“Build a Hiergargo Tube,” said the voice in Billy’s ear. He blinked, controlling a start, then parted his lips and breathed, “Build a what?”
“Hiergargo the magician built the Tube that Quox the Dragon used to carry Tik-Tok and the army of Oogaboo from one side of the Earth to the other. It went through the Earth, not around it, so it was truly straight, not a projection. A similar Tube built through the Earth, in a straight line from New York to Tokyo, would be the shortest route between those two cities.”
Billy thought about this a moment, picturing a Tube through the globe before him. He felt a thrill; of course it was right. He could see it was right this time.
Billy raised his hand.
The next afternoon Jack Phillips was right on time for his appointment with Miss Barstow. He breezed through security, up the stairs and to the room.
“Mister Phillips,” she greeted him, “thank you for coming by.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Barstow, although I have to say I’m a little embarrassed at the circumstances. You mentioned a disruption again. What seems to be the problem this time?”
Barstow explained about the geography class the day before. “Then,” she concluded, “for whatever reason, William brought up this bizarre notion of a tube through the Earth complete with dragons, fairies, magicians and all sorts of things. The other students understandably started laughing. What was worse, the issue lasted for the rest of the day. In the history lesson later in the day I asked a question and distinctly heard one child say ‘Billy’s dragon,’ although he did not intend me to hear it.”
Jack refrained from asking if that child’s parents had received a note, too. Instead, he said, “It’s true, you know.”
“What’s true?”
“The tube. It’s a problem set in almost every introductory physics text. Goes back for years.”
“Are you suggesting that William is reading introductory physics texts?” She looked a little confused.
“No.” Couldn’t hurt, though, he thought. “I’m just saying that the idea is not incorrect.”
Her face tightened a little. “That’s really not the issue, Mister Phillips. If William wanted to pose the idea of a tunnel through the Earth, he could have done so without the dragons and magicians. That he did include them tells me that his intent was to disturb the class. That is the issue.”
“Ah. That all came from Tik-Tok. That’s where he got the idea.”
Barstow looked like someone who was certain that she was close to the source of a bad smell but afraid of what she would find. “Tick-tock,” was all she said.
“Tik-Tok. Of Oz. One of the original Oz books. That’s where Billy got the idea.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with it.” Jack wasn’t surprised. “Even so,” she went on, “why all those others things: the dragons and magicians and fairies and such? I was not familiar with the tube concept, but it is a good idea. It could have been a useful addition to the class if William had not,” she hunted for a word, “embellished it that way. My conclusion is that he did it to draw attention to himself. I asked you here to see if you knew of another reason.”
Jack revised his opinion of Barstow from pretty to prissy. He took a breath. “I think he did it that way because he’s eight years old. When you are eight years old, you are the center of the universe and things relate to each other only through you. At the same time, when you are eight, experience tells you that everyone else already knows everything that you know. Billy only just read the book, but I don’t think that it occurred to him that the other children had not; certainly it did not occur to him that you had not read it.” Jack bit back a harsher comment, then said instead, “He really thought that you knew what he was talking about. You work with eight-year-olds all day. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.”
She seemed to think this over. Now might be a good time to try out Sue Waters’s theory. Jack broke the silence. “Let me ask you something. Why would you assume that Billy was deliberately disruptive instead of, oh, I don’t know, say merely eccentric?”
Barstow smiled as if Phillips had just handed her the opening she needed. “I see no real distinction between the two, Mr. Phillips. To be deliberately disruptive is to consciously set oneself outside of the group, to willfully weaken it by withholding one’s contribution, to distract its focus from the common goal to oneself. Eccentric behavior may be less conscious but its effect on the group is the same. In the end, therefore, there is no distinction between the two.” She sat back with obvious satisfaction.
Jack mentally replayed all this, translating it into plain English as he went along. He tried very hard not to react visibly. She seemed almost to be reciting something and acted as though she was simply reminding him of some simple fact he had merely forgotten for the moment. He couldn’t have been more astonished if some tiny, repulsive creature had briefly popped out of her right ear and gibbered at him. He was a little frightened, too, because she clearly expected some similar creature to pop out of his head and give the countersign. He was suddenly a little afraid of the consequences if he failed.
“Well,” he said, stalling while he tried to review her statement in his mind once again. “I see,” he said. Don’t try to figure out her referents, he thought; not here, not now. “But don’t you think that intent counts for something, at least at this age?”
Barstow seemed to consider this. “You mean as a mitigating circumstance? In William’s case?”
“Yes,” said Phillips, at a loss for any other answer.
“Very well,” she said. She had the air of a teacher accepting C work from an A student on an off day; disappointed but willing to let it pass this one time. “Normally, that would be appropriate only for a younger child, but if we assume, shall we say, special circumstances in William’s development I can accept that. For now. We can work on a solution from that basis.”
There was that little creature again, this time from the left ear. He chose to take her last comment as a cue. “I’m frankly at a bit of a loss here, Miss Barstow,” he said, “what should I be doing?”
“Nothing unusual, really,” she said. She smiled as if happy to see her A student back up to expectations. “If we assume... ah... let’s call them delays… in affective development, why then you can simply act appropriate to the affective cohort; in other words, work with William as if he were two years younger. Do not ignore but don’t reward nonconformal behavior and where possible point out the correct course.” She sat back and folded her hands in her lap, obviously satisfied.
Jack felt that he had to move carefully, although he still wasn’t sure why. He still wanted information on his other problem. “Billy tells me that he’s been having some difficulty with a Farlini in his class,” he said, as flatly as he could manage.
“William Farlini. Yes.” She looked somber, “I imagine there would be some conflict there.”
Jack stayed calm. “Have you noticed the problem, then?”
“I wouldn’t call it a problem, exactly, Mister Phillips, although I can see where it would be a source of some , discomfort for your William.” She’s going to recite something again, thought Jack. “Master Farlini is a natural shepherd, you know, and he is therefore going to take on that role in any group. His inclination would be to correct nonconformal behavior that is too far out of norm; frankly, that aspect of his affective development is rather advanced for his age.” She looked concerned, though Jack wasn’t certain that the concern was for Billy. “Yes. I can see where, given the disparity in cohort development, Master Farlini would appear to be a constant opponent.” She brightened. “But you understand, of course, that it’s all part and parcel of the same thing. Once William begins to track back towards his cohort norm, Master Farlini’s corrections won’t be needed. That’s the natural course of these things, you know.”