Back in the white room, the place wore a different outlook to how it was when the candidates were around. There were now older people seated.
For one, there was a virtual meeting going on around a large table. The participants were somewhat present as they could all see each other. There were eight in total.
The only physical person at the table though was none other than the administrator of the '1st center' as it was called. The other people at the table were blue holograms as their real bodies were somewhere far off.
They didn't sit in a circle like board meeting members. Rather, they sat in a line like school students on a bench as they all watched the feed in front of them. Their faces were placid though.
The projector screen they watched was divided into eight parts as different videos were shown at once. On close inspection, it could be seen that the videos were streaming live.
A lesser man would have been unable to keep up with all eight videos at once but the people at the table were no small fry. They were the best analysts in their field and had vast experience to back it up.
"Ahh, Andromeda. Treachery seems to be the order of the day at center 1, no?" One of the men at the far end said looking at the lady in charge.
He was saying so in respect to the lone figure that had slipped in amongst the retreating candidates.
It changed the fate of the students and but they couldn't intervene.
From the look of the faces around, it had elicted the interest of the Administrators and they looked at Andromeda afterwards.
"That should be of no worries to any of you. If the candidates are smart, they'll figure it out quickly on their own," She said stoically with a wave of her hand as though it did not matter.
They were murmurs of agreement at her words but it didn't reach their hearts. There was only one outcome that they could see and it wasn't pleasant.
"The rate of the failed candidates grows steadily."
An elderly man said pointing to what was going on around them.
For the first time since the administrators started watching, they decided to pay attention to the emerging candidates popping out all over the place.
The whole process was automatic. As soon as they appeared, they immediately went into sleep due to a substance in the air which had no effect on the administrators save the candidates.
Next, they were put on a bed by a robot and stripped of their powers. They were then sent through a portal back to earth.
The whole thing was seamlessly done no matter where the candidate appeared unto in the room.
There was no sign of emotion though from the administrators as they watched. They were all scientists and therefore data driven.
They all noticed though that a massive amount of people had failed in the 1st center.
"Are you sure the level setting was right when you programmed it? For the first test, it just looks a bit too hard for them. A whole herd of goblins for kids just learning how to use their powers," The administrator for center 3 spoke up this time around.
He earned a scorching look from Andromeda who had actually thought along the same lines too but couldn't bring herself to say it.
Her competence would be in question if she did. The fact remained though that the game was now out of their control. The enemies at large were supposed to be mindless creatures but they were now behaving like intelligent beings.
She wondered if any of the candidates had figured out that it was a game. She doubted it though. The team of software engineers had made it so it appeared very lifelike. It was made so that it was incorporated with magic which covered all the loopholes that science could not. It was the next step in VR technology and their team was the best.
There was also the matter of the number of the candidates. So far, she had quietly confirmed that a hundred candidates had appeared in the other centers except hers. They were one hundred and one in her center. It was the first odd thing she had noticed.
It was particularly infruirating since nothing of the sort had happened before in all her years of service. She had always been careful because of her precarious position as there were always people waiting to replace her.
"Do you have control of your center?" A voice said interrupting her reverie and she looked up to see the head of center 3 looking sharply at her.
She knew the administrator of center 3 had had it out for her as long as she could remember.
"Yes I do. Why would you think I don't?"
"Well doesn't that spell intelligence," He said to everyone as he pointed at the screen.
They could see a goblin giving instructions to his colleagues as they smartly organized themselves into different sets.
"Have you seen that happen at the first stage before."
There was silence at his words as they all knew the answer.
"Should we call the whole thing off at center 1 and fix the bug?" The administrator of center 5 said in a bid to restore peace to the place.
"No, there's no point when they are almost done. The tough challenge will bring out the best. It would only make them stronger than the others are our center," The administrator of the 4th center said with a smile in support of the 1st administrator. She felt the need to support her from the attack of the other guys.
It had been a problem when she had been elected as the head of the coveted 1st center. A female in charge of the position had been unheard of before her so she was watched every step of the way as her haters waited for her to make faults they could capitalize on.
"If it comes to the point that everyone fails, we would just select the last eight candidates then,"Andromeda said at last, feeling that it was a good thing that they couldn't be harmed inside the game.
"May the light be with you all," She whispered silently as a prayer for the candidates on the screen.