fandomhigh | Destiny & Free Will, Week I [Monday, Period 4]

Ghanima had decided to hold class outside by the pond next to the school, since there was no reason to keep her students cooped up in a classroom today. She'd tacked a note on the classroom door, and was now waiting the students assembled, sitting on a rock as they found their way to her and took seats on the grass.

The moment everyone arrived, her eyes snapped from the pond to the children seated (or standing) around her. "Good afternoon," she said in a clear voice that carried effortlessly. "This is Destiny and Free Will. If you are in the wrong class, please consider this your opportunity to leave. Although it is entirely possible that if you are here, then you are where you are supposed to be, no matter what it says on your schedule. I am Lady Ghanima Atreides. You may address me as Miss Atreides, Lady Ghanima, Miss Ghanima, or some variation thereof. Be warned, however, that I do not answer to Lady Atreides. Lady Atreides is my grandmother, and I have no desire to claim that title from her."

"This class is designed to look at the differing opinions on predestination and freewill from a variety of religious, temporal, and philosophical schools of thought," she continued. "Regardless of any personal experiences you may have had on this topic, I expect everyone to maintain a respectful and open mind towards the subject matter and your classmates. Mocking destiny is a dangerous pastime, and not one I will permit during class hours. What you do on your own time, however, is your business."

She waved the stack of papers sitting in her lap at them. "This is your syllabus. Be aware that it is subject to change at any time, unless a particular class is predestined to happen, in which case the syllabus is moot anyway, isn’t it?" The smile she flashed the students was decidedly impish.

"For now, I would like you to go around and introduce yourselves, and state for the record whether you believe in destiny, free will, or are currently undecided."

[~~Wait for the OCD, for that is your destiny!~~ OCD is up and destiny is assured. GO FORTH.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Both tend to be used negatively at home," Ben said. "Meeting your destiny seems to involve a funeral."

What a good mood Ben was in.

Karla blinked at him a few times, surprised. She lowered her inner barriers a little to get a better sense of his psychic scent, and sent a small wave of concern, comfort, and friendship at him. She wasn't certain if he'd feel it but she felt better for having tried.

"Death is everyone's ultimate fate, isn't it?" Karla asked gently. "Even in my world, where some few have delayed it for countless millennia, we all eventually return to the Darkness. So counting death as one's destiny seems too easy to me."

"It's part of lightsaber duels," Ben said. "'Come, meet your destiny, mwahaha.' Very few visions of the future ever show something good happening." He shrugged. "So far I've missed out on visions. It's bad enough being from the future, walking a line of what I should mention, what I don't want to mention, and getting yelled at for making those choices. I don't want to know what might be coming my way, too."

"So, to know the future is to be trapped by it?" Karla asked.

Ben thought about it. "The future is constantly in motion," he said, "so there has to be some way around things. My cousin certainly had a different plan in mind for my life."

"I have always been taught that the visions we receive are simply guideposts to what may happen. It is up to us to strive for or against that vision. Nothing is immutable," Karla agreed.

"I've seen several examples where trying to change the future only made the vision come true or made it worse," Ben said, "but that just might be because my family has that kind of luck."

"So, if I ever see you in one of my tangled webs, should I tell you or not?" Karla asked. There might have been a slightest bit of amusement in her voice.

"Not," Ben said firmly.

"Then I won't," she promised, becoming serious again.

Destiny & Free Will, Week I [Monday, Period 4]

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?

Re: Destiny, Free Will, or Other?