Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The philosophy professor was out sick for many consecutive weeks, and so Phaedrus began focusing on his work at Navy Pier. His health and sanity are waning, but he is just as focused as ever on his Quality thesis. Attending class one day, he realizes that the class was being taught by none other than the Chairman. Phaedrus realized from the looks he received from other students that this class was meant to destroy his arguments in a public space and ridicule him. The Chairman established a tense environment in the class, then asked the students to tell him about the topic they were discussing, Plato’s Phaedrus.  As the Chairman eventually takes over explaining, citing that no one—not even Phaedrus—had read the work thoroughly to comprehend it—Phaedrus noticed that he neglected a part and raised his hand, challenging the Chairman. Quoting text to back up his argument, the Chairman is forced to back down and his reputation with the class was shattered. The Chairman again tried to trap Phaedrus with a question, but was unsuccessful.

Though Phaedrus tried deferring to the Chairman during the next class, the Chairman snapped at him, and Phaedrus stopped attending the university altogether.