Free Web NovelChapter 18: 18: Godolkin University
The best way to control the masses is through their own perceptions.
~ Propaganda philosophy
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"Ashley, how many years have you been grinding at Vought?"
"...Seven years."
"Seven years. From bottom-rung PR grunt to Deputy Director of Public Relations, pulling at least sixteen-hour days... tsk tsk."
"Can you even count how many times you’ve cleaned up The Seven’s shit?"
Ashley stayed quiet. She clearly saw where Hillel was going with this.
"It’s a damn shame. You work like a mule, breaking your back every day, and Madelyn still sits on top of you like a queen."
"She just lifts a finger, signs a paper, and you grunts have to run around like headless chickens. Something goes wrong? You take the fall and carry all the blame."
"Project succeeds? She gets the credit. Tell me, is that fair?"
Hillel pushed the glass of water closer to her.
Ashley finally reached out and took it.
She knew exactly what Hillel was doing—sowing discord—but every word hit home.
"Sir, just say it! What is it that you are getting at? I’m not Homelander!"
Hillel got it.
"I know you don’t have Homelander’s invincibility, and you can’t take Madelyn’s bullshit forever."
Hillel stood up, walked over to the window, and stared out at the skyline. "But what if... what if you had a backer just as strong as Homelander?"
Ashley’s hand shook. Water sloshed over the rim of the glass.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Heh. You’ve been in this corporate game long enough. You know exactly what I mean." Hillel wasn’t in a hurry to force an answer out of her.
"Go back and think it over."
"Madelyn’s position isn’t as solid as you think. Homelander’s trust in her is cracking, and Edgar’s starting to question whether she can still keep things under control after all those project fuckups."
"At a time like this, if someone stepped up who could do the job better, someone who actually knew how to juggle all the different parties..."
He let the sentence hang.
No need to spell it out for a sharp person like her.
Hillel tossed a file across the table. "One more thing. This is my recommendation report. New Seven members can be picked from Godolkin University. Those kids have clean records. They just need a little grooming, right?"
Ashley grabbed the file. She knew it was time to go.
At the door she paused, gathered her nerve, and asked, "Mr. Guardian, were you sent by some rival faction inside Vought?"
"Of course not!" Hillel smiled. "I’m just a supe who does this shit as a hobby."
The door clicked shut.
Hillel dropped back into his chair, watching the numbers update on his panel.
[Key Character: Ashley Barrett
[Emotional Change: Wavering, Ambition]
[Ability Points Gained: +634]
Current Ability Points: 78,208 / 100,000
A seed packed with ambition had been planted. Now it was time to wait for it to take root and grow.
Ashley the corporate slave—would she manage to climb the ladder like she did in the original story?
...
Godolkin University.
America’s only higher education spot for supes, and Vought International’s biggest talent farm.
Put bluntly, it was Vought’s fucking breeding ground.
Supes who graduated either signed with Vought to become official heroes or got shipped out to cities as second- or third-string law enforcement.
The ones without connections got scattered across the globe to prop up American dominance.
Very few ever made it into The Seven.
Don’t let A-Train and The Deep fool you with their current trash behavior. Back in the day, they were top-ranked stars at Godolkin University.
Hillel drove the black Audi RS that Vought had given him all the way from Manhattan to the campus. He could have flown easily, but he didn’t want to show up as The Guardian today.
He wore a black casual suit, no combat gear, hair brushed back loosely.
He looked just like a young Vought executive.
The car stopped in front of the main campus building. As soon as Hillel stepped out, a middle-aged man hurried over to greet him.
"Mr. Guardian! Welcome, welcome! I’m Richard Brinker Hoff, Dean of Godolkin University."
[Gen V’s Cipher was his successor.]
The guy smiled like a cheap valet, bowing and scraping almost as hard as The Deep.
"Ms. Madelyn already let us know you’d be coming to evaluate the new batch of top students for potential Seven lineup changes."
"Mm."
"I’ve arranged for the twelve best students to wait in the lecture hall, and their files are all—"
"No need." Hillel cut him off. "I’ll look around myself."
Brinker’s smile froze on his face.
"O-of course! I’ll get someone to show you—"
"No need for that either."
Hillel was already walking away.
Brinker stood there with his mouth hanging open.
He’d dealt with plenty of Vought people, but this was the first time one refused to play by the script.
If you just wander around on your own, how the hell am I supposed to push my own favorites?
...
Godolkin University’s campus was massive, built in that classic elite university style—red brick buildings covered in ivy and huge green lawns.
Every facility you could think of was there.
But Hillel’s super hearing told him the place wasn’t nearly as clean as it looked.
From the training grounds came nonstop screams. Someone was running live combat drills, and they sounded brutal.
Over in the dorms, people were using their powers for shit that definitely couldn’t be put in any official report.
In the teaching buildings, a professor was giving a lecture on "how to find your best camera smile angle."
The vibe here was fucking intense.
Hillel shook his head and kept walking.
On his panel, two names were flashing.
[Cate Dunlap — Location: Training Ground Zone B]
[Jordan Li — Location: Teaching Building 3rd Floor, Lounge Area]
In Gen V, these two had enrolled earlier, while Marie Moreau was still a freshman a few years behind.
Hillel decided to hit up the closer one first.
...
Teaching Building, 3rd Floor, Lounge Area.
Two guys sat in the corner hammering away at a video game while another person lounged alone on a sofa by the window, legs crossed, sipping an iced Americano and scrolling on their phone.
Jordan Li.
This was the supe who could switch between male and female forms at will.
Right now Jordan was in female form.
Gotta admit, Jordan’s female face was pretty damn attractive.
Short black hair tucked behind the ears, sharp delicate features, eyes with a slight natural upward tilt that gave off some built-in edge.
But not in that basic ABC way.
Hillel walked over and dropped onto the sofa across from her.
Jordan glanced up, then went right back to her phone.
"This area’s not open to visitors."
"I don’t really count as a visitor."
Jordan looked up again. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"Sorry, my bad. Who are you?"
"Someone from Vought. I’m here mainly to check out the legendary Godolkin University."
"I’ve seen plenty of Vought people." Jordan put her phone down and tilted her head, studying him. "You don’t look like those greasy middle-aged suits."
"Miss, that’s because I’m neither middle-aged nor greasy, alright!"
The corner of Jordan’s mouth twitched. She seemed to find this guy pretty entertaining.
"Oh? What’s your name?"
"Hillel. Well, people outside call me The Guardian."
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