of course, setting the scene. Then the tenors come in – they’ll be the
dragon riders of course, and the baritones Lord Holders, with a few
basses to be the Professionals . . each describing his duty to the
……. then a final chorus, s.a.t.b., a reprise of the first verse,
all Pern confirming what they owe the dragons. Yes, that’ll do nicely
for one.
Clisser knew when he wasn’t needed and left the room, smiling to
himself. Now, if Bethany was right and this term’s students could
perform the research satisfactorily, he could make good on his blithe
promise to the Council. He did hope that the computers would last long
enough for a comprehensive search. They had got so erratic lately that
their performance was suspect at most times. Some material was
definitely scrambled and lost among files. And no-one knew how to solve
the problem of replacement parts. Of course, the pcs were so old and
decrepit, it was truly a wonder that they had lasted as long as they
had. Was there any point these days in holding a course on computer
electronics?
Which thought reminded him that he had interviews with two sets of
parents who were insisting that their offspring be put in the computer
course since that was the most prestigious of those offered. And the
one involving the least work, since there were so few computers left.
Where would they practise the skills they learned? Clisser wondered.
Furthermore, neither of the two students concerned had the aptitude to
work with mechanical objects; they just thought it was what they wanted.
There were always a few cases like that in an academic year.
And one set of Holder parents who did not like their daughter
associating with lesser breeds without the law’ . . . as Sheledon
put it.
As if there was room, or facilities, for more than one teachers’ school.
Or the private tutors some Holders felt should be supplied them because
of their positions. Ha! As it was, the peripatetic teachers were going
all year long, trying to cover the basics with children in the far-flung
settlements.
Well, maybe one day they could site a second campus – was that the word?
– on the eastern coast. Of course, with Threadfall coming, he’d have to
revise all the schedules as well as instruct his travellers on how to
avoid getting killed by the stuff. He had seen footage – when the
projector still worked – of actual Threadfall. He shuddered.
Accustomed as he had been all his life to the prospect of the menace, he
still didn’t like the inevitability. The reality was nearly on them.
The Weyrleaders could waffle on about how well prepared Hold and Weyr
were, with dragon strength at max, and ground crews and equipment
organized, but did anyone really know what it would be like? He swore
under his breath as he made his way to the rooms that still needed to be
completed to receive occupants in five days. He’d work on the syllabus
on his lunch break.
A sudden thought struck him so that he halted, foot poised briefly above
the next step. What they really needed was a totally new approach to
education on Pern!
What was the point of teaching students subjects now rendered useless
here on Pern? Like computer programming and electronic maintenance?
What good did it do the Pernese boys and girls to know the old
geographic and political subdivisions of Terra? Useless information.
They’d never go IF
there! Such matters did not impinge on their daily lives. What was
needed was a complete revision of learning priorities, suitable to those
who were firmly and irrevocably based on this planet. Why did anyone
NOW need to know the underlying causes of the Nathi Space War?
No-one here was going to get in space – even the dragons were limited to
distance which they could travel before they were in oxygen debt.
Why not study the spatial maps of Pern and forget those of Earth and its
colonies? Study the Charter and its provisions as applicable to the
Pernese citizenry, rather than prehistoric governments and societies?
Well, some of the more relevant facts could be covered in the course to