The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2615

Chapter 2615: Education Plan

The Larkinson Assembly was the primary legislative body of the Larkinson Clan. There was no way they neglected the issues of educating the next generations of Larkinsons.

Instead of reading through some boring acts and proposals that were filled with incomprehensible legalese, Ves decided to call the speaker of the assembly.

The physical projection of Ovrin Larkinson appeared in the clan patriarch's main office.

"Nice office. It looks quite imposing."

"Thanks. It's supposed to have that effect."

They chatted a bit. Speaker Ovrin Larkinson didn't have it easy. His workload constantly increased as the clan continued to expand. He had to delegate more and more work to committees led by committee chairmen. While this meant that the latter gained a lot more power and influence, it was the only way to keep up with the expanding scope of the clan.

"The committee chairmen are all oldsters like myself. For now, we are all on the same page, so don't worry about any of them running wild." Ovrin reassured Ves. "I can't say this will remain the same over time. Once we are too old to exercise our duties, our successors may harbor some different ideas on how to run our affairs. As our clan continues to grow bigger, the interests get bigger as well. The Larkinson Assembly won't be as cordial and tranquil as before."

Ves briefly frowned. "Are you saying that the Assembly will be split up into factions?"

"That is already the case from day one, Ves. It just wasn't very obvious because we used to be too small to argue about anything important. Your influence was too great as well. Now…"

"The clan has grown a lot bigger."

Benjamin Larkinson's brother nodded. "Indeed. The direct control that you or any other Larkinson can exert over the clan has dropped as the clan kept growing. While you can still change the course of the clan, I doubt you are willing or able to sort out the growing number of dossiers."

"That's fine with me. There is no need for me to be in charge of everything. I just wanted to check up on the Assembly's plans with regards to schooling. We can't keep recruiting capable mech designers, engineers and other professions. We need to bring them up from within."

Ovrin immediately knew what Ves wanted to know.

"Let me send you some documents."

Ves quickly received some proposals. For now, the Larkinsons only managed to establish some primary schools. The clan was still in the process of setting up some secondary schools, the first of which would be founding in New Dorum.

"How are the teenagers in our clan getting by if we haven't set up a single high school?"

"The kids are not slacking off at home if that is what you're afraid of. For now, we have enrolled them into renowned virtual schools. While the boys and girls are getting quality second-class education, their curriculum is very neutral."

Virtual schooling was not any worse than physical schooling these days. Projection technology was so advanced that it was easy to give students the illusion of attending a physical school. Advanced testing, monitoring and progress trackers ensured that each student kept up their studies and achieved the expected results.

A lot of good virtual schools were especially geared to educating kids stuck on starships.

However, virtual schools weren't perfect.

"We need to set up the remaining educational institutions as soon as possible." Ves urged. "Socialization is important, so it is best to force the younger generation to gather at physical schools. We also need to exert greater control over the curriculum in order to shape their ideologies."

"That is what the proposals are for. Depending on the budget, we can set up a range of different institutions."

Ves took another look at the documents that Speaker Ovrin sent. The main proposal called for the formation of multiple primary and secondary schools on every capital ship. He had no problem with this. While the Larkinson Clan currently didn't have a lot of children, that would definitely change.

What was more noteworthy was the intention to set up multiple universities.

"Why do we need more universities?" Ves grew confused.

"It's not a priority in the beginning, but it will make sense in the future." Ovrin confidently replied. "In short, we want to set up universities on several different capital ships in order to establish superior work and learning environments. For example, the Larkinson University of Technology that is supposed to be based inside the Spirit of Bentheim should offer programmes related to technical professions."

Ves widened his eyes. "I see now! Our future engineers and mech designers can easily drop by the production halls in order to gain some practical experience. Once they graduate, they can immediately get going without requiring too much training. The Spirit of Bentheim offers so many different technical facilities that it is practically a dream to set up a technical university on this ship!"

"There is another benefit." Ovrin added. "The technical university can make use of the mech designers, engineers, chief technicians and other skilled personnel as part-time professors or lecturers. Since this is all taking place on the same ship, the barriers aren't significant."

This was a compelling idea. Ves could already imagine the Larkinson University of Technology once it got going. He could easily assign any assistant mech designer to teach some courses over there. Perhaps Ves might hold some classes himself in order to shape the next generation of mech designers in the clan. The students would also be able to gain plenty of practical experience by interning at the design labs or the production halls.

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