honestly I didn't know.