Introduction to Academy City

Hello readers, before I start, those who are familiar to Toaru Majutsu no Index and the other spin-offs, you may skip this chapter as this is for those who want to familiarise themselves with the series. Though, they can just search up on Google, or watch the anime, read the manga or light novel, but whatever.

Academy City, a city located in the west of Tokyo, said to be a City of Schools housing 2.3 million people, 80% of which are students who have undergone the Power Curriculum Program. The Power Curriculum Program is a program that allows the people participating to attain supernatural abilities called esper abilities. The Power Curriculum Program has been running for at least 20 years already and it gives people powers by having their personal realities materialised into esper abilities. This is done through the use of machines to brainwash and hypnotise them to attain their own personal reality and their powers are linked to what they believe in.

When they attain their personal reality, a thin layer of AIM diffusion field surrounds them. This can be a drawback to the espers as, when a whole bunch of them with the same AIM field gather together, it will cause their powers to resonate and cause an earthquake.

Every esper has a different level to them. The higher the level, the more valued they are to Academy City's 12 Board of Directors. The way they determine the level of the espers are through physical examinations called, System Scan. These are similar to tests and they vary across the many different espers in Academy City. One such test is the shooting of pools to determine the power of their ability. This test is exclusive only to Misaka Mikoto, the 3rd ranked level 5 esper in Academy City. The way that this test is carried out is that she would shoot the pools in Tokiwadai Middle School using her power infused with an arcade coin. Depending on how high the water rose from the impact, they would calculate the velocity and energy applied into each shot and compare the previous results to see if she had improved.

Level 5's:

1) Accelerator, ability: Vector Manipulation. Self-explanatory, ability to manipulate vectors around him. Able to analyse and process details to the point where it will cause a domino effect.

2) Kakine Teitoku, ability: Dark Matter. A non-existent matter, able to change the rules of the world and defy all logic related to science.

3) Misaka Mikoto, ability: Electromaster. Maximum output of electricity is 1 billion volts. Able to make Academy City blackout when using her full power.

4) Shizuri Mugino, ability: Electron manipulation. Able to stop electrons in place to create a high-speed electron wall or beam to disintegrate anything it comes into contact with. Able to deflect Misaka's railgun as it contains electrons as well.

5) Shokuhou Misaki, ability: Mind manipulation. Able to mess with the sense in one's brain or take control of their brain.

6) Aihana Etsu, ability: Personal reality manipulator. Able to change one's personal reality to either grant them powers or change their perspective of something.

7) Sogiita Gunha, ability: Unknown. He is a gemstone, a person whose abilities were given to him not by the Power Curriculum Program, but attained since birth. He himself doesn't even know how it works, but it strengthens his body overall and allows him to shoot an energy of some sort.

Academy City consists of 23 Districts. Each District has its purpose of accommodating the students' needs.

District 1: Located in the middle of Academy City. It is where the 12 Board Of Directors are located, excluding the chairman who resides in District 7. It also has the courthouse to judge people on the seriousness of their crimes. (Located East of District 8, Southeast of District 16, Southwest of District 4, Northwest of District 5 and Northeast of District 7)

District 2: Located all the way at the Southwest edge of Academy City, housing the training facilities for Judgement and Anti-Skill members. A test site for guns and explosions and every building is sound-proof. It was also the experiment site for the project called 'Clone Dolly' and District 2 also houses Exterior, a machine which boosts Misaki's Mental Out power. District 2 also has a racing circuit and a hospital. (Southeast of District 13, South of District 15, Southwest of District 7, and West of District 10)

District 3: Located at the North edge of Academy City, it houses an external connection terminal which connects a separate part of Academy City to the rest of the world. This is to prevent the outside world from hacking into the network in Academy City, so as to prevent confidential information from leaking out. It's a district mainly for guests and celebrities who arrive to check out Academy City and will be given a tour inside the International Convention Center, where they will be introduced to the technology inside Academy City. It also has an underground shopping mall and a private salon. (Northeast of District 20, North of District 16, Northwest of District 4, West of District 14)

District 4: Located at the Northeast side of Academy City, it houses many restaurants with many different kinds of food from all over the world. The Atmospheric Continuum Mechanics Research Facility, a facility which compresses and sells air, is located here as well. (North of District 5, Northeast of District 1, East of District 16, Southeast of District 3, South of District 14, West of District 19, Northwest of District 6)

District 5: Located around the middle of Academy City, the Third Resource Recycling Processing Facility is located here. As the name implies, it is a place where most of Academy City's recyclables are being recycled. The Central Park, Seibusan Station and Virus Isolation Center is located here as well. (East of District 7, North of District 18, West of District 6, Northwest of District 23, South of District 1 and 4)

District 6: Located at the East side of Academy City, it has many recreational facilities catered to the tourists visiting, and also students. Its most notable facility is the amusement park. (Northwest of District 12, South of District 19, Southwest of District 4, East of District 5, North of District 23)

District 7: Located near the centre of Academy City, this district contains of the place where the Chairman of the Board Of Directors resides in, called the Windowless Building. This district also contains the 177th Judgement Branch Office. District 7 is also the central station for Anti-Skill. District 7 also have an arcade called Playland Gau. (West of District 5,18 and 22, South of District 1, Southeast of District 8, East of District 9 and 15, North of District 2 and 10.)

-Isobe Bank is located here. This bank was attacked on July 16 by three robbers, but they were stopped by the 3rd ranked level 5, Misaka Mikoto.

-It contains the post office third branch.

The food stores in this district are,

-326 Ice Cream

-Benny's

-Crepe Rablm

-JonaGarden Family Restaurant

-Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant

-Julian Restaurant

-Macronall Hamburger

-MocRonall's

-Olla Podrida

-Pasticceria Manicagni (Exclusive to School Garden)

-Pizza Hut (Yes, that's what the anime calls it as well)

-Rude Café

-School Lunch Restaurant (Located in the Underground Shopping Center)

Some of the infrastructure in District 7 are,

-A Certain Iron Railway Bridge

-A Certain Multilevel Overpass

-Automated bus maintenance terminal

-Central Hub Transformer Station (The hub is used for controlling the electrical waves in Academy City)

-Water department

-Underground drainage channel

The malls,shops and stores available are,

-Book-On (a bookstore)

-For the Athletic Type!! (A supermarket)

-Green Mart (Convenience store)

-Seventh Mist (Shopping center)

-Underground Shopping Center

-La Mancha (A discount chain store selling cosmetics and other random things)

-Horus Pet Shop (Located in School Garden)

Medical facilities include,

-Heaven Canceller's Hospital/A Certain Hospital

-Hero's Cave

It also includes the Higuchi Pharmacology Laboratory 7, which is a research center once used to produce the clones of Misaka Mikoto but had been closed off.

The residents who live in this district are,

-Accelerator

-Saten Ruiko

-Yomikawa Aiho

-Tsukuyomi Komoe

-Kamijou Touma

-Tsuchimikado Motoharu

-Frenda Seivelun

-Shizuri Mugino

-Takitsubo Rikou

-Kinuhata Saiai

-Students of Tokiwadai Middle School (Located in School Garden)

-Students of Tokiwadai Middle School (Dorms not in School Garden)

-Students of A Certain High School

-Students of Sakugawa Middle School

-Students of Private Shidarezakura Academy (Located in School Garden)

-Students of Minamikawa Middle School

-Students of A Certain Middle School

-Misaka 10042 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Misaka 10046 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Misaka 13570 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Misaka 13577 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Misaka 19090 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Misaka 19095 (In A Certain Hospital)

-Aogami Pierce

-Himegami Aisa

-Fukiyose Seiri

-Edasaki Banri

-Uiharu Kazari

-Komaba Ritoku

-Kumokawa Seria

School Garden is an area located at the southern end of District 7 and consists of 5 all-girl schools. Each student there is given a card where they have to tap in at the gate to gain access into School Garden.

District 8: Located near the Northwest part of Academy City. A place where the apartments houses mostly married couples and has a famous taiyaki stall. (Northwest of District 7, East of District 9, South of District 16 and west of District 1)

District 9: Located on the west side of Academy City, this district specialises in arts and crafts. There is a Beauty Salon Specialty School located here. (South of District 20, Southeast of District 17, East of District 21, North of District 15, Northwest of District 7, West of District 8)

District 10: Located at the southern edge of Academy City, this district consists of mainly Skill-Out members and is more like an abandoned district. It is also a district to test nuclear weapons. The only cemetery is located here. This district also has a place called the Reformatory, where espers who had misused their powers were sent there. AIM jammers are located here where they use sound waves to mess with the brains of espers to disrupt their calculations. It also has the Food Stand Spire, where it contains 400-500 restaurants, though the restaurants set-up there are illegal as they do not follow the proper hygiene code. It has a school called Zassou Academy where they teach students how to develop games. The Special Ability Institute is located here as well, where the infamous Accelerator once went there for one of his two "special classes" to control his powers, while the researchers research the limits of his powers. (Southeast of District 2, South of District 22 and District 7, West of District 11)

District 11: Located in the middle of the Southeast and western edge of Academy City, this District is mainly used for the exchange of goods as Academy City locked out the waters as a way of trading, so the exchange of goods are done here and business is carried out here. (East of District 10, South of District 18, Southwest of District 23)

District 12: Located at the Eastern edge of Academy City, this district allows everyone to learn about the different cultures and religions around the world while earning money for entry. This district is also the eastern part of the External Connection Terminal, where it links to the connection outside Academy City. (East of District 6, Southeast of District 19, Northeast of District 23)

District 13: Located at the Southwestern edge of Academy City, this district mainly consists of elementary schools and kindergartens. Has a hospital, and houses the western part of the External Connection Terminal. (Northwest of District 2, west of District 15, South of District 21)

District 14: Located at the Northeastern edge of Academy City, this district is responsible for handling students from overseas to teach them about the rules of Academy City without forcing them to learn Japanese. It contains a fitness club called Topaz Gym, and a convenience store called Pricestore. (Northeast of District 4, East of District 3, and Northwest of District 19)

District 15: Located at the southwestern side of Academy City, this district has the biggest shopping center called Dianoid. It is a common hangout spot for many as it has arcades, karaoke boxes, bowling alleys, parks, and an aquarium. The district also has a middle school called Kashiizaka Middle School. (Southwest of District 7, South of District 9, Southeast of District 21, East of District 13, and North of District 2.)

District 16: Located at the Northern side of Academy City, this district specialises in trading with other countries and provide high-paying part time jobs for anyone. (North of District 1 and 8, West of District 4, South of District 3 and 20, and Northeast of District 9)

District 17: Located at the Northwestern side of Academy City, this district specialises in industrialisation and agricultural activities using machines to produce resources like meat, vegetables and products from other countries. It also has a prison, a switchyard and a factory. The switchyard was one of the places which Accelerator had done the Level 6 Shift in. (Southwest of District 20, Northwest of District 9, and North of District 21)

District 18: Located near the middle and southeastern part of Academy City, this district contains two prestigious schools, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy and Nagatenjouki Academy. This district is used to develop the espers from the two respective schools. The research is done in the Elementary Particle Engineering Laboratory where the tweezers are located. The tweezers is a device used to access the system, UNDER_LINE. UNDER_LINE is used to survey the whole of Academy City and to report the actions happening in Academy City to the Board of Directors. (South of District 5, West of District 18, Northeast of District 22, Northwest of District 11, and East of District 7)

District 19: Located at the Northeastern edge of Academy City, this district is essentially useless to the point where no one is living there because of a failed business there. (Southeast of District 14, East of District 4, and North of District 6)

District 20: Located in between the Northern and Northwestern edge of Academy City, this district is used to train athletic students and analyse DNA maps. The Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory, and Shinshikimi Middle School is located here. The laboratory was once used as a place to clone the Misaka clones. However, it was stopped by Misaka Mikoto. (West of District 3, Northwest of District 16, North of District 9, Northeast of District 17)

District 21: Located on the Western side of Academy City, this district is a mountainous area that holds many dams that transports water to the whole of Academy City. There is a nature park here, a medical facility, the power station, and Ground Geo, a power station. (South of District 17, West of District 9, and North of District 13.)

District 22: Located on the southern side of Academy City, it is the smallest district in Academy City with a span of 2 kilometres. Despite it's inferior size to the other districts, this district is developed underground with a depth of several hundred metres. On the surface of District 22 lies many wind turbines as it requires a lot of electrical power to function. Oxygen is being pumped into the district, and when no more air is present, a pop-up will appear telling everyone that no oxygen is present underground. The district has a false scenery, appearing in a starry night sky, in a forested area. In the district, there are two resorts available, one for the general public and the other for VIPs. There is a hospital, a nature park, an android development plant, Shizuna High School, a hotel and a hydroelectric turbine power plant. (Southeast of District 7, Southwest of district 18, North of District 10)

District 23: Located in the Southeastern edge of Academy City, this district is used to store weapons, contains the satellite terminal which controls the Tree Diagram, and is used as an airport. Security is high in District 23 as it can hold hydrazine, a dangerous chemical which could kill many. In this district, it also has Endymion, an elevator which allows guests to visit space and enjoy performances, it contains several airports, many testing sites for planes, and a laboratory once used by Kihara Therestina Lifeline to do research on the advancement of Level 6. (South of district 6 and 12, east of district 18,North of District 11)

As much as Academy City is about science and technology, the existence of magic is known to the Board Of Directors as they have signed a science-magic treaty, to prevent wars among espers and magicians, though the existence of magicians are unknown to the espers.

When an esper learns magic, their body will break down due to the hypnotism of the Power Curriculum Program.

The Tree Diagram is a satellite device in outer space and is the strongest satellite device used by Academy City as its calculations are precise and heavily reliable to the point where it can predict the changes of weather by milliseconds.

Personalities of the Level 5's(From Board of Directors perspective)

Accelerator: Once a calm and collected boy, who was unfazed by a whole military around him. Eventually gave himself up to learn to control his powers. He is a child error who managed to live through elementary school without any friends or family. Currently, the only one to be able to reach level 6 by the Tree Diagram. A stupid and arrogant boy who was trained under Kihara Amata and adopted his way of thinking, he sees all life as disposable pawns as proven when he killed the Sisters in the Level 6 Shift Project. Once he learnt to control his powers, he was given the title #1 strongest in Academy City. After that, he got into fights with a bunch of Skill-Outs everyday and killed each and every one of them each time. Perfect weapon for Academy City.

Update: On August 30, he was shot in the head and lost his calculation abilities. To us, he is useless already. Sisters sent out to different research facilities for checking. Orders from Aleister Crowley, proclaimed the project as flawed.

Kakine Teitoku: The spare plan, he is a dangerous boy to us, he is cold to his allies and his enemies, an arrogant boy who believes that he is the best. He is not Japanese, though he can speak Japanese, his pronunciation of the words are terrible. He once partook in an experiment to level him up to level 5. Sent to a laboratory when he was around 8-10 years old, he was pushed to his absolute limits by inducing him to pain and agony. Eventually that backfired on the researchers who were all killed after beating up a small girl who was close to him. That was when he turned level 5 and given the title #2 of Academy City. He despises the Dark Side of Academy City and plans to advance on Aleister and try to defeat him. He is a threat.

Misaka Mikoto: A cheerful, optimistic and clueless girl who can't sympathise with others. She is not as arrogant as the other level 5's and chooses to live a normal life. However, she has stopped the Dark Side from advancing multiple times. To be honest, it's getting annoying. She is a nuisance to us. She is the pride of Tokiwadai Middle School having been given the title, Ace of Tokiwadai. Able to make the whole of Academy City blackout when going full power. We tricked her into giving us her DNA map after learning that Accelerator could reach Level 6, by telling her that her power could be used to stimulate the nerve cells in paralysed patients. She levelled up from a level 3 to a level 5 through constant training and use of her powers.

Shizuri Mugino: A sadistic woman, her childhood had no setbacks. She was rich and well-off but her parents decided to send her into Academy City to expose her to living alone. She has a superiority complex and sees everyone as weaker than her. That personality may be the cause of her personal reality. She is dangerous and fortunately for us, she is working under us as a team leader of ITEM.

Shokuhou Misaki: A cunning girl, once involved in Project Clone Dolly where we were testing out the first Misaka Mikoto prototype. She was also involved in another project which aimed to transform her into a level 5 from her level 3 self. That decision was the worst decision made as she would eventually not cooperate with us anymore. Mitsuari Ayu was supposed to be an alternative but due to the lack of resources back then and her pulling out of the experiment, we couldn't make her a level 5. Misaki has Exterior, to boost her powers even further, though not at the level of a level 6, but enough to strengthen her mind controlling abilities. She betrayed the researchers who invented Exterior for her by mind controlling them and later had them kill themselves after exposing the true intentions of Clone Dolly to her. She was also attacked by a group called Deadlock once, where their plan was to kill of all the level 5's. But she was protected by a spiky haired boy who was later bruised up badly but survived the attacks that came at him. Her powers are essential in the future so we won't kill her.

Aihana Etsu: Currently not much is known by Etsu, but Etsu is smart and arrogant as well like the other level 5's. Believes in own power to be so great that use of it is rare. Even we are confused by Etsu's way of thinking.

Sogiita Gunha: A cheerful boy who can only spit guts and guts at people. Frankly, he's useless to us, but he is a gemstone so we want to do a bit more research on him. When we offered to give him better living conditions at the cost of us researching him, he simply refused and said that we should have more guts and believe in our own abilities. I'm getting annoyed by his personality...

His powers are confusing to understand. The source of his power could date back to the Stargate Project where espers were first used in World War II. Though the source of his power is unknown.

20 years back, we had a magician undergo the Power Curriculum Program. If I remember correctly, that boy's name was called Ellis. When he tried to learn magic, his organs started to breakdown, and his body bled all over. What happened next was unknown to us, but he is confirmed dead.

Currently, only Tsuchimikado Motoharu is the only esper-magician hybrid. But I don't trust that bastard. He's a backstabbing bastard who's intentions are never known to anyone. He became an esper after trying to infiltrate Academy City as a magician and took in Tsuchimikado Maika as a plan to make us think he was a genuine esper living with his sister. Fortunately, we managed to snuff him out. Now, he's working under Aleister Crowley. His Japanese is not good, his pronunciation is all over the place.

This is Academy City, progress is looking grim and looks as if it is deteriorating. I just hope the level 5's do not rebel against us. The power of the level 5's are not to be underestimated.