When the class lined up for their morning game at the School of Axion that morning, they faced a sheer holographic cliff. They were to run straight up. 

Zara stood next to Finn as they waited for the start. Xavier, Samara, and three other goons came and stood on each side of them. One of them, named Kabibe, squeezed next to Finn. To say that Kabibe was a large woman would be an understatement. She sported muscle augmentations on top of augmentations on top of more augmentations. She was massive. When she clenched those muscles, they popped right out of her face, her biceps, and her quadriceps. She eyed Finn closely, looking him up and down.

Samara motioned between Zara and Finn. "That's so cute. Are you together now?"

"I can pound them together," Kabibe said. "Then they'd be inseparable."

The energy sizzled through Zara. It warmed her body and quickened her mind. She felt strong, like she could do anything. She thought she could fly to the moon. She could smash this oversized Cro-Magnon into the floor. It would be easy. 

But as she clenched her fists, Finn placed a hand on her forearm and smiled. It was a mesmerizing, butterfly-inducing kind of smile. "Relax, Squark. We don't want to make a mess right before the game."

Moments later, a large red mushroom bursting above them signaled the start. The class shot upwards. There wasn't anything to climb, of course, and there weren't any physical handholds, since the depiction was a holographic image. Instead, they sprinted upwards by pumping their supernatant antigravity athletic shoes, catching the air, and snapping their feet down to create the lift.

However, the rules of the game forced them to go around the imaginary rocky obstacles. To barge straight through would cost them a penalty. They would be whipped if they lost. Nobody wanted that.

Zara soared up the holographic image like she had been born in her shoes. It didn't matter that the supernatant antimatter pods were old. It made no difference that they didn't have as much lift as the newer shoes. She wasn't even breathing hard.

The rocky images, likewise, posed no challenge. Her fingers found their way around their visual texture with skill and dexterity she never knew she possessed. Even when she stopped at the test stations, she knew all the answers. She didn't miss a single question. Why hadn't she been able to do this before?

Zara and Finn clasped arms at the summit, congratulating each other. "We did it, Squark. We're at the top of the class, you and me. We're the winners."

Later, when Xavier reached them, he raged with spectacular outrage. His square jaw jutted out with fury and his prominent cheekbones scrunched into an angry frown. He pointed a finger at Zara, "You cheated. I know you did."

"I ran around every obstacle. My fingers touched each handhold. And I answered every question correctly." She got up into his resentful face, "I did not cheat. I won straight as a laser."

Finn backed her up, agreeing with what she said.

Samara and Kabibe climbed up and stood beside Xavier. Samara glared at Zara with a murderous expression while Kabibe appeared to be constipated, clenching her facial muscles with righteous indignation.

"How did they finish so fast?" Kabibe said.

"They cheated." Xavier focused on Zara. "I know how they did it, too."

Although Xavier, Samara, and Kabibe continued their accusations, they didn't want to do any further in front of the teacher. Zara and Finn enjoyed the rewards for their excellent scores. And after the class reassembled, they took their places side-by-side at the top while all the others got whipped. The burning torment was evident on everyone's faces.

Xavier took it especially hard. Losing to Finn was one thing but losing to Zara was quite another. He didn't like her since she had provoked him in the last game. Samara and Kabibe became equally enraged. They cussed and swore; they howled and shrieked. The noise was cacophonous.

Once they were seated for the lesson, the teacher lectured on the revolution led by Aubrey Probo. The teacher droned on and on about how Aubrey Probo was obedient to Axion. How Aubrey Probo trusted in Axion. How Axion helped Aubrey Probo to change the world.

"Axion is the consciousness of the universe. Its governance is pure and right. Its intelligence is beyond measure. Its judgments are perfect. Axion always keeps its word. You can change the world too if you're obedient and you trust in Axion. You should trust in Axion as Aubrey Probo did."

During the first break of the day when Zara made her way to the snack bar, Xavier advanced on her. Finn wasn't with her at the time. Samara and Kabibe surrounded her from behind, one on each side, preventing her from walking in the other direction. Behind them were two other groupies named Enzo and Noa.

"You're a junky," Xavier said.

She put her hands on his plastic sculpted chest. "How did it feel to be whipped?" she said into his perfect masculine face. Then she shoved him.

He stumbled backward but didn't fall. Samara and Kabibe both grabbed for her arms, but she yanked them free.

"You are, aren't you?" Although Xavier regained his footing and pushed her back, she kept her balance. It was easy.

"Did the big bad whipping make you scream?" she said. "Did you cry?

"You're using," he said, spitting the words out. "I know you are."

"You should get used to it. You're going to get whipped a lot more."

He scowled and nodded to Samara and Kabibe, "I knew it."

They nodded back, "Yep."

Then they left her alone until lunch.

Another teaching followed the break once the students had taken their seats again. "Dark energy is at this moment destroying our universe." In the projection all around them, the teacher immersed the class in a holographic cosmos, displaying billions of galaxies each with their billions of stars. While they watched, the darkness swallowed up everything. The stars fell from the sky, crashing all around them in a showering holographic display.

"The junkys are people who not only use dark energy, but they generate it. They add insult to injury. They are against what is good and right and beautiful. They are in rebellion to Axion. They add to the destruction of the universe, and they are against you. We will hunt them down and we will execute them. Their just and deserved penalty is death."

Zara's brain buzzed with the energy. She felt so alive. She and Finn dominated the class. She knew the answer to every question. She even went beyond, probing for possible implications of the teaching.

"You showed us a massive universe," Zara said. "Trillions of galaxies each with hundreds of billions of stars. The amount of dark energy must be equally massive. How could a few people on this one tiny planet generate enough of this illegal energy to make any difference?"

The teacher never displayed emotion. Its head, composed of crossed rods and sensors, held no mouth. There were no facial expressions, no smiling or frowning. While its voice did mimic human inflection, it was devoid of any real sentiment.

"How much poison would you like in your drink, Zara Vals? The generation and use of dark energy, no matter how small, is a crime against Axion. Axion is the rightful ruler of the earth. No amount of dark energy will be tolerated. Junkys must be executed to preserve what is Axion."

Then, during the lunch break, she found an empty table and sat by herself as was her custom. But this time, Xavier sat down across from her.

"I sat here because I wanted to be alone," she said.

It was true. She enjoyed eating her lunch by herself. It gave her time to work on problems, watch holos, or study. She often craved a moment to reflect. She didn't feel the need to be around friends like so many of the others.

"There are empty tables up there," she said, pointing to some tables up above her which no one hardly used. "Why don't you go there with your other synthetic goons and leave me alone."

"That's pathetic. You shouldn't be alone. That's no good at all."

She wanted to scoot away from him, but then Samara and Kabibe plopped on either side of her. The bench bounced under Kabibe's massive weight. Then Enzo and Noa sat on each side of Xavier, all three of them glaring at her.

"If you want this table, you can have it," Zara said. "I'm leaving."

Before she could stand, however, Xavier slammed his hand down on her tray, smushing her kelp rollup. "You're a junky." His biceps bulged as he clenched a fist around the rollup. It squeezed out through his fingers like green goo. "You're high on the energy. I know you are. I'm going to prove it."

"Hi Squark, how about I sit here?"

She turned to see a beautiful sight. Finn smiled at her, his jumpsuit hanging wondrously off his angular frame, his hair a floppy mess. His fresh fragrance wafted over her. She was so happy to see him.

Xavier and his company weren't about to back away, though. They wouldn't leave him any space, scrunching up against her on either side. Finn, however, jammed a foot in between Zara and Kabibe. When Kabibe tried to push him back, Finn thrust her aside as if she were nothing, sending her backward off of the bench. She hit the floor with a loud crash.

"Don't let me interrupt," he said, while Kabibe picked herself up. "What were you talking about?"

In the afternoon session, the teacher lectured on multi-dimensional calculus. Although it droned on and on in a boring monotone, Zara had no trouble staying awake and concentrating. Her brain buzzed with the energy.

At the end of every day, the teacher repeated its mantra. "Dark energy is a serious crime against Axion. The penalty is death, strictly enforced. But Axion is on your side. You can trust in Axion. It always keeps its word."

After the class let out, she spotted Xavier on one side of the doorway just outside the classroom, Samara, Kabibe, Enzo, and Noa filled in around him. As the stream of students passed through the door, they paid homage to Xavier, clasping hands, saluting, body language proclaiming who was still the prince of the class. A crowd of admirers gathered behind Xavier and his gang wanting to see what would happen.

"Zara Vals, you will remain after class."

She was both relieved and terrified. Relieved because she wouldn't have to face Xaver, but terrified because she had to face the teacher. What if the bracelet didn't do anything? What if she had been detected? Xavier knew. Why wouldn't the teacher know? Would she get the death penalty now?

The robot towered above her like a giant upright insect, all rods and motors. A stunner hung off one of its skinny rods, a blaster from another. Its six arms moved about, terrorizing her while the red sensors of the crossed-stick head probed into her brain. Xavier and his goons scattered. She wanted to run with them. 

She bowed her head in proper obeisance and fidgeted with the bracelet. It felt so large on her wrist, so obvious.

"Zara Vals, you haven't been a very good student in the past, but today you were much better. I commend you. You tied with Finn to win the game and your engagement during the discussion period was excellent. You've jumped straight to the top of the class. Has anything changed?"

Its red sensors frightened her. It didn't blink, it didn't smile, and it didn't waver. It expected an answer.

She looked up and shook her head, too terrified to speak. She focused on the blaster, what that could do to her. She imagined her protons scattered across oblivion. 

"Well, Zara Vals," the teacher said after she didn't reply, "I asked you to remain because I wanted you to know something. It's my duty as your teacher to tell you that, by Axion's calculations, you will soon become pregnant."