Chapter 5: Evolved Traits

The fact that B-612 was ripe with mecha stones meant that there was no doubt that the people of this planet had unique Evolved traits. Finnegan had dumped the information of all one million citizens of B-612 onto Vincent's desk six months ago to unearth strong individuals who could aid in directing the Empire's future under the guise of rehousing them. By the end of this operation, Vincent had determined one fifth of the inhabitants of B-612 to transfer to Garden, two fifths to be monitored in neighbouring planets and the rest resolved to live in varying planets. Most of the new citizens of Garden were of younger ages, in their essential years of growth and development of personality. Generally sheltered in their small planet far from the centre of innovation, Finnegan feared these seedlings with boundless potential would be led astray or polluted by society's intolerance of outsiders. The issue of the future livelihood of the people of B-612 was worked out by Finnegan and his advisors. In the case of the new 200,000 citizens that have just arrived at Garden, the problem was easily solved. Finnegan, following the tradition of Emperors bestowing a 'gift' upon the people when they ascended the throne, commissioned schools of primary, secondary and tertiary level, to be made accessible to the common populace. All ten years of primary schooling was made compulsory for children from ages eleven to twenty-five, where they were taught literacy, numeracy, cultural studies, ancient Earthen history and modern (starting from the Golden Age of Spatial Science) history. A condition to primary schooling was that all students had to undertake an extra-curricular course, whether that be theatre arts such as dance, media arts such as photography, writing courses, gardening, or learning a new language to name a few, every student had to be invested in one such activity. These courses served to facilitate the foundation of their Evolved trait, which children at this age typically allowed to guide their interests, or to allow them to find their talents which could help them choose apprenticeships in secondary schooling. Secondary educational institutions were very different to primary schooling, and were specialised to the possible paths of work that could be taken. The first three years of secondary schooling prepared students for the wider world, in contrast to primary teachings which largely explored the Eldridge empire at its social, cultural and historical levels. Past these initial years, students were encouraged to venture beyond their comfort zones and find meaning in what they wanted to do with their education and future roles within the Empire. Naturally, not all students were inclined to these adventuring ways and so they stayed inside the walls of their schools, immersing themselves in whatever methods they developed to affirm their future paths. It was during these years that students were convinced to join various organisations that held their talents in high-esteem. The education system, which started running five years after Finnegan ascended the throne and had been effective for the past seven years, would be made available to the inhabitants of B-612.