Department

It seems that Allen was not the last one to arrive as some others also arrived after him.They too seeing others just standing there went to a side.Some of them talked a little with the people standing there and then went back to the side.

Allen heard their conversation and came to know that they were also waiting to report to the department head to get tasks assigned to them.

They did not have to wait long as they saw a person wearing visibly different attire from them arriving at the place.His attire was eye-catching and had Excel sewn on it.

This man was the same person as the head examiner.He stopped after making some distance from the crowd.He started talking after seeing all eyes gathered on him.

"Hello,you already know my name as I had already introduced myself at the test site.You may address me as Sir Steven.From now on you all are fellow researchers,so no conflicts. 

The tasks assigned to all of you this time would be about the same project."

There was a little commotion amongst the crowd.If all of them worked on the same project,wouldn't that be a blatant waste of time?

It might help to complete the project soon and improve the teamwork of some,but that's it.

Merits could be gained by only a limited number of people,so conflicts would be inevitable. Wouldn't that be a contradiction to what he just said?

Steven continued without minding them"Some of you might have already guessed that project "Evo" has restarted.As a person who questioned me about that question has already been promoted to highest of the lowest division in which you all are right now.Though his answer to the main question in the test also played a part in it.

Project "Evo" is a broad subject and not just a single task,so you don't need to worry about your merits being stolen by anyone if you properly guard your research carefully.

Keeping the importance of the project in mind,I have been made the direct supervisor of this project and I report it straight to the president of the Excel institute.

So from this you can understand the importance the institute attaches to this project.It is also a golden opportunity for you.In the past, merits were hard to earn,and even people who did well in the test were given merits worth nothing.But now anyone whose main answer in the test was found to be inspiring enough has been given additional merits and risen through rank.

But if your question had already been verified,then even if it was correct it would not give you much merits.As it is give and take.If your research does not give us what we want why should we feed you for free?

You don't need to report to your department head in case that you have been successful in anything regarding Project "Evo" no matter how small it may be.

As tiny drops of water fill a bucket,we believe our efforts will come to fruition.

I hope you all will understand the situation and do your best.

If you have any questions you may ask me right now"

Steven had just finished speaking when a man from the crowd eagerly spoke"Sir why has the project "Evo" restarted?

He had just said that and all eyes gathered on him.

Feeling good about the attention he continued"If I remember right the project Evo has already failed twice.In my view it would be better if we allocate our resources to another research.And continue project Evo when technolo..."

The moment he continued talking about that topic,Allen had attached the label of hardcore bookworm to him.Either he really was too much of a bookworm or simply someone who could mot read the atmosphere at all.

This had always been a sore spot for the Excel institute.They had been successful in all of their attempted researches except this.And poking them at their sore spot was akin to poking a hornet's nest.

Allen would also not say the man was a simple bookworm.As everyone here was also a bookworm to some extent.You need much knowledge to do anything in this field after all.

And as Allen had guessed,before the man could even finish his words ,Steven interrupted him and was no longer very friendly"This is decided by the institute.You only need to do the tasks assigned to you.You have no authority to question the decisions of the institute.If you don't agree with that you are free to quit".

Steven had only interrupted him rudely.If he was not the one who had said they were free to ask anything he would already have done something worse.

After all,Steven had only said anything as customary.You can't really just ask everything.One of things you should not ask would perhaps be to ask them their Institute's deepest secrets.

The man was stunned and hid in the crowd.

For a moment there was only silence and the air seemed stifling.Then someone finally gathered his courage and asked"Sir Steven,Would we have to start the research from scratch or would we be provided the data the institute has gathered from past times?"

The man thoughtfully termed the past failures as past times.Good one regarding that.

Steven's mood finally improved a little and he said"You would be privy to information equal to your clearance level.The more clearance level you have the more information you will be provided.

And about the clearance level,it rises as your rank rises.In the same division clearance level increases by quantity and being promoted by a division would change the clearance level quality wise.

If information is divided into A,B,C,D ranks then more clearance level in the same division would give you more knowledge of D rank,but when you increase a division you would receive knowledge of C rank.

The knowledge is categorized by how much time,money they used or by their importance.

So you can guess from this that in some cases D rank knowledge may be better for you than C rank.

So the purpose of categorizing them into ranks is to prevent you from going astray and making you aware of the importance of knowledge.

And ranks also save time of experienced researchers"

The person who asked this question was satisfied and went back into the crowd after thanking Steven.

There was more to the ranks then Steven had just told them.One of them would be to prevent stealing.If only low level knowledge was leaked the institute could care less.

But if high level secret knowledge was leaked by any chance,and another research institute claimed it as their contribution then there would be small crack in prestige of institute.After all the prestige of institute has been built upon generations and idea of institute being at the top has been etched deep in people's mind and would not crumble so easily.But if there is a small crack ,who guarantees that there would not be more?.

After some more questions were asked,Steven left the site.

They were just gonna relax when another person arrived, his clothes also had Excel sewn on them.But there was something noticeably different in the uniform of Steven and the person in front of them..Which might be attributed to difference in ranks.This man only had two stars on his clothes while Steven had four stars on his clothes.And their size was also bigger.

Allen also remembered the person at the area where he had reported before also had stars on his clothes just like the person in front of him.But the difference is that Sam had a single star on his clothes while the person in front of him had two of them.

The stars seemed to show the difference in ranks.

Allen thought that he might be the department head who they were supposed to report to.

And what the man soon said confirmed his guess

He addressed them and said"This is the third department of Excel institute.I am this department's head.You all will be under me from now on.

Department's number represents its ranking in the institute.Rankings are determined by past contributions.So our current caliber is not necessarily worse than institute number 1 department.

You must have already been informed of resurrection of project "Evo".That will your main assignment from now on.Previously you could also take side-assignments in addition to assignment given you by Excel institute.But due to importance of the current project,side assignments will be relatively fewer.You can report the result of side-assignments to me.That's all for now,you can take your respective uniforms from here.You are dismissed.You may choose to go to your workplace or anywhere else.But need to return here when called."

The researchers were free to do anything they wanted.They could also choose to stay out of the institute for a full 29 days if not called but would still need to fulfill their quota.Quota was assigned to the department which would further divide it among its members.

And usually a new researcher could barely complete his quota in more than 20 days.Not to mention where would he get time for some folly.

They could also spend all their time here free of disturbance.They would be provided food,sleep and other living necessities and limited entertainment.

Allen got his uniform from the department.It had three stars etched on it,from which one would be for the test he had passed when passing by a walker in the garden,and one for his answer of the main question of the institute test.And one would be given to everyone.

It was a little different than the uniform he had seen on Steven and Sam.

The main difference was color and a slight change in design.Excel was also sewn on this uniform.

Allen was planning to leave the institute and return to his home for now when he heard a loud voice in the department"Attention all departments.All newly admitted researchers are to report at the meeting hall."

Allen stood rooted to the ground and thought"Good thing it is an announcement only. Scared me there".Allen shook his head to remove these thoughts.