Something educational

Scythe slides the tape for the educational programming out of its sleeve and into the VCR. Dull, thick static crackles fill the air as he turns on the TV. Once the distorted bars peel away, he's able to see a set staged to look like the classroom he's in, though with all the desks lined up properly. They don't quite succeed at disguising how the desks are occupied by cardboard cutouts and not real students.

As a distorted, flattened recording of an overly upbeat song plays, a man with startlingly white teeth and slicked back hair walks in. "Good to see you all in high spirits, class," he says in a loud, brassy voice over the obviously prerecorded audio of the students laughing and chatting. "But we've got a bit of a serious subject today." It gets quiet in an instant, unnervingly so.

"It probably goes without saying at this point," the man says gravely as he kicks a leg up to halfway sit on the edge of the teacher's desk, "but you bright sparks aren't just here to learn about history, literature, science, mathematics, the law, and the economy. You're here to learn how to be upstanding, productive members of society, to make the right choices and reach your full potential no matter what you choose to contribute." He sadly shakes his head. "But it really does tear me up to say that sometimes, a few bad apples do in fact spoil the bunch. I'm here today to make sure you've all got your moral compasses fine-tuned so that you're not only able to orient yourselves to your best possible futures, but so you can keep your friends and fellow classmates on the right track as well."

He suddenly looks up. His eyes are trained on the camera. No... he's looking Scythe dead in the eye. "And I've got a special guest here today to help me illustrate my points," he says, flashing that blindingly bright smile again. "Won't you please step in and join us?"