The aftereffects of WWIII are still being felt even in this day and age with a decrease in the amount of ozone and protection Earth"s atmosphere can give to its residents. Along with pollution from the earlier years of human history, the nuclear and other forms of radiation have become more concentrated as the years pa.s.s with many humans adapting to said radiation, some even crediting it to an increase in super power rank even though this has never been proven to be true. If humans have become so adept at surviving all of this radiation over the years since the war, how could animals be any different? Mark has even heard stories of some large plants developing mutations such as fruit and herbs with mystical powers but these are only rumors because special "exotic" products such as these would be reserved for only the cream of the crop in terms of rank as well as those who can truly afford such luxuries in the higher ranked families. Mark"s family just like the other F and E rank families around them have enough trouble just surviving from paycheck to paycheck much less spending many years" worth of pay on some random fruit at an auction.This is doubly true for Mark, as he and his parents are less able to make ends meet because of Mark having to focus on his studies and not take a part time or full time job like he did in high school. This fact makes Mark all the more critical about his marketing scheme and how he can secure both himself and his family"s future. The special thing about the hospital in Geneva compared to the other offers Mark has received is how the hospital is an actual building complex which is very rare in these times. Most hospitals to all but C rank or higher go through a similar process when a person becomes sick or injured somehow. First, they go to closest or most affordable "hospital" they can find in the VR world and then after completing the entire process there receive a result based on the doctor"s knowledge if a AI driven machine cannot figure it out first. The person or their family would then pay for the visit and purchase the prescribed medicine or treatment method in the real world and have it shipped to them directly which is extremely common as most families do not leave their home except for work and do everything else through their personal VR system and capsule.
Mark has done this before as well when he became sick after working too hard and stress as well as the many hazards living in the poor section of the mega city has given both his parents. This would probably become any other F or E rank student"s reality after they decided to become a doctor after graduating college. Mark like them would then spend at least 12 hours a day with minimal breaks in his VR capsule just for work and be forced to give pricy cure and fixes for problems that could easily be fixed or solved entirely if the client or patient was not a F or E cla.s.s rank and had no other option than to seek out a VR hospital. The most recent letter from Geneva hospital is different in this respect as he would be working at a real hospital with real patients and not virtual code. The patients at such a place would also on average be more well connected and have more opportunities than if Mark stayed at where he currently is and worked F and E level jobs for the rest of his life like his parents will probably have to.
It also doesn"t hurt that Mark is coming from a historically German college (Leipzig) to a country where some people still speak the German language. And of course, the pay and benefits of real hands on work that can gradually increase his rank to its potential do not hurt as well. With only a week to go before he graduates Mark is still hopefully he can get a prestigious post at the UN Medical Center or even the UNHA Medical Branch but only time will tell. Mark continues to diligently study for his cla.s.ses and smile and lift up his parent"s and family after their work during their shared dinner times as they days quickly fly by.
Time, as Mark has learned many times before, is cruel to many people"s hopes and dreams. Mark does not receive a better offer as he gets out of his VR capsule after attending the virtual Graduation ceremony with the excitement almost palpable as the other higher rank student are readying themselves to go off into the world of the higher ranks and brush shoulders with the powerful and wealthy which is unfortunately not an option for our F rank Mark Hamilton. Mark rereads the copy of his graduation certificate which is stored on his F rank badge as he takes his one small suitcase of belongings with him as he boards the armored pa.s.senger plane to Geneva, Switzerland.
With the same pitying or scorning looks when having to show his rank badge, both upon leaving the mega city of what used to be Berlin and arriving at the remarkably shinier and comparably better funded mega city of Geneva, Mark looks up at the night sky. The sky, a sight where so many others have looked for the many years of Earth"s past. The sense of knowing and having a real path ahead give Mark a sense of hope and anxiety for his still cloudy future. He finishes the paperwork a.s.sociated with his arrival and lodging near the hospital which he plans to visit early next morning to see what working at a hospital is truly like, from the inside.