(A/N: For those curious about romance, it very likely won't be part of the story. And if it is, it'll be off-screen things, not even a secondary or tertiary focus, it'll be yuri, and probably near the end as an afterthought, like a "these two got together" moment in an epilogue. I just don't see how I'll fit romance with the things that'll happen soon.
Also, I'm sure you noticed, I didn't give a gender to my protagonist before they reincarnated, since I don't it see it as something that matters. I did the same for my last fic. If you want to think they were male, that's fine. Female? Also fine. All that mattered to me was what the coin flip told me to make the gender of my protagonist.
Oh, and I'm making this an AU. Why? Because I want to and said so.)
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[2: Bulls on Parade]
(3 weeks later)
I was holding the tablet, flipping through different camera views. There was night vision, thermal, color, and more. I could also zoom in and out.
Now, what am I talking about? Of course, it's a drone. It took a moment, but I figured out how to summon one. The carrier rigging took a bit to get used to, but if I had to describe it, it was like another limb, invisible. A ghost limb? Yeah, something like that. So, I could summon it, and it would be mechanically attached to me. When I first activated it, the thing was huge (pause), and it was just like a carrier deck.
After that, it was the bow. It looked just like Enterprise's bow, with the island structure on it. As for the arrows, I also had to figure them out. And I did, I just didn't shoot any, because there were no viable targets. I thought of spending money to maybe see if there was anywhere I could go to practice, but I quickly stopped that thought when I saw the prices. It's not that it was expensive, but the daily cost would add up very quickly and burn up most of the money I had.
It was okay, though. As long as I could summon my riggings, my bow, and the arrows, that was okay. I could go all out—kind of—during the exam. What I was able to do, and mostly focused on, was my ability to summon drones. I tried it with the bow and with the carrier deck. I was lucky, since there was a window in my hotel room, so I could just shoot or launch things from there. I started very simply with it. Just some small civilian drones. The ones you could buy at a low-end electronics store.
Well, simple in terms of the appearance, not the technology. When I first summoned it, the tablet gave a notification that there was a drone it connected to. That's where I discovered the real tech behind the tablet. I could manually control a drone if I needed to, or I could leave it up to an AI to do whatever I needed it to do. The manual controls were like a game, which made things easy to follow for me. There were also some grayed-out buttons, but only because those were for weapons, and the drone didn't have any.
The tablet let me see everything the drone could. And as for any issues for anyone that could see it, well, there was a cloaking feature. Like, the thing could go invisible. Not only that, but it was also stealthy, like the thing wouldn't show up on radar, not only because it was already small, but it had the special coating that stealth bombers and fighters had.
But the best part for me was that I didn't have to worry about electronic attacks. If I want, I could load a drone with pre-coordinated instructions, and the AI would do everything else. That way, I don't have to send a signal to it, and thus, no signal to intercept. But even if there was a signal, once again, the AI could handle it. I could go into the details, but it's really boring. Does anyone really want me to get into GNSS-independent navigation, frequency hopping spread spectrum, encrypted and multi-channel links, and all that stuff? Yeah, I thought so.
Anyway, another thing the drone could do was hack things. And I'm sure there's quantum nonsense happening here, because these hacking speeds are insane. It was a simple point and click on the tablet, and I could hack basically anything. I could listen in on conversations from phones, listen in car radios, and also have the potential to fully take over the car, and a lot more things. So, not much different than what governments all around the world do, it's just…a lot faster and easier. And you can't get caught.
Once again, I'm not going into the details unless you want a very confusing lecture on quantum computing. Not boring, but confusing. Because I'll be honest, this…kind of shouldn't be possible; a quantum computing tablet at this size. A quantum computer will never replace a laptop or PC, because the constraints are physics-based. The closest will be cloud-based access, or a specialized component that a classical computer only uses when it's the best thing for whatever task it's being used for. I'm not even going to think about the cooling problem for it. And that's only one concern.
But a really tempting thought that made my brain go into overdrive was wondering if this thing could break RSA encryption. If it can…then I'm sitting on one of the holy grails of quantum computing tasks.
But then I remembered that I'm in a world that is set in the 22nd century. And that quantum computers were already predicted to break RSA encryption in the next few decades of my original world. So…that sucks.
Is what I would say if quantum computers were that widespread, but building one, especially one that can break RSA encryption, would cost hundreds, if not billions of dollars, and require massive collaboration. So, assuming a quantum computer like that exists in this world, it'll only be in the superpowered countries. The USA, China, Germany, and Japan. Countries on that scale. And even then, it's not like they'll be used like crazy. Those things are very sensitive.
What was I talking about? Oh, right, my drones.
So, yeah, even a simple drone had insane technology. I'm so tempted to make a suicide drone or one that can fire missiles.
But my chance is near. Because I'm currently on my way to the testing grounds. I was taking public transport, while also messing around with the tablet and drone. I didn't mention the fighter pilot helmet because that would be way too conspicuous. And I don't exactly know how to explain having a helmet whose cost could buy multiple houses in my possession as one of those support gears, items, or whatever they're called.
So, what was I doing while on my way to the exam site?
Simple, I was spying and gathering information. I was using the tablet to control a drone and take pictures and videos of the exam ground. And I mean all of them, since I don't know which one I will be at. This drone I was using was more of a standard surveillance drone. And of course, it was cloaked. I didn't need anybody to know I was spying.
After all, I don't know if Japan had something similar to a Patriot Act. Not that I would be out of trouble even if they did. But what worried me most of all was that I was a foreigner. Imagine it, a foreigner spying on one of Japan's top hero schools. Now that would cause headlines. So, yeah, I know what I'm doing is wrong, but…oh well. I've never been to Japan before, but I'll do my best to assimilate, since I'll be here for who knows how long. At least I don't have to worry about the language barrier. The entity covered me on that one.
But I'll be honest. Japanese is…kind of a dumb language. Like, what do you mean the entire language changes depending on how much you respect someone? And what's the difference between chan, kun, sama, san, and all that other stuff? Oh man, does that mean I'll be called "Hayes-kun" or "Hayes-chan?" Oh…oh, no. I feel myself cringing at that. I have to tell people to just call me by my first name. That doesn't mean I'll do the same, though. I do know that last names, or family names, are what people address each other as, and that saying their first names is seen as disrespectful or something like that.
I'd better adapt quickly. And well, who am I to say anything about English? It's not like English is any better, since it also has its own weird…quirks. See what I did there? Like, lead and lead are different. So is read and read. And so is data and data. Also, read, read, lead, lead, bread are all different words and pronounced differently. Now, it's complicated when writing it, but when saying it out loud, you understand what I mean, hopefully.
But, say what you will about English, but at least "they" means everyone in a group and doesn't care about the gender of the group; the entire language doesn't change depending on how much you respect someone, which is why I love the saying "with all due respect," because you can have zero respect for someone and still say it. But that's enough for now.
And I already said I'd do my best to assimilate and respect this place. It's the least I could do when coming to another country.
Anyway, back to my spying and information gathering, at least I'm doing it for myself and not the government. Not like those Chinese or other foreign students who are spies at universities in America. I don't understand why people defend them. It's a national security concern, but no, those people say to keep bringing them in, and then they complain about why there's so much competition from foreigners. Stupidity. Those damn…ah, never mind. I hope the FBI and CIA of this world's America really have their act together. Especially the FBI. Gods and heavens above the FBI is…I don't even know what to say.
At least Japan isn't like that. Gotta love them for that. Though I feel that I'm a very special case. It's not that foreign exchange students don't exist, but for a foreign student like me to go to one of Japan's top hero schools? A bit suspicious. I know it was the setup from that entity, but what's the background behind it? All I can think of is that, since I'm American, there's probably some kind of agreement or special program approved by both governments for this. You know, since they're allies and whatnot. All the money and weapons the US sells and sends to Japan are for a reason, and all those military bases in Japan as well.
Maybe I'll ask Nezu. He'll have all the paperwork and full details about this foreign exchange thing.
Anyway, I was at my stop.
I got off the bus and had a good look at the campus entrance. This is more of a college than a high school level place, but I won't complain. Alright, let's do this.
Wait, I forgot there was a written portion! Oh man, I'm going to bomb the history section! I only did a brief overview, but in-depth details about anything after the early 21st century? I'm screwed. Oh, and then there's the science section. Please, please, please don't let there have been any groundbreaking discoveries in biology, physics, technology, chemistry, astronomy, or anything else.
Ah, who am I kidding? Of course, there have been. Now I'm extra screwed. No, no, this is high school stuff. It'll be basic questions. Yes, it may be a better campus and school, but it's a hero school, not an academic one. Or at least, academics isn't the main focus, but it's still there. I'm thinking of more advanced stuff. High school tends to be more basic in the information it presents, unless in those higher placement classes.
I'll be fine.
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Ancient History.
"What year was Alexander the Great's Tomb found?"
"Where was Alexander the Great's Tomb found?"
HOLY SH*T! His tomb was found?! What the hell?! Wait, no! I don't know this!
But I have to thank the gods and heavens that the test is multiple choice. I'll guess on the year, but for the location, I'll guess that it was found underwater near Alexandria, Egypt.
A discovery like this most certainly would've rewritten the history books.
It's not looking good so far.