Ye Shall Be As Gods? - Class 1, Period 3

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"I am Dr. Juli Mizrahi," she said once everyone had settled down, "and welcome to Ye Shall Be As Gods? For however long I am your teacher I expect to be referred to as Dr. Mizrahi, or Professor Mizrahi. All I ask is that while you are in my classroom that you treat every opinion with respect no matter how different from yours they may be. In this class there are no right or wrong answers." She paced the front of the room, steps slow and measured.

"I," Juli began, "am not here to judge you. That is not what I am here for, nor would I particularly care to do so. What you do, what you plan, is not my job to criticize. I know none of you, or your circumstances well enough to judge."

"Today, I merely want each of you to introduce yourselves, tell me what you hope to get out of this class and answer, to the best of your ability, this question: What is it that drives you to push yourself past your own limits?" She folded her hands in front of her. "Again, there are no right or wrong answers."

Juli smiled faintly, "If you’ve any questions about the course, either see me after class or stop by my office at any point tomorrow."

[Wait for the OCD is up!]

Comments

Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

Name, what you want out of the class, and answer: ‘What is it that drives you to push yourself past your own limits?’

Re: Answer the Question

[redintraining.livejournal.com]

After the class had begun, Sky mused for a while on the question of what he wanted out of the class. He knew, of course, what his name was and what drove himself to push past his limits, but... Finally, he responded.

"Well, professor, my name is Sky Tate. As to what I want out of this class..." He hesitated, hating to reveal this about himself, even though he knew good and well he wasn't the only one at Fandom with powers. "I'm a mutant myself. I was born with a special power, though I don't know how or why. I wanted to further explore this aspect of myself, including the ways other people react to and relate to someone like me. I thought this class would also be helpful in my work as an intergalatic police cadet, as I deal with aliens and artificial life on a near-daily basis. I hope to learn how to empathize with them better." He then couldn't help but smirk a little as he went on, "I drive myself to push past my own limits because I want to advance in life. I want to be the best police officer I possibly can be."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"The need to succeed is a powerful one," Juli nodded, "and certainly not to be underestimated. But what will advancing, being the best police officer you can be achieve? What do you hope to accomplish be being the best?"

"We will certainly be covering genetic mutations along those lines," she told Sky, "hopefully it will give you at least a more solid comprehension of what some people have gone through because of how they were born, or created. Have you ever faced discrimination because of your power?"

Re: Answer the Question

[redintraining.livejournal.com]

Sky warmed up to the subject of discussing his motivations to do better in S.P.D., as it was one of his favorites. "Well, ma'am, I want to be the best because I want to help people," he responded. "I joined S.P.D.- Space Patrol Delta, the force I'm with- in the first place to follow in my father's footsteps as well. He was- still is- my hero. He was the top officer in his squad at S.P.D., but he was..." Sky swallowed hard. "...murdered in the line of duty. I want to be the best so I can honor his legacy and make the galaxy a better and more understanding place- not just for humans, but for all life forms."

He nodded to the second question. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "Before I joined the S.P.D. Academy, and even somewhat afterwards, I was seen as... well, to put it bluntly, a bit of a freak of nature because of my powers. When I attended normal school, I was bullied a lot, but it largely stopped after joining the Academy, because tolerance and respect for others are the first things new cadets have emphasized to them."

Re: Answer the Question

[sound-loyalty.livejournal.com]

"Yakushi Kabuto," Kabuto said with a slight bow. "I'm here because this sounded like a good class for my own interests and talents." He had to pause and think about the question, before finally answering, "Pushing past your limits makes you able to do more, whether they be physical limits or mental ones." He pushed his glasses up, leaving the answer there. Mainly because he hasn't reached the point in canon where he actually finds himself and his reasoning, and that makes things difficult.

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"What would you consider, currently, to be your greatest limitation?" Juli asked curiously. "And how could you push yourself past it?"

Re: Answer the Question

[sound-loyalty.livejournal.com]

"My greatest limitations are the ones I've placed upon myself willingly," Kabuto replied vaguely, the lenses of his glasses catching the light.

Re: Answer the Question

[kara-kent.livejournal.com]

"I just want a deeper understanding of the people around me," Kara replied. "Of their beliefs and of how they view the world. Sometimes people can seem so primitive, and I'm working on not letting myself view them that way." She gave Professor Mizrahi a slightly embarassed smile. "What pushes me past my own limits? I don't know. I haven't discovered yet what my limits truly are."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"Then you must try harder to find them," she said quietly, "because it is only in the struggle to overcome them that we can truly grow. There is no growth without adversity." Juli smiled faintly, "And people have a tendency to live up to our expectations - both our negative and our positive ones. Think higher of them and, in general, they'll strive harder to prove you right."

Re: Answer the Question

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

"I'm here because my guardian has a sick sense of humor," Anemone snapped, "So I have no expectations or desires for this particular class."

"As for my limits, I don't understand the question." Anemone tilted her head, watching the other woman. "Most physical limitations can be passed with proper training or creative thinking."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

Juli merely tilted her head and said calmly, "A physical limitation can be surpassed that way - that's one way of moving beyond what you started as. How about a mental limitation? Or social, or emotional? There are many types of limits and you cannot use the same tool for them all. If, for example, you were deathly afraid of crowds. How could you work on improving that? Perhaps by starting small, rather than trying to hang out with a group of, say, ten people all at once - you try two. And when you're comfortable with just two of them, add a third, and then a fourth. In this manner, eventually, hanging out with ten people is not out of the question. Surpassing the limit of what they used to be able to do. My question is about taking something you couldn't do, and turning it into something you can."

Re: Answer the Question

[time-flyer-5.livejournal.com]

"My name is Jennifer Scotts, and I signed up for this class because I wanted to understand where I come from." As Jen spoke she stood rigidly, hands clasped behind her back, a habitual posture of attention that one might recognize as that of someone with police or military training.

"I come from a world where genetically enhancing children before they're born is the norm; no one thinks twice before they're consulting with the genetic customization specialists at the lab about what they want their kids to be like. When that process goes wrong, the mutant offspring is an outcast and almost always turns to crime because of it. The police are good at rounding them up and putting them in deep freeze containment, but . . ." The corners of Jen's mouth twisted a little, and she shook her head. "Maybe my parents had me engineered to the way they wanted, but is that what I want to be? What happens when I operate past the expectations of what I know I'm supposed to be? Now that I realize I'm not limited by those things, it's something I have to know."

"We're told, growing up in my time, that it's the ideal society, this ultimate achievement of civilization. But I've been exposed to a culture that people from my world -- from my time -- would call primitive, and now I'm not so sure. Is it possible for a civilization to improve too much? That's what I want to know. That's why I'm here."

A little startled that she'd said so much so freely, Jen sat back down and ducked her head.

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"Did you know," Juli asked her, "that the human consciousness is all but impossible to perfectly design to specification? A person can be tailor-made, yes, head to toe, but at the end of it all? If you've designed two people exactly alike, from the first time they open their eyes... they're different. They might not realize it, their parents might not realize it, but in the details they are different." She shook her head slightly, "Free will is just that - free. It can be terrifying to leave what has been taught as right and proper, but only in learning how to exercise your own will can you really grow."

"There is no such thing as an ideal society," she said, "all things can stand for improvement, for movement. A perfect society would quickly stagnate - to be truly healthy society must evolve."

Re: Answer the Question

[time-flyer-5.livejournal.com]

Jen nodded, fiddling with the Chronomorpher on her left wrist and, for some odd reason, the base of her left ring finger. "I always knew there was something off about it, but I didn't want to believe it at the time," she said. "I had to believe I was upholding something special."

Her mind was a little bit stuck on Dr. Mizrahi's words about two people being exactly alike, though. If that wasn't Alex and Wes, and Wes's struggle to get out from under his father's shadow, in a nutshell, nothing was.

Re: Answer the Question

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

Naminé stood, uncertainly.

"My name is Naminé. I think what I would like to get out of this class is a better understanding ... of who I am, and what that means, or perhaps what it should mean. I don't think I understand what you mean about limits. But I hurt someone once because of my own weakness, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that never happens again."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"What is one thing that you like to do?" Juli asked, "Something that you've worked hard at to do as best as you can?" She paused, studying Naminé, "The first step to turning a weakness into a strength is to acknowledge it. Now that you've learned of it, what have you considered doing to fix it? It's all very well to say 'I won't let that happen again' but without effort to change, you cannot say for sure what will happen the next time you are in such a situation that your weakness becomes apparent."

Re: Answer the Question

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"I ... like to draw, I suppose." Naminé flushed. "I'm not very good at it. But that's all right, because I'm only drawing for myself. I'd like to learn more and get better, but if I never do, that's ... all right. It's just something that's mine."

She stared down at her hands for a moment. "I didn't mean that sort of weakness. I have ... powers, ones that I don't understand. So I was held and told that ... unless I used them, I would never go free. I said no, at first, but they were ... angry. I'm afraid I wasn't strong enough to hold out. I've fixed what I destroyed, as much as I could, I've tried to atone, but should that happen again ... all I can do is hope."

Re: Answer the Question

[peter--parker.livejournal.com]

"My name is Peter Parker and what I really want out of this class is to understand why it is that people who can seriously change the world with their minds so often fall apart and start doing stupid things that turn themselves and others into monsters. I mean, I understand the desperation with trying to do good things on no funding, but in my universe this kind of thing has caused billions of dollars of damage because some scientist turned himself into a giant green crazy man who eats people and other stuff like that. And there's a wide gulf between helping people and turning yourself into a giant green crazy man, so I want to understand how they cross that line, mentally speaking," Peter rambled.

"And I'm driven by guilt and feelings of responsibility. Nothing motivates you quite like a ton of guilt."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"What is your opinion then on research merely for the sake of curiosity?" Juli wondered, "You've mentioned both an up-side, and a down-side to breaking past the limits but there are greyer areas than that."

"And nothing can cripple you faster either. Guilt is both a poison and a cure. Take care when using that as your primary motivator." Juli said, "And responsibility can help, but if you are not careful it'll become the reins that hold you back from achieving your full potential. If what you strive for becomes less of a personal goal but rather, something you do out of the sense of 'having' to do it your performance will suffer."

Re: Answer the Question

[peter--parker.livejournal.com]

"In my experience, the people doing it for the sake of curiosity tend to go overboard, put on a costume, and start aiming their curiosity toward whether or not their inventions can help them rob banks," Peter said. "I fully admit that my experience is probably not typical, though."

"As for the guilt and responsibility thing, it's like you already know me! Have you been talking to my teachers from New York? Because they had a lot to say about my wasted potential."

Re: Answer the Question

[im-afrog.livejournal.com]

Adam took a moment to think about what he really wanted out of the class before answering.

"My name's Adam Park," he started, figuring the introduction should come first. "I decided to take this class because I want to understand myself better," he admitted, thinking of what happened with the mirror back home. "I lost a part of myself for a bit and I'd like to get it back."

It was mainly his confidence in himself, but it was something that he had yet to truly regain. "As for the driving factor, it's my friend and family. I want to protect them any way I can, that's what makes me push myself past my limits."

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"The need to protect is certainly a strong motivator," she said, "but is there anything that you do, merely for you, that makes you want to push the limits of your abilities?"

Re: Answer the Question

[im-afrog.livejournal.com]

"It is," Adam nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. He thought about it, wondering what it was that he did for himself. "I push myself because I want to be the best that I can be in what I do. And sometimes, I don't feel like I'm doing a good enough job," he admitted, not sure where that had come from.

Re: Answer the Question

[twohalvesofaphd.livejournal.com]

"I'm Zack Addy," he said. "I'm here because the last science teacher had a fixation on the idea of science being mad and it seemed this class might explore a different perspective. Pushing your limits... helps you find out what they actually are?"

Re: Answer the Question

[last-mizrahi.livejournal.com]

"All of science is mad when viewed from another perspective," she said, "but hopefully my class will be more to your liking."

"Reach for the sky and the sky slips further from your grasp." Juli nodded, "But how can you begin to push the limits of your sky without knowing where to begin?"