The whole of the next week, Natalie was busy, during the day, learning how to exercise her pony. Then, it was going to a class about carpentry, she was finally learning a bit more about woodworking. They were teaching her how to carve a saddle tree, telling her this was important to learn. Because, once she had managed to make one that was good enough, she would be learning how to work the leather for it too.

Also they were showing her how to make a wooden cart, one that would be pulled by her pony when it was old enough. They gave her simulations, that she was to give to Sam. So that of a night, instead of her night shift's, she had lessons. One subject after another. How to make a log cabin, survival lessons for the intense winters she would have to endure.

How to make traps, then they expanded on her bow training, with a simulation on hunting. She was shown how to kill, butcher and skin, a large deer like creature that roamed the forests of Spar. They had her learning how to smoke meat, preserve fruit and vegetables, what quantities she would need to survive a full winter.

All of it was so overwhelming, Natalie walked in a daze, they were trying to cram, so much information into her and the other teens. She didn't have time to worry. That first week, she barely had time eat.

The thought of another week, just like the last one, had her almost in tears. For the first time in her life, Natalie hated VR. She felt trapped, she couldn't keep up the pace.

"Sam, I need a rest," Natalie said quietly. "I get that I have to learn stuff, but we have machines, even if we are going to a new planet. Some of them can come too, after all you are."

"I don't understand this either, Natalie." Sam replied. "I have just been receiving the simulations and your scheduling, you never said anything or complained. So I followed orders, you gave me no directive to do otherwise."

"No directive?" She asked.

"Yes, I am your AI, only you may truly command me." Sam stated. "They can send orders to me all day long, schedule you for all hours. But if you put a limit on what you are willing to learn, I shall always follow your wishes."

Natalie felt so relieved, she found her legs suddenly had no strength to them, she dropped down onto the ground. She sat there breathing slowly, evenly, attempting to relax.

"Sam, I'm setting limits, redo my schedule," Natalie said. "I would like, at least three hours at night, to play Freedom, the rest of the night is mine to sleep. Daytime, I want at least an hour for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No more then five different topics to learn a week. Can you do this?"

"Yes, Natalie, redoing your schedule now," Sam told her.

"Thank you, Sam." Natalie said. She felt so relieved, but still puzzled. "Can you also find out, why they have us learning so many subjects. I hadn't heard that Colonists, were required to go back to primitive technology."

"I will look into it, Natalie." Sam said.

That next week wasn't as bad, Natalie had time now for regular meals. She didn't play Freedom, she was sleeping, real sleep, as if the pod was no more then a bed. The other teenagers were noticing, she wasn't working as hard as they were. At first, this earned her a few strange looks. Which turned to envy on some, while others began to snigger.

By the end of the second week however, those looks and sniggers were turning to anger. They were being worn down to nothing, by a constant work load, while she was free loading. Even Amanda, was starting to look a bit strained, when she was in Natalie's company.

Natalie was aware of the growing tensions, she had no idea of how to deal with it. When she tried to talk to them, they snubbed her, openly ignoring her. On top of that, Sam still hadn't found out anything, as to why the instructors were pushing everyone so hard. The only thing they had worked out was, that they wanted the teens in this condition.

It all came to a head, at the beginning of the third week, Natalie came out of her room. To find the hallway around her door, literally stuffed full of angry looking teenagers. The closest one was Amanda.

"Natalie!" Sam's warning came at the same time. "Careful now, this could be a dangerous situation for you. I have put in a call for assistance."

"Cancel that call," Natalie said, deliberately out loud, so that all of the teens heard her. A few looked at each other uneasily.

"That is not wise, Natalie," Sam said. "It is my duty to try to keep you safe."

"Sam, do as I say." Natalie ordered, again out loud. She was watching Amanda, whose face was showing confusion, anxiety and hurt. Amanda had lost a lot of weight, she looked tired, unhealthy. Natalie silently, looked at all of them, why hadn't she told them? They all looked terrible, this was her fault. These people were going to be her neighbours. They were all going to the same planet.

Natalie felt ashamed of herself. She had allowed the Instructors, to put a wedge between each and every teenager, effectively isolating them, making them easy targets.

"Amanda, when was the last time you had a decent meal?" She quietly asked her friend. This question, made all of them, take a mental step back, this wasn't what they had expected.

"At your place, the night we left home." Amanda answered. "I fail to see what that has to do with your slacking off. Why aren't you trying anymore? Don't you care?"

"I do care, Amanda." Natalie told her. "I'm sorry, Amanda, and I'm sorry to you all as well."

Natalie looked around, all of the teens were now confused. She had to try helping, she was done with the isolation methods, this place was using.

"Sorry? Why are you apologising?" Amanda asked, Natalie was relieved, if she had stopped to ask this, then maybe she hadn't lost her trust completely yet.

"With Sam's, my AI's, help, we worked out the training methods, they are using on us, in this place." Natalie told her. "They want us off balance, isolated, with no one to lean on. When everyone is at their most tired or desperate, then they will walk in an 'save you'. Given the way you all look, a few hours graciously allowed off, and a warm meal. That would be all it would take to make you grateful, easily led."

She could see the confusion turning to anger, she knew she had to be very careful now. One wrong word, would spark something ugly, she didn't want that. She didn't need Sam's warning to see this.

"Careful, Natalie," Sam even sounded worried. "Try to keep them thinking."

"Why would they do that?" asked a large boy, who was standing just behind Amanda.

"I don't know, I have Sam, trying to find that out," Natalie allowed some of her worry to enter her voice. "We haven't found anything yet."

"I know why." Came a quiet voice, from further back. Natalie could see it was a small brunette, Jenny was her name, if she was remembering right.

"You do?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, it's as your friend said, easily led." Jenny said. "We are going off planet, away from their control, they want us to be reliant on the instructors, who are going with us. You all know we will be voting in a council, once we get there right?"

"Of course!" Amanda said. "I have been so stupid, Natalie it's the same tactics, get us all grateful to our instructors, we vote them in as our leaders. Earth still has control. We will be a subject world, good obedient little colonists."

"This also explains the other discrepancy," a tall stately looking blond said tiredly. "How many of you, have been wondering why we need to learn such obsolete knowledge?"

The girl paused, looking around, just about all of them including Natalie, were nodding.

"It's easy, once we are on the planet, probably struggling to cope. They will, out of the kindness of their own hearts, send us a small taste of technology." The sarcasm was thick in her tone of voice. "They will offer us more, but this time it will have a price tag, which will climb the more we ask for, because believe me, we will be asking by then."

"How are we supposed to stop this?" Another boy asked. "We are one, of over two hundred barracks."

"With the help of our AI's." Another called out. "We can use them to send messages to everyone, we can meet in the virtual space. Explain everything to the others."

"Yes," Natalie said. "I can help also, by sending all of you cooking lessons. Also you all need to talk to your AI's more, they can help you."

"Cooking lessons, yes I want that so badly." The tall blond said. "I'm so sick of eating what ever I can find in my fridge and pantry, that doesn't require cooking to eat."

"How can our AI's help us?" asked someone else she couldn't see.

"They will only obey you," Natalie told them. "Set limits, your AI will reschedule your timetables, setting realistic hours for your lessons and cutting back on the overload. We need to get everyone doing this, but at the same time I don't think it's wise to stop learning."

"Why do you think that?" Amanda asked.

"They won't stop trying to get us under control." Natalie said. "If they are going to try to get us buying technology, that means we will still be going to the planet without it, we will have no way of forcing them. They hold all the cards. So we need the information they are giving us."

"That doesn't mean we can't take the knowledge of how to make things ourselves with us." The large boy said. "Just have our AI's collect the knowledge."

"Yes, we can collect the knowledge, this is true, and we should." said Jenny. "But do you have any idea, how long it will take us, to put together basic tech to use that?"

"Years," another girl said hopelessly. "We will have no choice but to buy."

"What else can we do!" another asked.

Natalie was feeling just as despondent, it looked as if they would be going to the planet, only to get themselves indebt to earth.

"We can stop feeling sorry for ourselves," the large boy said. "It will take years anyway, we have to set up the colony, so that we can get even the basics running. They're only putting down a base for us, barracks like these and a landing pad. Medical, a lighting grid, that's solar powered. Water, sewage systems. We will still have to use what they are giving us in training, for the food and clothing."

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself, Justin." another boy snapped. "I'm just not looking forward to grubbing in the dirt for for basic survival,"

"He is right, Tony," Amanda said. "But so are you, it's not right, they shouldn't be doing this to us."

"We have to deal with it, even if it isn't right," Natalie said. "I know it's going to be hard for us, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I definitely don't want earth, to have any say, in how we run our lives once we are on Spar. So how do we do this?"

"That part is easy," Justin said. "We each set our limits but keep learning. Show deference to our instructors, but not blindly, like they expect. We need to get everyone on board, so for the time being it's communicate, with everyone you see."

"Regular meetings, in the virtual space." The blond said. "Maybe once everyone knows, we should see about setting up our own leaders, by voting."

"I don't want any leaders." One of the girls at the back said loudly. "Why do we need any, can't we just continue to hold meetings to decide on things?"

"We could for a while," Justin said. "But when the population grows bigger and they open it up to all. If we don't have someone in charge, they will win anyway. I'm sure they would have no trouble, sticking plenty of candidates, into the colonists that will arrive then."

"So we need to have something solid, too entrenched, for them to easily push to one side." Tony said.

"How are we going to do that?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know." Tony said. "That's something we will have to talk about in the meetings."

"Well right now, how about you all go back to your rooms, collect eggs and bacon." Natalie said. "Bring them back here to me and I'll give you all your first lesson on cooking. I'll only be able to do it in small batches of ten, my room isn't big enough for more."

The teenagers, were all very enthusiastic about that, a hot meal, with lessons on how to do it themselves was very appealing.