"that's all for today," katherine's sociology professor said, stepping back over to his desk. the students in the room began to gather their belongings, and as they were all about to leave the room, the professor spoke up again, adding one last statement. "oh, and if any of you are interested, i'll be hosting a seminar here tonight at seven on the ethics surrounding fervoria and its treatments."

that caught katherine's interest. she assumed that the seminar would be a good source of information for her research paper. the topic was also of great interest to her, and she was genuinely curious as to what would be discussed.

as she left the classroom, she scrolled through her schedule on her phone, ensuring she was available at the time of the seminar. then, she proceeded down the hallway, lowering her phone and shifting her bag on her shoulder as she headed in the direction of the library to study and focus on her work.

also leaving the classroom was davey jacobs, heading in the opposite direction. his plan was to stop by the apartment of a few friends of his, which was what he normally did after his classes.

his walk was short, seeing as the apartment was only a few blocks away from the campus. upon his arrival, he knocked twice at the door, and then welcomed himself in. he knew he would just hear one of the boys tell him to walk in anyways.

jack was sprawled on the couch, staring at the outdated tv across from him and only looking away when he heard davey walk in. "well well, if it ain't dave."

"how's it going, jack?" the boy asked, slightly pushing the other's legs out of the way so he could also sit on the couch.

"i'm bored outta my mind," jack groaned, sitting up and slouching against the back of the couch. "in case ya haven't noticed, race and crutch ain't here. beats me where they's at."

"i was wondering why it was so quiet," davey responded amusedly, setting his bag at his feet. "none of the others came to hang out?"

"pfft," jack breathed, "does it look like it?"

davey chuckled softly. "have you done anything productive or have you just been sitting here the whole day?"

"why you wanna know?" jack scoffed in response.

davey chuckled again. "come on, jack. can't you just do something productive with your free time? like clean the apartment?"

"i'd say it's pretty clean in here!" jack expressed. "might be dusty, but it ain't dirty."

"mhm," davey hummed in response. "well keep letting the dust pile up and that'll change." jack grunted in response, and davey continued. "tell you what. there's a seminar at seven tonight at the college. i was planning on going, and i just might drag you along."

"me? at a lecture?" jack scoffed amusedly. "yeah, that ain't happenin'."

"come on, jack. you might find it interesting."

"oh yeah?" jack pressed. "what's it about?"

"the ethics surrounding fervoria," davey responded, leaning his elbows onto his knees.

"why the hell you think i'd find that interestin'?"

"it could justify your opinions on it," davey answered. "as ridiculous as i find them, you might find reasons to support what you believe in."

jack considered it for a moment, then rose from the couch and slipped his hands in pockets. "i'll think about it," was all he said as he turned away and walked into the kitchen.

but there wasn't much thinking for jack to do, for davey ended up dragging him along anyways.

katherine had arrived about fifteen minutes early, wanting a good seat close to the front of the lecture hall so she would be able to be more active in the presentation. she had plenty of questions on her mind, and she was determined to have them answered.

when davey and jack arrived about five minutes before the seminar, jack insisted on sitting at the back of the room. the last thing he needed was for someone to see him there.

eventually, there was a considerable amount of people in the room, and the moment the clock struck seven, the sociology professor stood from his desk and stepped to the front of the room.

"good evening everyone, and thank you for coming out to hear about the ethics surrounding fervoria and its treatments. i'm sure you are all well aware of the disease and it's symptoms, but tonight i want to go more in depth on the topic. i encourage all of you to speak up and ask any questions or add to the discussion. i want all of you to leave here having learned something that you've been curious about."

the professor started his presentation. "i want to start off by discussing some of the criticism towards fervoria's treatments. one of the most popular of these criticisms is the opinion that love is natural. these critics believe that if humans were born with the capacity to love, it is only natural that we use this ability.

"furthermore, others believe that treatments such as the vaccine or the love moderation device can cause more harm than good by tampering with other emotions. if these treatments prove to be faulty and prohibit a person from experiencing essential emotions such as fear or joy, it could lead to serious issues in life. has anyone heard any other criticisms?"

one girl named hannah sitting near katherine raised her hand, and after being called upon spoke up with, "i've heard some people say that the vaccinations should be a choice. making them required causes more issues, especially for people who can't afford it and are afraid of becoming afflicted."

"a valid opinion," the professor acknowledged. "that is another thing that should be considered. not everyone is financially capable of paying for the vaccination. if the government was to make the vaccination optional, however, would it lead to riots? would people become angry that the leaders of the nation are allowing others to experience these dangerous emotions? it's all a matter of opinion, and that's where research allows us to have scientific evidence."

the seminar continued into a discussion on research, and for the most part, jack wasn't paying attention. the conversation continued for what felt like hours to him, and he was just beginning to doze off when the professor said something that caught his attention.

"it's estimated that between 6-7% of the nation is currently unvaccinated. new york city, however, is above the nation's average at an estimated 14%. can anyone tell me how this might impact others that are vaccinated?"

katherine raised her hand to answer, and the professor nodded in her direction and called on her. "well," she began, "even though the disease itself isn't contagious, opinions are. if vulnerable minds are influenced, it could lead to an even higher rate. eventually, if a large number of people are convinced, it could lead to riots against the treatments."

"very true," the professor said. "and do you perhaps know of a counterargument that could be used against this?"

katherine thought for a moment, considering the question and its many possible answers. "some might say that people are entitled to have opinions and to share them. it's a natural right and a part of freedom of speech. people should be in control of their own minds."

although he could only see the back of her head, jack looked down at katherine and took in her appearance. everything about her was intriguing to him, from her response to the way she was copying everything the professor was saying. he could tell the topic interested her, and that interested him.

"hey," jack said quietly, nudging davey with his elbow. "who's that girl down there?" he dipped his head in her direction, and davey turned to see who he was hinting towards.

"oh, katherine? she's a freshman. pretty smart, too," davey answered in a whisper.

"does she... always talk like that?"

"talk like what?"

jack searched for the right way to say what he was thinking. "so... open?"

davey shrugged. "i don't know. i guess so. whenever we have discussions in sociology, she always seems to look at things from both sides."

jack hummed in response, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms at his chest. he returned to not paying attention to the seminar and instead turned his attention to katherine, listening in to her responses and questions. with every statement she made, jack felt himself growing more and more intrigued.

when the seminar ended, jack looked back over at her once again, watching as she turned around. he got a glimpse of her face, but only for a second. davey was rising as well, blocking his view. "well, what'd you think?" davey asked. "interesting, right?"

"mhm, yeah," jack responded, not even hearing the question.

"i think a lot of good points were brought up," davey continued. "especially when we started talking about the lmd and how some find it controversial."

"yup," jack said in response, his eyes once again finding katherine as she exited the classroom.

"well, i'm gonna head to the library to get some work done," davey said with a heavy exhale, starting towards the exit with jack following behind him "i'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"alright. see ya later, dave."

the moment they parted ways, jack looked over to the other side of the hall, catching a glimpse of katherine starting down the staircase. he looked over his shoulder at davey who was walking in the opposite direction before looking back over in katherine's direction. he seemed to contemplate if what he was thinking was worth it, before ultimately deciding why not?

he started after her, wanting to at least get to know her personally.

~•~•~•~

the love moderation device is a minuscule device that is attached to the temporal lobe.

upon receiving the lmd, the device is connected to a dime-sized metal tab that is placed on the receiver's temple. in the center of the tab is a light.

if the light shines blue, then the mind is not showing symptoms of fervoria.

if the light shines red, then the device is fighting back fervoric emotions.