Mad Science & You: Week 14 (Tuesday, Period 3)

[daimonhost.livejournal.com]

This week, there wasn't a gothic castle in sight. Instead, the Danger Shop had been set up as a muggy tropical island. The students stood in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by jungle brush on all sides. A dirt path led out of the clearing down through the trees.

And a big pile of weapons lay stacked in front of the class.

Prof Tomoe stood near it, still managing to keep his face cloaked in shadows despite the bright Caribbean sun. "This is our last regular class of the semester, and I thought it would be good to give you some exercise after spending so much of this term cooped up in labs. So today, you're going for a hike."

He waved a hand at the area around them. "We're currently on Isla Nublar, a small private island near Costa Rica. It's owned by InGen, a genetics company run by John Hammond and staffed with the best bio-engineers money can buy. InGen's specialty is in looking at unusual genetics work, especially with recreating animals that have disappeared from our current environment. There was an ... incident with an investors' tour a few months ago, but it's nothing you need to concern yourselves with."

He pointed towards the path. "We're currently two and a half miles from the coast. There is a yacht docked at the end of this path, with delicious celebration cake or something waiting on it for all of you. So have a nice walk, pair up if you like, enjoy the local fauna."

An evil grin spread across his face.

"Try not to die," he said, before breaking out in a long maniacal laugh

Combat- Tuesday- 2nd period- Class #14

[solo_sword]

The students were back in the gym today, where Jaina still wasn't in the happiest of moods but was going to get through class anyway.

"First off, sorry about last week. I had a slight case of being sixteen. I'm over it now," she began. "And with that over with... One of the most important things you need in combat is information. Whether it's someone you're facing off against randomly, you wonder who they are and how good they are and what kind of moves they might use next. If you're in a battle situation, you probably go in with some kind of information about what you're heading into and what you're facing, and then you have to expand on that when you get there. If you're in an open area you'll realize you might have to find cover, or if there's a lot of things around you there might be something to use as a weapon. And if you know who you're facing, you always stand a chance of doing better, or even getting the jump on them.

"So I'm going to tell you a little bit about your final. It's going to be in the Danger Shop, and you will be facing multiple attackers in a city. You'll be allowed to work alone or together, and you'll be able to use your weapon of choice, or none at all. If it's something we haven't covered, just let me know handwavily is fine so I can make sure it's programmed in. Whatever you choose, that's who you're dealing with will be using. And that's all I'm giving you." Hey, it was more than she got going in a lot of the time.

"Remember how we've paired up by skill level? For the rest of class I want you to pick someone outside of your skill level and see if you can adjust for it. Please no one give each other black eyes."

Ethics [Tuesday, December 4, 2012]

[sith_happened]

"So last week I was a teenager," Anakin said a little wryly. "My apologies for the whining and ridiculous haircut. The haircut was someone else's idea. The whining was, sadly, all me."

He began passing out a short story.

"It's become a bit of a tradition to end the semester with this story. I'll give you a few minutes to read it, but the short version of it--called 'The Lady or the Tiger'-- is that there was a fictional king with his own sense of justice: instead of a court system, he had an arena with two doors. Behind one door was a beautiful woman, handpicked by the king. Behind the other was a tiger. If you chose the tiger, you were eaten and declared guilty. If you chose the lady, you were considered innocent and immediately married to the lady. The king didn't care about your previous marital status or sexual orientation, apparently."

He leaned back against his desk. "One day the king discovered that his daughter had been having an affair with someone far below her station, so the man was arrested and tossed into the arena. Now the princess knew which door had what behind it, and her lover looked up to her for advice. She had two choices: watch her love die, or watch him marry another woman. The story ends with the princess telling him which door to open, but leaves us hanging as to what waited behind it."

Anakin smiled. "Your task today is two-fold. First, pair up with a classmate and decide what the princess did. Then tell me what you would have done in the princess's place."