1963-07-07 - Two Professors
Summary: Moira meets Professor King on Columbia's campus. He has many questions concerning impowered individuals. She tries not to get paranoid.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
louis moira 


It's the middle of the day on Thursday at the University of Columbia. The time for lunch has just passed and the reappearance of students has slowly begun. A few are walking along the sidewalk paths towards various buildings for their later day classes, others are finished with their work and are sitting around, smoking, throwing around a frisbee or two. With the weather so clear and bright a good chunk of people are simply enjoying the outdoors.

And as Louis King, Professor of Archaeology, walks past them at times he'll be the focus of their attention.

"Hey Prof!" A student pipes up and waves.

"Hullloooo, Professor King!" A freshman girl giggles a bit as she waves at him and makes faces as he waves back and smiles. She even goes so far as to clutch her hands before her heart before seeming to fall back into the arms of her friend. They both giggle.

"Hey Professor, see you tomorrow!" To which he responds, "Of course, James. Of course, do the reading this time, eh?"

Some more laughter, a bit of good jovial humor, and he passes on by. Though his footsteps don't lead him towards the lecture hall or his office. Instead he's heading towards the other side of the campus where the practical research is often done and where people with tenure don't have to deal with things like /students/, ugh.

*

After a two week tour in Europe giving several seminars (to many protests) about the Mutant Evolution, Moira is actually happy to be back in New York. Sure, there are always a few protests on her side of campus — animal rights, mutant rights, human rights — but they are nothing in compare to the few things she saw out there. Moira has finished in the lab this morning and is only now coming out of the biology building, still in her lab jacket, but the moment she feels the heat on her face she realizes that was a poor idea.

Where as he is popular, the bio-chemist gets a few wary looks from the people that know her. Rumors are Columbia is debating cutting her program all together with the current anti-mutant sentiment. She meets each cold look with a neutral smile as she makes her way over towards one of the benches. Her walk is, as ever, a stacatto limp, left leg almost completely assisted by a crutch on which she leans. So, it takes a few extra moments to get to that bench and lean her crutch/good hip there so she can begin to pull herself out of her lab coat and just leave her green sundress beneath.

*

The sun is blinding, the outdoors are so… dirty, and the people don't ever speak to you in a reasonable manner. All of those pleasantries and circuitous discussion can be so annoying. A perfect example are all those words thrown at that new fellow walking across the way. What was his name? Johnathan Prince? But as Moira steps out into the bright sunlight and over to that bench, as she begins to extract herself from her coat she'll feel a presence behind her and then hear that upper crust British accent.

"Pardon me, Dr. McTaggert?"

And should she turn around she'll see him there, with the sun beside him, his smile almost as bright and his expression so terribly amiable. With one hand he gently helps her with that coat, just giving her a point of purchase to pull against by holding the shoulder slightly with one hand. It makes it easier to slide the arm free.

"I had been hoping to find you in your office today, but good to see you out and about."

*

A slight jump comes in the way of a woman who is scared almost constantly but hiding it well. A woman who expects and egg or a gun in her face possibly every time she turns around, especially when it's someone she doesn't know, but his smile calms it a moment later and she allows her own smile to reflect with a curious tilt of her head. The man looked vaguely familiar. Had they encountered over seas once or twice? Either way, she tilts her head to the other professor and does accept the assistance. It's nice to be free of the slightly sweaty lab coat.

"Indeed… I…I do think we've met before but I'll be damned if I can remember your name, forgive me. And we can go to my office, it might be a touch cooler, but not by much. There is a fan, at least." She gives him a half teasing smile, still a touch apologetic, but once her coat is off and draped across her arm, she regains her crutch and then offers him her free hand now that she's not leaning on the bench. "Moira MacTaggert. But… Moira is just fine if we're not in a class."

*

"Well, having read some of your work if I go to your office then there will be two fans of yours there." His lip turns up slightly, perhaps amusing himself on some level, or perhaps he is just that off-kilter. But then he accepts the lab coat from her, slipping it over his arm as he uncurls his free hand to gesture back in the direction of her office. "But please, do lead the way. It is a touch bright out here, isn't it?"

And if she agrees then they'll start the small journey in that direction. "Speaking of individuals who think well on your work, I've spoken with a fellow I believe you are familiar with. Armando?" He glances at her to gauge her reaction but hten continues. "He and I spoke a touch in the library, interesting young man. Inquisitive. Deserves a scholarship wouldn't you think?"

*

His handshake is firm, though not aggressive, and perhaps turned slightly to the side in that subtly European manner as if one were about to lift another's hand upwards. "Well, having read some of your work if I go to your office then there will be two fans of yours there." His lip turns up slightly, perhaps amusing himself on some level, or perhaps he is just that off-kilter. But then he accepts the lab coat from her, slipping it over his arm as he uncurls his free hand to gesture back in the direction of her office. "But please, do lead the way. It is a touch bright out here, isn't it?"

And if she agrees then they'll start the small journey in that direction. "Speaking of individuals who think well on your work, I've spoken with a fellow I believe you are familiar with. Armando?" He glances at her to gauge her reaction but hten continues. "He and I spoke a touch in the library, interesting young man. Inquisitive. Deserves a scholarship wouldn't you think?"

*

The commentary of two fans gets a lofted brow from her and a little smirk that says 'That was just *awful*' but she's too polite to actually voice such things. Not until she knows him better, at least. A slight chuckle behind her breath, she shakes her head and turns on the ball of her good foot, moving to lead the way back to the lab building which does, indeed, have offices on the upper floors. She accepts the hand shake, but then does fully lead the way back to her area. "Office it is. And you're too kind."

She continues down the way, though something occurs to her halfway down the path. "You clearly know my name, I do not believe I know yours, though. And yes… Armando and I are quite close. He's working immensely hard and would do well with a scholarship. But, he's intelligent enough, he is going to manage through no matter what. I'm certain of that." The pride in her tone about the young man is more than a teacher — it's almost motherly pride, even if she can't be old enough to actually be his mother. She opens the door to the building with her non-crutch laden hand, emitting them both.

*

"Ah, forgive me. I always get these things all out of order." And indeed he does present that typical archetype of the mildly befuddled Englishman. "Louis King," He uncurls a hand in way of introduction as if gesturing before a bow. But he then goes on, "This is my first semester here, I'm a Professor of Archaeology." He looks to the side, eyes distancing as he gestures with the arm that holds her coat. "My office is the converted janitorial closet over there in the administration building."

Looking back to her he smiles easily enough as they reach the door and he moves to hold it open to make their ingress a touch easier. "Well I spoke with him at length about empowered individuals and I know you have made a strong study of the science behind it. I was looking perhaps to try and get an angle on the humanity behind it." The way he speaks is curious, and perhaps slightly different than the common nomenclature.

"You see, and this somewhat slips into my bailiwick thus why I'm interested, at a time such as this it's important for an emerging group of individuals to gain some measure of political recognition and legitimacy otherwise they run the risk of marginalization."

They're most likely walking down the hallway now on her way towards her office, but he keeps talking and animatedly so. "They need individuals who step to the fore, and I know your efforts have been strong on such a front as well. I think Armando could be such a person, if not him then perhaps another. Someone who can be competent, strong, charismatic, but also in part not threatening and…"

They reach her door and he pauses, "And it seems I've said my piece before we've even sat down. Bother."

*

"Professor King. It's a pleasure." Moira does manage to get in that bit of pleasantry, if nothing else, before he starts off on his thoughts about all of this. She listens patiently, a single brow lofting at his slightly strange nomenclature, but then she's been in the field so deep and so long, perhaps laypeople all sound that way and she doesn't realize it. She is content to keep her step slow, it's easier for her really, and give him time to talk/think through his pitch.

When they have finally reached her office, she reaches into the pocket of her dress and pulls out a small keyring. A single key is slipped into the lock and she tugs the door open even as he's finishing. She chuckles a bit, "That is alright. A conversation is a two way road and I've not yet started, so do not worry. Come in." She has a slightly nicer office, but not by much, new this summer herself. She leads the way in and does clip on the old metal fan to get to turning and blowing a breeze in from outside. Her shelves are half filled with books, and there's more than a few charts and diagrams up on the wall.

"You are correct about the marginalization. That is already happening, on top of the violence. People are reacting in fear and it is not going well. But it is hard to empower a group that already has people frightened of it and fighting back. Especially when there has been violence on both sides. But… that is what I am trying to do — through understanding. To help give everyone power by heightening the understanding of who and what mutants are."

*

Stepping into that office he moves with her and waits for her to choose a place to settle before he finds himself a seat as well. He does, however, take the time to hang up her coat near the door so it's neatly set aside. Once they're down he looks across the way at her. "Well I also then started to think, if I as a layman had these thoughts, most likely someone else already had them. And, in fact, they've already acted on them."

He crosses a leg over the other as he looks to her, "I figured that most likely there are already individuals positioned to take such a role, and that if anyone on this campus would be familiar enough with the culture it would be yourself." Louis rests his hands in his lap and tilts his head slightly. "And so, here I am."

*

Of course, Moira will go to the stiff backed chair behind her desk because it's pure habit. "Thank you…" She offers to his hanging up of her coat. It really was sweet and polite of him. She then does fully settle into that chair and set her crutch aside so she looks perfectly normal as people go. But then, compared to her studies, she was perfectly normal. There doesn't seem a single mutated or strange thing about Moira beyond that crutch. An outsider studying it all from the outside in, it seems.

"…And yet, there may be people, but they set themselves up as a target considering all that is happening. My seminars have been targetted alone, by those who are scared and do not understand. Is it really fair to ask anyone to stand up in such a way, knowing the dangers it all presents? And do you truly think that they will manage to change the minds of hundred of thousands just by being louder and showing a leadership role?" Her voice isn't accusatory, it's more thoughtful and protective, but she is hearing him out, at least.

*

"Much of history rests upon the presence of strong individuals at the appropriate time. There are schools of thought that it is only due to these individuals that the world turns. Another proclaims that these events are inevitable and the individuals we hold up as influential are merely people who were on the spot, lucky, and rose to the occasion." Louis leans forward somewhat, "Whichever you ultimately believe, I am in essence wishing to identify this person before the world turns, as it were."

His smile is a touch warm as he meets her gaze and it's no surprise he's gotten on well in his time here. There's something ephemeral about him that one might find appealing. "I mean think of it, to be there at the moment when Lincoln embarks on his career. Or when Caesar crossed the Rubicon. We are facing a moment such as that now, and here in New York where the culture of mutantkind is growing into being… it's a time that will be remembered for years to come."

*

While he is appealing, attractive, clearly intelligent, Moira is also paranoid. The questioning, from someone she barely knows and not in her field, puts something in her on edge. Her head tilts a touch to the side as she sits forward in her seat, folding her hands upon the desk. "While…I can acknowledge everything you are saying is accurate, and I may even have ideas for whom that person is, you can understand my hesitation and need to *protect* that person as well. I do not know you at all, Professor King. We have truly just met. There are many who would find the anti-mutant groups more respectable than those supporting such sentiments. Hell, many on the campus. I do not know if my position will be around come the fall semester. So… what… Assurances do I have I am not leading you to this person just so you can do them harm before the have any effect upon the greater world?" She is a frank individual, it seems.

*

"Oh… oh of course." Louis blinks a few times as he sits up and back as the ramifications seem to fall into place upon him. He bites his lower lip thoughtfully as his brow furrows as she can almost see the gears working in his mind. "Oh dear." He looks to the side, then looks back towards Moira and gives a nod. "That makes entire sense and I cannot fault your logic at all. In fact now…" He straightens up a touch, "My wishes seem so entirely foolish and small considering what's at stake. Perhaps I should just step back and let such a person emerge should they do so and meet them as fate may have."

He lifts a hand and rubs at the back of his neck, then turns to the side and considers Moira. "In your opinion, however, Dr. McTaggert… what would be the best way one could help the empowered find their place in society and gain the rights they deserve?"

*

The woman's expression softens a touch as he actually agrees with her paranoia. It does seem to set her at ease and she allows a half smile to flutter across her lips, almost apologetic about it all. "I'm glad you understand and sorry to… Imply such things. I don't actually think you are one of those people but… I've learned the hard way that trusting people gets you quite hurt." There is something strange behind her voice there. Hard and hollow at the same time. For as normal and calm as she seems, there is a crack there into a world of damage. But she smooths it away with a smile a moment later.

"Education, Professor King. Promoting understanding, not fear. That is the best way. Setting examples and including mutants in higher positions in politics, companies, television, movies… Something that lets everyone see they are still just people. That they can be sterling examples to society. THAT is what we need. Not all this fear, this chaos… We need to be a society all together."

*

"Then, at the least, perhaps we can advance Armando as a student. Even if he doesn't entirely need us, it would be good for him to be present as a role model if he'd accept such." Louis frowns and scratches a fingertip along the curve of his goatee, his jawline severe as he looks a touch thoughtful. Then he shakes his head, "But then that would be putting a lot of weight on the young man, which even if he were entirely comfortable shouldering it he might not understand the full ramifications."

He then pauses and shakes his head, "I am interested in learning more, howerver, Dr. McTaggert. I have visited New York's Mutant-Town, but well… you can perhaps understand the difficulty I might have being accepted in the community there. I come off as a foolish tourist. Which, in truth, can I fault anyone for believing that?"

A small rueful smile touches his features as he looks away, then back to her. "What course of action would you advocate I take to enhance my understanding? I know it's a rarity for a professor to plead ignorance this day and age, but I feel no shame in doing so."

*

"Armando is a thoroughly capable young man who just took a position with a somewhat prominent company that is doing that for him, so… I would say he's quite good at getting himself in the spotlight already." As much as that worries her. That care is there again, beyond that of a teacher and student. There is something more between the pair and she's already quite concerned about the young man, it seems.

*

"As for your understanding… I can give you some books, several of which I've written myself. You are welcome to come and audit my classes. That is a good start. Otherwise… there is a small institution dedicated to furthering and teaching mutants. If you have a letter you wish to write them, I will happily pass it along. It is not my place to divulge their address or name, but… I will reach out to them for you and, if they are comfortable, someone from them can reach back."

*

"Please, at your leisure." As he says this he gives a short bob of his head and then rests his hands upon his knees. "I do apologize for taking up your time. I'll do what research I can, consider the materials you offer and will see what I can possibly do."

Then he pushes himself back up to his feet, lowering his eyes slightly and affecting a small bow. "Thank you so much for offering your telling insight. You have saved me from making a fool of myself. Well at least more a fool." As he says this self-deprecating thing his smile might rob it of any hint of seriousness as he's clearly making light.

That said he steps back and rests a hand upon the knob of the door, "Do feel free to stop by my office or call and I'll come by to pick up those materials if you wish."

*

Conidering Moira's leg, and the fact that almost a year later she still isn't entirely used to the crutch, she doesn't stand up to see him out. Hopefully he will understand. But she does give him a warmer smile in turn, especially to his teasing statement, "You are quite fine, Professor King. And please… Take a few books with you. Any from the middle shelf there are available at the moment and closest related to the subject you seek. You know where to find me now and when you have finished that letter, I'll pass it along to the proper people." SHe gives him a warm smile and a little wave as he is going, but then does settle back into her desk to actually do some work. She is here now, she might as well.

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