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fandomhigh2017-09-06 12:21 am
livingartifact) wrote in fandomhigh2017-09-06 12:21 am
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Introduction to Earth Zoology, Wednesday, period 1
The classroom appeared much the same as it had last week, albeit much more dimly lit, and with the addition of two new chairs at the table, one extra large and one resembling a fancy barstool, extra-high with an almost ladder-like arrangement of horizontal supports. There were also a half dozen or so rolling step stools of varying heights.
Jenkins was glad to see his students were willing to assist each other when necessary, but was chagrined that such assistance had been required.
The chalkboard had been draped with a white cloth, and an old fashioned slide projector sat in the center of the table. A few warm, banker's lamps were scattered along the table for those who wished to take notes during the lecture.
"Welcome back," Jenkins greeted the students. "I had originally planned this week to teach you about the Central American creature known as 'el chupacabra', but I've heard that . . . other . . . class has already tackled it. And I would hate to be thought of as repetitive. Fortunately I was able to pull a few last minute strings — an extra goat, primarily, to keep the beasts occupied — and called in a very old favor, and as such am able to present to you instead: Nessiteras rhombopteryx. Or as she is much better known: the Loch Ness Monster." Jenkins hit the button on his remote for the projector, and a title card bearing both names for the creature appeared. He smirked faintly at the students. "Her friends and fans refer to her as 'Nessie'.
"Loch Ness is the name of a large, freshwater lake located here." He clicked his remote, switching rapidly through a succession of slides that zeroed in from an overview of the entire Earth to a close up satellite photo of the Loch in question. "It is a region of the Earth quite well known for its connection to magic and the supernatural, primarily because those who conquered the land and its inhabitants found it strange and off-putting, and then went on to conquer most of the rest of the world at one time or another. That said, the British Isles do have a rather large concentration of ley lines. . . . But I digress."
He hit the button again, this time bringing up a rather vicious looking picture. "Popular theory holds that Nessie is a remnant of the prehistoric Earth species, Elasmosaurus. Of course, popular theory also holds that she doesn't exist, so let that be a lesson in taking popular theory for granted. Those of you from similar Earth-like worlds may be familiar with this image."
He hit the button his remote again, and let out a long suffering sigh at the picture that came up. "It would seem my colleague from home has decided to have a bit of fun with us. Pay this no mind."
He clicked the slide over again, revealing the classic photo of Nessie. "As I was saying, you may well be more familiar with this image, which was of course famously debunked when the photographer came forward after more than fifty years and revealed it as a hoax." Jenkins turned to the class again. "I assure you, Nessie had that situation well in hand. She rather enjoys playing with the nosy tourists. Dinosaurian wiliness and all that." When he next clicked his remote, the slide projector switched off entirely, plunging the room into dimness. "Nessie is not in fact an Elasmosaurus, of course. They died off in the K-T extinction some 65 million years ago. She is however, a distant and direct descendent of those creatures, of a hardy and extraordinarily long-lived stock that has dwelt in the deep, frigid waters of the loch for millenia, since the last glaciers left the island about ten thousand years ago. She lays an egg only once every hundred years, which I hope you will all take into account as you consider your luck to have signed up for this class."
One last click of that remote and the lights in the room came up in full. Jenkins walked to one of the side tables, removing a sheet from what was revealed to be a large glass aquarium in which a football-sized, long necked animal swam about in idle circles, gazing curiously out at the students.
"This is Nessie's most recent progeny, on loan to us from the baby's current foster mother, Ezekiel Jones. I'm afraid she's already eaten all the minnows I provided for her to snack on, but she is quite gregarious, and will interact with you quite happily regardless. I only ask that you look without touching, and please don't tap on the glass. That's not just a line, it actually causes quite a disturbance in the water, and may give the poor critter indigestion. You do not want to see a Loch Ness Monster lose her minnows."
Jenkins was glad to see his students were willing to assist each other when necessary, but was chagrined that such assistance had been required.
The chalkboard had been draped with a white cloth, and an old fashioned slide projector sat in the center of the table. A few warm, banker's lamps were scattered along the table for those who wished to take notes during the lecture.
"Welcome back," Jenkins greeted the students. "I had originally planned this week to teach you about the Central American creature known as 'el chupacabra', but I've heard that . . . other . . . class has already tackled it. And I would hate to be thought of as repetitive. Fortunately I was able to pull a few last minute strings — an extra goat, primarily, to keep the beasts occupied — and called in a very old favor, and as such am able to present to you instead: Nessiteras rhombopteryx. Or as she is much better known: the Loch Ness Monster." Jenkins hit the button on his remote for the projector, and a title card bearing both names for the creature appeared. He smirked faintly at the students. "Her friends and fans refer to her as 'Nessie'.
"Loch Ness is the name of a large, freshwater lake located here." He clicked his remote, switching rapidly through a succession of slides that zeroed in from an overview of the entire Earth to a close up satellite photo of the Loch in question. "It is a region of the Earth quite well known for its connection to magic and the supernatural, primarily because those who conquered the land and its inhabitants found it strange and off-putting, and then went on to conquer most of the rest of the world at one time or another. That said, the British Isles do have a rather large concentration of ley lines. . . . But I digress."
He hit the button again, this time bringing up a rather vicious looking picture. "Popular theory holds that Nessie is a remnant of the prehistoric Earth species, Elasmosaurus. Of course, popular theory also holds that she doesn't exist, so let that be a lesson in taking popular theory for granted. Those of you from similar Earth-like worlds may be familiar with this image."
He hit the button his remote again, and let out a long suffering sigh at the picture that came up. "It would seem my colleague from home has decided to have a bit of fun with us. Pay this no mind."
He clicked the slide over again, revealing the classic photo of Nessie. "As I was saying, you may well be more familiar with this image, which was of course famously debunked when the photographer came forward after more than fifty years and revealed it as a hoax." Jenkins turned to the class again. "I assure you, Nessie had that situation well in hand. She rather enjoys playing with the nosy tourists. Dinosaurian wiliness and all that." When he next clicked his remote, the slide projector switched off entirely, plunging the room into dimness. "Nessie is not in fact an Elasmosaurus, of course. They died off in the K-T extinction some 65 million years ago. She is however, a distant and direct descendent of those creatures, of a hardy and extraordinarily long-lived stock that has dwelt in the deep, frigid waters of the loch for millenia, since the last glaciers left the island about ten thousand years ago. She lays an egg only once every hundred years, which I hope you will all take into account as you consider your luck to have signed up for this class."
One last click of that remote and the lights in the room came up in full. Jenkins walked to one of the side tables, removing a sheet from what was revealed to be a large glass aquarium in which a football-sized, long necked animal swam about in idle circles, gazing curiously out at the students.
"This is Nessie's most recent progeny, on loan to us from the baby's current foster mother, Ezekiel Jones. I'm afraid she's already eaten all the minnows I provided for her to snack on, but she is quite gregarious, and will interact with you quite happily regardless. I only ask that you look without touching, and please don't tap on the glass. That's not just a line, it actually causes quite a disturbance in the water, and may give the poor critter indigestion. You do not want to see a Loch Ness Monster lose her minnows."
Sign in
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Re: Sign in
Re: Sign in
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Listen to the lecture
Re: Listen to the lecture
Nessie! How wonderful!
Oogle the animal
Re: Oogle the animal
So functionally simple. She was making pleased little cackling sounds as she wheeled the stool for a test lap around the room, and then, eventually, over toward the aquarium. She was here to see the animal too, after all.
Re: Oogle the animal
Re: Oogle the animal
Apparently this was far more awesome than meeting a baby cryptid face to face.
Re: Oogle the animal
Look, she was a growing girl with a large metabolism. Yang always had snacks.
Re: Oogle the animal
Re: Oogle the animal
"Sorry, kiddo," she informed Nessie Jr. "Most jerky's got at least some wheat in it, 'cause soy sauce, or I'd share."
Re: Oogle the animal
"Ms. Xiao Long," Jenkins repeated with a small bow. "My apologies." It wasn't a mistake he would be making twice. "No carbs," he agreed. "If you like we could see if we can find something that would work as a toy to share, instead of food. Something waterproof, of course, and too large for her to accidentally swallow."
Re: Oogle the animal
She was also probably quite tasty, but Sidon would be good and not think too much on eating what looked to be perhaps someone's pet or baby.
And he tried to see if he could communicate with her by making clicking and squeaking noises that sounded not too dissimilar from the way dolphins communicated with each other.
Re: Oogle the animal
"Ah, Mr. Sidon," Jenkins said. "I do believe you've made yourself quite a friend."
Re: Oogle the animal
And he clapped in delight at the response he'd re eived, finally allowing a little bounce aa he laughed. "Oh, she is wonderful, Mr. Jenkins! She clearly is very comfortable in front of an audience, and I don't mean to be too bold, but I should hope our similar aquatic qualities prove to be an instant common bond!"
Re: Oogle the animal
"I suspect you're right. As for the audience, she's had one since the very moment she was hatched, as myself and her foster mother were egg-sitting at the time. She and her mother are by far the largest creatures, aquatic or no, in her loch, though. She seems quite excited to see a humanoid who so closely resembles her family." Jenkins tilted his head thoughtfully. "It's also possible she simply thinks you look . . . tasty."
Re: Oogle the animal
He leaned down to peer in from the side of the tank, waving a finger back and forth. "Now, now, little one," he said, " though I'm sure you'll put up quite a good fight, I believe that is a contest I should win with ease." He flashed another sharp grin, its preditory nature contrasting with the jolility of his voice. "Perhaps if we give it a few decades, but remember, little one! I will be much larger then, too!"
Re: Oogle the animal
Baby Nessie's smile in return was no less sharp, just, you know, in a kitten-y kind of way. What with being so tiny.
"Is that so?" Jenkins asked. "I apologize, I assumed based on standard teenage humanoid anatomy that you would be about fully grown. How large do your people get?"
Re: Oogle the animal
Re: Oogle the animal
Jenkins raised his eyebrows and nodded a little at that, making at least a token attempt to reign in his natural instinct for snark.
"Of course. The physical size of a monarch is frequently directly proportionate to the effectiveness of his rule."
For instance, he managed to say that with a straight face! . . . Though those with a talent for such things would surely notice the thick layer of sarcasm underlying the statement.
Re: Oogle the animal
Re: Oogle the animal
"Ah. You are an astute one, aren't you." Jenkins smirked a little. "I recommend taking a look sometime at portraits of Henry VIII of England. He reached proportions few humans ever come near, and is one of the most notorious monarchs in his country's history."
Re: Oogle the animal
There was, however, a slight pause.
"Errr, do you think you could write that down for me?"
Re: Oogle the animal
Jenkins looked around at the piles of paper and pens scattered about the classroom, despite their general lack of need in any of his lessons so far. "Yes, I believe I can manage that."
Re: Oogle the animal
Look, he wasn't a scholar. At least the name was pretty close!
Re: Oogle the animal
"Oh no, not at all," Jenkins said. "The Leviathan is a saltwater creature. Nessie and her ilk are strictly freshwater."
Re: Oogle the animal
Talk to Jenkins
He's also not going to explain how he has it, as the last time he was a youth was a very, very long time before the invention of photography.
OOC
You can tell me about giant trees all you like, "dinosaurian wiliness" is still my favorite crackpot theory of natural philosophy. (Though the fact that Snopes.com felt the need to officially debunk giant trees puts it WAY UP THERE.)