fandomhigh | Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

Cindy was leaning on the desk when the class arrived, stirring a cup of coffee. More coffee and pastries were set off to the side for the class to partake if they were so inclined. “Morning class,” she greeted. “And welcome to those of you who are new. I’m Professor Cindy Perrault and this is Bringing Literature to Life--Through Violence.”

Max was standing at a loose sort of attention off to the side just a bit. Jeans and a slightly rumpled white button-down shirt were dressy enough for class, right? He grinned. "I'm Antillar Maximus. For this course you can call me Centurion." His grin broadened. "I suspect you can guess which part of the class is my forte."

Cindy raised an amused eyebrow at him, but didn’t argue. Not everyone needed to know about her weapon specialties, so Max’s statement could stand. “So, the way this class will work is pretty simple. The Centurion and I will be trading off classes; your classes with me will cover some famous battles in literature and then, in your classes with him, you’ll get to experience the way the actual battles and weaponry work.”

Hey, Max knew she could kick his butt, but that wasn’t part of her cover. And if he could help her build that up, he was happy to. “We’ll be doing some pretty physical stuff, so wear something you can move in. And let me know if there’s anything we should know about your physical condition.”

He grinned. “One of the things we’re hoping you can do is put together the two segments of these classes in your head. Understand how the reality of combat and the way it’s used in literature line up with each other. And how they don’t.”

“And we’ll get into all of that next week,” Cindy finished. “This week is for introductions and heaven forbid we skip tradition.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Yes. We’re very traditional in here, after all.”

Cindy snorted. “Damn right we are. So--introductions. First the basics: name, class, and where you’re from. Then the good stuff--tell us about how war is waged back home. Are armed clashed generally small battles, where everyone can see one another’s faces? Massive armies? Fleets of ships or tanks or what-have you? What kind of weapons are used? Or is warfare shunned entirely, and all problems are solved through diplomacy? Whatever you feel like sharing is fine.”

“At the same time, we want you to tell us a bit about how war is treated in stories. Is it a glorious example of individual prowess? Is it a warning against the horrors that people can inflict on one another? Are wars presented as glorious nationalistic narratives, or as a way of highlighting the evils of warmongering? Let’s all get a feel for how we think and talk about war.”

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"'Cause they're huge dorks?"

"Why would dorks be interested in a war game?" Cindy asked, not at all put off by the answer.

"I don't pretend to understand the inner workings of the dork mind."

"Give it your best shot," Cindy said dryly. "Most dorks aren't fond of physical violence in the real world, right?"

Sam struck her as the kind of girl who would know the answer to that.

"I don't know, man, they can get pretty vicious when someone tries to show them up at a convention."

"Strength of numbers," Cindy noted. "But the video game?"

"'Cause in real life they're totally spineless?" Sam guessed. "So in the video game they can pretend they're kick ass and powerful."

"And why would that matter?" Cindy pressed. "Why should they care whether they're seen as spineless?"

"Because then they need someone like me to come in and keep bullies off of 'em." It was one of Sam's few truly redeeming qualities. "Bullies can totally smell fear."

Cindy smiled at that. "So, in real life, they're seen as weak prey or in need of rescuing. So they go home to play a video game to make them feel better about themselves?"

"Yup. And because all their nubbish friends are on it, too, and there's safety in numbers."

"And can you think of any way to connect this behavior to the larger society of people? Not just dorks?" Cindy asked.

Sam frowned. "Why does it need to be corrected? They're just playing a game."

"Because everything's connected," Cindy replied. "Someone designed that game assuming that it would be fun and make money. Why did they think that? Because society and culture proves that war-based games are usually profitable. Why is that true? Well, that's what we're trying to find out?"

"But if people can just beat people up in pretend, then maybe they won't feel the need to do it for real."

You know, unless they were Sam. Who got it out of her system beating up bullies and Freddie.

"And that says something about a belief that's found in the culture," Cindy said, nodding. "The idea that there's a natural aggression that can only be satiated by some kind of violence. Then you have the opponents who believe that violent video games go out and cause violence. There's evidence for both sides, even. The point is, we can find out about these little hints of a culture's beliefs, even just by looking at a lot of dorks playing a video game. See what I mean?"

Sam pondered this.

"So . . . dorks have a purpose, too."

Cindy just laughed. "More than one, I assure you."

"I guess," Sam said, rather clearly not believing it. Teachers were always trying to say stuff like that, though, and Sam had learned to humor them.

Bringing Literature To Life--Through Violence! [Tuesday, Second Period]

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