Mad Science & You: Week 5 (Tuesday, Period 3)

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This week, the Danger Shop had been set up to look like a nice residential neighbourhood in mid-50s Tokyo. Neat rows of small wooden houses and apartments lined the cramped street. A small fish tank with a few goldfish in it had inexplicably been set up on a table in the middle of the street, but the whole area was kind of pleasant.

Or it would have been, if not for the giant lizard stomping across the city, destroying everything in its path.

"As you're probably aware," Prof Tomoe said to the assembled class, "Japan suffers from an unusually high number of supernatural attacks every year, usually in the Kanto Region in and around Tokyo. Today, we're going to talk a little bit about kaiju, the giant monsters who enjoy destroying Tokyo. Specifically, that one." He pointed up towards the lizard, who was busy reigning down fiery death on Shibuya Ward.

"Gojira, often referred to as Godzilla in English. While Gojira has been spotted in Japan at least 28 times, it first appeared in 1954 as an unstoppable force of destruction after having been woken up by American nuclear testing. Nothing could harm it. Missiles didn't work. Electrocution didn't work. Pointy sticks didn't work. The only person to come up with a solution that could work was Dr Daisuke Serizawa."

He picked up a vial of liquid from the table. "This is Dr Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer. It degenerates oxygen atoms once poured into liquid, instantly killing anything in the water." He poured the liquid into the tank. In less than a minute, the fish has been stripped clean down to the bones in extremely handwavey movie science.

"Pouring this into Tokyo Bay will likely kill Gojira and stop its reign of terror, thus saving millions of people. On the other hand, not only will it kill everything else in the bay as well, but other countries will find out about the Oxygen Destroyer and see it as a potential new weapon to be used in chemical warfare."

The monster roared again, and started stomping further into the city.

"So a discussion question for you this week," Prof Tomoe said. "If you were Dr Serizawa, what would you do? Use the Oxygen Destroyer to stop the monster and save the city, but unleash a new weapon of mass destruction on the world? Or choose not to use the Oxygen Destroyer, and hope that something else will work to stop the monster, letting thousands of people die in the meantime?"

Ethics [Tuesday September 25, 2012, 1st period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin went to the board after the students arrived and wrote out: "Utilitarianism: it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong," then turned to face his students. "Do you think this is true? If what gives the majority pleasure is watching Christians--or Jedi--" he added with a little look directed Atton-ward, "getting eaten by large predators, or a four-day-marathon of that show about the orange people who live in New Jersey, does that make it right? What will protect the rights of the individual in a society ruled by utilitarianism--who in this example might be a Christian who enjoys having brain cells--or do the rights of the minority really matter?"

He leaned back against his desk. "This weekend is also Parents Weekend. As a secondary discussion, let's talk about the ethics of not telling people visiting everything about this island."

[OOC: This time in the right spot. Sigh.]

Personal Improvement Through Science: Aperture Laboratories Presents Physical Education (Wed/Per. 2)

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As was clearly becoming a theme, today's classroom setup was the Aperture Science version of a gymnastics arena: white tiled panels, testing apparatus in place of, well, actual gymnastics apparatus, and a grossly exaggerated sense of scale.

Sort of.

Mainly, the floor-to-ceiling wall that was just on the other side of the ridiculously high "vaulting table" (with an aerial faith plate for a springboard) might be a concern. Also, the three-inch-wide hard light bridge that served as a balance beam was about twenty-five feet off the ground. As for the exit door . . . that was up even higher on one of the walls, with no platform you could even reach via portal.

However much help today's sign was in warning you of any of this was . . . probably negligible.

"Does any of this look vaguely familiar to any of you?" GLaDOS asked the class. "It is an Olympic year so the odds of that are marginally better, but let's just say it's a good thing I don't have any breath to hold. Still. Try not to think too hard. You'll probably strain something and then you'll be even less interesting." For her, that was actually a pretty affectionate statement.

"This next test applies the use of portals to a range of exercises in strength, flexibility, and fine motor control," she went on in a tone that implied she'd be surprised if any of them possessed those qualities. "Maybe if you do well enough, you'll get medals when you're done. Chocolate ones. I might even make sure it's edible chocolate. Good luck."

There so wouldn't be medals. Not even chocolate ones. Honestly, you were probably better off that way. Look, if it was any consolation the pommel horse and all the bar apparatus were perfectly normal, and there was even a padded mat for any tumbling you might want to do.

[OOC: No medals for anyone if you don't wait for the OCD. OCD is up. However, the Enrichment Center regrets to inform you that in a cost-cutting move, the Aperture Science Medal Incentive Program has been discontinued.]