Chapter Three – Electives in Future Tribulations

Chapter Three – Electives in Future Tribulations

“Cooking isn’t just about feeding people—it’s about shaping the future. We splice flavors like genes, sear tradition with plasma torches, and plate memories with AI precision. A great dish isn’t made in the kitchen anymore; it’s engineered in the soul.

–Cook-O-Tron, the At Home AI Chef, 2029

***

The CIAL campus was bigger than I imagined. It encompassed the entirety of the little city around the main campus and about half a dozen much larger buildings around the central park area.

These were the picturesque, big, modern buildings that looked good on postcards, but they weren’t the whole of it. The campus extended below-ground as well.

“This entire area, formerly the Perrot Island area, was slated to be New Montreal’s first mega-city platform. However, the project was cancelled early in its development. The University saw an opportunity, purchased the plate, and has since used it as its primary campus,” the Vice Principal said. He tapped one of his shiny loafers against the paved road we were on. “It doesn’t look like it, but there is actually a single-floor level beneath the entire campus.”

“That’s kinda big,” I said. It wasn’t an exaggeration either. The campus had to cover a dozen square kilometres or something. There was plenty of grass and a few parks, and lots of roadways going around. “What about those buildings over there?”

I was pointing to the rows upon rows of cookie-cutter complexes. There were rather blocky buildings, maybe ten stories high, and all placed in neat rows.

“The dormitories? Ah, yes, we have dormitories here capable of housing three hundred thousand.”

“You have that many students?” Lucy asked.

“Oh? No, forgive me. That’s the entirety of the campus population, and while yes a majority of that number is made up of our student body, a large portion is taken up by our staff. Administrators, teachers, janitors, maintenance. We have our own police, fire and combat forces, three small on-site hospitals and several clinics. The CIAL campus is a city unto itself, and most of our citizens live in those buildings right there.”

“Wild,” I said.

“Of course, there are several buildings set aside where the dormitories have… an increased amount of room and access to greater creature comforts. For the discerning student that wishes for more space to rest and relax in,” the Vice Principal said.

“Do any students drive in?” Lucy asked. “From outside of the campus, I mean?”

“Oh, certainly. There’s a nominal parking fee, as well as a monthly cost for use of the campus road. Not that we would impose such a thing on you, of course.”

The entire time we were chatting, the Vice Principal was leading us along through the central part of the campus. It was… a nice spot, I’ll admit. Very open, with benches and a few trees providing shade. There was a nice hill there, with green grass where a few students were laid out and taking in what little sun came through the overcast sky.

He was very clearly heading towards one building in particular, but doing so in the most inefficient way possible. It was a meandering path that kinda forced us to take in the sights.

I didn’t blame him, exactly, I had all day, after all, and Lucy was enjoying herself, but it did feel kind of wasteful.

“Let’s start by looking into the culinary schooling you mentioned?” he asked. “We have a fantastic course led by a former Michelin-star chef currently under our employ as an educator. It’s a rather tough course, but I believe the level of challenge might depend on how many other courses you decide to take on.”

“How many is normal?” I asked.

The Vice Principal smiled. “We try not to give our students more than it would be possible for them to take on,” he replied.

“Really?” Lucy asked. She smiled. “I heard online that it’s basically impossible not to take on a lot of courses all at once, even if you don’t want to take some of them, and that if you fail those, you might have to repeat them later before you’re allowed to get your diploma or whatever.”

“That’s mean,” I said.