[Viden Academy/Scalvoris Campus] Schooling for the Schooled

[Padraig]

Cylus 24th, Arc 717

Just the trial before, Padraig had visited the Scalvoris Campus for the Viden Academy, and viewed from the outside, the round, domed building had brought to mind an observatory for watching and studying the stars. It reminded him that he'd an interest of his own, and caused him to hope that a little astronomy might be included in the physics course he'd enrolled in. But whether there was or there wasn't, he'd earned his letter and certificate in the study of physics already, and hopefully by the time he was done, he'd earn his diploma too.

But since he and Faith had only just arrived in Scalvoris town a few trials ago, the young scholar was behind before he'd even got started. But fortunately, he'd been able to convince the professor that he could get caught up quickly, and the professor in turn had assigned him a tutor. Ironic really, since for the last couple seasons, tutoring others was how he had earned his own living.

He'd already visited the library earlier, and was carrying with him the books he'd been told he would need. He'd also brought a notebook and writing materials from home. Now, entering the main building, he just needed to find the person who'd be helping him catch up. Dashiell. That was the name the professor had given him, but had neglected to mention whether it belonged to a man or a woman. And Padraig couldn't begin to guess which it was.

But he'd also been given a room number, 4 C, which he assumed would be the much simpler of two puzzles. He found the fours rather quickly after all. 4 A, 4 B...4 D. "Wait," he said with a frown, pausing and looking ahead, back and on the other side of the hall. No 4 C in sight, so far as he could tell. He paused there, unsure whether to go it alone or find someone to ask, and then grinned a little as he muttered to himself. "I wonder if this is the first test."

[Pegasus]

It was a puzzle, that was certain. There he was in a deserted corridor, no one to ask really. He'd found the "4" section, and then the doors were laid out ~ all except the one he wanted. What might be perturbing to an individual like him, of course, was that it should be easy. The rooms were all numbered depending on the floor they were on and then assigned a letter. The letters went in a clockwise pattern from the main stairway which spiralled up the middle of the building. It couldn't be that there was a stray "4" room on the floor above, because he was at the top.

"Hey! Can I help? Are you the new guy?" The voice that came from above him was a female, she sounded relatively young and friendly and as he looked up there, clearly labelled was door 4C. Of course, it was rare to look for a door in the ceiling so he could be forgiven for missing it. A full sized door in the ceiling and, next to it, a small hatch. It was the hatch which had been opened and through it there was the unmistakable shape of a woman wearing a top hat. "Hi! I'm Pippa. You looking for 4C? Padraig? We're expecting you. Prof's up here. Just... move three steps to your left, please?"

Assuming that he did, the large door in the ceiling slid back and a set of stairs unfolded. "Come on up!"

No sooner had he got up there than the woman in the top hat stuck out a hand with a grin. She had tattoos on her face and a friendly expression. "Pippa. Associate Professor Fre'nell, but Pippa here. I help the Prof with things and stuff. I'm a Naerrik." The room they were in was large, taking up the entire roof space, in fact. Accessed via a spiral staircase in the middle of the room there was a large telescope pointing out of the roof. A huge table dominated the room itself and every available wall space had shelves. There were books everywhere, items of scientific curiosity, lab equipment and things that Padraig just didn't recognise.

"Put your stuff over there." Pippa directed, pointing to an area which was slightly less chaotic than any other place. As he did, a tall, very tall woman swept into view from around the corner. She was at least six foot four, dressed in a long black formal gown with a high neck. She had a formal black hat atop her head with a black veil pulled back from her face. She dressed like a widow in mourning at a formal event. Pinc-nez glasses perched on her nose and she was smoking a long, thin black cigar.

She looked down her nose at Padraig, although in fairness it was hard for her not to look down her nose considering her height. "Prof!" Pippa grinned. "Professor Dashiell, this is Padraig, the catch up student I told you about?"

Professor Dashiell examined him for a good two bits before she spoke. When she did, her diction was perfect. "We do not play at physics here. If I agree to allow you to study with me, it will be because I believe you are serious. You have three tasks to do immediately." The professor looked at him, tapping her cigar onto the small tray on the shelf next to her. "Give me a good reason for you needing to catch up in the first place, assure me that you will not ever need to again without good cause and then impress me with something you've done. You may begin."

Pippa grinned and carried on with pulling up the stairs and closing the main door.

Off Topic

NPCs added to the university write up and the main NPC repository FYI!

[Padraig]

The room in question had to be somewhere nearby. Unless there was no logic in the system at all, the room couldn't have been on the floor below him. Padraig walked one way, then the other and had begrudgingly come to the conclusion that he'd need to seek out help, when he was startled by a voice coming from over his head.

And there she was, peering through a door in the ceiling itself. She'd startled him, and she was young for a tutor. Or so it seemed to him. "That's me," he said with a smile. "The new guy. Padraig." Three steps to the left then? He complied, and when he spied the stairs unfolding, he stored the books he'd brought in his bag with his other supplies.

We, she'd said. He hadn't been told that his lessons would be just him and a tutor. He'd only assumed it. Whichever the case he climbed the stairs and produced his own hand when he reached the top of the stairs. "Nice to meet you, Pippa," he said and smiled. Then taking a look around him, at first glance and second, the space appeared to be an observatory. Which meant of course that his first impression of the building had been a fairly accurate one.

He recognized the telescope for what it was. Much of the rest, not so much. But he put his things down where he was told to. And then, probably the tallest woman he'd ever seen, seemed to appear out of nowhere. Unique looking to, was one way to put it. And that hat. Or rather, those hats. Padraig owned a hat, but nothing like those. And still, there was something vaguely familiar about them that brought the briefest of curious frowns to his face.

It was short lived though and he smiled when Pippa introduced them. Except the woman did not, and that too was a brief one. "No, of course not," he said when told they didn't play at physics there. Neither did he. So right, no nonsense, which suited him fine. "It's unusual, I know," Padraig said, referring to the request to enroll once so many trials had already passed.

"I had intended to immediately continue my studies, once earning my certificate. But my studies were temporarily interrupted due to a call to join forces against a rebellion in the eastern settlements."

"It was hoped that my knowledge of physics, alchemy and chemistry could be of some use there," he explained further. "But I've hoped to get back to my studies without further delay. It won't happen again, I assure you." There wasn't much more he could say or guarantee, but only give her his assurances, hoping it would be enough.

So what had he done? "Before leaving for the eastern settlement, I crafted hand tossed explosives and while there, altered them to create pressure activated ones." Which required a knowledge of physics, yes, but also of chemistry and mathematics. "But," he added and pulled a notebook out of his bag. "I've designed this." Leafing through the pages of his book, Padraig round the one he wanted to show her.

"I realize that thus far, there's no reason to believe that perpetual motion is possible. It might be, in a pure vacuum devoid of friction." But that neither had been shown to be a possibility, so far as Padraig was aware. "Nonetheless, I devised of this...well, I suppose you might call it a waterwheel, but a small, portable one." The drawing appeared to be of a small cylinder, several feet long, meant to be crafted of wood and metal with fins or paddles inserted all around it.

"It's meant to be submerged in moving water, like a running stream, and from one end a series of cranks and rods could be installed in order to operate things like a turnstile, or an automatic watering system in a small garden. But unlike the sort of large wheels you'd find operating at a mill, this one is small and portable. And as long as the water keeps moving, so does the waterwheel, and so does whatever it's driving."

[Pegasus]

Pippa stayed out of the way as Padraig underwent "the talk". He got more questions than most, of course, but that didn't surprise Pippa either. The Naerrik in the top hat went over to a table on the other side of the observatory, where she got busy with cleaning things. Meanwhile, Professor Dashiell examined him rather like a specimen in a dish. There was an almost overwhelming feeling that, as specimens went, he wasn't the best.

She listened to his reasoning for being late to join and her face took on an expression which suggested that a rather unpleasant smell had just wafted beneath her nostrils. "You suspended your studies to engage in war? That is a futile endeavour and unworthy of a scholar. Do not go to war again whilst under my tutelage." She was entirely serious, though he might notice the slight shake of Pippa's shoulders, her back turned to the two of them.

On the subject of hand-tossed explosives, she waved her hand dismissively. "That is of no interest to me. We do not dabble in death here it is a morbid and unnecessary topic. Leave it to the philosophers," if it was possible to get more disdain in one word was rather doubtful, "or, worse still, the religious. Do not speak of such frivolities to me. You may continue." Yes, definite shoulder shaking from Pippa.

However, the book and the waterwheel drew her attention and Professor Dashiell looked at it and considered his diagram. One eyebrow rose and she puffed on her cigar as she looked at it, the smoke from which swirled around Padraig with the unique and heady aroma of the cigars which, he would discover, she always smoked and was always smoking. By the time he got home, he'd smell like her. "It could be improved by a better consideration of the shape of each paddle to catch the water." She handed it back to him and nodded "Do so, by the time I see you next and include a consideration of how you would mitigate against a sudden raising or lowering of the water level. Also, your penmanship is close to illegible. Improve it, and your drawing skills."

Pippa coughed, covering the snort of laughter ~ or possibly the expression of utter relief that there was someone else here to attract the Professor's attention. She had more sense than to speak, though and so the Professor motioned to the telescope. "Cylus is the perfect season for gazing upon the wonder of the stars. It allows clarity of vision which is rare throughout the rest of the arc. Therefore, these sessions we will consider the stars. What do you know, or believe you know, already? You may speak."

[Padraig]

The professor had a real knack, Padraig thought, for speaking volumes without saying a word. It wasn't that she didn't have any of those for him. But her expression told a tale of its own. She either wasn't impressed by her new student at all. Or she'd simply mastered the art of perceived disapproval.

And Pippa, from all appearances, seemed to be enjoying the moment quite a lot. "I agree," he responded to the idea that the battlefield was no place for a scholar. He'd learned that already, and arguably the hard way. And as a result, he assured the woman that his time spent with her wouldn't be interrupted by more of the same.

He'd like to have pointed out that that his creation of the explosives had been intended to save more lives than would have been lost without them, but wisely probably, Padraig decided to keep that particular nuance to himself. As for philosophers and their ilk? He could only completely agree. As for her critique of his drawing, by now he'd expected as much. Besides, some of the best learning came from criticism. He'd put it to rights, he assured her, and already his mind was ticking over what adjustments he might make. Penmanship aside.

Paddles that were shaped more like scoops than they were flat. A flotation system worked into each end of the thing that would allow it to rise and fall with running water, and weights to act as an anchor to stop it drifting off with the current. But the stars. That was the thing that had currently caught Padraig's interest, and their meeting place caused him to hope that there'd be some astronomy thrown into their lessons.

"Well," he considered thoughtfully. "To be honest, I've done some stargazing without the aid of a telescope, but not much study till now. My previous studies have revolved around applied physics for the most part. I understand gravity, for example," he told her. "I understand that the world is round and it has a core. It also seems logical that stars would burn bright on their own, shining even when not exposed to sunlight. But that if there are other worlds like ours among them, those would require the reflection of sunlight for us to see them," he reasoned.

Which would seem to explain or at least suggest, he considered aloud, that it could be the reason why some celestial bodies seemed to flicker on a clear night, and others didn't. "I also believe, and maybe it's been shown already," he added, having warmed to the subject. "That the world may not be stationary, so much as it may turn as if on an axis. Or even around it to a small degree, rather than turning on a minute, fixed point."

The thoughts had come to him by way of the movement of shadows that ought to have remained fixed in relation to the movement of sunlight, and yet didn't seem to behave exactly as they should have. "If it's so, I think I might be able to prove it," he suggested, in hopes that what he'd offered up so far, would satisfy the professor sufficiently that she wouldn't feel she'd been assigned a complete dolt to work with.

[Pegasus]

She sniffed slightly when he agreed that he would put his failings to rights. Over the course of time, he would come to recognise that disdainful sniff as the closest to praise that she ever really got. However, she listened to what he knew, or believed her knew, about the study of the stars and her sniff was nowhere to be seen or heard. Instead, she tutted.

"You know? Have you circumnavigated it? Or are you making an assumption based on observation?" With a sweeping gesture for him to follow her, Professor Dashiell moved over to a table where there were rolls of parchment, books on stargazing, astronomy and a whole heap of other related subjects. She listened to him, nodding her head in places and then she turned her eagle gaze to him, looking down her nose and glasses at him as she spoke.

"Do not speak of proof here. We are scientists. Proof is a theoretical absolute which is the death of true science. If something is proven then there is no need to study it further. We work with theories which we test and retest, refine and reconsider. More importantly, we are constantly pushing the boundaries and we are prepared to throw out a theory which has held true for a hundred arcs if it becomes untenable. Proof is static, we gather evidence in support of, or against theory." Without dropping her gaze, she continued, "choose one thing which you have spoken of, one suggestion you have put forward and compile a dossier of evidence for and against it. This can be reading or physical observations."

Pippa glanced over and smiled at Padraig, giving him a thumbs up, then got back to what she was doing. The Professor, who had her back to Pippa and couldn't possibly see her, spoke. "Pippa is trying to inform you that my use of the word we is significant. You are a Diploma student and I will be demanding of you, but as of this moment you are my Diploma student. I will be hard on you and demand excellence. Do not disappoint me.". That said, she then handed him a rolled up piece of parchment. "The first step of science is to describe what the phenomena is you see, or feel or taste. In this case, the stars. There is an example of a completed star chart. Study it, then use the facilities at your disposal and chart an area of no less than thirty stars. Be accurate and be efficient. You may begin."

[Padraig]

The professor, by all appearances, was a tough nut to crack, a hard one to impress. Not that Padraig was trying to for the sake of it. But there was no question that she wouldn't go easy on him. All the better so far as he was concerned.

Still, "Observation," he responded, when she questioned his assertion, or at least his theory that the planet must be rotating on or around some sort of axis. At the very least, he believed it was moving. And he wasn't afraid of explaining why he believed it, even if she told him he was wrong. "Based on a small experiment I've done previously." He kept his gaze from straying to Pippa just then, in case she'd have advised him not to do it.

But take a long chord, he explained, and suspend it from the ceiling inside any given room, in order to avoid outside forces like wind and so on. Attach a weight to the other end, like an egg shaped stone, then on the bottom of it just an inch or less above the floor, fix a stylus of sorts, made from perhaps a bristle from a stiff brush.

Spread soft sand on the floor beneath the weight and stylus, piled just high enough so the bristle could trace a path in the sand, but no so high as to prevent it moving.

Then leaving the thing undisturbed, observe for a handful of trials. "A pendulum," he explained, "And left alone by any other forces like wind or rain, it will move nonetheless. Swing that is. And why would it, if the world beneath our feet wasn't moving?"

"It's not proof, I agree," Padraig admitted. "But if theory is based on observation, the application of mathematics and so on, then it's evidence worth looking into." But if she'd prefer he submit a dossier related to the very thing he'd just described, Padraig would happily do it, and he agreed. He'd be happy to conduct the experiment again in fact, curious if the results would be similar.

Pippa's gesture would have made him smile, if he hadn't been so determined not to. Maybe, he'd said something that had genuinely sparked his professor's interest, but she wouldn't be having him know it. "I'd expect nothing less," Padraig agreed, when she said she'd be hard on him. In the meantime there was a more immediate task to complete.

There were plenty of materials to get the job done with. Books and and an example of a star chart to study, all sort of measuring devices and of course, the telescope. He'd need a little help operating it, since he'd never used one before. And it would take time, observing, waiting, looking again after allowing some time to pass by, and recording everything he'd seen on a chart of his own.

He'd picked a particular patch of sky that he found interesting, based on the arrangement of stars and some smudged patches that he could only assume were massive groups of starts clustered together. And what he saw through the telescope seemed to confirm that. At the end, he submitted what he'd done to his professor. And one of the most interesting things he had found was that after allowing time to elapse between viewings, the patch of sky he'd been looking at, had shifted.

The patterns remained the same, but their place in the sky had changed. Which made him all the more inclined to believe that what he'd believed already was true. Because it was either everything else that was moving, rotating around them, or it was the world itself that was rotating, and the undisturbed telescope with it. Theory, yes, but his observations seemed to imply it was a sound one.

[Pegasus]

The professor appeared to have taken some arcs to master her expression of disapproval, disbelief and displeasure all wrapped in one. She listened to his assertion and nodded. "Your argument appears sound at face value. How did you control the variables, though? Was the room sealed shut from wind and rain? Was there absolutely no one walking past, who might have disturbed the air? Come to that, the structure which you attached your pendulum to ~ could it have been buffeted by the wind?"

The professor sat down on one of the stools, crossing her legs primly one over the other and continued. "What about the ambient temperature? Did it remain constant and if so at what? Humidity? If all of these confounding variables are constant in test and retest, then you can begin to build a scientific theory. Never mistake those for scientific musings. It is good to note, to observe but then you must test. Properly." In that one word it was very clear that she considered it unlikely that Padraig's tests had been anything resembling 'proper'.

Tapping a piece of parchment with her hand, she looked at him before turning her attention to her cigar. "When I instruct, I expect you to take notes. Each variable is important and your mind and memory is fallible. Consider also whether you used the best instrument. Does the length of the string matter? Does it have to be a pendulum?" That, she informed him, would be the purpose of his dossier; to replicate the experiment but taking into account every variable and mitigating against them. Also, to propose at least one alternative means of testing his theory.

He then moved on to what she had asked him to do, charting the stars and doing so carefully. It was meticulous work ~ the professor moved off to go and do something else and Pippa helped him. "She likes you," were her first words. "The last two she's refused to take and chucked them out. So look, here, this will help you, it you press this then the focus..." Pippa was a helpful and friendly and showed him what to do to get the most out of the equipment. She also directed him to the pages he needed to show what symbol stood for what and so on. It was very detailed work which required a lot of focus from him. Once he had the knack of it, Pippa left him to it with the assurance that she was just over there if he needed anything.

When he completed the task, Professor Dashiell looked at what he had done and nodded. "This is good." Pippa looking up in some surprise, having rarely heard that word come out of the Professor's mouth and certainly never on a first meeting. "You have, by and large, been acceptable. Penmanship must be tidied. Accuracy of diagrams to be improved." He might note that Pippa was, in fact, writing these down. "Improve the waterwheel. Compile a dossier regarding the observation and testing of the theory that Idalos moves, dealing with all issues raised and proposing the next step in the testing of your theory. Finally, read Steinman, summarising each chapter in no more than five bullet points. Pippa?"

Having written down the Professors instructions, Pippa handed them solemnly to Padraig along with a very thick textbook, written by Steinman, although the twinkle of mirth in her expression was unmistakable. The Professor continued "You may return before, at any point, and use the facilities or speak to me. Complete this by the last trial of the season and I will sign off on your catch up studies. You may leave."

Class, it seemed, was dismissed.

Off Topic

And I'm done! One more post from you to meet her requirements and then I'll review. Hope you enjoyed it!

[Padraig]

Padraig wondered, albeit not aloud, just how long it had taken the professor to master that look of disapproval. He didn't mind. Oddly enough, in fact, he was starting to like her. Or at least he was learning quickly to manage. She asked questions that he strongly suspected she didn't expect, or want immediate answers to. And so in regards to his previous experiment, he didn't.

Except for one that he could resist. "A pendulum, simply by the nature of how it behaved," he clarified. Though he took her point to imply he might try the experiment again with some other sort of device. What that might be, Padraig couldn't begin to say at the moment. But to think too long on it at the moment meant that she'd leave him behind.

So instead of addressing the rest of it, just like Pippa seemed to be doing for different reasons than him, he jotted down notes in his notebook for future reference. He had a sneaking suspicion she was going to ask him to look into it again. But rather than being offended, Padraig chose to believe that she might just be interested. And then it appeared that was exactly the case. At least so far as him repeating the experiment in greater detail.

When Pippa whispered that the professor must like him, a little bit of him was tempted to ask if her demeanor was an indicator of like, how did she treat the rejects? But he wouldn't have asked, that would be foolish. And as it happened, Pippa told him anyway. He didn't have time to ponder that however, as he was assigned quite a lot to do before their next meeting. Chances were, even while they were away, Faith would find him bent over books and papers, hanging strings and stones from the ceiling, bringing in sand to pile on the floor and staring up at the night sky.

But when he finally returned, he had in his hands what he hoped the professor wanted. First, the waterwheel. His original drawing had been altered. Scooped, rather curved paddles, a flotation device to allow the thing to operate at different depths, and an anchoring mechanism to stop it drifting down stream. And of course, a written description of the thing and how it was intended to work, thus saving labor for any number of individuals. Not exactly perpetual motion, since such was impossible presumably even in a vacuum since no vacuum found thus far was absolute. But close, since the waterwheel ought turn and do its work so long as there was running water to submerge it in.

He'd also conducted his experiment again, taking into account the variables and questions the professor had suggested. A closed off room in the house with no drafts, where the cat couldn't meddle with the experiment. A wire instead of a string, and again a rigid, lightweight rod attached to the ceiling with a pivot loop to allow it freer movement. A flat stone, then a round one in place of an egg shaped one. And still he'd come to the same conclusion.

As an alternate method to test his theory, Pad referenced his observation of the stars, both with the naked eye, and through the telescope that he'd returned several times to use. Still, he found it more likely than not, with the two experiments combined, that the world they were on rotated. As an interesting aside, he cited his previous observation that some heavenly bodies seemed to emit a light of their own, perhaps by virtue of gasses, while others seemed only to reflect it. The former seemed to flicker, while the latter did not.

And moreover, those that tended to flicker, stars as opposed to, perhaps, other worlds or moons or other such bodies, seemed to possess a different pattern of movement than the latter. Except, he theorized, it wasn't them moving about the sky, so much as their own world turning on an axis of sorts. Or perhaps, in fact, both but at different rates. All theory based on observation however, rather than stated as fact.

[Pegasus]

Thread Complete, Padraig!

Points!:

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/ 5
Structure: 5/ 5

Knowledge:

Skill Knowledge:
Logistics: Planning an experiment
Logistics: Controlling extraneous variables
Negotiation: Laying out justification to ensure you get the response you want.
Physics: Applying perpetual motion to a waterwheel mechanism
Physics: Aerodynamics and movement in water: Design & efficiency
Physics: Astronomy: The scientific study of stellar phenomena.
Physics: Astonomy: Plotting stars suggests movement.
Physics: Empirical evidence, observation & testing to strengthen theory
Writing: Academic conventions
Writing: Symbols and notations for the charting of stars
Writing: Requirements & sections of a dossier


Non-Skill Knowledge:
Location: Scalvoris Island
Location: Scalvoris Town
Location: Viden Academy: Scalvoris Campus
NPC: Professor Esme Dashiell
NPC: Pippa Fre'nell

Loot:

+1 book (Steinman's Astronomy Text),

Fame:

NA

Magic:

These points may NOT be used for arcana

Overview:

General comments. Hope you enjoyed the thread!
Story All good - Padraig's inner dialogue and determination to impress the Professor made me chuckle more than once. I think they're going to have a great working relationship!
Structure No problems at all!

Please do PM me if you've got any questions