Prodigious Alignment: Chapter 8
From: Lucinda Natus, High Commander
Public Key: 6f0613f576cbc92b88bf7e7fba7fa2eb72fda557
Mr. Clovar,
I hope this letter finds you well. Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Stephenson have kept me abreast of your progress with the new reactors, and I continue to be grateful for your service.
You have undoubtedly heard from Areanna that she took a day-long exam. Truth be told, we expected her to take at least part of a second day, as it was the Aptitude and Proficiency Test.
Your daughter is a verifiable prodigy. Prime Council leadership met to review her scores earlier this week, and we were stunned by her results. If you have not seen them, they are attached to this message.
Convention dictates that she consider taking a job in any department where she scored 70 or above. However, as you’ll discover, Areanna exceeded that threshold in every category. Suffice it to say Dr. Prokhorov is livid.
You and Areanna are invited to meet with the Prime Council at zero-ten-hundred tomorrow morning. Your work and Areanna’s school schedules have already been adjusted to accommodate. I look forward to speaking with you both.
Cordially,
Lucinda Natus
— End of Official Business —
On a personal note, I want to express how impressed I am with your daughter. While she and I have not had the chance to meet, the accounts of her teachers and Dr. Prokhorov, not to mention her APT scores, speak to a remarkable young woman.
I have no intention of dictating any single course of action or another, but the Council generally feels that her talents shouldn’t be wasted. As you may suspect, opinions regarding what constitutes ‘wasted talents’ are highly variable. You should carefully consider what this means for the future, both for Areanna and everyone in Adalia.
Gareth read the High Commander’s encrypted message a second time, then a third. Her official message felt reasonably boilerplate, but her personal note was curious. In his experience, High Commander Natus was not one to mince words or imply the survival of the future Adalian colony was secondary to anything. Yet this message left wiggle room, and Gareth was unsure precisely what to make of it.
As he pondered the High Commander’s motivations, there was a knock at the door. He was about to call, “come in,” but the door opened of its own accord. Gareth was startled; few people aboard the Arvad had a security profile allowing them to override locked doors. For a moment, he flashed back to Areanna’s misadventure several months prior and worried that his daughter was in trouble, or worse, danger.
Chief Technology Officer Vallois stepped through the doorway. Perhaps sensing Gareth’s tension, he held up his hands placatingly. “Mr. Clover, I apologize for barging in on you like this.”
Gareth neither spoke nor moved, unsure exactly what this breach of protocol implied.
“I’m here as a representative of the Prime Council. Is Areanna home?”
“She isn’t, no,” Gareth said carefully. He already had an appointment with the Prime Council, so why would Vallois show up now?
“Do you happen to know when she will return? I was hoping to talk to you both about the results of her APT scores and what they mean for her career in Adalia. Did you know that she took the APTs last week?”
Now Gareth was sure Vallois was acting suspiciously. Since Lucinda Natus explicitly presented this information to him minutes before, there was no way that Vallois was acting on her behalf. Despite Gareth’s connections to the Prime Council and the critical nature of his work, he knew that treading carefully was the wisest approach.
“She stepped out twenty minutes ago to play with her friends. Before she did, though, we did review her APT scores. I was stunned to hear that they had been administered to her in the first place.”
Vallois chuckled. “We all were. Yuri — Dr. Prokhorov — took the initiative to test her without any of us knowing. It turns out there’s a reason he’s our Provost, and he was spot-on. Areanna is a genius.”
“Some would call her a prodigy,” Gareth replied, using the term the High Commander wrote in her message.
If Vallois picked up on it, he gave no indication. “Yes, she is almost certainly a prodigy. Areanna could pursue any job and excel handily. I’m here to explain why she should join me in the Technology department.”
As he spoke, he looked around the room. It was unclear whether he was evaluating the Clovar’s quarters in some way or simply affecting behavior to avoid making eye contact with Gareth. Either way, Vallois paused when he saw Gareth’s Muse sitting on the table. Without asking, he reached over to pick it up.
Gareth bristled. Most people considered taking someone’s Muse without asking as a faux pas. More worryingly, Gareth was not confident that he had closed the High Commander’s message. Luckily, the Muse’s screen was dark, and Vallois made no overture toward turning it on.
Instead, he looked critically at its frame. As a reactor engineer, Gareth concerned himself with function over form. Also, he repurposed and reused every piece of his smelting equipment so often that they developed considerable patinas from wear. His Muse reflected this philosophy and had many dents, dings, and scratches.
“You know, I could get you a new Muse,” Vallois said, turning the tablet to inspect every centimeter of its body. “We build them to last, but even so, yours shows an impressive amount of physical damage. Not to mention we are at least two revisions beyond this.”
“It works,” Gareth said with a shrug. “I’m not in the habit of upgrading my tech unless it is malfunctioning, and I can’t fix it.”
Valois snorted. “Spoken like a true engineer. Have you tinkered with it at all?” He toggled the screen but failed to pass the biometric lock, so the Muse only showed several low-priority updates that had arrived since Gareth read Lucinda Natus’s message.
“Um, no, not really. Muses are a little fiddly for my tastes. I’m far more comfortable working with equipment at least an order of magnitude larger.” He reached out a hand to take his Muse back.
Vallois ignored his hand and continued, “Yes, they are a bit fiddly. I suppose that’s what makes them so much fun to design.” He tapped the side of his Muse Spex to run a simple diagnostics program. It finished in seconds and informed them with a tinny beep.
“Well, despite its rough shape, your Muse is functioning within expected parameters. I’m relieved to see how you treat your tech, Gareth, since you are charged with reimagining our smelters. We would all be in dire straits if your designs don’t work.” As he emphasized, “all,” he looked Gareth in the eye for the first time since he arrived.
“Is that a threat, Mr. Vallois?”
“No, no, not at all,” Valois chuckled. Gareth thought it sounded forced; he was ready for Petros Vallois to leave. “Just a fact.”
He returned Gareth’s Muse. Gareth tucked it into a pocket without taking his eyes off his visitor.
“Mr. Vallois, what gives you the impression that my daughter wishes to join the Technology department?” Gareth prompted.
“Yes, quite. Back to business,” Vallois responded casually. “If I may speak frankly, it’s our most important department. Every idea, process, and technological advancement required to support life in Adalia flows through my department. From Muses to designs for the next generation of light transports, my people are involved in every critical development. The need for brilliance is paramount, especially in cases like Areanna, where her genius is so broad. With me, Areanna will have the chance to work on the most interesting and important challenges facing us, and her impact on our survival will be maximized.”
Gareth considered Vallois’s perspective. Arguing against the Technology department performing crucial tasks and services for the upcoming colony was difficult. Their work on the Muses alone validated their significance; every step of Gareth’s engineering process, from brainstorming concepts to programming microcontrollers, required a Muse.
He avoided having to come up with a response by Areanna running through the door. She was crying, which gave Gareth an excuse to completely ignore the Chief Technology Officer, if only for a moment.
“Areanna, honey, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“I- oh, hi,” Areanna said, noticing Vallois immediately. “I’ll tell you later, dad.”
“Hi, Areanna. Are you feeling okay?” Vallois asked, awkwardly extending his arm to offer a handshake. Gareth realized he had offered him no such courtesy.
Areanna wiped her eyes with her left sleeve as she reached for Valois’s hand with her right. “Yes, thank you for asking. I stubbed my toe,” she lied.
“For all of the Arvad’s virtues, she is one sharp- and hard-cornered lady.”
“I suppose so,” Areanna replied hesitantly, unsure what to make of the strange comment. “Who are you?”
Gareth and Vallois both laughed. “My name is Petros Vallois. I’m the Chief Technology Officer. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I’ll go to my room so you two can keep talking.”
“Actually,” Vallois said, “I’m here to speak to both of you.”
Areanna looked questioningly at her father. He nodded.
“Okay. Am I in trouble?”
Vallois laughed again. “Not at all, sweetheart. I was fortunate to review your APT scores recently. I’m here to recruit you to the Technology department.”
“Oh,” Areanna said. “I didn’t realize I was a recruit for anything. What are the implications?”
“Good lord, you talk like an adult.”
Areanna sighed. “I hate it when people tell me that.”
“And you’re so forthcoming, too. I appreciate that; my apologies.”
“Accepted. Thank you.”
Vallois nodded. “You may not realize this, but the test you took is called the APTs. You did better than anyone we’ve ever seen, which means you have a bright future ahead of you. When you come to work for me, you will be involved in the most exciting projects and initiatives on the Arvad.”
“If I come to work for you,” Areanna corrected. “I assume that as a recruit, as opposed to a conscript, I have some choice in the matter?”
Vallois blinked. “Well, yes, that is true,” he stammered. “If you come to work for me. I want to explain why it’s the correct decision for you.”
“Do I have to talk about this now?” Areanna asked, looking back at her father for guidance. Gareth shook his head.
“Yes, well, no,” Vallois sputtered. He was unused to being challenged by someone so young.
“Well, that’s good because I’ve had a shit day. Pardon my French,” she said. “Dad, after Chief Technology Officer Vallois leaves, I want to speak with you.”
With that, Areanna stood up and held out her right hand. Vallois hesitated, then shook it in return.
“I understand. It was a distinct pleasure meeting you, Areanna.”
“Thank you. And you. Good night.”
The two men watched Areanna leave the room. After she disappeared around the corner, Vallois turned back to Gareth. “Perhaps you can explain to Areanna later why she should join the Technology Department-”
“Mr. Vallois,” Gareth interrupted. “I don’t mean to be rude, but as you observed, there isn’t much I need to explain to Areanna. I assure you that she and I will speak meaningfully about her APT scores and their implications for her path forward.
“Now, if you don’t mind, my child just came home in tears. I need to tend to her.”
“Yes, well, of course. Thank you for your time today.”
“And you, Mr. Vallois. I trust you can see yourself out?”
With that, Gareth stood and followed his daughter without offering a handshake.
Vallois stood in the living quarters in stunned silence. How had he so quickly lost control of the conversation to a ten-year-old? The only reasonable answer was that Areanna was as remarkable as Dr. Prokhorov had suspected, and the APTs indicated.
Sighing, he triggered the door mechanism and left the Clovars alone.
