Chapter 3 Chapter two

Carly Sanders steps confidently and briskly down the aisle at Jon Grism Academy.Grism Academy is a space station located in an elliptical orbit around the human colony of Elysium, built seven years ago.The space station is named in honor of Rear Admiral Jon Grism, the first person to travel through a Mass Effect relay station and one of humanity's most admired and awe-inspiring living heroes. Grism also happens to be Carly's dad. Her shoes had half-inch wedge heels that made a soft tap on the road.She walked out to the dormitory hallway, her lab coat swaying with every step she took.It has been almost an hour after dinner, and the students have returned to their rooms, preparing to preview tomorrow's lessons.The vast majority kept their doors closed, although a few were willing to leave them open, and students looked up from their computer or television screens as she passed, their attention drawn to the sound of her footsteps.Some people nodded towards her, and they could even feel the enthusiasm of some young guys.She nodded equally politely to each look.

Only a handful of people actually know that Jon Grism is her father, and their relationship, if any, has nothing to do with her position at the academy.She rarely saw her father; it had been a year since he last spoke to her.And the last conversation, like every conversation, always ended in a fight.Her father was a difficult man to like. Grism was in his late seventies, and unlike most people using modern medical technology in this day and age, he looked about his age.Carly was only in her early forties, but she looked at least ten years younger than her actual age.She is of medium height and weight, still full of youthful vigor.Her skin is still smooth, but when she laughs or smiles, thin crow's feet appear around the corners of her eyes.Her shoulder-length hair is still a dark sandy yellow, and she won't have to worry about gray hair for at least thirty years.

Her father did look old, in stark contrast to her.His mind, and the speed of his speech, are still as quick as ever, but his body seems to have withered, his skin is dry and inelastic like leather, his body is bent, and he has been living as a human for decades. The identity of the symbol is alive, and all kinds of pressure and tension have been dealt with all year round, which has made his face wrinkled. In her mind, it was hard to imagine the great heroes that the media and the history books have portrayed them as.Carly can't help but wonder how much of this is contrived, creating a tall and complete Grism that everyone else looks away from.Her father didn't care about these honors long ago, unwilling to make himself a symbol of the earth or the alliance, he refused to attend the opening ceremony of Jon Grism College, and for the past seven years although he lived On the planet around him, he refused dozens of invitations from the school board to let him visit the school.

Maybe it's best for everyone, Carly thought.Let the public preserve his memory; then he remains a better symbol of nobility and bravery than the world-weary old man he is now.Moreover, she was so busy at school that she didn't have much time to talk to her father. She arrived at her destination and temporarily put Grism aside.She knocked on the closed door. "Come in." A little boy's voice said reluctantly.The door opened immediately. Nick lay on his back in his bed, staring sullenly at the ceiling.He was only twelve years old and looked smaller than usual for a child of his age.Still, there was something about him—an almost involuntary aggressiveness and unreasonable air—that always made him seem more like a school bully than a kid being bullied.

Carly walked into the house, closing the door behind her.Nick is so stubborn that he refuses to look at her as if she doesn't exist.His school computer sits on a small table in a corner of the house, not turned on or intended to be used.Obviously he was angry. "What's the matter, Nick?" she asked, coming and sitting on the edge of his bed. "Handel put me in confinement for three weeks!" he cried, sitting up suddenly.His expression was extremely angry and extremely annoyed. "He won't even let me go online!" All students at Grisham Academy are well cared for, and certain rights—the privilege to play games on the supernet, watch your favorite shows in the dorm room, or listen to popular music—are revoked only in cases of misbehavior .Nick, especially, was very familiar with this kind of punishment.

"Three weeks is an eternity!" he protested. "It's not fair!" "Three weeks is a long time," Carly nodded gloomily, trying to force a smile from her lips. "Then what did you do?" "Nothing!" He just paused, then continued to burst out. "I just pushed Seshaun." Carly shook her head, disapproving of his behavior.The smile she had forced was gone too. "You know it's forbidden, Nick," she said forcefully. All Grism College students excel in something: mathematical genius, technologist, gifted artist, world-class musician or composer.But Kali only works with students who are part of the Ascension Project - a program that helps children with biological abilities reach their full potential.Once micro-amps are implanted throughout the nervous system throughout the body, the psychic can use electrical impulses generated in the brain to create a mass effect field.After years of training with mental focus and biochemical feedback techniques, these created mass effect fields will be strong enough to produce physical changes around you.A powerful biological power user can lift something out of thin air and throw it out, or freeze something in place, or even tear the object into several pieces with just mental power.With such dangerous potential, it's no surprise that schools have strict controls on students who use these abilities in violation of the regulations without being monitored.

"Did you hurt him?" "He hurt a little bit," Nick admitted reluctantly. "I broke his knee when I dropped him. It wasn't a big deal." "It's a big deal!" Carly insisted. "You can't use biotics on other kids, Nick. You know that!" Like all the kids his age in the Ascension Project, Nick had had the surgical implant a year earlier.Most of the kids struggled to use their newfound powers, go through training, take lessons, and coordinate their new bio-amps with their own biological systems.During the first two years, most people can only lift a pencil a foot or two off the table.

Nick, however, was a quick learner.In the initial test, most of the classmates could keep up with him, and even a few were stronger than him, but now he is far ahead of all the other companions... so strong that he can easily defeat a twelve-year-old classmate. "He did it first," Nick protested, defending himself. "He made fun of my shoes. So I just pushed him. If I'm a biotic, I can't use it!" Carly sighed.Nick's attitude was completely normal and totally unacceptable.The Ascension Project has two main goals: to cooperate with biotics in this field to maximize the potential of human beings, and more importantly, in her eyes, to help biotics integrate into what they call normal people's society.These students not only need to receive training in biological power technology, but also take philosophy courses, receive moral instruction, and the school helps them understand the responsibilities and obligations that come with their superpowers.

It is important not to allow these children to grow up with any sense of entitlement or superiority because of their abilities.Of course, this is usually the hardest class to teach. "Seshaun is older than you, isn't it?" Carly said after thinking for a moment. "All the boys are older than me," Nick muttered, crossing his legs.He moved forward, resting his elbows on the coverlet and resting his chin on his hands, with the admirable flexibility of all small children at this age. "Did he mess with you before your transplant? Did he just push you because he was bigger than you?"

"No," Nick said.He felt that he was about to preach again, and rolled his eyes. "It's not right." He had to say it out of responsibility, knowing she wanted to hear it. "Just because your biotics are more powerful doesn't mean you can do whatever you want," Carly tells him, knowing he's only listening half-heartedly.Still, she hoped enough repetition would get the message to his ears one day. "You have special talents, but that doesn't mean you can hurt other people." "I know," the little boy admitted, "but it was just an accident. And I said I'm sorry."

"It's not always enough to say 'sorry,'" Carly said. "That's why Handel put you in detention." "But three weeks is too long!" Carly shrugged. "Handel was a soldier. He believed in discipline. Now let's see your readings." The little boy still rested his chin on his hands, his head was pushed forward, and his neck stretched out longer.Carly reached out and stroked his neck gently at the collar, feeling tiny sparks jumping from her fingertips.A psychic usually has a weak electrical discharge, a natural static build up of their body, as if they'd just walked on carpet in wool socks. She pinched the skin on his neck between her left thumb and forefinger, and with her right hand drew a thin syringe from her lab coat.There is a tiny spherical sensor at the very tip of the needle. "Ready?" she asked. "Ready." Nick said through gritted teeth.With gentle pressure, Carly inserted the needle firmly into the gap between the two cervical vertebrae. The little boy's body tightened, and when the needle was inserted, he hummed softly, and then relaxed.Carly pulled a multimeter from her other pocket and glanced at the readings to make sure Nick was transmitting properly. "Did you ever be a soldier too?" Nick asked, still sticking his head forward. Carly blinked in surprise.Grism College is a combined civil-military institution, largely funded by the Union, but it is set up on the model of a boarding school for the most part, rather than a military academy.Parents can visit their children at any time and they can be withdrawn from classes for any reason.Safety, security, and logistical services are provided by full-time military personnel, but the overwhelming majority of instructors, researchers, and academics are civilians.This was crucial to Project Ascension, as it helped reduce public concerns about the League training kids to be super Bionicles. "I was in the league before," Carly admitted. "But I'm retired now." Carly is a superb programmer who has made great achievements in synthesis and artificial intelligence.She joined the League when she was twenty-two, not long after her mother died.She spent fourteen years working on various top-secret league programs before retiring to return to civilian life.For the next few years, she worked as a freelance consultant for the company, building a reputation as a top expert in her field.Then, five years ago, Grism College's board of trustees offered her a lucrative position in the Ascension Program. "I guess you're a soldier," Nick said triumphantly. "You look tough, like you're ready to fight at any moment. Just like Handel." Carly's thoughts suddenly returned to the past.She has received minimal combat training; mandatory for all Alliance personnel.But she couldn't imagine herself bearing any resemblance to the Handel honed in battle.She spent most of her service life in a lab full of computers, next to a swarm of scientists, not on the battlefield. Except when you helped Anderson kill a krogan combat master, there was a voice in the corner of her head.She wanted to stop thinking about it.She doesn't want to think about the time after "Sidon": that time she lost many comrades in arms.But in the past few months, Saren's face has always appeared on the TV, and it is too difficult to expel his own memory.Every time she sees the Overlord attacking the Citadel, she can't help but wonder if there is any relationship between Dr. Qian Shu's illegal research on "Sidon" and the giant alien warship that Saren used to lead the attack of the geth . "Miss Carly? I seem to be done." Nick's voice dragged her back to the present.The sensor on his neck hummed softly. "Sorry, Nick," she said, pulling the needle out, and checking the reading on the multimeter to make sure she got the data she needed.This is at the heart of her work at Project Ascension.The latest bio-implanted amplifier is known as the LA framework, equipped with a new network of virtual smart chips. The Type VI virtual smart chip monitors the brain wave activity of the creature, learns the host's complex thinking patterns, and maximizes its biological abilities according to its performance. After analyzing the data collected by the chip, Carly and her team can make small and specific adjustments, program the virtual smart chip, and coordinate the amplifiers in the individual body to achieve greater results.Current testing shows a 10% to 15% increase in biological powers in 90% of subjects, with no noticeable side effects. But like most research in the field of biological abilities, they are only scratching the surface of what can be done. Nick was lying on the bed again, gasping for breath from a shot in his neck. "I'm stronger now, right?" he said softly, even smiling a little. "I can't just look at the readings and tell you the result," Carly responded, dodging the question. "I need to go back to the lab to run the data." "I can feel myself getting stronger," the little boy said confidently, closing his eyes. Carly patted the child's leg warningly and stood up from the bed. "Take a break, Nick," she said, leaving his room.