(This was originally my closing segment, but I felt it was strong enough to stand as a footnote of its own.)
Memoirs of Babyface is not just a historical romp through varied styles of communication, but also one of squandered potential and lost opportunities. There are numerous instances of events inferred through not just what is said, but also through what’s not said.
The varied failed teaching methods mentioned throughout this narrative offers a view through a window that is mainly lost. Since the majority of historical records regarding teachings comes from the educators who jotted down their notes for posterity, their contribution outweigh those of their students who failed to convey their frustrations in being unable to voice their lack of understanding of the subject material. This was in no small part due to the alien language of ONEs being untranslatable via conventional means. The only alternative narrative giving meaning that could tell us their side of the story were those who were never given the opportunity to do so.
On the rare occasion when there were underground human schools who educated students of their own, great pains were taken to ensure that they wouldn’t be found out by ONEs who wouldn’t have approved of their methods without permission. The Founder of one such school was somehow able to teach students how to communicate with ONEs with great success.
And when a rival school popped up with a similar degree of success, the Founder sued for copyright infringement. However, when it came to proving these allegations in court, they ran into difficulties. The Founder had sworn all students and staff to absolute secrecy, and the rival school didn’t want to reveal their discovery out of fear of competing copycats.
Ultimately, the court sided with the one with higher social standing who’d been around longer. It was never proven outright, but there were suspicions of large donations involved. The Founder’s charming personality contrasted with the rival school’s burrish attitude also might’ve had something to do with it. Under pressure, the rival school was forced to close down, not even being able to showcase alternate forms of teaching. And when the Founder died years later, no successors were able to copy the teaching method used, as it was never written down.
So the fact that any record of teaching methods regarding ONEs exists is a small miracle in itself.
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