Chapter 108: Nothing to ask
Eventually, Alexandre arrived at the new apartment that he now shared with his friends. It was empty, as Marlon and William hadn't yet returned, so he took the opportunity for a shower. The hot water felt incredible as it rinsed away the dried-on sea salt from his skin. Even though pain was no longer anything but mere information, Alexandre was glad that he still had the ability to enjoy pleasant sensations.
Afterward, Alexandre unpacked his belongings. He dressed in clothes which fit him better than those he'd stolen, then sat down in front of his laptop.
He connected to the academy's encyclopedia database and immediately searched for information on the "karma system." However, no matter which combination of words and related phrases he tried, the search returned zero relevant results.
"I guess my theory was correct," he mused. "They're really censoring karma information to keep it as far from the students' grasp as possible."
But then why have such an option built into the Aurora system and Pip-Boy? Surely the academy could put pressure on Terra Corp to remove it if they wanted to. Maybe Terra Corp's interest in the karma system was greater than whatever bargains or threats the academy was sending their way. But even though Hunter organs were precious on the black market, surely Terra Corp had nothing to gain from Hunters killing each other. They relied on Hunters to bring back materials from the Black Zones, after all.
As Alexandre reflected, it became clear to him that he was missing some important detail among all of this. He felt like he was close to understanding the truth, but for now it remained just outside his grasp. Well, he knew how to be patient. He'd been doing nothing else for years. For now, he'd just play the role of a simple student—albeit one more gifted than the average first-year!
So Alexandre put the karma system out of his thoughts for the moment and continued to study the database, greedily drinking in all the knowledge it had to offer.
Hours passed. Evening came, and William arrived. By dinnertime, Marlon showed up also. The three men prepared a cheap meal of beef stew and crusty French bread, then cracked open cans of beer and dug into their meal.
"Did you guys make it?" Alexandre asked after taking a deep drink.