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

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well it says that they are very patient and slow to anger." Pippi noted. "So you're probably right. Thought it doesn't say that they tried to negotiate with this tower guy who was cutting down lots of trees before attacking... That does not bode well."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"But often the 'retaliate first, negotiate later' idea comes into play," pointed out Elizabeth. "If they see the cutting down of the trees as a hostile act, then attacking the guy would be for them a defensive act. Plus there's many failed negotiations that won't ever make the history books."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"That is very true." Pippi said. "There's probably endless volumes upon volumes more to this story."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
"History is written by the victor," quoted Elizabeth. "And it's always highly selective."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"Considering what Paper is made out of... I'm thinking these guys have an oral tradition."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Elizabeth snickered. "Yeah, probably."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-21 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
"So you'd have to negotiate with them regarding gathering lumber I guess... But what would these guys want in return?"

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Uh, water? Food?" suggested Elizabeth.

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Blinky lights?"

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
"Christmas presents under it?"

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Tinsel!"

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Elizabeth giggled. "Novelty shaped chocolates."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
"An angel to sit up at the top."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Or a star on top."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
"Mebbe a train set to circle his trunk endlessly and go 'toot toot!' every so often."

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
Elizabeth laughed. "I have no idea what else a tree would like!"

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] strongestgirl.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
"I suppose that's what negotiations are for." she grinned with a shrug.

Re: Elizabeth Weir and Pippi Longstocking

[identity profile] notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com 2006-07-22 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
Elizabeth nodded, grinning. "Exactly."