The University provides for secondary and ongoing training of Colonists qualified for science/technician careers. It includes conventional classrooms, offices, small labs supporting each of the major scientific disciplines, and study areas.

Important secondary functions of the University include helping coordinate the research efforts of outside labs, limited decoding of the damaged starship scientific databases, and support of educational programs for younger students, including teens in trade apprenticeship programs.

Operational Notes: An Active University is required for Children to become Workers. It also trains Workers to be Scientists, up to 10 Workers per class.

Tales from New Terra

Del Palus peered around the corner of the darkened corridor. "It's clear. Let's go."

He crept around the corner, Mic Duval right behind him lugging the heavy bag he'd been given. "Are you sure this is okay?"

Mic was a newbie, needed to be broken in. "Of course it's not okay. That's the whole point. It's a great tradition of the University that, on the week of their graduation, each senior has to pull a major prank on one of his or her professors. Graduating senior. That's me."

"But I'm an incoming freshman."

"Yeah, it is an honor to be chosen, isn't it? Trust, me, this is part of the tradition. Someday, it'll be your turn."

Mic didn't look convinced. "If I live that long. Now, are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

"We're going to set a little trap in Professor Anthony's office. He's one of the part-time instructors, so we have to have to have our prank set for him. Next time he makes one of his irregular visits, 'bam!'"

Mic looked nervously at his shoulder bag. "'Bam?' We aren't going to blow him up, are we?"

"Of course not. Not literally anyway. Nothing more than a few small shaped charges for artistic effect." He had Mic put the bag down in the corridor outside Anthony's office. "You see, Anthony made his reputation in rapid synthesis of aerogels. He's the inventor of the StickyFoam weapon. It's a rapidly expanding aerogel, very strong, though short-lived."

Del reached into the bag and pulled out a canister with an electronic device attached to the top. "I've been exploring the same areas, trying to improve StickyFoam. This is what I've come up with so far. Expands even more rapidly, could be just as strong if I mixed in the Buckytubes, and indefinitely stable. Unfortunately, the expansion ratio isn't large enough to make it a useful weapon." He shook the canister. "But this has enough to fill the professor's office solid. Unlike StickyFoam, it's translucent, like solid smoke." He removed a bag of tiny silver disks from the larger duffel. "As an added bonus, I'll rig charges just big enough to toss all his furniture into the air just as the stuff hardens."

Del used a hacked keycard to open the door. "Okay, all you have to do is stand guard while I set things. Got it?"

Mic nodded. Del slipped inside, sat the canister in the middle of the floor, and started placing the little disks under all the furniture legs. He was almost finished when he heard Mic's voice hissing in a loud whisper from outside. "Somebody's coming!"

Del looked around. All the furniture was done, and he'd even placed disks to toss some stacks of papers into the air as well. All he had to do was place the trigger, and he could do that on the way out.

He sat the little motion detector on the floor in front of the door. He didn't want Anthony to actually get inside. It would be triggered as the door started to open.

"It's Anthony! Get out!"

Del cursed under his breath, fumbled with the trigger, and sprinted for the door, accidentally stepping on the little box as he did.

There was a loud "pop." Del was first tossed headlong through the door, then stopped suddenly, as through by a great hand. He hung in mid air, his body parallel with the floor.

Mic sat on the far side of the corridor looking at him in horror. Del looked back into the room, and saw the lower half of his body imbedded in the aerogel.

This is very embarrassing, he thought.

He looked up at the man approaching from down the corridor, and put on his best brownnosing smile. "Good evening, Professor Anthony! What brings you out at this hour?"

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