Mercenary at heart
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George: "The child is given the right to vote? I haven't heard of such a thing. Are there any cases of rejection?"
Staff member: "In a voluntary adoption, consent is required from the adoptee in which they affirm on their own behalf that they are being treated well and are willing to be part of this family."
George and Mariana began to study the application and took turns filling it out. Then they made room for Theodore. He sat down on Mariana's chair and filled out his consent.
Staff member: "Good, now we will have an interview. First with the parents and then with the boy. When interviewing the boy, everyone else will have to leave this office."
The interview with the parents lasted about 20 minutes. Various questions were asked, related to how and under what circumstances the boy came into the family, how he is kept, who and where they work, what the family eats, how the house is kept clean, who the neighbors are, and so on and so forth. Finally, it was Theodore's turn. The Silvers left the office and left the adoptee alone with the municipal worker. He held himself calmly and confidently.
Staff member: "So, Theodore. Your new family. How do you like them in general?"
Ted: "Good, loving and caring. I like living with them very much."
Staff member: "No one is pressuring you? Did you write your consent voluntarily?"
Ted: "Voluntarily."
Staff member: "If there's something bothering you or something you want to talk about that you couldn't voice in front of Silver, now is the time to share it with me."
Ted: "I don't have anything to tell. I have no secrets from my new family. Especially since I'll soon be a part of it too."
Staff member: "You stopped going to school three months ago. That was due to certain circumstances, of course… but still. Basic education, as you know, is compulsory for everyone, because if you don't complete it, you won't get a profession, you won't get a job anywhere and you can't do anything. Have you thought about going back to school again?"
Theodore: "I know, I want to and I have thought about it. As Mariana said, together we've already looked at a boxing school in this town. As soon as I'm officially adopted, I'll enroll there right away."
Staff member: "You can start going to that school now. Why simply waste precious time? Tell me, how is your relationship with your future big brother?"
Ted: "Good, we don't fight, we live as friends."
Staff member: "Now for the unpleasant part. Your real parents have passed away, sadly. But their possessions remain in the form of a modest apartment. Also, your daddy had a car, but the present whereabouts of the car are unknown. I am also aware that you have grandparents on both your mom's and dad's side. They have priority custody because they are blood relatives to you. Why don't you want to live with them?"
Ted: "My grandparents and I have been in a fight for years. They have shown me no attention and have never visited me since I was three years old. They didn't help me and my father in any way and left us to our own devices after my mom died. The Silver's took me in as their own child. I never got the kind of care I got from them, not even from my own parents. I think my grandfathers forgot all about me. Do you want me to go back to people who don't care about me at all?"
Staff member: "I'm just stating the facts. We'll figure it out. Now we will sign papers with you confirming the fact that you have accepted the inheritance, and from the moment you sign them, you will become the sole full owner of the apartment and the car."
The municipal clerk pulled two copies of the document out of a desk drawer and handed them to Theodore.
Staff member: "Read it carefully and put your initials and signature on the last pages."
Theodore quickly opened the last pages and signed without reading anything.
Staff member: "Are you sure you won't read it? Or do you have an instant-read scanner built into your head?"
Ted: "I trust you. You won't cheat… I'm much more concerned with finalizing the adoption as soon as possible."
Staff member: "Don't worry about that. If your grandparents don't want custody of you, and if your new family meets all the criteria, the adoption won't take long. That's it, you can go."
Theodore walked out of the office. In the hallway, the Silvers were waiting impatiently for him. Mariana immediately rushed to him asking him how everything went and what questions the municipal worker was asking.
George: "All right, let's go. You can tell me on the way. I'm sure it wasn't anything difficult."
The family left the building and their car and returned home. All in all, everyone was filled with positive emotions and happy that the process of being officially welcomed into the family was now underway. Mariana went to her work, George began to deal with business matters, constantly calling someone, and Michael and Ted went up to their room to rest.
Time continued to pass. After 1.5 weeks, an inspector showed up on the doorstep performing a welfare check on the family, which the Silvers passed without difficulty. After 2.5 weeks, everyone was summoned to the same office where the initial interview had taken place to officially enter into the database that Theodore was a member of the Silver family. The deed was done. The addition to the family had taken place.
Aboveground practice
754. Michael stood on the runway of one of the neighbouring towns. Next to him was a small two-seat dark blue helicopter, designed for one passenger and a pilot. But since it was a training model, the passenger seat had been converted for an instructor pilot. It was equipped with a second steering wheel and an instrument panel exactly like the main pilot's. Michael had come here to take a proficiency exam in flying several models of aircraft and one helicopter, which he was just in front of.
There were several CCTV cameras in the cockpit, monitored by a panel of three people standing nearby in business suits. Next to Michael was to be flown and backed up by his school instructor, who taught practice in flying skills.
The parents knew that the overground transport exam was one of the most difficult and dangerous. So they decided to come and support their son. Ted, who had finished his training early, arrived with them. Officially, the diploma of graduation from a specialised school should have stated that Michael was able to drive all types of above-ground, surface and land transport. However, even for 12 years of study to master all kinds of transport was simply physically impossible, especially given the fact that almost every year there were new and new models. That's why everyone realised that everything written in the diploma was rather formal. In the end, the graduate chose only a certain direction in the implementation of transport and then specialised in it all his life, constantly improving his skills. That's why the exams were passed only on two or three training prototypes, confirming the fact that the student had mastered the basic skills of their management.
George: ‘That's it, son. There's one last step left and you're going to put another bold tick on the list of vehicles. Good luck! You can handle anything!’
Mariana: ‘My boy! We're with you, we're with you! Everything will be alright!’
Ted: ‘Do it the way you know how to do it! Show them! We believe in you!’
Michael waved in the distance to his parents and brother standing in the distance, who shouted words of encouragement to him. They waved their arms diligently, as if he was competing in some important competition on which his future career depended. The instructor came up to him and, patting the boy on the shoulder, said: ‘All right, Michael, let's go. It's time.’
The examiner opened the door of the aircraft and took the seat of the main pilot, fastening his seatbelt and wearing headphones with a microphone. The first thing he did was to start inspecting the instrument panel and check that the helicopter was ready for takeoff. No doubt he was a little nervous knowing he was being watched by both his own and strangers.
Instructor: ‘Ready? Come on, start the engine.’
Michael grasped the steering wheel with one hand, and with the other he started the power supply by pulling up a few switches. The machine roared, the motor started, and the blades began to rotate and gain speed. The airflow artificially created by the rotating blades began to lift the dust and spread it in different directions. Michael waited for the moment when the rotational force reached the optimum mark on the instruments, and smoothly began to pull the steering wheel, lifting the helicopter upwards. The helicopter obeyed him and began to move in the direction set by the pilot. The machine rose slowly and smoothly, without wobbling and wiggling from side to side. Having reached the mark of 150 metres above ground level, the helicopter hovered in the air.
Instructor: ‘OK, good. Now make a 90 degree turn on your axis’.
The helicopter began to turn smoothly, then, having reached its 90-degree turn angle, hovered again without a single movement in the air. Then, exactly on the command of his instructor, Michael made several more turns in different directions, turning the helicopter 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 360 degrees around its axis. The examiner then lifted the aircraft even higher above the ground, to a height of 300 metres.
The next test consisted of flying at a distance of 3 kilometres. First it was necessary to fly to a notional point, then turn the helicopter in the opposite direction and return to the range. It was a standard training direction without any obstacles on the way. Specially from the category of ‘easy tasks for beginners’. Michael also successfully coped with it. Having made a small circle, he returned to the starting point and waited for the next instructions of his instructor.
The next task was more difficult. It was necessary to land the helicopter on the site of a fifteen-storey residential building. In fact, this task was no different from landing a helicopter on the runway, except that the space there was much smaller. But when you know how to handle a vehicle well, you won't have much trouble with it. Michael studied very carefully and tried to absorb everything like a sponge, never missing anything.
The weather began to turn bad. The wind was blowing hard on a scale of 6 out of 10, and the sky was covered with clouds. A helicopter flew close to an apartment building and hovered in the air. Residents began to look out of their windows, watching what was happening. It was not a novelty for them to watch the helicopter circle over their building, land on it and take off. An agreement had been reached with the management company to use their roof for training purposes on certain days and hours. For this she received a considerable amount of money. Not all the tenants were happy with this, as they feared that something could go wrong and end in tragedy for everyone. In addition they were annoyed by the occasional noise coming from the helicopters. The aircraft began to sway slightly due to the strong gusts of wind. Michael was a little tense about this.
Instructor: ‘It's okay. Keep a firm grip on the steering wheel. That's it. Now level the helicopter so that the bottom is exactly parallel to the circle. And slowly start to descend.’
Michael listened attentively to his instructor. He was confident that he was not alone in the cockpit and that his teacher could back him up at any moment. The helicopter hovered from side to side as it neared the roof and began its descent. The cabin was tense: every now and then the instruments beeped, signalling a loss of altitude, the machine shook and wobbled from side to side. Michael's seat vibrated as if he were in a racing game simulator with a lot of special effects. The examiner slid to the edge of his seat and hunched over, trying to concentrate as much as possible. Finally, the task was completed and the helicopter sat down, landing precisely in its circle. Michael leaned back in his seat and breathed a sigh of relief. All that remained was to take off from here, fly to the range, land the machine, and the exam would be passed.
Instructor: ‘Take a little breather and return to base. You're doing great.’
A couple of minutes later, Michael began to slowly lift the helicopter into the air. The wind continued to rock the machine in different directions. Drops of the beginning rain began to appear on the glass, which was getting heavier by the second. The examiner switched on the windscreen wipers. As the helicopter rose to a height of several dozen metres, a strong gust of wind blew, which broke the perfect balance of the vehicle and the helicopter tilted slightly to the right side.
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