The Teacher

This device is a special-purpose AI designed to instruct children in
various psionic skills.

Physically, the Teacher is a metal box, approximately 10" wide and long,
and 2" tall.  When closed, there is no apparent seam or hinging to indicate
that it can be opened, except for two small semicircular indentations along
one side.  Pressing against the straight "walls" of these with one's
fingernails (or appropriate tools) will unlatch the box.  The top half
opens up to a 60! angle, and a flat gray screen tips up at the back,
latching to the front of the lid.  The box can be closed by pressing
lightly against the top of the screen, which will unlatch and fold down as
the lid closes.

The Teacher uses a type B PK-cell which powers it for 5000 hours per
recharge.

While open, the Teacher will note the presence of any sentient organism
within 1 yd., and which is in the 60! arc in front of it.  It will then
execute a Telerecieve and Telesend on the "student" and attempt to teach
him psionic skills (it can only "tune" to one person at a time).  As an
instructional aid, its screen also presents visual information which is
keyed to the skill being taught.  This display appears to be made up of
randomly-changing colored blobs with no intrinsic meaning to anyone other
than the student.

In order to be instructed by the Teacher, the student must first learn how
to attune his mind to it.  The student rolls vs. IQ once per minute while
watching the device.  On a critical success, he learns the "trick", and is
thereafter able to open his mind to its instruction at will.  On an
ordinary success, nothing happens.  On any failure, he feels an unbearable
urge to stop watching the device, and will either shut it off, or leave the
vicinity.

Once the student has "broken through", the Teacher will instruct him in
Telereceive for 100 hours, then in Telesend for an equal time.  After this,
the student will be able to converse mentally with the device, enabling him
to decide the course of future instruction.  Note that the Teacher can
instruct several students in rotation, though only one can be attuned to it
at a specific instant.  Due to the nature of the interface between the
Teacher and its student, its effective skill for purposes of teaching is
two less than the student's IQ.  Therefore, it can only give useful
instruction in a given skill for 200 hours.

Note to GMs:  The skills which are in the Teacher's database are up to you,
but should be limited to those which, in your judgement, are appropriate to
be taught to 5-year-olds.