University of Useless Information:

Returning from the field trip to Elysium I go straight to my Onyx Chamber. "Zou Yan... Hi Honey, I'm home.” I strip off the excess accoutrements I wore to Elysium and pack them away: My leather jacket, boots and dirk. To the house AI, “Please give me a fifteen minute notification for dinner. Oh, and please have the first two Roger Zelazny novels returned to the Library." I feel a slight pang of discomfort at having servants and I haven’t got a clue as to what to do about having a Personal Assistant, so I’ve created an artificial friendship with the Artificial Intelligence that appears to run the household. My personal assistant, Kassidy, comes to my room to fetch the first two books, "Thank You, Kassidy. Please put these two books back in the Library for me. But, don't shelve them. Leave them somewhere prominent, like beside the refreshments, so that my cousins will be able to find them easily. Thanks." It’s a job I could have done myself; and probably shoul

Wednesday May 1, 2013 or 5 Jux 45 if you may… The bulletin posted on the monitor read, “All those interested in a visit to Elysium be in the foyer at 15:55. - Cordelia” I put on my socks and steel capped sneakers, pick up my leather jacket and step into the corridor to head down stairs when I notice Jason and Akio in the hallway. They’re both scurrying towards the foyer carrying weapons. I’m particularly stunned by what appears to be some sort of high tech rifle in Jason’s duffle bag. He mumbles: "No swords for me... Oversized butter cutters!". "Hey, Guys... Did someone declare war?" I shout after them… They both tell me that it’s SOP for any field trip. "Okay, Don't leave without me." My Sgian Dubh is already in my right stocking, Multi-tool on my belt, but I have to go back into my room to retrieve my Dirk. I strap it to my belt and sprint to the Foyer where the group is assembling; including both of the large dogs, Mikato and Choki. Cordelia has her

Is it an abduction? Have I been abducted? It’s called abduction if you offer candy to a child to get them into your van. ‘Come play with these puppies. You can call me Uncle. Now come sit in my lap…’ ‘Come, leap through this portal to my magic kingdom...’ That line apparently worked on me. I’m feeling a little homesick realizing that I can’t just jump on a plane and go home. What’s really more disconcerting is being cut off. It’s been just over twenty-four hours. If this were L.A. I’d have called home by now and it’s gut wrenching to think of Mom worrying because I haven’t checked in. I was pretty vague with her on exactly where I was going and where I would be staying, because I didn’t know. Still don’t know exactly where I am. Over twenty-four hours and a good chunk of that has been spent being incapacitated in my room. Learning to shield my brain from mysterious ‘Trump Power’ that I am somehow sensitive to. The salt on my skin from the swimming pool is starting to itch so I set my c