Ability Index (Larry Oswald)
PERFECT DETECTIVE: A Special Ability that allows him to know various basic information about his target e.g. Age, Race, Motive, Skill etc.. It also allows him to get certain premonitions about targets. In it's Advanced state, it makes targets unable to tell any lie when they've heard Larry's voice.
YEAR: 2161
LOCATION: Boys Dorm B09934, Orion Academy Inner Zone
"Whew!" Darey heaved as he finally offloaded the last of his belongings and dropped on his bed.
When they arrived at Orion, all personal properties, even down to what they were wearing were taken, replaced by Orion custom outfits, as well as identical properties. Darey personally fancied the sweatshirt and so decided to keep it for the time being. Since no outside property could make it's way beyond the Outer Layer of Orion Academy, it duplicated all the properties they brought, using Orion materials and would use those to replace their own.
When the transfers successfully finished their Placement exams, their properties would be waiting for them in their room, within the Inner Chamber. Within his bag, were also Orion Academy uniforms, which could be designed and customized by using the control interface embedded in it. Settings like the color, size, and type were adjustable. The badge was however constant, as well as the core fabric used. This made things more efficient, as uniformity was one of the things Orion took most seriously.
Darey looked around his room. There were no disruptors lined on the walls, there were no security measures against Ability Usage. He smiled.
"So this is what it means to be in the Inner Zone." Darey said to himself.
His room was very different from the one he used at the Outer Zone. For one, the quality had dropped. Secondly, the size and luxuries, even appliances which were available in the previous lodging could not be compared with his current accommodation.
"It sucks to be a Beginner uh?" Darey mused at himself.
Even with the discrimination, The people of Orion Academy were not savages. Darey still had the necessary things needed for his new life, no, even more than needed. Most Nigerian students were not as opportune to experience the kind of lodging he had, especially in a college hostel.
"I guess i should get ready for tomorrow." Darey decided, as he got up and went out of his bedroom to begin his preparations.
The Next Day
Location: Secondary Academic Grounds, Orion Inner Zone.
The first thing that came to Darey's mind as he saw the various huge buildings before him was "Massive."
While it's true Darey has seen Orion in his future life, after the Harvest, It could not be compared to the glory it possessed in it's prime. Darey had also watched several documentaries on Orion Academy, as well as exhibitions, but most of them stopped at the Outer Zone. A few were taken in the Middle Zone, but that was it. And of course, there was the Orion Fest, but that only took place once every year, and it took place at The Grand Grounds, located at the biggest building in the Middle Zone.
Darey, who was wearing his Orion uniform, had not had time to extensively customize it. He had only slightly changed the color of his sleeve button to a deeper shade of black. His wine blazer still remained the same, as well as the designs on it. His inner shirt was plain white, while his dark blue tie and black pants were perfectly fit to suit his needs.
He was fine with his appearance, that is, until he saw the students before him. All of them had extensively and severely altered their Uniforms, some even changing the design and form to suit their creative tastes. He saw hoodies, jackets as well as other varying attires which made him look like the weird one.
Darey took in the view of the school grounds, it was really massive. The entire Secondary Level College, excluding the dorms, which had separate grounds, was larger than any park Darey had ever seen. The buildings were very huge, and possessed extensions. The floor was smooth, gardens decorated the premises as students hurried back and forth. There were several buildings within the college, however, the College grounds were divided into 5 sections. The Beginners Region, The Intermediate Grounds, the Advanced Territory, the Final Domain, and finally, the Staff hall, located at the center of the four pie pieces.
As Darey stood before the entrance to the grounds, he thought about Tenny and Kyron. They would be having their classes separately, and could only see themselves on campus during exchange events. He decided to brush away his worrying thoughts and headed toward the direction of his Campus section.
A few minutes into walking and he finally found his way inside the Beginners Region. He already had an eerie vibe and braced himself. The amount of students he saw at the Beginners Region shocked him for a bit, before he recovered from it. There were too many students in the region. Sure, the campus was very large, large enough to accommodate everyone, but still, he knew the total amount of students within Orion, especially the Secondary level, and this... The students he saw... were easily over 50 percent of the entire secondary students' population.
Approximately 2.1 million Ability Users exist in the world. However, these consist of a variety of old, young, adult, sick and challenged, as well as a whole mix of people. The population of Orion Academy students were, in total, 110, 360.
This is because most Ability Users are already enlisted in the threefold sectors, some are too old, some were too young, some are disabled and are exempted from the threefold careers, with exceptions, and a lot of Ability Users belong to the Underworld. A full number of 997,578 Ability Users are missing from the grid, some in terrorist organizations, some in the black market, some just keeping their identities hidden etc..
There are also speculations, which Darey knew to be true, that the total population of Ability Users far exceeded the approximated amount, and could even be double the originally thought figure. This makes the world even more apprehensive of Ability Users, not knowing they also carry the SEED within them.
Orion, since it's founding, had focused more on the quality of it's students and not just the quantity. The number of students might be small, compared to the large number of the total population, but they are formidable. Darey separated the numbers in his head, using the observations he had made, calculating the estimated number of students in each Level, and Placement.
Primary Level
Beginner Stage: 34,000
Intermediate Stage: 10,000
Advanced Stage: 5,000
Final Stage: Less than 1,000
Total Amount: 50,000
Secondary Level
Beginner Stage: 20,000
Intermediate Stage: 9,000
Advanced Stage: 7,000
Final Stage: 3,000
Total Amount: 39,000
Tertiary Level
Beginner Stage: 11,000
Intermediate Stage: 6,000
Advanced Stage: 3,000
Final Stage: Less than 1,000
Total Amount: 21,000
After he finished analyzing the numbers, he took a deep breath and ventured in further. He had not taken more than 10 steps when he heard it.
"Hey You!" A voice called out roughly to him.
Darey looked back as he saw an unfamiliar face. The boy standing a few feet behind him was plump, having a height higher than Darey's and a huge build. His complexion was bright orange, and Darey concluded that he must be an Albino, and judging from his accent, he would be Australian. He was most likely a top dog in the Beginner's block. Darey knew the whole drill, which bored him as he looked at the hefty student with a calm, dead expression.
"Yes, how may I help you?" Darey said flatly.
"Eh? You've got some nerve runt." The boy said, signaling some other boys who surrounded Darey in no time. "Seems like we've got ourselves a new player here, eh mate?" He said, amusingly to his friends who joined in the laugh.
"You've not answered my question." Darey said to the slightly overweight boy who seemed to be having fun.
"You must be new 'round these parts. How'd I know that eh? 'Cus everyone around here knows be'ter than to talk back to me, especially in tha' rude tone. Guess we'll have to teach you a few things 'sn't tha' right mate?" The boss responded and his minions gave noises of approval.
Suddenly, two boys caught Darey from behind, holding him in position and his entire arm joints caught in a deadlock, his movements were sealed. The plump bully moved closer to Darey, while rubbing his hand.
"Rule number one, Orion doesn't give two shits about student brawls... As long as we don't deal fatal injuries. They're even encouraged." He said as he moved closer, steadying his pace.
"Rule number 2, Use of Abilities are prohibited in crowded places. So in a situation such as this, any use of your abilities will incur heavy disciplinary action." He said as he readied his hands for a blow against Darey.
"Rule number 3, most importantly, Know your place in the hierarchy, You bloody ape!" He drove his fist into Darey's stomach, which pushed Darey's body back, his eyes widening due to the shock.
"Oh, you're pretty sturdy eh? Well, that's what I'd expect from an ape ain't it? Idiot doesn't even know his place." He said as he hit Darey again, and again into his stomach.
"Leave him be boys, let's see what the lil dude is made of." He said to his goons who were holding Darey, and they immediately left him.
Darey staggered a bit, before maintaining an upright posture, however, his head still faced the floor.
"What's wrong? Where'd that smart tongue of yours go? C'mon... Say something!!!" The boy mocked while slapping Darey's face multiple times. He smiled sadistically, and then he punched Darey on one of his cheeks, causing Darey's body to sway, before balancing again. The whole time, Darey kept silent, however, his body started twitching.
"Oh, would you look at this... The boy's scared already. This show ain't even started yet. C'mon say something you li'l bitch!"
"...It back..." Darey's silent voice muttered.
"What'd you say you li'l shit! Can't hear you!" The bully mocked as the crowd of goons cheered him on.
"I...Take it back..." Darey said, still speaking to himself.
"You take what back? You done already? You're already apologisin'? Thought you'd entertain me more!" He sneered.
At this point a lot of students from various buildings and at a distance were watching the one sided fight, and while most pitied the young boy who was a victim of the infamous bully, most were happy that it wasn't them who were in his shoes.
"Ahh... I take it back Tenny... Kyron...It looks like... I don't possess the MATURITY I thought I did." Darey said as he smiled.
The crowd kept hailing their boss who was ready to land another hit when he saw Darey's eyes, as he lifted his face. The hefty bully froze in fear, the look on the eyes of his supposed prey was not what he expected. This was the look of a predator... who had found his prey right before him. Maybe because he had been doing it for a while, but the boy recognized the look Darey gave him... It meant a massacre!
"Well then..." Darey stated slowly as he stood uprightly and cracked his neck, dusting the uniform he had on. "Let's let loose a little bit!" He said, grinning wildly.
TO BE CONTINUED....