Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

"Hey," Ender greeted the group, smiling faintly. "It's traditional for my class to spend the first week reflecting on the future, and the last reflecting on the past."

"Specifically," he continued, stretching his legs out in the grass of the dorm lawn, "How much have you changed since you got here? How do you see your future, on the island or off? Has the island been an interruption in your life, to be skipped past and left there once you graduate? Or going by your experiences, do you think it will forge lasting changes that will stick with you in the times ahead?"

He smiled briefly.

"I realize this isn't a particularly philosophical series of questions," he said. "But it's something worth reflecting on, not just with me, but between yourselves. I have a feeling your viewpoints will be as diverse as you are."

He sat back.

"But to pull it larger: do you think there's a shared experience here on this island? Something similar we all take away from it? Or none at all?"

After he let those questions sink in, he looked towards one student in particular if she was there. "Peridot? Can you come see me after class?"

Comments

Re: Talk.

[giveherahand]

"I think we develop a shorthand here," Mara said, "that won't translate easily elsewhere. No one else will just wave off a weekend where everyone lost their memories as something that just happens."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"How do you think that's going to affect you later?" Ender asked.

Re: Talk.

[giveherahand]

"As little as I can manage," Mara said bluntly. "My mentor has exacting standards."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"And Fandom doesn't measure up?" Ender said.

Re: Talk.

[giveherahand]

"He is not impressed by whimsy," Mara vastly understated.