At the end of the academic year in June, the elementary school which Kelly Phillips had been attending had its own graduation ceremonies. They marked the end of Kelly’s elementary school education.
At a more or less equivalent ceremony at MIT, Beth Green received her doctorate. Having earned a name for herself by publishing several papers even before completing this degree, Beth had several job offers, including one from MIT itself. With the aid of a disgustingly overt bribe in the form of a donation to the university, Beth was able to get a very nice position at MIT. That was where she wanted to teach anyway. Taking the bait was just accepting the inevitable.
Beth and her husband would spend less time in New York this summer, partly because she had course preparation to do and partly because her father needed her in Vancouver, but the couple did come to stay with Beth’s mother for a month. During that time Beth again spent some time at the Social Tech summer school, enjoying the opportunity to work with young people. At 23, all the kids in the school now seemed young to Beth. Sally remembered when Beth had been as young as her Grade Eight students. That seemed a long time ago.
Alice and her boyfriend were also at the school that summer, the summer after her first year at MIT. She enjoyed taking time to speak with Beth, whom she did not see too often, though they were at the same university. Again Alice found herself in a couple of classes in which people of various ages talked about computer software. One these classes should be mentioned here, because for the first time young Kelly Phillips ended up in the same classroom as Beth and Alice. Kelly had been learning more and more about computers.
Kelly only knew the ST programming environment, though she knew that there were other ways to program. She was well aware that her mother and father both wrote programs, and with Ann, had written the original Tech Fantasies software. Had that been very hard to do? Would have been easier if they had been able to use ST? Kelly wondered if that was even possible. Maybe ST itself depended on some underlying Tech Fantasies software. She wanted to find out.
As always, Kelly asked questions when she didn’t know something. In the past she had always asked her parents or Ann. Sometimes she had looked up answers on the computer. But now she had her beloved little handheld computer and cellphone. It had a touch screen and she could write queries on it. By now the former search engines based on searching for particular words and phrases also included some more organized methods. Like most of these small computers, Kelly’s would store queries which could later be recalled and asked again, but would also be put into a query profile.
This was a form of information technology built right into her little computer. From the questions she had asked, it could suggest questions she might ask. There were various privacy settings, but if set the right way, some of this information profile data could be sent to another computer. On the advice of Ann, Kelly had set it up so that her query profile would be sent regularly to the computer at Social Tech High. This computer would process information from all students, including ones who had come only for summer school, such as the siblings of current students.
Because of the queries Kelly had made, the school computer knew she was interested in the way the Tech Fantasies software had developed and its relationship to the ST language she was learning. So in the summer, when handing out class suggestions, one Kelly received was for a class on just that topic. As it turned out, Alice Ames was giving the class. Beth Green was just sitting in, as if a student, saying little at first. But all these classes quickly turned into discussions. This one was no different. Even Kelly ended up participating, mostly by asking questions. Some of her questions were insightful, others just puzzled, some difficult to answer. The others found that trying to explain things to this young girl was an interesting exercise. Only Beth and Alice knew who she was.
All year long Sally Aston had been preparing for what would happen after this summer. Well, in truth, she had held it in mind for many years. Her daughter Kelly had finished Grade Six. For the past year she had been treated as an important person – Sally abusing her authority, perhaps. As an important person, a chain had been created for Kelly, wiring her into the school. Throughout her Grade Six year Kelly had been connected to an extremely compatible Grade Seven student from the school. That student and two others had been added for the one specific reason, to tie Sally’s darling daughter into the school.
Sally knew that this chain would not break. There was no reason why anyone in it would not just move on to the next grade. While other connections might be formed, Kelly would at least have one to this other student, who would be in Grade Eight when Kelly entered the school properly. In the strictest, most technical sense of the term, Kelly was therefore already a member of the school, though not yet attending it. This summer she would be among those about to enter the school, those whose unstructured summer would lead naturally into the structured fall session.
When the spring term at Kelly’s school ended and the summer school at Social Tech High had begun, the girl who would turn twelve this summer eagerly rushed to meet her friend from the school, and the two of them participated in various events. Suzy played her violin, once with Kelly accompanying her, before an actual audience.
Eventually, when actually twelve, Kelly broke free of her parents view and dragged Suzy off to do some volunteer work for the new extension to Drake’s Connected College. It was not only expanding to accommodate more students, but preparing to be a four year college. Watching twelve year old Kelly with best friend Suzy, as they enjoyed the summer school, it was all too obvious to Sally Aston that her daughter was growing up. Sally had always planned for Kelly to go to Social Tech High, but was just not ready for it to happen.
Trying not to think about it, Sally tried to focus her attention instead on little Kate, who would enter Grade One in the fall. At least with Kate there would be nothing to worry about. She would not be ready for the school for many years. Well, six more years, but that was longer than she’d been alive, too long a time for Sally to visualize.
Just before the end of summer, a software patch added two years ago to work on tightening school connections passed along to Kelly another friend suggestion. It had been Alice Ames who had suggested linking each newly admitted Grade Seven students to two other students in the school. Alice pointed out that because supply exceeded demand by so much, this could almost always be done with two extra links, sometimes less. So to admit 200 desirable Grade Sevens, admit at most 600 new students altogether, and each would be doubly connected.
Kelly was already linked to Suzy Nicholson, who would be in Grade Eight when school resumed. Now Kelly would have another friend, if she accepted the suggestion and went through to back and forth protocol to identify each other as they verified their probable friendship. Kelly and this girl compared interests and outlook, chatted by text, then by video. They both agreed that they wanted to meet and looked forward to seeing each other soon.
As MIT prepared to start it its fall term, a slightly terrified Beth Green prepared to teach her first class. She would be teaching both a freshman and a sophomore class this year. It was not entirely coincidence that her sophomore class in mathematics would include a girl named Alice Ames, as well as Beth’s own sister, Caroline, at 19 still the rocket scientist in the family.
Alice and her boyfriend Jason were still together, now sharing an apartment not far from the university. She still had friends at MIT who had come from Social Tech High. Sally had decided that Alice was to be considered an important person, so a chain had been constructed to tie her into the school. Alice greatly appreciated this, feeling great affection for the school, happy to be in touch with someone there.
In September, the day fall classes at Social Tech High were due to start, a very mature girl of twelve spoke to her mother over breakfast.
“Mommy, this is for your benefit, not mine. Understand that I am proud of you and would gladly enter school with your arm around me. But I would never want anyone to think you might show favouritism. So please, let me off a block before we reach the school, and I will walk from there.”
She could not help herself. Sally cried. It had finally come to this. Her beloved Kelly was to be a Grade Seven student at Social Tech High.
“There is something I have not told you, Kelly. I was waiting for today. I handed in my resignation at the end of June, effective at the end of summer. Yesterday. Today I am no longer the principal of Social Tech High. Paul Grey has taken my place as principal, Ellen Smith will be his vice-principal. Another new mathematics teacher will take my place.”
“Mommy!”
“It was time, Kelly.”
“What will you do?”
“Ann has work for me, but also I want to spend more time raising your sister. Kate is not you, but she is a darling. And there is one more thing.”
“Yes, Mommy?”
“I am pregnant again. So is Ann.”
Kelly blushed. Now very aware of sex, she knew that that meant, but couldn’t think of it. “You were pregnant with me when you started Technological Fantasies, weren’t you? Now here you are, leaving the school, pregnant again, twelve years later. Don’t make a habit of this, OK?”
Sally nodded. After breakfast she drove the girls to school. After walking Kate into her first class as a Grade One student, she then drove Kelly to Social Tech High. It was not the first time the girl had been there, of course. She’d loved the summer schools, which were open to family members. But this time Kelly would sit in ordinary classes, with teachers Sally knew well.
As Kelly still wanted her to do, Sally dropped her beloved daughter off one block away from the entrance to the school, barely within sight of it. She watched rather sadly as the girl walked the block, head up, looking the fully confident student she would be.
For Sally, Social Tech High was over. For Kelly, it had just begun.
Walking into the building was not unusual. She’d been there so many times. Before. This felt a bit different, though. Few adults, probably teachers. Lots more kids, none of them younger. Kelly remembered that from being in the oldest grade of her elementary school, she had become as student in the youngest grade of Social Tech High.
There were tables near the doorway. Over them were signs. “If you know where you are supposed to be, go there. If not stop here and ask.” Kelly knew. She’d used the computer and found out everything she could about this day. She would be in what was called Mr. Everett’s class, though she would take classes with other teachers. He was one of the Grade Seven music teachers. Her friend Suzy would be in the same class.
When Kelly got to class, Suzy was already there, having arrived a bit early, very nervous. On the screen behind the teacher’s desk a seating plan was laid out. Suzy was seated behind the desk assigned to her, very near the middle of the room. Kelly was to sit right beside her! Oh, that was a relief.
On the other side would be a Santos Coriega. Was that a boy’s name? Looked like one. She would sit beside a boy. That made Kelly nervous. She knew that although interpersonal compatibility within classes could not be guaranteed, more or less compatible people were seated together when possible. If he was a boy, Santos was probably the most compatible boy in the class for her. Twelve year old Kelly was extremely aware of boys.
Soon a tall and strong looking boy entered the room, looked at the screen and sat down beside her. “You are Kelly Phillips?”, he asked, without any hesitation.
“Yes”, she replied, trying not to hesitate either. “Santos Coriega?”
“Yeah. Your friend? Suzy Nicholson?”
“Yes, Suzy, this is Santos. Santos, Suzy. Suzy and I have been friends for over a year.” Was she babbling? Why did she keep saying her friend’s name, over and over again?”
Before any other students appeared, a man came into the room and sat down at the teachers desk, in front of the row of student desks. His was positioned in the middle of the room, with the quarter circle of students in front of him. “Hello. Just the three of you, so far?” But it was only a matter of a few minutes until the room was full. Eight students, one teacher. That’s what classes at Social Tech were like.
“Well. I am glad to see you all. I’m Tom Everett, Mr. Everett to you. I am one of the music teachers and usually teach the lower grades. Everybody in this class is at least a little bit compatible with me. That might mean you are musical, but maybe not. Each of you is also at least a little bit compatible with every other student in the class. That’s another hint that you may be musical, but doesn’t prove anything. Maybe you just like music a lot. If you take music, you will probably take it we me, but there are other teachers. I’m not going to try to figure that out now. I will get you to introduce yourselves, though, and when its your turn, please say if you do play an instrument. I’m going to hand out some course information to each of you, as tell us your names. Starting with you, the nearest the door.”
“I am Yang Sung Li, from China. I play the violin.”
“If we just call you by one name, that would be Sung, wouldn’t it, Mr. Li?”
“Yes sir.”
All eight students gave their names.
Suzy said, “I am Suzy Nicholson, from not far away her in the city. I play the violin.”
Kelly said, “I am Kelly Phillips, I was born in Vancouver, Canada, but have lived here most of my life. I play keyboards a bit. And I think I will be taking music.”
The boy on the other side of Kelly said, “I am Santos Coriega, from Mexico city, in Mexico. I play the guitar.”
Two of the eight students were not sure why they were in class, because they did not play an instrument, but they did love music.
“Doesn’t everybody?” A girl named Elena asked.
“Well, you may remember that we asked you whether you liked other kinds of art or music better, and got you to name some of your favourites. There were some people who preferred the visual arts, and named famous artists instead of musicians. But most people do like music best.”
Kelly looked at the sheets of paper which Mr. Everett had given her. One was a map of the school, which must have been printed especially for her, because it showed her the classrooms she would use. Another two pages gave her a course schedule. A final page contained general information, including information about how to use the computers, to get more information and to give feedback about her schedule.
Kelly didn’t find anything at all unusual about any of this. No trace of the social technology which had given the school its name. It seemed just like ordinary schools she had read about and seen in movies. Except for the small classes.
“Well”, began Mr. Everett. “Two things are magical about this school. One is the small class size. The other is the very careful way we divide students into classes. You’ll see how well this works out. There are other things that make the school a success, but those are the most important. Your math teacher will explain about the way we divide things up. As for class size, you’ll see, soon enough. Now, about music. I’d like to get started doing music right away. Some of you may turn out to be too good for this class, but let’s get started as we are. Does anyone have an instrument here?”
Suzy and the Chinese boy named Sung had their violins. A boy who played the clarinet and a girl who played the flute had their instruments with them. Mr. Everett himself produced a portable electronic keyboard. He looked at Kelly. “Miss Phillips. Kelly. You said you played keyboards?”
“Oh, no, no, only a little bit.”
Mr. Everett looked down at a paper on his desk. “Well, this brief description the software put out says you probably play at this level. Do you remember answering questions about that? How many years you’ve played, what kind of lessons you’ve had?”
“I guess so.”
“Then you are probably good enough for this class. Try. Play us something.”
Kelly blushed red. This was her worst nightmare. “Mr. Everett, sir, I am probably the worst player in here. How about you ask my friend Suzy? She is great.”
“Well, I don’t want to embarrass you. If a solo is too much, maybe you could accompany someone else. Did you say Suzy is your friend? Let me look.” He picked up a class list. “Ah good, two close friends in one class. I always like it when that happens. So you must have accompanied Suzy in the past, haven’t you?” He looked at Suzy for confirmation. She nodded.
Actually, Kelly had accompanied her friend in public during summer school, but this was different. This was real school, and here a teacher was singling her out. Ouch.
“Here then, take my keyboard, Kelly. It will almost fit on your desk, just hang over the sides a bit. Suzy, if you don’t mind? What have you played, recently, girls?”
“Easy pieces”, Kelly said. “For my sake. I could never keep up with her. Um, the Dvorak Sonatina?”
“Good. Ladies, when you are ready.”
Suzy played perfectly. Kelly managed to keep up.
“That’s wonderful. More than good enough Kelly. You’ll do fine.”
Mr. Everett got others to play, while Kelly exhaled and tried to relax. She envied the two non-musicians in the group.
“Alright, musicians. Let me ask you. Can you all read music? Or just play it?”
They all just looked at each other.
“Come on there are only the six of you, and we are all going to be great friends. I am sure of it. You seem to be great kids and the software doesn’t lie. So, anyone who can’t read music?”
Kelly said. “Well, I am not good at it, like Suzy is.”
Mr. Everett sighed, then punched a few keys on his computer, putting a bit of musical score on the screen. A single melody. “Kelly. Please.”
Embarrassed, Kelly played the melody. “Good, Kelly. Anyone who couldn’t have done that?” Nobody said anything. “Alright then. Mr. Coriega didn’t bring his guitar, but we have two violins, clarinet, flute and keyboard. Let us try a little piece. Not too hard. Kelly, if you can’t play the chords, just play the melody. Sung, if you could play the top line, just this once, perhaps you could play the second, Suzy. The woodwinds just duplicate the melody for now. We can run through it once, at least.”
“Perhaps I could play below the melody, sir? Maybe the tenor line?”, the clarinetist asked.
“Wonderful. Please do. Shall we give it a try. Take a minute to tune up, then I’ll pretend to conduct.”
Kelly groaned. She wished she’d had a year to practice the piece first, wished it was one she knew, but she would try.
It didn’t work out too badly. Sung and Suzy were brilliant, the flute sounded good with them, and the clarinet playing under them was good too. Kelly had decided not to do the melody at all, just accompanying the others by playing chords with both hands.
“Miss Phillips. That was a good idea, thank you. Very nice to see someone take the initiative. Let’s try it again.”
Actually, this was fun. Now over her embarrassment, Kelly was able to enjoy herself, though still shaky.
“Good. Santos, please bring your guitar to the next class. I think I am going to have to listen to some solos soon, but that’s enough for now.”
Awfully glad that class was over, Kelly went on the next, a math class, with a different teacher. There she got into the usual discussion about the permutations and combinations of students. She’d heard most of that before, from her mother and with the aid of a good video, in summer school.
Over the course of the day, Kelly sat in classes with lots of different kids. The ones in her math class were not the same as the ones in her music class, because all the kids in math had to be somewhat compatible with the math teacher. There were lots of math teachers, so this could be arranged, but it completely changed the composition of the class.
In math, Kelly found that she was to sit beside her new friend the girl the school software had found for her, Cariola Trevanza, from Italy. They were excited to meet each other and babbled with enthusiasm until class began.
During the day Kelly was once more in a class with Suzy, once with Cariola again, but usually with less compatible students. There was some small overlap between classes, but not much, so during the day Kelly met about 30 different students. She found it hard to remember them all, but she would remember them when those classes reoccurred, because each class had only eight students and each class had been very intense.
It was not obvious on that first day, but by the end of the week it was clear that Kelly liked all her classmates, she really liked them. The second week would have different classes, since the school used a two-week schedule. The same classes repeated in the same order every two weeks, though most classes gathered more than once a week.
The last class of each day and the whole of Friday afternoon was different. Not unstructured like summer school, it was not highly structured, either. Instead each of these classes was just a teacher and eight kids thrown into a room together. The might be from different grades. The teacher might be any of the school’s teachers, regardless of grade or subject.
The whole idea was to just to divide the schools 4,000 students and 500 teachers into compatible groups, one teacher and eight kids per class, as compatible as possible. No specific topic for conversation was required, though a few were suggested.
When the last class of the first day had come, Kelly knew what was supposed to happen, but the teacher explained.
“This is a special class. Just me and you, this group of very compatible students. We’re all girls here, no boys or men, so we can talk freely. All we are going to do is talk. There will be no homework. The software suggested some topics for today, but we can ignore them if we want. I think you are from different grades. That’s normal for this kind of class. You’ll probably enjoy our discussions, whether you are older or younger. I’ll get you to introduce yourselves while I hand out an information sheet.”
Kelly had Suzy beside her on one side and Coriola beside her on the other. On the other side of Suzy was her ninth grade friend. In most classes a boy sat on one side of her. Not in this one, though. Suzy was beside her, then came Suzy’s ninth grade friend.
“We have some very strong connections in this room. I am not very compatible with any of you. I am just the best teacher the machine could find for you. Some of you students are sitting beside one of of your chosen links into the school, some of you are not, just the best we could fit into the class, instead. But everyone of you is quite compatible with everyone else in the room. You’re already in the seats we’ve picked for you. That’s a best guess too, and may change.”
The day was over. Kelly stood outside the school while the parents came by and picked up those had to be driven home. All she could say was, “Hi, Mommy, it was great, I’ll tell you all about it later. I’ve got to close my eyes for a minute”.
By the time Kelly got home, she was sound asleep.