Valedictorian | Armin Arlert

socrates

Oh, the Socratic Seminar.

Your favorite mode of education. The use of intellectual conversation in the classroom satisfied your hunger for pretension like no other. You had re-read the short story a few times before class and prepared many, talking points. With Marco, amused snd by your side, you confidently strolled into your first hour.

On the board, seating arrangements were printed in chalk. Today's discussion would be composed of six people. You, Mikasa, Bertolt, Armin, Pieck, and Zeke.

Professor Smith neatly organized the desks into a loop as neat as one could muster with bulky rectangle desks. The sequence consisted of outer spectating desks orbiting the same pattern around the inner desks. He stood in the middle of the circle with a clipboard, taking attendance as everyone took their seat.

Socratic seminars operated relatively simply. The innermost circle included those who would participate in the discussion and the outer desks surrounding the participants were spectators who would take notes and even sometimes critique their peers.

You sat across, and had a clear view of Armin. Next to him sat Mikasa which lead to Zeke. Beside him was Pieck. On Armin's other side, was Bertolt which made a full circle back to you.

The Sound of Thunder's premise follows hunters who travel billions of years in the past to hunt prehistoric animals. They do this through a company that regulates and makes sure the process is working and ethical. A man named Eckels changes the course of history by accidentally stepping on a prehistoric butterfly, after being startled by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. After changing the present, Eckels is killed by a man named Travis out of anger.

Zeke commenced the conversation with a simple statement, "The Time Safari should be sued."

Of course, you disagreed and didn't show any hint of subtly when respectfully explaining your interpretation. The discussion maintained a steady topic on the innocence of playing with time. Mikasa contributed some fascinating insight on Eckels' attitude suddenly transitioning from confident to cowardly.

From that, Pieck commented how it was panic and distress that caused Eckels to act out. Zeke remarked quickly how Eckels acting out led to Travis doing the same, comparing it to dominos. Armin added that Eckels' recklessness earned him his fate. 

You quickly jumped in, "I... I disagree."

Armin politely confronted, "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

You nodded, "Travis also acted out of fear when he killed Eckels, does that mean he deserved to die?"

Armin snickered, "No... Travis acted out anger and frustration."

Your eyes swiveled back in your head, "That's debatable."

"All I'm saying is that Travis trusted Eckles to stay on the path."

Professor Smith spoke up, "Remember kids, this is a discussion, not a debate."

You closed your eyes, "Eckels was experiencing a human emotion: fear."

"It was arrogance, he pretended to be talented when he wasn't, something you have a lot of experience with." he fired. Your mouth gaped, heat rose in your throat when he said that.

"He fell short at the worst possible moment," You composed your anger, "He second-guessed himself and let down those around him, I assume you must be an expert on that topic." You spat resentfully.

Armin's eyes went wide. Tension began to rise. Many more, less friendly comparisons were made. All of which hit hard. You couldn't even think about how it affected Armin.