Half-Bodied Teachers

One of Yuzuko's teachers, Mr Tamagotchi taught her mother, and both her grandparents. To relieve pressure off his back and neck, they replaced the doors so he didn't have to crouch down. He had always been a tall man for his age with his shadow hovering the first two rows of the table. He was considered by many of Yuzuko's peers to be a local legend. Instead of retiring and accepting help from home, he commissioned a mobility suit so he could still do the job he loved.

Yuzuko could always tell if it was one of her grandfather's products: they always had a table tennis rack et on it. On the pouch of Mr Tomogatchi's suit there was Professor Denki's famous logo. It was the real deal. She had noticed a lot of counterfeit merchandise using a blue logo instead of the official red one. Families would be in a lot less debt if Professor Denki's products were cheaper. Yuzuko's grandfather had the best modern technology on the market, and she considered herself lucky to be a part of his family.

"Good morning everyone," Mr Tomogatchi dragged himself to his desk. The suit could make the centurion use his legs, but sadly did nothing to help his declining memory. It was normal for Mr Tomogatchi to refer to students by their parents' names. He looked like a spaceman with his suit. His head looked tiny with the mobility suit's helmet.

"Good morning, Mr Tomogatchi."

"I would like to welcome you all back to another exciting day at Ayame Academy. Today we will learn all about brain hacking." The blackboard behind him transformed into a holographic image of a human brain. "This is one of them first counties in the world to learn about brain hacking. A laboratory in Kyoto have created a program called MindShark."

Denki tower could be seen from the school window. Yuzuko's grandfather had owned several labs in the city. Yuzuko was sure that MindShark was built in one of his labs.

"Are we allowed to have our brains hacked?" One of the students asked.

"I'm afraid not. Only people between the ages of 21 to 65 are allowed to have it. You are all too young to have your brain hacked." His eyes fluttered over at Sakura. "Apart from you, Sakura Kanagawa."

"Sir," Sakura raised her hand in response. She hid her flustered cheeks with her sleeves. "I'm not 21 till next April."

"Delinquents are often immune to this rule."

"Then why are we learning about this now?" Sakura asked. Sometimes it would have been better if she kept quiet. Teachers didn't like it when you spoke out of term or didn't confirm to the school codes.

"Because many companies are using brain hacking tools to control people." Fortunately, Mr Tomogatchi wasn't the type of teacher that would give detentions and infractions like Halloween candy. "You see, the Government doesn't want us to tell you these things. As your teacher, I believe you have a right to know! Hopefully you can learn to protect your brain in science class."

Yuzuko was convinced Mr Tomogatchi had a crush on Sakura. She always stood out with her long brown hair and curves. Some teachers called her fat, in front of the whole class. If a student called her fat, they'd get detention, but teachers couldn't be punished. Even if Sakura was the heaviest person in class, she was skinny in other country's standards.

All this time he never took his eyes off her.

"Now, please turn on your tablets and download the MindShark app."

Everybody got their tablets from out of their school bags. Yuzuko's tablet loaded faster than her peers. Envy consumed the others as MindShark had already been downloaded on her platinum tablet, a Denki product of course. Sakura's tablet, an iPad over thirty years old was the last to download.

The MindShark program was blue and riddled in codes. Mr Tomogatchi instructed them look directly into the camera until the tablet showed a bunch of stats hidden under a black square.

Yuzuko withheld a gasp when the tablet asked her a question.

Is your name Yuzuko Shikumi?

She tapped yes.

Please confirm your date of birth!

25th October 2043

After the MindShark app took Yuzuko's fingerprint and facial ID, she was able to see stats: her stats. For a moment, she thought she had been warped into a stimulation game.

Name: Yuzuko Shikumi

Date of birth: 25th October 2043

Nationality: Japanese

Height: 157cm

Weight: 45kg

BMI: 18

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Allergies: None

Disorders: None detected

Imagine finding out via an app about your sexuality. Yuzuko tried to maintain her shaking by placing her hands under the table. What if everybody could see? Looking over at Mr Tomogatchi, Yuzuko tried to stay calm. "Now I know some of you are shocked! It's amazing how much you can learn about yourself just by a fingertip. Now it's important to know not to take everything to heart. Just because the app is calling you gay or a sexuality you don't know or understand, doesn't make you any less of a person. In my class everyone is equal.You cannot change a persons gender or sexuality. I don't think there's any app, medicine or therapy in the world that can do that. However, if you scroll down to stress levels. Put your hands up if they're lower than 20%."

Mr Tomogatchi steered his head around the room. "Lovely, we have good and honest students here. Now raise your hand it's it's between 30-60%."

Yuzuko was the only one not to raise her hand.

"Yes," Mr Tomogatchi croaked. "That's quite healthy. Yuzuko, what were your stress levels?"

Gulping, Yuzuko read hers out. "84."

"Anyone higher than 84?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"I advise you speak to our school nurse after class," Mr Tomogatchi advised. "Now for your homework. I will send the assignment to your tablets right now. I would like you to experiment with this app and write a report on it. Can you change your least favourite drinks into a beloved beverage? Can you learn a new language with it? What are the pros and cons with MindShark. Please submit it tonight."

The MindShark app was not necessary for Yuzuko to know her stress levels had soared again.