fandomhigh | Applied Science | Monday, 8/31 |Period 1

Entry tags:

applied science

Applied Science | Monday, 8/31 |Period 1

Oh, hey, a new semester! That meant Tyler was on time, actually put on a tie, and -- in honor of the early hour -- had a huge tank of coffee and stack of cups on a back table.

"Hi," he said as the class filed in, gesturing a little with the coffee mug that probably would not leave his hand in the next 15 classes. "Welcome to applied science. I'm Tyler Durden. Tyler works, Mr. Durden works ... not a big fan of 'hey you' in the classroom."

"Usually I make soap the first week, but this doesn't feel like a day for it." By which he meant he wasn't quite ready to repeat the class yet, and was saving it. "So today, we're talking about one of the most basic concepts in physics -- simple machines."

"Basically, a simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force -- the simplest mechanisms that use leverage to multiply force. A simple machine uses a single applied force to do work against a single load force. Ignoring friction losses, the work done on the load is equal to the work done by the applied force. They can be used to increase the amount of the output force, at the cost of a proportional decrease in the distance moved by the load. The ratio of the output to the input force is called the mechanical advantage."

"Six things are classically considered simple machines." He moved over to stand in front of a counter of such, holding each up as he talked. "The lever, like this hammer. The wheel and axle. The inclined plane, or ramp. The screw. The wedge. The pulley."

The lecture continued for a while, then: "Today we're going to introduce ourselves -- name, grade, and who you would fight if you could fight anyone, living, dead or imaginary -- then try to see how each of these simple machines are useful by trying to build something." He nodded to a student in the first row. "You first. And I need a TA or two." Not looking at Ino ~~if she was there~~, there. "Talk to me during the introductions or after class if you're interested."

[OOC: TAs have been chosen OOCly.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Righto. Introductions. Nobody had really had an outright problem with Jonothon's telepathy on Saturday at the picnic, but he wasn't holding his breath expecting it to go over without a hitch, here. Physical inability aside. But he had to introduce himself anyhow, so he might as well get it over with.

//Jonothon Starsmore. Junior. And...// Fight? //I'd like to give a good punch to whoever it was who invented the bloody boy band.//

Of course, if he didn't look up at all while speaking, there was a fair chance people might not single him out too quickly, right?

Tyler flinched slightly and involuntarily at the voice in his head. He was never too fond of telepaths. Still. He supposed it wasn't the kid's fault, so he'd stay calm.

"Hi, Jonothon," he said. "Mind raising a hand? I couldn't tell where your voice was coming from."

Jonothon kept his gaze directed downward even as he lifted his hand.

Here he was. People could commence chasing him out with sticks whenever the hell they were ready. Best to get it over with early, then.

Jono had a few issues, yes.

If he looked up, he'd see Tyler didn't have any inclination to start chasing him with sticks.

Also, he was starting to pick up on that the weird smell wasn't the bunsen burners.

"Hi. I don't like boy bands either."

Well, that was... not entirely the reaction that Jonothon had been expecting.

His hand fell down to his side again and he looked upward, raising an eyebrow slightly. This was something he was going to have to get used to, wasn't it?

//They're sellouts,// he replied. It was an uneasy sort of response, as he still wasn't entirely certain what to make of that particular reaction, but it was still open. If everybody else had to speak to the class, so did he. //Making as much money as possible from screaming thirteen year-olds isn't what music is about.//

Keeping people off-balance was one of the things Tyler did. The kid was here, so he clearly wasn't dangerous; the mental talking thing was just a wobble he'd have to get used to.

"Ah," he said. "And you like ... what? Deathcore? Straight-edge? People who play in bars to groups of about five people?"

//Mostly grunge,// Jonothon replied. //Alternative, but I have to be able to actually understand the bloody lyrics.//

Deathcore. Honestly.

//Pearl Jam, Hole, Bush. Nirvana, though I might never forgive Cobain for givin' up like 'e did.//

Better taste than he'd given the kid credit for, then, but that was stuff that had been popular when Tyler was in grade school.

"It was an as- a jerky thing to do to his daughter," he said absently. Yay, he remembered not to swear. "Weird question, but what year is it for you back home?"

//Not too weird, considerin' the things I've already run into since I got 'ere. I'm from 1995.//

That was probably one of the more normal questions he'd been asked since he was abducted by sentient mist.

"On the sliding scale of weird here, a little time travel's pretty much par for the course," Tyler had to admit, then thought of something. "Hey, how would you feel about a TA slot?"

Re: Introductions [8/31]

furnaceface - 2009-08-31 14:35 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [8/31]

tyler_gone - 2009-08-31 15:18 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [8/31]

furnaceface - 2009-08-31 15:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Introductions [8/31]

tyler_gone - 2009-08-31 15:27 (UTC) - Expand

Dinah jerked, blinked, and turned to look at the guy who was talking in her head, surprised. She stared for a second, puzzled, and then sent, Can you hear me? Because so far only Emma had managed that trick of projecting without Dinah having to be touching her.

Then she realized that if he couldn't, there was no way he'd comment on it. Duuuh. Or he might not because it was the middle of class.

Jonothon's telepathy worked only one way. Unless, of course, the person talking to him could project thoughts as well, in which case it wasn't him, it was them doing the talking and he was just listening to what was being said.

And so, when he met her look with a somewhat challenging 'so what?' look of his own, it was because people were staring at him, and not because of anything he'd heard.

Edited 2009-08-31 15:58 (UTC)

Dinah's return look just went completely puzzled for a minute; was she supposed to hear something there? Evidently not. Or maybe she was and the limits on her own telepathy had kicked in again. She settled for a confused shrug, then a rueful smile that might have conveyed, Sorry, dude. My bad.

Then again, she wasn't Jak, so maybe it just conveyed that she was a doof.

Mostly the doof part. She was blonde and probably American, wasn't she? So Jono was definitely going to settle on 'doof.'

He gave his head a shake and returned his attention to... Well. To the top of his desk.

Dinah did kind of wonder about the wrappings; was that a costume or something? That they were actual bandages had gone completely over her head. Thus proving Jono wasn't totally off-base there.

She turned her attention back to the introductions, still wondering about his telepathy, though.

Ino raised her eyebrows, giving him a glance over, and shrugged. Huh.

That was interesting. Something to remember. Kid who smelt weird talked only in peoples' heads. Alright then.

... Jonothon noticed the shrug, and then decided, perhaps wisely, to brush it off.

Girl was probably another telepath or something. After all, the island only had about three million of them.

Spock turned to look at the source of the voice, one eyebrow going up in curiosity.

Jonothon could do that too, see? His eyebrow totally quirked upward as he met the eyes of the boy with the... ears. And the expressive eyebrows.

But mostly the ears.

He'd intended to give the guy a nasty look, but he relented and just crossed his arms over his chest at the realization that he wasn't the only one who was possibly a little different in this room.

Human teenagers. So hostile. Spock observed the boy for a moment longer, then nodded in acknowledgement.

And Jonothon nodded back, before turning his gaze down toward his desk. People looked at people when they were talking. That was how conversation happened.

He'd just keep telling himself that.

Spock's mother had raised him with at least a baseline understanding of human cultural norms. He knew that when someone wouldn't look at you that meant they did not want to talk about it. Still, he had never met anyone who could simply think into someone's head, without even touching. "Is this a common method of communication in or on your world?" he ventured.

If Jonothon kept ignoring him he would drop it.

//Not particularly,// Jonothon replied, looking up again. The other boy didn't really seem like he was prying, just that he was looking to understand. Understanding was... good. //Seems to be more popular 'round here than it is in my own neck of the woods. Every other person I've bumped into here is a bloody telepath.//

Karla, Jean, that bus driver with the cloak...

Edited 2009-08-31 22:34 (UTC)

"Fascinating," Spock said. Shut up, he liked that word. "My people are commonly touch-telepaths, but it is not an ability I had been aware of in humans until I came here."

... Another telepath.

Something inside Jonothon's head was going to need a moment to start working again. Why did people have mouths in the first place, at this rate?

//I'm not exactly the dictionary definition of 'human,' mate. A different type of human.// And a bit of a freak. //Yer aren't from around here then, I take it?//

Around humans, not around Fandom. Jono spoke 'Vague' as a second language, sometimes.