DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.


John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2003


Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 19

A hundred new students stood in the administration building 
waiting to hear a short speech. There were slight murmurs as 
people talked in low voices with each other. Some were skeptical 
that John was the Grand Druid, but most accepted it as fact. 
Among the crowd were people who had claimed to be Druids and 
Wiccans. A few just believed in a higher power, but no fixed belief 
system.

The route here had been surprising for most of the students. The 
intelligence tests that formed the basis of entry into the school had 
been easy. Far more difficult had been the interviews with the 
faculty members, many of whom where Druids. The questions had 
been extremely personal and more than one potential student had 
pulled out because of an interview. 

A common characteristic of the students was that they were bright, 
but had a troubled background. Many had graduated high school in 
the lower half of their class. They were also unable to pay for an 
education at a regular school. This was their last chance for a 
college education and many were desperate. 

There were slightly more females than males. This had not been 
intentional, but John had actually been pleased. Two male students 
would have three female roommates. He hoped those particular 
students would be able to cope.

John, dressed in his brown robe, walked to a podium and faced the 
students. It was suddenly quiet. He quickly looked over the student 
body, pleased with the number of initial students. He had not 
expected so many students the first year the college was opened. 
He cleared his throat, "I am John Carter, the Grand Druid. 
Everyone in this room has an IQ greater than the 98th percentile. 
You are about to enter an educational endeavor that shall challenge 
that IQ to its limits."

"You shall learn mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, 
geology, logic, literature, history, philosophy, esthetics, 
psychology, computer science, and sociology. Then you shall 
specialize in one of those areas. Your first four years shall cover 
the basics in every branch of science, mathematics, and 
humanities. Your last two years shall be spent getting specialized. 
Every year you will have self-defense training."

"Throughout your educational experience, you shall be learn how 
to be a Druid. The first year shall be the hardest for many of you. 
This is the year that you learn our first rule, if it harms no one then 
do it. Believe me when I say that it is a far more complex and 
limiting rule than it sounds." 

"You will find yourself becoming upset, irritated, or angry when 
someone does something that actually harms no one. The fact that 
you are angry is your problem and not theirs. You can't tell them 
not to do it, because it is allowed. You will also find yourself doing 
things that you think nothing about, but actually, causes harm. 
Others will call you on it and you will be angry. Again, that is your 
problem because what you have done is not allowed."

"We have a fixed program here, but you shall find that it is much 
more multi-disciplinary than most university programs. Classes are 
arranged on quarters and you will stay here full-time. Each class is 
one hour long and given five days a week. You will have eight 
classes a day. Classes start at nine and end at nine." 

"Your role as a Druid, when you leave here, shall be to advise 
others. To do so, you must know more than they know. You must 
be able to think through things more clearly than others can. That 
is the goal of the education you will receive here."

"At the end of your sojourn here, you shall present yourself to the 
Gods and Goddesses. If they deem you worthy, you shall become a 
Druid. You shall join the ranks of other Druids and be treated as an 
equal." As John spoke, a line of robed individuals entered the 
room. There were three hundred Druids, all wearing the medallions 
of a God or Goddess. He pointed to the Druids, "These are 
recognized Druids. You will know them by the medallions they 
wear around their neck."

He turned to face the Druids assembled in the room. He removed 
the medallion from under his robe. He set it outside the robe, 
"From hence forth, you shall wear your robes at all times and your 
medallion outside your robe. It is up to us, the recognized Druids, 
to create a reputation that shall serve as a foundation for our 
students. We have to gain the prestige that shall force the powerful 
to seek out the opinions of Druids."

He smiled at the students. "For the next hour you may talk to any 
Druid in this room. You can ask any question of them that you may 
wish."

The students stood where they were for several minutes, unsure 
what they were to do. Finally, a couple of the Druids went to a few 
of the students and pulled them away from the others. Other 
students took the hint and moved to where the Druids stood. One 
student headed straight to a Druid that was accompanied by a bear. 
It took some time, but eventually, all of the students had a chance 
to talk with one or more Druids.

One student came up to John. He challenged John, "Why are you 
the Grand Druid?"

"I am the first Druid in eight hundred years to serve all the Gods 
and Goddesses."

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Check out my medallion. You will see that it is made of three 
medallions."

The student frowned, "So what? You could have gotten that out of 
a cracker jack box."

"Look at it carefully."

The student lifted it and looked at it. He had seen hundreds of 
medallions on gold chains. The images on medallions were very 
suggestive of erotic subjects. Anyone with a little money could buy 
one. "Okay."

"Try to remove it."

The medallion slipped out of his fingers. No matter how much he 
tried, he could not grasp the medallion. He looked at John in 
wonder, "I can't hold onto it."

"It was put around my neck by the Two-Sided One. It can't be 
removed. Each medallion around the neck of a Druid is the same. 
No one can remove it except for a God or Goddess."

The student stared at John realizing that this was a serious group. 
They really did serve the Gods and Goddesses. He asked, "Did it 
hurt?"

"You are dealing with the forces of nature. They are powerful and 
we are mortal."

The student walked off. He decided to test what John had told him 
and visited another Druid asking if he could try to remove the 
medallion. Again, he found that he couldn't do it. Several other 
students heard the exchange and looked in wonder.

Another student came to John. She looked around nervously before 
asking, "How much do you make?"

John laughed, "I make a lot more than I actually need. I give 
almost 98% of it away."

"Oh, does that mean I have to live a life of poverty?"

John laughed, "No. I make over a billion a year. I give most of it 
away, but I'm nowhere near the poverty level."

"Oh, do all Druids make that much?"

"No. All of them are more than satisfied with what they earn. Even 
the ones that don't make much are quite satisfied with their 
lifestyle."

The woman looked at John with a funny expression, "They settle 
for satisfaction?"

"Settle? No, that is not the word I would use. I would say they all 
achieve satisfaction. Anything beyond that is wasted effort."

She frowned, "I want a lot."

John stated, "I can write you check for a million. If that isn't 
enough, I can make it ten million. If that still isn't enough, I can 
make it a hundred million. Are you satisfied?"

"Huh?"

"Are you satisfied?"

"No. I'm excited."

"What will it take to satisfy you?"

"I guess ten million."

"Okay, you got it." John stated. "Are you satisfied?"

"Ah, I don't know." The young lady was very confused. She didn't 
know if he was seriously offering her ten million dollars or not.  "I 
guess so."

John asked, "Now what?"

"What do you mean, now what?"

"So, what are you going to do now that you have enough money to 
satisfy you?" He pulled out a checkbook and scribbled out a check 
for ten million dollars. He handed it to her.

"I guess I will go to school." She looked at the check in disbelief. 
She was now worth ten million dollars. She could buy a big house, 
a fancy car, and never have to work a day in her life. She felt 
unhappy, but couldn't put her finger on it.

"What? You aren't satisfied yet?"

She was silent for a moment as she explored her feelings. She 
wondered what she would do once she left here. She had always 
been ambitious, but now the goal of her ambition had been taken 
from her. "I guess not."

"So I guess that money isn't the source of satisfaction that you 
thought it would be. Pity, you have enough of it that you should be 
satisfied."

"I guess not."

"Satisfaction is difficult to achieve. It requires that you know what 
your needs are and to understand the source of your desires."

The student looked at the check. She couldn't believe what she was 
about to do, but she knew that the check meant nothing to her. She 
tried to hand it back to John, "I can't take it."

"Yes you can. Maybe when you graduate, you will cash it and use 
it wisely." John looked at her, "I hope that you will have learned a 
little more about satisfaction by then."

The student walked away after thanking him profusely. She 
noticed that the check was post dated for the date that she would 
graduate. She stood across the room looking at him in shock. She 
put the check in her pocket.

John smiled as another student approached him. The student asked, 
"What level of education do you have?"

"I have a doctorate in physics," replied John. He was often 
surprised when people didn't associate him with the invention of 
the Fusion Battery or the Fusion Cell. 

"Almost all of the Druids have advanced degrees. Why?"

"To advise others, you must know more than they do."

"You said that before. Who do you advise?"

"The FBI and the Atomic Energy Commission."

"Oh," replied the student. He had found it incredible that these 
people were so powerful and he had never heard of them. He 
thought he kept up with current events. It was strange that he 
hadn't recognized any of the individuals.

"Did you ask other Druids that question?"

"Yes, I did. They all are active advisors to some government 
agency."

John asked, "Who do they advise?"

"I found Druids that advise the army, the navy, the IRS, the CIA, 
NASA, the President, Congress, and the National Science 
Foundation."

"That is a pretty impressive group, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes."

John smiled, "Any other questions?"

"No, sir. Thank you for answering my questions."

John watched as the students walked around asking various 
questions of the Druids. Most of the questions were simple, but a 
few were tough. More than one Druid answered that he didn't 
know the answer. That answer tended to surprise the students. 
There were questions all Druids refused to answer. One such 
question concerned the nature of their meeting with the God or 
Goddess they served.

He spotted Kelly across the room and waved to her. Ed was 
standing near her and turned around at a word from her. Ed waved 
back. He wondered where little Beth was. He knew Beth would be 
with Ling or Linda, but he had no idea where they had settled.

When the hour had finished, John called the room back to order. 
"Students, please return to your original locations. Druids, you 
may leave now."

It took several minutes for the students to gather in front of him. 
The Druids didn't take half that long to leave the room. 
Individually each one turned and left the room at their own pace.  
He turned back to the students and smiled, "I shall lead you to your 
new quarters. You will find that all of your needs shall be taken 
care of while you are here."

He led the students into a hallway between the administration 
building and the first-year dorm rooms. When all of the students 
had entered the hallway, John stopped and turned around. The 
doors behind the students closed. As his medallion started to get 
warmer, John stated, "Okay, along the walls you will find boxes. 
Would you please take a box right now?"

The students went over to the wall and each picked up a large box. 
Inside the large box was a single pen. They looked at it and then 
looked back at John. John stated, "Please put all of your personal 
items in the box and sign your name on it. Remember to keep your 
wristbands with your student ID card attached to it."

The students emptied their pockets, putting everything into the 
box. John waited for all of the students to finish writing their 
names on the boxes. When they were done, he stated, "Please put 
all of your personal items in the box."

Most of the students stood around doing nothing. One or two 
students added their watches and jewelry to the box. John still 
waited. The students looked impatient. John stated, "Please, put all 
of your personal items in the box." 

None of the students moved. One of the students finally spoke up, 
"We have sir."

"You still have your clothes. Put them in the box."

Several of the students objected, "No way am I getting undressed 
here!"

John waited for the noise to die down. This is when he expected to 
lose at least ten students. His medallion grew hotter as he stated, 
"If that condition is so objectionable to you, you may leave. The 
back door on the right side is open. We will take your name down 
and withdraw you from the school."

Four students, three females and one male, left while the others 
shifted around uncomfortably. He was surprised that only four 
students left. He realized their desperation made them stay. It took 
several minutes, but students began disrobing and putting their 
clothes into the boxes. None were comfortable with being naked 
and most of the males sported erections by the time they were 
naked. Those that didn't were visibly afraid and shaking. Some of 
the women were visibly excited while most were blushing with 
extreme embarrassment. 

John waited patiently for them to finish. When all of the students 
in the hallway were naked, John led them into the dorm. They 
shuffled behind him very uncomfortable in their nudity. The men 
did their best to hold the box so that it covered their erections. The 
women hugged the boxes vertical to cover their breasts and lower 
areas.

There was a room right beside the entrance to the dorm. John led 
the students into the room. He stated, "Pick a cage and put your 
box inside it. Close the cage and take the key. Add the key to your 
wristband."

He led the students out of the room. As each student left the room, 
he checked that they had wristband with a key on it. He went in the 
room and made sure that each cage was locked. He went out of the 
room and locked the door. The students milled around while trying 
to cover themselves with their hands. Some students hid behind 
other students, but that was often a source of irritation between 
students. Men and women felt uncomfortable with a man standing 
behind them with an erection.

He went over to a printer where a number of pages had already 
been printed. He pick up the first page, "When I call out your 
student identification number, please come up here and get your 
itinerary.  I'll only call out the last three numbers of your id. 
Student 001."

The student came up and received a sheet of paper from John. It 
had a dorm room number and the schedule of classes. The student 
read the schedule of classes with a sinking feeling in his stomach. 
It was an aggressive schedule and one that would keep him busy. 
Even the weekends were busy with several counseling sessions and 
study groups assigned. John announced each student id until he 
had gone through the whole stack of papers. Each student came up 
and collected their paper. 

Finished with that task, John looked around at the students. Several 
of them had moved to chairs and sat down while they examined 
their schedules. John stated, "Okay everyone. This room is the 
commons. You will notice that there are plenty of chairs for you to 
sit in."

One of the students raised their hand. When John called upon the 
student, he was asked, "When do we get clothes?"

"At the end of the school year." His answer was met with total 
silence among all of the students. The males looked at the females 
realizing that they would be seeing them naked for the next year. 
By now, all of the men were sporting erections. The females 
looked at the males, suddenly feeling like they were at a meat 
market.

John made a statement, "Gentlemen, I know that many of you are 
feeling a little horny right now. You may relieve yourself using 
your hand. We ask that you use tissues to collect any spent semen, 
as leaving semen around is not a healthy practice. You may also 
ask someone to provide you with relief. However, failure to accept 
a no answer from anyone will result in immediate expulsion from 
the school and rape charges shall be filed against you. We have a 
zero tolerance rule. Ladies, if you feel that someone is being overly 
aggressive in an attempt to get you to say yes, let us know and the 
problem will end."

"Let's go to the dorm rooms." John led the students to the stairs. 
They went up the stairs to the next floor. The room they entered 
contained tables spread around the room, each large enough to 
support a study group. He stopped and turned to the students 
behind him. "This is the study hall."

He then led them down to the hall with the dorm rooms. He 
pointed to an open doorway at the end of the hall. "Through the 
door down there are the toilets, sinks, showers, and bathtubs. There 
are other bathrooms scattered around the area."

He knew the students were expecting to be segregated by gender, 
but they were in for a big surprise. Reaching the first room, he 
shouted, "All of those in dorm room number 100, please come up 
here and get a key."

 Two females and two males stepped forward to get keys. When 
they saw they were sharing a room with the opposite gender, all of 
them blushed. The other students noticed and this sparked a lot of 
discussion among them. John ushered them into the room. The 
men and women looked at each other uncomfortably. John called 
into the room, "We'll meet in the commons when the bell rings."

The two men and women inside the dorm room stared at each 
other. Inside the room were a small cabinet, four beds, and four 
desks with chairs. The desks were in the corners of the room. 
There was a computer on each desk. Opposite the door was the 
small cabinet with a printer on top of it. Opening the doors showed 
that there was spare ink and paper stored inside. Pairs of beds were 
placed along the long wall with the headboard against the wall. 
The women, with a single glance at each other, claimed one side of 
the room. An uneasy silence descended upon the occupants.

When the bell rang, all of the students left their dorm rooms in a 
subdued mood. The study area filled quickly. John pointed to a 
room off to the side, "That room is the kitchenette. It is stocked 
with soft drinks, chips, candies, frozen dinners, and other things 
that you may want to eat or drink. There are tables, microwaves, 
and coffee makers. You may go in there anytime, day or night. It is 
always open. The room next door to it contains school supplies. 
You will find books, notebooks, pens, paper, erasers, rulers, 
staplers, and anything else that you can think of."

A student raised their hand, "Uh, how are we to pay for this stuff?"

"As I stated earlier, your needs will be provided for you while you 
are students here. Everything here is free. Just go in and take what 
you need. It is refilled every night. If there is something that you 
would like stocked, please write it on the bulletin board and we'll 
do our best to get it for you. We will not stock alcohol; you are 
here to learn and not to party."

John pointed to the stairs leading up to the cafeteria. He stated, "If 
you'll follow me, I'll show you where you will take your meals."

John led the students up the stairs. Even as they climbed, they 
could smell the aroma of food. At the top of the stairs, John waited 
for the rest of the students to catch up. He smiled, "This is the 
dining room. Today we are having a buffet because it is your first 
day. Normally, we have a ten-page menu from which you may 
select your meal. We allow an hour and a half for each meal. After 
you load up your plates, you can examine the menu. You will 
notice that it ranges from hamburgers all the way to lobster."

"You are free to relax for the rest of today, tomorrow, and the day 
after tomorrow. Your instructors will come the first day of classes 
to take you to the classrooms. Until then, you may meet your 
fellow classmates."

"Are there any questions?"

One student decided to put him on the spot, "If we have to be 
naked, why don't you?"

John looked at the student for a moment and then removed his 
robe. The act brought gasps from the students. He had revealed a 
body that was horribly scarred. He was also one of the few males 
that didn't have an erection. He stated, "I want you to understand 
the need for nudity. You have to learn to accept yourself and those 
around you. It is very difficult to lie when you do not have any 
clothes. Many of you have been raised that nudity is wrong. Yet, as 
you will discover, there is nothing wrong with nudity. It harms no 
one."

 "Some of you will feel that you are ugly. I offer my body as an 
extreme example of scarring. No one in this room can compare in 
terms of the number and degree of scarring that I have. Am I 
embarrassed by them? No. Each one represents the rescue of 
someone in trouble. One of my lovers called them my medals of 
valor."

"Now other parts of my body are not perfect. I personally don't 
care if you find me attractive. I like my body. That is the perfect 
attitude for you to take about your appearance. No matter how you 
look, there will be those who find you attractive."

John cleared his throat, "You will notice an extreme lack of 
privacy here. That is intentional. You will find that you have many 
beliefs that have been instilled in you that prevent you from being 
yourself. You have also become used to having artificial barriers 
designed to protect your privacy and that of others. You shall have 
to learn how to respect the privacy of others without such barriers. 
This means that your first few days here will make you very 
uncomfortable."

"There shall be numerous counselors available to you over the 
weekend. If you truly have any problems with program here, 
please talk to them. In fact, plan to talk with them. They are here to 
help you feel more comfortable with the your new life here. You 
will be surprise how effective five minutes of conversation with 
one of them will be."

John looked around the room at all of the students gathered there. 
Some young men had been sporting erections for over an hour. 
They were clearly in pain. He wondered how long it be take before 
some of them to went off to quietly relieve themselves. He stated, 
"I suggest that many of you take the opportunity that the long food 
line represents to find a place where you are comfortable to relieve 
yourself. Many of you look very uncomfortable. You might ask 
one of your students to help you, but remember that no means no. 
Ladies, you might consider offering to help some of the men out 
with their problems."

It was funny watching the people look around, none of them 
wanting to be the first to leave. He decided to move things along, 
"You are free to eat or do anything you want. The buffet will be 
here for two hours. Have fun."

The students slowly moved towards the food. Several students 
discretely left the area, heading for the bathrooms. John knew they 
would be shocked by the lack of privacy they provided. There was 
only one bathroom to serve both men and women. The toilets were 
separated by a half wall that tended to leave one feeling exposed. 
He expected several more students to request to leave before the 
night was over.


