fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, September 13]

"Today we discuss lying," Anakin said as he closed the classroom door precisely on time. "Everyone lies. 'Of course that doesn't make your butt look big.' 'You like her, I like her.' 'I'm totally okay with you moving on.' 'Everything's fine, why do you ask?' It's how the world goes around because no one wants to be trapped in a conversation where someone whines at you for hours on end about how awful their life is."

He looked around the room. "Trust me. Everyone's life is terrible. They're just not telling you about it. Be grateful."

He reached onto his desk for a piece of paper. "Today we're conducting an exercise to see how well you pass this particular social ritual, then we'll discuss whether you think it is necessary. We're playing two truths and a lie. I'll tell you three things about myself and you have to decide which one is the falsehood. Then you'll all tell three things and we'll see how well you can either read each other or keep things hidden."

He gave them a small smile. "I'm very good at this." He schooled his face to absolute neutrality, put his mental blocks up to bar the Jedi in the room from gaining an advantage, then recited: "I've never been beaten in one-on-one space flight combat. I'm not afraid of anything. I named my children after people I met in Fandom." His eyes challenged them to call him out. "Who's next?"

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River smiled mysteriously. "I corrected my older brother's spelling when I was three. I've won prices for my apple sculptures. I can kill you with my brain."

Irulan pondered this, she knew about River's mental abilities, Irulan heard stories of Bene Gesserits who has such mental control that they could kill people with their mind plus there was the myth of the Kwisatz Haderach to think of. and knew she was smart but Irulan didn't know *how* smart and she has yet to see River's sculptures. Then she remembered the horrific taste of the strawberry sandwiches. Much as she liked River that would forever be seared in her memory.

And so...

"Your second statement is a lie?" She guessed.

Apple sculptures were not the same as cooking. She had in fact won prices for them. She shook her head.

"Ah," Irulan nodded, covering her surprise, she frowned in thought, "You corrected your brother's spelling?"

"I did," River confirmed with a nod.

"You can't kill people with your brain?" She asked, astonished. This goes to show how much stock she still put into the old Bene Gesserit legends.

The power of River's mind were of listening, as far as she knew. Perhaps, had she stayed longer at the Academy, that would have changed. The statement was one she had once told Jayne to make him fear her, and it had worked well enough.

She shook her head. There were so many other ways she could kill anyway.

Irulan wasn't a mind reader, sadly one of the talents she had missed in the spice awakening but there was something in River's expression that seemed both sharp and dangerous. Something she recognized in a Saudukar's expression.

Wisely Irulan didn't pursue the subject, she maybe lacking social skills but she was learning, and asked instead, "Was your brother annoyed when you corrected his spelling?"

"Yes." River didn't look as if she minded.

Irulan smiled, "My sister, Wensicia was the same. She's always cross when I correct her."

"A sibling thing." River giggled.

"I believe so," Irulan smiled wryly, "I think it was Wensicia's doing that I ended up 'Dealing with the Opposite Sex' class. My sister has a long memory."

"It wasn't useful, just humiliating?" River felt a little sorry for Irulan. Simon would never do something like that to her. She was lucky.

"I have to admit my order, the Bene Gesserit, has classes similar to Professor Mal Doran's. I was failing in that class, so in a way I suppose my sister was trying to help me too." She paused then added, "Although I believe that was not the foremost thing in her mind when she signed me up."

"Have to trust that someone will find you attractive for that game to be entertaining," River replied quietly. It wasn't exactly the subject of this class.

"Yes," Irulan said, then it occured to Irulan if River meant the class or her family dynamics. If River meant family dynamics Irulan didn't quite know how to explain the Machiavellian complexity of her family.

"Meant the game of dealing with the opposite sex, but it applies also to families," she replied. What she sensed of Irulan's family didn't make her want to know more.

"Oh, you meant the class," Irulan said, relieved, then thought, "it wasn't all that embarassing, I realized even if I was mortified when Ja-- uh, there were boys there. Although my discussions with Jeffrey were both amusing and confusing?"

River's face lit up. "Jeff is usually amusing and confusing. And I assume he had issues with the subject of the class." She conciously avoided the subject of Jack.

"I don't think you can kill me with your brain," John said, thinking that didn't sound much like the River he knew.

"No." Of course, that reminded her that the River John knew wasn't a complete one, not even half a River. While she couldn't kill people with her brain - it had amused her that Jayne had believed her when she told him that - there were so many other ways to kill. She looked worried.

Ethics [Thursday, September 13]

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