fandomhigh | Unblinded Science, Period Six [5/24]

Walter was feeling a bit testy. He had had a number of fascinating ideas for this week's class only to have them shot down on safety reason. Honestly, the parasite wasn't all that dangerous when Walter already had the treatment ready. It would have been educational for the students to see a very large example of why parasitism is so efficient that it evolves even in closed systems.

But no. No playing with parasites thanks to small-minded "safety" regulations.

Walter had decided to instead talk about one of his earlier role models.
Handouts
Nikola Tesla
The Tesla coil

If, by lecture, one could call a ramble filled with tangents a lecture, then Walter did indeed lecture on Nikola Tesla. If one did not call such a ramble a lecture, then there were always the handouts to turn his words into something more linearly comprehensible.

Choice excerpts of the ramble:

"What does it say about the man that he could not abide pearl earrings? Was it a high regard for oysters? Or a higher regard for women, not wanting to see them wearing the by-product of an oyster's indigestion on their ears?"

and

"Creating Tesla's particle weapon is not the snipe hunt that some scientists believe it to be. An open ended vacuum tube with a gas jet seal that allows particles to exit, a method of charging particles to millions of volts, and a method of creating and directing nondispersive particle streams through electrostatic repulsion is not just possible, but I posit that it has been created and is in use even now."

Soon after digressing on particle weapons, Walter seemed to realize that he had either lost his audience or perhaps just lost his track on what he was saying.

"But enough of that. You're doubtless getting impatient to get on to the hands on. I know I would be." And with that, he fumbled with the remote control until the projector screen behind him lit up to display a rather unusual performance of some music some students may have seen on TV commercials for a group of entrepreneurs based out of New York City.

The students' workstations were set up rather differently this week with four booths, each equipped with a pair of small tesla coils, a computer to control the coils, a record player, a keyboard, and last.fm streaming.

The assignment this week was to break into four groups of three or four and experiment with creating music with the coils. There are safety cut-outs in effect to avoid unfortunate accidents and Walter would stop in each workstation to check with the students regarding their progress.

[ooc: The performers are Arc Attack. Cool stuff if you're a geek like me. ~~Hang on a sec for OCD.~~]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I have, like, a ten year advantage on people from my time," Claudia boasted. "Comes from hanging out with a guy going after an advanced physics degree in your formative years."

"What sort of guy?" Peter asked, genuinely curious. His expression even said so. "I mean, I'm assuming it wasn't a relative, given the way you phrased that."

Claudia's nose wrinkled. "My brother. He was a guy, so, you know, fits the criteria."

"I guess he technically is," Peter acquiesced. "It just strikes me that calling him 'a guy' before 'your brother' seemed a little odd, I guess."

Claudia frowned. "It was the context of the statement. I was being all general."

"Fair enough," Peter said. "So your brother is just as smart as you?"

"He was more theoretical. Probably didn't help that he had to keep an eye on me while he was at it all, you know?"

"He had to babysit you a lot?" Peter said. "So what, he had you reading Einstein at five?"

"He raised me. So when he was working on his school work, he let me help out."

"Sounds like a good brother," Peter said, an only child. "Well, I definitely think he must have done a great job."

"Aw." Claudia glanced down. "Thanks."

"Better than Walter, at least," Peter said, almost hoping his father overheard. "So, let me assure you, there will be no rodentcide in this class."

"So, I mean, I don't like to assume, but I take it you and Walter are. . . ?"

"He's my father, yes," Peter said. "The apple hopefully falls far, far from the tree."

"If my dad were here, I sure as heck wouldn't be calling him by his first name."

"And your dad probably didn't leave you alone with your mother for four years because of... extenuating circumstances that were all his fault," Peter said, shying away from telling his father's big secret.

". . . No. He, uh. Died when I was little. So did my mom." Claudia shrugged. "Hence, raised by Joshua."

"Sorry," Peter said, genuinely. "But see, different backgrounds, different family dynamics. I'm sure it makes me seem like an ungrateful son, but... not a lot to be grateful for."

"So how'd you end up going to school where he's teaching?"

"Bad luck," Peter said. "Neither I nor my mother had any idea he was here when I agreed to come here. At least, I continue to hope that she didn't."

"But you're his TA."

"He recruited me at the picnic," Peter said. "And I decided I didn't dislike anyone at this school enough to let them have the job instead."

"You really don't think much of the guy, do you." There was no judgement in her voice, just a slightly bewildered observation.

"I'll share a few stories some time he's not within earshot," Peter said.

"Okay. But no more microwaving rats."

Unblinded Science, Period Six [5/24]

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