...Did you do that?

Michael continued a low level grumble for the last stretch of the walk. Soon enough he'd arrived at the entrance to the school, and the prompt popped up.

<<[Mission: Walk to School] completed. Subject's time was 58 minutes and 37 seconds. Subject is awarded with the following basic mission completion results:

Physique-???=> +0.001

Physique-??? => +0.001

Physique-??? => +0.001

For first-time completion of a basic repeatable mission, Subject is awarded with:

1/4 of a Basic Enhancement Package.>>

"Looks like I improved some of those underlying factors. Would be great to find out what they are... guess I need to figure out how to do that. The System said that I need to upgrade its capabilities to do so, and to do that I need to improve these factors and such. Seems like completing missions is one way to do that. I guess I'll need to wait for more missions? Then there's this Basic Enhancement Package thing... although I'm betting I know what the answer will be if I ask about it." Surprisingly, when Michael asked the question, the System was more helpful than it had been so far.

<<Basic Enhancement Package will allow you to select from a small list of basic features of the System to improve.>>

"Nice! That's what I thought, but it was still nice to get confirmation. Thanks, System!"

<<...No thanks are required. Information was made available under Authorization Protocol 001. Conditions for related playback recording not yet met. Please continue to work hard.>>

Michael made his way through the hallways to his designated homeroom class. As he sat down, he pulled out his planned schedule for the day. "English, Algebra, Chemistry, and Film! Luckily, a friend's older sibling told me about the film class - the teacher doesn't dig into any of the details of film, so as long as you watch the movie and can provide a good summary, it's an easy mark. And what's even better is that somehow it's a full-year course!"

<<System would like to inform Subject that a class with little effective value is only detrimental to Subject's growth. While the study of the aforementioned topic is not inherently lacking merit, class as described by Subject does not seem to satisfy basic requirements. System would strongly recommend Subject investigate changing classes.>>

"Are you kidding? No way. Changing classes without a valid reason is definitely not an option. Besides, what's one class going to do? Think of it like a free period."

<<...Subject does not appear to understand the true purpose of a 'free period'. Furthermore->>

As the prompt continued writing, Michael's homeroom teacher walked in to the front of the room. "Good morning, class. I'm Ms. Jimenez and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year. Before we get started, I unfortunately have to inform you that due to a computer malfunction that seemed to affect both the on-site computers and the back-ups at the school board offices, new student class registrations have been corrupted and have to be reconstructed. Your first classes will be cancelled and we'll need you to head down to the administrative office to select new courses. It's a pain, but it's got to be done."

"..."

<<...>>

"...System?"

<<...Awaiting Subject's query.>>

"...Did you do that?"

<<...At this point, it is impossible for System to penetrate local network.>>

"Good, good... wait, at this point??"

<<...New context identified. Generating new mission:

[Mission: Do something useful with your time.]

Description: A full year course is around 150 hours of time. This is a fantastic opportunity to supplement the basic course selection with something that will allow you to expand your understanding of one of the many fields of study the basic curriculum will not cover, within school hours.

Reward: The satisfaction and knowledge that you made the right choice.

Penalty: The System will be very disappointed.>>

Michael's face closely matched what one would expect of a child who just dropped their ice cream. "You had to use the D word, didn't you, System."

<<System would like to remind the Subject that it only has Subject's best interests in mind.>>

---

When Michael's name was called, he walked over to the administration desk. A mid-20s gentleman with dark hair and glasses asked for his Student ID, which he passed over. "Based on your transcript from your elementary school, it looks like you're eligible for the advanced tier of classes." Michael nodded and replied "That's correct, sir. All required classes were registered at the advanced tier." The administrator nodded. "Alright, that's English, Algebra, Latin, Chemistry, and Phys-Ed, then. What is your elective choice? There's still room in Film Studies, Computers, Automotive Maintenance, and Visual Arts."

<<System would recommen->>

"I've got it, System." Michael thought furiously inside his head. He replied to the administrator: "Computers, please."

<<[Mission: Do something useful with your time.] Completed. Rewar-->>

"Don't...just...don't."

---

Once Michael was finished in the administration office, it was time to start his first official class as a high school student - Algebra. He made his way up the stairs to the class listed on his new schedule. He looked around the room in the unlikely event that he recognized someone, but eventually settled on a desk near the back by the window and began pulling his required supplies out of his bag. After a couple of minutes, the desk in front of him also got filled. Quickly, the person filling it turned around. "Hey! I'm Jeremy," the sandy-brown haired young man said with a smile. "I have no idea what I'm doing in this class." Michael smiled and replied. "I'm Michael, and for some strange reason I did this to myself." Jeremy chuckled. "I guess that's probably true for me, too. What school are you coming from? I don't recognize you from mine or any of the ones nearby." Michael's smile took on a bit of a wry twist. "That makes sense. My family just moved to the city over the summer, so I don't know many people. A couple of my parents' friends' kids, but none in our grade." "Got it. Well, welcome. High school is for new beginnings anyway, right?" Michael nodded in agreement. By this point, the teacher had entered and begun the lesson, so they turned to the front and got started in the class.

Once class finished and the students made their way out of the room, Jeremy turned to Michael and asked if he wanted to join him for lunch in the cafeteria. After waiting a few moments without a reply, he tried again. "Michael? Can you hear me, dude?" "Hmm? Oh, sorry. I can't - I've got to do something. I'll see you around." "Alright, man. I'll see ya." Jeremy waved goodbye and made his way to the stairs down to the cafeteria while Michael continued to stare at the ground - or rather, at the source of his distraction, two new notifications that had popped up.

<<[Mission: Algebra Homework]

Description: Assignments on the first day of class are the mark of a diligent teacher. Get the ball rolling by completing your homework to the best of your ability and get the most out of the exercise.

Reward: Appropriate increases in corresponding skills and abilities.

Penalty: Class reputation decrease, appropriate penalties administered by the system.

Optional: Complete the rest of the questions in the section (those not assigned) and recommended supplementary reading for further bonuses.

[Mission: Food for Thought]

Description: One can't stress the importance of a good foundation. Spend your lunch hour in the library and get started on the foundational reading list.

Reward: Enhanced focus and access to the foundational reading list.

Penalty: None>>

"Two new missions, both with a wrinkle. Optional rewards, and no penalty?"

<<Not all missions have an explicit penalty. The loss of opportunity for enrichment and further rewards is in some ways a far worse penalty. Furthermore, one can't say that the System does not provide the Subject with free will.>>

"How thoughtful. What's this optional aspect?"

<<Not all mission rewards are explicit, nor are all possible mission parameters limited to the description provided. It was deemed by the System that the two generated missions could provide good examples of this, while many future opportunities will be up to the Subject to discover.>>

"Interesting... what's this foundational reading list the second mission mentions?"

<<Please accept and begin the associated mission for further details.>>

"Got it. Guess I'm heading to the library, then."

---

As Michael entered the library, the buzz of the busy hallway was muffled by the quiet hush of pages flipping and computer mice clicking. The musty smell of books wafted over to his nose, and he noticed a familiar face behind the counter.

"Ah, Computers!" the black-haired gentleman he had met in the administration office said in greeting. "Umm, no, I'm here for the books," Michael replied awkwardly. "No, I meant... never mind. Are you here for something in particular?" the gentleman shook his head and got to the point. "I'm not sure yet - can I just look around?" Michael asked while staring off into space. "Sure... you can access any of the terminals for the index. Are you familiar with the Dewey Decimal System?" the gentleman narrowed his eyes in mild concern at the apparently absent minded freshman. "Mhm," Michael nodded in response, still staring off as he started walking into the depths of the library. "What a weird kid," the gentleman muttered as he got back to his work.

Meanwhile, Michael was still dealing with the massive list of books he had been inundated with as soon as he entered the library. Hundreds of titles were streaming across his vision. "This is the foundational reading list?" he asked, a little overwhelmed.

<<Correction: This is the subset of the foundational reading list the system is currently able to identify within the Subject's field of vision. Perusal of the library index will allow the System to further expand the list with available options. Recommended initial targets are not currently in view - it is recommended that the Subject access the index before proceeding further.>>

Michael blanched. "Sure... let's start with that, then." Helplessly, he made his way over to one of the available terminals and went to type something, before pausing. "What should I look for?"

<<System is currently able to interpret visual data much more quickly than the Subject. Please set search parameters to all books and then begin scrolling through the list at a moderate speed.>>

Michael did as instructed, and began scrolling. At the system's insistence, he increased his speed until he couldn't even read the titles as the flitted past his vision. The gentleman noticed this from his vantage point at the desk, and shook his head again with a mildly annoyed look on his face. However, there were plenty of spare terminals, so Michael wasn't bothering anyone else. After several minutes, at the end of which Michael's scrolling finger had started cramping up, he reached the end of the list.

<<Refining list. Primary target found. System recommends Subject begin with the following book.>>

Seeing the title the System presented, Michael looked more than a little exasperated. "Really? I think I know enough about this subject already."

<<System estimates the accuracy of Subject's statement to be approximately 5%.>>

"Now, that's just rude..." Michael grumbled as he started looking for the book the System highlighted. However, after a few minutes, he'd come up empty. Unsure of how to proceed, he approached the desk. "Excuse me." "Hmm? Ah, Computers. What are you looking for?" "What? No, never mind. I'm trying to find this book, the system says that it's available but it doesn't seem to be in the right location. Can you help me track it down?" Michael handed over a slip of paper on which he'd written down the title and location number. Seeing the title, the man behind the desk raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're looking for this?"