Welcome to 'New Atlantis.'



The morning dawned bright over the thriving city in the heart of the Island, the city of New Atlantis. It had been named for what many wished to call the Island when it became clear that the most agreeable name for the concealed landmass in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle was, in fact, no name at all. The air was already warm despite the early hour and the streets were beginning to slowly come to life. It was like any other day to most of the Capitol's denizens. There were at least 8 of these, however, that knew differently. Today was quite a special day in the history of the Island, and for it's future too. The selected participants would assemble to begin training with a top government and military official to become the Island's emissaries to the outside world and be the first to contact it since the Island was abandoned by the UN's scientists more than 80 years before. The air inside the facility where they would meet seemed to tingle with anticipation and excitement. The large, white stone building acted as the main building in which most of the Island's business was conducted and the participants letters instructed them to arrive at precisely 8 am in a specific room within its walls. They would enter the large, ornate wooden doors in the front and follow a long hall to the left of the reception desk. At the end of that hall, a left would be taken and two doors down on the right a set of stairs would lead them to the basement. On the far end of that basement a plain, metal door would beckon them forward, behind it lay the room and the person they were looking for.

Keilan Liles was a pale, pale white, slight and rather short, almost Fae-ish in appearance. Her dark hair was actually a deep, rich purple-black and her eyes were a clouded, true emerald, both working together to prove against any theory that she might have been an albino. Her ears were pointed slightly and several piercings were found in either. In a v-like shape on her forehead appeared to be small, matte blue-violet jewels, a closer inspection, however, revealed them to be small calcium-deposit like growths. Lastly, and by far the most noticeable feature of her mutation, were a large set of feathered wings sprouting from between her shoulder blades in the same dark purple shade of her hair. Another shocking feature for the participants would likely be her apparent youth. Keilan seemed no more than 24 or 25 years old, but sure enough she was, indeed, the contact and team leader they sought.

Currently, the 5'1" tall woman was flitting up and down the length of the meeting table with an obvious eagerness written across her features. Soon! Just a little while longer! Soon we can start and things will be wonderful! She thought to herself as she grinned and paced, skimming a few inches off the floor every so often as her wings would flap with her over-abundance of energy. The first to enter, whether alone or in a pair, would be in for a surprise as the small bundle of hyper would be by them in a flash, giggling and wrapping him or her (perhaps even they) in a happy, surprisingly strong, but blessedly brief hug as Keilan squeaked out, "OH!! It's so fantastic! You're here already! You're the first!! Please, please sit the others will come soon! Then we can get started. Sit, sit, sit. There are drinks and snacks on the table. I'm so happy you decided to answer the acceptance!"

Almost literally vibrating with excited energy, Thaddeus rushed to the facility towards which his letter had instructed him to go, arriving there what seemed, to him, like an eternity later (but, in reality, was mere moments after he had left). Stopping briefly outside the building, Thad scarfed down one of the nutrient bars his mother had designed to accommodate the intake demanded by those with mutations similar to hers, and then augmented to account for the further increase in appetite and metabolism that Thad's mutation introduced, before running the rest of the way to the designated meeting room, getting there somewhat earlier than he had intended.

Upon such a warm welcome, with Thaddeus returning the hug as enthusiastically as he got it, and almost before it actually got to him, he looked around, saying "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I was the first one here besides the leader; I am a bit excited at the prospect of exploring somewhere completely new!" With a slight bow, he introduced himself to the woman in front of him, saying "Thaddeus Fitch, at your service! Though most folks just call me Thad," he said with a grin.
"I take it you're the lovely Keilan the letter mentioned we would be meeting?" he added, after a very brief pause.

Rhee let out a yawn, his shoulders slouched and hair messy. His feet scuffled along the path, kicking up dust and pebbles. He hadn't even had the energy yet to tie his hair up or change out of Lilu's clothes. Well, it wasn't like he really cared. He had given up fighting with Lilu over her wardrobe a long time ago, and resigned himself to her long skirts and skinny jeans as comfortably as he could. His own clothes were already inside his satchel, though his sister's clothes took up most of the space. He sighed. How cruel of her, taking over all of their packing, then tiring out his body the night before, then leaving him to drag this heavy sack all the way into the city.

Just you wait, Lilu... I'm going to get back at you for this... As soon as I wake up. he thought to himself. But there was no response from inside his head, so he could only assume she was sleeping. Oh well, she'd wake up sooner or later.

He had actually been very surprised when they received their letters. Usually when people wrote to them, it was addressed to both of them. That was practical, one of them would see it sooner or later, but it was very unusual that both of them had been invited. Well, it was like they could be split up, but if any important government opportunity had rolled their way, he would have assumed it be for Lilu. She was the smart one, after all. What on earth would the council want with a pyrokinetic who couldn't even read? Much less want him on a super secret mission to the outside world.

Almost sleepwalking into the government building and through the halls, Rhee finally was jolted awake when he slipped in the high heels and fell, sprawling out on the floor. Groaning in pain, it seemed that the shock of the impact had awoken his sister as well.
Ow! Watch were you're going, Rhee! Those shoes were expensive! came a rather harsh voice. Rhee grunted in response, shakily standing up.
"Sorry, sis. But are you sure these boots are exactly... Practical?" he asked aloud.
Practical, smactical! A girl has to look her best, especially when something important like this comes up. Where the heck are we, anyways?

Steadying himself, Rhee noted the long, fleeting staircase before them. Taking the map he had drawn from his sister's directions out from his skirt pocket, it looked like they were supposed to go down them.
"Looks like we're almost there. Good thing you drew this map, the signs here are so stupid looking." he told her. She couldn't see or hear the outside world from inside his head. Neither could he when she was in control. They were codependent on each other when they were 'faded out'.
Well I wouldn't have had to draw the map if a certain somebody had stopped being such a twerp in elementary school! Now, hurry up! I don't want to look bad because you can't get anywhere on time! she snapped back at him, forcing his mind back to the task at hand.

Being careful not to fall down the stairs, he soon arrived in front of the plain, metal door, seemingly out of place inside the gleaming and elaborate capitol building. Taking a deep breath, he pushed forwards, opening the door.

He was met by the sight of two rather excited persons hugging and speaking far too quickly for his sleepy ears to catch. Staring in silence for a moment, he then bowed his head in apology.
"Sorry, this must be the wrong room." he said, embarrassed, closing the door and standing outside.
Hey, Rhee, what's going on? Tell me what happened!
"Nothing Lilu, nothing children should be concerned with.

"Keilan Liles: chief, cook, and bottle washer for some of the Force's particularly whinier Commanders and loyal gopher to the Island Council. That's me. It's a pleasure to meet you Thad." Kei smiled hopping back, just as another entered the room.

"Sorry, this must be the wrong room." The door quickly closed again. Keilan blinked, before shaking her head and laughing again. She opened the door and pulled the particularly groggy person inside. She wasn't sure if it was Rhee or Lilu in control and she wasn't fond of assuming- in spite of the particularly feminine clothing on the mutated twins. Well, not if their file had been correct anyway. The tones to the voice made her think it was perhaps Rhee, but, all the same, she decided to ask.

"No, no, no. You're in exactly the right place." She smiled, her approach rather more calm this time. "Am I addressing Lilu or Rhee this morning? Please, sit down and enjoy some snacks... maybe some coffee?"

Mikhail sat on a large rock that had been embedded in his parents backgarden since he was a young boy. He often wondered about the rock, he had once heard that rocks could move very slowly at times and he wondered whether or not this was one of them. He was reading over the letter for about the fifth time. He couldn't understand why anyone would want him to come on the mission. He wasn't the most social of people so he didn't know how they would have known he could be suited. He didn't care much really, he just wanted to get on the way to the outside world as fast as possible. He got up from the rock with the machete attached to his belt making a small noise as its sheath hit against the rock. He began to make his way towards the place he was supposed to go to. He had never really wandered in that direction before and didn't really know what was up there. Nevertheless he was told to go there and so he would. Soon enough he reached the large wooden doors and pushed them open to reach the receptionist. He explained that he was a part of the group leaving the island and was promptly pointed in the direction of the room. He walked in after seeing someone be grabbed in. This made him hesitate for a minute but he entered soon after to see 3 people. 2 enthusiastic and 1 more hesitant.

Rhee blinked in surprise as the door reopened, and the pale, dark haired woman pulled him inside the room. Seeing her back, he saw the dark, feathery wings sprouting from her back, something he hadn't noticed before. Huh, how unusual. Then again, he probably shouldn't be the one talking here.

"No, no, no. You're in exactly the right place. Am I addressing Lilu or Rhee this morning? Please, sit down and enjoy some snacks... maybe some coffee?"
the woman welcomed him with a pleasant voice. Rhee was startled, quickly taking his hand back, fidgeting with the hem of his skirt.

"Oh. Um, I-I'm Rhee. Lilu was up late last night, so she's resting now. Um, coffee sounds great, right now." he introduced himself shyly, quickly moving out of the way and sitting down. He nodded to the other person in the room, reaching across the table and moving the coffee pot closer. After pouring his drink, he pulled the hairband off of his wrist, using it to tie his hair up into a much neater ponytail. He was a little annoyed with how long their hair was getting, nearly to his waist now, but Lilu threw a fit every time he brought up cutting it. She liked having long hair, and while he found it a bother, she filled their bathroom with all sorts of shampoo and hair products.

The door opened again, letting another person inside, another man. Happy that the focus of attention would now longer be on him, he turned to his coffee, gradually waking up with every sip. Fully alert now, he was content to simply sit and wait, but his sister, it seemed, was more anxious to move on.
What are you doing, dummy? Go up and say hi to people! If you're not going to introduce yourself, at least introduce me! Lilu pushed him indignantly.
"But Sis! I don't wanna, you always make me say weird things!" he protested. Still Lilu was starting to throw a fit, and the headaches she brought upon him were devastating.

Sighing, he gave in.
"Okay, okay... Who do you want me to talk to?" he asked.
Well, who is there? And try not to look crazy, you probably look like you're talking to yourself.
Looking over the other three, he nodded.
"Okay, well, there's a dark haired bird girl, she offered me coffee. Then there are two men, one of whom seems a little on the hyper side and the other hasn't said a word since he walked in." he described to her.
Okay, try talking to the guys! Which one is cuter?
"... I guess the quiet one? I don't know."
Well, go talk to him then! And try not to make of fool of us!

Groaning inwardly, Rhee stood up from his seat, walking near the new visitor. He seemed rather intimidating to him, and so he stood a good four feet away out of nervousness.
"Uh, hi. I'm Rhee. My sister wanted me to say hello. She's inside my head right now. We kinda do that. Sorta like siamese twins, I guess? ... I'm really not very good at this talking thing. So, uh, what do you do?" he asked, not really certain what else to talk about. He really still wasn't sure why he was here.

Mikhail looked at the man before him. He thought about the sentence that he had just heard. 'My sister wanted me to say hello. She's inside my head right now.'. Frankly this was a bit...strange, he'd heard of all sorts of mutations but this one was new to him.
"I'm Mikhail, for a job I'm a mechanic if that's what you meant, if you meant what can I do in terms of like..." He thought for a second on how to word it. He eventually came to the conclusion that 'powers' sounded better than mutation.
"...Powers then I can lift things a lot more than most people." He looked at the other two people behind Rhee. One was some sort of bird, seagull girl and the other seemed generally normal except for the fact he had spines sticking out of his body.
"So, what exactly did you mean when you said that your sister is in your head?" He asked, he was around 67% certain that Rhee had telepathy or something, but he'd rather make sure than find out later that the man in front of him had some weird psycho head problem.

"He means what he said!" Keilan popped in, smiling. "Rhee and Lilu are twins that share a single body. It's one of the most fascinating mutations I've seen yet!"

A split second later, she sheepishly grinned at Rhee, "Sorry. Didn't mean to steal your thunder. It's just that your file was so fascinating! Welcome Mikhail, by the way. Thanks for coming. Now let's see.." The slight woman paced away for a moment, lips moving wordlessly. It seemed she was pondering over something. After a moment she exclaimed,"Yep!"

Fluttering (perhaps a bit too light of a word for what the rather large, dark wings did to carry her there, particularly with the brief wind created) to the front of the room, she turned to face the group, "Now all we need is Latia, James and Harper and I can get this ball rolling. Until then, please get to know each other!"

This time, opting not to create a room-sized mini gale, Keilan walked to the far corner of the room and picked up a small tablet. A moment later it seemed she was immersed in some kind of preparation or work, leaving the group to socialize while waiting on the others. She had been thrilled, though not particularly surprised, when she had been asked to head this particular mission. She had even more eagerly offered to take over briefing and training the chosen herself. It was a job that was often left to someone of lower rank, but she took pleasure in that sort of thing- working with new recruits, so to speak. The tablet contained most of the information for the expeditionary unit's mission. It was those details, the ones that had been denoted as declassified or important enough, as the case may have been, to be shared with the group. With her back to them, she allowed her face to grow more serious as she reviewed, green eyes darkening. She had faith this group would be able to accomplish the necessary tasks and any others that might arise. God, she hoped she was right.

With Keilan getting the newest arrivals oriented, Thad dashed over to the breakfast table, piling up a plate for himself, trying not to listen too closely to the tired man's half of what seemed like a personal conversation. When the two other recruits started a conversation, and Keilan chimed in, he decided to join the conversation as well, bringing his plate of food with him.
"Morning, folks!" he said skewering some food on a spike that just grew out of his fingertip. "Name's Thaddeus Fitch, but most folks just call me Thad," he continued, before eating the skewered food. "How about you two?"

Latia mentally slapped herself more than once as her heel-clad feet moved quickly down the sidewalk, everything outside of her train of thought being a complete blur. In her hand, a can of carbonated orange-drink swished around, cooling her hand and putting her somewhat at ease. Carbonation was pretty much a full-time addiction for her, though not one she was particularly proud of. However, staying up at all hours of the night and waking up before sunrise for various musical events - that, astonishingly enough, all seemed to be 'the most important performance of her career' - had required far more energy than Latia could ever achieve by herself. So, her answer had been drinking various energy drinks at all hours. She hated the taste of coffee, no matter how tantalizing the smell, and anything else had never really done the trick.

A large gust of wind ripped Latia out of her anxious and paranoid thoughts, and brought her attention back to the large, imperial building that was rising toward her. Though many of the enormous performance halls she had been to matched - and even topped - the grandiose pillars before her, Latia had never imagined herself in such a place. The letter had utterly astounded her, almost to the point of denying it's existence. However, the few days leading up to her acceptance were threaded with various reminders of her childhood stories of a horrible world.

She wouldn't let those memories override her sense of the world around her.

And so, as Latia found herself striding into the official, cool air of the huge facility, she found her nerves settling. All would be well, as far as she was concerned.

Briefly, the auburn haired woman stopped in an off-hand corner to bring up her mini-map of the building. Lifting the arm that wasn't holding her drink - which was starting to feel frightening light in her hand - Latia felt the natural yet tingly sensation that came with shifting the molecules of her forearm into paper and ink. She had drawn the miniscule map earlier that morning, and had managed to memorize it, much like her music, and bring it up with the paper that was her forearm's skin. A gentle crinkling noise could be heard from her absently dancing fingers.

A couple seconds of staring and contemplating pushed Latia towards the designated meeting room, which was, oddly enough, in the basement area of the enormous facility. The musician had figured that it would be in a more official place, being one of the most important developments of The Island's existence. Sighing, Latia brought her drink to her lips once more and pushed against the little door that led to the room.

Inside was some of the most normal looking people she had ever seen - aside from the rather androgynous teen in girl's clothing and the woman with wings, who seemed to practically vibrating with energy.

"This is where the excursion team is meeting, yes?" Latia said steadily, an eyebrow slightly raised.

James looked at his watch and silently cursed his siblings under his breath.

Sharing a room with two other boys wasn't easy, especially when he was supposed to wake up early. James naturally was an early riser, but that extra hour in the morning was vital to getting prepared for his first meeting with everyone. Light shirt or dark shirt? He had debated with himself. The unnaturally light tone of his skin would stick out no matter what, but at least he wouldn't look too pretentious wearing all white. Nodding to himself, he had chosen a darker shade of clothing to throw on, before grabbing a bagel off his kitchen counter and running out the door.

The building of the facility was intimidating. James ignored the nervous knaw at the pit of his stomach as he strode through the halls, only stopping at the reception desk to ask for directions. A short thank you and a few strides later and he was entering the meeting room. He clenched his jaw when he saw everyone already beginning to socialize, and stood up a little straighter. Everything seemed pretty relaxed, and for that James was grateful. In the end, he just decided to sit down next to some beefy looking guy, Mikhail, and twiddled his thumbs a bit.

Rhee looked over at the bird-woman in surprise. How did she- Oh, right. She must have read about it in their file. He nodded his head, signaling that she was correct, though now he didn't know what to talk about. He was embarrassed when she said it was a fascinating mutation. Now he felt like some sort of specimen at a zoo, like everyone was looking at him when she said that.

He ignored Thaddeus's greeting, instead returning to his seat by the table. He now felt rather anxious about this whole meeting, glancing over at Keilan.
"Um... I-If you don't mind... I don't really like people talking about us like we're something special. I don't really like the attention..." he murmured under his breath, not even sure if she had heard him.

Deciding it would be best if he just pretended to be sleepy again, he rested his head on the table, staring lazily at the empty chair across from him... Which was soon occupied by yet another newcomer. Averting his eyes, he gave up on trying to isolate himself and pulled the bowl of salty snacks towards him, ignoring the sharp pains in his head as his sister threw another fit, complaining he would make them fat.

Keilan's head popped up and she spun around, tablet still in hand. Her face was somewhat surprised and held a trace of sympathy as an almost motherly tone left her lips, "Oh, my dear boy! But we all are something special here! Each of us has different and intriguing genetic mutations and personalities! It's why we're all here. It's why the whole Island even exists! The outside world doesn't often see this sort of thing, or really at all! Every person in our land is the direct result, one way or another, of an experiment in genetic mutation. Also, unfortunately, attention is inevitable from this point on. You'll have to face it and get used to it!"

Hmm... Just one more. She thought to herself, turning back to her work as she waited.

Glancing at the clock as she walked out of her house, Harper knew that she had plenty of time before her eight o'clock meeting. With the excitement of what the day would bring to her, she was too antsy to wait at home and watch the time tick by too slowly for her taste and decided to take the long route to her destination by walking instead of flying. Wearing a simple light grey v-neck shirt with an orange tank top underneath, Harper kept her clothing style simple besides her black rimmed sunglasses that rested on top of her head and a sterling silver bangle on her left wrist which doubled as tool if she needed make something quickly with her powers.

"...Bzzt... My calculations are telling me that if you stay on route, you will arrive about five minutes early. If you were to get coffee at the coffee shop along the way you will still be on time, if not a bit early." A mechanical voice said as a small, baseball sized device that was previously trailing quietly behind her landed on her shoulder.

"Yes, a coffee would be good. Could you send the order in for me Cal?"

"Your normal drink?"

"I would have it no other way Cal."

---

Entering the building with her coffee in hand and Cal in flying in tow, it didn't take long before she found the room she was suppose to meet in. Opening the door, she was a bit surprised to see that it appeared that most, if not all, of the others were already there. From the ambiance of the room, it was obvious that the meeting hasn't started yet but it wouldn't be long before everything started. Seeing the newcomer that came in right before she did take a seat, Harper followed suit and sat near him, leaving a seat open between the two. "Go to sleep Cal." Harper instructed her small, handmade robot. Which Cal obeyed by landing in Harper's hand before all the exterior parts of the robot collapsed and folded itself into a small rectangular shape that barely slid into her pant pocket. With Cal put away, Harper turned towards the person beside her who was twiddling his thumbs. He appeared to be a bit nervous and deciding to break the ice a little bit, Harper introduced herself. "Hey, it looks like we'll be working together for a while now. My name is Harper."

Latia, after witnessing several exchanges, decided on her own that she was in the right place. With a new confidence, she strode silently with scanning, chocolate eyes across the small open area and over to the small snack table, discarding her old drink into a trash can on her way. Her other hand reached out fluently to grab another can from the table, and Latia almost cringed at the sound of wrinkling paper. The cold condensation from the drink was seeping into her skin.

"Ah, crap." The musician muttered under her breath, extracting her paper hand and using her real one to again, pick up the can. She would have to wait for the paper hand to dry before switching back to normal skin, lest she get water molecules trapped underneath the upper layer upon transformation.

The clacking of heels filled the silence awkwardly as Latia made her way over to the small table, where everyone seemed to be gathering. Her real fingers played invisible keys as the minutes ticked on.

The door opened once more to reveal another young woman, who soon adressed herself as Harper to the boy with white skin.

James watched silently as his soon to be colleagues introduced themes elves to one another and began to get acquainted. He didn't mind not participating in any conversation so much as he was ignored enough at his own home, but he felt he should at least know a bit about the people he would be working with. As he looked around he began to truly admire the diversity of it all. There were all kinds of people, big and small, both genders, and a smile began to form on his face. Hell, the coordinator tapping away on the tablet even had wings. It felt nice not to be the odd one in the crowd.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the woman, accompanied by her..pet robot was it? Approach him. "Looks like it, huh. James is the name they gave me." He said, offering a closed mouth smile. He leaned back in his seat, looking at the place Harper's robot used to be. "Woah that's a neat looking thing," he said gesturing to her pocket, "How'd you get it?" He wondered, a smile full of fascination on his face.

The opening of the door and the addition of one more voice reached Keilan's delicately pointed ears. She smiled a little and returned the tablet to it's stand on the table in the back corner. She practically skipped to the front of the room, this time keeping her wings folded tight to avoid hitting anyone. Her dark, but clear green eyes swept the room. Six bodies, seven people. That was all of them. A small thrill of excitement and joy ran through her. She had been concerned that a couple of them might not show up for various reasons.

"Alright. That looks like everyone... Thaddeus, Rhee and Lilu, Mikhail, Latia, James, and Harper." Keilan gestured for any not seated to do so, eyes falling on each person as she called their names. "I am positively thrilled to see that all of you answered your letters of acceptance, or rather request, to join the expeditionary unit. We will be the first to have stepped foot past the safety of the Island and it's cloaked waters in just over eight decades. I think I've given my name to one or two of you, but I believe it's time for a proper introduction. My name is Commander General Keilan Liles. I run the Island's Intelligence Operations and, essentially, all of our Homeland Security. I hand picked each of you for my force from the files of the Island's best and brightest between 17 and 35, and I have chosen to personally brief you and take you through the training measures. If we're going to spend all that time as a team out there, we may as well start here, no?"

"Sounds good to me," Thad replied, settling in to his seat, one hand covering his mouthful of food while he spoke. Looking around at the others, he added: "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm about ready to find out what this whole training process is so we can get started!"
Looking back to Keilan, he asked "Do you want us to give formal introductions of ourselves, as well? Now seems as good a time as any, before any sort of action picks up," ending with a bit of an excited grin.

Returning a smile to James, Harper pulled out the deactivated robot and handed it to James to he could see it. "I did all the wiring and metal work with my powers, which I have to tell you was the easy part. Configuring Cal to the way he is now took a bit of work but the learning experience was good. There's few bugs and glitches every once in a while and I'm more than ready to upgrade him but he's good for minor work such as calling in an order for coffee." Harper said as she lifted her coffee cup that was getting close to empty. "Hopefully I can add some solar panels before we leave though just in case I am unable to get him charged up while we are out there."

Before Harper could continue to talk, a woman about her age started to talk and introduced herself as the one that would be in charge. A small smile slipped on Harper's face as she listened to the woman. She wasn't exactly sure what challenges would arise as the team moved forward, but she was excited to face those challenges. Nodding in agreement to Thad's statement about training, she wondered what the woman had planned.

Rhee listened as Keilan spoke, looking to the others sitting around the table. So, this was their group. And they were going to be emissaries to the outside world? Something still confused him, and he stood up, looking to Keilan.
"Um, this is just a question, but... Our people have inhabited this island for almost a hundred years without outside interference. How do we know that there still are people out there? Why haven't they come to see us themselves? Do they even remember us? How can we be so sure that now is the right time to make contact? And why us? I'm not asking this because I think anyone is unqualified, but I do want to know. Being the best and brightest doesn't convince me, because you should know from my file at least, I failed school and cannot read to save my life, ashamed as I am to say it."

"And another thing... What if there is too wide a gap to be bridged? Between us and whatever people there are out there. A hundred years is a long time, and a lot of things can happen. War, genocide, disease... What if by making contact, we unwittingly let soft spots show? A new disease would devistate our population, or worse, eliminate theirs. What if we get caught up in the middle of a war zone and wind up scarring diplomatic relations? I'm not scared, but I am worried... So, I ask again. Why us and why now?" he questioned, as politely as he could. He was nervous for speaking up, but he felt it was best to get that answered first before they dove head first into these bouts of training everyone seemed so eager for.