Prehistory 101 [TWS]

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Now how did I put TWC there? >_<

Prehistoric Educational

Network: Global University
Subject: Prehistory
Lesson: TERM01_01

Prehistory 101

Good morning, Class. Welcome to Prehistory 101. This is lesson one.

[syllabus: TERM01 is as follows]

REQUIRED MATERIAL
*Topic 1: Basics of Prehistory
** 1.1 History of Prehistory
*** 1.1.1 Development of Prehistory
**1.2 Modern Prehistory
**1.3 Applications of Prehistory

FURTHER STUDIES [choose one]
A: Practical Prehistory
B: Theory of Prehistory
C: Prehistorical Affairs

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Good morning, Individual.

As this is your first class, please complete the following fields in order to facilitate Education.

What is your name? ____
Which Further Study option will you take? ____

MENU:
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Name: Ian Derthal
Further Study Option: Prehistorical Affairs

Name: Magnus Thursby
Further Study Option: Practical Prehistory

Name: Joseph Magnon
Further Study Option: Theory of Prehistory

Lucy Dimonhi
Practical Prehistory

>Name: Wednesday Thursday
>Studies: Practical Prehistory

Name: Barry Onyx Walker
Further Study Option: Practical Prehistory

Thank you, Joseph. To confirm:

NAME: JOSEPH DERTHAL
FURTHER STUDY: A) PRACTICAL PREHISTORY.

Here is your unique learner registration identification code:

bb3421[jijj17]1421bi

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All information has been collated, Class. Welcome to Prehistory 101. Education commencing, please wait...

{in.the.corners.of.your.mind/some.ancestral.memory.stirs/you.imagine.the.archaic.sound/of.data.spinning.into.gear}

Topic 1: Basics of Prehistory

"Prehistory, in the modern sense. The word in its archaic sense meant literally the component of its parts: Before History, or a descriptor of times that preceded recorded history. However, a modern interpretation of the word finds it more appropriate to the field of study it now represents. Like most advances in science its arrival was predicted by several independent notions: for instance the science fiction author Philip K. Dickâ??s Minority Report, with its concept of precrime, and Isaac Asimovâ??s psychohistory within his Foundation series. Life imitates art, many say, though other schools of thought pertain that predictive conceptions are but the result of common sense and logical reasoning.

As such, prehistory in its modern interpretation simply requires a reevaluation of its definition: Before History. Examining this from a geocentric point of view â?? and more specifically a temporally present perspective, it goes to follow that the present is before history â?? history that is yet to come.

With the advancement of mob psychology and the refinement of deterministic probability calculations, it is possible to calculate statistical futures. These futures are the focus of the prehistory. Its goal: to examine future histories and prevent, contain and further futures that will be beneficial to Humanity.�

Our next topic will be on: 1.2 Modern Prehistory and 1.3 Applications of Prehistory. Please take a break.

MENU:
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bac[k]
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You blink, and shake the shaggy hair from your eyes. Slowly, you pull yourself from the chair and stand upright. A shaft of sunlight pours down from the ceiling where you fell through the rusted steel, and shines on the dent in the overgrown wreckage you made when you landed on your head.

There's no way you can climb up to the gap, not even with your Homo sapien (where did that come from?) muscles, and the walls are too strong to try and knock down. Not to mention it'll get dark - if not soon then at some point. You've got to return to your tribe and fire, or they'll nomadically leave without you.

On the other hand though, that machine chair has had a strange effect on you. You've not known your tribesmen to be verbose or to think of much other than the next meal, and you weren't much different. In fact, the only reason you got into the chair was because you thought it might be edible.

Now though, your name is JOSEPH DERTHAL. You're not sure if that was your name before, or whether you really had one. And you know now that there's more! The EduChair - yes, that was its name - gave you a basic knowledge of reading and mathematics and so on. And you can feel that there's so much more forthcoming. You just have to -??

!

A light catches your eye, and instinct causes you to whirl about, centering it in your vision. Then you realize it's only a flashing light on the console facing the EduChair. You approach it slowly, eyeing its urgent flickering. Then you read the label stuck underneath it, written in a sterile but imperative type, is CLASS RESUMED : LATE FOR CLASS!!!

>Well, what are you waiting for? Get to the next class!

Get back in that chair!

Do you remember your tribe? Do you remember their faces, their laughter? Who are you?

You gotta find a way to get back to your tribe, and tell them about this sweet place!

Look for a door.

Sit back in the chair, but first give it some cushion with leaves and twigs and whatnot

>Learn more. Clearly there is something to this thing!

Do you remember your tribe? Do you remember their faces, their laughter? Who are you?

You gotta find a way to get back to your tribe, and tell them about this sweet place!

Look for a door.

You ignore the light for the time being...though a niggling feeling continues at the back of your newly educated mind. It keeps being there - not annoying, not anxious - just there - even as you try and drum up enthusiasm to going back, even through the thoughts of the the fire, of community, of their faces and mannerisms, who they were - and guiltily you realize you think of them in terms that the machine has taught you, as a tribe, uncivilized, unwashed...

You've got to escape. You've got to get out somehow. You push aside rusted sheet metal, plant growth, piles and piles of dust - all to no avail. There is simply no door or exit to be found anywhere in the room.

And the light...keeps...flashing.

>Well, what are you waiting for? Get to the next class!

Get back in that chair!

Sit back in the chair, but first give it some cushion with leaves and twigs and whatnot

>Learn more. Clearly there is something to this thing!

It draws you in with its promise of knowledge. It...is irresistible, the prospect of intelligence, the temptation of knowing...

You pad the chair with some leaves first though, since its own cushioning has worn out somewhat over time. You try padding it with twigs as well, but this seems somewhat counterproductive, seeing as they have the propensity to lodge themselves in uncomfortable places.

{loading...}

You are late, Joseph. Missed material will not be relearned until Review Session at Semester's End.

"...it is therefore evident that Modern Prehistory as a discipline, despite claims by Deists and Free-will Conglomerates, is neither invalidated nor inapplicable in research and practical operation. The ethical consequences of steering the future are as outlined by the Quantos Foundation, to be covered next semester."

1.3 Applications of Prehistory

"Prehistorical studies are often conducted within a gedanken space, where realities are simulated using the collective power of the global computing grid. Students taking practical prehistory operate within the gedanken during training.

Upon graduation, however, practical prehistorians are then connected to the Ledger, the record of prehistory and its paths, and are from then on instructed by the Prehistorical Organization in their specific assignments.

These assignments are generally short-term redirections of prehistory, aimed at immediate benefit. These benefits can vary according to the difficulty of the assignment and the magnitude of redirection, and are always classified. Rumors persist that the Prehistorical Organization obtains the majority of its capital from unauthorized meddling in prehistory, but such claims remain unsubstantiated.

The main purpose and application of prehistory is to create a better future for humanity, sustaining its politic socioeconomical health, preserving its heritage and culture, and ensuring its ongoing safety."

This marks the end of TERM01 material.

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Joseph (bb3421[jijj17]1421bi):

You have elected to take Option A) Practical Prehistory.

When you are disengaged from the EduChair, please exit the education chamber and follow the arrows to the gedanken section. Your unique learner registration identification code will be assigned to a gedanken chamber. Once you arrive, please enter and engage this chamber.

MENU:
[l]ogout

A mournful moaning sound, skirting the edges of your hearing, finally takes the plunge and awakens you. You groan as you release your grip on the chair's armrests, stretching and wincing as you stand. Every muscle seems stiff and cramped, and you realize why as a bitter wind blows through the chamber, causing your body to shiver uncontrollably with wind chill. It comes from the fissure in the ceiling, and you see that it's already nighttime outside.

You cast your eye around the room, now harshly lit in the dim, sterile glow of some still-operating fluorescent tubes - and spot in the glow of an exit sign the door, hanging open on its rusted hinges. You'd missed it before without the fluorescent lights' aid, and even so there are still vines and creepers partially obscuring the view of the hallway beyond.

You make to step out into the dimly lit passageway beyond - glowing, lighted arrows pointing down the corridor and around a corner, airplane-style - but pause on the threshold. Something niggles at the back of your mind...

It is time to engage in the most civilized and educated of pursuits: introspection. Delve, delve deep into your mind, and take a look at what this niggling feeling is.

As an alternative, or possibly at the same time, give a shot at speaking (assuming you didn't have much of a language before). You've got all these words for things now; can you voice them aloud? Can you say your name?

Make sure there is a floor to step onto!

What happened here, do you know?

>It's probably nothing. Carry on down the passageway.

Make sure there is a floor to step onto!

Oh. That is a good idea. You know this somehow, even though before this you hadn’t much in the way of ideas. Squinting into the dimness beyond, you try and catch a glimpse of the floor. You confirm that there is indeed a floor to step into, if you don’t mind dropping a meter or two. A crude ladder of sorts, comprised of improvised metal braces, has been welded under the door. Something about this strikes you as odd…

What happened here, do you know?

You turn your attention down the passageway. The floor seems to have collapsed most of the way down the corridor on your right, beyond your range of vision. On your left, there is a sharp cleft and a jagged edge, indicating the place where the collapsed floor broke off from a sturdier section which leads out of sight on the left. Amongst the debris that has filled in the gap between the edges is something your eyes can’t seem to quite catch; it’s only by squinting that you get the idea there’s anything there at all.

You’ve never seen anything like it. New knowledge or no new knowledge, there is no replacement for experience. Your brain is giving you words like floors and titanium and building, but the closest analog you manage to draw is that of a really, really large, complex underground cave. Which isn’t that far off.

It is time to engage in the most civilized and educated of pursuits: introspection. Delve, delve deep into your mind, and take a look at what this niggling feeling is.

Your mind is firing off idea after idea! It’s as if your introduction to sentience is making it connect information and concept like it never could before! You catch this idea as it crosses your brain. It’s pretty metaphorical, but you get the idea. Or ideas, as it were.

In the unconscious, systematic way that the brain is so fond of utilizing, you try and sort your thoughts…

before:
dark and day reigned,
the tribe was life, everything
the fire; safety

but:
That axiomatic form of thought precludes the further development of other cognitive skills – by simplifying the neural routes of information transmission, survival taking a primary priority over other forms of intelligent advancement, the development of non-essential skills becomes a liability.

…Your head hurts now. Whatever insight you got from that didn’t particularly help – if it was even an insight and not some mad protocol implanted by some ancient malfunctioning…

As an alternative, or possibly at the same time, give a shot at speaking (assuming you didn't have much of a language before). You've got all these words for things now; can you voice them aloud?

You drop that thread of thought. Too many foreign concepts. The niggling feeling seems to have gone away, anyway. In any case, this other idea seems a little more concrete, closer to home.

Vaguely, you remember the people of your tribe. There were words, and signals, and pictures and concepts…but nothing strikes you as having had a particular form of language – at least not one compatible with what you now know is – was – language. Back then, something inside you says, when these walls were whole and many, uncountably many strode its halls, all spoke language – words, signals, pictures, concepts rolled up in a complex machine that spoke and spoke and spoke.

Standing there, you try and see if you can speak.

“…aeeaa…”

But your voicebox just doesn’t seem to want to move that way. It could be just a lack of muscle memory, or just the fact that you’ve, quite honestly, got nothing of consequence to say.

Can you say your name?

“J…jehhh…”

Yup, that’s going to need work.

>It's probably nothing. Carry on down the passageway.

You clamber down the ladder, and carefully place your bare feet on the slanted floor. To your left, there’s a loose wall of debris blocking the space in between the lowered floor and the original level. In places you can see a faint light shining through gaps in the metal and rubble. To your right, the collapsed flooring seems to slope back upwards, presumably back to the original floor’s height, but you can’t see that far down in this light.

Any ideas?

>Onward to the right!

>Pick nose. Grunt.

>Pick nose. Grunt.

That seems inside your intellectual capabilities. You do so.

You also engage in the delightful practice of mucophagy, and wonder briefly about suddenly knowing the word.

>Onward to the right!

You traipse on down that way. As you walk along, you spot the remains of more things you're coming to think of as 'man-made', unnaturally straight and pointy.

Come to think of it, the spears your tribe used to make were usually straighter than nature too. Pointier as well.

Could that mean that your tribespeople were in the same category as these baffling, historical men?

You are so engrossed by this thought that you realize that you are in the dark. A ways behind you is a smidgen of light where an emergency light flickers fitfully. Before you lies blackness.

> try shouting whatever comes to mind first, maybe it will attract something.

> try shouting whatever comes to mind first, maybe it will attract something.

"Following President Kilroy's reelection in 2064, the Eastern European trading bloc came under heavy fire internationally for Qarluqstan's controversial mineral tariffs."

...What?

You have no idea what you just said.

Your voice echoes through the empty, dead corridors.

No one is coming.