Shelder Evolution: Heart of Chocolate

Prologue

(12 years on Shelder are 9.6 years on Earth)

Inside H.S.S. Venture - ROTABITAT B - classroom

PROJECTION WALL:

M.A.G.P.I.E. H.I.M.S. SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT
GARDIA CAMPAIGN

Organisation: GARDIA
Date: 12 GS
Homebase: Venture
Authority: Maggie MAGPIE
Program: HIMS_Generation

Success Conditions
- Establish at least x1 CAMP on Shelder.
- Generate colonists with HIMS_Generation.
- Deploy Generations to CAMP.
- Ensure Health&Safety of all humans under care.

Failure Conditions
- All humans under care are dead.

Assets
- H.S.S. Venture
- x5,000 GARDIAN embryos
- x1 Colony starter kit

An "asian-looking" WOMAN strolls back and forth in front of the projected dossier on the wall. She is lecturing two tan-skinned children - a BOY and a GIRL - sitting at their chairs in the middle of the classroom.

Girl raises her hand:

GIRL
Maggie?

Woman stops and presents the girl with an interested smile. Yes, this is MAGGIE.

MAGGIE (Woman)
Yes, honey?

Girl drops her hand and stares at the projection with a worried eyebrow.

GIRL
Why are the failure conditions like so?

GIrl points at the projection. Maggie checks it and freezes for a couple of moments - loading data in her advanced brain.

MAGGIE
'Failure Conditions. All humans under care are dead?'

It now sounds like an open debate... Maggie doesn't like open-answer questions. She turns back to Girl with a confused frown that intimidates both youngsters; is Teacher going to scold Child?

Suddenly... A proud smile.

MAGGIE
That is a great question, Yome!

YOME's blue eyes sparkle with joy. Her classmate gets a hint of envy and bites his own lips to suppress it. Yome catches it with the tail of her eye and turns to face him...

No more sparkles.

MAGGIE
Go on! Try to answer your own question.

Yome leaves Boy to brood and sets on a higher mind gear: her child brain needs to focus.

YOME
Urm...

Maggie starts pacing around the room again, impatient to hear. One could almost hear her mutter "come on, you can do it" but she doesn't make a sound.

YOME
...I would have thought that...

"Go on..."

YOME
...Shouldn't it say... Like... 'Any human... is dead'?

Boy finally gets it: the topic is a hot one. He flips his head between teacher and apt pupil while he wishes he was smarter to be able to compete. But he isn't - this is not his genetic strength.  

MAGGIE
Carry on.

More pressure. Maggie will not stop pacing around. More anxiety. How is Yome supposed to think clearly with such expectations?

BOY
Give us a clue!

Maggie suddenly stops dead for a second. Then scolds Boy:

MAGGIE
Not your turn, Toby! Yome raised her hand to talk.