Bonus Episode 2: Thaumatology and Research Skills
[DEAN: Come in, come in. Mr. … Sumner, was it?
LEONARD: Dr. Sumner, if you don't mind.
DEAN: Of course. Sorry about that. Well, thank you for coming. Have a seat. Can I offer you anything? Tea? Coffee?
LEONARD: No, uh, thank you.
DEAN: Suit yourself. Let me just find your resume… ah, here we are. Yes, very impressive. So you immigrated here from the Northern Isles when you were… 18?
LEONARD: Yes. I was part of a scholarship program at the University of Gavnia. After graduation I decided to stay in Oswer to pursue my doctorate and, well, here we are.
DEAN: Well, your accent is impeccable. I never would have guessed.
LEONARD: I learned Oswerian as a child. My parents thought it would be useful.
DEAN: And they were right.
LEONARD: Well, if it’s magic you want to study, there’s really nowhere better to be.
DEAN: Of course. I'm sure you are aware almost all of the instructors at this institute were also pupils here at one time?
LEONARD: … I wasn't aware that was a requirement.
DEAN: Well, it's not a requirement exactly - it's just the nature of the world we live in. But your credentials are very impressive. If anything, you're vastly overqualified for the position.
Why do you want to work with younger students, Dr. Sumner? In some ways it seems like a step backward, from your work at the university.
LEONARD: Oh, plenty of reasons. I like kids, for one. Plus it feels like an opportunity to give something back to my adopted country. And it would be nice to just be around mages. You know most of my undergraduates are mundanes.
DEAN: I thought you taught thaumatology?
LEONARD: You'd be surprised how many mundanes want to study magic. Almost as if they think if they study it hard enough they'll be able to do it. And when they can't they get bitter, disillusioned- deeply resentful of me and the handful of mages in the program - it doesn't make for the most relaxing work environment.
DEAN: I had no idea.
LEONARD: Well… high academia has its own share of stresses anyway. Publications and all that.
DEAN: Yes, that’s actually the other thing I wanted to discuss. I did take the liberty of, uh, perusing a few of the papers you’ve published in the last few years. Now I’m no Thaumatologist, but I did know enough to find some of your arguments a tad… unorthodox.
LEONARD: No point in research if all it does is uphold the status quo. As scientists, it’s our duty to interrogate everything. That’s how we learn.
DEAN: Quite, quite. It’s just, if your job is to teach our young pupils the fundamentals- well, I wanted to make sure your belief in said fundamentals is more or less inviolable.
LEONARD: Even the fundamental theory of magic is still a theory. It functions to explain what we know about magic, and it functions well enough- but if we discover something that contradicts it, we have to be willing to re-evaluate. And I think that’s important to instill in students from a young age.
DEAN: Dr. Sumner. Innovation is all very well and good for the University. But here at the institute, we are beholden to the state, and to the magecorps. We have to produce mages with a firm understanding of how their magic actually works.
LEONARD: I understand your concern. Don’t worry- they’ll still get Matthias’s taxonomy and all that. I can teach them everything in your little textbook and still have time to teach them how to keep an open mind about all of it.
DEAN: Will you teach the theory of complementary essences?
LEONARD: If it’s part of the state-approved curriculum I will.
DEAN: Even though your own masters thesis purports to disprove it?
LEONARD: I never claimed to disprove anything. I just showed that the resonances between so-called complementary magical aspects weren’t actually higher than the resonances between two random magical aspects in a statistically significant way, when one accounts for training bias. Which no one has been able to refute last I checked. Whether you believe that makes the whole theory suspect is up to you. Whether you believe a flaw in that theory invalidates the whole of Matthias’s work - well, the kids can figure that out when they get to university. Like I said, I just want to give them the tools to think for themselves.
DEAN: Yes, well… I think that’s what concerns the board, to be perfectly frank. Let’s not forget many of these children are headed to military service before they head off to any sort of higher education- a place where thinking for yourself, as you say, is a… a mixed blessing.
LEONARD: Did you serve?
DEAN: Of course, we all serve. Five years, as is the duty of anyone born with magic within Oswer’s borders. But it was decided that my talents would be put to better use in the diplomatic corps.
LEONARD: I see.
DEAN: I like you, Dr. Sumner. I am just afraid the combination of you being a foreign national-
LEONARD: I’m an Oswerian citizen. Mr. Ventrassi - I’ve lived here for sixteen years.
DEAN: My apologies. I should say the combination of you having spent your formative years outside the country and your strong views on… shall we say- robust scientific skepticism may make your appointment to this post a difficult pill for the board to swallow. But you are, as I have said, extremely qualified, and I do personally think your passion for the work would be an asset. So - so, I plan to give you my recommendation. But the final decision will rest with them.
LEONARD: I’m sure they’ll abide by your recommendation.
DEAN: Well, let us hope. There still is the matter of the background check of course, which we’re in the process of conducting. I wanted to ask- I think it would ease the minds of the board members considerably- if you would consent to a mind scan. I could conduct it myself.
LEONARD: I’ve got nothing to hide. But… you wouldn’t want your boss knowing everything about you, would you?
DEAN: I promise you, I am very discrete. I would never reveal anything I saw accidentally. But I do know my way around a brain well enough to stick the parts that are relevant. At least I like to think I do.
LEONARD: And who decides what’s relevant?
DEAN: Indeed. Be that as it may... It’s not mandatory of course, but…
LEONARD: You think it would improve my chances.
DEAN: Dramatically.
LEONARD: Alright. Just, stay out of my college years, okay? There’s some stuff in there you won’t want to see.
DEAN: I’ll do my best. Did you want to schedule it with my secretary, or…
LEONARD: Now works for me if it works for you.
DEAN: Alright. Well, let’s get to it then.
[End credits music plays]
NATHAN: Thanks for listening to this mini-episode! It was written by Nathan Comstock, and featured Karim Kronfli as Dean Ventrassi and Zachary Robb as Dr. Sumner. Sound Design was by Olanrewaju Odatayu, with music by Thomas Dwyer. Have you donated to our season 2 crowdfund yet? There’s a link in the show notes, or you can find it through out website or our twitter. There’s lots of cool rewards, and you can help us get the money we need to pay our cast and crew to make season 2 the best it can possibly be. We’ll release the next mini-episode when we hit $2000! It’s about Lucas.
