Stray Cat Strut

Chapter Four - Revolutionary Girl Lucy

"Attendance in higher education has gone through some periods of highs and lows. Counting from the start of the 20th century when education started to become more prominent throughout the western sphere, we see a sharp rise in the number of people getting educated for longer, with dips during the Great Depression, the two World Wars, and a massive rise during the eighties and into the nineties.

In the 21st century, we see a similar dip during the 2027 Great Depression, and then a sharper fall in the 2030s, with a subsequent rise during the early 2040s to where we are today.

We haven't quite recovered to mid-2010s levels, but we're quite close."

--Rise and Fall of the Educated, a thesis, 2051

***

"So, what did you think?" Lucy asked as we stepped back into the Bastion.

"Eh," I said with a shrug. The vice principal had a few things to show us after the cooking class, but the other classes were out at the moment, and so there really wasn't too much to show except for some empty training facilities and some big rooms that had nothing in them. We did meet with one professor, the hardass teacher who did combat training, and I kind of liked that bit, but... it wasn't huge?

"Yeah, I had the feeling you'd feel that way," Lucy said. She didn't sound disappointed or upset about it.

"Hmm," Lucy hummed. "Yes and no. Did you know that a lot of revolutions start in schools?"

I blinked, pausing halfway to the bridge. "Uh.. I guess?" I said. "What's that got to do with learning how to cook?"

Lucy snorted, and then she wrapped her arms around my middle and dropped her head into the crook of my neck. "Silly," she declared. "The cooking thing is an excuse."

"You've got plans, then?" I asked.

"I've got ambitions," she replied. "And while I appreciate your help, I think I can do a lot to push them forwards all on my own. I just need to be in the right place and at the right time, with maybe the right contacts."

"And do you care to share those with me?" I asked. For a moment a small part of me worried that Lucy might have ambitions that didn't include me, but that struck me as unlikely.

"Mhm!" she said before breaking the hug only to squeeze past me and into the cockpit. She flumped onto one of the seats at the back, the opposite one from the seat she'd taken on the way here. "So! Schools foster revolution. Do you know why?"

"I have no idea," I said.

"Yeah, same. At least, I didn't know. But I've been looking into it for a while now. You remember the Kittens in Burlington?"

"Can't forget, yeah," I said. "You're still in contact with them, right?" That was the group of normal citizens that Lucy and I had armed up. They'd turned into a... somewhat competent group of fighters. Not great. They didn't have the training or even the equipment of a proper PMC, but as far as volunteer militias went, I think they were nearer the top.

"I am!" Lucy said. "It's pretty calm though. Burlington is safe, and now there's not as much use for the Kittens as an organization. Still, I managed to kinda-sorta buy some space in a few buildings downtown."

"With what money?" I asked.

"Donations," Lucy said. "Like, if every member gives you a hundred or so credits, that adds up real fast. Plus we sold some extra equipment, did some food drives, and just kind of... gathered a bit of money. And the price of stuff in the city dropped a bunch after the incursion. Anyway, my point is that we now have a soup kitchen, a clothes shop, and a small community centre going, where people can help each other. It's all very nice and wholesome. Not great for generating credits, but it's good for the rep."

"Huh... okay, and you've been doing this from home?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's less work than you think? I mostly just need to be the final word and tell some people what to do and others to remove the sticks lodged up their behinds."

I nodded. Lucy was impressive that way. "So, what's that got to do with this school? Or revolution, for that matter?"

"Well, your speech at that funeral? Last week? I think that and a few other things are... they're sparking something. People want change. They always do. And when it happens, it can be really good. As much as it can be really bad. I'd rather we end up on the really good side of things."

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I worked my tongue over my teeth as I thought about it. "Okay," I finally said. "Sure. I can see wanting to ride things out on the winning side."

"Exactly. Anyway, schools are where a lot of revolutions happen. I don't think it's just one thing, either. I think it's a bunch of smaller factors, and I guess some bigger ones, all smooshed together."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, the students are younger, but they're old enough not to be babied anymore. A lot of them are 'free' for the first time. You know?" she asked. It was rhetorical, but I nodded anyway. "And then there's this kind of... constant frustration with authority. Combine that with a place where people are introduced to a lot of new ideas, and a place where people can network and make new connections, join new communities... yeah, it's not hard to imagine a campus being the one spot where sparks find something to burn. There are a lot of people here with a lot to prove and nothing to lose, and yet unlike the Kittens, they're mostly young and they think that they're real smart."

I resisted the urge to point out that both of us were probably on the younger side for college students.

"Anyway! I think that if we want to extend the Kittens into New Montreal, this'll be a good place to start. Plus, the school's kinda desperate at the moment."

"They are?" I asked. "They didn't seem that way. Sure, hyped to get a samurai student, but not desperate."

Lucy smiled. "That's because he didn't show us the entire campus. There's a whole section that was destroyed by some antithesis that came down. A lot of parents are pissed off because their kids died. The school told the army to piss off and that they had their own security."

"And it wasn't enough?" I asked.

"It's like, riot cops and normal security. School police. Not an army. They were really not equipped for tackling aliens," Lucy said. "So there were a lot more deaths than necessary."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"How did the school survive the global incursion, then?" I asked. New Montreal had a wall all the way around it now.

"Lots of favours, I think," Lucy said. She shrugged. "There's a lot of important people that went to school here. This is where they made lots of their earliest connections."

I eyed Lucy for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to be mayor?" I asked.

Lucy poked herself in the cheek and tilted her head to the side. "I'm too cute for politics. Tee-hee."

I shuddered. "Don't ever do that again," I said.

Lucy's laugh was more genuine after that. "Sorry! But maybe later? I think I'd either just get chewed up and spit out, or I'd be shoved into a corner where nothing I say matters, like the last few presidents and prime ministers. Just a punching bag for the media, you know? I'd need years of connection-making before I can even start going down that route."

Years of connection-making that she could very well do in the place known for making connections. I shook my head. My girlfriend was scary sometimes. It was also real hot.

"You know, if you get into politics, you'll have to start wearing pantsuits," I said.

"Oh? Is that a bad thing?" Lucy asked.

"No. Very much the opposite. Who doesn't like a lady in uniform?"

Lucy snorted. "C'mon! We left the Kittens at home unwatched for a few hours. We'll probably come back to find the entire building burnt to a crisp and the kids complaining that they're hungry."

Yeah, that sounded about right. "Alright, alright," I said as I took my seat and started to flick on the Bastion's engines.

A minute or so later we were pulling up and away from the campus. I... suspected we'd be coming back here soon enough. Which probably meant finding a more appropriate place to park in.

Maybe they'd give me one of those stickers I could slap onto the windshield that let me get access to their parking garage? I resisted the urge to laugh. I didn't know if they had parking police here, but if they did, then the poor idiots would need a serious raise.

"What're you laughing at?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, nothing smart," I said as I kicked us off the ground and started to rotate the Bastion in the general direction of home. "Nothing smart at all."

***