Saint D's

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. Gonna have some new stuff up in the next few days. 


Simon came home to find his father sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of black coffee and reading a letter.
"We've got an acceptance letter." He said, when he saw his son standing in the doorway. Simon nodded wearily, still in his gas station attendant's uniform.
"Where's it from, pop?"
"Looks like Aelius."
"Aelius Ohio?"
Simon's father gave him a strange look. "Surely I've told you."
"Told me what?" It was seven o'clock, customers had been uncharacteristically rude, and Simon was hungry.
"Good grief, I must have totally forgotten. I applied to St. Dietrichs University of Common Occupations in Orbus."
"Where is Orbus?"
"Have you ever wondered if there were other worlds?" Simon's father asked, with a mysterious look in his eye. Simon opened a loaf of bread and began building a sandwich.
"What area you talking about?"
"I should have told you this sooner, I could have sworn I did. Son, technically you're not from Earth."
"What do you mean, 'technically?'"
"Well, I mean that I'm not from Earth either, and neither was your mother. We're immigrants, I might say."
"There are other worlds?"
"A couple, that we know of. Orbusian worologists don't go poking about too much, it could break something, and that could be pretty hard to fix. Anyway, there's Earth, or this plane of existence, anyway, and then Orbus, that's where we're from, and then there's Limbo."
"Limbo?"
"Awful place. Went there once on a field trip. Demons, pits of fire, vast plains of grey ice, no decent restaurants. Not a place a civilized being would go."
"So do I have powers?" Simon asked, sitting at the table. His father took a sip of coffee.
"Of course not! What do you think this is, Star Wars? Anyway, there's a fairly prominent university in Orbus, and I applied for you, and because I'm an alum they have admitted you."
"I still don't understand." Simon said, "Why doesn't anyone on Earth know about Orbus?"
"Well, they have a hard time remembering. It's like you tell them, and they can't really hold it in their heads, so they just pop in any old place as a placeholder, see? All my co-workers think I'm from Colorado."
"I thought we were from Oregon." Simon said, taking a bite.
"Dear God, no."
"Oh."
"Have you ever heard of the Old World?"
"Like merry old England, that sort of thing?"
"Just imagine that this is like finding out that one of your ancestors was from Russia, and happened to be the Czar."
"That easy?"
"That's the best I can do, son." His father looked stern.
"Go on."
"Anyway, I came here because the economy in Orbus was bad, and it's a lot easier to get a job. I told them I had a degree in Piracy, and somehow that took that as sociology."
"You have a degree in Piracy?"
"Well, to be specific, I did my undergraduate work in Plundering and my master's degree was in Looting, but it's in the Piracy department."
What kind of University had a major in piracy?
"What other majors are there?"
"Well, dozens, really." Simon's father got a misty look in his eye. "I remember as a bright-eyed freshman, I went in wanting to get my degree in Ninjutsu. Never worked out, of course. I failed NIN 212, introduction to basic assassination, so my advisor recommended I take a weekend and go to the annual pirate games. Glad I did. And those sideline wenches." He drifted away for a moment  before shaking himself. "Anyway, you'll be glad you went."
"I was planning on going to Harvard," Simon said, "For anthropology."
"But you can go to Saint D's for Alchemy and enjoy yourself far more, son. Plus they have a fantastic study abroad program."
And that was how Simon went to Orbus.









Chapter one


Simon found himself in the airport with his father a few months later, bags packed, backpack ready. He hadn't been able to find any of the books needed for his general education classes, which were Introduction to Decision Making, Foreign Word Pronunciation, Overview of Orbusian literature, General Survey in Hutmaking, and Mathematics. (Every university requires mathematics.)
Though he had been to the airport many a time, Simon's father turned a corner that he had never seen and they were suddenly in a practically deserted but highly futuristic area. A couple gates bearing the names of airlines that Simon had never heard of stood waiting. Simon's father saw someone he knew, waved, and then strode over to the gate and up to the cashier.
"One ticket to Valentina, Orbus, please."
The lady struck a few keys and the machine spat out a chit.
"That'll be two thousand, seven hundred toridos."
Simon's father handed her a couple dozen notes of a currency he hadn't seen before, and she handed him the chit.
"Have a safe flight."
"Well son, here we are." Simon's father said, when he reached the gate. "Best of luck to you."
"Thanks dad." Simon suddenly felt choked up. His father must have sensed it and looked away for a moment. When he looked back his own eyes were damp.
"Don't worry, the flight's safe as houses. I'll see you at Christmas."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. Stay safe, and for crying out loud, stay away from the Drinking majors. They'll get you in trouble."