Try Not to Die, Monday, November 6, 2023

[sith_happened]

Today the students were at a border checkpoint in the woods, thanks to the Danger Shop. "Part of your job as a diplomat will be to discover and nurture sources of information in the area you're visiting," Anakin began. "And sometimes their home governments find out about your collaborations and sometimes that goes extremely badly for your source."

He gestured to the car. "Your source is in this car's trunk. You need to get him over this border alive and undetected. You have the car, your fake spouse--who is driving--a fake baby in the backseat, snacks, baby items, and genuine papers to get you over the border. Your source, naturally, is not allowed out of this country. The border is guarded by two men--one who cares about being there, the other not as much--and a big dog who is trained to sniff out, well, people hiding in trunks of cars. You do not have a weapon or any supernatural powers. You have your wits and the objects in the car. How do you get over the border?"

Practical Folklore, Monday 2nd period

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

"Right." Jon nodded at them all. "Today we're discussing a golem. They come to us from Jewish folklore. They're a rare example of a mostly positive creature, or at least one with positive overtones originally, as they were created to be protectors. A golem is a creature traditionally created from clay, mud, or stone, then animated via magical means. Originally the word of god, but for our purposes, let's go with any means available."

He paused. "I suppose, technically speaking, this would include zombies as a sort of...um, well, flesh-based golem? But let's consider them as something else. And, um. Not computers or robots, since they're not magical. As far as we know. But a creature of inanimate materials animated by magic of some sort."

He wrote on the board. "One method of animating a golem involved writing that was inserted into its head or mouth. Removing or altering the writing could be a way to...well, not really kill it, but stop it. The primary danger of golems is that they are apparently very literal, and don't really have good judgment, so they may end up doing things you don't expect. The main way to know a golem is either by its appearance, or by the fact that it can't talk.

"So, um. Does anybody have experience with them, or knowledge about them? And apart from 'don't cross people who can create one', are there other methods of dealing with them?"

Evolutionary Science for Beginners - Monday, 1st Period

[itsananomaly]

Cutter had considered cancelling class after what had happened last week but he eventually dragged himself to the classroom after stopping for one of the largest cups of coffee he could get and he waited for class to begin.

“Welcome back,” he said softly once everyone had turned up and he and Connor were standing in front of the classroom, “this week we’re going to be looking at plant evolution,” which he belated realised that he should have changed this week’s topic after his and Connor’s encounter with the fungi and he looked rather apologetically over at Connor as he began that week’s class, “The early plants were small, unicellular or filamentous, with simple branching, because these plants are small and soft bodied it is often hard to identify plants in the Cambrian Strata,” he explained, “it should be noted that there were no land plants with vascular tissues until the mid silurian,” he nodded at Connor with a small tired smile for him to continue the class.

Connor forced a small smile as he set down the cup of coffee he had been clutching. As he pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, hiding the last remnants of the bruise-like mark from where the fungi had infected him, he started his part of the lecture.

“The first photosynthetic organisms were bacteria that lived in the water. So, where did plants come from? Evidence shows that plants evolved from freshwater green algae. The similarities between green algae and plants is one piece of evidence. They both have cellulose in their cell walls, and they share many of the same chemicals that give them color. So, what separates green algae from green plants? The answer is in the adaptations and how plants evolved to survive on land to be the plants we commonly think of today. Most plants today have adaptations that make them suitable for where they are found- stems, leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, they all are specially adapted to make it easier for the plants to survive and reproduce. Roots that anchor trees in place, stems and leaves that hold onto water, seeds that can spread on the wind, and overall plant design like vining stems or sticky tendrils all help plants adapt and survive in the environments they are found in.”

Connor nodded as he gave a small sigh and looked back to Cutter when he had finished, taking another long drink from the cup of coffee as he did.

“This week we have a worksheet for you to fill in,” Cutter finished up that week’s lecture, “the purpose of this worksheet is to match up the plant to the environment that it is found in and the era it is from, as always if you need help Mr. Temple and myself will be happy to answer any questions that you may have,”