Correspondence Scholarship, Class Two [Tuesday Morning, June 17th]

[theexdisgracedacademic]

When the students arrived to their domed classroom, there was a broad-shouldered clay man standing before them. A pair of goggles were awkwardly affixed to her face. The hour to begin arrived, but no other tutor came with it.

The Clay Substitute laid her hands upon the podium. "PLEASE. OPEN YOUR TEXTBOOKS TO PAGE-"

Much the same as last week, there was a hubbub in the hall outside. The door slammed open, and one figure marched another to the front of the class. The Beleaguered Dean, swathed in a coat of thick tweed and a thicker coat of nervous sweat, was all but pushing The Ex-Disgraced Academic back into their pace behind the podium.

The Academic wasn't missing a beat in the argument: "-can't at all see what the issue is, so long as they learn the material-"

"You cannot offload your duties to an Underclay aspirant!" The Dean's fury is only matched by the fearful tension in his voice, "And an unfinished one at that! How did you get it up here-"

The Academic's eye widened in almost-honorable affront. "You can't prove that this perfectly capable worker is unfinished, can you?"

"No, but I can certainly prove that it's not on the faculty list." The Dean wiped his brow. "Get on with it, man!"

The Clay Substitute barely moved, but the grinding of her turning head rumbled through the floor. "I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD BE PAID IN FULL, REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG CLASS WENT?"

Coin was exchanged, and, the Dean ushered The Clay Substitute out of the room. The Academic hissed through their teeth, clearly ready to vent their terrible mood at the first faces to cross theirs.

They turned to look at the class. And smiled a terrible smile. "Good morning."

Targets acquired.

"So! You've all decided to return for a second week. I suppose it can't be helped. Any damage you incur from here on out is upon your own heads." They began their lecture. 

“English is a phonographic language, as the distinct letters of the alphabet each represent units of sound. The Correspondence is logographic, meaning that similar to the languages of the second and fourth cities (and the Khanate, of course), Correspondence Symbols each represent units of meaning.”

 

 

In bold, rapid strokes, The Academic scrawled a symbol onto the chalkboard:

They whirled around, pointing an accusing claw at anyone unfortunate enough to still be moving their pens. “Do not copy this into your notes! If you fancy yourself cheeky and attempt to copy it whilst my back is turned, I will still know, so do NOT try me.” They turned back, circling the image. Anyone foolhardy enough to ignore the command would earn immediate combustion to their notebook, and a quick, scathing look of satisfaction from The Academic.

“This is the symbol for “an unmappable direction. It is one of the more frequent symbols to be found in practical human application of The Correspondence, as well as in architectural engravings ranging from first city ruins all the way up to lapsarian London. It is also exceptionally flammable. None but the most expensive of papers can contain it.” And with a terrifically wicked smile: "Chalkboards are fine, though." 

They continued. “The Correspondence is a purely semiotic construct. There are currently no known pronunciations or verbal applications for these signs-“ The Academic covered a bark of laughter, and then continued, “-apologies, but I would hate for my lectures to contradict the well-documented research that the Ministry of Public Decency has gently requested I adhere to."

The Academic pushed their current chalkboard up and out of the way, revealing an unblemished second layer. They added a tidy column of six simple symbols. "There are one hundred and eight basic radicals, and we've discovered twice as many in total. But for this course, we will begin with six."

 

 

And, after writing these on the board, the academic turned to the students. “These you may record in your notes, however-“ their tone sharpened, slicing through the momentum of those who may have rushed to begin- “confine each radical to its own sheet for practice.  None of these, alone, is a complete symbol. But some can be converted very easily into real Correspondence symbols, and it is vital that you do not accidentally do so. Spend the rest of today's duration memorizing and practicing these radicals until you can reproduce them by heart. You'll know if you're doing well, because you paper will become warm to the touch once half-full. I will also be writing additional complete correspondence symbols on the other chalkboards. Your homework is to discern which of these six parts of speech each of the symbols is.”

The Academic pointed once more at the spray bottles on each row of desks. “At any sign of smoke, you are to douse the offending student’s work, without hesitation. Last week was not a one-off exercise. Consider this both a basic safety precaution, as well as your first taste of operant conditioning. Get to it!”

 

Comments

Re: Before Class

[ticktopis_observatorium]

"Oh, indeed!" The Professor nodded interested and excited with Thursday's passion. "There's plenty of knowledge about our little and not-so-little beetles of the Neath, you know how much the English love beetles. But there's much, much more to discover, so more people like you is always welcome. I can show you what I can, and how to get more on your own. I'll be very happy to do so."

"And yes, the Starved Men and their relatives are the source and masters of the art of reshaping bodies. Of that I also know some, yet not nearly as much as there is to know. If that interests you as well, I can give the fundaments and make introductions."

Re: Before Class

[the_dye_stained_socialite]

"Wait, wait, 'not-so-little'?" Their eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Are there giant beetles down here? As in," and here they spread their hands wide, roughly to the size of a large cat "big?" This was perhaps even more interesting to them than the very class they signed up to attend.

"Hmm..." they drummed their fingers on the desk in consideration. "I don't know if I handle more practical applications, but I do want to know how it works. I'd be happy to learn whatever you have, and, well, if you can teach me how to be better at digging up info, I could really use it! There's uh.. there's a lot that goes on down here, it's hard to piece it together, but... it makes me itch, you know? I don't, I can't explain it. There's just a lot more going on." Thursday screwed up their face. Something was just out of their grasp, a concept they knew intuitively, but couldn't piece together in words. Like trying to see the big picture, when all you had was a microscope.

Re: Before Class

[ticktopis_observatorium]

Amused at Thursday's passion, they can't help but add to it.

"And even bigger. Big enough to mount." followed by a reassuring nod.

"Maybe we can meet after class to schedule some lessons? I think I understand what you intend"

Re: Before Class

[the_dye_stained_socialite]

" To mount?!" they exclaimed. Shit, too loud. "To mount?" they said, much softer. They put their hands in their lap, where they tapped quite excitedly. Really, the young student looked like they were about to explode, and in fact they had to take a deep breath to calm themself. Thursday was, afterall, still in the middle of a classroom. Hopefully nobody else saw that.

"Yes, I'd like that!" It might help keep them a bit more organized too if it was fresh in their mind.

Re: Before Class

[ticktopis_observatorium]

Delighted by Thursday's reaction, the Professor continued.

"If you have a free afternoon,I could take you to a place with the best vistas for such a prodigy. And from them on, we can start making a mentorship plan, if you'd like."

Re: Before Class

[the_dye_stained_socialite]

Though they quirked an eyebrow at being called a 'prodigy', the Professor had managed to Thursday in a very happy, at-ease mood. It was unexpected that they should find someone so eager to help their education, and moreso that there seemed to be genuine pleasantness shared there.

"I don't have much... structure to my days, I think I've got free afternoons to spare for vistas and, well, mentorships! Just not Tuesdays, I'm busy then." A small laugh escaped at their own joke.

Re: Before Class

[ticktopis_observatorium]

"What if I..." the Professor produces a calling card, writing their contact information and giving it to Thursday "Give you this, and you contact me when your diary unstructure allows, and see if it matches with mine?"

Re: Before Class

[the_dye_stained_socialite]

Thursday took the card, with just a hint of excitement, and tucked it inside a jacket pocket. "Here, let me just uh," They grabbed some paper and wrote down their own information in return. The 'adress' provided looked more like a dead drop, and the letters up top must have been code. It was probably habit. Look! a little beetle drawing. They slid the paper over to the Professor. "There you go! Incase I uh, incase I forget. Happens sometimes."

Re: Before Class

[ticktopis_observatorium]

The Professor understands the need for secrecy, especially down here. So they nod and look charmed at the beetle drawing.

"Thank you!"