fandomhigh | TeeVee for Beginners, Friday Period Two

"Today, we're going to be talking about people," Mitchell said, once they'd all filled into the classroom. Anyone paying attention may have noticed the large table full of bags upon bags of crisps off to the side of the room. "People watching television, to be precise." You know, in case they'd thought he was going to talk about something a little less savoury. "Academics call television the 'electronic hearth', because where families used to gather before the fireplace, they started to gather in front of the television instead. It grew very very quickly from being a novelty to being in every household, in every family."

He gestured at the television. "Others call it being couch potatoes," he said, wryly. "People who spend too much time in front of the television. They have a little food, have a little drink, and let the programmes flow on past. Wasting their lives away, never looking for some meaning in life, never bothering to find out who they really are, what the world's really like." He smiled once. "The truth, as it generally is, lies somewhere in the middle. Television nowadays is a unifier, it brings people together, but it also sets them apart."

He wandered over to the table, patting it with his hands. "Now for the fun part," he said, "Snacks are a vital part of the modern television experience. Sometimes, it's entire meals, pizza and Chinese food." Mitchell was a great appreciator of the art. "But at this hour, that may be pushing it. Crisps," he picked up a bag and waved it around, "Are excellent television chow. I want you all to pick what looks like it may taste good, and if you're not sure, ask your fellow classmates about it." He set the bag down. "Today is all about people. About audiences, which we all are when we're watching the television. So go on, make yourself comfortable. Be an audience, meet people, see what the social contexts are all about."

He took a seat on his own couch. "Have fun. That's what television's all about."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Not at all. I'm from 20,000 years into the future." And clearly there was no television then.

"Twenty thousand years," she repeated, slowly. "I can hardly fathom so many years into time. It must be so very different, yes?"

"Quite different," Leto replied, smiling at her. "For many reasons. But you are from this time, aren't you?"

"I am, yes," she said, returning his smile and trying not to seem as if she were staring too much. But she was; his eyes were beautiful. "Your eyes are beautiful."

"Thank you," he replied, accepting the compliment. "Eyes of Ibad. The sign of Spice addiction."

"Spice addiction?" she asked. "As in cooking spices?" And if everyone there had the same color eyes, she thought what a unique and amazing place his home would be to see.

"Spice Melange. It's a drug," Leto clarified.

And of course his home was very unique and amazing. He could talk about it for a long time.

"Do you take this drung specifically to keep your eyes as they are now, Leto?"

"If I stop taking it now, it might kill me." He smiled at her. "It's in everything where I come from. Food, drink, air. Anywhere but on Arrakis it is the most expensive commodity."

Her brow furrowed lightly in frown. "Oh, my goodness," she whispered, concerned. "How are you keeping in supply here?"

"Oh, I've brought plenty with me from home," he assured her.

"Good. That's so very good," she whispered, glad to hear it. "So your home is called Arrakis - is that right?"

Penelope was difficult to figure out. The first impression was that she was intensely fragile, but there was something else there too. A genuine goodness, some kind of strength? Leto wasn't sure, but he felt a strong need not to cause her pain.

"It is," he replied. "A desert planet. Quite different from here."

[bedtime!]

She smiled, warmly, curiously. It was one thing she enjoyed much about being here; learning about the different places, universes, names, and the people who have much to tell about where they're from. An adventure almost in her mind as she created pictures with their words.

"Did you ever meet Gavin? He comes from such a place. A desert place. I've never been to the desert but I've read about it. Is your planet dry and harsh and windy?"

[Sleep well!]

"I did meet Gavin, and we talked about the desert. Arrakis is similar. The climate is harsh and survival can never be taken for granted. But we have the great sandworms, found nowhere else." Leto smiled at her, reaching out to push her hair away from her face a little.

"I'm guessing they are very big, perhaps unpleasant?" she asked, her countenance one of wonder. Then she started at his movement to push away her hair -- she didn't move, allowing it -- but her cheeks fused with color and it was more than obvious that such attention was not readily paid her.

"Very big," Leto confirmed with a grin. "Unpleasant? They are deadly to anyone not used to the desert. Then can be several hundred meters long. We ride them."

He withdrew his hand slowly, considering that it might not have been the best move, as he had no wish to cause her embarrassment. But she seemed like a person in need of that kind of attention, although perhaps not by him.

She offered him a small, shy smile, and glanced away from his eyes for a moment. Attention wasn't something she was used to and while she wasn't precisely aware, she craved it. Her first reaction was to shy away because she was more used to others fleeing from her in terror.

Leto was kind and smiled at her, so she smiled in return to overcome her slight awkwardness.

"Do they have the true shape of a real worm, like an earthworm?" She couldn't imagine riding one; wouldn't that be incredible?

"Their skin is impenetrable," Leto replied, "And I haven't exactly been studying earthworms, but apart from the obvious differences due to size I believe they could be considered similar in anatomy."

Normally Leto had no problem whatsoever to give people the attention they craved, if it amused him to do so, but Penelope seemed too easily hurt. It had nothing to do with her face; while she couldn't be called a beauty, she certainly did not inspire terror. The conversation was entertaining, however, and he saw no reason not to smile at her.

"What is it do you do on your home planet, Leto?" She asked. "Are you a student there as well?"

She was easily hurt; her upbringing rooted sensitivity and limited self-assurance in her, and that in combination with her mother's carefully construed words, made up her person. She was working on her courage as her friends continued to encourage her, but no, she wasn't by any means a beauty. And she knew it.

"A student? No. My education before Fandom has been quite different. I'm the heir to the throne." While he had avoided mentioning that for a long time, he wasn't going to lie, and talking openly about it seemed less problematic at Fandom than he had anticipated.

"You are a prince," she whispered, again taken by surprise. Or perhaps he wasn't called a prince but something different in his world. So she arched a brow, her expression curious.

"My father was Duke of Atreides and became Emperor when he took the throne from House Corrino. My aunt is now the Imperial Regent until my sister and I come of age." He found the explanation better than just using a title.

TeeVee for Beginners, Friday Period Two

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