Norbert the Unicorn

Once upon a time, there was a Kingdom. A land in the sky, on a rainbow.  It was known by the few children who believed of its existence as the Kingdom of the Unicorns, a safe haven where the single-horned creatures could reside, and live a peaceful and joyous lifestyle. Life was simple, and well lived, as none of the unicorns ever died.

Each unicorn had a job. Most were Cutie farmers, plucking the sweet orange delicacies from the special bushes from which they grew. Others were builders, constructing villages on the rainbow. Others still were engineers who maintained the Magic Rainbow Generators, which used a form of unmeltable ice that picked up the rays of the sun, creating the beautiful colors of the arc. Beyond these main jobs, of course there were doctors, mailmen, computer programmers, and many more that could be listed, but I’d rather not go over. But, the most important of all of these was the Head of the State: The King of the Kingdom of Unicorns.

Since the beginning, these Kings came from a line of royalty with a white hide and a pink and purple mane, with a horn the color of ivory. All of these kings were kind, compassionate, and just, and swore an oath to protect the realm. Except for one. One named Norbert.

One thing I must clarify: Unicorns can die. It’s just they are biologically immortal. So, if one dies in battle, then they’re dead. Forever. And that’s exactly what happened to Norbert’s dad, Cornelius. He fell off the rainbow. A quite unfortunate death.

This was why Norbert came to the throne prematurely. As a result of his young age, he had few responsibilities before then, and now had a whole kingdom. As a result of this, he was unqualified, and lost among the duties earned upon wearing the crown. So, he swore the oath with no thought to it, and became king.

After a few years, the Rainbow began to fall apart. Norbert was quite clueless, and had no idea of what government actually was, and didn't understand much to begin with anyway. For example, taxes was a word which to him was a mystery wrapped in an enigma; so, not really getting what they were, he raised them. A lot. He also changed the item of taxes to the Cutie, which he loved so much, causing him to grow quite large in a lateral matter. Soon, despite his short stature, he was 3 times the size of the average unicorn. He also didn't understand diplomacy; he created a large war against the Realm of the Easter Bunnies, a 3 faction conflict between himself, the Pegasus Republic, and Nyan Land, and a massive world war loomed still between them and the Grand Duchy of Dragonia. This didn't bother him, but when he was stressed, he did what he did best: eat Cuties.

One day, Norbert sat at the edge of his garden pavillion which overlooked the world below. He saw some ducks fly through the sky, and thought to himself about the wonders of flight. He then saw a unicorn fly off the rainbow, going about, and another, and another still. He became curious. Had he been blind this whole time to the fact that Unicorns could fly? He went to his castle to read about this.

Dragging himself into the library, he picked up a book on the History of Unicorn Flight. Well, that confirmed it right there. He paged through and found a How To Section.

Step 1: Believe.

Sounded simple enough.

Step 2: Jump (while still believing) and look towards the sky as you thrust your body towards the clouds.

Not that hard.

Step 3: After a few seconds, you should be flying. This can be determined by observing if a rainbow trail appears from behind you.*

Easy. So he went off outside. But he never saw the asterisk at the end of Step 3. This particular asterisk lead to a footnote at the bottom of the page. And that footnote said the following:

*Do not attempt flight if you exceed the weight limit.

Standing at the edge of the rainbow, he saw a V of Canadian Geese flying. I can fly, he thought. I can fly. I can fly!

He believed. He looked to the sky while jumping, thrusting his body toward the clouds. But no rainbow appeared behind him. So he fell.

     And fell.

             And fell.

                       THUD.

He hit the rainbow, and a crack appeared along it. The western edge separated, and began to fall. As it did, color dissolved from it as the generators no longer powered it, and the bottom began to shatter into a million shards, disappearing as it went.

To say it plainly, everyone died. I’m all about happy endings, but quite simply, that was what happened.

Almost.

There was one who survived.

And that was none other than Norbert.

THE END.

Patriot's Pen

Author's Note: "Freedom is not Free"- Walter Hitchcock

Freedom; it's an abundance of choice, the given ability to live in a manner that is dictated by your own decisions, granted under God by those above you. It's beautiful, vivid, and not confined by limits. However, its existence is entirely determined by the government by which a nation might be run, and we have been blessed to live in a country that  operates under the very epitome of it. Other countries are not so fortunate.

Its price is unfathomably heavy. The difficulty of ensuring it is immeasurable, and every day of its stand is a miracle, a victory of the free world. We often take it for granted, using it how we like, often forgetting to remember those who risk their lives fighting for it.

This became more than evident, when, over the summer, my family and I traveled to South Korea, seeing the sprawling palaces, visiting museums, and just observing the the over-all beauty of the nation. One of the many things in our itenerary was to trek north to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone), which, in irony, is the most heavily militarized area in the world. Arriving at the JSA (Joint Security Area), a shared sense of fear grew within the tour group, knowing how the slightest gesture or facial expression could get a person killed. But what was probably the most frigtening of all was the fact that we were on the border of South Korea.

We stood a matter of feet away from the hermit kingdom.

There, in its horrid splendor was North Korea. Guards stand in front of the North Korean visitors center, which stands out upon the endlessly void hills. Sorrow and the absence of life in a picturesque landscape. In the distance, Kijong-dong lies, empty and solitary, lodged between the highs and lows of the land, balanced like a portrait of nothing but its background, motionless and unfocused. A massive flag pole flies red and blue, the bright white star poking through fog in the heights.

If America is the epitome of freedom, North Korea is the chilling realization of lost hope.

An absence of freedom.

The contrast was stark, as we stood there. South Korea, founded on democracy and representation, and North Korea, founded on no clear principles at all.

Continually defining us, Freedom is why we can call ourselves a great nation. Believing that it is everyone's inalienable right for all of mankind, we venture to nations we've never heard of, expecting nothing in return, to ensure their own freedoms. Fighting on the Korean Peninsula as refugees fled to Busan, American soldiers were able to push back North Korean forces to the current border, saving my mom's family from a government that threatened to take their rights away. It makes you appreciate our veterans. For what they did. For what they do. They saved a nation. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't get to call America my home.

My family and I thank the veterans for their unconditional sacrifice in the Korean War, and in the world abroad.

Short Scene (Tone Assignment)

Authors Note: When visiting Korea, we ventured up to the DMZ, on the border of North and South Korea, but to get to our tour, we had to first get to the USO in Seoul, which we took the subway to get to. However, as a large horde of people pushed around, I ended on the outside of the car. Please note that this is a very rough kind of draft, and not really my best.

As I begin to board the tram, two sets of doors close in front of me, reflecting a face that stares blankly at my own. Looking in, I see my Mom and Dad, Michael and Daniel. Nothing wrong with that, except the fact that I'm not with them. I'm on the outside, in the Seoul Metro.

Countless thoughts rush through my head in a split second. I'm in another country, where I barely know any words of the language (and the few I know are somewhat useless). I consider my options, and decide to stay put where I am in front of the closed doors. However, before I can even think of doing so, my Dad instinctively reaches for a handle by the bottom of the inner doors, and pulls the two apart.

It catches the Subway driver's attention, and he opens the doors, and I step in with relief. Hence, another odd story is added to my long list of potential vacation mishaps, but all I can think about is the fact that I'm where I needed to be.

Flat Tax Rate Persuasive

Authors Note: For my DWA, I have edited my Flat Tax Rate Essay. This addresses issues with the current taxation system, and proposes a different.

There should be a flat tax rate implemented into the US government. This would allow for equal taxation across the board, and would be a more efficient system compared to the current complicated and multi-layered taxation methods in use. It would make calculating the taxes due a simple computation for the IRS, and an easy and straightforward process for the taxpayers. A flat tax-rate would also be beneficial to those who own small businesses, so they can easily file their taxes without it interfering with the other tasks of running a company. In addition, it would be a much more fair way to tax the population, but by still being reasonable. For example, if someone made $10,000 dollars a year and another person made $100,000 dollars a year, with a flat tax rate, they would both be paying the same percentage of their income to the IRS, although the person who made more would still be paying a higher amount. This then would eliminate taxpayer discrimination.

Another might argue that a flat tax rate would be unfair because the poor would have to pay taxes, but in reality, the current taxation system is unfair. It is estimated that half of the population does not pay taxes, so the people who do with the current system half to make up for the gap. If a flat tax rate were then to be implemented, it would make sure that everyone would be paying their taxes, and make the burden easier on everyone. Not to mention that this could also eliminate complicated tax deductions, which would result in the extremely wealthy paying more (with the flat tax rate) in taxes than they do now.Yet still, another might argue that the implementation of a flat tax rate would cause many IRS agents to lose their jobs. I do respect this matter, and take it seriously, but with the tax burdens lifted from the business owners, this would allow for them to employ more workers, and soon, the IRS agents without jobs would soon be back to work.

In conclusion, the flat tax system would appeal to many people across many demographics. The wealthy will no longer feel that they are being targeted unfairly, and the poor will see equal treatment and opportunity to contribute to the federal government. The flat tax may have an unexpected benefit of helping to lessen the massive socio-economic divide which has worsened in the past few years. But it's up to us to decide how we pay our taxes from now own. So the next time you file your taxes, don't do them as you always do. Think about the way you're paying them.

An Early History of the Internal Combustion

Authors Note: As we were given the task to write an informational essay on a topic of our choice, I chose to write about the early history of the Internal Combustion Engine....evidently most of classmates (one of them found it very interesting though) found this to be confusing and boring. Did this pose a challenge? Yes. I had to try and find what was boring, but thanks to Mr. Johnson, we realized that it was a simple problem that could be fixed: a lack of an introduction. I don't get how I missed that at first. Whoops. Anyways, here it is. Hopefully something you won't find boring.

A Brief Clarification:

The beginnings of the internal combustion engine to this day is a subject that is disputed by historians, despite its recent origins. Where the disagreement lies is within the idea if Robert Street, an English engineer, was the first to create an internal combustion engine in 1794, or the first to patent one. Either way, he contributed a great amount to the development in the engine, though there were countless others who helped in the designing and advancement of it. Again, as these early years are unclear in their history, I shall skip to what is confirmed and go from there.

Introduction:

As they are a major part of everyday life, the engine is often overlooked as a simple machine, and consequently un-credited for their usefulness. As a result, I feel that many are uninformed about the history behind this great invention, whether it is because they do not know or refuse to know. Thus, I write an early history of the conception of the engine, the development of the engine, and the advancement of the engine.

Conception:

In 1806, an engineer named Francois Isaac de Rivaz displayed his latest invention: an internal combustion engine, powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. Mounting it to the back of a wagon, it traveled a few feet, an awe-inspiring feat for that time, but still nowhere close to the full realization of the idea he had. It was well received, but not possible for the public to have access to due to it’s radicality. Francois never realized this, but he had inadvertently started a revolution that would change the world of transportation forever.

A few years later, in 1823, Samuel Brown, another englishman, invented an engine that ran on pure oil, or as it was called at the time, thick oil. It was primarily used for industrial purposes, but was still a step closer to the modern day engine because of the fuel it used. It was around this time though that an American, Samuel Morey, filed a patent for a gas or vapor engine as it was literally called, another step forward to the modern engine.

Development:

After this, engineers now had an idea to work off of, so within the 19th Century there were countless attempts to make an efficient, high-functioning engine that could be put to use. The one however that made the largest advancement was one by a Belgian engineer by the name of Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir, where, in 1862, he created an engine which ran on petroleum, the first of its kind. This was a major step forward as this was the most efficient source of energy for the car. His previous engine, though it was not as successful, was electric.

After this great success, more engineers were inspired to create more and more powerful and efficient engines. However, they were all the same type of engine, and eventually, it became clear that for greater advancement of the internal combustion engine that changes had to be made. This was when Karl Benz created the first flat engine, in 1879: a two cylinder boxer engine, receiving the nickname because of the placement of the cylinders being opposed to each other. This was a well received idea, and even today boxer engines hold up as some of the most reliable on the market. Benz was to the first to create a car (Henry Ford's Quadricycle is commonly miscredited with this feat, though the quadricycle came out 10 years later) was one of the first to successfully create a car manufacturing company later on, partnering with Daimlerchrysler.

Advancement:

Soon after this, Ferdinand ‘Ferry’ Porsche released an engine that he had been creating for 6 years. Though it might have looked like a normal engine when viewed by the normal eye, there was a major difference when compared to others. First of all, this engine was on more than just a wagon: it had a secure chassis and an aerodynamic body for the car. It was visually appealing and attracted many to it’s exhibit at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. In addition to this, it was the first hybrid vehicle ever created, though this invention is commonly mistaken to be made by a Belgian Engineer named Pieper (his first name’s unknown).

It was after this that the engine had made its way out of it’s infancy, and become an efficient and powerful machine. It continued to progress throughout the 20th century, with the addition of more cylinders, more horsepower, and more expertise. It became more reliable, requiring less attention, less maintenance, and an autonomous creation, managing and monitoring itself. Soon, everyone came to expect a technology which still is yet to be perfected to work without issues, and people became oblivious to the fact that the engine had been an idea in development for nearly 300 years.

The next time you turn on your engine, think about the countless years, engineers, and ideas that made your car possible .

Void (Part 1)

Author's Note: For this piece, I challenged myself to impersonate the writer of a letter, someone who experienced a revolution against an all knowing totalitarian government. I plan to expand on this piece in the future through a series of installments, and will continue to improve this piece.

To my Dearest Readers,     29/04/26 NT

I write this recollection of a recent past to you so that you and all the others with you make take note of all that has happened. I know not if this will ever reach you, but I hope it will. In fact, I know not if the scribe writing this message is even writing what I am actually saying. But, in respect to those of you reading, here goes my story.

My village was the only place I’d known, for it was the only place that we knew of. As far as our incompetent, restricted minds could comprehend, the village was all that was left. All that was left of a lonely planet with a lack of hope.

I never questioned what we were told. Never dared questioning the way we lived. Not that we ever did live in those years; we were controlled, something that I’d rather not explain, an awfully long explanation that would be. But I never did realize that my life, our lives, were controlled, if it was even life for that matter, and even now I still know that I am unsure of what life is.

We were told that something catastrophic happened. That which happened caused the collapse of our planet, our lonely planet, and we were told that we were all that was left of it. We were also told to never embrace the cause of it: thought. Not that any of us actually knew what thought was. As we knew it (a very vague definition of a complicated concept) was something dangerous, something we ought not to do. We ought not to do it because they said they could see it all, and we believed them.

I should probably clear this up; they is what you probably know as the Old Government. I am not sure of who you are, so I say probably (for you might call them something else). The Old Government is still existent, so thus it is not something outdated or replaced, but rather, well, coexistent.

However, I shall make haste and return to my story. Time passed (but then again, what was time until we discovered that it existed?) and as I thought of our situation, a little walled village in a wasteland of oblivion, I realized something; the wall. The bare granite stone wall, several cubes* thick, harsh and cold and unforgiving as life itself. Why was there a wall if we were alone? Everyday, I had seen it, it had never crossed my empty mind that its existence was so queer. I kept this to myself, for I feared my life over the thought of questioning them, for we knew better than to do that, among the few things we actually knew.

It then became evident that there was more going on than I realized. The wall was the beginning; the beginning of the first time I thought. This chain of thought led me to realize the one thing wrong with the whole concept of them, the existence of something above us, watching us, whether it be guiding or leading us to destruction seemed preposterous. If the world had been torn by a catastrophe, how did this greater thing exist?

More and more, I grew to not trust those around me. I grew distant from other village members, and they began to avoid me as well. Life seemed to be hiding something from me I couldn’t find. There was something I felt was missing, but I saw it more in those around me than myself. As I began to find to freedom, I realized how much the people resembled robots, unable to make their own choices, unable to do their own will.

I felt withdrawal, but freedom at the same time; an odd sensation. I soon realized I didn’t belong where I was. Nothing felt right anymore. That was when they came.

They pulled me out from the crowd, and took me into something I didn’t recognize; and as I tried to fight, the others from the village stared, unsure of what to do. I screamed. Yelled. But nothing happened. All they did was stare. Staring hopelessly. And I felt hopeless. Hopeless on a lonely planet.

*a measurement for length or thickness