Chapter 41 - 40: Everything is for the Children!
"You don't understand how Night City works. Every inch of land here is worth its weight in eddies. The academy itself is barely keeping its head above water—how could we possibly afford to build dormitories?"
After patiently listening to Arthur's proposal, the principal quickly shut it down with a practiced corporate smile. His tone was calm, but firm.
Arthur had expected as much.
Though the principal didn't deny the validity of Arthur's points, he couldn't connect them to Arasaka Academy's bottom line. If a student were to die? So what. The family had already paid the tuition. The loss of one student wouldn't dent their quarterly report. Building dormitories was an expensive endeavor, and from the academy's standpoint, completely unnecessary.
Arthur didn't react. Calmly, he lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and offered a casual smile.
"You've been in this position for quite some time now, haven't you?"
The principal's eyes narrowed slightly. He hesitated before giving a small nod, curious where Arthur was going with this.
In truth, Arasaka Academy was more of a gilded cage for retired middle-managers than a real institution of education. The principal's title sounded impressive, but in practice, it was largely ceremonial. Most classes were run by advanced AIs, optimized to teach more efficiently than any human ever could. The human staff—what little remained—were relics, placeholders waiting for final redundancy.
Soon even the janitors would be replaced by robots. The machines were more precise, cheaper, and less likely to unionize.