In the spacious tiered classroom, the sound of the suited professor's dress shoes striking the floor was crystal clear. His lecture was clearly enunciated and evenly paced, and apart from the scratch of note-taking pens, there was almost no other sound behind the desks.
Most of the students seated there wore Federal Bureau of Investigation training uniforms: blue shirts with black ties, trainee IDs hanging from their chests. Most had short haircuts, sturdy builds, and focused expressions, looking alert and full of energy.
Most of the students in the front rows sat upright, their backs not touching their chair backs, hands braced on their desks as they looked intently at the screen behind Schiller.
Some of the students in the back rows lowered their heads to copy notes, while others discussed the case with the people beside them in voices so low they were nearly inaudible.
The young man seated at the far right of the front row had dazzling blond hair. When the lecture paused for a moment, he set down his pen, stood, and walked to the podium. After whispering a few words to the professor, he faced the students, raised One Hand, and said:
"Use me as the dividing line. The right side is the affirmative, and the left side is the negative. Every three rows will form a group and share one speaker slot."
"Now pass the materials I gave you to the back. You will have half an hour to read them and half an hour for group discussion. In one hour, you will speak in turn from right to left. This will be a free debate, with no time limit for speeches, but different groups on the same side may not argue from exactly the same angle..."
"You may call me Allen. I will