Definition
An Authority Student is a child enrolled in the state-regulated education network overseen by the Central Authority. From birth, each student is integrated into a learning system designed primarily for conformity, efficiency, and loyalty; children are treated as assets in development—future administrators, engineers, or data custodians tasked with upholding stability.
Education System
- Central Curriculum: Directed by the Cognitive Governance Directorate, which defines subject matter, emotional tone, and moral framing.
- Standardized Instructors: Holo-teachers and administrative AIs ensure uniform instruction across worlds.
- Emotional Modulation: Acceptable affect ranges are taught alongside facts; doubt and rebellion are pathologized.
Daily Life
- Pristine, climate-neutral classrooms with harmonic ambient tones to maintain focus.
- Synchronized movement between lessons; brief, monitored breaks.
- Friendships permitted but regulated; excessive attachment triggers recalibration.
- Non-Authority media and unsanctioned history are blocked by gateway filters.
Tools & Controls
- Neuro-bands: Adaptive learning bands deliver micro-rewards for compliant responses and suppress undesirable patterns.
- Behavioral Analytics: Eye-track, posture, and pulse metrics feed stability scores.
- Content Gates: Curriculum streams and device permissions are keyed to clearance tiers.
Metrics of Merit
- Compliance Efficiency: prioritizes consistency and rule adherence over originality.
- Retention Index: measures data recall and replication speed.
- Emotional Stability Score: tracks regulation within acceptable ranges.
Risks & Remediation
- Flagging: Students outside affect thresholds are flagged for counseling or recalibration.
- Sanctions: Access restrictions, extracurricular bans, or reassignment to corrective cohorts.
- Remediation: Neural tuning sessions to restore target compliance profiles.
On Caelion, the appearance of calm competence is a survival skill even for children.
Lyra’s Perspective
At age ten, Lyra begins as a bright, compliant Authority student who believes obedience equals safety. Yet beneath the engineered calm, she feels an irrepressible curiosity the system cannot fully suppress. Her encounter with Kor reframes learning itself—from obedience to awakening.