Jason and Anne had been friends since grade school, so each of them was delighted when they learned that the other had been accepted into Megastudent University. Mega U. was situated in a small city several hundred miles from their home town, and although it had a reputation for academic excellence, some of their older friends had returned from their freshman year mere with scary tales about how cold and impersonal the large campus could be for shy students. So that summer, as they prepared to leave their homes and friends, Jason and Anne made a pact that they would keep in touch and spend time together on campus.

This proved to be something of a challenge. Anne enrolled in a program consisting mostly of physical science and mathematics courses, while Jason was primarily interested in the social sciences. This meant that they seldom saw each other in class, and their heavy workloads made it difficult to find a lot of spare time outside of class. However, two circumstances kept them in touch; they were enrolled in the same course in introductory geography, and every Friday afternoon at 3:30 PM they would meet in Thirsty's, the campus hangout, to unwind from the week and catch up on news. They gossiped about their friends, complained about their professors, and talked about the ideas they were encountering in their courses. One favorite topic of conversation was their different outlooks on the power of science, and scientific modes of analysis, to explain the world around them.