fandomhigh | Myth Into History, Week 10: Eastward Ho! [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

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Myth Into History, Week 10: Eastward Ho! [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

The Danger Shop was set up today to look like a chamber in a Chinese palace, which left Janice looking ridiculously out of place (well, more so than usual) in her leather jacket, fedora, and khakis.

Not that this stopped her from sitting cross-legged in the center of the low table, a large book in her lap. Inexplicably, a pile of stone rabbits was on the floor in front of her.

"We're going pretty far east today," she told the class once they'd all arrived. "To China, that is, in case you couldn't tell."

Tapping the book in her lap, she held it up. "Some of you may have heard of the Tao Te Ching. You may be under the impression that it was written by Lao Tzu. You'd be wrong; it was actually written by his wife, Lao Ma. Lao Tzu himself, a vicious tyrant, was too ill, and his wife ruled in his name. She also wrote this book under his name to save his reputation. What does this have to do with this class? Hang on, I'm getting to that."

She handed the Tao to the nearest student to pass around and peruse, then continued: "After her attempted crucifixion -- complete with broken legs -- by Caesar, Xena went east toward China with intentions of wreaking vengeance against the entire human race. Lao Ma rescued her from being hunted by Ming Tzu's forces, and taught her, using the philosophies in this book, how to tap into a kind of power she'd never been able to use before. From what the Scrolls say, it was a lot like telepathy. Or something."

"Of course," Janice went on, "this later came back to bite Lao Ma in the figurative ass when Taoist philosophers ended up discovering the formula for black powder. I say figurative, because she was dead by then, executed by her own son, the Green Dragon, Ming T'ien. Xena killed him for it, but that's a whole different story ~~that kickstarted a plotline 90% of fandom would like to pretend never happened~~. So anyway, years later Xena, Gabrielle, and --" she cast a brief, irritated glance in Joxer's direction -- "some other guy got called back to China and got mixed up in a war, because you know, that's what she does."

She clicked the Danger Shop remote and one wall disappeared, giving the students a good view of a massive army of stone soldiers on a plain. "I love this about the twenty-first century," Janice said with a predatory grin. "This Terracotta Army is in Shaanxi Province in China. It wasn't discovered in my time; it only got unearthed in 1974, but it sure as hell explains one part of the Scrolls that Mel and I have been scratching our heads over for God only knows how long now. And yep, this all ties back into Lao Ma and the Tao Te Ching, since it was Xena, using those powers that Lao Ma taught her about, who did this. It's not a representation of an emperor's army, like they're theorizing now. It actually was an army."

Janice waved an arm at the steps that led down from the room they were in to the plain. "Unlike the ones on the actual dig site, these figures aren't going to suffer too much if you examine them up close. Feel free to wander around and take a look at them. As realistic as they are, do you think it's possible they weren't the work of craftsmen?"

[OOC: Class Info Post. Class open for play throughout the weekend, as always. OCD is up. Have at!]

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Collapsey in a way that does not spell disaster to archaeological digs, please.

Matilda Wormwood

Phoebe Halliwell

Zack Addy

Joxer

Marie D'Ancanto

Evie Carnahan

Cedric Diggory

D'anna Biers

Will Vandom

Janet Fraiser

William Kessler

Talk, take notes, look at the Tao Te Ching, wonder WTF is up with the stone rabbits . . .

Phoebe does actually want to know WTF is up with the rabbits.

Evie's notes are now labeled "The Madness of Dr. Covington." She thinks she could get it published, if it weren't for the problem that Dr. Covington might object to the title. Still, it's all fascinating, even if it doesn't seem to touch the real history she knows at many points.

Billy shook his head. Either Covington was assigning way too much credibility to whoever wrote these scrolls or time had gone much differently on her world. Seeing as how he'd met a man cloned from, among many others, the Emperor who'd commissioned the statues (and loved to brag about it, genetic memory or something).

Cedric's really beginning to enjoy Dr. Covington's classes. She's always entertaining.

D took notes on the random bits of Earth culture that caught her interest, that is when she wasn't distracted by the feeling that more info on Xena was making her brain melt and leak out her ears.

There's 8,099 of them. Take your pick.

A group of infantrymen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Group_of_soldiers.jpg) are standing at attention in this section.

Evie would usually be taking a stone rubbing of the figures, but she's half-wondering if they really were soldiers at some point. And that just seems disrespectful. Although perhaps, they'd like to be remembered....?

Oh, this is going to keep her awake nights, she just knows it.

Frowning, she decides that taking a tracing of their crests and shields couldn't *possibly* upset them.

She keeps and eye on them in case they start moving, though.

"They do kind of look like they could jump out at you any second, don't they?" remarked Janice.

Evie, in fact, jumped at this point, rather startled. "Oh! Yes, they do, they're so detailed. I could believe in enchantments and people turned to salt, with these standing in front of me." She shook her head, pointing at them. "Did the scrolls say *how* this was accomplished?"

"They're a little vague on the details," Janice said, almost apologetic. "Or it's not so much a case of vague as it is of Gabrielle getting a little carried away with artistic license, so it's completely impossible to tell exactly what happened. It seems to be related to whatever powers Lao Ma taught Xena to use."

She scratched at her ear, absently. "Huh. Maybe she was practicing on the rabbits."

Evie gave the rabbits a horrified look. "Oh, no! Oh, she wouldn't have! Would she?"

Cedric looked over the army, touching and wondering if Hogwarts had anything historical such as this somewhere.

Here are the cavalrymen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:XianCavalryman.JPG) and horses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:P1010019.JPG), all decked out with extremely realistic gear.

That's because it's real, damn it.

Phoebe is examining these guys pretty closely.

"See anything you're really interested in, Phoebe?"

"The detail on all of this is just amazing."

"It is, isn't it?" Janice asked, reaching up to touch the bridle on one of the horses appreciatively. "You can touch them if you want; that's the beauty of the simulation. They're not as delicate as the real thing. What do you think? Do you think it's possible they were actually turned into this material instead of created?"

Phoebe decided to answer honestly. "Last year I would have said no, they had to be created," she touched one of the horses reverently. "But after everything I've seen and everything I've done? I'd have to say it could be possible."

Janice actually grinned at that. "Makes me wish I could make some of my colleagues spend a year here. I approve of skepticism in healthy doses. Hell, I was one most of my life. But sometimes the things you see or go through, you can't just dismiss."

Hmm, the horses looked, slightly less well done than the humans.

D ran her hand down the shoulders and back of one of the horses, marveling at the workmanship.

Janice is standing guard over the pile of stone rabbits. They're really very cute (http://www.dyqatt.com//albums/Xena%20-%20Back%20in%20the%20Bottle/backinthebottle003.jpg). If inexplicable.

She'll probably get kind of flaily if you ask her to explain them.

"Um... why do you think there's rabbits here...? What job would they do to guard the emperor..?"

"Nibble people's ankles?" Marie suggested.

"I was wondering that myself," Janice admitted when she came over. "I found a tiny postscript about them in one of the research journals I read about this dig. They were found a few miles away, along with a few things that looked like they came from a campsite, but there's no explanation for where they came from. My only guess is they were practice."

Matilda giggles a little a puts two curled fingers in front of her mouth. "Did they have sharp pointy teeth?"

Phoebe looked confused about the rabbits.

Joxer stared at the stone rabbits.

She's got her hands in her pockets and a cigar in her mouth as she contemplates one particular terracotta soldier (http://www.dyqatt.com//albums/Xena%20-%20Back%20in%20the%20Bottle/backinthebottle008.jpg), wondering why he looks ~~like such a rushed Photoshop job~~ so agonized. Turning to stone can't hurt that much, can it?

Episodes used here: "The Debt" parts 1 and 2, "Purity," and "Back in the Bottle." Ah, "Back in the Bottle." An episode so butchered that the screenwriter used a pseudonym rather than have his name attached to the final version. Had to make my own caps because nobody likes it enough to cap it too thoroughly. *g* Amazingly, out of all the characters, Joxer was the only one who didn't get screwed over by the final script, and actually got to have one of his finest moments.

. . . also the actor who played Ming Tzu later played evil villain Lothor in Power Rangers Ninja Storm.

Heee, Lothor.

Playing Six Degrees with the New Zealand acting pool is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. BUT IT'S FUNNY.

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Myth Into History, Week 10: Eastward Ho! [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]

Sign In [MiH, Week 10]

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During the Lecture [MiH, Week 10]

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Hands-On: Examine the Terracotta Army

Hands-On: Examine the Terracotta Army (Infantry)

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Hands-On: Examine the Terracotta Army (Cavalry)

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Hands-On: Examine the . . . Stone Rabbits?

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After Class: Talk to Janice [MiH, Week 10]

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