Grgur hid a smile as the final student stumbled into the classroom, looked around, realized that he was in the wrong place, and tried to leave only to find that there was no door. "All right everyone, settle down. Now that Pellan is here we can get started. Find yourselves seating appropriate to your species, then we'll begin."
It strode to the front of the classroom, turned, waited a few seconds while its new class sat on whatever, then tapped the lectern with a claw to get everyone's attention, "Welcome to Applied Sociology IX. I'm your professor, Grgur. And to answer the question you haven't asked, yes, I will be explaining everything...eventually.
"But for now, all of you should be wondering why you are here instead of there. 'There' being in the class you signed up for at one of the five Broadwing Universities in this 'verse's Milky Way galaxy. Anyone not wondering is either psychic or is involved in a security breach. In the latter case, you'd best report it now rather than later....
"Nobody? Good. Since I was speaking of security, I'll get to the matter at hand. All of you have been observed for long enough and are reliable enough that your security clearances have been increased, effective today.
"Yes, I know that almost none of you knew that you HAD security clearances, but that will become clear to you in good time. For now, just remember one thing. Each of you has been selected as a possible future member of the Operations Branch. Those who are 'lucky' enough to be so chosen are automatically assigned to this course once there are enough students to make teaching it worthwhile. On average this particular class is held every six years."
As always, in spite of having taught this class for so many decades, Grgur was amused at the students' varied reactions. It had seen them all many times before, but they still tickled it. After allowing a further brief period for the students to get over their shock at realizing that they were all candidates for the most elite agency in their galaxy, it continued.
"That's enough. Quiet!
"Good. Now, as to the reason why you're here. All of you realized by the end of your time in Applied Sociology VII that you were watching surveillance videos rather than ones created to teach you actual sociology...though being able to quickly grasp other cultures will be essential if you DO become OB employees. What you didn't know is WHY you were watching them.
"The reason is that all who work for the OB, in any capacity, need to understand why certain pivotal events happened. Thus you are here today. A certain sequence of events that ended 476 years ago on Earth IV has had a profound effect on the rest of our 'verse cluster. You all know that from your history classes. What you didn't know is that the official reasons for said events are absolute hogwash."
Grgur waited as most of the students turned to each other and asked if they knew anything about this. It was a complete waste of time as there was no chance that they did. However, reflexive behavior is hard to control. What they also didn't know was that their placement evaluations to determine where they'd eventually be slotted in the OB had already begun. Grgur made note of the names of the eight who kept their attention on it rather than acting like the others.
It cleared its throat to regain their attention, "I am now authorized to tell you why what you learned in App Soc VII, VIII, and the special seminars you attended after those classes is relevant to App Soc IX. Your previous classes covered events that took place in The City of The Bells in a country called Italy. In my class, you'll learn about events occurring on Earth IV in what was then called The United States of America.
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"The events that occurred in The City of The Bells may best be considered as no different from what happens when new recruits in the armed forces are attending boot camp. A group of strangers is brought together and put through various, usually non-lethal, training exercises in order to prepare them for real missions. At the end of the boot camp, they will have learned to act cohesively and to react quickly to dangerous situations.
"I see that some of you begin to understand. The events on Earth IV that we are about to study were what occurred after the 'boot camp' was completed. Rather than spanning over 800 years as they did in The City, all the most critical events on Earth IV happened in less than a single year. Even so, more transpired in that year than in the previous 1,500.
"We're fortunate in that we have even more detailed recordings and transcripts of those pivotal events than we do of events in The City. This year we'll be meeting daily in order to review them. If you have questions, just ask me. I made most of the recordings, so I should be able to fill in any gaps that you may detect.
"Be aware than there are jumps from first to third person and back again and that it may occasionally be unclear as to which being is speaking. This is because, at the time, there wasn't even the ghost of an idea that these records might be used as teaching materials.
"In addition, some of the comments that were made to me by the primary operative, then known as Karla, were added during the debriefings. These are enclosed within double angle brackets << like this >>. At times my comments will be enclosed as well, in double regular brackets [[like this]]. Thus, even if context alone doesn't tell you who is speaking, the punctuation will. One consequence of this can be that those added comments may appear to be unusually prescient. The truth is anything but. We've put most of them in to make it easier for you to understand what happened. At the time, there was no such clarity of thought for most of the beings involved. Such is the nature of real life.
"After teaching this class for over 150 years, I've discovered that there's no benefit for you to try to figure out what part was original material and what parts have been added to improve comprehension. What you do need to know is that the overall story is as accurate as possible. So those species like Elantar's, that are known galaxy-wide for their need to have things as completely organized and annotated as possible, are going to be sorely disappointed. Consider it a means of stretching your minds rather than as a data failure.
"An additional source of confusion will likely be that Karla was, except for her episodic conversations with me, under the impression that she was keeping a diary, not preparing progress reports. The reason for that will also eventually be made clear to you should you do well enough to be able to remain in this class.
"Feel free to be amused at my many mistakes back then. Also feel free to remember that laughing out loud at your professor could seriously jeopardize your evaluations.
"You also need to know that any being that breathes so much as a single word of what they hear in this class will be sent to the most miserable duty posts that exist. A complete list is being sent to each of you by secure email. Feel free to review the list any time you think of talking to anyone about what you learn here.
"Oh, yes, one more thing. Anyone who does find themselves with such a new assignment will be spending the next 300 years wherever they're sent, so you'll need to take quite a bit of reading material with you. You won't be allowed any other entertainment."
It scanned the class, noting that each looked appropriately serious, or, in the case of Qalla, on the verge of passing out. Grgur mentally shook its head. Even after all these years it still didn't understand how the members of Qalla's species could be both extraordinarily gregarious and outgoing when on their home world but extremely introverted and shy when approached off-planet.
"Very well. There is a great deal to cover. We will begin reviewing 'Karla's' first report."