Fandom High School

"Splendid, looks like everyone's here," she said, looking over the group as the bell rang, bouncing Trebor on her lap.

"Spies. A resource that is often sadly overlooked. Industrial espionage, eavesdropping on a friend, employing reconnaissance behind enemy lines, all of these count as spying. However, it is not as straight forward as you would think. There are five types of spies," she stated, standing up and shifting Trebor to her hip as she turned to write on the board:

(1) Local spies (2) inward spies (3) converted spies
(4) doomed spies (5) surviving spies.

"When you have these working together properly, it is your greatest resource, greater than munitions or soldiers or generals. Information, as always, is the most powerful weapon of all."

"Each type of spy has a specific purpose," she continued. "Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district, usually to help you detect localized troop movements and to be aware of changes in terrain. Having inward spies means you are making use of officials of the enemy."

"My personal favorite are the converted spies, getting hold of the enemy's spies and using them for our own purposes." Ghanima beamed at the class. "Subversion of a loyalist is always so entertaining."

"Then there's the 'doomed spies'. Some squeamish generals try to avoid this grouping, but they are indispensable to a solid victory. Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allows our spies to know of them and report them to the enemy."

"Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from inside the enemy's camp." Ghanima said briskly. "There is no part of war more delicate, more intimate, or harder to balance than with spies. As Tzu says, 'None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved.'"

"Your assignment for next week is to ferret out some tidbit of information to which you would not normally be privy," Ghanima informed them. "Either via another spy, or by uncovering it yourself. You will not need to share exactly what you learned, merely the method used to discover the information."

As the students entered this week, they would see a passage on the board:

Sun Tzu said: We may distinguish six kinds of terrain, to wit:
(1) Accessible ground
(2) entangling ground
(3) temporizing ground
(4) narrow passes
(5) precipitous heights
(6) positions at a great distance from the enemy.

"Terrain. Which I am sure you are all dreadfully sick of hearing me talk about," Ghanima announced cheerfully as soon as the last student was seated. "However, if you do not know where or how you stand, in any battle, you will lose. I cannot stress this enough. It doesn't matter if you're facing a troop of Sardaukar on Salusa Secundus, or trying to make dinner plans with a cranky significant other. If you cannot understand the terrain under your feet, you will find yourself on the wrong end of a metaphorical or physical blade."

"This all goes back to what we discussed that first week of class, "'Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt.' To know your soldiers, you must know yourself. You must be able to assess both the capabilities of your fighting force, and your own ability to command them in terrain before you. If you cannot give the soldiers what they need, even the most elite squad in the Empire can fall against a small handful of women and children." Not that Ghanima would know. At all.

"First, however..." Ghanima's blue-on-blue eyes sparkled with mischief. "Your belated homework. Was anyone successful?"

"Today, we are on to the ninth p'ien," Ghanima stated as class began. "So far, many of our discussions seem to have focused on physical engagements of force, mostly because many of you are all familiar with tactics in a military sense, or have become familiar with the concept through your tenure at Fandom High."

"While I am as much a fan of armed combat as the next Fremen, however, it is it necessary to learn how to apply the tactical ideas you are learning outside a battlefield."

"Last week, we tried to measure cost against outcome when weighing the human element," Ghanima remarked. "Today, we focus completely on the human component, and turn our tactical prowess to that most dreaded tactical engagement of all - relationships."

"Each of you has a slip on your desk with an assignment. You must try and follow the directions to the best of your abilities, using the tactical ideas we have discussed in your negotiations. You are not limited to your classmates for this exercise, and indeed, I shall award extra credit for each successful 'mission' you undertake. I will do my best to listen to radio and chart your progress, but you will be expected to report on your varying levels of success next week."

Yes, boys and girls, you are going on dates. "Get what you want out of the other person, without giving too much ground. Try not to end the world while you are at it."

When the students came in, they would discover tables along the wall filled with treats, and a large screen at the front of the room.

Those that had taken her classes before might recognize the set-up as 'Ghanima is Showing a Movie' Day.

On the board, she had written one section from chapter seven:

36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

"Nature teaches us that a cornered rat will fight longer and harder than one with an escape route," Ghanima said clearly. "People will become vicious and do anything and everything if they think there is no hope left. This doesn't just apply to armies. People will also behave this way in regards to their personal lives."

"Which is why today, you all get a movie," she stated. "I know many of you are still mentally on Spring Break, but I want you to think about how some of the tactics we've discussed could be used in your interpersonal relationships. If we have time at the end of class, I'd like to discuss what you've just witnessed."

She spread her arms to indicate the three tables full of goodies. "There's moddable treats from JGoB, coffee, juice, and hot cider. Help yourselves."

Don't worry, Arden. None of it has marshmallows, even as an ingredient.

 "Today we are going to discuss the breaking-down of tactics and use of energy," Ghanima announced briskly, Trebor strapped to her back, napping, as she paced about the room. "Energy, to Tzu, was vital in the directing of a force, as was the endless combination of tactics at his disposal."

"First, tactics are not always as straight forward as they may seem." She turned away from them and quickly wrote out on the board;

"Endless permutations, all made possible by the energy held by your troops." Ghanima continued to write, her slanted scrawl quickly filling the board as she spoke. "The limits only created by your own lack of imagination, and the strengths and weaknesses of your force."

"So. Energy feeding into tactics, and vice versa. What is an indirect tactic versus a direct one? How do you know? How does 'energy' work into it all?"

"Discuss."

Ghanima was sitting on her desk as the students arrived, her book in her lap and Trebor safely ensconced in his playpen behind her desk as he crawled around inside, happily babbling to himself.

The moment the last student was seated, she flipped her book open. "Good morning, class, and welcome. Today with the third P'ien," she said, holding up the book. "'Attack by Stratagem.' Or as one of my former co-teachers once called it, 'Avoiding Attack by Stratagem from my side of the fence: Make Love, Not War and Drink Sake and Keep Calm ♥.'" Which, honestly, was not the worst stratagem Ghanima had ever encountered.

"Or, in the words of Tzu, 'Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.'"

"Sun Tzu also said that 'He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.' And, of course, there's the phrase everyone knows, but rarely do they know the source. 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.' Know thy enemy and know thyself."

"So, how do you formulate a plan of attack, if are forced to fight? Resorting immediately to violent means is not always the best option. 'Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans;'" Ghanima recited, watching all of them carefully. "'The next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.' So speaks Tzu. I'm curious as to how you feel this reflects the every day world, and if you have seen this applied at all in Fandom."

Today when the students arrived, they'd find Ghanima sitting on her desk with Trebor napping in his forcefield-enclosed playpen, and in the center of the room was a pile of small red books, one for each student to take and keep.

"Good morning," Ghanima said once the majority of the class seemed to be settled. "Welcome back, I'm glad to see I did not frighten any of you off. Today we are starting with the first chapter, 'Laying Plans.'"

"War." Ghanima surveyed them sharply, making sure she had everyone's full attention. "The term calls to mind battlefields and generals. The most successful battles, however, are not fought with soldiers, but behind closed doors with words. They are the battles you never hear about, because there is no glory to them."

"There is the war of the sexes, the war between companies and corporations, economic wars, ideological wars, political wars, and wars between the social classes, all of which tend to start on a more basic level, and escalate to the stereotype. Whether you are wooing a romantic partner or a business rival, or meeting an enemy with your weapon drawn, the same principals hold true."

"The Art of War." Picking up a well-loved, clearly personal copy of the red book from her desk, Ghanima flipped it open to her marked page and began reading. "The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining the field. These are: One - The Moral Law. Two - Heaven. Three - Earth. Four - The Commander. Five - Method and Discipline." She snapped the book shut and placed it beside her.

"The Moral Law," she announced, hopping off her desk, "causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger."

"Heaven and Earth are metaphors for the conditions you face, which is slightly more applicable to physical confrontations. However, if you view each type of terrain as a mental condition, you will have a large advantage over your opponent," Ghanima said briskly as she walked through the rows, hands gesturing as she spoke. "Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons, whereas Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death."

"The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness."

"By method and discipline, it is to be understood that it means the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure."

"These five heads should be familiar to every general," she recited, eyes glowing bright for a moment. "He who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail."

"Now, when you take these five factors, you must decide how to apply them. Luckily for us, Sun Tzu provided seven ways you can weigh them before making your decision."

"First, which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? Who has the army and the populace behind them? Because without the support of your people, you cannot win." Ghanima turned to face all of them as she leaned against a wall. "I cannot stress that point enough. Even if it is simply your friends, or the other members of your company, you will win nothing without the support of your 'troops', if you will."

"Which, is actually why this book was written. The military was facing the problem that their commanders were all poetry majors or nepotism hires, and thus, did not understand things such as 'you need to feed a horse or it cannot go,' or, 'if your people hate you, you will die." She smiled slightly. "There's a reason why capitalist CEOs like it so much... it makes them feel smart, and teaches them actual skills that they do not actually have -- not that they realize it -- and it helps them succeed."

"The other factors to weigh are more basic and less subjective; which of the two generals has most ability? With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? Which army is stronger? On which side are officers and men more highly trained? In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?"

"Now, I'd like us to discuss which of the five constant factors you feel to be the most important, and why."

Today's classroom had the same snacks available as last week; Ghanima figured the kids needed the recovery after the last week they had.

"Splendid, looks like everyone's here," she said, looking over the group as the bell rang.

"Spies. A resource that is often sadly overlooked. Industrial espionage, eavesdropping on a friend, employing reconnaissance behind enemy lines, all of these count as spying. However, it is not as straight forward as you would think. There are five types of spies," she stated, turning to write on the board:


"When you have these working together properly, it is your greatest resource, greater than munitions or soldiers or generals. Information, as always, is the most powerful weapon of all."

"Each type of spy has a specific purpose," she continued. "Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district, usually to help you detect localized troop movements and to be aware of changes in terrain. Having inward spies means you are making use of officials of the enemy."

"My personal favorite are the converted spies, getting hold of the enemy's spies and using them for our own purposes." Ghanima beamed at the class. "Subversion of a loyalist is always so entertaining."

"Then there's the 'doomed spies'. Some squeamish generals try to avoid this grouping, but they are indispensable to a solid victory. Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allows our spies to know of them and report them to the enemy."

"Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from inside the enemy's camp." Ghanima said briskly. "There is no part of war more delicate, more intimate, or harder to balance than with spies. As Tzu says, 'None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved.'"

"Your assignment for next week is to ferret out some tidbit of information to which you would not normally be privy," Ghanima informed them. "Either via another spy, or by uncovering it yourself. You will not need to share exactly what you learned, merely the method used to discover the information."

"Since our time together is rapidly coming to close, I thought we'd try something a little different today," Ghanima said as the class met in the Danger Shop as handwavily ordered. "Today, we take Tzu a bit literally. Today we're playing with fire."

"Fire. The great cleanser, and the great equalizer. A weapon that can turn around and bite the hand that started it just as suddenly as the wind changes."

"Sun Tzu said: There are five ways of attacking with fire," Ghanima lectured, watching them inscrutably. "The first is to burn soldiers in their camp, the second is to burn stores. A third is to burn baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines; and the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy. A rain of fire, if you will."

"In attacking with fire, one should be prepared to meet five possible developments: First, when fire breaks out inside to enemy's camp, respond at once with an attack from without. However, if there is an outbreak of fire, but the enemy's soldiers remain quiet, bide your time and do not attack."

"When the force of the flames has reached its height, follow it up with an attack, if that is practicable; if not, stay where you are."

"If it is possible to make an assault with fire from without, do not wait for it to break out within, but deliver your attack at a favorable moment. Last, but not least, when you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward unless you wish to feel your own flames."

"If we were starting a fire in a business setting, or on an emotional battlefield, perhaps we'd start with some lies, spread carefully where they can do the most damage. Insinuations whispered in corners where they can breed disaster."

"Starting a real fire requires just as much care, if not more. It is a living, breathing entity, and the burns are far more dangerous on a physical level."