18 -Transcript - Mr. Jones - teacher - class on media and thinking

The following is a transcript from a high school critical thinking class lead by Mr.Jones. Jones uses a projector to show images, those image changes will be shown in brackets.

So let’s think for a moment about what you know. This is Egypt [google earth image of Egypt] . What is Egypt famous for?

Students: Pyramids ! The Sphinx!

Jones: Great! What is this? [Image of the great pyramid of Giza]

Student: The big Pyramid.

Jones: Right. What we call the Great Pyramid of Giza. This pyramid is almost 500 feet tall, it was constructed of 2.3 million stones, weighing up to 200 tons each. It is the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. Why was it built?

Students: there is some unintelligible sounds

Students: A pharaoh was buried there!

Jones: Interesting. Why do you say that there is a pharaoh there. [ Image of Tutankhamun bust]

Students: ……

Jones: Come on, where did we learn it?

Students: The History channel. I read about it online. In a text book.

Jones: Great. With a show of hands, how many of you have actually looked into it?

Students: no one raises their hand

Jones: OK. I’m sure ancient Egyptian Pharaohs aren't something you are interested in, but what if I told you that there is no evidence that a Pharaoh was buried in the great pyramid? In Fact the only reason we think it was a burial site is because inside the top most chamber is a big granite box. Now, old archeologist call this room the “King’s Chamber” which gives this argument an easy boost. [Jones shows an imagine of the Kings chamber] . So here is the Kings chamber. It’s a big empty room with a stone box in it.

30 or so seconds go by while the students talk amongst themselves

Jones: Let’s assume that someone was buried there. Who is it? Standard Archeology would tell you that Khufu was buried there. They say that he built it and it was his tomb. There are multiple problems with this, the first is that there is nothing inside the Great Pyramid as I mentioned before. So if there is nothing inside the pyramid how do they know? In the attic area of the Kings Chamber, there is a bunch of graffiti [changed picture to , one of those pieces of graffiti is the name “Khufu”. That’s it. There is no other major evidence that says it was a tomb or who was buried there. They also use this evidence to show when the pyramid was built and who built it.

Student: So who built the pyramid?

Jones: Excellent. This is the first thing I want you to think about. There are multiple theories some seem more far fetched than others but I want you to listen and think about it yourself. 1) Mainsteam scientist will say Khufu and the Egyptians built it ~4000 years ago. 2) Some Archaeologists believe that the Pyramid was build ~10-11000 years ago by an earlier society and simply occupied by the Egyptians. 3) Somehow a GOD built the pyramid and 4) Aliens built the pyramid.

Some students agree with one of the reasons, some laugh

Student: Which one do you believe Mr. Jones?

Jones: Well, that's not what this is really about, it's about getting you to critically think. It may not even be one of these options and there is something we are missing. But thats ok. Infact if you started with any of these ideas that is ok, as long as you understand that just because “everyone” believes something does not mean its true. Investigate yourself and listen to all the facts.[ Images changes to the three pyramids of Giza] . OK so we are not sure who built the pyramids but how they built it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Students: Aliens! God!

Jones: Well to be honest, we don’t know that either. There are multiple theories some claim that we used water elevators, some claim that they used huge teams of men to pull the blocks hundreds of miles.

[image goes black]

Jones: Alright folks, thats all the time we have for today. Tomorrow we will be talking about the news media.

17 - Magic City / FairyLand

Magic City - Fairyland

Unknowable melodies flowed from the trees and stones. Songs that linger on the tip fo the tongue but that can't be placed in the mind. Conjuring images of small children dancing in hidden highlands.

• Excerpt from local newspaper describing Drakes Fairyland

Ride the Enchanted Train to Fairyland

Travel through the maze-un-seen

Watch the amazing Professor Drake

Relive your childhood on our carousel menagerie

Eat the sweets you’ve only seen in your dreams

Come to Magic City - Fairlyland

Where imagination is the limit

Come with me boy. James followed the old man in the white suite. James knew he should be afraid but for some reason he was not. He was taken into the main building under a dome of colored glass. In the middle of the room was a podium, made of white marble.

What do you see boy? Said the man.

“I see nothing.” said James.

Are you sure boy? Look very carefully.

James took a step and looked closer at the podium. It was white and raised up about 3 feet from the ground. Nothing sat on top of it.

“There is nothing there.” said James.

“Interesting.” said the man. Did you know that there are three types of people in this… world. Those who can see the magic, the gears and wheels, the light. Those who are fooled by it, they see only what they are supposed to see, what they want to do, they want to be fooled and they want to know that they are fooled. And those who are not affected by magic, they see nothing and feel nothing and are affected by nothing.”

The man looked down on the boy and said “Are you a fool?”

16 - The Landing of Freetrader Paxil - Part 2

Freetrader Paxil made back into the brothel. Scarlett, the Madam of this place followed him and then told him to head left into her office. Paxil knew instinctively that this was her real office. It look lived in and nice, but not fancy. This is where the madam got her work done and was not concerned about what a John or whatever they called them her would think. She motioned for him to sit down in one of the chairs facing her desk as she walked behind it and sat down herself.

“So Mr Paxil..” she started to say and was immediately interrupted “My proper title is Freetrader Paxil...” She looked startled, Paxil say that people do not , in general, interrupt this woman. He was happy about the choice of establishment he made. “... However, since I want us to be friends, you can simply call me Rick. I would not want us to get off on the wrong foot, Ms. Scarlett”. Now she smiled “You can just call me Scarlett. Rick, I received the communication from your Starship two months ago explaining that you would be joining us and that  somehow, you are a part owner in this establishment. Till then I believed that I was the only owner and before we get into business further, I would like this cleared up.”

Paxil took a breath and waited a hair of time, just long enough to show that he was pleasant but not long enough to show that he was in any way intimidated. “My company BS221 funds multiple planetary start-ups and colonie missions. As part of that funding I maintain partial ownership of anything used with that money. Approximately five years ago, you Jodeen Beloch got a loan from a bank, that bank is owned completely by my company and therefore owns part of your company per the Freetraders banking and borrowing agreement. I know that after you were contacted you went to the bank and spoke with a Mr. Soto about this very topic, where he confirmed what I have just told you. Rest assured, I have no want to stay here longer than necessary and I do not want to interfere with anything you are doing. I just need a place to stay and some additional comforts while I stay. I will pay as a customer but my requests are reasonable and if everything goes well, I will sign over this place to you completely and never bother you again. What do you think?”

Scarlett could not believe that this space person knew her real name. She had done everything in her power to cover up that part of her life. But she was caught. She knew that if this man wanted her place, he could take it. He did not look the type, at least by Bliss standards but she was smart enough to know that looks were deceiving.

“sounds like we have ourselves a deal...Rick. What is it that you want from us here at The Red Dress?” “I would like the following 1. A room that I can occupy while I am here that contains no surveillance equipment , is moderately furnished and has its own bathroom that has a tub. 2. A companion to show me around the city and help me learn its ways and give me comfort when necessary. 3. I need someone who can keep secrets and will not cause any additional trouble. I am new to this world and many of the people I have to deal with could cause myself and you a lot of trouble if something were to happen. “ Paxil waited for a breath and followed up “Do you have someone that can fit these criteria?”

Scarlett thought. She had plenty of girls and even some boys for any kind of fetish you could imagine. The Red Dress was a high end place and catering to unique requests was a specialty of hers. She also started to get a better picture of why this alien man wants to stay away from the larger hotels, they were almost all bugged and under surveillance at all times.

“ Let me make a few calls and I will have some options for you in an hour or so, is that acceptable? “ “Yes” replied Paxil. Scarlett pressed a button on her desk and a young lady, very beautiful and dressed as a business woman came in, “ Yes Ms Scarlett” “Please take Rick to  the bar and see that he gets a good meal. Make sure he is taken care of till I call you back. You are to consider him a high value client and if you have any issues you come to me first. Do you understand?” “Yes Ms. Scarlett” she young lady said.

“Please follow me Mr. Rick” the young lady left the office and Rick Paxil, FreeTrader followed her. They went down a long hallway to a set of stairs that ran underground. “It is this way to the restaurant.” She guided him down the stairs into another long tunnel filled with colorful lights and a labyrinth of rooms. This must be where the customers had their fun. “What kind of food would you like? “ She said as she glided down the hallway. “I am new to this planet and do not know what is good. Do you have any recommendations?” She was quiet for a moment and said “I like the hot and sour soup.” Rick smiled “I guess I will have to try that then.” “Excellent. And to drink?” “a Rum and Coke if you got it” Rick said. “We have something similar I think” replied the young lady.

Rick sat down at a table with a view of the ocean. He had not realized it was so close and he paused. Rick had seen many things, some that most humans would never even fathom, but seeing the ocean was always something he loved. It made him think about all the other planets he had been to and the deep Abyss of space that was his home.

The young lady brought him his soup and drink both in ware made of glass. Very fancy, Rick thought. She stood there and before he took his first bite he looked up at her “You know you can either sit down or go away, I don’t think I can enjoy my meal while I am being watched.” She smiled and sat down across from him.

Rick finished his meal quickly. The soup was good. He looked at the young woman and said “So, what’s your story?”

15 - The Landing of FreeTrader Paxil

The transport ship landed and Freetrader Paxil stepped out onto the pad. He had never been on this planet before and he already had his doubts. The landing pad was out in a field 50 or so miles from the main space port hub. He academically understood the reasons for this, they wanted to build the landing zones outside the city so the city could continue to grow and be in less danger from the occasional ship falling from the sky. He knew that, but it still pissed him off. He was a Freetrader, a galactic prince who should not have to be taken into this backwoods planet hub-city by wheeled conveyance.

Paxil took a deep breath. He was not really mad, just tired. This latest intergalactic trip was one of the longest even had been through. The jump of course was nearly instant, you leave one place and end up in another at the same time. BUT for some reason jumping to this system meant a 3 year journey from the jump point to the planet. Most of that time was spent in suspended animation, AKA the deep sleep.

The last three months of the trip were spent waking the crew and passengers, doing ship repairs, and preparing cargo and crew to go ashore. This was a new world in a system filled with debri. It is the first system of its kind that we could colonize because of the limitations of the spacetime jump system. We could not know exactly what would be in space and we would not want to send a ship through a jump and have them appear inside a major piece of rock. So the jump has to be made from especially far out.

They had of course started sending electronic messages out to the planet as soon as the jump was done. No need to wait for in person contact for that, but all the good and services they could provide would not show up for approximately two years. Hopefully the planet would be prepared for the major undertaking that is the docking of a Freetrader ship. He carried specialists and workers looking for a new life. He carried food and general goods for sale and for the rich, precious treasures that could not be found anywhere else.

He hailed the transport that was waiting for him. The dirty yellow vehicle was a hybrid truck and travel car. Very common for new planets but rarely seen on civilized ones. The driver, a man of medium height with olive skin got out and introduced himself. “ My name is Aretoo, are you Master Paxil?” Paxil simply replied “Freetrader Paxil”. “Ah” Aretoo smiled “They said you would say that. Welcome to world BX-168, we call it “Bliss”, your lieutenant gave me specific instructions on where to take you but that I should ask if you want to make any detours first.” “No” Paxil said, “Let's get going. I already feel dirty and i'm tired after a long journey”. Aretoo did not know if he meant the space journey or the flight down but he had no reason to ask him. He did not know this Freetrader and from the whispers and rumors he had heard, they were not men to be taken lightly.

Aretoo took the Freetrader to the first place on the list. He pulled up to a modern, well at least modern by Bliss standards, building. He was made of pressed brick and had a sign that read “The Red Dress”. Aretoo got out and opened the door. “Here we are. Are you sure this is the place you want to go?” Paxil eyed the driver, “Is there something wrong with this place?” . “No sir, just... most respectable men might go to one of the major hotels in the area, or the official welcoming office for travelers.” “Not a brothel?” Paxil said. “I mean no offense”. “For the first time since landing Paxil laughed. “It’s fine. Perhaps as we get to know each other better, you can ask me why I chose this place and I might actually tell you.” “Of course sir.” Aretoo bowed a little. Paxil had to hand it to Helena, she found a good driver, he would have to send her a message when he was settled.

Freetrader Paxil and his driver made their way to the brothel door. Paxil knocked and waited. Next to the door was a simple intercom system that came to life. A pleasant voice said “Welcome to The Red Dress. How can we help you today?” The freetrader chuckled and said, I am FreeTrader Paxil. I have an appointment.” “Thank you.” said the voice in the box. There was a long pause, Paxil could hear the hum of the city, which felt foreign after so much time in deep space. Soon the door opened and the two men were welcomed in. “Welcome to The Red Dress” said an older silky voice. “You may call me Madam Scarlett. FreeTrader Paxil, your message came in yesterday and I have a room set up for you right now. “ Paxil nodded and looked at the driver “I will not need you for a few hours so you can wait here or anywhere else. Here is a phone that I can contact you on, as long as you are employed by me, please keep it with you and charged”. Paxil handed Aretoo a phone.

14 - Audio Book Review - The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

My wife never gives me book suggestions. We are very different people, which is one of the reasons that I think we work so well together. We both love to read and through our relationship we could be found reading in the same room, each on our own couch with a separate book. So when she suggested that I read “The Historian” I was intrigued. The way she described it to me or at least the way I interpreted her description was “A Historian's notes as he searches for Dracula.” This was enough to get me on board, in my head it was Indiana Jones or comic pulp monsters like those found in early Universal Pictures films. She mentioned that she got it on Audiobook but it was the abridged version and that she head there was a full version. This was great, I could get the full version from Audible and then talk with her about the differences.

The differences jumped out at once. The abridged version she had been listening to was approximately 12 hours. This is a long time but not when it comes to audio book. To give you an example, IT by Stephen King runs 44+ hours. The version I found was 26 hours, over double the time as the abridged version. This was great I thought, I get a lot more information and I will have so much to talk with my wife about.

The unabridged version of The Historian is read by two people, Justine Eyre and Paul Michael. Paul does a wonderful job as the Narrator's Father and with the many voices and accents he has to do with the story. I did have a slight problem with Justine as the voice of the Narrator, her voice is very young sounding and the narrator is supposed to be ~50. Now most of the narrator's voice is from when she was in her teens and it makes sense when choosing someone to voice a young person for them to be young, but as I was invested in the story it seemed out of place that I was being told about a person’s younger self in their own young voice.

The Historian takes us through three sections of time, each section having a separate main character. The narrator's father Paul, who most of the story is about, Paul's Professor in history Professor Rossi, whose adventures and letters open the book, and the narrator is who reading all these documents and putting them together in a compendium about Dracula.

The idea for this story is just awesome. Dracula, investigations, history, family crisis. All these ideas are awesome and when the book is hitting them it is engrossing and I did not want to stop listening. The treasure hunt of finding the tomb of Vlad Vlad Țepeș AKA Dracula, is a great mystery that the author must have spent a great deal of time researching. We are taken to multiple European countries in multiple different time periods. We go through Romania, Istanbul (not Constantinople) , sections of America and the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately this is where I had major problems with the unabridged version of the book. The good parts of the book were so good and the other parts lasted for 45+ minutes while the author described in aching details the contents of old manuscripts and the regions the characters are in. It reminded me a lot of Tolkien's “Lord of The Rings” when it comes to details about locations and back story. I would suggest that the author spent so much researching Vlad, the time periods, the Turkish empire, and Dracula that they did not want anything to go to waste, so they just included everything. Editing may have made this good book into a Great book. Infact, as my wife said to me when I told her about my issues with the book, the 12 hour version was so good I can not imagine that it is as bad as you say. I replied “Imagine taking your awesome 12 hour book and just adding fluff till it was 26 hours long. It probably would not be so awesome.” She laughed (as she usually does) and apologized. Honestly, this book took me over a week to get through, and every day or so I would lament how cool the cool parts were, and how long the in between parts were.

As far as a raiting? The 26 hour version from me gets a three outta five stars. It was good enough for me to want to listen to the whole thing and trying to figure out what was going on and how it would all come to an end. There has only been one book that I did not finish because it was so hard to listen to and this was no-where near as bad as that one. If you are like me, I suggest trying the 12 hour version.

13 - A man wanders

A man had never been on a train. Each day the trains would go by his house and he would think to himself “Look there goes a train. Where does that train go?”. The man never took the train, he knew that it would not take him to where he needed to go and therefore was unimportant.

Each day the man would take his car to work, 80 minute to work and 80 minutes home. Why so long? The man thought it was important to own a home and his salary did not allow him to own a home closer to work.

Back and forth every day.

Then one Saturday the man sat at his breakfast table and watched the train go by. Where does that train go? He thought. And then for no particular reason that the man could think of, he started walking to the train station.

The man had never been to the train station before and he wasn't sure what to expect. There was a small platform near the tracks and it had a small roof to keep the weather off the passengers.

The man didn't know how to get on the train. He looked around and noticed a small office with a old woman inside. The man approached the office and said this “Excuse me, I would like to ride the train. How do I do that?”.

The old woman responded “Well it really depends. Where do you want t go?”

“ I have no idea” said the man. “ The train goes by my house everyday and I have never been on it. What do you suggest?”

The old woman replied “well, we actually have three trains. One goes north; towards the city, one that goes south; towards the county, and one that goes west; that one goes to another town.”

The man thought. He knew about the city, thats where his job was. He didn’t want to go to the country, what would he do there? “ I would like to go west.” Said the man.

So the man took the train and he headed west. He marveled at the giant mechanical beast that stopped for no one and allowed nothing to get in this way. The trees went by, the power line went by, Rivers and animals too.  What a world we live in, the man thought.

Something occurred to the man, he had been heading west for a long while now, how far. Did he have to go? As he s at in his seat he noticed that people rarely walked by and that even he wanted to a so someone what would he. Say? “ Accuse me, where is this. Train going and when will we get there?” No he thought, I. Just going to enjoy the ride and if necessary get a train ride back.

Then without warning, the train stopped.this was an odd thing because from what the. An could lose. They were not anywhere. From his view there was just a river and wilderness.

“Everyone off.” A train man yelled in a very finite sort of way.

“excuse me sir, “ said the man. “Where are we?” . The train man gave the man a strange look, like he was projecting , what do you mean where are we? But he just stared and a then said “ Sir, this is Wilderness station last stop in the route.”

“When is the next train coming?”

“Here?” Asked the train man. “ Well, the next Westbound will arrive next Wednesday at noon. Next east bound train will be leaving after that one unloads. “ . The man asked “ What about this train?”

“This train? Well to be honest this train is turning around but it's going south not east. We have cattle cars to attach and steer to deliver.”

“Well that isn't good for next” said the man. “ What am I supposed to do now?”

The train man was getting annoyed.” What you did isn't my problem as long as you get off the train. If you are really hard up, you can head into town. There's a small town about a mile down the road.”

“Thank you.” Said the man, though he wasn't feeling very thankful. “I'll go now.”

The man headed out of the train and to the small road that lead to the town. He got about 15 feet before he turned around and looked at the great mechanical beast. It was salting to get up steam and chug its way away. The sound was much like a growl from a large creature. The man was in awe of the train. Imagine how far this train goes and never appreciate how special it is. The engine left its cars in the station and was gone . The man could still hear it though, chug chug chug, the low drone of metal.

The man went into town and found himself in trouble. The man had to pee and wasn't sure where he could politely relieve himself. This was part of the trouble doing things that you don't do, you get stuck in situations Iike this. So the man walked to the nearest building.

A small bell rung as he entered and at the counter was a middle aged woman. “How can I help you sir?” She said. “Well , I seem to be in a bit of a jam, can you please tell me where the nearest restroom is?”

The woman seemed to ponder this request for quite a long time. “What do you need that for.” She asked. “Well ….I have to urinate and I would prefer to do it in a place that is proper .”

She again seemed to think long and hard about this. “ I got a toilet you can use, but you better not break it. I don't normally let outsiders use it.”

“Thank you very much. How do I find it?”

She looked stern and grabbed a brick from underneath her table. Attached to this brick was a small key labeled with the word “shitter”.

“Take this key around the side on the left. You better bring it back.”

This woman seriously loves her key the man thought. He quickly grabbed the brick holding the key and went to the restroom. He made sure to aim carefully and wash his hands when he was done, making as little a mess as possible so he would not upset the lady. He returned to the desk and she was no longer there. A sing read “Out to lunch” so the man put the brick holding the key down and left. As he left he turned around and read the sign of the little shop “Wilderness visitors center, all visitors welcome..”  Perhaps he just caught the woman on a bad day .

Feeling empty the man decided that it was time to eat. The man looked around the small town, general store, ticket office, Breemans foods, and a small place simply titled “restaurant”. The man guessed that's where he could get a bite.

As he entered the restaurant he noticed two things; there was only a table filled with three old ladies and the small was delicious. He sat down at the nearest table and picked up the menu,

Food items:

Hamburger

Cheese burger

Hotdog

Good mama downs home smoking hot chili

French fries

Drink items:

Coke

Coffee

Milk

Wilderness groundwater

As the man viewed the menu a waitress came up and asked “what will you have?”

The man normally would have just gotten a hamburger, after all it was a safe choice and he  knew he could handle it. But today had already been so strange that he decided to take a chance. “ I'll take good mama’s down home smoking hot chili.” He said.

“You sure?” The waitress asked.

“ No” said the man, “but I still want it.”

“Ok” she said. “Anything to drink?”

“ I guess a coke”

“ You sure yo wanna guess at that? It could be anything.” The man didn't know how to respond to that. What did she mean. Without an answer the man just nodded.

The man looked out the window. What a strange place wilderness is. How does a place like this exist? He has no idea why everything feels off, but that is the kind of day he is having.

The man's food arrives and he already wished that he ordered the hotdog. But he ate the chili, it was indeed hot, it was indeed homey, it was not good. But the man ate it all, somehow he felt just like he should, the coke was great and he found himself happy that it wasn't Pepsi.

As the waitress took away the meal the man asked “ excuse me, I don't know anything about this area. It appears I'm stuck as the next train east isn't till next Wednesday, do you have any idea about what I can do till then?”

“Well” the waitress said “ You got two options , you can rent a room at the inn for the time, or … You can take the ship up the river to “The ridge” and take the train from there.”

The man was elated, then confused. “Can I get home faster if I take the ship?”

“Sometimes.” The waitress said.

That wasn't helpful at all to the man but he has the feeling it was as good as he was. Going to get.

“Thank you, can I get the check and directions to the ship?”

“Sure.”  Said the waitress.

15 minutes later the man was on his way to the ship dock. The waitress mentioned that it hadn't left yet and if he hurried he could make it. The first thing he noticed, it wasn't just a ship, it was a steamship. It wasn't just a steam ship it was a paddle wheeler. He quickly bought a ticket from the ticket office for “ the ridge” the ticket person didn't say much but did chuckle when the man said “the ridge”like it was some kind of in joke that he wasn't aware of. The ship wasn't very full and he was able to take a seat on the bottom deck near the water.

The river was beautiful. Never had the man seen such green water, the birds were nesting in trees and bushes along the bank. The stillness of the air was something the man had never felt before. If he could put it into words he might call it perfect.

The ship left the dock with a small lurch. They were soon heading up the river. Then man took a break to understand this day; he took a train which he had never taken before, to a town he didn't know existed, and he was now on a ship heading up river to a place called “ the ridge”

The man was tired.  

12- The Gorgog

The old wizard was out of breath. He surveyed the others around him and they were battered and bruised. It was becoming clear that this group would not be able to stop the creature. It was going to break their line and kill them all and acolytes that are hiding behind the walls of the academy. He knew what he had to do, and it really was a last resort, he was running out of time.

“Acolyte Rand! “ The old wizard yelled. Rand was in his last year and in the top of the class. He was their best hope to make the wizarding council in a few years which would bring much prestige to the academy.  “Yes Head Wizard?” Ran breathed hard as he ran over to the Head Wizards cover from his own.

“Acolyte Rand, please head back into the academy. Head to the small stone house outback and bring me Groundskeeper Nicholas.” Rand was a very attentive student and any other request would have received an immediate “Yes sir.” This request however, brought him to a stand. Just then a body came flying over their heads and hit a nearby tree. It was the body of Defensive Wizard Barns. “Listen to me Acolyte” said the Head Wizard. RUN and get Nicholas. Tell him that I personally call him and bring him back here as soon as possible. “ “Yes sir” said Rand and off he went.

Once Rand was clear of the fight and safe...for now. He thought about how strange of a request this was. Groundskeeper Nicholas not only had no magic but he kept to himself. Rand had never seen him actually speaking with anyone with the exception of the headmaster. All new students were warned to stay away from Nicholas and that any harm done to him would be grounds for dismissal, but we were never told anything more. Now Rand was running for his life , to get this person. The great wizards who ran the school were fighting the greatest threat to the school in over 100 years and they were losing. How was this nobody going to help.

Rand reached the groundskeeper's house in record time, it was a big campus. He slowed up right at the door and knocked. The door slowly swung open. Rand entered the small home. It had two main rooms, and a staircase that went down into a basement. The second room appeared to be the bedroom and Nicholas was not there. Rand then went down the stairs calling for the groundskeeper.

The door at the bottom of the stairs opened and there he was. Dressed simply as always in his brown acolytes tight robes. He had a look of creat concern in his eyes and then their eyes met. Rand...felt a deep ocean of energy. He had never felt anything like it before and the shock almost caused him to fall down the stairs. Nicholas caught him and kept him from falling.

Rand now out of breath said “The head wizard requires your presence out past the academy walls. There is a Gorgog and the wizards are not able to stop it. He told me to bring you immediately.” and then rand caught his breath and waited.

Nicholas did not move. He did close his eyes and then he did something Rand had never even heard of him doing, he spoke “Tell me about the Gorgog.” Rand for the second time today was caught bewildered. What does this non-magic person know about Deamons from beyond the veil? “Tell me.” Nicholas said again in a very even voice.

“The creature is huge and uses spirit energy to enhance its hide and claws. Basic magics do not seem to touch it and more advanced spells do little. The teachers called for the senior acolytes to assist and we were able to help push it back, however it persist on getting through the gates. Head Wizard Sotomayer went out with three of us and stopped it. But the three acolytes were injured. I am not sure if they are alive. Shortly after that he asked me to come find you. Nicholas nodded. “Lets go”.

The two ran through the academy and down its halls. Slowing down as they reached the gate, where most of the defenders were hiding behind the magic enhanced wall. “I brought him Head Wizard.” Nicholas walked over to the Head Wizard and spoke. “I have come as requested Jonathan, I understand that you are not able to defeat this creature from beyond the veil and wish to ask me for my help. I am here to freely give it.” The Head Wizard looked into Nicholas eyes, and some kind of thought passed between them. “You are free.” Said the Head Wizard.

Nicholas immediately to the rest of the Wizards standing behind the wall and said “you all need to leave now, please head back towards the academy. I will take care of this creature.” Then he hands started to move and he started to whisper. No one understood what he was doing but storm clouds started to gather around the area and Nicholas walked pasted the others and out into the road.

He walked directly up to the creature which it appeared the creature was not expecting. He looked down on him and in its daemonic voice said “Who art thou, who comes before the might Xentral second of all Gorgog’s .” This voice shook the walls and pillars and the voice that answered was nothing by comparison, “I am Nicholas of Hesperianous, guardian of this realm, and destroyer of creatures beyond the veil. I do not wish to destroy you Xentral and request that you leave.” The creature laughed a laugh that would shake the heavens. “No little one, I will destroy you as I have your friends!” With that the Gorgog attacked.

Nicholas kneeled down and pushed his hands into the earth. A bright light shined from them and when he pulled them out a sword came with them. It glowed of Psyonic power of a pale yellow. He raised the sword just in time to stop the claws of Xentral from cleaving him in two. Nicholas rolled to the creatures left and he took the sword in his left hand.

He swung the sword towards his right arm and where it touched a round shield appeared, but this light was a bright yellow and hard to look at. Nicholas then rushed towards the creature and pushed against its legs with the shield, and stabbed the sword into the side of it. But the creature pushed him away at the last second.

Nicholas hit the ground hard and the creatures foot stomped hard onto him. Nicholas was able to get his shield up in time and get it between himself and the massive hoof like foot of the Gorgog. The Gorgog pressed him down into the earth. Then it opened its mouth and a blue fire came from it and surrounded Nicholas.

An enormous burst of energy then enveloped the two combatants and when the burst ended the Gorgog was throw off its feet and into the ground. A smoldering hole was left in its wake. Nicholas emerged from it, his cloths burned away but his psyonic weapons still charged. Nicholas then stopped and kneeled, with this came the rain.

Many of us talked about this rain after the event and still we have a hard time describing it. It was perhaps the most cleansing event I had ever been apart of. After it fell on my cheeks, hope rose in my chest that we would all live through this attack.

The Gorgog did not have the same reaction, it went into a fervor. It got to it’s feet once again and charged at Nicholas who had also stood up and simply waited for the creature to get to him. Another burst of light as claw and sword met. Soon the Gorgog was cursing at him, trying everything it could do to gain advantage. No other of us had put up any kind of fight and now it was being beaten.

Then the Gorgog stumbled, it has not taken proper care of the wet terrain and lost its footing on a wet rock that had been uncovered during the battle. Nicholas did not hesitate and came in close with the Psyonic sword, stabbing the creature in the chest and then slicing it open. Its carapass split like a carved turkey and it crashed to the ground. As it fell it looked at Nicholas and said “The cycle will start again, chosen one. I will be back.”

The creature dissolved into the ground and is washed away from the rain. Nicholas walked back over to the group of Wizards and students and said to the Head Wizard “The creature is gone and I must rest.” He then walked naked in the rain back through the school.

The Wizards took charge and re-ordered everyone. “What did it mean that the cycle would start again?” Rand asked the Head Wizard. “ That is not something we will talk about...at least today. For now, simply enjoy that you are alive and that you have witnessed something that very few have seen.

11 - Writers Block

I like to walk. I tend to walk at least 10k steps a day and when I walk, is usually when my ideas come to me. For some reason today, the idea would come in and simply run down my mind like a small mountain stream. Knowing this makes me walk more but nothing came.

So here I sit , cup of tea with honey steaming out of my Mad Hatters cup, playing with a small plastic monkey, that is used to adorn the tops of Margarita’s from a Local Mexican restaurant near my house. Perhaps I could write about, a land torn in two by the death of a king? A son who could never please his father and the daughter he admired. Locked in a land battle that tears their nation apart. Perhaps the thing to write about is a creature from the abyss. A creature that cant be killed only placated. A creature that reaches into your mind and frightens you to death. Not because it needs to, simply because it can.

I decided to pick a topic and watch a youtube video on that topic. What did I chose? Ancient civilizations and how they made their structures. After browsing youtube for approximately ten minutes I found a video about a singular society that ruled most of the known world ~10,000 years ago. What most people might want to call Atlantis and how structures from around the ancient world are all connected. It was very cool to watch. I ended up doing some additional research on the speaker, it turns out that he has never had a published paper or journal article. Many of his claims are deeply disputed by researchers including noted Egyptologist, because the speaker likes to take facts that work to his premise and simply dismiss other facts. A simple example: Using temple locations to show that our ancient ancestors build to reflect the constellations. Except, that he only used enough temples in the area to act as stars and ignored all the other temples in the area that if taken into account , does not show constellations.

The idea was still deep into my brain because it feels right that there was some kind of great society that can connect humankind. The best evidence that they talked about is the Great flood mythos. How in many parts of the world, after the last ice age, did have dramatic flooding which could have raised the coast by 30+ feet. Most major civilizations had some form of this myth in their past and they are all very similar. I ended up watching three additional videos this week that all had similar themes. Well… regarding egypt's fall.

So while those videos were super interesting they didn’t tickle my fancy enough to think of 1000 words to write about. I could have just written a paper about how much I enjoyed them, but that did not seem to fit my fancy either.

I went to the Chiropractor as well. I have only gone twice but so far im enjoying it. Something that I really like when I get a massage or when I was doing physical therapy and now the chiropractor is that i am forced to just lay down and relax. It is just not something I get to do very often and one of those things I have trouble with in my life in general. With a full range of movies and music and videos and games at my fingertips it is hard to force myself to just relax and be OK doing nothing. This is something that also applies to my writing, I am forcing myself to sit down everyday and do this.

The ability to just sit and do nothing really ignites my imagination and while I did have multiple stories in my head that will eventually make its way to this blog nothing was igniting me to write now. I wonder if that is just how writers block works, you write and write but nothing you feel is good enough to show anyone. Well, I am showing all of you. I hope you find this entertaining or at least interesting. Take care till next time.