7. School of Thought
Mar. 23rd, 2010 07:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deathpixieVariations on a theme I've used before, with a twist:
"Mr. and Mrs. Chen. So good of you to come. Please, have a seat."
"Your message was most urgent, Headmaster. Is everything... is Hugo all right?"
"Physically, he's quite well. However, there is a rather concerning issue that's arisen. We're considering expulsion."
"Expulsion? For what? Hugo's always been such a well-behaved boy. His grades are perfect and the psychiatric tests have never shown anything..."
"Please, Mr. Chen, I understand your reaction, but let me explain. You are aware that the school pays for and fits all of the cyber hardware required by our students?"
"Of course. There was a form that we signed... It's for the lesson implants, yes?"
"Among other things, but yes. All lessons, homework, projects... they're downloaded into the cybernetic shunt behind your son's left ear, where they are processed directly by his brain and then converted into electronic impulses which feed back into the school's mainframe. It's top of the line technology."
"We understand all that, Headmaster. Are you saying Hugo has done something to his implant?"
"Oh no. They're completely tamper-proof. However, as they are school property, we do monitor them at all times. Including when the students are not actually at school."
"Monitor... I'm not sure I understand. You make sure nothing happens to the implant?"
"Well, yes, we do. But we also monitor the content. Your son's random thoughts, to be exact."
"His thoughts?! Isn't that illegal?"
"Not since the anti-terrorism legislation passed in the early part of the century, no. Given the amount of responsibility that is placed on schools to maintain students' well-being, especially in the wake of the successful lawsuits against several New York schools for not preventing a series of gun-related incidents, we employ every method available to us. And that includes monitoring the contents of our students' minds after-hours."
"... All right, set aside this whole legal thing... what is it that you've seen in Hugo's thoughts that make you want to expel him? He's always been a very gentle, caring boy."
"I thought you would ask, which is why I had the particular images downloaded. If you'd like to turn your attention to the screen here..."
*click*
"Oh my goodness! My son... I can't believe he think such... disgusting thoughts!"
"I knew he was growing up, but I never thought... All boys think about it but I never thought Hugo would... Is there anything we can do? To help him?"
"I thought you might see the school's position. While it's not uncommon for boys Hugo's age to be distracted by such thoughts, it's the details that concern us. The extensive use of colour, the flights of fancy, the painstaking detail. As for helping him... I have the number of a very good hospital. They are highly experienced in this sort of case. In fact, it would not be the first time I have recommended them for one of our students."
"Hospital... but..."
"You saw the recording, Albert. We can't let this go unchecked. What if our son grew up to be a... well, an artist?"
"You're right. No son of mine is going to wind up being a creative. What's the number of that hospital?"
This post was originally posted to my Dreamwidth journal.
"Mr. and Mrs. Chen. So good of you to come. Please, have a seat."
"Your message was most urgent, Headmaster. Is everything... is Hugo all right?"
"Physically, he's quite well. However, there is a rather concerning issue that's arisen. We're considering expulsion."
"Expulsion? For what? Hugo's always been such a well-behaved boy. His grades are perfect and the psychiatric tests have never shown anything..."
"Please, Mr. Chen, I understand your reaction, but let me explain. You are aware that the school pays for and fits all of the cyber hardware required by our students?"
"Of course. There was a form that we signed... It's for the lesson implants, yes?"
"Among other things, but yes. All lessons, homework, projects... they're downloaded into the cybernetic shunt behind your son's left ear, where they are processed directly by his brain and then converted into electronic impulses which feed back into the school's mainframe. It's top of the line technology."
"We understand all that, Headmaster. Are you saying Hugo has done something to his implant?"
"Oh no. They're completely tamper-proof. However, as they are school property, we do monitor them at all times. Including when the students are not actually at school."
"Monitor... I'm not sure I understand. You make sure nothing happens to the implant?"
"Well, yes, we do. But we also monitor the content. Your son's random thoughts, to be exact."
"His thoughts?! Isn't that illegal?"
"Not since the anti-terrorism legislation passed in the early part of the century, no. Given the amount of responsibility that is placed on schools to maintain students' well-being, especially in the wake of the successful lawsuits against several New York schools for not preventing a series of gun-related incidents, we employ every method available to us. And that includes monitoring the contents of our students' minds after-hours."
"... All right, set aside this whole legal thing... what is it that you've seen in Hugo's thoughts that make you want to expel him? He's always been a very gentle, caring boy."
"I thought you would ask, which is why I had the particular images downloaded. If you'd like to turn your attention to the screen here..."
*click*
"Oh my goodness! My son... I can't believe he think such... disgusting thoughts!"
"I knew he was growing up, but I never thought... All boys think about it but I never thought Hugo would... Is there anything we can do? To help him?"
"I thought you might see the school's position. While it's not uncommon for boys Hugo's age to be distracted by such thoughts, it's the details that concern us. The extensive use of colour, the flights of fancy, the painstaking detail. As for helping him... I have the number of a very good hospital. They are highly experienced in this sort of case. In fact, it would not be the first time I have recommended them for one of our students."
"Hospital... but..."
"You saw the recording, Albert. We can't let this go unchecked. What if our son grew up to be a... well, an artist?"
"You're right. No son of mine is going to wind up being a creative. What's the number of that hospital?"
This post was originally posted to my Dreamwidth journal.
