My future is mine

Lucia Paynes sat in the waiting room. This was the moment. This was the day that people would stop doubting her. She would go into that room and come out with a referral to a engineering college specifically the Mechanical Engineering College And Department Supplier, or the MECADS college.

They were the most prestigious engineering college in the world. Their students went on to do great things.

Jane Roberts graduated from MECADS and went on to help create a spaceship that got us three universes away. Jake pireti graduated from MECADS and helped make a multi billion dollar AI that basically rule the world now. I can’t Imagine what I’m going to do after I graduate.

It’s probably not going to be as big as Jane Roberts or Jake Pireti, but I will surely go somewhere. I’m good at math. My math grade has never dipped below a B+ and every Robotic Test for Jobs and Colleges of the Future (or RTJCF) has put me in a high level engineering or math college and in an amazing engineering or math related job.

I have gone to every engineering club and summer camp I can get my hands on. My grades are awesome, I know how to lead people, everything points to MECADS.

“Will Lucia Paynes please come to room 207 for her TCJ please?” Says and automated voice.

Finally my TCJ. TCJ stands for Test for Colleges and certain Jobs. This test will get me a referral for MECADS and MECADS will give me a referral for a high level job in the society.

I stand up and start to walk to the elevator. The automated voice comes again.

“Will Tanya Wilson please come to room 208 for her TCJ Please?”

I get into the elevator. A girl who I assume must be Tanya Wilson jumps up and joins me in the elevator.

The doors slide shut. I press the number 200-250

“Hey” says the girl “I’m Tanya, what's your name?”

“Lucia. Nice to meet you” I hold out my hand and she shakes it

Tanya has dark skin, but not African American dark. If I had to guess, I would guess Native American Origins. She has a purple streak of hair on her left side.

“So. What college do you think you’re going to get?” She asks me

“I’m definitely going to get into an engineering school. It’s my dream. Every RTJCF has put me in a good engineering school and a job as some sort of engineer. I really want to get into MECADS though. What about you?”

Tanya laughs. “I’ll probably see you on the headline of the AFPW in a year or two. I want to skip college and get a job at a library.”

The AFPW. Awesome fantastic people of the world. It’s a big complement to be told that you look like you would be on the magazine.

“Really? Those jobs are far and few between now”

“I want to be a school librarian and help children find books”

“School librarians don’t get paid much. They are also at high risk of losing their jobs because library AI is getting more affordable.” I warned her

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. But I want to help children find the right books. See their eyes light up as they find something they want.”

“Yeah. Plus studies show younger kids enjoy having a human helping them. Now that AI has taken over the classroom, they might come to a librarian for human contact”

Her eyes lit up at this possibility. “Yeah”

The elevator doors opened. I could see a long row of doors leading of to the left.

Tanya said “See you soon”

She walked and opened a door marked 208.

I hesitated before opening a door marked 207.

Room 207 was a simple room, with white walls and a chair in the middle of it. The chair was a simple white chair with a cushion on the seat. It looked like it belonged to a dinner table. I could see panel where the robotic parts would come out of.

“Are you Lucia Paynes?” Asked a realistic sounding AI voice

“I am” I answered

“Please sit down in the chair.”

I complied, sitting down in the chair.

Almost immediately after I sat down a needle entered my neck, injecting something.

“Please relax”

“I’m as relaxed as I’ll ever be” I responded

“Welcome to the Test for Colleges and certain Jobs, or TCJ. This test will provide you with the information needed to make you a successful member of society.”

“Sounds great” I said. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach.

“Please answer every question honestly”

“I will” I assured the robot

“I am Vanessa. I will be your guide throughout the TCJ”

“Hi Vanessa.”

“Are you ready to start your life”

“I am”

Vanessa paused. My heartbeat sped up. “Please hurry up” I thought to myself.

“Question 1”

This is it. I steeled myself

“What is your favorite class in school?”

This is not at all what I expected. I expected obscure riddle like an IQ test. Or maybe they would take all the information from my head without asking me a thing.

“Math” I responded hesitantly

“Okay, question two”

This isn’t so bad. Not yet anyway said the negative part of me.

I felt a heat from above I looked up to see a green scanner scanning my head

“What do you do for fun?” Asked Vanessa

“I hang out with my friends, sometimes do math, bungee jumping is fun, I paint, tons of stuff” I responded

“Question 3. Do you like to paint?”

This time there was no pause between when Vanessa said question three and the question.

“I do enjoy painting”

“4. What do you paint”

This time there wasn’t the word question before the four. The creators were trying to make you give real answers by not giving you time to think about it

“I paint my own drawings”

“So you draw”

This has turned into a friendly conversation with Vanessa

“Yes, I draw” I respond

“Are you any good”

“I hope I am” I think I’m good, but I don’t really show anyone my drawings

“Do you enjoy drawing?”

“Yes”

I’m annoyed. I didn’t come here to talk about my drawing skills. I want to talk about math

“What college would you like to go to?”

And we’re back on track

“MECADS” I reply confidently

“Do you think you would do well in MECADS?” Asked Vanessa the AI

“Yes I do” I reply

“Why”

“Because I’m good at math, I’m a hard worker, and I love mechanical engineering”

“Are you honest?” Asked Vanessa

What? We were talking about math and colleges and then she asked me if I’m honest. What does the AI think. I’m a liar?

“Yes. I am honest” I am honest

“What’s your dream job”

We’re back on track again

“I want to work on keeping rockets the right temperature no matter where they are and the temperature outside the rocket”

It’s surprisingly difficult to do this especially with newer rockets flying closer and closer to the sun

“Wow. That’s ambitious” said the AI

“I believe humans can do it. We just need to work a bit”

“Well said” said Vanessa

“Thank you” I responded

“do you read often?”

“I read a lot” I responded

“Do you think you could write a book?”

I don’t think I could write anything fiction. But a math textbook wouldn’t be that hard if I had the resources and information needed.

“It depends on what type of book” I responded

“A fiction book” clarified the AI

“I don’t think I could”

“Why not” pried Vanessa

“I just suck at writing fiction”

“Why are you not good at writing fiction”

Why am I not good? Whoever made this obviously though it was best to not put down the people taking the test. But couldn’t they put it in better terms then why are you not good at it?

“Because I struggle to make a compelling reason to read the writing” I responded

“Do you want to get better at this?” Asked the robot

“Not really”

“Why not” asked the robot

Vanessa seems fond of the word why

“Because I don’t think it’s important to me or my future”

“What if your future was to because an artist”

I said the first thing that came to my mind

“I’d hate that”

Why? Asked the robot

Okay the why thing was seriously getting annoying. Like really, why do you keep asking why

“Because my art is personal, and I want to keep it that way.”

“Okay”

Thank god Vanessa dropped the topic

“So what is your dream for the future?”

“Go to”

I paused. I was going to say college, but this was my dream for the future right?

“Go to MECADS, get a job, find the one, and start a family.”

That family might be adopted though. So many kids need a family, but can’t get one because people want to have children the natural way.

“Why MECADS?” Asked the AI

“Because it’s my dream. Ever since I discovered my love for engineering I’ve always wanted to go to a big college, and MECADS is that big college I’m dreaming of”

“I see. What would you do if I gave you a job referral to another college. The MISOW for example”

The MISOW. The Mechanical Engineering School Of Wisconsin. It was a much smaller college, and I only knew about it because it was nearby.

“I would go there with no complaint. I wouldn’t like it, but I would go”

“Thank you for your answers. Please remain seated while I process your results” 

That was it! It seemed impossible that it had gotten all the information it needed with just those questions. There were many questions, but this was choosing my future. My whole life. It must have gotten the answers it needed from the brain scan.

Or maybe it had seen and sensed my want, my need to go to MECADS and it saw my math grades and decided to put me there. That would be nice.

“Your results have been looked at. We have discovered what college you would be best suited for.”

“That’s great.” I said. It felt like the butterflies in my stomach were trying to escape. “What are my results?”

“The Wisconsin School of Art, also known as the WSA”

What!? My head was spinning. I had shown my distaste at being an artist as a job to Vanessa, and my math grades are near perfect. What did I do wrong?

I couldn’t think of a single thing that could have made it so I got into an art school. Why in the world did this happen.

The automated voice continues “this choice was made purely from the brain scan. The reason for this is to many people would lie to get into a better school, so we now simply ask questions to put people at ease”

“The brain scan looks at the most used parts of the brain” Vanessa continues “and we use the parts of the brain used most to make an informed decision of what college to put you in”

“We sometimes give people a sheet of paper saying which college they have been assigned to, but we found no reason to do this with you because you are a honest individual”

She finishes with “I hope you have a nice day and a wonderful life”

I leave the room. The WSA! I haven’t even heard of that college. I don’t know what to do. Then I remember, the AI didn’t give me anything that proves what college I should go to, I could just lie.

The words “you are an honest individual” echo in my brain. This isn’t right. But I don’t care. For once, I’m not going to follow the rules set in place by AI. I’m going to make my own rules, my own decisions.

And the first is getting in MECADS.

I go into the elevator. I click the home button. It takes me to the first floor. Tanya is waiting for me. When she sees me she comes over.

“What did you get” although she didn’t say it, I could tell she’s happy with the job or college or job she got.

I squeal with excitement. “I got into MECADS!” 

“That’s so exciting!” Tanya said

“What did you get?” I ask Tanya

“I got a job referral as an author”

I congratulate her, “That’s awesome!”

“Maybe I’ll write your biography someday”

“Maybe you’ll write your own biography”

“That would be an autobiography”

I can’t believe how happy I am for Tanya. I just barely met her like half an hour ago, and I’m still really happy for her.

I go up to the front desk. “Hey, I was told that I was going to MECADS. What should I do”

The person at the front desk grabbed a piece of paper, and scribbled something on it. “This will do. Just go up to MECADS and show them that paper. They’ll let you in”

I thanked her then went. I called my mother.

“Hey mom” I greeted her

“Hello Lucia” her voice was warm and comforting like hot chocolate on a winter evening.

“I got in!” I basically yelled through the phone

I could hear her yelling woo. She was excited. I felt kind of crappy, but still excited, everything was great.