The truth

"Ahem, well that was unexpected, to say the least."

After the shock of Malachi's decision settled down, Professor Will recomposed himself and carried on to the end of the enrolment.

"Finally, we have the joint winners of this exam."

He announced, with everyone quieting down after he spoke.

"Pick whichever university you like, Alex, Mira."

Finally, it had come to their choice.

Professor Will didn't even need to raise his hand this time.

It was obvious which university they were going to pick.

He had read both of their applications when they first piqued his interest.

He knew what their first choices were.

"Capital Prime." They both said in unison.

***

With the formalities over, everyone returned back to their assigned quarters on the ship. The place seemed much emptier with over half of the original applicants being dead.

Everyone but the top 10.