SchoolWorld

By Rafael Estrada

"It was marvelous to fly, to roam through SchoolWorld at night, at the times with higher ratings. I liked to inspect the night schools and Institutes, sliding through the halls on my floatibike at top speed. The unpeople walked hunchingly, without looking at me, in case I had the brilliant idea of submitting them to the Emergency Test; they could be anything, be it classkipers or even chronic suspenders. Among the debris, a group of moropoors was eating around a fuming cauldron. My name is Threesabel Arquena and I'm a Class Delegate..."

At the dawn of the XXIII century, society is deeply traumatized. After the Forgetfulness war, a global fight where Mnemonic Missiles were used for the first time, memories got diluted, data banks were either destroyed or deleted, and history became a cumulus of nonsense. As a consequence, culture became a religion.

Two forces battle for the truth's monopoly: the University, a superpowerful estate that analyzes, interprets, and forces its official truth on History and Free Faculties, that rebels against the system, using urban warfare and sabotage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Aug 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667409849

Book preview

History, if it’s not ours, shouldn’t exist.

(Radovan Karadzik)

1

The class was over. It was breakfast time and we were all nervous, waiting for Mrfather with the test results. Even though we had the grades from our monthly controls and could calculate our results, it was practically impossible to accurately guess our grades; the subjects of Neat Room and Manners Control were entirely dependent on the data and observations that Body, the family robot, gathered with its sensors.

Efmarta, my little sister, had almost finished her Vitament cones with supplement milk. Deerruben was smiling, looking at the little one full of goodies, because he knew Body was going to have to change her clothes before he connected her to the Kindergarten. As she wasn't two years old yet, the robot couldn't admonish her; he also couldn't produce any judgment upon her messy behavior that could be included in the reports he transmitted to the DataBase and Evaluations of the APA.

Missmother was looking through the window, inspecting the clouds and the wind direction. She was the meteorologist of the building and had to present a daily report about the atmospheric precipitation, to prevent the acid rain from catching the neighbors unprepared.

The industrial mist covered the lower part of the buildings.

That morning, contamination was so dense that the floatibikes appeared suddenly, as if submerged in a dream. Sometimes, when there were no Recommended Shows on the TV or Schoolqualifying Exercises, Missmother and I would sit together to guess the brands of the glars and the floatibikes, before they came out of the mist. I won most of the time, even though I knew it was because she was allowing me to do so.

Mrfather was taking too long and there were only thirty minutes left until the Mandatory News started. It was a huge responsibility to deliver the grades to your own family, because whether or not the almighty APA would grant us vacations was dependent on them.

Finally, we heard a hoarse cough and at the very same moment, Mrfather appeared, followed by his aereothing. He was wearing a purple waves suit, the kind that doesn't get stained; not everyone can wear them because if your skin is too sensitive you can get goose-flesh or rash, and that doesn't look fancy.

Mrfather made the multiplication sign and we all recited the seven times table.

Grades, he said activating his chair, which appeared on the air as if with magic; the aereothing buzzed, moved to the center of the table, on top of the Coffeetress container, and floated there with the screen turned on.

We all activated our chairs and sat down, except for Efmarta, who did the entire opposite action. When we saw that Mrfather put the spoon into his mouth, we started our breakfast.

The aerothing looked like a bumblebee processing the data because, when it collected it from the hard drive, a yellow light blinked and you felt the impression it was winking at you.

Efmarta Arquena: it said with its buzzing voice Exempted.

Efmarta tried to catch it among giggles, but the aerothing eluded her without much trouble. She put out her tongue and some cones fell from it; then she smacked her spoon on the spilled milk, splashing it on everyone.

Body moved nervously around her, just so Mrfather could see he cared.

Deerruben Arquena continued the aerothing : Average grade Insufficient...

Deerruben’s face changed. Even though he already knew the grade wasn't going to be high, he was convinced he had been doing better at Neat Room and Manners Control and was expecting at least a Sufficient. He was a year behind and it was almost sure he was going to spend his vacations in Sadland recovering points. He glared furiously at the robot. I knew my brother well and I knew he thought Body was to blame; I also knew he was already thinking of a way to get back at him.

Threesabel Arquena: Average grade Notable Plus...

That was more than what I was expecting. I had just turned fifteen, and that grade granted me the right to choose my first job and to show off my headphone earrings that so far I had only used secretly. I felt sorry for Deerruben because, lately, he had been making an effort to have his things in order, even if he becomes uncontrolled when it isn't the best time.

This Doofscrews is against me! He complained pointing at Body.

You know very well that a Robot can't lie reprimanded Mrfather. You are the only one to blame for your grades, Deerruben. Acknowledge them without whining.

"I only follow my program..." justified the robot, getting away from my brother.

Any day now I'm going to put a virus on you, piece of junk, and I'm going to choose whatever hurts the most.

A squeak resonated inside the robot and his jaw clicked; when he moved to the kitchen he was lurching, with overheated circuits.

We saw a glow in Mrfather eyes: he was wearing the whipping contact lenses. Deerruben bounced.

AYYY...!!

Deerruben, when you are done with your breakfast, clean your room and study.

Very well, Mrfather my brother got up fuming, spilling the Plasticao all over the table and ran away crying, without even deactivating his chair.

You are going to end in Pluto with that attitude! Admonished Mrfather.

He is still a child. interceded Missmother. You must be patient with him.

At that moment the telewall turned on; the logotype M.N. shined on golden tones and the quadraphony flooded the room.

Mandatory News from APA channel. said the host with her best smile. "We congratulate all the students who have achieved..."

Mrfather sat on the couch, dimming the light of the room and completely ignoring us, given that he had to attentively listen to the news to be able to create strategies to propose at the next neighborhood meeting. Missmother gave the window one last glance and went to her office to type the climate report of the day for the community web.

We finished our breakfast. Before I connected to my computer I stopped at my brother's room, who was leaning on his desk, arguing with his blancil.

Hi, Deerruben, what are you doing?

This blancil is delirious! He screamed, smacking it against his desk. It says both mar and mark can be used.

Listen to it, and if you get a wrong mark, said is its fault.

He trowed it to the table, towards the press notebook.

"Mar: verb (used with object) to disfigure, damage, deface or scar " insisted the blancil with its digital voice.

"Don't feel down, man."

Is easy for you to say he said dejectedly. You have always gotten good grades.

We have Body's program manual, and we both know how the room must be for us to get a positive grade.

Obeying a robot is humiliating he proclaimed looking at the window.

Don't be stupid I say Robots only exist to relieve us from work.

They are the moles of the APA grunted Deerruben.

I smacked him and got my guard up, waiting for the comeback, but instead, he laid his head against the window, thoughtful.

It was raining. In the rooftops there was a frenetic activity; the neighbors were hurriedly picking up the laundry and moving aside the plants so the sulfuric acid didn't destroy them.