Tevun-Krus #21 - Comic SF

The Universe eXperiment - a Short by @sdfrost61

The Universe eXperiment

By Stephen Frost (@sdfrost61)

The headmaster looked around the table. "So we're in agreement," he said. "It's an A plus for Siddhartha Gautama?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't be too hasty," said Mr. Leopold, leaning back in his seat.

He was the sort of man who often raised doubts after an agreement in principle had been reached.

"Let's see," he said, skimming his notes. "The eight-fold path? Yes, that was nice. I liked that. He's quite an astute thinker. A clever lad. I'm not saying he's not."

The headmaster looked over the top of his optical frames at Mr. Leopold.

"But I do wonder, when I think about it, if I'm entirely convinced by reincarnation," he continued, looking up from the screen. "I understand the how. It's relatively basic, really. I just didn't comprehend the why. Perhaps an A might be more appropriate."

Someone coughed, clearing their throat. The headmaster looked up the clock on the wall.

"You know, now that you mention it," said Mrs. Carter, hunching over her screen. "I really do think the bit about suffering, you know, the bit about how suffering is the root of all sadness. It seemed just a wee bit gimmicky."

"No, that's not it," said Mr. Leopold, leaning forward to read from his screen. "He said that attachment was the source of suffering."

"Oh," said Mrs. Carter. "Well that makes more sense."

The headmaster tapped the table with his finger.

"Yes," he said. "I'm just thinking about the time, and we've still got another project to discuss."

He pushed the remaining folder in front of him toward the middle of the table.

"It is a rather difficult one," he said, his empty hand retreating back to edge.

There was a long silence as they all weighed the value of dragging the meeting out any longer than it warranted.

"Well," said Mr. Leopold. "The eight-fold path is quite elegant. So yes. I think it's fair. Let's call it an A plus."

"Lovely," said the headmaster, inking the grade onto a screen before anybody else could interject. He recapped his pen, opening the final folder on everyone's screen.

"So," he said, with more enthusiasm than he felt. "God."

Miss Leyland sighed so loudly that the headmaster looked up. She was quite fetching, he thought, but she did have a tendency to over dramatize.

"I know he's been a handful," said the headmaster, looking down at the folder screen again. "And I appreciate that he's been a bit of a disappointment after his brother."

The headmaster paused, but the small group around the table was quiet.

"Nevertheless," he said, dabbing at the corner of his mouth with this handkerchief, "we've been entrusted with the boy, so we do have a duty."

He looked at his notes. "Mr. Anderson," he said. "If you could, please."

Everyone turned their heads towards Mr. Anderson, waiting for him to begin. He pushed back his chair and stood, taking a sip of tea from a glass that had the school crest etched on it.

"Yes, God," he said. "Calling him a handful may be slightly understating it."

Miss Leyland leaned forward, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can say that again," she said quietly.