Ætherglow #7

Your future was always uncertain. Not many jobs here in Korolev City would hire an autistic femboy like you, even with your aptitude for technology, unless you were a certified technopath. You don’t expect any support from your family unless you manage to live up to their expectations, you’re surprised they haven’t already thrown you out into Lunar midnight to see if you can outrun hypothermia. To hell with them, you’re getting far away from your parents and finding a place you can belong at any cost.

But the cost will be great. Passing the qualifying exams was only part of your admissions process. Tuition at a technopath school is more Coin than the average Lunatic family makes in two generations. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones, with parents willing and able to pay your way, but then you would be beholden to whatever they expect of you in return.

Very few kids have an opportunity like that. For the vast majority, scholarship contracts are available, for a price. Technopaths are the most potent and valuable weapons known to man, in high demand by the various private military companies competing for financial dominance in the Earth-Moon system. When you pass your exams, the offers immediately reach your inbox. Recruiters waste no time.

Redshift Security holds the dominant market share on Lunar Spaceside, and therefore in the eyes of the Chamber of Commerce they have first choice of technopath candidates. They send their offer. You can receive a full scholarship to Translunar Academy as well as all requisite technopathic implants. But more importantly, this tuition cost will cover all healthcare needs you require to be an effective technopath, including the cost of your transition, all desired implants and surgeries included. But in exchange, following your certification as a technopath, you will be contractually bound to Redshift Security as a military technopath, for a period of ten years.