"I am afraid that is not enough of an assurance." His tone was almost apologetic. Apparently he was not as personally opposed to the idea of my admittance, but he was worried about the consequences. The fact that he tried to justify his reservations was a positive sign in that regard. Nonetheless the man seemed very certain about his position and I deemed it unlikely that anything might sway him. The final conclusion was already clear: This interview would not be evaluated in my favor, regardless of what I said.
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. The Callidus woman took up the questioning, probably just to keep up the pretense of doing a normal interview until the time was up.
"So what would be your favorite field of study if you were to join the academy?" she recited what I could only assume to be one of the standard questions.
With significant mental effort I talked about my academic interests, talents and experiences, based on the guidelines I had put together in my preparations. It was difficult to go on despite knowing how futile these efforts were. I tried to keep my composure and professionalism as best as I could; with the interviewers paying little to no attention to my words, that was really challenging. When the time was finally up after a series of more meaningless questions, the answers to which nobody cared about, I was thoroughly relieved.
That feeling didn't last long once I had left the room though. The certainty that this interview had been an utter debacle was all too present in my mind; especially when I stepped out into the waiting room, where the next candidate was already in queue. It was a young, very nervous looking Callidus who carefully avoided making eye contact. All I wanted to do was leave, but I had to wait for my score, so I took a seat. Luckily it didn't take long for the verdict to arrive. After instructing the next candidate to go in, the receptionist called me forth and handed me a piece of paper with my performance assessment on it. The result was not surprising. I got the basic points for answering all questions truthfully and to my best ability as well as providing all the factual information which had been demanded, but nothing more. It was in essence just a confirmation that I was capable of forming coherent sentences and that they could not prove that anything I said was a lie.
Niklas' prediction had come true. The evaluations of my curriculum vitae, letter of motivation and now also the application interview had been terrible. The commendation from Wilfried had been dismissed as well; which meant that even with the bonus points from Niklas' sponsorship I had still not passed the 50 percent threshold required for the character assessment yet. Without that requirement it didn't even matter if I passed the exam or not, my application would be declined either way.
My only consolation was that Niklas was already working on his plan B. A commendation from an active professor of the Berlin academy would grant enough points to get me beyond 50 percent. Therefore, he had contacted any qualifying person who might be willing to give me a chance to prove my worth. Only a few of them had agreed to meet me, but if we were able to convince only one of them, it would be enough.
Niklas was at the university as well, going after his usual occupation. We had agreed to meet at the Manor plaza, the central square of the academy campus after my interview, so that was my next target. It was not a far walk. The campus was mostly deserted, as it was still vacation time for students and I was happy about that. The glances I got from the few people I encountered were discouraging enough. A Fortis at the Primus academy was certainly a strange sight to them; in some cases also an unwelcome one it appeared.
Niklas wasn't there yet when I arrived at the plaza. I didn't mind waiting. This was the second time I had visited the academy grounds and there was still much to be amazed about. In front of the plaza there was the so-called Manor, a very old but well preserved house in a fancy style of old humanity. The entire campus was built on and around a former Primus estate on the outer perimeters of Berlin. In the center of the plaza there was a five meter tall statue dedicated to the namesakes of the place. It depicted two humans, a man and a woman of the Primus subspecies. They were not fashioned after real people but should represent the entirety of their kind, honoring their deeds of the past.
During Sikatis rule, the Primus had been the undisputed pinnacle of human existence, superior to all other subspecies. Unlike the other classes, this particular type of homo sapiens had not been created purely to fulfill some menial tasks. Instead they were transformed to be more akin to their masters. For their creation the tyrants had taken the most intelligent, healthy, talented, and complete specimen they could find, drastically improved them through genetic modifications and even outfitted them with cybernetic implants to heighten their senses and capabilities. While still servants to the Sikatis, the Primus had been of significantly higher status than any other human being.
Only the best children of this class were allowed to live and their education was extremely intense, both physically and intellectually. Young Primus were taught to read and write the complex Sikatis language, could operate some of the most advanced devices of alien technology and learned a lot about the Sikatis empire and its culture. Much of the knowledge which was meticulously kept from the rest of humanity, the Primus could access freely. Once they had endured the harsh upbringing, trainings and tests of skill and loyalty, they lived the most comfortable lives within the species.
The Sikatis kept them on a short leash of course. The number of Primus humans was always kept relatively small, both within a city as well as in general. Utmost loyalty and obedience was demanded of them. They were watched closely at any time and the slightest transgressions could cost them their heads; the standards by which they were measured lay far above those of other humans. To enforce their compliance even further, the cybernetic implants were outfitted with devices able to track the host, induce extreme pain and even kill almost instantly.
For centuries the Primus diligently served as the tyrant's first in command. The Sikatis became quite certain that they had their paragon subjects well under control. Concerns of the super-humans turning on their masters faded in time. With a growing trust towards them, more freedom and self-determination was granted. When the number of Sikatis on the planet shrank, the remaining ones depended heavily on the Primus to keep the colony running and the other humans in line. In the earliest days of the stirring revolutionary spirit on earth, it was primarily the Primus who suppressed the insurgency, beat down revolts and kept the mood from escalating.
All the more surprising was it when a large faction of Primus suddenly sided with a young, disorganized rebellion which had slowly formed over a course of years from a mixture of all other subspecies. The superior humans quickly took over leadership of the revolutionary movement and within a short time they transformed the loose network of scattered partisan groups into a unified army, carrying out highly coordinated operations. In time more of them joined the fight. The Primus involvement made the rebellion a force to be reckoned with. Historians agree that without them the revolutionary war would have lasted years more and taken millions of additional casualties or might not have been won at all.
Naturally the Sikatis were not very happy about the treason of their highest, most trusted servants. At first they didn't think of them as much of a threat, because they still had the possibility to track each of them down and kill them remotely via the implants. What they did not know was that years before, some Primus had already put a lot of secret work into getting full control over their implants. With all their skills and technological insights they were able to find a way to deactivate or alter the functionalities intended to harm them. The breakthrough was kept hidden until it could be used against the tyrants effectively.
Even after the Sikatis realized that they had completely lost control of the Primus, it took them a while to fully comprehend that humanity posed an actual threat to them. Their arrogance blinded them against the fact that their numbers were dwindling and that they were losing the war. Before their ultimate downfall however, they still managed to get their revenge on the Primus. For that purpose they used a bio-weapon which had been resting in some almost forgotten laboratory for centuries.
The genetic modifications of the Primus were far more drastic than those of any other subspecies. For the rest of humanity, the Sikatis had periodically taken the genetic material of some individuals which perfectly embodied the respective class in their opinion, slightly altered it by cropping out unwanted components from the DNA, bred some humans in a lab from this modified material and introduced those "improved" subjects into the common population of the class so they could spread the new genes. This was a slow and imperfect process, but for the common worker classes it was a sufficient approximation to slowly change their large populations over time.
For the Primus these crude measures would not do. Every few generations during the subspecies' early creation phase, the entire reproduction of the Primus candidates throughout the whole planet was limited to artificial conception in a laboratory. The genome of each specimen created at such a point, was altered in the same way. Not just by minor changes and reductions but also by addition of new, custom DNA sequences. Through this method the Sikatis ensured that all Primus shared some specific genes and the traits arising from them. As a consequence, the transformation was a lot faster, the results more effective and the members of the arising subspecies a lot more uniform than for the rest of humanity.
In what was probably an accident, the genetic engineering also gave rise to a form of virus which was highly dangerous for the carriers of some of the genes the Sikatis had incorporated into their subjects. This involuntarily created disease killed a large part of the Primus population, before it could be contained. Instead of destroying the virus, the Sikatis studied, modified and kept it as a last resort solution in case the Primus ever stepped out of line. For centuries there hadn't been the slightest reason to consider this option, so it was pretty much forgotten. The virus persisted though, locked away in some underground genetic archive of the aliens.
When the Sikatis rediscovered it and saw no other way out, they released the devastating disease in all major cities around the globe. It quickly spread throughout the world, infecting countless beings. To most humans and all other life forms it was harmless, lingering in its hosts without doing noticeable harm. For the Primus however, an infection meant certain death. It almost drove the entire subspecies into extinction. A few groups survived by seizing some Sikatis spaceships and fleeing from the planet. Their advanced knowledge of the alien technology allowed them to operate the space-faring vessels and escape in time. The Sikatis were on their heels of course but with their shortage in personnel and the toll of the war, they did not have a lot of resources to spare.
The loss of its leaders was a major setback for the rebellion and would be an even greater tragedy for the rebuilding efforts after the war. Nevertheless it was too late for the enemy to turn the tide. In a very bloody and devastating final phase, humanity triumphed over the oppressors and regained its freedom; at a huge cost.
The real fate of the surviving Primus remained unknown. The common believe was that their escape succeeded, but there was no way to be sure. Everything beyond their flight from Earth was pure speculation. Maybe they were caught and executed, maybe they still lead a nomadic life traveling the stars, maybe they found a new home on a faraway planet. Returning home was not an option either way because the virus was likely still present in our ecosystem.
There was also the idea that the Primus inhabited a space station in orbit around Earth. Some believed that they watched over us, maybe even guided us by unseen means. This story had evolved into kind of a religion with various manifestations around the world. Some communities even believed that the Primus were continuously judging us, to see whether we were worthy of coexisting with them. Once we achieved a certain state, we could ascend, achieve their wisdom, learn their secrets and start a new era of prosperity. How to achieve this state was widely debated of course.
