Thread: The Hourglass Archives [ Ariamella & jvj9000 ]

RE PROJECT B-17 Ariamella jvj9000 Caleb nodded here and there as she spoke, his pale blue eyes lifting fully from the document in his hands every time she said a word. It was a particular trait he tried to cultivate this supreme attention to a student when she was talking and the years of practice paid off. Of course, it helped that he had something close to eidetic memory and that the words on the page lingered in his minds eye as he focused on what she was saying. Even more helpful was the fact that the brochure had very few of the details that he wanted to learn. Primarily, it was a glossy piece of advertising meant to lure potential subjects in, more pictures and pull-quotes than the more in-depth information that he would have been interested in. Hmm I wonder if the idea is one of triangulation. Providing a window into the past is one thing, but two different windows from two different perspectives He pushed his tongue against his cheek as if he were trying to figure out the idea he was pursuing in his head with his tongue. It was another of his idiosyncrasies that his eyes tended to trace ideas as if they were visible in the air, and when he realized the habit and thought it might seem weird he had tried to correct it. Mostly, he had, but now the activity that had been a habitually shifty gaze was, instead, a way of shifting his lips or tongue in a way that he was unaware of. It may have been just as noticeable to others, but at least it didnt have the association of dishonesty that eye-movement tended to. He was an inveterate fixer of himself, Caleb was. As a young man he had been on the chubby side, finding books and words and dusty relics infinitely more appealing than physical exertion. Early in his undergraduate career earlier even than most, since hed begun college years before he could vote, the precocious academic he had been selected for a Peruvian trip to an archaeological excavation. High in the Andes, the altitude and his own lack of fitness conspired to keep him from some of the more exciting discoveries, and thereafter hed begun the habits that would lead to fixing that particular issue for himself. It was possibly one of the reasons that so many of his female students seemed inclined to smile more in his presence or to seek out his company when he was out on campus. The chubby kid had been transformed through long runs and unpleasant, pod-cast-aided weightlifting, into the sort of fit and able man who would be the first up the mountain now and among the most able to endure the grueling shovel work or long hours or toil that sometimes were demanded of hands on learning. He wasnt, then, entirely oblivious to the fact that he was possibly attractive. Young for a professor, anyway and fit and symmetrically featured handsome was not a judgment he would make about himself, but he had a mirror, he chose to dress and act perfectly professional around campus in part because of the occasional flirtations from both colleagues and students. The idea that women could be seen as advancing due to appearance or sex appeal was a common theme in his historical research and he was unwilling to allow himself to participate in it with the women around him who might experience it or to take advantage of some reverse form of it because he was perhaps, in the small enclosed world of the university, seen as a catch. I mean, assuming its even true that it works, I can see the value in two perspectives both in the experience and in the recounting afterwards. To extend my example from the lecture, imagine if He trailed off and smiled awkwardly. Sorry, I imagine you have other classes. He looked down, a bit sheepish. He had never gotten the impression from Stephanie that she was anything but a respectful and diligent student. Perhaps thats why he even considered her proposal. Anyway, it sounds very interesting and as your academic supervisor it would be unprofessional and maybe even unethical for me to hamstring your project. It would also, he thought, perhaps be unprofessional and unethical for him to take part in the project. Never mind the possibility that it could be understood to show favoritism that he actively participated in her research, there was also the idea of devoting so much time to one student. Those considerations weighed less to him as he made his decision, however, than perhaps they normally would. There was a sense that, somehow, the scale in his head being used to weigh the two options were slightly fixed in favor of acceptance. There are a lot of assumptions to make, though, Miss Kensington. If Im even able to participate, I think I have to say yes. Technology this promising in my field is difficult to resist. I would however, have limits on my availability. There are issues of contaminating your research as well. Id hate to damage your project by injecting myself into your studies, but I think we can both be professional enough to keep that to a minimum. He caught her gaze briefly and then thought perhaps that wasnt entirely appropriate and took off his glasses, wiping them on his pocket square. So, a qualified yes, then. Assuming I even make the cut. Do you know how we ought to proceed to find out if Im even acceptable to this experiment? Are there tests or forms?