http://nine-and-ears.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] nine-and-ears.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2006-07-20 10:21 pm
Entry tags:

Constant Vigilance #2: Friday the 21st, Morning. A Classroom.

Today, the classroom is again arranged in a circle of chairs, stemming from the wooden desk. The Doctor is sitting behind the desk, today. Across the desk is scattered some strange mechanical parts, all wired together. On the dry erase board is one simple word, written in green.

'Plants'

After everyone has sat down, and the time to start has passed, he raps on the desk once, and stands up.

"If you could all pass forwards your essays I asked for, that would be fantastic. We'll be having a special guest in later, and I'd like to get the class formalities out of the way first. Hope you all took the first lesson to heart, after the incidents of last weekend. As far as I could tell, no fatalities, which is absolutely fantastic. Now today, as you can see from the board, we'll be talking about plants." He fiddled with the device he had constructed on the desk, which suddenly sprung to life and began projecting a three-dimensional hologram in the middle of the desk circle. The images began to match the things he was describing.

"Plants are one of the building blocks of an ecosystem. They cycle the air, they form part of the food chain, they're absolutely essential to most planets. The first lesson about plants is, don't take them for granted. The vegetation on a planet can mean your continued life. But I'm sure most of you are more interested in the opposite, which is when plants can mean your death."

The image flickers to that of a humanoid plant form, though very obviously still a plant.

"That, boys and girls, is a Vervoid. Intelligent plant life. Not the product of a planet's natural evolution, but genetic engineering. Last I checked, they still haven't managed to resurface into the universe, which means they are probably extinct. They have the same drives as everyone else, eat, sleep, procreate. The only difference is, they're plant based. Well that, and the fact they decided dead people was the best fertilizer they could get. That led to a bit of trouble. But, thankfully, not all sentient plants are like these fellows." The Doctor switched off the holoprojector.

"That's where the guest comes in. If you would please welcome a very classy lady, proprietor of The Sanctity in town, Pa'u Zotah Zhaan. Now, I'm not even going to give you any more of an introduction. I want you folks to put your skills to the test. Ask questions, learn, live."

After the students have had their discussion with Zhaan, the Doctor thanked her for her time, then knocked on the table again, to draw attention.

"Okay, I've told you a little, and you've met one. I now want you to all brainstorm about ways you deal with them. Hostile and non-hostile. Your groups, which will each be assigned a different form of plant life, are as follows. Conner McKnight and Willow Rosenberg, Cedric Diggory and Seras Victoria, Samantha Carter and Setsuna Sakurazaki, Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness, Isabel Evans and Hermione Granger, Cordelia Chase and Peter Pevensie, Timothy Desmond and John Connor, Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking, and Stark is with Mister Belthazor. Come up with ideas, and propose one to the class. Got it? Good."

After the group activity, the Doctor smiled. "Done for the day, everyone. Quick assignment for next week. Come up with an event from Earth history, from two weeks ago to two million years ago. I'll tell you whether or not I was there, and if I was directly involved or not. There might be prizes involved, so come back with something good! You're all dismissed."

[ooc: Wait for OCD And now it is ready. I'll be falling asleep soon, and I'm actually at work tomorrow, sadly, so It'll be slow reactions from me until I'm home from there. Zhaan's availability depends upon her work schedule, which most likely means only in the evening, tommorow, CST.]

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Jack reads over her shoulder, grinning as he did so, amused by the hopping Nipper and the indestructible Muncher.

[I'm very erratically here today, but will try and ping in when I can.]

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Can't say I ever had experience dealin' with hostile plants before," Kaylee said when she finished reading the packet.

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Me neither. Met some affectionate ones in my time, but never any hostile ones." He smirked slightly. "These ones sound kind of interesting, though."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"They do, yeah," Kaylee agreed. "I'm not quite sure how I'd deal with a hostile plant, though. I ain't real big on confrontation. Guess I'd wanna try talkin' to 'em first."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
"Right there with you. Flirt, then fight. Most things are pretty reasonable if you just approach them in the right way." Glancing at the description, he added, "And these do sound kind of attractive."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Kaylee blinked. "They seem kinda scary to me, but they could just be misunderstood."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sometimes scary things can be the most attractive." He shrugged. "But these seem pretty simple minded. Chances are if you couldn't talk to them, you could avoid them - jump over them or run around them, maybe."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Or throw projectiles at it," Kaylee said, glancing at the packet again. "But that kinda seems inhumane."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah. Poor plants are just doing what comes naturally. It seems a bit cruel to invade their territory, then start hurling projectiles at them." He smiled at her. "I think you were on the right track with trying conversation first."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
"So talk to 'em and if they try to bite, avoid 'em," Kaylee grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
"And a damn fine one at that. You're a wise woman, Kaylee. If I ever have to face any garishly-coloured, people-eating plants, I want it to be with you."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] enginegirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Dunno how much good I'd be in that situation, but thanks for sayin' so."

Re: Kaylee Frye and Jack Harkness

[identity profile] anextimeagent.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
"My pleasure." Grining, he gave a little bow. "No matter how sucessful the plan was, at least the company would be wonderful."