endsthegame: (Default)
endsthegame ([personal profile] endsthegame) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2014-06-02 11:03 am

Practical Philosophy, Monday

Last night, an automated message had gone out to everyone - by computer for those who could use one, and by printed, mailed note to those who couldn't - telling them to meet in a classroom instead of on the dorms this time.

It would swiftly become clear why, as a komodo dragon entered the room with a kitten sitting on his head. A few moments later, a nexu followed, grinning his intensely unsettling grin at the class. The nexu sat down in the corner and immediately began grooming his own behind.

The kitten hopped up on the desk and batted at the computer keyboard lying on top of it.

A projector beamed Ender's image onto the wall behind the circus.

"If you're seeing this," said Ender in the video, "I'm currently transformed into something else, most likely a komodo dragon - a large lizard - though it's entirely possible the island has come up with something else for me. My teaching assistant and my partner will also have been inconvenienced, or one of them would be the one teaching you today."

The Ender in the video smiled faintly.

"I think this is an excellent time to discuss the ethics of transformation," he said. "Learning experience? Drastic betrayal of consent by an omniscient island entity? An unfortunate consequence of living on this island, much like floods and earthquakes are elsewhere? Has it happened to you, or are you afraid it will, and what measures have you taken to cope with it? Are you considering taking some now?"

There was a short pause.

"I'll be attempting to communicate with you through a translator, who will digitally print my answers on this very screen," he said. "I hope that she will remain true to the actual meaning of my words and not play tricks on you, but be forewarned there is someone else paying some attention right now. She won't betray anything said in this room to anyone outside of it, mind, but I felt full disclosure was important here."

The projector clicked off.

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] notaweenie.livejournal.com 2014-06-02 01:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay. Well it hasn't happened to me," Barry admitted after the initial shock wore off. "Though my friend did once turn into a dinosaur when he didn't fucking listen to me and drank some mutagenic material I was working. He thought it was an artificial sweetner I was developing. I had to go to his house and find some original DNA in order to clone him a new body."

He gave the teachers and the TA a look. "Unlike you guys he could still talk. And had his original hair."

He shrugged.

"Let me know if you guys get stuck that way and I'll clone you some new bodies."
justwantedfriends: ([meh] thinky and such)

Re: Talk.

[personal profile] justwantedfriends 2014-06-02 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
"I totally feel like I should be taking some measure to prepare for this, since it's apparently something common," Kira said, looking a little nervous. "I guess how I feel about it would depend on what kind of animal I turned into. Is it the same one every time? Like, maybe some sort of spirit thing?"

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
"I suppose this is an excellent time for this lecture," Eleanor said, gesturing to the tiny polar bear cub cuddled onto her lap. "Behold, Elsa. We were about to walk downtown for ice cream when she transformed thus. I've taken it upon myself to watch out for her."

The tiny cub yawned, and Eleanor laughed, fondly. "She's usually more playful," she said. "But whenever it's naptime she's right back to my lap."

Eleanor was seriously growing enamored of this having-a-pet thing.
Edited 2014-06-03 01:30 (UTC)

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] fly-so-serious.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Ohhhh, I am so going to break my legs if that happens to me," Joker moaned, with a wry chuckle. "No braces, no crutches -- I am going to be screwed."

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
"Animal-you might not have the same genetic condition," Eleanor suggested.

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] fly-so-serious.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Maybe not," Joker conceded. "Which would be both kind of cool and kind of hash. Or maybe the island will just give me tiny little leg braces. You never know." He suddenly snickered. "Or maybe it'll make me a cuttlefish!"

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
"Maybe you get to star on Octo ER," Eleanor laughed. "See if you can get the blue-ringed octopus to take you back, after all of that cheating."

Re: Talk.

[identity profile] fly-so-serious.livejournal.com 2014-06-03 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Joker fluttered his eyelashes at her. "Well, it's not really cheating if it's just cuttling..."