Teacher

William Astle

Februrary 15, 2004

 Notes

This work is copyright (c) 2004 by William Astle.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 
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Way, Standford, California 94305, USA.

I am also greatly interested in any feedback anyone may 
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 Teacher

The scenery was breathtaking. In the years since the 
collapse, the trappings of a post modern society had 
all but vanished from the grasslands and plains of 
North America. Where there had once been long straight 
roads with automobiles screaming from place to place 
now exhibited a quietness. Not so much a desolation as 
a rebirth. What had once been square after square of 
crop land was now a rich collection of vegetation and 
wildlife. There was no question that the land would 
never return to precisely the same state it had been in 
before mass agriculture and dense human population, yet 
it was clearly recovering nicely.

Indeed, as Nor walked down the pathway from his cabin 
in a small wood, he realized that the wood itself had 
been encroaching on the grasslands over the time he had 
spent there. It was amazing how long slow changes just 
suddenly become apparent to an observer. Here he had 
been living for the past three centuries and he had not 
realized how much his little forest had expanded. How 
many times he had walked this very path in those 
centuries and never noticed the changes, the trees 
sprouting, growing, dying, in the perpetual cycle of 
life and death that constituted nature.

As he walked toward the village that still lay several 
kilometres from the wood, he came to a decision. He had 
closeted himself away from the world for too long. 
There had been sufficient time for humanity to recover 
from the collapse and now it was time to find out what 
they had done with the place. Feeling as though a 
weight had been lifted from his shoulders by this 
decision, he began whistling a tune to the time of his 
footsteps. Strange that he felt so liberated by this 
decision; after all, he had been happy in his cabin in 
the wood for so long. Perhaps a longing for change had 
been building within him similar to the way his wood 
had expanded. That must have been it, he decided.

It was shortly past midday when he arrived in the 
village. It was a remarkably orderly collection of 
buildings on either side of the pathway. Although he 
had to admit that the pathway had widened somewhat as 
he approached the village. He supposed it would qualify 
as a road here. He observed a few children frolicking 
around at the far end of the village as he entered from 
the west. Yet there were no adults in sight. Then he 
heard a cheer from a nearby building which bore a sign 
that read "Tavern". It was the only building which bore 
a sign of any kind. He wondered why that was.

As he entered the tavern, he realized that every adult 
who lived in the village was gathered in the room.. 
They nearly filled it to capacity but not so much that 
it was uncomfortable. He scanned the crowd looking for 
faces he recognized and spotted none. It hadn't been 
that long since he'd been to the village, had it? As he 
thought about it he realized that it had indeed been a 
long time. Perhaps as much as a century. Strange that 
he hadn't realized it until now. He realized at this 
point that he truly did need to get out into the world 
again; it was passing him by as he idly passed his days 
toying with his talents.

Seeing an unoccupied seat at a table near the door, he 
removed his pack and sat down, content to watch until 
he figured out what was happening. He had apparently 
arrived during a gap in the program as shortly a 
somewhat tall man with graying hair appeared on the 
slight stage opposite the entrance. Immediately the 
crowd silenced and the man began, "In the years since 
the collapse, we have faced hardships that would have 
daunted the most indomitable pioneer. There isn't a 
family among us that wasn't devastated by the plague 
and later famine. Yet we survived, as did many like us.

"In the time leading up to the collapse, there were 
millions of people within a week's walk from here. 
Everywhere there were roads and farms and towns and 
cities. There were great machines of burden lumbering 
noisily across the landscape. The natural world was 
slowly devastated by human activity until it finally 
cried out in agony. And we survived, we lucky few.

"When the collapse came, and less than one out of a 
thousand people survived, things looked hopeless. Then, 
just as the survivors came to terms with their 
loneliness, the land's rebellion slammed them down 
again. And they survived, again reduced. Then, fighting 
between the tribes that came together threatened to 
finish the destruction that plague and famine failed 
to. And still, humanity survived.

"Now, we grow complacent. We are content to continue 
our lives exactly as we have since that group of 
survivors founded this village. We no longer strive for 
a better life. We no longer strive to learn. Yet it was 
the very knowledge they had gained that allowed our 
ancestors to survive the collapse and its aftermath! We 
MUST teach our children. We MUST encourage them to 
learn. And to ask questions. If we do not, we doom 
ourselves to be forgotten as time moves on without us! 
Yet if we leave it to the likes of Harvey, we would be 
left without even the ability to read! We MUST fight 
back. We must not let the likes of Harvey steal our future!"

As the old man stepped down, Nor observed several 
people nodding to themselves but nobody said anything. 
He wondered what had happened to these people. To the 
vibrant zest for life they had once demonstrated. He 
hadn't long to wait for an answer to that question.

A young man, clean shaven and of average height, at 
least average for the villagers - Nor had been out of 
circulation long enough to be unsure of anything that 
would be described as average - took up residence on 
the stage. In contrast to the practical loose clothing 
of the old man, this youngster was dressed in what 
appeared to be a uniform of some kind, although no 
insignia of any sort were obvious. There was a definite 
change in the ambience of the room at this man's 
appearance. Everyone was most certainly afraid of this man.

"Frank has made my point for me," the young man began. 
"He is right when he says that after the famine, war 
between tribes nearly wiped everyone out. And, mark my 
words war will come again. We must be ready for it at 
any cost. We must not let our village be destroyed by 
outsiders! We must train every man, woman, and child 
who is capable of fighting!

"While we have been comfortable here, in Norstown and 
Calgary and Red Deer, populations have been booming. 
How long before they start looking for more places to 
expand? The so called Free Alliance has been subsuming 
every town, village, nomadic tribe, and earthworm it 
came across. How long before they send in their forces 
to take over here? Do any of you wish to be told how to 
live your lives by bureaucrats five hundred kilometres distant?"

Nor had heard enough and unobtrusively ducked out. He 
had no desire to be painted as an evil conqueror should 
someone realize he was one of the man's outsiders. He 
assumed that the young man was Harvey and he sincerely 
hoped that Harvey was simply trying to take over his 
own little piece of the world and that what he had 
implied about the Free Alliance was not true. Nor found 
himself a comfortable place to sit where he was 
unlikely to be noticed. Then he decided he should keep 
an eye on the proceedings in the tavern so he conjured 
a small globe that was barely visible and sent it into 
the tavern.

As he listened to the meeting via his magical spy, he 
pondered the state of the village. It was clear that 
Harvey had held some amount of sway for some time. Or 
perhaps something else had happened to the village to 
allow him to gain such power over the people. This, 
perhaps, explained the lack of signs over the other 
apparent business establishments. As he pondered the 
village's predicament, he became aware that there was a 
commotion in the tavern. Apparently the old man had 
decided to argue some more and the scene was turning 
ugly. The small amount of support he'd had initially 
seemed to have completely eroded. Before Nor could 
decide what to do, the old man was dragged off into a 
back room to the cheers of the crowd. As much as Nor 
disagreed with the treatment of the old man, that very 
treatment had likely saved his life judging by the look 
of the crowd.

After a brief listen to the meeting to determine that 
the old man was likely doomed, he sprang to his feet 
and carefully, and swiftly, made his way around the 
back of the tavern. Once there, he found the back door 
was barred but there were no guards. Apparently the old 
man was not considered a threat. Then again, if 
everyone was in the meeting and village was in the 
middle of nowhere, who would there be to spring the 
fellow? Certain that nobody was waiting inside the 
door, he reached out with his magic and carefully 
lifted the bar and opened the door. Then he quietly 
entered the back corridor. Fortunately there was only 
one door which was locked and inside he found the old 
man. Fortunately the old man had his back turned to the 
door as Nor entered quietly. He crossed the room and 
placed his hand over the old man's mouth and said, 
"Please, not a sound." When the old man nodded, Nor 
removed his hand.

The old man turned around and said, "Who are you and 
what are you doing?"

"Never mind who I am. We have to get you out of here - 
that crowd out there is getting ugly."

The old man hesitated for a moment then said, "Lead the way."

Nor led the old man out the back door, making sure to 
leave all the doors latched just as they had been. He 
suppressed a chuckle at the thought of the look on 
Harvey's face when he found that his prisoner was 
missing as though by magic. Of course, that's just what 
it had been.

Once they were clear of the tavern, Nor asked, "Is 
there somewhere we can hide for a while?"

The old man thought for a moment then said, "There's a 
cellar in the old smithy. I don't believe anyone would 
think to look there. Follow me."

Several minutes later, the two of them had installed 
themselves in a surprisingly comfortable cellar. The 
old man clearly had questions for Nor but apparently 
had thought it would be better to save them for a more 
convenient time. This turned out to be wise as not long 
after they had hidden, the tavern emptied with people 
looking everywhere for the old man. As the old man had 
suggested, they didn't think to look in the cellar.

After the search had died down, the old man said, "Not 
that I'm not grateful, but who are you and why did you 
help me?"

Nor debated for a moment how much he should say then 
settled for saying, "I'm a traveller who happened to 
stumble into that meeting back there right about when 
you made your speech about hardship. Then I heard the 
first bit of what that little warmonger had to say. I 
ducked out before anyone noticed a stranger in the 
meeting but I continued to listen in and when I heard 
the lynch mob forming, I decided to get you out of there."

"I see. So what should I call you? I'm Frank by the way."

"It's been so long since I needed a name I've forgotten 
what mine is." It wasn't quite true but Nor felt it 
might lend some credence to the traveller story.

"Been away from people that long, eh? You must be older 
than you look."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Okay, I'll buy that. I'll call you John if you don't mind."

"John. Hmm. Okay, I can live with that."

"So where are you from? I can't place your accent."

"Around. I've been wandering for as long as I can 
remember." Again, not quite true. "I've spent most of 
my time in the wilds to the north. It's been some time 
since I anywhere near the Free Alliance or any other 
sizable population."

"You said you heard my speech."

"I did. It resonated. Too bad most folks here don't 
seem too interested."

"What's your stake in all this anyway? I mean, why 
would a stranger take an interest in the goings on in a 
small village on the edge of nowhere?" Something in 
Nor's expression, or maybe his eyes, caused Frank to 
pause and take on a solemn expression. "You have the 
look of a man who has seen too much, all of a sudden. 
I'll not pry further into your reasons. You saved my 
life and that will suffice for now."

"I thank you for your consideration."

Frank and Nor remained in the cellar until nightfall.. 
They passed the time discussing random topics but not 
really discussing anything important. During that time, 
each man got a reasonable feel for the other and the 
bonds of friendship began to form. As night fell, the 
subject of what they would do came up.

"Well, it looks like my attempt to build up a following 
among this group has failed. I don't expect it would be 
wise to stick around." A note of sadness tinged Frank's voice.

"I don't know that it failed so much. You were getting 
through to a few of them until things went sidewise 
there. They haven't felt the pain of oppression so they 
do not understand what it is they are doing by giving 
in to the fear. In time they will, and now that you've 
been run out of town, or, more likely, declared dead, 
some folks may think back to your speech as things go 
from bad to worse."

"You sound like you've seen it before. And maybe you 
have - there's something about you that I can't put my 
finger on. And you make sense, but that still begs the 
question of what do we do now, for I'm certain you 
wouldn't be welcome here any more than I am."

"I might not be welcome, but I might be tolerated. 
However, that would require playing along and I don't 
think I can swallow my principles just to live 
somewhere. I suppose we'll end up wandering for a while."

The two of them thought about that for a moment, then 
Frank said, "If we're going to wander, we'll need some 
sort of cover. I wonder what would work?"

The discussion went on for a while. Then, still not 
having resolved the issue, they decided it was time to 
move out. In an unspoken agreement, they started out 
toward Norstown and the centre of the local piece of 
civilization. After a while, Frank commented, "You seem 
to know your way quite well given the lack of a well 
defined path." Nor made no reply and they continued in 
silence for the rest of the night.

Come dawn, they were some twenty kilometres from the 
village and, according to Frank, at least forty 
kilometres from the next village. They rested for a 
while and Nor shared some food out from his pack. Then 
they pressed on. Neither man felt comfortable being 
anywhere near the village. They continued in silence 
for the rest of the day, stopping around midday for 
another brief rest and food. By nightfall, they were 
about a day's walk from the next village.

Nightfall the following day brought them to the 
village. This was a far different sight than Nor's 
arrival at Frank's village. Not only were there 
children playing in the streets but there were people 
going about their evening business. There were signs 
over most of the shops. While people looked at them 
with some surprise, and some suspicion, this was only 
natural in a world where travellers were rare. Mixed in 
with this was an air of excitement that spread like 
wildfire through the population of the village. Indeed, 
the village would perhaps qualify as a town; the 
collection of buildings reached back some distance on 
either side of the pathway they had picked up about 
half a day out. In fact, all along the way there were 
remnants of what was once a road between this town and 
Frank's village. This one even had the remnants of a 
sign on the edge of the townsite which likely had once 
indicated a name for the town. The reason for its 
neglect was fairly obvious - there was nothing really 
beyond that edge of the town.

The two strangers were quickly herded into the local 
inn. Nor found it odd that even in a world where 
travellers were few and far between townsfolk built 
inns. Then again, in an agricultural setting where a 
trip to town was the better part of a day, the farmers 
needed somewhere to stay when they were in town. In the 
inn, Frank produced a small amount of what Nor assumed 
passed for currency these days and they had rooms for 
the night and food. After quickly getting settled in 
their rooms, they returned to the common room and spent 
the evening in the company of the other patrons. Most 
people seemed curious about strangers; they hadn't seen 
many and those they had not stopped in the town. One 
conversation was particularly interesting to Nor, however.

It was getting somewhat late and Nor was just 
considering retiring to his room when a young boy, 
perhaps thirteen years of age, approached him. Well, 
not quite approach so much as slowly worked up the 
courage to take each step closer until he took a seat 
on the bench opposite Nor. Then he simply looked at 
Nor. After a while, Nor said, "You're up rather late 
aren't you?"

Suddenly, the boy seemed to lose all fear. Perhaps the 
mysterious stranger had suddenly become a man rather 
than a supernatural being by speaking in such a normal 
manner. The boy said, "My father said I could stay up 
late tonight on account of you and your friend arriving 
in town. What's it like, travelling around? Where do 
you come from? What's your name? Where are you going? 
Why are you travelling?"

Nor grinned. Then he replied, "Tiring. A long way from 
here. John. Wherever I end up. That's a long story." 
Then he near burst out laughing as the boy tried to 
work out his answer. After a moment, it was almost as 
if a light bulb went on over the boy's head as 
comprehension dawned in his eyes. Then Nor continued, 
"What's it like living here? What's the name of this 
town? What's your name? What are you going to be when 
you grow up. Why aren't you travelling?"

The boy immediately responded, "It's great. Drysden. 
Frederick. I don't know yet. I'm not old enough."

Nor thought about the response for a split second then 
truly did laugh, a great belly laugh. Everyone in the 
common room stopped what they were doing and turned 
toward Nor and Frederick. After a moment, they all 
resumed what they were doing and Nor said, "I like you, 
Frederick. You've got a sharp mind in that head of 
yours. You must do well in your schooling."

"What is 'schooling'?"

Nor was not surprised by the response, but was somewhat 
disappointed. He responded, "It is where you learn 
things about the world and other things."

"Oh, like when father started showing me how to read 
and write?"

"Exactly like that, yes. Now, old John is tired from 
all the travelling to get here so why don't you run 
along now?"

"Okay." Just as he was about to disappear from view, 
Frederick turned waved at Nor. Then he turned back and 
disappeared into the back of the inn. Shortly 
thereafter, Nor retired to his room to ponder what the 
boy had said. A faint glimmering of an idea was forming 
in his mind and he needed to sleep on it before he 
discussed it with Frank.

In the morning, Frank and Nor were talking over 
breakfast. The inn was deserted since most folks were 
at home. "I notice you were having a rather good time 
last night," Frank said.

"I did. It's been a long time since I spent time just 
talking to people. In fact, I had an idea last night 
that I'd like to bounce off you."

"Okay, go ahead."

"It occurred to me last night that the more people 
learn, and the more they are able to learn for 
themselves, the less likely people will fall for people 
like Harvey. Of course, you cannot force them to think 
for themselves, but you can at least give them the 
tools to do that thinking. You agree so far?"

"It makes sense, yes."

"Now, most folks in these outlying areas do not have 
access to much in the way of learning. Books are rare 
and expensive and most schooling is done at home and 
limited by how much time and knowledge the parents have 
available. The rest of what people learn is from 
experience. You would agree with that, too?"

"I would, yes. I think I see where you're going, but 
please continue."

"It occurred to me last night that if someone were to 
take their time and teach people, it could go a long 
way toward bringing forth an enlightened society."

"But what would you teach people? I mean, one person 
would have to spend a rather long time in each location 
to teach people anything particularly useful."

"That's the beauty of it. Instead of teaching people to 
read, write, think, and so on, which would be, as you 
observe, impractical. No, what I intend to do, instead, 
is to train teachers. And to do guest lectures when I'm 
in town. Perhaps if we can get an education system in 
place in these outlying areas, we can start a thought 
revolution."

"What you propose could take decades. Are you prepared 
to dedicate your life to this idea of yours?"

"I'll let you in on something. I've seen moving images 
of the world before the collapse. That world had 
wonders well beyond what we have now. It was possible 
to travel from your village to Norstown in a single 
day, or less. So much has been lost in the times that 
have followed. Yet so much was saved by those with 
foresight. There are great caches of books and other 
items waiting for a society that can understand them. 
Having seen the wonders of just one of those caches, I 
cannot live in a society that is progressing away from 
them. Yet these wonders had their own demons and I have 
seen the possible destruction they can cause. If the 
Harveys of the world gain control, it will not prevent 
the discovery of these caches, nor the redevelopment of 
those wonders, but in their hands, they will become 
terrors. Can you imagine the entire population of the 
earth dying in the aftermath of a single explosive 
device? There were chilling descriptions of just such 
an event from not long before the collapse. Knowing 
what I know, what kind of person would I be if I did 
not do everything in my power to prevent that sort of 
catastrophe? What sort of person would I be if I did 
not at least try to elevate our people above simply 
eking out a living?"

Again, Frank was left with a thoughtful look in his 
eyes as he said, "You speak with the voice of true 
dedication. I would love to see the fruits of your 
labour but, alas, I am an old man. I will have to 
content myself with travelling along with you to see 
your small victories."

"I would be delighted to have you along, something 
familiar in an unfamiliar world. And plus, I need a 
guide. Someone who has at least a vague idea what's 
around these parts. And your belief in me helps too."

"It's a monumental task you've taken upon yourself. And 
there are no guarantees that you will survive to 
complete it. While I know I will never see you 
accomplish your goal, I don't know if it will be 
accomplished in your lifetime either."

"Well, the nature of this task is that even if I can 
give it a good solid start, there's a better than even 
chance it will gain momentum and take on a life of its 
own. There's a risk of that happening anyway. In 
creating a race of knowledgeable, thinking beings, I 
could well create just the opposite of what I want. But 
I must make the effort. The only thing that guarantees 
failure in a task is not to try at all. So really, 
whether I live to finish or not, a difference will be made."

"With that kind of belief, you will succeed."

The two of them had little trouble convincing the town 
council that education was a good idea. Over the 
following year, Nor sought out residents of Drysden who 
had knowledge and skills that were useful and taught 
them how to teach. Meanwhile, Frank was busy arranging 
for a teaching venue and the appropriate structure for 
the teaching. Thus the first school of Drysden was 
created. Nor also spent much time circulating among the 
population demonstrating the wonders of knowledge. 
Then, in the spring following their arrival in Drysden, 
Nor gave a final lecture - this time on history, the 
collapse, its aftermath, the time before the collapse, 
and the coming times. He told the story of arts and 
sciences and the wonders they achieved. He told of the 
horrors that had been conceived and perpetrated. He 
spoke of humanity and values, of tolerance and 
understanding. He spoke for most of the day, and not a 
single person moved from their seats, not for food, 
water, or to relieve themselves. And not just the 
children were there. Almost the entire population of 
the village had turned out for Nor's farewell speech. 
Most of them had to stand in the hall, or outside it. 
Yet by some miracle, all who wanted to could hear what 
he had to say. He spoke with such conviction that his 
words moved even the most skeptical and the most 
cynical. In the end, most were sad to see him leave, 
but most began to understand his mission that day. 
Little did he know that that day would go down in the 
history books as the major turning point on the long 
road to recovery from the collapse.

Over the following years, Nor continued to tour the 
outlying towns that still had not been subsumed by the 
Free Alliance. As he did so, he learned of the Alliance 
and its practices and began to understand how Harvey 
had come to his conclusions. Yet he could detect a 
level of democracy and freedom behind the apparently 
expansionist policies of the Alliance. He had no doubt 
it had started out well enough intentioned but as with 
many things, it had attained a life of its own. He also 
learned that many had tried to topple the corrupt 
ruling structure of the Alliance and as many had 
failed. Some spectacularly and others quietly. Some had 
met with limited success only to discover that the evil 
of the Alliance was akin to the mythical hydra.

It was not even a decade later when it became apparent 
how much of an impact Nor was having. As he and Frank 
entered one fairly large town just beyond the border of 
the Free Alliance, a peddler on the street treated them 
to stories of a mysterious teacher roaming the Outlands 
(as the towns beyond the Alliance had come to be 
called). This teacher had no name but where he went, 
people were forever changed. In addition, he treated 
them to tales of how some towns had managed to beat 
back the Alliance's advance and remain free. And these 
towns were all towns that Nor had visited previously. 
Upon hearing this, the two of them adjourned to a quiet 
place and Frank commented, "I never dreamed that even a 
small amount of success would be visible before I 
passed on yet here we are, not even a decade into your 
task, and it is clear that you are making a difference. 
If only everyone could be treated with such knowledge 
in their lifetime."

"I couldn't have done it without you, old friend. 
Without your support in the beginning, none of this 
would have been possible. Indeed, were it not for that 
incident at your village - what is the name of that 
village, anyway? I never did find out - I would never 
have been in a position where the idea even occurred to me."

"I appreciate the credit you give me. Yet somehow, I 
think you would have managed to come up with it anyway, 
and probably met with similar success. If I learned 
anything about you in the past years, it is that." Then 
Frank's face took on a truly serious expression and he 
said, "Alas, this old body is getting too old for all 
this traipsing all over the Outlands. I'll be retiring 
from this little operation after this town. As far as I 
can recall, this is the last large town in the 
Outlands, but who can tell where people have moved to 
since my information was gained."

"We both knew this day would come. Where will you retire?"

"I was thinking I would go back to Drysden and, 
perhaps, write my memoirs. Somehow, I think they will 
be valuable at some point. I only ask of you one thing 
before I retire to Drysden. I ask that you finally tell 
me of your past and how you happened to be in Rockywood 
to save my life that day."

Nor thought about the request for some time, during 
which Frank merely watched him patiently. Then he came 
to a decision. "What I am about to tell you must be 
kept strictly confidential. It must not be present in 
your memoirs and you must not tell another living soul."

When Frank made the promise, Nor began his tale, "I was 
born on New Year's Day in the year 1979 (old style) in 
a town that was then known as Olds. My name was Jeremy 
Martin Smith." He held nothing back as he told Frank of 
his life before the collapse, of his eventful trip to 
the arctic, and his later discovery that he was not 
aging, and that he was not falling ill. He told of his 
founding of a cache of knowledge in the decades leading 
up to the collapse, and of his later survival of the 
epidemic, then the drought and famine, then the tribal 
wars. He told Frank of his choice of the name Nor and 
the founding of Norstown on the old townsite of Olds. 
He told of his later retirement to the woods just past 
Rockywood, also apparently known as Rockywood. He told 
of his initiation into the magical arts, and his 
isolated studies in his cabin in Rockywood. And of the 
wanderlust that had brought him down to the village on 
that fateful day. Frank listened in ever increasing awe 
and understanding - true understanding - slowly filled 
his eyes. There was no trace of disbelief.

When Nor finished telling his tale, Frank simply said, 
"Thank you."

Nor's customary farewell speech when they finished 
their task in this town, which was known as Southern 
Hill, was the most moving of all his guest lectures, 
past and future, as he paid special tribute to his 
retiring friend. As with every speech to date, everyone 
who could come did. But this one left an even greater 
mark on those who heard it. Although most could not 
identify it, those who did were astounded by the depth 
of friendship their teacher was able to show for his 
partner and even more astounded at how clearly this 
feeling projected into the crowd. Frank, too, detected 
it and understood. His friend was bidding him farewell 
and telling him that they likely would never meet 
again. Yet neither of them had any regrets and they had 
said all they needed to prior to the speech. So the 
following day, without a word, they walked out of 
Southern Hill in opposite directions. Neither one 
looked back.

The speech followed by the wordless leave-taking the 
following day a truly life changing experience for all 
who witnessed it. It was nearly as life changing for 
those who heard it second hand or third hand. 
Eventually, word of it began to filter into the towns 
inside the Free Alliance to compound with the news of 
the teacher's continued exploits. For the second time 
in less than a decade, the course of history was turned 
although the implications of this change would be far 
more profound than anyone would have predicted.