The Innkeeper

The course for the strategic planning class was a lot more abstract than his other classes, at least in the beginning. Instead of teaching him concrete topics, the class focused rather on the way of thinking. How to evaluate situations, how to juggle objectives, how to prioritize and so much more.

He was given theoretical problems similar to the famous trolley problem, only in this case, instead of people’s lives, he usually had to compromise on his objectives. The professor told them that, after some theoretical practice, they would go through some drills to practice decision making under duress.

When the class ended, Adelaide, the professor, handed each student a folder with the details of their field test in it. Since Lex’s designation was a combat zone consultant, his field test put him in the same position.

A month from now, there would be an expedition led by some students to some uninhabited lands within the territory of Hum nation. The group would be a mix of students of various designations, and the group would similarly have a mix of objectives.

The group had to not only explore these new lands; they had to scout for potential valuable resources, mark down areas suitable for new settlements, and finally establish a forward camp for future explorations. These were just the publicly stated objectives, for there was always the possibility of hidden objectives as well.

Lex would not only serve as the communication channel between the combatant students or ‘soldiers’ and the leader of the expedition, Lex would have to advise the leader in matters of security and combat.

As for what the territory they were exploring held, what kind of dangers could he expect, and what he needed to watch out for were all things he would have to research on his own. Conducting research and being adequately prepared were also parts of being such a consultant, so the quality of his preparation depended solely on him.

Lex felt a headache developing. From having too much time on his hands, he went directly to feeling like he was overworked.

Next, it was time for his arrays class. For once, the class was as he expected, and the study of arrays was very similar to what he read in the book given to him by John. But similar did not mean the same.

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