"In the year 630 B.E.S. the Charlatan King Reyndell Marunavi sent the Purifier to the Island of Vjiskald to prosecute the war against the tribes there. Reyndell's subordinate at the time, the Witch Fiona of the Morning Mist, betrayed him at this time, because he had attacked her tribe. In those days, the Charlatan King was known to use statistical fraud to generate bogus scientific studies to prove one thing or another. It is ironic that Fiona did not realize this until the Charlatan King had attacked her own tribe."
Quinn yawned. He didn't expect these University professors to be such bores.
"The structure of this fraud is worth noting. Reyndell would have some clinical study repeated one hundred times across various laboratories in various countries. He would sort the results of these studies according to his political desires, and only publish a single one of the studies. He would use the oculomancers to erase the evidence that the other studies ever occurred, and intimidate or blackmail the scientists into silence. Six months or so later he would repeat this process, and publish the best of one hundred studies, with a citation of the first study. Thus, there was a clear historical record that the studies actually happened, and there was seemingly a replication study as well. He used this scam to convince the population that his ideologies were correct. He fooled many skilled scholars of that era. There is a lesson in this. As scholars, it is your responsibility to not fall for the same tricks."
Quinn slowly beat his head against his desk. I. Just. Want. To. Make. Flying. Machines.
"Next week, we are going to turn our attention to Reyndell's daughter Annatiki Marunavi, also known as the Bloodraker, who played an important role in the war. There will be a quiz on the content of today's lecture as well, so be prepared. Class is dismissed."
Quinn ran to the door, and stood there as the other students passed. "Aviation Club today! Aviation Club today!" He said. "We are going to be meeting in the park just east of the quad in thirty minutes time! Come meet with people who want to invent flying machines!"
Seth had proven much more effective in his recruitment. Quinn managed to find a single person who was interested in the Aviation Club, while Seth had found half a dozen.
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"Our first order of business is to establish a Club Charter and a schedule, with a list of members. If you wish to become a member of the Club, then a reliable method of contacting you must be furnished and recorded in our ledger. In addition, me and my brother Seth will be testing the reliability of your contact information. Once a reliable schedule is established, we will begin design on our flying machine. Seth is the official operator and tester of any machines we make. I will be the final approver of any designs. We have many open roles, such as Chief Carpenter, Chief Materials Expert, Chief Rigger, Chief Mathematician, and Chief Meteorologist. If you have any of the relevant skills, please fill out an application with the Club and we will be sure to apply the appropriate due diligence."
"And if we succeed at flying," Seth added, "we will may even have girls wanting to join the club!"
This seemed to make the seven men more interested than anything Quinn had said, though he was not very surprised. "Me and Seth are co-presidents, so talk to one of us if you need anything. Please begin filling out these papers here..."
"Excuse me." A feminine voice said. Seth's head snapped up. She was very tall for a woman, with striking golden hair and eyes like the sky. Oddly enough, she wore clothes like the ones in the paintings at the Seven Witches Cafe, including a pointy hat. "Um, can I join your club too?" She asked.
"Are you a student here?" Quinn asked.
"I am now," She said. "My teacher told me I should join your club. She said I would learn a lot. So, will you have me? I am a trained physician and nurse. If you uh, hurt yourself I can probably patch you up."
Quinn was astonished. Seth was grinning like a madman. "What is your name?" Quinn asked.
"You can call me Kiera," she said. "So can I join your club?"
"Kiera, you are going to be our Chief Physician! Welcome to the club!"
"Oh, thank you!" She said.
"We just need, some contact information." Quinn said.
The other seven men, after looking at the striking woman in the pointy hat, all rushed forward to fill out their papers.
After the club adjourned, Quinn gathered the papers into a pack and began the march back to his dormitory. It was dusk then, and the trees cast dim shadows on the crimson concrete of the campus roadways.
Suddenly Quinn stopped. There was the silhouette of a woman, standing high in the air, on one of the pillars behind him. He froze at first, then snapped his head around to the pillars and searched for her. He saw nothing, just quiet stones. A gust of wind blew through the quad, stirring the grass. He had uneasy dreams that night.