Galahad Academy

## Introduction

Galahad Academy (in Bay City, Michigan, UCAS), and its surroundings are the setting of the second half of Ep 44 and the whole of Ep 45. MMFEC went there to investigate the fate of previously SINless Seattle children who had got Ares SINs and joined the Academy through the unofficial branch of Ares's Squires program known as the Squares.

## Campus layout

In Lauren's words:

> *It's probably like a small Liberal Arts College [...] with a focus on training people in military-related things.*
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It was refurbished from a previous use

> *to appeal to New England Old Money*.
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There are 3 buildings in its four square bloc area:

* on-campus housing, a.k.a dorms;

* academic (or classes) building, for classes and activities;

* administration.

It contains trees and bushes. The latter are inhabited by raccoons.

There is an athletics field.

The housing building has 6 stories.

The classes building has 11 stories and a U shape. It looks like two buildings are connected, holding hands. Elsie and Ma1nfram3 spent time in the library and the bathroom on its 6th floor. Ma1nfram3 explored both the right hallway to the right of the 7th floor's elevator's lobby, which was protected by a mana barrier, and the less secure hallway to the left. Locks, doors and the layout of offices in both hallways were described in more details than most other locations in the academy. The operating theater and observation room in the basement, as well as the room where the final battle of Ep 45 took place were also described in details.

Ma1nfram3's father's office is located in the administration building. The School of Medicine, where her mother is one of the heads, is located in the academic building.

## MMFEC's thoughts about the academy

After a short debate, MMFEC seemed to agree that only the illegal program run by Ma1nfram3's parents need be shut down by them, not the whole institution. Ares could then be relied on to do right by the twelve younger children involved in that program, whose short term as well as longer term well-being was at the center of MMFEC's attentions.

## Courses and dress code

The broad spectrum of courses at the academy ranges from preparation to military (hours of push-ups) and corporate jobs to hard sciences and philosophy.

As Elsie was digging in her bag for a school uniform, it was made clear that students do have uniforms but only wear them in special occasions and particular activities.

## Campus security

The campus is protected by a fence and by cameras, *a lot of cameras, a lot of cameras*. It is well-lit at night. At least four guards are patrolling it at night in random patterns.

The administration building is open to the public. The other two require an ID.

There are motion detectors in the main hallways and on one half of the 4th floor of the housing building. During his initial reconnaissance, Cromwell saw eleven children sleeping in the area protected by motion detectors.

Half a dozen different spots in the classes building are protected by a barrier and hidden from Cromwell's Vision spell. The biggest 2 of them are in the basement and on the 7th floor.

## Matrix security

MMFEC's first brush with security actually involved Sharky, whose reconnaistance of the campus in the middle of the night was cut short, first by a barely adequate student awake at the time, then by Campus security.

Everything is on an Ares grid. Each building has its sub-host. The most intense and powerful host is the admin building. The dorms and the classes are somewhat on par with each other in terms of difficulty to access.

The dorm host, as seen by Ma1nfram3, is a mix of mostly military-style white walls and fluorescent lighting, class projects and customized by the best hacker students.

## Bathrooms

Several bathrooms were used by Elsie and Ma1nfram3.

## About building design

These bits of architectural wisdom from Lauren are worth pondering:

> *Buildings are complicated to design.*
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> *Matrix buildings are also hard.*
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## In the Corporate Metagame

Seattle Street News reported on the fallout of MMFEC's mission, including personnel change at the top:

> ***Soltysiak Kane**, the President of the Galahad Academy and Order Master of the Squires of Galahad released a press release earlier today announcing that he would be stepping down from his position. He, in his press release, announced, “It has been my utmost pleasure over the past eighteen years to guide this prestigious Academy forward. However, in light of the recent revelations of Doctor Fitzgerald’s reprehensible activities it has become clear that I am no longer fit to serve as your Order Master and President. It was my signature that allowed them into our Order, and my lack of oversight that allowed them to carry out their experiments on your fellow Squires. It’s at times like these, that Squire Orders are most important. Though I shall be leaving this Academy in an Official capacity, I am now, and shall ever be, a Squire of Galahad.”*
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> *The new President of Galahad and Master Squire is one **Maritza Quartermane**. Maritza Quartermane is a very symbolic choice. There are things about Quartermane you would expect. They are a graduate of the Galahad Academy. After graduation they distinguished themselves in service of Knight Errant, holding a variety of positions but being most well known for their work in Information Security. This is what Ares would tell you about Maritza Quartermane. What I’ll tell you about them is that they are an Ork. After a scandal involving human supremacy and unethical experimentation to suppress someone’s metahumanity, Ares has placed an Ork in charge of the Galahad Academy and the Squires Program. Is this an indicator of a more significant change in Ares? Let us hope so.*
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Mr. Kane died very shortly thereafter:

> *Mr. Kane retired to his bed Saturday evening and after falling asleep, went to join his beloved Winnifred in the great beyond. In accordance with his wishes, he shall be cremated and his remains scattered around the campus of Galahad Academy, so that he may forever be a part of the hallowed institution.*
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Which obviously raised suspicions in some quarters:

> *One thing I’d like to leave this story with is a quote from WhaddyaKnowJoe, who know Kane well, “I can’t say what happened that Saturday after he went to bed, but between you and me the weight of the guilt he felt about the situation wouldn’t have been enough to stop his heart.”*
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A few weeks later, Seattle Street News divulged the contents of what they called *a curious transmission* they thought was related to M. Kane's death a few days later:

> *Send word to MLF, LOL, QON, and QOW their services are needed.*
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1. ↑ It was 2 distinct buildings at first, then briefly an L-shaped one. On-the-spot school design is tough.
2. ↑ See Ep 44.
3. ↑ As Ma1nfram3 remarked: *That is a very specific number that is less than twelve.*
4. ↑ See SSN #46.
5. ↑ The two quotes about the death of Mr. Kane are taken from the story reported in SSN #47.
6. ↑ See SSN #49.