It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say my stomach was doing flip-flops the next morning.  Me and Linux went down to the mess hall and got some breakfast, but I didn't eat a whole lot of it.  When I get nervous I don't eat.  Linux looked pretty scared too but he wolfed his food down – guess that was just how he was when he was nervous.

Linux didn't have a problem with us sitting off by ourselves this time – I don't think either one of us wanted to talk much.  There was a low buzz of conversation in the hall but it wasn't loud and boisterous like I imagined a room full of kids would be.  Maybe they were nervous, too – the first-hours anyway.

I was looking down at my tray, sort of compulsively stirring my bytemeal with my spoon, when I checked my internal clock for the hundredth time that morning.  It was just a few micros before eight-hundred.  I was a little startled when Linux actually spoke to me.  "What're you thinking about, Enzo?'

I looked up and tried to smile.  "Bob.  You?"

"Cray.  My brother."

"I really want him to be proud of me.  I want to do this so much, Linux!  I want him to know he was right to make me a Guardian…"

"Don't worry – you'll do fine. Bob wouldn't make a mistake."

"Thanks!" I sighed.  "You will too."

"Thanks.  Cray needs me – I have to."

"It won't be so bad…  We're as good as any of these nulls, right?"

"I sure hope so."

"We definitely are."  I grinned.  "Ascii.  Kick.  Us.  Right?"

He giggled.  "Scared.  Shitless.  Me."

"Dude!" I laughed. 

"Come on.  I think it's time."

"Yeah.  Let's do it."  I stuck out my hand.  "Good luck."

"Good luck."  Shaking hands with him was weird – he was the only sprite I'd ever shook with whose hands were as small as mine.  "Remember your promise."

"Yours too."

There was a general trickle of cadets moving headed towards the great hall – the biggest building on campus, the one where the auditorium and most of the offices and even some classrooms were.  The auditorium was at the end of one of the spokes that radiated around Laser's office.

"Dude!" I gasped when I saw the interior.  I couldn't help it – it was amazing.  The assembly hall was as big as the one in Mainframe where we'd seen the Mainframe Strolling Players after the restart.  There were big pillars along the sides of the auditorium, and up on stage, behind the podium, was a huge Guardian icon in black and gold.  It was one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen – it set my heart thumping under my icon, and not just from fear this time.

Everyone was supposed to go to indoctrination – the new students, the second-hours, even the teachers.  It was for the whole Academy.  The hall was about half-full when we got there – Linux and I found seats near the front, where the younger kids seemed to be congregating.  There were a lot of nervous faces among our group.  The older cadets seemed to hang towards the back, and there were smiles and even a few laughs among them.

Here I am – talking about the Academy that was gonna be my life for the next two hours – and I haven't really said anything about how it actually worked.  Some of it I knew from a zillion talks with Bob, some of it I knew from the readmes – but I think I should summarize the basic idea…

When the Academy was online in the Supercomputer, before the output hit the cooling fan, all of the teachers were Guardians.  There were plenty of Guardians to go around, and the best ones  - the best at dealing with kids, anyway – were chosen to teach the various subjects.  They all had keytools, and the cadets all got the chance to work with keytools sometimes as part of their training.  When (if) a cadet completed the training a keytool chose him or her and they became partners.

In those cycles games were a huge part of Guardian training – the biggest part.  Naturally that's the area Bob was able to train me in the most, so I felt like I was definitely ahead of the pack there.  That was very cool.  But nowadays, games were only a small part of the whole training process – important, but nowhere near as important as they once were.  We were at war, after all.

In Bob's cycle, Guardian training was a three-hour program. Now it was only two – and sacrifices had to be made.  The main focus of the Academy was still teaching us "to mend and defend" – but now it was Daemon that we were defending against.  Laser wanted to train us to go back to our own systems and lead the resistance to Daemon from there.  We still had to defend our systems from games – but we just didn't have the time to spend on them that Bob and his classmates did.

Here's a really good example – Mouse.  Mouse was training us in hacking – using computer defenses to protect our systems against Daemon, and maybe even to aggressively attack her.  No one in the net was as good at that geeky stuff as Mouse – but in the old cycles it was just the sort of stuff the Collective was supposed to defend against.  Now it was just another weapon to use against Daemon – and an extremely powerful one.

That reminds me of another really important change – the teachers.  There were no clean Guardians left except for Laser and Bob, and Matrix kinda.  Even me, in a way.  So naturally other people had to teach us.  Laser recruited people like Mouse and Ray – sprites with special skills they could teach.  He'd also brought in a few sprites who for some reason or another were ousted from the Collective or left it on their own, and no longer had the protocols.  They still had the knowledge, though – and that was the important thing.  Because Laser was Second Guardian and head of the old Academy he knew all of these sprites, knew how to find them.  It was awesome.

Even so, there were barely enough qualified sprites to teach us as it was.  So for stuff like security and administration and stuff like that, the second-hour students had to help out.  Even a few of the underage cadets that Laser had graduated in his first release – New Guardian Academy v 1.0 – were helping out as a sort of extended internship. 

Oh – games!  I forgot about games.  The Academy had a game simulator engine – a device that could simulate certain game environments on a small scale.  It wasn't anything like the old one at the Supercomputer, but it was OK for teaching us specific skills and stuff like that.  They could control what we encountered – if they wanted to test on a particular ability they set up the GSE to do it.  Also, there was no chance of us being nullified if we lost, which I guess was a plus.

The really cool part is the game rosters.  See, Gallifrey Seven got real games, just like Mainframe.  And the Academy didn't just waste them – they used them as a training tool for us cadets.  There was a schedule updated every minute – they called it a game roster.  Every cadet in the academy was on alert for a certain time every minute, and it was our responsibility to know when we were on call.  When a cube dropped, the cadets that were assigned that slot on the roster went into the game, along with the teacher who was assigned that slot.  We all went into the game and we had to beat it as a team.  The teacher was in charge, but all the team members had responsibilities and we all had to help.  Teams were made up of four cadets – two firsts and two seconds - and one teacher.  We were never assigned the same teacher and the same partners from minute to minute – that way we'd have to learn to work with everybody, and all types of personalities.

Crash, I could talk about that forever.  All of it – it was incredibly pixelacious.  But that's the basic idea, anyways.  I don't know if everybody knew as much as I did that morning – they all had the readme files but they hadn't had guys like Bob telling them stories since they were little.  

Once the auditorium was mostly full of cadets a few adults started to file on stage – teachers.  They sat down on chairs set up either side of the podium in the center of the stage.  I didn't recognize anyone until Ray and Mouse showed up, both grinning.  I noticed that none of teachers were in Guardian uniform – but I guess none of them were Guardians, so it made sense.  Still, it was weird to think that we were being trained how to be Guardians by teachers who weren't.  Desperate times call for desperate measure, Dot says.

Ray caught my eye and winked at me, and I smiled back.  I was gonna wave but I decided it'd be better not to under the circumstances.  He sat down next to Mouse and a few milliseconds later Laser walked in, and the whole auditorium all of a sudden got very quiet.

He looked very impressive – even more because he was the only one up on the stage in Guardian blues.  Even though it was whiter than Bob's he still had that silver hair, and User, was it shining in the lights.  I got a little lump in my throat just looking at him up there and thinking about where I was and what was happening.  He stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat, but he didn't even really need to – there wasn't a sound in that place anyways.

"Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to the Guardian Academy, v. 2.03.  I'm sure you all know why you're here, so I won't waste your time with a lot of pleasantries.  The net we all call home is under attack – the reason this place exists is to help stave off that attack. There is a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of everyone here – the men and women who will teach you, keep you fed and clothed and safe – and most of all, on each of you.  The future of the net is in your hands.

I trust you've all accessed the readme files that were downloaded onto your organizers since your arrival here.  If you haven't, you're off to a very bad start." 

A nervous laugh passed through the hall when he said that.

"If you have, you know where you're expected to be today and when, so I won't bore you by repeating it.  I understand that this may seem like a lot to take in for some of you new cadets, but I promise you it will get easier in time.  Meanwhile, use the resources at your disposal – your teachers, the experience of the cadets in their second hour.  Second-hours – part of your responsibility is to be educators.  I expect you to help the new cadets to the best of your ability.  The mission of this academy is a fragile one – we will succeed or fail together, as a unit.  A success by a classmate is a success for you – never forget that.

When I look out at you I see a variety of sprites, from many systems, of many ages.  In this academy you are will judged equally – you are all expected to behave as adults and accept the responsibilities given you.  Some of you are very young, and these responsibilities will not come easily.  I understand.  You will be asked to grow up very quickly – but if I did not think you were up to the challenge you would not be sitting here today.  I know you will not disappoint me.

During the time you spend here you will learn a great many things.  Your teachers will share the wisdom of their experience and training with you.  You will also learn from each other - learn the values of teamwork, friendship, trust and loyalty.  Being a Guardian is about being self-reliant and independent – you are not here to learn to follow orders mindlessly.  Once you graduate and go back to your systems you will have to make a great many decisions on your own.  But while you are here you are part of a team – each one of you an indispensable part.  We succeed or fail together, as a unit.

We have rules here.  By now all of should know them pretty well – within a few cycles I expect you to know them by heart.  Provided you follow those rules you will be allowed a great deal more freedom than most of you are used to at home.  Your mothers and fathers are not here now – whether you follow the rules is your decision.  But rest assured, there are consequences when you don't follow those rules.  By now you should be well-versed in those consequences as well.

First-hour cadets: In a few moments you will be standing on this stage, receiving version 1.0 of the Guardian protocols.  From the moment your icons are upgraded you will be Guardians.  Your lives will never be the same.  When you accept those protocols you accept all the duties and responsibilities of the Collective.  You accept the mantle of defender of the system – and defender of the net.  That will always be your primary responsibility.  Do not enter into this contract lightly – and do not enter it unwillingly.  If any of you do not wish to accept those responsibilities, you should say so now – because once you accept the protocols, you are a Guardian.

Second-hours – You have all fulfilled the requirements of your first hour here successfully, and earned the right to continue as a second-hour cadet.  Your icons will be upgraded to Guardian level 1.1.  More will be asked of you than ever before – you will be tested by your teachers as you have never been tested.  And you will be asked to help the first-hours in some fashion every cycle, I can promise you.  Nothing you do here is more important than that.  Once you leave here at the end of the hour, you will be expected to fulfill the responsibilities of a full Guardian – and no one will be there to make sure you do.  It will be up to you.  That is why we must make certain before you leave here that you are prepared, and why the challenges before you in this hour will be so much greater than you have ever faced."

At this point Laser looked out over the cadets, scanning the room, and smiled a little for the first time.

"I imagine all of you are fairly anxious to get up here and receive the protocols – especially the first-hours.  Well, I don't blame you – it will be one of the greatest moments of your life, and I won't delay it much further.  I just want to leave you with a few final thoughts.

Most of you have seen the devastation Daemon has wrought first-hand.  You may have lost loved ones to her infection, or to her armies.  You may have seen sprites dressed in Guardian uniforms do terrible things – perhaps even been a victim yourself.  I want you to understand – these men and women are not Guardians.  They are no more responsible for their actions than if they were deleted – they have been perverted, and the ideals the Collective stands for have been debased.  When Daemon has been defeated perhaps they will be Guardians again – we do not fully understand the nature of her infection.  But it is possible.

Until then, they must be views as threats – but never viewed with hate.  If you hate them you hate yourself – because these men and women gave their codes over to the Guardian Collective, and now they are prisoners because of that commitment. Perhaps we can free them from their imprisonment – perhaps not.  But we must never lose sight of the sacrifices they have made.  They paved the road on which you are now standing.  If we succeed, it will be because they and others before them founded this Collective and kept it strong.  In their names, and in their memories, we must not fail.

Now – I will call your names one by one, starting with the incoming first-hours.  When you hear your name, please leave your seat and walk onto this stage, where your icons will be upgraded.  Please remain on stage for the duration of the ceremony and honor your classmates with your support.  After the ceremony is complete, please proceed to the athletic fields where you will attend your first class of the semester – physical conditioning.  I trust that you all know where you are supposed to be after that. 

I have nothing more to add – except to welcome you all to the Academy.  You are about to embark on the greatest adventure of your lives – a journey that will take you places you have never imagined, and show you reserves of character you never imagined you had.  I expect nothing less of you than you are capable of –dedication, courage, and decency.  I expect you to be your best.  And I know you will not disappoint me.  Thank you, and welcome."

I don't know whether we were supposed to or not, but a big cheer rolled through the cadets then, and everybody stood up and started whooping like crazy.  I joined in - it was impossible not to.  I've never felt anything like it – hearing all those voices was amazing.  They were young – like me!  There was so much enthusiasm, so much pure happiness in that room – I've never felt so much a part of something as I did at that nano.  I've always been an outsider back home – the only kid in the whole system.  Being in that hall at that nano was a burst of pure energy shooting through my entire body.

One by one Laser called the cadets up to the stage to receive the protocols, and everybody – even the teachers – stood and applauded as they walked up. Laser spoke to each kid for a few nanos after he upgraded them and shook their hands, and they all walked off looking a little dazed.  Linux got called, and I pounded him on the back a couple times as he headed for the stage.  It was high density.

Laser called my name, and even though I already had the protocols I still felt a thrill as I heard the cheers and felt all the eyes in the room focus on me. Little Enzo.  I'd never been the center of so much attention and it freaked me out a little bit, especially because I was convinced everybody was thinking about how puny I was. 

I got up on stage and I saw Mouse and Ray grinning at me and I grinned back.  I managed to get all the way to Laser without stumbling and stopped in front of him with a deep breath.   "Enzo.  Obviously you've already got the protocols, so we'll dispense with that part of the ceremony for you.  But this moment still belongs to you – this is still the nano you join the Collective.  Congratulations."

"Yes, Sir.  Thank you Sir." I breathed.  He stuck out his hand and I shook it, and everybody applauded again as I walked over and stood next to Linux at the edge of the stage.  He gave me a big relieved grin and I returned it, and released the breath I'd been holding in.

That was when I saw Bob.  He was standing in the wings at the far end of the stage, watching the proceedings with his arms crossed.  He was watching me when I noticed him – I guess he'd been watching me the whole time.  He grinned and saluted me, and I saluted back.  We stood there and cheered the others as they were called up to the stage, the first-hours looking mostly flustered and nervous, then the seconds, calmer and with a little swagger in their walk.  We applauded all of them and hollered as each name was announced, even though we didn't know who any of them were, really.  It didn't matter – we were all Guardians.  All in all it was one of the greatest moments of my life.

We had a light schedule of classes on the first cycle – which was probably just as well, 'cause I was so charged up on nervousness and excitement that I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a few nanos.  Laser was smart – he set it up so the first class was physical conditioning.  If you've got a hundred hyper teenagers on your hands the best thing to do is let them get out and run around and burn some of that excess energy off.

Once we got to the fields they split us off into the firsts and seconds, told us to boot into workout uniforms and ran us through some basic calisthenics.  Our trainer was a guy named Bernoulli – I'm not sure what his background was but he was an older guy, almost as old as Laser.  He was in great shape, though – and he pushed us pretty hard considering it was the first cycle.  I did a lot of conditioning drills as part of my training with Bob, but nothing could mask the fact that I just hadn't grown much yet.  Little legs just have a hard time keeping up with big ones sometimes.  Seeing everybody out there in their shorts and t-shirts was kinda intimidating – even the girls looked stronger than I did, mostly.  I could tell this class was gonna have some challenging moments.

Not that the girls didn't look really good in their gym clothes - believe me, they did.  It was hard to keep my processor on what Mr. Bernoulli was saying sometimes, since what was going on around me was a lot more interesting. 

After we got done with conditioning it was lunchtime, so we were free to go back to our dorm and shower or rest or just have lunch before our next class.  I decided to go straight to lunch, 'cause I hadn't really eaten breakfast and I was really hungry.  Linux said he wanted to shower first so he went back to the dorm, and I was faced with going to mess on my own for the first time.

I looked around a little for Bob, but I couldn't find him so I just went straight ahead to the mess in the great hall.  I was nervous but I'd had a little taste of being around girls that morning and my curiosity was stronger than my fear.  The mess there was mostly like the one in the dorm except they had a bunch of big round tables instead of the four long ones.  There were maybe thirty kids there, no more than that.  I got a tray of food, found a fairly empty table and took my bearings.

There was a lot more chatter than I'd noticed before – cadets were settling in and some of them knew each other a little bit so they were talking to each other more.  I ate my lunch slowly, trying to look around the room and observe people without seeming like I was staring.

I was about halfway finished with my sandwich when three cadets came and sat next to me at the table – two girls and a guy.  I was pretty sure they were all first-hours – they looked fairly young and still a little nervous.  Well, two of them – the third one, a teal-skinned girl with golden hair who might've been 1.5 – looked like she owned the place and she knew it.  She was dressed in her workout clothes and once I saw her, there was no one else in that mess hall.

"Hi." She smiled, and I smiled back. 

"Hi." I mumbled.  I forced myself to look at the others.  "Hey you guys."

They nodded back at me and smiled.  Those two had changed back into their uniforms.  "First-hour?" the guy asked.

"Yeah."

"Us too." The other girl said.  I don't even remember what she looked like.

"Pretty wild, huh?" the guy said.  "Being here and everything."

"Sure.  But it's cool."

"How's the food?"

"Uh – good.  You know – it's not like my sister's astro-chicken parmigiana, but it's OK."  The boy and the girl laughed, but the teal-haired one next to me didn't make a sound – she just matter-of-factly ate her lunch, looking very focused.  The other kids were making small-talk as they ate and I tried to keep up, but I wasn't too interested.

One thing I really remember is how she smelled.  She'd been in conditioning too and I guess she'd been sweating but she didn't smell sweaty, she just smelled fresh and alive and good.  It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.  And there was a little sheen on her bare legs below the table, it might her skin look like it was lit up from the inside.

I wanted to ask her name, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  In fact I was sweating more than I did in the workout, and feeling increasingly uncomfortable.  I wolfed down the last couple bites of my lunch and figured I'd better get out of there ASAP.

"Gotta get ready for my next class." I stammered.

"What do you have next?" the other girl asked.

"Uh…  Intro to games."

"Oh!  I've got that later.  Hope it's fun."

"Yeah!  See ya, I guess."  I stumbled a little as I pushed back from the table and the teal girl looked up with a glint in here eyes.  "S-sorry!"

She grinned and stared at me for a moment. "You ought to be more careful."

"Uh – yeah!  I will, thanks."

"See you around."

"Yeah!  See ya!"  I turned around, almost tripped on my chair but didn't, and walked away a little too fast.  I dumped my tray, walked straight out of there and back to the dorm, and didn't take a slow breath until I was sitting safely on my bed.

Linux walked in just as I was getting ready to head out for my first classroom assignment.  "Hey!  What's up?  Your face is all red."

"It is?  Guess I ate too fast…"

"Huh.  You OK?"

"Yeah." I sighed.  "I'm cool."

"Pretty exciting, huh?  Wasn't that alphanumeric, getting up on stage and all that cheering and stuff?"

"Yeah.  That was high density."

He looked down at his icon and his eyes got real big.  "Isn't this awesome?  I look at it and I can hardly believe it."  It made me smile – I remembered seeing that look in the mirror when I was 1.0. It made me feel old and wise for a nano, which I really liked.  "This is so high density."

"Yeah.  I still can't believe we're actually here sometimes.  You've got physical defense last period, right?"

"Yeah."

"Cool! So I'll see ya there, then.  We can compare notes."

"Cool.  I'll see ya there."  I grabbed my organizer and headed out the door.  I had a scary nano or two then – I got lost on the way to my class.  There's like three different buildings where the classrooms are, and all these deleted hallways and stuff, and I didn't know exactly where I was supposed to go.  I had horrible Mpegs in my head about walking into the classroom late and everyone staring at me and laughing and it reminded me of a dream I used to have when I was little, except this time I was wearing clothes.

I finally got so desperate that I did the thing I'd been avoiding at any cost and asked a second-hour where to go.  I was all flustered and breathing hard and he laughed a little, but he didn't seem too surprised.  He pointed and told me to go down the hall and take the next two rights, and I did and behold, chatroom 21B was right there and I didn't think I'd ever seen a more beautiful sight.

I made it just at the last nano – I think I was the last kid to arrive but the teacher hadn't started yet and I managed to find a seat near the front and I sat there, panting, trying to catch my breath.

The class itself was pretty uneventful.  It was all about figuring out what a game was without having a keytool to tell you – what the objectives were, what game sprites you had to watch out for, stuff like that.  The teacher was a very young guy – younger than Matrix even, I think.  He seemed almost as nervous as we were and I think he didn't want to overwhelm us with too much stuff on the first cycle.

My last class of the day was physical combat – guess who taught that one?  I made deleted sure I got there in time – I beat Linux there and found a seat near the back and saved the one next to me for him.  When he showed up I waved to him and he sat next to me.  "What's up?"

"I'm running out of RAM".  He sighed.  He looked tired.  "Too much new stuff.  How you doing?"

"I'm OK, I guess.  I got lost and I was almost late to my last class.  It was awful."

"Dude.  Don't wanna do that on the first cycle."

"I know." I sighed.  "But I didn't know where anything was – I guess I didn't look at the maps that closely.  What'd you have last period?"

"Virus identification.  It was kinda cool, actually."

"Yeah.  I start that one tomorrow.  I wish we didn't have to wait till second hour for most of the Daemon stuff."

"Me too."  Linux' face got hard when I mentioned Daemon.  And that's when Mouse walked in.  And User, did that room get quiet then.

She was wearing her katana strapped to her waist, and I guess if you weren't used to Mouse it was a pretty scary sight.  She took a look around the room and grinned.  We locked eyes for a nano and she smiled a little more, then she sat down on the desk at the front of the room.

There were about 15 kids in there, ranging from my age to maybe 1.7 or 1.8, and I bet most of them had never seen anything like Mouse before.  She didn't have to do anything special to get everybody's attention, but she whipped an apple out of her pocket, tossed it in the air, and sliced it into about a dozen pieces before it hit the desk.  I swear you could hear the jaws hitting the floor, but I had to struggle not to laugh.

She popped a slice of apple into her mouth and chuckled, then set the katana down on the desktop.  "Won't be needin' that till y'all are second-hours.  Unless we have problems with talkin' in class, that is."  We sure didn't at that nano.

"Welcome to the Academy, boys and girls.  I'm here to teach you how to take care o' yourself, plain and simple.  You can use your fists, your feet, your head – you can delete somebody easily with any o' those, and with a whole bunch of other things besides.  And I plan to show ya how to do just that.  Sometimes takin' on a virus comes down to hand-to-hand combat – and whatever you guys think you know about it – forget it.  I'm gonna teach y'all how to fight like the Mouse."

She looked around the room again.  "I like to start the class off with a little demo program – just to give y'all an idea what I'm talkin' about.  I just need one of you little dears to come up here and help me.  Anyone wanna volunteer?"  I thought about it, but it was a little awkward – I didn't want everyone talking about how Mouse and I were friends.

"No?  Almost never get one on the first cycle.  How about you, Sugar?"  She tapped the shoulder of a kid in the second row, one of the bigger guys in the room.  He smiled nervously and stood in front of the class.  "What's your name, Honey?"

"Uh – Hal."

"Well, Uh-Hal – welcome.  Then rest of y'all, don't worry – you'll all have your chances to stand up here, and I'll learn everybody's names soon enough.  Now Hal – I assume you don't mind if I drop the "Uh" – no?  Good!  Hal – take this here dagger, would ya?"  She reached into her boot and pulled out a small knife.  There was some nervous tittering from the class.

Mouse grinned at us and then at Hal.  "Good boy.  Now – clear your minds, if ya would.  Shouldn't be too hard for most of you.  OK?  Let's say you got two sprites, you don't know nothin' about either one of 'em except you know one has a dagger, the other has no weapons at all.  Which sprite would you say has the advantage if they were to fight?  Remember, that's all ya know about either sprite.  Anybody?" A girl in the back near me raised her hand hesitantly.  "You, Sugar?"

"Um…  The one with the dagger?"

"All right – that'd seem like a good guess.  Now – start usin' your eyes, too.  Look at Hal, look at me.  Which one of is taller?  You there – at the back."

I gulped.  She was pointing at me.  "Er – he is."

"Right.  And who would you say has more body weight?"

Mouse is buff, but she doesn't have any fat on her.  Hal was a pretty big guy, taller than Bob, and not wafer-memory thin.  "Hal again."

"Right again Sugar, if I'm guessin'.  Now Son – assume again you know nothin' about either one of us 'cept what yer eyes just told ya about our height and weight.  Which sprite would you say had the advantage if we were to fight?"

It was tough – I did know Mouse, and I knew her well.  I knew she could tie Hal into a knot without breaking a sweat, but I also knew that wasn't what she wanted me to say.  I was supposed to pretend I didn't know anything about either one.  I think she picked me because she knew I would say what she wanted – she knew I understood the point.  "Hal?" I said softly.

"Good, Sugar." She chuckled.  "That's logical.  So what do we see up here?  We see a bigger, taller sprite with a knife and a smaller, shorter one with no weapons at all.  Now Hal – go ahead and pretend you're about to attack me.  You've never met me, and you need to delete me.  I'm Daemon.  Don't do it now – teachers are in short supply!  Just show us how you'd go about it.  Take a stance."

Hal was really nervous now – I think he knew he was being set up.  Mouse winked at him and he giggled a little bit, and looked at the dagger like he was holding a null.  He hefted it slowly in his right hand, and spread his feet wide, his right in front of the left, pointing towards her.  He raised the dagger over his head, pointed downwards.  "OK – freeze it there, Honey."

Mouse turned and smiled at us.  "Lesson one – things aren't always what they seem.  What y'all did was size up Hal's advantages.  What y'all need to do is size up his weaknesses – that's how ya win a fight.  Here's some things I see when I look at Hal.  He doesn't know much about usin' a dagger, to start.  He's holdin' it with a backhand grip.  A weapon in the hands of someone who don't know how to use it is a weakness, not a strength – I don't see a dagger, I see a guy with one free hand instead o' two.  However…"

She turned her attention back to Hal, who was rapidly losing code from his face.  "The object of a fight is to end it as quick as possible – in your favor, of course.  Even a weaker opponent can get lucky and take ya out if you let a fight drag on too long.  As for this one, I can end it in about half a nano.  Anyone wanna see how?"

There was some nervous laughter from the class.  I guess I was the only one who knew what was gonna happen.  Mouse grinned at us.  "Remember I told ya to size up your opponent's weaknesses, first thing?  Well, knife or not I got a weakness I see that'll end this before any accidents might happen, and if I'm fightin' I aim to exploit it."

Without turning back to Hal she shot her foot out so fast her leg was like a blue blur in the air.  It stopped about the width of a memory chip from Hal's groin.  "This fight just ended." 

Hal doubled over and gasped.  The knife dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor.  He looked distinctly ill, and I don't blame him – I'd been expecting it and even I flinched and drew my knees up a little.  I doubt there was a guy in that room who didn't.  A soft "Oooh!" went up from the class.

Mouse grinned at Hal and patted his cheek.  "Don't worry, Sugar – one of the things you boys will be learnin' in here is how ta stop that happenin' for real.  You did a real nice job – real nice.  Everybody show Hal our appreciation." She applauded and the class followed politely.  He returned to his seat, limping a little even though she'd never touched him.

Mouse picked up the dagger, tossed it in the air end over end and neatly caught it by the tip, tucking it in her boot.  "Everybody's got a weakness – most more than one.  Figure out what they are and you'll never lose a fight.  That's your thought for the cycle – now scat.  Don't want to overload your little processors."

We'd only been there for a few micros, but I guess she'd proved her point.  She certainly had to Hal.  Everybody filed out, and I was the last one to go.  I looked over at her and smiled, shaking my head a little.  She swallowed a laugh and winked at me, and that was the end of my first cycle of classes at the Guardian Academy.

The halls were pretty empty as we walked back to the boys' dorm after class – Mouse had let us out early, so everybody else was still in their chatrooms, I guess.  When we got back to the dorms Linux suggested we try out the rec room for a while.  I agreed – it seemed like as good a time as any, with so few other kids around.

They had some cool stuff – 3-D pinball, a big vidscreen and a bunch of discs, a couple of simulators.  Linux and I set up in front of a couple pinball units and played for a while.  It was fun – being able to laugh and swear and fool around without having to worry about looking silly in front of an adult was a luxury I could see myself getting used to.  We were the only kids in the place and it was definitely a blast.

I was almost disappointed when the vidwindow opened, but after I'd seen Bob's face for a couple nanos all I could think about was wanting to see him as quickly as possible.  I knew he'd be gone before the end of the cycle and it'd be a long, long time – six minutes – before I'd be around anyone who loved me again.  Laser and Ray and Mouse liked me fine and they'd look out for me, and Linux had (I hoped) become a friend – but Bob loved me.  It was scary to think about him being gone.

"How you holding up, Kiddo?"

"Good." I smiled.  "All done with classes for the cycle."

"You wanna meet up?  I thought we could eat dinner in town and just talk for a while.  I've pretty much wrapped up my business here, so I'm all yours."

"Bob – that'd be alphanumeric!  We're in the rec room.  In the dorm."

"We?  Is Linux there?"

"Yeah – we have our last class together, and Mouse let us out early."

"Mouse!  Still can't get used to her teaching cadets – basic!  Hey, Linux.  Staying out of trouble?"

"Hi Bob!  Doing my best."  I could already tell Bob was starting to become Linux' hero just like he'd been mine.  He still was mine – but we'd moved past that, too, and it was a lot more satisfying having him as all the other things he was in my life.

"Good boy.  Enzo - I'll meet you over there in a few nanos, OK?"

"Great!  Thanks, Bob."

Bob was true to his word, like always, and picked me up within a few micros.  I thought for a nano about inviting Linux to come with us and I'm sure he would've loved it, but I didn't.  This was my last time with Bob for a while and I wanted him all to myself.  I felt bad, but I hoped Linux would understand.

"So?" Bob asked when we were outside and zipping.

"So buttons." I grinned.  It was something Dot liked to say.

"Very funny.  So how was your first day?  Exciting?"

"Yeah!  The best part was being up on stage, even though I already had the protocols.  If was fun hearing everybody applaud and everything."

"Yeah." Bob smiled.  He glanced down at me.  "Did you see me watching you?"

"When I got up on stage I saw you."

"Well, I was watching you the whole time.  You looked really good up there, Enzo – it was an amazing sight.  I don't think I've ever felt prouder in my life."

"Really?"  I grinned a system wide.  "I felt really proud, Bob.  It was alphanumeric – all of us were a team, together.  I can't even believe how great it felt!"

"Good.  Dad's proud of you too, you know.  He won't tell you, but he is."

Yeah, I…  I know."

Bob wrapped his arm around me.  "Dad knows what an amazing kid you are, Enzo.  He knows how proud you've made me.  A cadet is a cadet in his eyes – they have to be.  Officially.  But Dad knows how I feel about you, I promise."

"Thanks." I whispered.  It felt so right, having Bob's around me, feeling him close.  It made me realize how much I'd come to depend on it.  Dot and even Bob always made sure I knew how they felt for me – they went out of their way to make me feel safe, and loved.  I knew I was gonna miss it.  A lot.

"Whatcha feel like eating?"

"Uh…  Pizza.  How about that?"

"If they make it here." Bob smiled.  They did – we found a little place on a side street that served it.  Not as good as the pizza at Dot's, but it was still pizza.

We spent dinner mostly talking about small stuff – how my cycle had gone, all that.  We didn't talk about home at all – Bob didn't bring it up, and neither did I.  I told him about Mouse's combat class, and he laughed.  "She did what?"

I giggled.  "Yeah – you shoulda seen the look on that poor guy's face.  I knew it was coming and I almost screamed!"

"Ray's a very lucky man." Bob said wryly.  "Well – she made her point, didn't she?  I don't think you'll forget the lesson anytime soon."

"Definitely not."

"That's good though, Tiger – you listen up in her class.  The whole point is that you don't have to be the biggest and strongest to take care of yourself. Until you hit your growth spurt that's pretty good information for you to pick up, isn't it?"

"Sure." I sighed.  Bob was right, of course – and he and Matrix had taught me some rudimentary self-defense techniques back home.  I know they were worried about me being so small. I sure was.

I wish dinner would have lasted forever, but it was over in what felt like a nano.  It was almost dark out and we walked around the town for a few micros, but Bob was leaving and he didn't want it to get too late so we zipped back towards the campus.  I could feel emotions starting to gather inside me, getting ready to well up until I couldn't hold them in anymore.

"Come on over to the staff building with me – I've got my stuff all packed.  I'll open the portal from there."

"K." I managed to whisper.  Bob glanced over at me, but kept going.  I followed behind him and we went inside the staff apartment building.  It looked a little nicer than the dorms, but not all that much.  There wasn't a lot at this academy that was fancy.

Bob gathered up his stuff – he hadn't really brought that much – and we left the little apartment he'd slept in the night before. It was totally dark outside now, and there was no one walking around or anything so we were alone.  Bob set his stuff down on the grass and sighed.  "Well – looks like it's that time."

"Yeah." I whispered.  He smiled at me but I couldn't quite smile back.  "Thanks f-for staying and everything."

"Course.  You know I wouldn't leave until I was sure you're all right here."

"Yeah.  I know."

"Keep your head in your classes, OK?  Don't get overwhelmed – one cycle at a time.  Ask lots of questions – the teachers like that.  And work hard."

"I will.  I p-promise."

"Try and have fun too, OK?"

"I'll try."

"Enzo…"

I couldn't help myself any longer – I jumped on him and wrapped myself around him as tight as I could.  I buried my face into his chest hard, trying to keep myself from crying.

He straightened up and lifted me off the ground a little.  He had me wrapped up as tight as I had him.  "Kiddo…  I'm really gonna miss you.  Games just aren't gonna be the same."

"Bob…"

"It'll be OK, Enzo – you'll be fine.  I know you can handle this.  Just be strong."

"I w-wish you could stay here…"

"I do too, Tiger.  But I can't – you know that.  It's time for you to become your own man for a while."

"I'll try."  It wasn't easy to talk.  A few tears were starting to sneak out now, but I managed to choke most of them down.

He just held me for a few nanos.  If his arms were getting tired, he didn't let on.  "I'm so proud of you.  I'll always be proud of you.  Don't you ever forget that, OK?"

"N-no.  Bob, thanks for making me a cadet and coming and staying with me, and… everything!  Thanks for everything…"

"I've loved every nano, Tiger.  Just be strong for me, right?"

"OK, Bob."

"OK."  He set me down, but he still held my head against his chest.  "It's never gonna be quite the same, you know.  The next time I see you, you'll be a different sprite."

"No I won't…"

"Sure you will.  You're gonna grow up fast here."  He knelt and looked me in the eye.  "You've been a pretty amazing little boy, Kiddo.  It's been a blast being with you.  Next time I see you you'll be a young man."

"I don't know.  I just…  I just know I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." He sighed.  He brushed the hair out of my eyes and kissed me on the forehead, like he had in the hallway when we saw the other kids.  "I love you, Tiger.  I'll see you in six minutes."

I sobbed once and squeezed my eyes shut.  "I…  You too."  I made a liar of myself over something I'd told him when I was 1.0.  "I love you."

"I know, Tiger.  You be good.  And have fun."

"OK…  Take c-care of Dot and Mac and everybody, K?"

"Promise.  Say goodbye to Linux.  He seems like a good kid."

"He is."  He straightened up and squeezed my shoulders, and I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. 

"You OK?"

"Y-Yes."  I didn't mean it, but I didn't want him to feel bad.

"Good boy."  He lifted my up under the shoulders and hugged me one last time.  "You're my boy, Enzo.  You always will be.  I'll be waiting for you when you come home, all right?"

"Yeah."  I kissed him on the cheek and put my head on his shoulder.  I just held him for a while and didn't say anything, and neither did he.  I wanted to archive exactly what it felt like to be hugged like this, because I knew I wasn't gonna be hugged by anybody for a long time. 

Finally, he set me down and lifted my chin with his finger.  I wiped my eyes and tried to smile.  "See you s-soon."

"See you soon."

"Love you!"

"Love you too, Kiddo.  Stand clear now, OK?  Can't have a portal without a little energy."

I nodded and stepped back a few paces, and he opened the portal and stepped inside.  He waved to me before it closed and I waved back, but I'm not sure if he saw me or not.

Once he was gone a tremendous feeling of loneliness came over me, worse than I've ever felt in my life.  I sat down and leaned against the staff building and put my head in my hands for a while.  I cried a little bit, just to get it out of my system as much as I could, but mostly I just hid from the world and felt sorry for myself.

Finally I was cried out and self-pitied out and I just didn't have anything left to give.  I just felt tired.  I pushed myself to my feet and trudged back to the boys' dorm, which was kinda on the other end of the campus so it was a pretty long walk.  It was probably better that it was.  I wiped my eyes as best I could and went inside.

I saw Quantum coming out of the rec room as I was walking towards the elevator, and I felt a little surge of fear for a nano.  He glanced over at me and pointed.  "Enzo.  Right?"

"Yeah." I rasped, hiding my face.  "Hi."

"Hey."  He didn't say anything else, just stared at me kinda thoughtfully as I was waiting for the elevator and even a little bit as I was riding up to the third floor.  It made me nervous, but I felt so beat down that I didn't even care after a nano.  As soon as I got off the elevator he was out of my processor.

I walked into the room and Linux was sitting cross-legged on his bed, looking at his organizer.  He looked up at me and didn't smile.  "Hey.  Have fun?"

"Yeah, it was OK." I said softly.  Maybe he was a little mad at me.  I kicked off my boots and laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.  After a milli or so I rolled over and opened them, and saw my organizer flashing on my desk.  "What's that?"

"You got an assignment downloaded." Linux said.  "Homework.  I got a couple too."

"Oh." I sighed.  I let it blink for a nano, then sat up and grabbed it.

"Hey Dude – you OK?"

I looked up, surprised.  "Huh?"

"You OK?"  You don't look too good."

For some reason hearing him say that made we want to cry again but I held it off, thank the User.  "Yeah, thanks.  I'm….  Fine."

"Bob left, huh?"

"Yeah." I whispered.

He smiled.  "Sorry.  You gonna be all right?"

"Yeah.  Yeah!  I…  I'm sorry I didn't ask you to come with us tonight, I…  It was his last night and everything-"

"Dude – that's OK.  No big deal."  He came over and sat next to me.  "You've never been away before, huh?"

"No.  Never."

"It's different with my Dad – he hardly notices I'm gone.  But I miss my Mom – and my big brother.  It gets easier though."

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Sure, promise.  Just hang in, OK?"

"Thanks."

"NP."

"Remember…  Remember our promise, OK?"

"Yeah.  Definitely."  He punched me on the shoulder.  "The only thing you've gotta worry about is surviving Mouse's class."

"Thanks!" I giggled.  "Thanks…"

"Sure.  You gonna check out your assignment or what?"

"Yeah." I sighed.  "In a few.  I'm gonna go grab a shower first."

"Cool.  Hang in there."

"I will."  I punched him back and managed a grin, and headed for the showers feeling just a little better.  Bob was gone, but in a way I wasn't alone – there were a lot of other kids here in the same file as me, more or less.  I wondered if any of them felt as lonely and afraid as I did, though…

By the time I got back to the room Linux was already asleep – too much stress and too little sleep the night before, just like me.  I was about ready to bail myself – it had been an exhausting cycle, and crying always wears me out anyways.  But I downloaded the homework assignment first and felt a little proud of myself for being so mature.  It was easy – just a chapter in the games recognition manual.  I read it and set the organizer aside, and deleted the light.

Weary as I was, it took a long time for me to fall asleep.  I kept thinking of Bob and Dot, so far away they might as well have been in a different net.  I thought of them playing with Mac and laughing and smiling and it was a little too much for me.  I buried my face in my pillow and tried to think of anything else so I could sleep.  When I woke up, I'd be truly on my own – I'd be responsible for myself at last.  Wasn't that what I'd wanted all along – to be treated as a grown-up?  Now that I'd finally gotten there I wasn't so sure…