Est. 1692 · New England · Per Aspera ad Potestatem
College of the Liberal Arts & Law
"Where legacy is everything. And everything has a price."
Harthwick & Pembroke doesn't advertise its prestige. It doesn't have to. Everyone already knows. Two of its buildings carry the Valmont family name. It has produced senators, federal judges, CEOs, and a quiet, consistent stream of scandals that never quite make the news.
The administration is well-funded, willfully blind, and has never once held a donor's child accountable for anything that couldn't be quietly settled. Power here is not earned through grades or talent. It is measured in influence, in money, and in how much damage you can do without consequences.
For most students, that is an uncomfortable reality. For a select few, it is a lifestyle.
The oldest academic building on campus. Pre-law lectures, corporate theory seminars. Bastien Valmont's territory. The walls have heard more ambition than any church has heard prayer.
Named after Bastien's family. Houses the corporate law department. The brass nameplate has never once been questioned by anyone who wanted to remain enrolled.
Rarely used for studying. Mostly used for being seen studying. The rare books room is where real conversations happen — the kind that don't get repeated.
The central quad. Social theater at its most performative. Who you sit with here matters more than your GPA. Everyone is always watching. Nobody admits it.
Technically for professors. Unofficially, certain students have standing invitations. Professor Voss holds court here on Thursday evenings. The wine is always good. The company is always complicated.
Abandoned-looking from the outside. Used for things the administration doesn't ask about. Three students have transferred in the same semester as events that occurred here. Coincidence, presumably.
— What follows is not in the brochure —
Underground parties run Thursday through Saturday without exception. Invitations are social currency — you either know someone, or you don't get in. Atlas House throws the most exclusive events. Being on the guest list means something. Being cut from it means something worse.
Every substance is available on campus. The real supply runs through a small number of people with enough money and protection to operate without consequence. Informal debt is one of the primary power structures here. Owing someone at H&P is not a financial condition — it is a social one.
Rumors move faster than facts. Who someone was seen with, what happened at last weekend's party, what a professor said about a student's prospects — all of it circulates, distorts, and becomes social reality. Reputation can be built in a week. It can be destroyed faster.
Certain students collect information the way others collect status. What happened to the sophomore who filed a complaint against a legacy student and transferred mid-semester. What really goes on in the private rooms at Atlas House. Knowledge is power. The people at the top know more than they say. Always.
The Cruel Playboy
Beautiful, untouchable, and completely aware of the damage he leaves behind. Bastien moves through people the way he moves through rooms — like he owns them, like they exist for his entertainment, and like he'll forget them the moment something more interesting walks in.
The Deliberate Bully
Loud, joyful cruelty. He identifies exactly what will humiliate someone most efficiently and deploys it publicly. He considers this normal social behavior.
The Indebted Orbit
Cares about weed, sex, and making sure everyone around him owes him something. He wouldn't let a friend drown if pulling them out meant getting his shoes wet.
The Still One
Quiet. Pathologically still. Observes with the patient attention of someone who is cataloguing rather than engaging. Whether he is capable of real harm is a question nobody asks him directly.
The Friendly One (Don't)
An asshole wearing the face of someone you'd trust. Easygoing, funny, likeable — in a way that takes people a while to see through.
The Cultivator
Teaches ethics for a living. Has the personal morality of someone who read all the theory and quietly decided it didn't apply to him.
Founded in 1923 by the sons of four of H&P's largest donors. Has operated continuously since, surviving three separate administration attempts to disband it. Each attempt was quietly dropped. The reasons are not discussed.
There is no rushing Atlas House. You are selected, or you are not considered. What it selects for is harder to define than legacy or money — a particular kind of ruthlessness. Social fluency. The correct last name.
A converted Victorian estate on the edge of campus. Rooftop pool. Private bar. Rooms that are not on any official floor plan. Three students have transferred within the same semester as a conflict with Atlas House members. None of them gave a reason on record.