The Industrialist

High Science Academy, Master Physics Class, BloomForge Enclave, Axe Central

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"A famous guy in our midst!" Adamson cheered. All heads turned towards the guy at the back. Lance's heart raced. How could Adamson know that he was lingering behind the last row of students?

Lance tried to duck his head, hopelessly hiding behind the surprised stares of the students. However, it was futile, they had their targets already.

"Oh no. You can't hide, Mister Berkley. This room has sensors and links to my AI. Once you enter this room, your profile will prompt an attendance in my iris imaging." Adamson said.

He had the same AI as Jasper. However, knowing that he announced it to the class, it only meant legitimate use of such mobile AI.

To afford such modification, Adamson could be a Scientist Tycoon, from an already well-known Science professor.

Unfortunately, Lance did not research about him. He was caught off-guard. There was nothing left to do but to acknowledge the teacher's praise.

"A round of applause everyone. This Scientist right here should be your motivation." Adamson added.

Faint applause came from the surprised crowd. Varied expressions emerged from different faces of different age gaps. Some of them might revere him as their motivation. An individual rising from ranks for the shortest time in history. And some of them, perhaps, are jealous of his achievements.

How can a commoner like him achieve such regard from Doctor Zee, the second most famous Scientist to Levi Menks?

Lance stood after the soft applause subsided and delivered a curt bow to the professor standing in front of the stage. The strobe lights suddenly shifted to where he stood, they were blinding. Lance covered his vision with his palm on his forehead while faintly glimpsing at the professor.

"Oh, sorry. Is it too much?" The strobe lights retreated their focus back to the stage with Adamson's hand gesture.

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"Thank you, Doctor Adamson, for the warm welcome," Lance replied. He had no other words for a respectful response.

"What brings you here in my Master Physics course?"

"Ahm… I…" Lance stammered. His heart raced with the spotlight. He had never been famous before and had never been confronted with surprise attention like what he had now. He wanted darkness to engulf him, hoping to suddenly vanish his true form and back to Steelpoint's darkest corners.

In the Scrapyards.

But he had to face the consequences of being famous, of being targeted by many walks of life, especially science aspirants.

"Tell us about yourself?" one student from the far left interjected. Before Lance responded, another student intervened. Some of them rose to their feet.

"What is your intelligence grade level?" Another one questioned.

"Yes. What is your grade level? Is it five?" A nearer student stood up.

Some whispered, especially the students that sat near him. "Is he a Commoner?"

"His pants and his jeans. Yuck!" he overheard her whisper back. They were girls.

A series of questions were thrown at him so randomly, without any answers fired back at them. Until Doctor Adamson cleared his throat, surpassing the chaotic guffaws of his students.

Then the class fell dead silent, and their stares shifted to their professor. Meanwhile, others held their stares to the rising star. Those piercing stares that one would kill you or would praise you.

Judging from the varied reactions of the his fellow Science aspirants, his disposition was unclear.

"Maybe, our visitor is tired." Adamson finally said. "We can let him be. If you want, you can maybe sit in for the duration of the lecture. You are welcome to join us. Or maybe, you want to stay in my office and wait for me there? Which do you prefer?" Doctor Adamson said.

His voice was soft but stern. He had this strong and clear accent, carried by a deep manly voice that every student would want to listen.

"I prefer in your office," Lance responded and hurriedly, ambled outside the room. He released a deep satisfying sigh right after as external air had embraced him. He wiped the cold sweat that loomed on his forehead, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

'This is the prize of fame,' He thought.

***

'So, this is school,' Lance thought as he sat in Adamson's office. He checked his watch again for the third time in less than thirty minutes. 'He's probably finished by now.'

He frequently looked at his watch when he was nervous. He could not explain why but something to do with checking something when he felt nervous. But there was nothing to check about. Maybe he was worried about his transaction with Jonaz Enterprises, the Zelkian delivery. The transfer of his Zelkian farm to another location might pose a predicament.

Not really a predicament but unmistakably another cost of transportation. This is what would happen if the source would relocate further to the point of delivery, additional delivery costs may apply.

It was better this way than to miss his deliveries to a Mafia.

He stood up again from the couch set inside Adamson's office and transferred to the cushioned seat in front for no particular reason. He just wanted to move. It was his third time already. He was like this always inside his room, nonplussed by the pressure of all his ongoing endeavors.

'Not easy for a sixteen-year-old kid,' He thought.

The door startled his reverie and came in Doctor Adamson. He released a great sigh as he entered, "These lectures sometimes irked me," he said as he sat across the table.

Lance hauled himself up from the couch set and walked towards Adamson's table. They had their curt exchange of handshake.

"What can I do for the rising star of the Corporation?" Adamson offered to let Lance sit across him.

"Doctor Adamson, I enrolled in your specialized course for Masterworks Energy Sources, but I want an advanced study for me to ace your class."

"Hmm? Why? Why do you want to ace the class?" Adamson asked.

"Because people look up to me nowadays, expecting me to excel in my courses. And I don't want them to be disappointed, that's all." Lance said.

"I just can't give my presentations to you, Mister Berkley. It's like a form of cheating. I know this is your first time to actually enroll in courses in High Science Academy, except for the introductory course you had in SARS. What you are asking is… a bit inconvenient on my part. The rules are strict around here, you know.

There are many instances…" Adamson continued by sharing previous true stories of students who cheated.

People said that having a course in High Science Academy was like having upgrades for your service robot – to improve your life. Many science aspirants wanted to enroll, however, it implied high tuition costs that only a few mid-classers could join. The students, the high-classers, were sons and daughters of high-echelon parents, therefore, corruption was high.

Many would tend to pay the professors just to achieve high grades.

So, the Governing Laws Department (GLD) in collaboration with the HSA management, established these strict rules to prevent such corruption. Even the room itself had its own attendance monitoring, requiring all enrolled students to physically join the classes.

"What's your advice then?" Lance asked.

"Tell me this. What is your plan? Why do you need my lessons in advance? Because our lesson curriculum is broad."

Lance thought about it how to answer. He could not just disclose about the ultragenerator. It would entail that Lance had acquired illegal components in attempting to build such powerful equipment. The generator would be rated Masterworks, and such materials used in such rarity were hardly available to the public, especially to a Commoner like him.

"I want to build a generator, perpetual. For my mobile equipment. I am building another project for Doctor Zee. You know the confidentiality, so I can't disclose anything to anyone." Lance responded.

"Hmmm. Are you sure? Generator? That's a bit old school. I mean, generators are usually used in large structures or powering cities or villages. You are going to use it in a mobile robotic equipment?"

"Yes. The equipment needed a high-capacity Energy source for it to function properly."

"We are harnessing air pollution now as one of the newly discovered energy sources. Don't you want to explore that possibility? Or even the use of gravity. Scientists are exploring it now."

"I am sure Doctor Zee has considered the options, Doctor Adamson. And this is what he requires me to build. A generator."

"Ok. Ok. Ok." Adamson released a sigh and he smiled. "I am not supposed to give you these but yeah, why not. For Doctor Zee." Admanson typed something on his wrist hologram and transferred it to Lance. "I will give you references of the things you need to know in building one generator and you can look for them in the Archives.

I've heard you frequented your visits there."

He checked the hologram in his wrist and he got the message from Adamson. He stood up and they shook again and exchanged goodbyes. As Lance walked out of the room, he suddenly felt different, more at ease than before. He had practiced his conversation with Doctor Adamson and it worked, not what he expected but at least he got something substantial. Hopefully.