1 An outstanding student

It was the year 2070. The rapid growth of technology over the last 70 years had given birth to myriads of life-altering inventions which had propelled humanity into a new age—the age of advanced AIs and self-learning androids.

Some chose to embrace the limitless potential of modern robotics, seeking to blur the line between man and machine, while others sought to harness the true power of the human body through genetic engineering.

The last pandemic had wiped out 80% of the human population, effectively reducing thousands of cities to ghost towns. A miracle drug had saved humanity from certain extinction, finally stemming the tide of death.

As the mighty nations fell from their pinnacle of glory, and the smaller ones were torn asunder by civil strife, the world leaders came together to form coalitions and alliances. Even in the face of catastrophe, the West remained aloof from the East, due to a vast difference in ideologies.

This gave rise to two Mega Nations: Technoria and Psionis.

[**Technoria**

**Solis City**

**Aurus District**]

In a classroom situated on the 5th floor of Eon Academy, a tall, red-haired lady dressed in a spotless white shirt and smooth black denim trousers was giving a presentation on bionic implants and prosthetics.

The classroom consisting of 30 high school students was completely captivated by the holographic 3-D display of the human body before them.

"Class, today we live in a rapidly changing world where we can achieve almost anything through the use of technology. In the past, people used to worship Gods, and pray to the priests to cure their illnesses. We no longer need to depend on miracles. We are the Gods now!"

Trembling in excitement, she bent forward and declared, "Modern medicine can cure every disease known to mankind! Through advanced surgery, we can not only replace internal organs but entire limbs as well! We are not the frail and helpless beings we used to be 500 years ago. Today, we stand on the brink of achieving immortality!"

Everyone in the class was listening with keen interest, well everyone except a scrawny, young boy, with tousled black hair, sitting in the last row. He was paying zero attention to what was going on around him as his eyes were too busy staring at the tablet under his desk. His fingers were moving erratically and there was a look of fervent concentration on his face.

Luckily, the teacher hadn't noticed him yet. She was still enthusiastically teaching about the human body. Having finished with her introduction, she put on a pair of holo-control gloves.

"In the past, people used ordinary prosthetic implants to replace damaged limbs, but now we have access to something much better."

The teacher made a claw-like gesture with her left hand and pulled out the left arm of the holographic display, separating it from the rest of the body. Flicking her wrist, she deleted that arm, sending it into a digital disposal basket.

She followed this, by snapping the fingers of her right hand and bringing up a holographic display of an advanced bionic arm. Fixing the bionic arm to the main hologram, she looked at her students excitedly.

"Unlike an ordinary prosthetic arm, which can only help with basic functions such as grabbing bottles and opening doors, this bionic arm can easily lift weights ten times as heavy as the user. With a grip strength of 300 pounds, it can easily crush cans, bend iron bars and turn bricks to dust. This arm is corrosion-resistant, battery-powered and, can be controlled with the user's mind."

She continued manipulating the hologram, replacing the natural human eyes with bionic ones, and substituting the normal legs with advanced bionic limbs.

"These individuals with one or more bionic implants are often referred to as cyborgs—humans with cybernetic implants. What I showed you are just basic implants, there are many more currently in development, which can not only perform basic day-to-day functions, but push the human body to its limits. Arms that can punch through steel, legs that can make you run faster than a cheetah, eyes that can magnify a tiny speck of dust a thousand times, ears that can detect ultrasonic sound waves and pick up even the faintest vibrations, and a heart that can pump blood for 50 lifetimes without stopping. The possibilities are endless!"

She was about to turn on the 52-inch curved LED display behind her when she noticed the boy in the back row furiously tapping his fingers on his electronic device.

"Kevin Lee Smith!" she yelled.

The boy looked up at her nervously, his eyes peeking through his unkempt black locks shading his forehead. Before he could make an excuse, the teacher was onto him in a flash.

"Student: Kevin Lee Smith. Device: Zenomax Pro. Activate public display."

Immediately, a holographic display of what Kevin was doing on his device popped up for the whole class to see. A couple of armored suits, equipped with all the latest weapons, came into view. They were duking it out inside a large circular arena.

"So, this game of yours is more interesting than what I'm teaching right now?"

"I...uhh. I'm so...sorry," Kevin stuttered. "I really—"

"Stand up when spoken to!"

Kevin slowly got up, still holding the device in his hand. He looked agitated for some reason and he was constantly tapping his left foot on the ground.

"I asked you a question, Kevin!"

"Ms. Parker, I really need to complete this duel. I will lose the tournament if this guy beats me today," Kevin blurted out, and started tapping on his device again.

"The nerve!" Ms. Parker pointed a small handheld laser at his tab and clicked the cylindrical pen-like device in her hand.

The tab was immediately pulled up from his hand and sucked by the ceiling as it digitally deconstructed and reformed in few seconds. He kept staring at his empty hands, gloomily, knowing that he was going to lose the match.

The teacher walked around her podium and crossed her arms, one on top of the other. "Student record access: Kevin Lee Smith, 12th standard."

A robotic female voice read out the data which popped up over Kevin's head. It was Mira, the academic assistant AI which was connected to the school's mainframe and in charge of all digital transactions, utility, and information.

// Student: Kevin Lee Smith.

Standard: 12.

Age: 18.

Sex: Male.

Place of residence: 29, Hatterman Avenue, Aurus District.

Parents: Tony Lee Smith and Lucy Lee Smith. //

"Mira, please send automated cautionary emails to Tony and Lucy Lee Smith. Set up holo-meet for 2:30 pm, today."

// Emails sent.

Setting up holo-meet.....

Invitations accepted.

Holo-meet set for 2:30 pm. //

Kevin sighed with regret. This day was turning out to be horrible. He was all set to lose the Robo Warrior Tournament, and now their science teacher had called for his parents. There wasn't any way this could get any worse, or so he thought.

"Do you have something to say, Kevin? Or are you just going to stand there like a statue?" the teacher asked.

Kevin was so pissed right now that he turned away, grumbling an incoherent reply. He was not in the mood to apologize, especially in front of a giggling class of buffoons who hated his guts.

Ms. Parker waited for a reply, and when she saw that the boy had still not learned his lesson, she raised her voice once more. "Kevin Lee Smith, you are to report to the principal's office immediately."

"You already took away my device and called my parents!" he spoke up, shocking everyone. This timid little boy who never had the guts to speak up against his bullies was now talking back to a teacher!

He realized his mistake a moment too late and tried to apologize. "I'm really sorry, Ms. Parker. I didn't mean to. I promise I won't play games during the class again. Just let me go this time."

Ms. Smith adjusted her rimless glasses on the bridge of her nose and calmly replied, "This isn't the first time I've caught you gaming in the middle of my lecture. This needs to stop." She looked at Kevin's downcast eyes but didn't show any leniency. "Mira, please take Kevin to the principal's office."

Before Kevin could say the word, 'stop', a fiberglass restraint secured him tightly to the chair, curving around his waist and the desk floated up. There were electromagnetic pathways buried under the floor, which aligned with the desk, and then it zoomed out of the classroom, heading straight for the principal's front door.

The steely gray door opened automatically with a beeping sound, and Kevin gently glided inside. His restraint was immediately removed and he was brought to the principal's desk.

"I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't mean to—"

"It's you again, Kevin. Why am I not surprised?" The man with his back toward him turned his chair around and looked at him intently.

The principal, William Haughton, was a burly-looking man wearing a pinstriped black suit and black trousers. His left eye and right arm were both bionic, and he wasn't the friendliest of people.

Getting summoned to the principal's office was the most horrible thing that could happen to any student at the academy. Haughton didn't like jokes, had a very short temper, and liked to suspend students for the smallest of reasons.

"I was in a really good mood today before you came in Kevin. I'm tired of hearing teachers complain about you all the damn time!" Haughton rose from his chair, towering over Kevin with his 6 feet tall, imposing figure, and droned out his instructions. "Mira, deduct 200 Academic Credit Points from Kevin Lee Smith. And set up 2 hours of solitary detention."

// Preparing detention room....

Room prepared.

200 ACP deducted. //

"You've really been a most outstanding student, Kevin. When you grow up, you're gonna end up as a janitor or worse. If I hear one more complaint against you, I will rusticate you from our academy and make sure you are blacklisted from all academic institutions." Looking directly into Kevin's eyes, he thundered, "Get out of my sight!"

Frustrated and hurt, Kevin left the room and stood quietly in the corridor. He hated the principal so much that he wished he could just punch him in the face. Tears welled up in his eyes as he made a fist with his right hand.

"I hope you die, you sick old bastard!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a loud shot rang out from the room behind. Kevin turned around and the door opened automatically. The principal's body lay cold on the ground, his eyes bulging out and face distorted in pain. There was a hole in his chest, the size of an apple, but there was not a single drop of blood anywhere.