Year 2117 — 18 years later
Alex returned from her graduation ceremony and approached the window in her room. Sitting on a large sill, she stared out at the cityscape under the beautiful golden sky. She began daydreaming about her mother, which she did often. Is she out there somewhere? Who is she? Why did she abandon me? There were so many questions that needed answers.
It was Alex's last day at the Facility. She had graduated earlier than usual by completing the mandatory fundamental education at age fourteen and the elective advanced education, in two separate disciplines, by the time she was eighteen. She was the youngest person in history to do that, which caused her to receive quite a bit of attention from the major media outlets. She didn't particularly care for the attention, but she enjoyed some of the perks that came along with it. As a result of the buzz surrounding her, practically every firm in the world offered her lucrative employment contracts with cushy benefits. Judging by her demeanour, a person would have no idea she was so gifted. She didn't allow any of it to go to her head. Most students finished their fundamental education at age twenty and if they were not too burnt out, and their brain capacity permitted, they would typically complete their advanced education by age twenty five. Alex was seven years ahead of any other student her age, including Milo.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Milo said, as he entered the room with care.
"No, not at all. Come in."
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm just staring out the window one last time, trying to preserve this view in my mind. It's hard to believe it's my last day here."
"When are you leaving?"
"As soon as I finish packing."
"Have you decided what your plan is when you get out?"
"I'm not sure."
"Have you accepted any offers yet?"
"No, but I'm thinking about interning at a law firm."
"Lawyers still exist? I thought we got rid of all of them," Milo joked. "You may as well be a butter churner; it's just as obsolete as being a lawyer."
"That's not true."
"Why don't you just sell some of your inventions? I'd be the first to order your invisibility cloak."
"I can't, I don't own the IP rights. Besides, invisibility cloaks are illegal."
"They are? I didn't know that."
"See that's why there are lawyers. There are a lot of aspects about the law the average person doesn't know."
"So I'm average? Thanks."
"You know what I mean. I was just using you as an example."
"Why are invisibility cloaks illegal?"
"What's the first thing you would do if you were invisible?"
"I don't know, spy on some women, rob a bank, punch unsuspecting people in the face."
"Exactly. That's what most people would do."
"Is that why you don't let me borrow your cloak?"
"Of course, you just told me you would immediately turn into a criminal if you had it. I wouldn't want to live in a world with a bunch of invisible people walking around."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Milo sat across from Alex, staring at her. Similarly, he was trying to preserve the image of her in his mind. Alex was a remarkable specimen, both inside and out. Her physical beauty was indescribable and her IQ was immeasurable. It was only natural that Milo developed feelings for her. Although he had speculations at times, he was not quite sure how she felt about him. Every now and then, situations would arise where she would give him a look or touch his arm in a certain way that would convince him that she was trying to convey her feelings toward him, but he would quickly dismiss those thoughts as wishful thinking.
"So, will I ever see you again?" he asked.
"Of course, it's not like you're a prisoner here, we can hang out whenever you want."
"I know, it's just—" he paused. Alex turned to look at him.
"We can still hang out all the time okay, nothing will change. Milo, you're my only friend, it's not like I have anyone else to hang out with, right?"
"I already know how this whole thing is going to unfold. You're going to move out, meet other people, and we'll slowly grow apart. Eventually, our friendship will completely dissolve and I'll never see you again."
"Oh really, is that what's going to happen? How can you say you know when you really don't know?"
"I don't know," Milo shrugged as his intellect felt inferior.
"We may even grow closer."
"Maybe it'll be a good thing you're leaving – you won't be around to constantly remind me how dumb I am."
"Don't say that, you're not dumb."
"Compared to you I am."
"Why are you so concerned about comparing yourself to others? Be confident with who you are, women like that in a man."
"That's easy for you to say, you're the only person in history to graduate seven years ahead of schedule. Not one year, not three – seven!"
"You shouldn't get down on yourself about that, and you certainly shouldn't praise me for anything I accomplished. Remember what Immanuel Kant said, 'we should not praise people who are naturally inclined to do certain things, rather we ought to praise those who are not so inclined, but through their sheer will discover the righteous path.' The fact my brain can store a lot of data has nothing to do with anything I did. I guess you could say I just got lucky and hit the genetic lottery."
"Yeah, twice," he grumbled.
"What's that?"
"Oh nothing. It's just, given your genetic disposition you could've made other choices that did not exploit your gifts."
"Again, I should hardly be praised for that. Since birth, I was introduced to a system that placed a strong emphasis on achieving academic excellence, what choice did I really have?"
"I guess you're right, as usual."
Alex was ambivalent about transitioning from her life at the Facility to being a free and independent citizen. Her entire life had been spent studying at the Facility – it was the only life she really knew. She was academically brilliant, but her actual life experience was seriously underdeveloped.
Like many other kids in the Facility, Alex was an orphan – separated at birth from her mother due to a violation of The Child Rearing Act. As such, she was required by law to carry out the beginning stages of her life at the Facility. Since those requirements had been fulfilled, it was time for her to pursue the next stage of her life, whatever that may be.