The pods lay before the children like opened eggshells.<\/p>\n
\u201cWon’t we get bored in there?\u201d one boy asked.<\/p>\n
Mr. Lightman the company representative was quick to answer. \u201cNo, of course not.\u201d He chuckled. \u201cIt will all feel like a dream, a very fun dream, and one where you\u2019re not only enjoying yourself, but learning.\u201d A smirk came and went across his face. \u201cIt\u2019s much better than the old way of going to school. Really.\u201d<\/p>\n
The children looked up at him with tilted heads as colorful images flashed by on the man\u2019s slideshow.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me ask you all a question.\u201d He spread his hands and grinned at the crowd.<\/p>\n
The kids nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho here likes basketball? Hiking? Video games?\u201d he asked, clicking his remote. A slide full of pastel animals and caped heroes appeared on the screen. As hands shot up all around the room the man slicked back his hair and flashed his pearly teeth. \u201cI knew it! You guys look like a cool crowd to me. Well I have good news. From here on out your school days will be like one big video game!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWoooo!\u201d Several kids cheered and pumped their fists.<\/p>\n
But Mono wasn\u2019t fooled. From her seat near the back of the room, she squirmed and craned her neck to get a good look at the devices. She didn\u2019t like the sound of this one bit. First, video games were kinda lame. Second, she\u2019d rather be outside anyway. Her hand shot into the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of video game is it?\u201d she shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAhah, a question! Could you repeat that?\u201d Mr. Lightman held a hand over his eyes to scan the crowd.<\/p>\n
Mono got to her feet. \u201cI said \u2018What kinda game are these stupid things?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMono!\u201d their teacher Mrs. Valentine exclaimed as she rose from her seat. The woman had that \u2018Here we go again expression\u2019 on her face that Mono had become accustomed to.<\/p>\n
The man gave a quick snort and waved at Mrs. Valentine to sit down. \u201cIt\u2019s quite alright,\u201d he said, striding to Mono\u2019s spot on the carpet at the back of the room. \u201cQuestions are totally natural for these dudes and dudettes. They\u2019re like sponges, soaking up info and learning the ins and outs of our little world at hyperspeed!\u201d He laughed as he reached Mono\u2019s side and ruffled her hair. \u201cRight kiddo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrrrrrr.\u201d She growled at the man, who shot her a slightly worried glance.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys, I gotta admit, I\u2019m not an expert on teaching or on games, but I do know computers. I\u2019m a corporate product design and marketing specialist. It\u2019s a sort of scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whispers and exclamations spread across the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cOhhhh\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA sciensist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s a sciensist?\u201d<\/p>\n
Had they ever seen a sciensist before?<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s hand landed on Mono\u2019s shoulder where he gave it a squeeze. \u201cA scienTist,\u201d he started, \u201cstudies nature and technology. And we make things like these pods.\u201d He looked down at Mono, his eyes blue and shining behind his glasses. \u201cThings to make your life more awesomer, know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPsssssh,\u201d Mono hissed and struggled out from under his hand. \u201cYou still didn\u2019t answer my question, mister!\u201d<\/p>\n
The other children broke into hushed whispers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kinda game, dude?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Lightman shot her an amused glance. \u201cFair enough. This is a sort of learning game. You\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re having adventures, playing having fun with your friends, but you\u2019ll be learning new things at the same time. How to read faster, to speak new languages like Russian, to type, program, calculate, wor…\u201d he hesitated, \u201chow to do some majorly rad stuff, like be a scientist yourself someday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRussian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProgram?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCool…\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono still didn\u2019t like it. She glared up at the man. \u201cWhat if I don\u2019t wanna go?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man burst into laughter. \u201cWell it\u2019s like school. Of course you have to go, dudette. What else would you do all day?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I wanna play in the woods and hunt for food and explore, like a … like a warrior princess.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Mr. Lightman, then Mrs. Valentine started laughing, then her classmates joined in. \u201cTrust me, Mono, you\u2019re going to like living in the pod much<\/i> better than you think. Inside, you might even get to be<\/i> a warrior princess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono growled and flexed her fingers while he ruffled her hair one more time.<\/p>\n
What about outside time? She wished she could claw Mr. Lightman\u2019s tongue out. Mono wasn\u2019t sure how, but she could tell he was a liar. A big. Fat. Liar.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
* \u00a0* \u00a0* \u00a0*<\/p>\n
For a while, she thought the whole thing was going to blow over, but several months later some trucks showed up and delivered the pods to their school. Along with other students across the city, county, and state, they were going to try the new things out. The whole region was in the process of switching.<\/p>\n
The week before, she and her classmates had been tested and sorted into different groups with names and mascots: \u201chard-working bees,\u201d \u201cclever crows,\u201d \u201cleader lions,\u201d and \u201csocial sea-otters.\u201d The arguments about which animal was better were still raging.<\/p>\n
Mono was sent to the room with the bee pods and was not<\/i> happy about it. She was sure she had answered well enough to be a clever crow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t wanna go! And this is the wrong room anyway,\u201d she growled and dragged her feet. As the rest of the class shuffled in and climbed eagerly into their pods, Mono watched with growing hesitation. Mrs. Valentine gave her a tired look.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you just give it a try, Mono?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t wanna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might be fun.\u201d Mrs. Valentine shot her an \u2018I dare you\u2019 look. \u201cYou know Mono, when I was your age I didn\u2019t want to go to school either. I thought it would be scary, that the boys would be mean to me, and that I\u2019d hate it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d Mrs. Valentine laughed. \u201cBut then I made friends, and I started having fun, and one day I even met my husband there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono nodded. \u201cA boyfriend, huh?\u201d She made fists with both hands, then opened and closed them. It would be fun to have someone to boss around. \u201cOk, ok, I\u2019ll give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n
She climbed into the egg-like pod, and looked into the eyes of Mrs. Valentine as the lid closed over her. The teachers eyes looked bloodshot but relieved at the same time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
* * * *<\/p>\n
The next thing she knew, Mono was surrounded by pine trees, giant mushrooms, rainbows, and playground equipment. She had to blink and rub her eyes a few times before she noticed the sign in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to the Forest of Lifelong Learning!\u201d it read.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the blech?\u201d This place felt like some adult\u2019s idea of her <\/i>idea of a fun day at the park. Mono shot suspicious glances around the make-believe forest.<\/p>\n
Not too far off in the distance, her friends were running around playing with a soccer ball shaped like a giant pinecone. Some of the children were by themselves, though. One of the older girls, Elisa Thompson, was reading under a tree. Mono walked up to her to see what was going on.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is it, huh? Woods, a big playground, and some fake mushrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elisa couldn\u2019t be bothered to look up from her book. \u201cIt all depends on you,\u201d she said. Elisa reminded Mono of one of those creepy children you see in horror movies, but Mono tried not to show it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the heck is that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means,\u201d Elisa started, shooting a look at Mono to indicate how annoying this all was, \u201cthat I see a giant library with ladders and ropes to climb to the higher shelves. They can\u2019t get rid of the people though. If only.\u201d She shook her head and went back to reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, what. You\u2019re inside a library? What about the soccer game over there?\u201d She jacked her thumb toward the field where the others were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome gym in another room. I can\u2019t even see it. Besides, they\u2019ve been explaining this like crazy on TV. Have you been living under a rock or something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but I\u2019d like to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elisa rolled her eyes. \u201cThis is virtual<\/i>, Mono. They control everything each of us sees and hears.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono scoffed and folded her arms. \u201cHuh. And were supposed to learn something here? When do classes start?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elisa shook her head, still staring at the page. \u201cThey already have. Can\u2019t you hear it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono perked her ears as the wind blew through the pines and just then she could make out a voice in the air. It was whispering from somewhere far away, rattling off facts dates and figures.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly crap.\u201d Mono stumbled backwards and grabbed both sides of her head. \u201cHow do we know they\u2019re not brainwashing us or something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really better not to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut…\u201d<\/p>\n
Elisa closed her book and glared. \u201cDo you want to go crazy, or what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo play or grab a book or something, kiddo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono skulked off to a jungle gym and started doing pull-ups. \u201cOne, hugggh, two, hugggh, th…\u201d Then it hit her and she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Exercise here wouldn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate this place!\u201d she shouted. Nearby, one of the first graders was staring at her. Mono didn\u2019t care. \u201cI know you can hear me and I hate this place!\u201d<\/p>\n
* * * *<\/p>\n
Mono was so relieved when she left the virtual school that she barely noticed the foggy feeling in her head or the voices echoing in the back of her mind. She was so relieved, in fact, that she didn\u2019t even mind sitting down with her real homework. They hadn\u2019t worked that out of the system, apparently. Well, not yet.<\/p>\n
She wrote out the definitions for new vocabulary (assiduously!), scribbled off some math problems as fast as she could, then ran outside. The sun was setting as she climbed the oak tree in her back yard, but it didn\u2019t matter. Her arms ached, her knees scraped against the bark, and her hair got tangled in the wind, but she felt alive out here.<\/p>\n
But something strange began to happen as the week wore on. She spent her days in \u2018the game\u2019 exploring as far as she could, crossing streams, finding trails and abandoned structures in the wilderness, and observing the game\u2019s animals. The creators had done a good job – maybe too good of a job. Not a day went by that she didn\u2019t spot an elk with majestic horns, or a majestic eagle soaring overhead, or a majestic horned ram standing majestically on a cliffside. There were also \u2018waypoints\u2019 that you could discover to teleport you around the world. But that wasn\u2019t the weird part.<\/p>\n
The weird thing was, when she got home from school, she *actually* enjoyed doing her work. Those feelings of satisfaction at a job well done just wouldn\u2019t go away. It got to her so much that, after a week and a half, she could barely get to sleep. As she lay in bed, she kept repeating to herself: \u201cI will not be brainwashed. I will not be brainwashed,\u201d but no matter how hard she tried every day, it didn\u2019t seem to be working.<\/p>\n
* * * *<\/p>\n
Finally, Mono couldn\u2019t think of anything else to try and decided on a desperate course of action: she would talk to someone about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, hey Mrs. Valentine!\u201d She tugged on the shirt sleeve of the teacher, who was filling out paperwork at her desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cMono,\u201d she said with a sigh. \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to go back to my pod.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teacher smiled and rubbed Mono\u2019s arm. Her eyes seemed less bloodshot than usual. \u201cYou don\u2019t like it in there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d Mono backed away and crossed her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow hold on – I see you\u2019ve been doing a lot of exploring. Did you know you\u2019ve ventured further in the learning environment than any of your other classmates?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right. You\u2019re our school\u2019s best explorer. Your homework has been better than usual too.\u201d She tapped a finger on the stack of papers in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell yeah, but…\u201d<\/p>\n
The teacher gave a little laugh. \u201cSo what\u2019s the problem? You\u2019re doing great and it\u2019s helping your studies. How\u2019s your Japanese. You wanted to learn that too, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMada heta desu,\u201d she started, then did a double take. When had that snuck into her head? \u201cWon\u2019t I reach the end of the game?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs. Valentine shook her head. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing, Mono.\u201d She picked up the \u2018Pod Learning Environment Teacher\u2019s Manual\u2019 and held it in the air like a scientific specimen. \u201cIt explains it all in this thing…\u201d she paused with a sigh, \u201cwhich I had to read all the way through. You can explore forever. The area inside the game is larger than the surface of the Earth. And you\u2019ll be learning the whole time. Pretty cool, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono glared as she slid the manual back into her bag, then shot her a slightly suspicious look. \u201cOK, I\u2019ll give it a go for a while longer. But what if I still decide I want to quit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we\u2019ll figure something out,\u201d Mrs. Valentine said with a tired smile.<\/p>\n
Finally, Mono nodded and wandered back to her pod.<\/p>\n
The teacher sighed with relief, then sifted through the stack of papers for Mono\u2019s profile. Down at the bottom was a checkbox for just this situation: \u2018Shows resistance to cognitive conditioning.\u2019 For a moment, her pen hovered over box, then she set it back down. Dealing with Mono’s occasional questions was still preferable to teaching her in person.<\/p>\n
* * * *<\/p>\n
Mono left school more confused than ever, but determined to figure things out. Luckily, while she had been talking to Mrs. Valentine she had come up with a plan. In fact, it had been difficult to hide her enthusiasm on the ride home.<\/p>\n
As she plopped down at her desk at home she removed a new book from her bag – one she had snuck away from school when Mrs. Valentine wasn\u2019t looking: the pod manual. Printed below the title was an extra line: \u201cSensitive Information – For teaching assistants only.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mono grinned and opened the book. Learning and exploring were about to become even more exciting.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Ryan Walraven 2016<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The pods lay before the children like opened eggshells. \u201cWon’t we get bored in there?\u201d one boy asked. Mr. Lightman the company representative was quick to answer. \u201cNo, of course not.\u201d He chuckled. \u201cIt will all feel like a dream, a very fun dream, and one where you\u2019re not only\u2026 Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":25,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-212","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/212\/revisions\/215"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}