12 Major Hub One

Conductor Combot flickered to life on the TVs throughout the train cabin. "Ladies and gents please excuse my interruption. I have noticed that quite a few of you have never been outside our little human safe zone! So this conductor is going to give you a quick overview of the major hub one. If you'd rather not listen I would recommend putting your headphones in now. I will be beginning the audio guide in 15 seconds."

The four friends glanced at each other before crowding as close as they could to the windows to see the landmarks that were about to be pointed out to them.

The other kids also began shuffling towards the windows before suddenly the whole train became see through. A couple gasps and "wows" were heard from those around them. Jayce was also impressed and looked down to realize the train seemed to be gliding on air. Reminding himself that lots of people owned flying cars and he even had a hoverboard Jayce forced himself not to look surprised. It was still unsettling for him though and he gripped the armrests of his seat just a little more tightly. Jenira noticed his discomfort and was just about to reassure him when the conductor's voice came back on.

"Humanity won the first ever grand prize so they were able to decide the name of the first hub. They were unable to agree on any names and so decided to just call it "one" until they thought of something better. They never thought of something better. Thus the other two hubs were named two and three due to the humans winning the next two consecutive grand prizes. This was initially supposed to be a joke but the humans never officially changed the hub names. So here we are, with three major hubs named one two and three. "

Jayce made an "ahh" sound which caused Micu to look at him with surprise. "Jayce did you learn nothing about the Chaos Simulation in your classes?" Jayce shook his head, "I barely was able to stay awake in those classes. They were always so confusing so I just slept in the back instead." Micu facepalmed before returning his attention to the conductor.

"Major hub one is home to three elite teams, can anyone guess what they are?" The conductor's animated face seemed to scan the crowd.

Ralnas immediately shouted out, "Team Eternity! Team Ocean and team Wolf!

The conductor's eyes hit on Ralnas and a "congratulations" appeared on the screen followed by, "Ralnas Marrow you've won a free ticket to any major hub! Just present yourself to a kiosk next time you wish to travel."

Ralnas was beaming with pride and quite a few of the other people on the train eyed him enviously. Micu patted him on the shoulder and winked at him. Ralnas' smile only seemed to grow bigger.

"The architecture of major hub one is considered to be cyberpunk by your human definitions. However, since the city is also the oldest of the three hubs it contains many historic districts. These districts existed before any race ever won the grand prize and we highly recommend them to all tourists! If you are interested in a tour there is a conductor combot who hosts bus rides through major landmarks." The conductor gave a thumbs up on the screens and ticket information appeared beside him.

"Now the three most visited attractions are definitely the elite teams training bases. Unfortunately, this train does not have permission to fly near them due to security risks but they are quite close to the station should you like to visit them. My sensors indicate most of you are headed to the royal coliseum for registration today. To get there you..."

Jayce tuned out the conductor and squinted his eyes to try and catch sight of the elite teams training academies. He would never admit it to Ralnas but his favorite team, Lazer, was fierce rivals with team Eternity. But even if they were rivals team Eternity was widely regarded as one of the best of the best. It was said they only allowed 25 new recruits in every year. Jayce was excited about the prospect of going on their visitor tour while they were in the hub.

Jayce felt the train slow and the cabin turned back to its original form with the windows being the only port to the outside world. He buckled his seatbelt and prepared for landing. The train glided into the station and the hard landing Jayce was expecting never came. He was a little surprised when the conductor's voice came back on, 'Well thank y'all for traveling with us today. Don't forget to have a combot-ly great day!"

Jayce filed out of the train behind the rest of the kids who he assumed were going the same place as him. "Jayce! Wait for us!" Jayce turned to see his three friends stuck behind a particularly nervous boy who's mom was begging him to step off the train. Jayce felt frustration at being even later than they already were.

He was tapping his foot impatiently when they finally caught up to him. They then power walked behind the other kids looking every which way taking in the sights. The day was overcast and there weren't many locals out on the streets. Ralnas eyes seemed to be gorging themselves on all the sights and sounds of a real city. The neon lights flashed from buildings and flying cars whizzed by. Marvelous purples and blues illuminated the skyscrapers that reached beyond the clouds.

Just then they turned a corner and Jayce gasped. The biggest sporting arena he had ever seen stood before them. He had read that the Coliseum was huge before but didn't really have any frame of reference for just how huge it would be. "Hey Micu, how many different people can fit inside the Royal Coliseum?

Micu searched his memory for a moment before answering, "I think I remember reading that if it was only humans the Coliseum could fit over three million. Of course with all the different races it's usually much less than that. Plus most people just watch it in their house through augmented reality devices."

Jayce whispered to himself, "Three million cheering for me one day? Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

The four set off to join a line that seemed to go on forever. Races of every size and shape were in line but they recognized most of the people in front of them to be the same people that were on the train with them.

Ralnas turned to the other three once they were finally in line. "Alright guys, we need a team name for real now."

Jayce and Micu instantly started thinking deeply while Ralnas debated internally whether or not to share the ideas he had planned in his head. Jenira then spoke up, "Why not just call ourselves Chiron's Chosen? I mean literally, all of us are wearing something that we got from the school. Plus it's already on my pockets." She pushed her pockets out with her hands.

Jayce and Micu seemed to be considering it and Ralnas got a panicked look on his face. "Guys, you're not actually considering that are you?? I thought up so many good team names, here let me lay some on ya. Fierce Synergy, Ambitious Regiment, Bloodstars, Chaos stars! They're all great names let's pick one of mine!"

Jayce looked at Micu before they nodded to each other. Ralnas' eyes shone with hope. "Yeah, I think Chiron's Chosen is perfect." "I agree, let's vote."

Ralnas felt his heart break a little. "But but guys, listen, guys, this is our team name for the rest of the exam. Maybe the rest of our lives! We can't just be associated with our school when we're old and famous!"

Jenira rolled her eyes, "Ral we can change our team name at any time. I agree let's vote on it."

Ralnas felt crushed and was the only vote against Chiron's chosen. He pouted the rest of the time they waited in line but the other three just ignored him and tried to size up the competition.

Finally, they got to the front of the line where there were dozens of box-shaped robots taking down information from competitors. Each splitting into a different line they agreed to meet up outside.

Jayce's line moved faster than the others and he was swiftly sitting in front of one of the robots.

A scanner shone over his face before a flash suddenly went off. Jayce was unprepared for this and jumped from surprise. A canned voice came from the speaker below the robots scanner. "Your picture has been saved and your ID will be available to you after successfully registering. Are you ready to begin?"

Jayce shook his head yes. "Wait was that the picture it took just now? I hope I don't look too weird."

The robot ignored his questions and then spoke, "Please state your full legal name."

"Jayce Good."

"Please state your race."

"Human."

Please state your age in human years."

"Uh.. 16"

Please state your potential score from zero to 1200."

"Negative ten"

"Please confirm, a potential score is negative ten?"

"Confirm"

"Understood please wait."

Jayce looked around nervously. "Did I do something wrong?" Just as he was about to start looking for someone to help him a hand touched his shoulder.

"Hi, are you Jayce Good?"

Jayce looked up to see a much more modern robot looking down at him. It was far more human, in fact, if its face wasn't a few solid white pieces of plastic then he might've thought it was actually a human.

"Uh yeah, I am. Did I break the robot? I'm sorry if I did."

The robot seemed to smile, which freaked Jayce out even more. "No don't worry. These units simply don't have the ability to handle people with negative potential. Now you'll understand if I scan you to ensure that you aren't lying to us won't you?"

"Do I have a choice?" Jayce was pretty sure he didn't but he wasn't excited about getting shocked again. His back had been sore all day yesterday.

"We use a newer scanning tool here in the hubs to measure potential. I promise it won't hurt nearly as bad." The robot pulled out a small pen-shaped item from its chest cavity. It then bent down and pricked Jayce's arm with the tip of the pen and then withdrew the pen back into its body. "Please be patient Mr. Good."

Jayce rubbed his arm where he had been pricked and glanced around. Jenira and Ralnas were already sitting in front of robots. He wasn't able to spot Micu but figured he was also in the process of getting interviewed.

The robot patted him on the shoulder again, startling him slightly. "We're all good, you do actually have a potential of negative ten. Congratulations Mr. Good. Know that we will be watching you closely." Then the robot turned and walked back into the main hall.

Jayce turned back to the robot in front of him. Its sensors turned from red to blue and then the canned voice returned.

"Thank you for your patience, Mr. Good. We only have a few more questions for you. Do you give teams permission to contact you outside of exam days?"

"I do."

"Do you have any medical needs that we should be aware of?"

"I don't."

"Any special requests for teams to contact you?"

"Oh, if team Lazer was interested in talking to me that would be awesome!"

"Please confirm, preference is team Lazer?

"Yes, uh, confirm!"

"Thank you, Mr. Good. Please insert your watch into the port below the speaker to acquire your competition schedule. Please be aware that there are 12 competitions and you do not need to place first in all competitions to be noticed by teams. Also, the competition exam hosts team tours between each competition if you are interested please indicate so on your watch. Until then good luck with your exams. Your registration is complete as soon as your watch beeps to indicate a successful transfer of data."

Jayce's watch beeped and he pulled out his arm with a brimming sense of excitement already beginning to make him feel that he was walking on air. He quickly exited the Coliseum to look for his friends.

....

In the corporate lounge overlooking the registration members of the elite teams shared stories and partook in the expensive buffet that had been laid out in the room. A humanoid-shaped alien with thick wings protruding from it's back watched the registration with interest. "Zakzakiel! Hey buddy!" He turned to see a two-legged rock creature approaching him with a friendly smile on its scraggy face. Zakzakiel sighed. "Hello, Lancelot. Come to scout the new recruits?" He said with no small amount of disdain. The one called Lancelot nodded and pointed out into the crowd.

"Word is there's a human out there with a negative potential. Just like Arthur back in the day!" Zakzakiel turned to look. His feet slightly leaving the floor as surprise made his wings unfurl unconsciously. "Really?" Lancelot then strode up to the window. "Yeah! It would be quite the story if the team he founded was able to recruit a person with the same potential as him!" Lancelot wistfully said as his ruby red eyes scanned the crowd. Zakzakiel turned and looked at Lancelot. "As if one of the chosen of the gods would join your disgusting group."

Lancelot made a sound that was like a boulder crashing down from a mountain. "You are a funny one Zekky! You honestly believe he would join your weird cult? Please." Lancelot turned away from the window and started to walk away. "Oh and like any smart competitor is going to join a team that doesn't pay them!" He called out as he approached the buffet.

Zakzakiel ignored him and returned his gaze to the crowd. "So the gods have gifted us another Messiah? Then maybe the time is nearing for another grand prize contest. How delightful." A cold grin crawled across Zakzakiel's face.