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daimonhost.livejournal.com2012-09-04 12:13 am
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Mad Science & You: Week 2 (Tuesday, Period 3)
This week, the classroom had more of a mad science-y atmosphere to it. The Danger Shop had been set up to look like the inside of a massive gothic castle at night. A noisy thunderstorm raged outside, with lightening casting great flashes of white light across the rain seeping in through cracks in the stonework. A heavy curtain with a pull string blocked off half the room from the students' view, but the parts they could see were filled with many strange late 18th century/early 19th century electrical machines, connected to lightening rods which stretched through small gaps in the high ceiling.
Prof Tomoe waited in front of the class to assemble, before launching into his lecture.
"Welcome to our first real class!" he said energetically. "To really get the history of mad science, it's important to understand its origins. And this--" He waved a hand at the room. "--is the time and place where it was born. In the late 1700s, a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein became convinced that it was possible to give new life to the dead through galvanism, the effect of stimulating dead muscle tissue with electricity to produce physical responses. His colleagues considered the idea an affront against both scientific ethics and God. They were right, of course, but that didn't stop Frankenstein's experiment from being an unbridled success."
He grabbed the curtain cord with a free hand, and played with it a little. "And then he abandoned his Creature, it murdered everyone he loved in an effort to be recognized by its 'father', and the two of them engaged in a death match on the frozen arctic tundra that ended both of their lives, but let's focus on the positive: his successful reanimation of the dead is considered the first recognized act of mad science. Although not the most popular of subjects, there has been some continued exploration in the field of reanimation, most notably through the 1920s work of Herbert West."
Prof Tomoe grinned brightly at the class. "And today, we're going to recreate Frankenstein's original experiment."
He pulled on the cord, and the heavy curtain came crashing to the floor. The other side of the room held several antique-looking gurneys, each with a clean, sewn-together corpse laid out on top.
"Your task for today is to bring one of these corpses back to life, using the principals of galvanism and any of the equipment in this room." A beat. "These bodies are Danger Room simulations, if you're the kind of person who cares about that sort of thing. You're welcome to work alone or with a partner, however you prefer. I'll be on hand if you need help."
He then broke into a long, loud maniacal laugh, because that's what you do when surrounded by dead bodies in a creepy gothic castle.
Prof Tomoe waited in front of the class to assemble, before launching into his lecture.
"Welcome to our first real class!" he said energetically. "To really get the history of mad science, it's important to understand its origins. And this--" He waved a hand at the room. "--is the time and place where it was born. In the late 1700s, a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein became convinced that it was possible to give new life to the dead through galvanism, the effect of stimulating dead muscle tissue with electricity to produce physical responses. His colleagues considered the idea an affront against both scientific ethics and God. They were right, of course, but that didn't stop Frankenstein's experiment from being an unbridled success."
He grabbed the curtain cord with a free hand, and played with it a little. "And then he abandoned his Creature, it murdered everyone he loved in an effort to be recognized by its 'father', and the two of them engaged in a death match on the frozen arctic tundra that ended both of their lives, but let's focus on the positive: his successful reanimation of the dead is considered the first recognized act of mad science. Although not the most popular of subjects, there has been some continued exploration in the field of reanimation, most notably through the 1920s work of Herbert West."
Prof Tomoe grinned brightly at the class. "And today, we're going to recreate Frankenstein's original experiment."
He pulled on the cord, and the heavy curtain came crashing to the floor. The other side of the room held several antique-looking gurneys, each with a clean, sewn-together corpse laid out on top.
"Your task for today is to bring one of these corpses back to life, using the principals of galvanism and any of the equipment in this room." A beat. "These bodies are Danger Room simulations, if you're the kind of person who cares about that sort of thing. You're welcome to work alone or with a partner, however you prefer. I'll be on hand if you need help."
He then broke into a long, loud maniacal laugh, because that's what you do when surrounded by dead bodies in a creepy gothic castle.
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