Fandom High School

"Welcome to your final class of the semester. As mentioned last week, we're going to Gotham City from my time," Bruce said. "When you compare your experiences there to what you saw of present day Gotham at the stat of the semester, remember that this is a fifty year change. In many ways, five decades is almost an infinite amount of time. The world can and does change many times over and your major world cities will reflect that."

"But on the other hand, you'll likely see a fifty year change in your lifetime. You know many people who've been alive longer than that. The world moves quickly, but it's still the world you've lived with to some degree, so in some ways things might not be as different as you think."

"Let's step through the portal. No costume changes this time. Some of you might appreciate having real collars and pockets."

And when they stepped through the portal, it was into a world that still felt like Gotham City... but it was more meta for Akira than Art Deco.

"Watch out for flying cars and Jokerz."

"Just like the last time we went on a field trip, today we're heading to the 1960's," Bruce said, standing in front of the portal. "No Olympics this time. This time we're going just for the cultural experience in what was called Swinging London. There are some fashion choices if you'd like to fit in better. Otherwise, we're leaving in a few minutes."

Have an e-mail, everyone!

I have more meetings in Gotham. But I've been keeping track of what's going on and class would have been cancelled anyway. Somebody in town has been documenting much of the devastation of the island's flora and fauna. Your assignment for next week is to help bring the natural order back to Fandom, then document the change back to normal. Please see attached Instagram link for reference.

BW

So, class was cancelled but you still had work to do. Give and take!

[OOC: Yeah, I'm establishing it. Some NPC has been keeping track of this on Instagram. IT IS NOW CANON. THANK YOU, NPC.]

"When we visited Chicago during the 1893 Colombian Exposition, it was to witness the rebirth and rebranding of a city that had seen mass destruction about twenty years earlier," Bruce said from just outside the portal. "For Tokyo, we're visiting something similar; the 1964 Summer Olympics. This was the true kickoff of Tokyo becoming a true world city again after the war, and it was framed in terms of peace and sport during the height of the Cold War. Feel free to tour on your own, or stick with the group."

"It's Friday, there still seems to be something in the air, and you're just about to go on spring break," Bruce announced at the start of class. "If half of you would actually be focused on a lecture today, I would be stunned. So today you'll have another movie day, with the expectation that in two weeks from today, you'll be back here, ready to concentrate."

"The movie today has some strong similarities to our previous movie despite being made seventy-five years later," Bruce noted. "There are robots of a sort, the city itself is large and imposing, and corporations control life. But just like we're not directly controlled by boxy silver robots, 1982's Shank Jogger missed out on a lot of projections, mainly because its target city was too specific."

"The city here is Los Angeles in the year 2019, close enough to call it roughly the present day. Lifelike humanoid robots aren't common, of course. The movie projects LA as a densely populated urban center that expanded upward rather than the sprawling metro area that keeps growing outward. It also sees a society that's less segregated by race than class, whereas most US cities tend toward both. But the element that Shank Jogger gets right, which Megalopolis got right, is the view of the city as a machine. Every person, every building, every animal feeding into the machine and keeping it moving. We'll see this more clearly as this class continues, even if it's not as literal or as pessimistic as these movies would have you believe."

"Now watch the movie. And if anyone tries anything you shouldn't be doing in class, that's a detention," Bruce noted. "It's been a full week, it'll wear off soon if it hasn't yet."

"Today, we're talking about city that rose from the ashes of a fire to become something more than t had been before," Bruce said, kicking things off with some powerful phoenix imagery. Which is why he was talking about, "Chicago, for three days in October, 1871, suffered from what became known as the Great Chicago Fire. By the time it ended, 3.3 square miles of the city had burned down, including most of the business district. As a comparison, Lexington Park here on the mainland is approximately 5.6 square miles. A fire the size of Chicago's would have consumed nearly TWO THIRDS of Lexington Park."

"A third of the population was left homeless. 120 bodies were found, but it's likely that 300 people died in the fire. But once the fire was out, a city that was already known for building quickly decided to rebuild just as fast, but with a greater purpose."
( You might think I came up with this class just to write about Chicago for several paragraphs. You might be correct. Apologies to all other cities I write about a bit less. )

"Next week we'll visit the Columbian Exposition. Report here first if you wish to wear era appropriate dress. Options will be available to you. Otherwise, we'll meet at the Causeway and be on our way at the start of class."

There was an e-mail sent out to meet at the Causeway today for field trip purposes. And as you might expect, Bruce led his class through the portal strictly on time as the class started.

"Welcom to Gotham City in the year 2015," Bruce announced. A few ground rules," Bruce declared. "Stay in pairs at all times. Crime is less frequent during the day, but it still happens. Keep your eyes and ears open, either for your own protection or, if you're a crimefighter of some sort, so you can do some good. Keep in mind that Gotham is huge. If you stay with me for a few minutes, I'll take you to the roof of the Wayne Enterprises Building so you can get a feel for exactly how big it is. And the way I have our portal set up, we'll have a few hours here, but will be back in Fandom right at the end of class. So if you want a lunch you don't have to pay for, meet back here in a couple hours."

"And if you need ANY help while you're on your own, call me immediately. I have resources, even in the past," Bruce noted.

"Aside from that, explore, unless you'd rather stay with me for a slow moving guided tour."

Bruce was standing behind a lecture when the students walked into the classroom today. Part of it was to show that even though he was clearly old enough to have fought some dinosaurs in his youth, he wasn't going to need a seat any time soon.

And the second that class bell rang, he started talking.

"My name is Bruce Wayne. In my life, I've spent most of my time living in three very distinct cities. The first, my home, is Gotham City, a city historically full of crime and corruption that doesn't exist in most of your worlds. It's a city historically filled with criminals so deranged that most of the notable convicts are costumed supervillains who went to an asylum instead of prison. Over time, much of that was changed by a few dedicated individuals in the police department and civilian community who put their lives into making the streets less dangerous."

"Second is Metropolis, again, which most of you have never heard of. But on my world, it's a second New York. All international business finds its way to Metropolis eventually. And while there has always been spectacular super powered crime there as well, it's also a city of heroes, led by someone literally called 'Superman.' Metropolis takes the best of what the world has to offer and puts it on display."

A small smile creeped up on Bruce's face. "And third is Fandom. I went to school here at a time when I moved frequently, too frequently to have an actual adolescent life. But I was able to settle in Fandom for a few years. After I graduated - only a few years ago according to Fandom's timeline - I came back as an adult to see how my donations to the school were being used. At that time, I also dabbled in teaching. And now I've returned, mostly to give teaching a better shot than I could when I was in my thirties."

"Each of these places has formed me into who I am. Their personalities informed my own. From Gotham I gained dedication. The realization that there are always challenges to overcome and the perseverance to see it through. From Metropolis, I gained inspiration to reach farther than I thought possible. And from Fandom I learned that anything is possible. I'm not speaking metaphorically. Literally anything is possible here. If you've been here long, you know what I mean. If you haven't, then you'll learn."

"I also learned that the only way you'll ever truly understand something on its deepest level is to experience it for yourself. So each topic in this class will be in two parts. One week we'll discuss a city in a specific time, the next week we'll go there."

"But for now, let's get to know you and where you're from. Name. Class. Where you're from and how your home city has influenced who you are today."