Ben Blazze and Heimdall's Orb

Chapter 15: The Geek Professor

After that deplorable event, they climbed to the third floor, jumped off the walkway, and sauntered down a corridor with several doors on either side. They stopped at the classroom with a sign reading "Philip Rogeria."

As they entered, Ben noticed that it was a very different room: instead of desks, there were workbenches at which you could stand or sit on high stools. There was no blackboard, but an immense digital board, which at that moment showed the weather forecast, class times, teachers and subjects, among other school information. Several students were already there, including Eduardo's friends. No sign of him yet, though.

Professor Rogeria entered a few minutes later. He was of the same race as Sam, though he was more cumbersome and with a lighter complexion. Shyly nodding, he greeted the students as he passed the benches on his way to his desk. There, he sat down and began reading a copy of EMC² - Engineering for Myrmicians: Contemporary Collection.

When the bell rang, indicating the period's beginning, Professor Rogeria got up and began to speak:

"Good afternoon, class. Today, we will continue the hands-on job on propulsion field generators. Maximum of three per bench. I see we have two new students," he said, looking at Ben and Sweetflower. "You have to catch up with your classmates, not slow them down. So, don't be on the same workbench, please. I'll be passing by the benches checking your work. If you need assistance or have any questions, let me know."

Ben, Sam, and Anna Julia stayed together on one bench; Sweetflower, Kaleb, and a Sirian boy named Ricardo were on another. Sam was very skilled with tools and seemed to know all about technology. He held a different instrument in each of his left hands, mounting parts in his right hands, and was frenzy-assembling it all.

"Sam," said Anna Julia, "do you want us to get away, so we don't delay you?"

"No, it's fine," said the Myrmician boy, not even looking at her.

"Idiot, that was sarcasm. Are you going to let us learn anything?"

"Oh... my bad, sorry," Sam said, looking at Anna with an embarrassed smile.

"Man, you're very good at this," Ben said.

"People of my race are often prone to engineering," said Sam, "and sometimes I get too excited." He then slowed down and started explaining to Ben and Anna Julia all he was doing.

About halfway through the period, Professor Rogeria went to the front of the classroom and drew attention to herself.

"Class, let's take advantage of an unusual fact that happened at workbench four," he said, "to learn about a problem you may face when dealing with electronics.

"The kids were testing the equipment's controller board but couldn't make it work and then asked for help. I verified that their setup was correct. What they didn't realize is that the board was infested with Bit-Biter Bugs."

Then, the Professor activated an area on the big screen behind him and showed enlarged pictures of the insects. They were minuscule round beetles, resembling tiny ladybugs but with copper-colored wings.

"These insects, native to the Libertas system in the constellation Aquilae, are easily overlooked because of their tiny size and coppery color," he continued. "Their main characteristic is that they need the energy of digital circuits to maintain their metabolism in the adult stage.

"Immediately upon completing metamorphosis, coming out of their pupae, they look for active circuits and attach themselves to the electric contacts to "suck" the transmitted bytes' energy.

"That may cause communication errors and, depending on the number of insects, even a complete breakdown of the equipment. For this reason, manufacturers use insect repellent treated boards, which also solves problems with common insects attracted by the heat of the circuits.

"It turns out that repellent effectiveness runs out with time or excessive manipulation. Thus, infestations may occur on older equipment or parts assembled and disassembled many times."

"Yes?" said the Professor, granting permission to Sweetflower, who had raised his hand.

"How do we get rid of them once the infestation occurred?"

"For you, a Caeli, it's trivial: you can use energy manipulation to ward off or attract those insects. Speaking of which, you should even be able to neutralize repellents. However, I can't imagine a practical situation where that would be necessary. The rest of us could use a regular insect repellent spray. Any more questions? Yes?"

"Professor," began Zyan Zoow, a Ravinnian boy, "with the earlier explanation at sight, set in the context of this pleasant lecture..."

"OH.MY.GOD!" Anna Julia mouthed at Kaleb on the other workbench.

"... given the primary purpose of our presence here...", continued Zyan.

"What is he doing?" Ben asked Sam.

"He's always like that," replied Myrmician, in a tedious tone. "Don't worry, the worst is yet to come," he added as he yawned.

"... could we conclude that a regular insect repellent spray would be enough to solve the problem?" Zyan finally wrapped up his question.

"Didn't Mr. Rogeria just say that?" Ben murmured to Sam.

"I warned you," Sam replied. "I think he does that to suck up to the teacher."

"Yes, Zyan," Professor Rogeria answered patiently. "Someone else?"

"What is their larval stage like?" Ricardo asked.

"Good question. Adults lay eggs on circuit boards, which may be active or not. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the very substrate used to make the panel until they are large enough to build their cocoons and begin metamorphosis. An interesting fact: some races consider them a special delicacy, but most planets authorities forbid their deliberate breeding by people – including Earth's CACA. That's because they are the main ingredient to an illicit drug: the Paradise Tabs. So, these insects are relatively rare. Yet, it's not impossible to find them in the larval and chrysalis stages in old equipment depots."

After that, Prof. Rogeria continued to circle the workbenches, giving tips and making corrections here and there. As he approached Ben's bench, Sam asked him: "Professor, do you know if there is any problem with the surface access elevator's authentication system?"

"Sam, you know this hypothesis is highly implausible," he replied, looking intrigued. "That is critical equipment; it goes through frequent checks and has all sorts of redundancy measures. Why are you asking that?"

"Well, when we were coming down here, it announced the presence of six individuals, but we were only five."

The teacher stiffened.

"Are you sure about that, Sam?" he asked worriedly, but it was Anna Julia who answered:

"We all listened, Professor," she said while Ben nodded.

"Stay here," he said to the whole classroom. "I'll be right back," he added and almost ran out of the room.