infinitum tenens (The Sentry Reports Book 2)

School Reunion

"Remind me why you think we should put the Doctor in charge of a classroom?" the Emissary asked the next morning.

"I told you," Rose said, taking a seat on the captain's chair. "Mickey says there's something weird going on at this school."

"Yeah, no, I remember," the Emissary agreed. "It's just... I'm not sure he'd be very good at it. He was not the best student."

"Hey!" the Doctor protested from the other side of the console. The Emissary grinned over her shoulder at him.

"What? It's true," she teased.

"He'll do fine," Rose insisted. "And you'll be there to keep him on track. Now let's go. Mickey said it was urgent."
~~~
The Doctor entered the classroom full of children and set his briefcase down on the front table, smiling cheerfully. "Good morning, class. Are we sitting comfortably?" Not waiting for a response, he picked up a marker and scribbled out the word physics on the board. "So, physics." He turned back to a bored looking class. "Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics."

Theta, the Emissary interrupted his rambling. You've lost them.

I'm teaching, he replied, they're bound to be a little confused.

Dimensional transcendentalism is a bit beyond their comprehension, no? She smirked a little when he paused. Stick to earth physics.

"I hope one of you is getting this down," he said aloud, leaning against the Emissary's desk. "Okay, let's see what you know. Two identical strips of nylon are charged with static electricity and hung from a string so they can swing freely. What would happen if they were brought near each other?" Only one boy raised his hand. The Doctor nodded to him. "Yes... er, what's your name?"

"Milo," the boy replied.

"Milo! Off you go."

"They'd repel each other because they have the same charge," Milo answered the question.

"Correctamundo!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Please don't ever say that again," the Emissary told him, shaking her head fondly.

"Noted," he quipped, starting to pace. "Question two. I coil up a thin piece of microwire and place it in a glass of water. Then I turn on the electricity and measure to see if the water's temperature is affected. My question is this. How do I measure the electrical power going into the coil?"

The Emissary raised an eyebrow when, once again, Milo was the only one to raise his hand. Every other child looked bored out of their minds.

"Someone else," the Doctor tried, looking around. All he got were blank stares. He sighed. "No? Okay, Milo, go for it."

"Measure the current and PDs in in ammeter and a voltmeter," Milo rattled off.

"Two to Milo," the Doctor said, glancing back at the Emissary in concern. "Right then, Milo, tell me this. True or false. The greater the dampening of the system, the quicker it loses energy to its surroundings."

"False," Milo said instantly.

The Emissary leaned forward. "What's non-coding DNA?"

"DNA that doesn't code for a protein."

"Sixty five thousand nine hundred and eighty three times five?" she asked.

"Three hundred and twenty nine thousand nine hundred and fifteen."

The Doctor shared a look with Emissary as he leaned forward. "How do you travel faster than light?"

Theta, there's no way he's—