fandomhigh | Spy Games, Monday, Period 5

Entry tags:

spycraft

Spy Games, Monday, Period 5

If Sarah didn't seem nervous as she waited for the class to assemble, that was only because she'd spent the last decade keeping cool on the outside no matter what went on underneath. Just teaching for the first time would be bad enough, but there was one student name on the roster that she had very much never expected to see here.

"Welcome to Spy Games," she said with a smile and a twist of her sweaty palms against her skirt as the time came for the session to begin. Her voice came out calm, sure, self-confident as possible. Thank God. "I am your instructor for the next two months. My name's Sarah Walker and, to get this out of the way, I am qualified to teach this class because I worked for the CIA for the last several years. My main focus was protection of national security data."

Anyone at the CIA could say that, but Sarah was hoping to ward off questions.

"If you're here," she went on, "I'm going to assume you want to be a spy, or at least want to know how to be a spy. Maybe you want to work for the government; maybe you just know a lot of people you don't trust. Whatever your experience, there are all kinds of applications for the stuff we're learning here. The syllabus and rules are on your desks, but some of the things we'll cover are lockpicking, disguise, persuasion, and weapons."

"But today, we're talking about basic undercover work," she went on. "If you're undercover, you're lying to everyone all the time. You lie about your name, your family, what you do for a living, maybe your politics, maybe your religion. But under all that, you can't change who you are. You're still you, but the details are different. And the secret of good undercover work is using that."

"For example, I'm not exactly the chattiest person in the world. If I go undercover for more than a few hours and I decide I'm going to be someone who can't keep her mouth shut, I'm going to get caught fast. I'll always have to think about the part I'm playing, and that's when people make stupid mistakes. And a big part of your job as a spy is not making stupid mistakes."

She cleared her throat, finally relaxing into this. "I understand the tradition for the first week of classes is introductions. We're doing that, but with a twist. If you've heard of the game 'Two Truths and a Lie,' we're going to play that -- except you must make one true statement about yourself, one false statement about yourself, and a third statement that can be either true or false. Your fellow students will guess how many lies you told, and which they are."

"Remember that if you're undercover, you're lying for a reason. And in this class, you have a purpose too. Tell lies -- and truths -- that will make me think you have it in you to be a good spy." She pointed out randomly. "You first."

Once the students were done with the game, she smiled before dismissing the class. "Your assignment for the week is to tell one lie. It doesn't have to be a big one or about anything that matters. Just tell it and see how it feels; we'll report back next Monday. And if any of you want to be TA, I could use one. And Miss Bartowski, please stick around too -- I have a quick question for you."

She was impressed how level her tone sounded on that last bit.

[OOC: First posted class of the semester! I will pick up tags in the a.m.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm Ender Wiggin," he said. He'd done something like this before, and he had no doubt it'd be smoother this time. "I spent most of my life living in space, my brother is currently taking over the world, and I didn't pick this class."

None of which were facts he cared about anyone knowing.

Edited 2009-05-11 13:04 (UTC)

"Hi Ender," Sarah said. It was Andrew on the paperwork; she scribbled the correction in as she mulled over her choices. "Space is pretty ordinary here, so I think that's true," she said. "I'm going to flatter myself and hope you're lying about not picking the class."

She had no idea about his brother.

Peter was Peter was Peter. Ender wasn't going to bother with explaining.

"I could be lying about lying at all," he said. "But flattering yourself's fine, too."

Sarah's initial impulse was to point out that lying about lying wasn't really in the spirit of the exercise, but she reconsidered. Anyone who was already pulling something like that in the first session might have it in himself to be a good agent; sometimes, a few truths were more effective than any lie could be.

"You could be lying about lying," she agreed. "So, on the assumption all of the things you just told me are factual, I'll ask if you think your brother is doing a good thing."

"I could also be lying about telling you any truths at all," he said, slight smile never wavering, "But that might be getting a little too existential about it. My brother isn't my problem anymore."

"And if he's not your problem, you just admitted you said at least one true thing," Sarah said. "Unless that was a lie too."

She didn't believe that; she thought if his statements were either all truths or all lies, they were more likely all truths, if limited ones. He also hadn't corrected her on the space thing, but, again, if he was lying ...

None of it mattered, then. She would just decide Ender was interesting and move on.

"It does all get a little existential for a class exercise."

"Saying he's not my problem could mean any number of things," he pointed out. "It's often better to assume it's a lie. They're ubiquitous, and more dependable than the truth."

It was possible that Ender picked his classes based on which teachers he could argue these things with, although he was careful to avoid actual conflict.

"True. So say you're lying about everything," Sarah said agreeably. "You grew up in New Jersey, you chose this class, and you don't even have a brother."

"What would it say about you that you chose those lies?"

Everything could be a lie, but people couldn't change who they were; their lies revealed the person underneath, if you looked at them right.

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

endsthegame - 2009-05-11 15:02 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

saveyoulater.livejournal.com - 2009-05-11 15:33 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

endsthegame - 2009-05-11 15:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

saveyoulater.livejournal.com - 2009-05-11 15:55 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

endsthegame - 2009-05-11 16:07 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

saveyoulater.livejournal.com - 2009-05-11 16:13 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

endsthegame - 2009-05-11 16:16 (UTC) - Expand

Valentine arched an eyebrow a little to hear Ender's. She wouldn't say anything, of course, since it seemed a little pointless if you already knew the answer without having to guess or reason, but she was a little surprised...and interested...to know that Ender was open about Peter.

Simple fact checking. Knowing the score. Her whole attempt to come across as utterly boring might be thwarted based on crossed wires.

Ender had caught her look, and smiled at her, as if to say I know what I'm doing.

He could keep his head down where needed, but in Fandom, it was actually strange if you were boring, and a little weirdness made it easier to fly under the radar.

He'd detached himself from Peter a while ago, much like he had with his parents, despite their attempts to get back into contact with him.

Valentine just maintained a lingering look back, before shrugging and turning her attention to the other in the class, running a hand through her hair. She hadn't exactly been so lucky as to detach herself, and wondered briefly if that was why she was so keen on doing it now while he didn't seem to.

Claire eyed him. She hoped that if the first two were true, that meant his brother was not a Company operative.

"What's space like?"

"Cold," Ender replied.

No, it wasn't; it was pretty warm, actually. He said cold, though, because that's what the movies had said, which made it both easier and harder to determine whether he was lying.

Claire considered that. "I don't think I'd like it then. I've only lived places that were warm. Though I am intrigued about seeing snow."

"From the south, or from another universe?" Ender guessed. Talking about other people was generally more his thing anyway.

"The south," she said. "Texas and now California."

"Then winter here will probably be a whole new experience." If she stuck around that long.

"Yeah, that's my guess," she said. "I guess you're used to it though? Do you have skiing in space?"

Re: Activity - Truths and Lies [Spy Games, 5/11]

endsthegame - 2009-05-11 17:43 (UTC) - Expand

"Space?" Karla asked. "Is that a different Realm? And I doubt your brother is trying to take over the world."

Witches wouldn't stand for a male ruling the entire world. That'd just be weird.

"Space is what's beyond the sky," Ender said, looking for words that someone who hadn't lived in the space age would understand. "Where the stars are." He tilted his head at her last answer. "Nice guess," he said.

It was also wrong.

"You can go up to the stars?!?" she gasped. "I thought only the Ancient dragons could do that!"

"Technology is probably different where you're from," Ender said, as gently as he could. "We have ships that can take us there."

He was using the easiest analogies he could.

Karla tried to imagine the sheer amount of power it would take to even attempt such a feat. She failed. "And what do you do up there? It must be wonderful."

"Mostly the same things we do down here," Ender said, with a wistful little smile. "Eat, explore and wage war."

"War?! You mean there are other beings who live in the stars?"

Karla didn't seem surprised to hear that they fought. Even getting to the stars would pale in comparison to removing the aggression from the males.