Explorer final exam

Although every Alcyer and most Icarryan trainee will become explorers eventually, that does not prevent them from undertaking exams to get their official appointment. To become truly an explorer, one must succeed in their first exploration. This is not like any other supervised training they did prior. Although the dimension they will visit has been fully surveyed and certified harmless, they will be left alone on the empty planet for months. During this period, they must find themselves how to sustain themselves and overcome the wild animals, and eventual natural disasters.

The I.D.E.A. possesses twenty or so dimensions left untouched for the purpose of the test. The test aims to assess the performance of the explorer to be. It is separated into 4 main axes, from which at least 3 must be validated in order to pass the exam. The trainee is also expected to excel in one axis far beyond the others.

• Swiftness : The exploration must be completed in less than three months. After five, a rescue team is sent and the student would fail the test. On average, they take around two months and a half, though the fastest clear was made under the week by the prodigy Zvoldan Crivetz and his lightning speed.
• Thoroughness : The exploration must be documented to be useful to the I.D.E.A. The explorers are to record noteworthy animals, plants, or geological features of the dimension, even more, if they are unusual or unique. This criteria does not have an explicit threshold and instead relies on a predefined scale.
• Progression : Speed is not all that matter. Any explorer must be able to cover the most ground possible in their short time. After all, surveying only one continent when ten exists is not good for representativity. Examinees must draw a map of the land that will be compared to the full map to get graded.

Once the exploration is completed and the ex-student has proven themselves, they access the prestigious status of explorers. A ceremony is held to celebrate them. They don't get a diploma or any academic reward, but rather a simple badge, distinguishing them from the common folk forever. The pride of many explorers, this badge opens as many doors as the I.D.E.A. have and is a witness of their peculiar status in the Dominium.