The Silence of the Wolff

I asked Wolff, my old acquaintance who was once Sir Wolff, to comment on the state of things at the Citadel of the Wyverns. All I received in response was silence.

It is a hard thing to realise that the work of all the old Order is slowly slipping away into a Slough of Despond. Yes, the numbers out of the Citadel are fantastic. But they belie a trend towards a truly low form of education.

What does the analysis say?

Essentially, a meticulously reasoned survey exposes the entire scam. There are five functional sections of the old academic division. Maybe six. Among the Lords Academic, perhaps three are fit to run the Citadel; the rest are either inexperienced or incompetent. Among the Lords Regnant, Lionheart himself has said there are none competent. When the Aasvogel departs, the whole will fall.

So now, Lionheart waits for a final accounting. The great question was, if things are so bad, wherefore the excellent results?

The game was given away by the High Priest of the Temples of Instruction. He and his predecessors have pointed out, through interesting statistics, that the overall ability of Atlantean students to produce results is excellent. In fact, given the cohort that the Citadel has been absorbing, it is NO surprise at all that these results have been achieved. Statistical logic almost compels it.

It is revealing that the areas propping up the performance are in Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics (all of which are preselected for by national examinations); and Economics and Business & Management, both untainted by the rot that has infiltrated the Citadel, since they never had roots in the squalid regime of recent years. It is also revealing as to where indiscretions and lack of integrity have led to system-rigging and other improprieties — especially in the hotly-disputed area of whatever tongues one's mother speaks.

But what about the bonuses that accrue to those who do well in lengthy dissertations and epistemological reasoning? The answer is, if the former is greatly aided by constant rewriting under supervision, and the latter (while not excelling) produces enough B-grades, then a fair number of students will earn two or three bonus points — the majority come from A+B, not A+A.

And all this was said, by saying nothing, by the Wolff. What amazing sources he has! And what glorious detail? What else are the Lords Regnant of the Citadel concealing from the outside world? We wait with bated breath.