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.“Why do you think that, Mr.Parker?”“Because Nikki and I have psionic power, and we're both here,” I said.“I also don't think you would be teaching a class just for the fun of it.Maybe for special students.Very special students.”“I cannot deny that this class is geared toward those with your talents,” he said.“However, it would be a mistake to assume that all of your classmates are talented in the same manner.Normally, I would not approve of you knowing any of this.However, since you and Miss Wainwright have already learned of each other's talents and begun training together, it's unsurprising that you've deduced this.”“I'm trying to figure out if that's a compliment or not,” I said.His shoulders shook as he chuckled.“I suppose it could be.”The door to the classroom opened again and another student who I recognized from the first trimester entered, cutting off any further conversation.Over the next fifteen minutes, more people arrived, and at the precise minute when class was scheduled to begin, Ripley began to call roll.Nikki hadn't yet arrived.I wondered if she hadn't been selected for the class.That would have been ridiculous, considering he had mentioned her just a few minutes before, but where was she?That question was partially answered when he got to her name on the roll.“Wainwright, Nicole.” There was no response.He frowned and looked around the room, then stared at me.“Wainwright, Nicole?” I shrugged.The door burst open.“Sorry I'm late!” Nikki leaned on the doorknob, bending over and panting for breath.“Lost track of time.So sorry!”Ripley sighed.“Every trimester, someone attempts to make an entrance.It has long since ceased to amuse me.As I told Mr.Parker earlier this year, please, leave the grandiose entrances to me.I am old enough to know how to make them properly.Take your seat, Miss Wainwright.”Nikki walked around and sat down in the chair next to me, still breathing heavily, skin flushed.She looked darker than she had the last time I saw her, probably from getting some sun over the break.A pair of sunglasses hung from the front of her pink shirt.When she noticed me looking in her direction, she gave me a half smile and a wink.I grinned at her.At least she didn't seem to be angry with me.She was the last name on the roll.Ripley had called names in alphabetical order from memory.“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Comparative Ethics II.Where there were thirty of you last we met, there are but twenty-four now.” He let that sink in for a moment.“Next trimester, more will be culled.It does not give me any great pleasure to do so, but I do not allow those with insufficient ability to continue this series of courses.” His gaze met mine again and I nodded slightly.He was cutting people from the class who didn't have psionic talents, I assumed.At some point, everyone left would be a psion.Would he reveal that? How many people in the room right now were being trained?He went on to explain the general concepts of this stage of the course.We'd be doing short research papers this time, examining historical events and attempting to write an objective ethical analysis for each.The idea disturbed me on some level.Would he be asking us to examine the ethics behind events like the Holocaust or try to justify acts of terrorism? I didn't ask the question, but someone else did.Ripley didn't respond, only walked over to the side of his desk and picked his cane up.He examined it for a moment, then walked back to the front of the desk and leaned on his cane, facing us.His face was unnaturally solemn.“It is not a question of justification or passionless, bloodless analysis,” he said quietly.“The objective of this course, ladies and gentlemen, is to encourage you to understand.Everyone acts for a reason.You all act for reasons that make perfect sense to you, whether you justify them before, during, or after you act.When you understand why someone acts as they do, you can extend that knowledge to understanding others, and even understanding yourself.”“But we're all unique,” Nikki protested.“We're all different, Professor.What makes you act in one way will make me act differently [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]