New Tank

Angela and I stepped off the tram and made our way to the Deep Creatures shop. The air hadn’t been recycled lately, so there was the foul stench that filled our nostrils on the way here.

“I think they’ve done some remodeling. I hope they have a wider selection this time.”

I glanced into my notebook and loaded up DC’s inventory and scanned it.

“Tube worms, tailor crab, vampire octopus, and a new breed of angler.”

I refreshed the page and more creatures were added.

“I guess they’re updating as we speak.”

Angela had already gone through the door, and beckoned me to follow.

Thirty years ago, my father came to this same store, right when they started business. The public release of pressurized tanks had changed the fish market forever. He bought massive tanks that would fit inside our basement and installed only black lighting. Deep-sea fish are incredibly unattractive and creepy. Whenever I’d go down into the basement it was as if I had taken an expressway to the deep. The tank glowed with bioluminescent lights and every so often a maw of teeth would approach the glass and scare the hell out of me.

Today, Angela, my stepsister and biologist, discovered the tank and was immediately upset that it wasn’t being used.

“This could hold a giant squid!” she’d say. And go on and on about what other monstrosity could be held in there. The beauty I found in goldfish and catfish, she saw as feeder fish, and nothing more.

“Come in! Come in!” she hollered to me, “They have Goblin shark!”

I stepped in and felt the same way I did 30 years ago. Surrounded by darkness, pulsing lights, and teeth of the creatures from the deep.

Smug Fisherman of Cove Sea

The fisherman, Slug, set off in his boat alone. He listened to the radio tunes of the nearest town and smoked from his pipe. Funny colors spewed from his mouth and pipe. They were the distinct colors of euphoria and were said to be good luck to the finding of fish. Slug had prepared for a two-day trip out on Cove Sea. His boat held various fishing equipment, but the most it held was his pipe smoke. Out on the sea, the man relaxed on the deck and listened to the waves hit against the bow. Other fisherman passing by mistakenly thought that Slug was lost at sea. They often interrupted him in his content state.

“This is Golian season friend! It is not safe to be out in a boat your size!”

Slug would simply giggle to himself and casually wave away the intruders. His mind was set on catching the largest fish out in the sea. The fact that it was Golian season made it all the more exciting, for the pipe smoke was said to keep them at bay. He continued floating about Cove Sea. Every so often he looked over the edge of the boat to see if fish had begun to investigate his presence. Whenever a glitter of scales would catch his eye, he would take another hit from his pipe and enjoy the smug feeling it brought to him. This time, he slept a good fifteen minutes.
He was awakened by the sound of air rushing past water. Still in his smug state, the man looked to where the sound originated from and watched. Many pods of dolphins were racing past his boat. They were in a hurry. Slug laughed to himself again and stood.

“You think you’re the only one out here looking for some fish!” He relit his pipe and felt the smugness return to his head before continuing.

“Well, there are many fish in the sea. Make sure the Golian don’t find you first.” He smiled at the
now distant splashes, the colorful smoke seeping through his teeth.

When night came, he picked up his fishing pole and stood in the middle of the ship. He prepared the bait, fixed the line with proper lures and weights. He spat into the sea and tossed his line out. The water was very deep. He blew smoke onto the line as it sank toward the bottom. Soon, the line had become perpendicular to the position of the boat. He anchored the pole and once again began to smoke from his pipe. Feeling at the top of the world. When he looked down, he noticed that the pole was slightly bending. Something was on the hook! He began to reel up his prize. The normal resistance of a fighting fish had now become an easy reel up. This confused Slug. He looked over the edge and noticed a strange glow coming from deep below. The glow was growing in brightness and size.

“Oh dear.” Was the only thing he could manage to say.

It was said that the Golian were the gods of Cove Sea. They were massive fish that lived in the deepest waters and only rose to the surface to feed. Witnesses claim that they glow and will eat anything smaller than themselves, which was mostly everything. Slug’s boat must’ve looked appetizing because the glow and size were still growing. Before he could escape, his boat was lit in a sort of spotlight. The spotlight quickly became a maw of teeth that slammed around Slug and his boat. The smoke had given the man a delectable taste, so the glow’s presence loomed around a little more, hoping for more smug fishermen, before dying down in intensity and being swallowed back by the waters of Cove Sea.

Rewrite a section from a book

The following is an rewrite for a section of a book. this was an assignment for class. The book is David Bischoff's STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION: GROUNDED. This is a pocket books publication, number 25 in the series.

The door slowly gave under the pressure from outside. Creases began to appear along its seams. At the sound of the doors groan, the signal of a failing barricade, Data took a step back. The muk had detected a small opening in the crease and began to pull itself through. The groan became a scream, as the doors metal was slowly pulled apart by the persistent viscous being. Data quickly scanned the room; with no other plans of escape he adjusted his phaser for combat and decided to hold his ground. The muk had made it into the room but stopped short of where Data stood. It began folding in on itself, creating complex chains and utilizing particles it had come across. Data scanned the muk and noticed that it had created a cavity of air, and at one end were two hardened sections. The muk rose and collapsed in on itself, forcing the air through the sections. In this way, the muk spoke to him.

“I have pierced your computers I have a mode of communication now if I like you are Data.”

The words came out monotone, following no sense of speech pattern, or proper enunciation, but

Data understood it otherwise. The being was formidable, and it was learning. Quickly.
At this, the muk grew into a humanoid shape, mimicking Data’s combat stance.

“Rights? I grow. I become. That is my right, and that is my way. I hunger I devour. This vessel…”

It turned its ‘head’ in a full circle, slightly distorting the sound of its voice.

“is mine. All these vessels I sense about me… The Great Metal Planet. They shall be mine as well. You are good life too. You will help me destroy the bad life.”

ORIGINAL
The door burst open.
Data stepped back. The stuff poured in like thick, dark molasses clotted with dirt and quartz. Its skin shone in the light.
It poured in, collecting into a pile before Data smelling of minerals. He adjusted his phaser and aimed.
There were no other exits from this room. He would have to make a stand here.
However, instead of roiling toward him, the clay stopped. Slowly it drew into itself, lifting up from the ground and transforming into a humanoid shape. It looked like an animated statue.
It began to speak, though guttural and monotone fashion.

“I… have… pierced your computers. I have a mode of communication now if I like you are Data…”

“That is correct. And do you have a name?”

“I am good life. I sense that you are partly good life as well…”

“I am principally inorganic in nature, if that is what you mean.”

“You seek to destroy me. Why?”

“I seek to neutralize you. You have threatened my ship. However, now that communication has been established, perhaps an understanding can be reached. The Federation I represent has a high regard for life in all its varieties.”

“I am free… I am…unfettered. The universe stands before me and my reflections-ours. Good life shall triumph and grow and nurture the Holiness. Bad life shall be extinguished. This is Truth and Wholeness. Purity shall pervade the Cosmos.”

“I do not quite understand what you’re saying, but let me explain to you that the Federation recognizes your rights as a living being.”
“Rights? I grow. I become. That is my right, and that is my way. I hunger I devour. This vessel…is mine. All these vessels I sense about me… The Great Metal Planet. They shall be mine as well. You are good life too. You will help me destroy the bad life.”

REASON FOR CHANGE
First of all, I like star trek and all that science fiction stuff very much. But when things aren’t very well explained, or when a few crucial details are amiss, the story just seems to appear as another “contract filler”. A book written just because the company needs a new story and the author, no disrespect intended, rushed his way through it. I decided to be more visual and give more explanation to this specific section. I know the original way it was written leaves room for imagination, to move the story along, but I think it is important to be descriptive when introducing a character.

Gone Fishin'

My fancy line had been out in this big ocean of opportunity for over an hour now. I can see the candidates down there, circling, tasting, and teasing. At the opposite end was a younger fellow with a simple toss and reel, and he was having no trouble getting the candidates to get hooked on to his offers. I buy the best lures money can buy, and this guy gets them all with pieces, not even whole but pieces, of worm. Worms? This just doesn’t make sense to me. Fish hunt by smell, taste and sight. They like things that reflect light, because it is similar to how light bounces off them. Yes, fish eat fish. They smell and taste just the same as I do, which is why I spray my lures with this green stuff. When I drop my lure down there, it should be like a noisy dinner bell to them. That’s what the guy behind the counter swears to me anyway. How the hell does a worm get into water anyway? It lives underground! And how would a fish know that is it edible? I decided to make my way to the opposite end of this body of unrelenting fish and ask the young man a question.
“Why do you use worms?” I’d say.
“Because fish eat ‘em.” He’d say.
“Well, what about this stuff?” I’d show him my lures.
“That’s too heavy and flashy.” He’d compare his to mine. His lure was, well, not a lure, simply a hook, with some lead weights and the remnants of a worm. I decided to cut my line and adopt his method of fishing. Three minutes into the new form, I caught a hefty bass with two other hooks in his jaw. The younger man laughed to himself in honest surprise and slapped my shoulder blades.
“I’ve been tryin’ to catch this beast for about a week now, see my hook in ‘em?”
Though I should’ve felt excitement and an overwhelming sense of pride, I was angered by this cath. It didn’t feel like my own catch. I took the hooks out, and put the fish in the man’s bucket.
“Hey, he is yours you know! Take him!” he sat up to switch the fish into my own bucket.
“If you give him to me, I’ll just throw him back.”
The boy had the fish out and stared at me through me sunglasses.
“Alright” he said, “Then throw him back, I got to get my things packed up. You take care now.”
I put the fish in my bucket and watched the boy leave, carrying a basket full of fish and sporting a good tan. I thought about throwing the fish back, but not without a little talk.
“Why don’t you eat my lures instead of his?” I kicked the bucket. The startled fish slammed into the sides and then slowed, aware of no enemies within it’s domain.
I continued the kicking and the question for a good twenty minutes. I could see it was growing tired.
“You hungry?” I picked up the bait spray and dumped the whole contents of it into the water. The fish didn’t react much.
Dusk was approaching. I decided to let the fish go.
I picked up the bucket and dumped everything into the water and watched the fish slowly orient itself. I thought it was dead for a moment. Then, I noticed other fish, smaller fish, had crowded around it. They looked like a welcoming party. I didn’t know I was in for such a surprise. The little fish darted toward the big fish became consuming it. The water splashed about with fish fighting over fish. The battle lasted well into night, and I had actually pulled out my torch to watch it all. Nothing seemed to be left of the big guy. I made my way home and thought about that day ever since. It was the best fishing trip I ever had.

How to make easy money, in theory.

Making money just demands a lot of effort on your part. An easy and virtually inexpensive way to do this is to find out what people want to read. Do a keyword search, set up a blog, write down your 2 cents, create an adsense account, and tend to the site as often as you can. When you generate enough attention to your site, you will find yourself making dough just off of sharing your opinion. it'll be slow at first, but everyone eventually finds a taste for something. ever notice how when you turn on the TV you will check a specific channel? Try to apply it to blog. If interesting enough (again refers to effort), your blog alone could generate the kind of attention you want. money in pcoket, ready to go. :)
oh, good way to get that attention initially is to use really smart and intuitive keywords on your blog. good luck! enjoy.

Sleeping Beauty (revised+complete)

They tried their best to keep me comfortable. The doctors I mean. My wife was there. So was Mother. Andrew, my son, held my hand, but that sensation too came to pass. I knew I was dying. Surrounded by family, and all I could think about was when I’d wake up again.
The last thing I remember is the light. The light was so bright, and warm. I was sure it would be the last thing anybody would see. I remember how I eyes refused to close, no matter how much I willed them to. It was as if I was retreating further and further into my own body, losing control of all functions. Feeling no pain, no cold, just grateful warmth around me.
23 months ago, Marie, my wife, suggested I get a check up. I was feeling a little bit under the weather. So I reluctantly agreed. They took my blood and ran it through a fancy machine, and out of this fancy machine came an un-fancy result.
Cancer.
They gave me 7 months…
Marie had us try everything. Experimental treatment. Chemo. Even black magic. In the end I ended up losing 90 pounds, all of my hair, my job, my ability to walk on my own, and all hope. I knew I was dying.
Marie refused to give up though. Before my hearing had abandoned me on that bed, I heard her agreeing to something. Signing something, whimpering and saying, “All I want is for him to live… no matter what. No matter when.”
That’s when she looked over me and whispered into my ear. She told me how I would wake up and everything would be better.
Slowly, she backed away, and that’s when I lost it. I couldn’t hear anything in the room. I looked around frantically and realized how hard it became to breathe. The numbness started in my legs and gradually worked its way up to my face. I didn’t want to say anything. I knew there would be no point. No point in delaying the inevitable. I felt my body expel the last bit of air from my diseased form. That’s when I began to focus on the light. That blinding hospital lamp. Convincing myself that that was the famed light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I was dead.
At least I thought I was. Marie was right. I woke up. Unfortunately she was also wrong, everything was not better.
My name is Vincent Wohl. Born in Virginia 1994. Died in Michigan 2041. Resuscitated in United Nations capital No. 52 formerly known as California 4623.
I am known as “Sleeping Beauty”.
I came into the world slowly. The first thing I remember was the bright light. The light ebbed away to reveal a field of sunflowers. In all directions, just endless fields of sunflowers, and a sky so blue it was as if a painter entered my reality and decided to do some decorating. I was standing. At my feet was a pond and inside the pond was Marie. She was so beautiful. She levitated above the water, lying down on air. Breathing calmly.
I decided to make my way over to her. I took a step and found that the same air holding Marie held me as well. I didn’t know any better really. I thought I was in heaven. And for the sake of my sanity, I let myself believe that.
When I was close enough to her, I laid myself down next to her. She was in nearly transparent sleepwear. Her hair flowed in the air, suspended by an unseen force. Her head looked like an anemone. I reached out to touch her, to see if she was really there. She was. Her skin was smooth, clean, and warm. Whatever force was flowing through her began to make its way through my fingertips and up into my chest. It felt alive. I could feel it traveling through my system, intricately working itself into all parts of me. That’s when I felt myself take a breath. My chest expanded to three times its normal size, and it held for the longest time. My sigh was matched by Marie’s exhale. She was awake. She sat up to hug me.
That’s when things changed. After Marie hugged me, she pulled back and told me how proud she was of me. She told me to live my life. Told me all the things you’d expect to hear before a farewell. I knew I would never see her again. She stood and turned. Before I had any say, she dove into the pond. It was strange… Soon as she was submerged, the pond became an ocean. The ocean glowed with the same force that occupied my body.
The sky started to turn into night, and I had a strong urge to dive in after her. The uplifting air slowly dissipated, and I was lowered into the water. Like a lobster into boiling water, I tried to fight my way out. That’s when I heard the applause. My ears resonated with the noise. Skin slapping against skin. It was such a foreign sound. I felt cool and comfortable. I opened my eyes. They didn’t take everything in immediately. Yellow petals, multiple suns, and blue outlines. I thought I was in the field again. I heard warbled voices, and saw floating shapes. I thought I was sucked into purgatory or something.
“Vincent Wohl? Can you hear me?”
I turned my head and uttered Marie’s name.
Again, the foreign noise paddled my eardrums, louder this time. I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I felt fantastic. There wasn’t the throbbing pain of diseased lungs, no more headaches, not even gas. The room I was in was clean, crisp, and cool. I looked down at myself. I looked like I had been going to the gym. My torso was beautifully toned. My hair was cut short, my nails were done, even my toes felt like they had received some treatment. I was beginning to wonder how this all came to be when a man walked into the room. As soon as he made eye contact with me, he shook with glee. A massive smile spread across his face.
“You’re awake. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sir, I’ve been watching your resuscitation period from the moment you were found in that underground lab.”
I gave him a quizzical look. His accent was foreign, from what I could tell. He had brown skin and short black hair. He wore strange black arm gloves that worked into a one-piece suit. He didn’t look like any nurse I’ve seen. I realized I was staring at him, so I spoke.
“Where am I?”
The words came out of a sore throat. It felt as if I hadn’t spoken in a long time. Using my vocal chords again felt like trying to ride a new bike.
Soon as the words came out, he was in awe. Before he could answer me, he rushed out of the room and was gone.
I felt very uneasy. Everything about the room I was in looked foreign, yet somehow familiar. I sat up. All the equipment I was hooked up to was gone. Instead there was what looked like a monitor built into the wall next to me. It glowed with readings. I realized the readings were synonymous with my own life signs. When I breathed in, I saw a section of what looked like a heart speed up slightly. I didn’t see any electrodes on my body.
“It’s a Life-Monitor. State of the art health surveillance system created just for you.”
I turned around and found myself staring at a woman. She looked like a doctor. She had all kinds of gadgets hanging around her neck and waistline. She looked more like a miner, minus the headlamp. Her eyes met mine briefly, and then moved behind me.
“Your immune system is very different from ours”, she lowered her voice suddenly “quite inferior really, so we have to watch you very carefully.”
She went on with the details of my resurrection. She referred to herself as the “Prince” and how I was the first one to be brought back. Her name was Dr. Priscilla Patel. A leading doctor in the UNC 52.
When she was done explaining, I could only ask one question.
“Why?”
She looked puzzled and waved her hand in front of her. Her glove emitted lights and I noticed the hologram she was projecting was my medical file, and the health plans that were attached to it. One of them stood out to me, it was a word I only heard or read about in science fiction. Cryogenics. The sudden realization hit me hard, harder than I ever suspected.
“It… it worked?”
I sat on the floor of the room. She sat in front of me. Attempting to establish eye contact, she told me about the wars that took place after my passing. She told me how the UN gradually took control over the world. How entertainment has grown to a level previously unanticipated. In the ruins of Michigan State, archeologists found the remains of the facility that practiced cryogenics. The whole excavation was being covered by Discovery channel and when my tank was discovered untouched, they sent in a team of the world’s best doctors and anthropologists to bring me back. I took a second look at my body.
“Does this mean I am cured?”
She smiled. Broadly.
“When we successfully restored your body to normal temperatures, you were kept in a medicated coma for a few weeks while we enhanced your physique and replaced those organs that were cancerous. Even though you were in a suspended animation, the cancer slept with you.”
She waved her hand again. A video of the surgery played itself out between her and I.
“Here is where we were able to replace your lungs. Can you see it?”
She twisted her fingers and the video shot forward a few hours.
“This is where we began treating your marrow. We wanted you to ‘catch up’ as much as possible.”
I leaned to the side of the video to look at her.
“Catch up?”
She stood and ushered me to the opposite end of the room. We walked past a set of doors and a pool stretched out ahead of us. I felt like I was back in the fields with Marie.
“This is where we conduct our first experiment.”
Patel pointed to the pool.
“Jump in, go for a swim. Your new muscles will need to be exercised so they can remain where they are now. They’re very similar to human tissue. While you swim, I’ll go take care of business.”
“But… wait. What am I doing here again?”
Patel came close and leered at me. I blushed.
“You look good for being over a thousand years old. Enjoy it for a little bit.” She turned to leave but quickly turned around.
“As a little favor for me, try holding your breath for as long as you can. I want to see how long the new hemoglobin lasts under strenuous exercise.”
With that, she went through the doors. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t believe the science fiction touch on everything. Was this really happening? I looked at the pool and thought about my first dream since dying. Was I still dreaming? I brought up my hands and for the first time I wondered what else they had changed. I walked to the edge of the pool and took a look at my reflection in the water. There I was. I looked younger. Leaner. I stripped off my clothes and dove in.
The water was heated and I could almost get a sense of how vast the pool was. I swam around for a few minutes. My body didn’t seem to tire at all. I remembered what Patel asked me to do. I looked down to get a sense how deep the pool was, I couldn’t see the bottom. So, I took a deep breath and I dove.
I went down at a slow speed. My ears started to pop. I kept going. My diaphragm buckled slightly, but I didn’t feel the urge to get some air. I stopped short of the bottom and sat there, staring up at the surface. I sat there for so long that I started daydreaming about being a fish. I was sure this was a dream. Swimming along the bottom of the pool for a long time, I moved slowly and majestically. Pretending to be a whale, I went for the darker side of the pool, the deeper side. The light was dimmer down here. I still didn’t need a breath. I pretended to hunt for giant squid and other whale treats of the deep. I smiled at the freedom my new body allowed me. I then started thinking about my family.
It had been hundreds of years. I knew they were gone… I didn’t know how to react. Do I cry? How could I start over? Where could I possibly go? If there was anyone who was truly lonely and disconnected, it was me. I felt like thawed aged meat. Was it worth it for me to even go to the surface?
The sudden thought of being alone made me sick, sicker than cancer, sicker than dying, sicker than sick itself. I looked around and wondered if Marie was down here with me. I started to swim again, this time, with my eyes closed. I imagined Marie being in front of me, letting me chase her around the bottom. She turned and smiled. This was a dream. This was where I wanted to be. I blew out the air that slept in my chest and took in the water. I didn’t feel any different. I just got really tired, incredibly sleepy. Marie made a sympathetic gesture and turned back to me. I gave up chasing her and decided to lie down on the bottom. I looked up toward the surface and saw the dim ceiling light. Marie came from the bottom of my view, smiling big. I smirked and brought her close to me. She kissed me, and we laid there until we both fell asleep.

Why I watch Dark Knight a lot.

I've always been intrigued by the super hero ego. How could a person make a life long commitment to saving the lives of other people? What would push someone to do such a thing? Superman is Kryptonian, but poses as human to fit in with the rest of the people he feels the need to protect. Bruce Wayne not only went through a traumatic experience, losing his parents to a mugging, but he is also set for life! I mean, what better way to feel productive in society? You have lots of money, unlimited amount it would seem, and nothing but time to figure out what to do with it. Bruce would never have to call in sick because he doesn't really have a job. All he has is an almost palpable need for immediate justice to those who need it. Let's say you are rich and straight as an arrow. You believe in justice but have the resources to become an iconized vigilante. Would you do it? Why risk your own neck when you could maybe hire someone to do it for you? Cause you would seem like the exact opposite of say, a mob boss? Some of the decisions these super heroes make are a little strange. For example, Why didn't Peter Parker join a sports team? He has the potential to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, but chose a life of crime fighting and being dirt poor. Most of hese guys have a lot in common. One; a traumatic experience shaped them. Two; An incorruptible personality (nobody ever goes "bad"). Three; The will to continue, no matter what, even if it doesn't directly affect them. and Four; they're noble and usually quite modest about their new found "Job".
It would seem this could go both ways... you have super villains and anti-heroes.
The joker, it appears, has an extremely troubled past. a twisted personality. the will to cause chaos. a comfortable sense of homocide. It is the exact opposite of the heroes listed above, but in a way. it is the exact same. the joker is brilliant, but sick. He isn't neccessarily rich, but appears to have unlimited resources in the form of corruption, chaos, murder, and the mutual fellows like him. All of it is rich material for the great stories we all love.