Road Of Advancement

After being dismissed, Theo Hurried to the cafeteria. Theodore surprised everyone there, including the kitchen lady whose mouth fell wide open, by ordering as many as seven plates filled with food!

In the family compound, everyone could order food freely. However, ordering seven plates was very uncommon! In this day and age, food was made to be as nutritious as possible. A simple meal could last a regular person for a full day! This opened up valuable time for the busy natured humans. However many people still went out for dinner as it was a tradition that was hard to shed.

Ordering seven plates might have been uncommon, however people were much more astonished when they saw Theodore finish all seven plates! First, they thought the heir might have been a bit spoiled. Now they only considered him a huge glutton! This feat of finishing seven plates in a row later became a bit of a legend as his 'record' was recorded on a metal plate and put up on a prominent place in the cafeteria. Many challenged this 'record' only to have several people visit the infirmary later.

Theodore, however, smiled even when his stomach was loudly protesting against the incredible amount of high-quality food.

'Host has consumed considerable amounts of nutrients. Helping user digest nutrients. User status back to normal. Revising genetic treatment integration plan according to nutrient intake... Resuming task, 34%.. 48%..69%..84%..'

'Genetic treatment hastening process has been halted. The further hastening of the process would lead to detrimental outcomes. Host no longer has any tasks that require immediate hastening of the gene treatment.' Summit reported whilst Theodore stuffed his face.

He cleaned out all seven of his plates by the time Summit finished its task. If he could progress even further he would've gotten another plate of food! A bit more bacon and egg might've been nice, Theodore thought.

If the kitchen lady had known of Theodore's thought, she would have fainted. She might even have a heart attack.

After flashing a satisfied smug smile at the seven plates and having some bots pick them up for cleaning, Theodore started making his way to the 46th floor where he'd be tutored by his regular tutor Mr.Jones. The previous Theodore had hated liberal/fine arts and languages. However, Bryan had always had a passion for certain fine arts. He had liked photography and digital arts much in his former life. Even though he only delved into these as hobbies, he considered himself quite artistic.

So unlike before, Theodore would actually give a damn for what Mr Jones taught! For a second he pondered whether or not he should act as the former Theodore? Would the change not alert Mr Jones? After brief consideration, he brushed his concerns off. Even if Mr Jones would be surprised. What would he think? That Theodore had been replaced by an incarnated hill-billy? Definitely not if the man was sane.

The man would likely just see his new motivation in the light of his need to succeed in the entrance exam. He would probably even be delighted that his student would finally take up a proper learning attitude.

He strode up to the makeshift classroom that he could remember from his inherited memories. He also cross-referenced it with Summit, who confirmed this.

This room was once a room for meetings. When Theodore grew up alongside with his nephews the home tutor had taken this room for his lessons. As prices for rent was sky-high in the capitol of Regus 2, Mr Jones had taken this teaching job for the Thompson family, as living off his art and language talent was almost impossible. Part of his contract was a home in the family compound and a separate classroom.

Usually, Theodore would have to visit several of the contracted teachers to follow his lessons on various topics. They would sometimes teach from a distance using a virtual room or projection. However, Mr Jones insisted on old-school physical lessons!

Because AI's were usually inflexible and were unable to bond with students and, in general, couldn't creatively dumb down complex matter, humans were still the first choice when it came to teaching positions. They, however, had long started upon relying on the AI's to assist them during lessons.

Because people were more comfortable around other humans, the Thompson family still had many people on their payroll for miscellaneous tasks. The loan for these jobs wasn't all that much and the family could easily afford it. This was considered common to many affluent family households. However, some families didn't value human relations and comfort as much and would employ vastly more AI. The Walter family was a good example of a family that had more AI serve them.

They were great fans of automatization and considered themself a family that was more advanced than others! They firmly believed that technology should and could replace many of the human occupancies with higher work-efficiency! This belief and the way this reflected life in their household also made it so that the family members also valued efficiency over personal relationsh.i.p.s.

Theodore approached the door to the classroom and flinched for a second as he saw a blue scanner light him up as a generic voice welcomed him to Mr Jones class.

"Welcome young master Theodore. You were expected. Mr Jones has already checked in earlier. " It stated. It sounded so bland that Theodore for a second though that even Summit sounded friendlier.

"A yes Theodore, please take a seat next to the fireplace. Today we'll make great use of our time." The middle-aged man said as he stood by the virtual fireplace. Theodore wanted to rebut his teacher but decided against it. If the man wanted to enjoy a non-existing fireplace, who am I to tell him off?

Therefore Theodore made his way over to a comfortable looking brown leather rocking chair. Next to this chair another, exactly the same chair stood. Apparently, the teacher was going to have a dialogue kind of lesson next to the 'fireplace; .

Did he have this redecorated? Theodore remembered a different look of the classroom. He assumed the changes were made during his absence. He had been in a coma for a while after all.

As he sat down, his b.u.t.t touched nothing but air before he fell to the ground.

As Theodore hit the ground cursing, the interior of the room changed to a familiar design.

The chairs and fireplace had vanished in the air and a smiling Mr Jones stood next to Theodore, stretching his hand out to help him up.

"Today, Theodore, we will be discussing critical thinking and illusions in art. You see, your mind is actually easily tricked. If you are not critical, not aware, then you're easy to fool."

"When you came in, you easily recognised the fireplace as a fake. However, you complacently still took the rest for real. This is not really 'a mistake' perse, but the way your brain is configured to work. If you don't actively put your brain to work, it will just enter a 'passive' mode. In this mode, it will not critically analyze information that enters!"

"There are many ways to create illusions! The easiest way to succeed in creating an illusion is when you lead someone into the illusion. If a person is in a relaxed state, he will be unalert to many things."

"Another way to create illusions is by confusing the brains. By using contrast, colour, light and patterns we can deceive the brains into perceiving things differently than they actually are."

"Let this 'disappearing' chair be a lesson, that something, even if it looks real, does not necessarily have to be."

"With this, we come to a very important concept: reality. And in a certain sense, reality differs from person to person. It is subjective. And subjectivity is at the heart of art. What you convey might not necessarily be what an observer would see."

Theodore's mind halted during this dense rant of absolute gibberish. He suddenly felt like he couldn't like this lesson, even if he was interested in the topic! This man was skipping from one subject to another without even bothering to properly connect or introduce his subjects.

Theodore could only blink and try to figure out whatever this man was blabbering on about.

He couldn't help but doze off a few times. It was simply undoable to keep his attention focused on the 'lesson' of Mr Jones.

"Well, I'm impressed, Theodore. You're actually trying to stay active in this lesson. I've tested your determination, but I'm thoroughly convinced. It seems you're actually, finally, putting effort into this subject." Mr Jones spoke after he ranted for about half an hour.

"This course is about ethics, integrity, moral rights and obligations, about law, about culture, about psychology and arts. You have never given a damn about these kinds of things, so I always monologued my way through our sessions without taking much note of you. Guess you coma changed you." Mr Jones said seriously.

"Well, Theodore. If you're into this for real, let's start again. I've been told to instruct you seriously for the next three and a half months. Even your grandfather has started to give a tad bit for your studies. I'll tell you that entering KMU is not easy. Like every second-tier university they are extremely strict during their selection. If we have to cram all the knowledge you need for passing you will have to work hard." Jones clapped his hands.

The room changed looks once again. The room now looked like a high-standards learning environment. Unlike the somewhat 'homey' feeling it had before, it had become a proper classroom.

"Here is your reading list for the next two weeks. I will test you on the content. For the relevant subjects we will be studying please refer to the attached list."

"Your knowledge of psychology ranks practically the lowest among all your peers in the family. This should be your focus. Without a decent grasp on applied psychology, you will miserably fail at leadership tests."

"Your most redeeming subject in my class is the arts. At the very least you're in the middle of the pack. I don't expect you to rise to the top of my 'subjective' ranking, but I believe with a little effort you can gain decent marks in this subject."

"As for the rest. Well, below average would be the best description. Maybe because you've never tried. But you'll have to put up decent marks nonetheless."

"I've already looked into the exam subjects at KMU. They will use comprehensive tests, even simulations to see whether you can apply the knowledge you hopefully have crammed by then. They will also subject you to personality tests. The written tests are on familiar subjects; Civil rights, Psychology, Philosophy, Business strategy, Military strategy, History, Geography, Physics, Biology, Mathematics and Chemistry."

"Next to that, they will hold practical tests. They will naturally test your endurance, strength and the like during an obstacle course. They will also test you in special subjects for their elite courses. These entail engineering, design, fleet command and mech piloting. As for the format, it is not fixed and is decided on yearly by the board of admissions."

"Just to put it blandly, you have a lot on your plate mister Thompson. Both your learning capacity will be severely tested in the next three and a half months as your physical capabilities. You can only try as hard as you can, there are no guarantees." Mr Thompson summed up the challenges he would face the upcoming months!

Even if Theodore had known this before, hearing it out loud still affected him severely!

This was no easy feat! He was going to be in for it!

'This middle aged geezer has always been playing with me? And we paid him nonetheless? He actually taught the others seriously? Was he such a bad student? My god...'

Theodore realised that since his former self had been such a miser during his liberal studies, he couldn't even tap into the memories of the former self! Because, even if he could remember, he wasn't even seriously taught!

'Dammnit, why couldn't you just pay attention? Now I'm stuck with this mess!'

In the remaining lesson time, Mr Jones taught Theodore seriously. Extremely seriously.

He would walk up and down the virtual projected smart- board, making notes and questioning Theodore.

Sometimes he would mock Theodore for not thinking things through. Sometimes he would encourage a line of thought that Theodore made in reaction to a question. Sometimes he would just rapid-fire questions about what he just had explained.

The lesson quickly became very interactive and Theodore very much enjoined the serious lesson. They even became so engrossed in their lesson that Theodore had to be reminded by Summit that he couldn't be late for his scheduled lunch with his grandfather.

"Well, this is all for today's' lessons. I'm very satisfied with our progress and your attitude. Perhaps you might not be such a bad student after all. Don't forget to spend time on your reading list. Now then go, report to your grandfather." Mr Jones spoke, much more affectionately as he had ever done before. His satisfaction had even lead to a frugal smile.

'Your grandfather is waiting in his study. You are estimated to be three minutes and forty-four seconds late.' Summit reported to Theodore.

Theodore than hastened himself along the corridors to reach the elevator. Though he would be late, the old geezer wouldn't be upset right?