How does today's film in the U.S influence people perception of Research Proposal

How does today's film in the U.S influence people perception of Chinese culture (Please try to focus on a specific film genres) - Research Proposal Example Xie (9) has carried out a number of research projects on the influence of media on Asian stereotyping giving particular focus and emphasis on how the Chinese culture is portrayed in films in the United States of America (USA). In the research projects conducted, various issues were pointed out and they included; discrimination and racism. The goal of this research as the ones conducted byXie (7) is to identify how a majority of films in the United States of America (USA) miss represent the chines culture. The research shall focus on how Chinese men are represented by films in the USA, how Chinese women are represented by films in the USA, the level of violence associated to them as well as the morals and ethics about the Chinese culture that are miss represented or represented accordingly in the films. For example, a majority of the female chines characters are portrayed in many of the films in USA as being highly sexually seductive individuals and they are trained from a tender age to use this seductive technique to kill men. A majority of the films portray Chinese people as highly trained in elements of martial arts, these is evident in films where Chinese actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li are anchored, this exhibits fraudulent behavior (Chan, 3). Other films portray the Chinese as highly intelligent individuals, mostly appearing in films as computer wizards and sharp when it comes to solving puzzles and mathematical queries (Chan51)Not forgetting about the ethics and morals, some films portray chines girls as immoral, being used for sexual activities especially in the USA as illegal immigrants, other films portray the Chinese people as good and calm with high consideration of the four elements of nature i.e. land, water, and air (Stein, 7). With critical analysis of data intended to be collected, this research will help give a clear picture of what the Chinese culture is really about and whether what we see

Scientific Theories Essay Example for Free

Scientific Theories Essay One of the major preoccupations of XX’s century scientific philosophers was the development of complex scientific theory explaining how science comes to be and how it works. Since 1900-s several basic theories have been proposed to explain science. This paper aims to provide an overview of those theories especially concentrating on ideas of scientific revolution by Thomas S. Kuhn. Already David Hume in â€Å"A Treatise of Human Nature† noticed, that we can never truly prove the existence of casual laws but we can only perceive them and their consequences. And as we can not know the truth about laws, we can never know the law itself, so it is always open for reconsideration. W.V. Quine went even further by proposing, that even mathematical theorems can from time to time be revised if necessary. Thusly they have created grounds for illogical negativism, under which no statement can be recognized absolutely true. In the 1920-s Moritz Schlicks and Hans Reichenbach offered another view which they called logical positivism. Basically recognizing that no statement can be true or false a priory, logical positivists held that every piece of knowledge is based on logics of â€Å"protocol sentences† based on observable events. In order to be recognized true or false a statement is to meet a verifiability criterion. Only in this case a statement can be recognized meaningful. However, some of the positivists noticed, that even non-verifiable statements may have some cognitive value[1]. In the 1930-s Karl Popper raised criticism against positivist model and introduced a theory based on ideas of practicing scientists. Under his idea scientific progress is achieved by rejection of earlier false theories and creation of a new theory when the old one no longer fits the empiric facts. The new theory is therefore closer to truth. So physics of Aristotle has been replaced by physics of Newton and physics of Newton by the one of Einstein. Every new theory explains the world in new terms and on a new level, Progressive theory has been sharply criticized by Thomas Kuhn in his â€Å"Structure of Scientific Revolutions†, published in 1962. Under his idea, scientific progress is a set of dominant structures, which he called paradigms.   Scientific research passes through stages of â€Å"normal† development including solving of current problems and â€Å"revolutionary stage†. Revolutionary stage or paradigm shift means testing of new theories and assumptions which causes a state of crisis in the old theories, when paradigms are sufficiently unprecedented to attract an enduring group of adherents away from competing modes of scientific activity[2] For Kuhn a new paradigm is not only a new theory, but a totally new view on the world and a new way of thinking. A paradigm is not a new answer to a question, but it is revolutionary new way of putting questions themselves. Core questions of the old paradigm are rejected by a new one as those, which are no longer applicable[3]. Moreover, one paradigm can not be understood in terms of another paradigm, so changing paradigms necessarily causes a crisis. Kuhn explained this using examples from astronomy by noticing that Given a particular discrepancy, astronomers were invariably able to eliminate it by making some particular adjustment in Ptolemy’s system of compounded circles. But astronomy’s complexity was increasing far more rapidly than its accuracy and that a discrepancy corrected in one place was likely to show up in another.[4] Paradigm changes the world itself, and Kuhn offers an example of Lavoisier, who saw nature differently after discovering oxygen[5]. After scientific revolution has happened, communications are to restored between advocates of new and old theories. This is a hard and long lasting process, which often ends by physical death of the â€Å"old† scientists, because Conversions will occur a few at a time until, after the last hold-outs have died, the whole profession will again be practicing under a single, but now different, paradigm[6].   This caused claims of relativism which Kuhn himself denied in the later editions of his book. However, despite of all, Kuhn’s idea have deeply influenced the modern philosophic vocabulary. Such terms as â€Å"paradigm†, â€Å"paradigm shift†, â€Å"normal science† and â€Å"revolutionary science† are now widely applied by scientists and philosophers, especially in social science, political science and international relations theory[7]. Among the latest critics one should mention reasoning by Paul Feyerabend. He noticed, that there were many cases in the history of science, when scientists considered their theories a priory accurate long after some facts are discovered, which demonstrate the weakness of the theory. Under Feyerabend’s assumption there exist certain forms of scientific thinking, which allow scholars to recognize certain theories as scientific. So methodology of science can be pluralistic and include methods from different periods. New methods of reasoning do not substitute old ones, but they enter the scientific cannon together and mutually influence each other[8]. Works Cited Friedman, Michael, (1999) Reconsidering Logical Positivism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press Thomas S. Kuhn (1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University Of Chicago Press; 3 edition Fuller S. (2000) Thomas Kuhn: A Philosophical History for Our Times. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Bird A. (2000) Thomas Kuhn. Princeton and London: Princeton University Press and Acumen Press Paul K. Feyerabend (1999) Knowledge, Science and Relativism. Vol. 3, Cambridge [1]   Friedman, Michael, (1999) Reconsidering Logical Positivism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, p,- 43 [2] Thomas S. Kuhn   (1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University Of Chicago Press; 3 edition, p.-10 [3] Fuller S. (2000) Thomas Kuhn: A Philosophical History for Our Times. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p.-70 [4] Thomas S. Kuhn   (1996) ibidem, p.-65 [5] Supra note, p.- 118 [6] Supra note, p.-152 [7] Bird A. (2000) Thomas Kuhn. Princeton and London: Princeton University Press and Acumen Press. p.- 113 [8] See: Paul K. Feyerabend (1999) Knowledge, Science and Relativism. Vol. 3, Cambridge University Press

Stonehenge :: essays research papers

I. On Salisbury Plain in Southern England stands Stonehenge, the most famous of all megalithic sites. Stonehenge is unique among the monuments of the ancient world. Isolated on a windswept plain, built by a people with no written language, Stonehenge challenges our imagination. The impressive stone circle stands near the top of a gently sloping hill on Salisbury Plain about thirty miles from the English Channel. The stones are visible over the hills for a mile or two in every direction. Stonehenge is one of over fifty thousand prehistoric "megalithics" in Europe. As Stonehenge is approached, the forty giant stones seem to touch the sky. Most of the stones stand twenty-four or more feet high. Some stones weigh as much as forty tons. Others are smaller, weighing only five tons. At first glance, the stones may seem to be a natural formation. But a closer look shows that only human imagination and determination could have created Stonehenge. II. The Stonehenge today looks quite different from the Stonehenge of old. Wind and weather have destroyed a little of Stonehenge over the ages. People have destroyed much more. Today, less than half of the original stones still stand as their builders planned. Many of the once upright stones lie on their sides. Religious fanatics, who felt threatened by the mysteries posed by Stonehenge, knocked over many of the standing stones. They toppled some of the huge stones, which then split into pieces; they buried others. Other stones were "quarried" over the centuries as free building material and hauled away. Even into this century, visitors have come with hammers to carry away a chip of stone with them. III. Only in recent years have the stones been protected from the huge amounts of people that see them every year. No longer can anyone roam among the stones. Too much damage, intentional or not, has been done by the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Today, tourists are even prevented from walking between the stones for fear that the millions of footsteps every year might make the stones unstable. IV. The twelfth-century English writer and historian, Geoffrey of Monmouth, first recorded Merlin's building of Stonehenge in his famous book History of the Kings of Britain. Geoffrey claimed that his book was a translation of "a certain very ancient book written in the British language." However, no other scholar or historian knows of the existence of such a book. According to Geoffrey, the great stones were brought from Ireland to England to mark the burial place of a group of slain British princes.

Do Violent Video Games Cause Aggression or Not?

Do violent video games cause aggression or not? Video games have become a part of culture in America and all around the world. Video games are extremely popular, connecting people through the internet allowing them to interact with one another through cyber-portal for entertainment, with varying genres of games from card games, first person shooter’s, racing or even 3D strategy games. These games connect millions people around the world, gamers spending countless hours glued to screens looking at bunch of pixels.These games are evolving every year, as technology gets better so do the games, with more realistic graphics, sound effects and scenarios. So with this, the violent games are also becoming more realistic, violent and aggressive. Many of violent war games being released today have age restrictions on them, R16 or R18 warning people of the violent content the game has, and however this does not underage people getting their hands on them. Are these prolonged hours spent playing these games damaging these people’s mind or violent games have nothing to do with making people violent?Many studies have taken place to look into whether or not these games are causing aggression, but none of these studied developed well-validated measures of youth violence caused by games. To investigate this important controversy and proof that violent video games cause aggressive behavior needs to be done more research. There have been many studies based around violence in video games, whether it is elevated blood pressure, aggressive behavior or violent outbreaks.A study led by Brock University PhD student Paul Adachi has proved that yes these violent games are causing aggressive behavior, but this is based on how competitive the game is and not due to the violence. Therefore a non-violent game that is equally competitive will lead the user to show similar aggressive behavior. Violent video games might be harmful because developing children learn mainly through p hysically doing things. This may lead to children taking video game experiences and translating them into real life actions.Since violence always seems to be the answer in video games, some children may learn to think that violence is the answer to all. Playing video games can have a hypnotic effect. Daydreaming and fantasizing peaks right before children, at the point when many children are immersed in their video game playing. Absorption is when the logical integration of thoughts, feelings, and experiences is suspended. When a child plays a violent video game he or she may be unaware of the behaviors that are developing in their consciousness.Those children who are easily absorbed into the video game that they are playing may have a higher tendency of developing aggressive thoughts and actions.. In many cases, like the 1999 Columbine High school massacre where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students, one teacher, and injuring 21 other students before turning the guns on themselves. It was well known that the two teenagers who committed this extreme violent act were excessive players of the violent video game called â€Å"Doom 3D†, in which the player embarks on defending mars from aliens with large automatic weapons.A lot of people claim that this game caused the two to violently outbreak into the massacre, however there is no proof, and once again, the game has not caused anyone else, out of its millions of players over the years to commit the same heinous crime, Eric and Dylan were capable of these crimes before playing the game, it is however a possibility that the game helped their psychopathic views to be glorified. Where normal people do not have these psychopathic traits in the first place and play games like this for entertainment only. Video games become more realistic, engaging and increasingly violent.The more players involved the more impact the game has to change in the behavior of children. Since children start playing they can not stop for several hours, some of them spending much more time in the online world can influence behavior in the real world. Children can take the role of the characters from the video games. Especially children with low self-esteem and insecure kids might want to be someone else, so the sense of presence that can lead to addiction is very dangerous, especially for children. Video games are addictive, but they also can be addictive in a positive way.Kids can spend hours in front of the television playing video games, which can provide hours of entertainment. Very rarely are they positive aspects of video games discussed. Playing video games can build creativity; community, problem solving, can raise self-esteem and also decrease aggression. Children failing in school can become violent or show aggressive behavior due to the low academic marks and failing to achieve, and many studies state that video games cause children to fail school, thus leading to violent aggressive behavior. This is falsely ccusing video games based upon facts that can be associated with various other activities. Spending six hours a day watching TV, shopping, or sleeping will just as equally affect your school grades, it is down to the individual how they use their time effectively. In the article â€Å"Violent video games do not cause aggression† it states that the university of Illinois carried out studies regarding the possible link between violent video games and real world aggression, concluding their findings from their first long term study to show that the violent games â€Å"did not cause any substantial increase in said aggression†(Lester Haines).Whenever something wrong happens in society people tend to place the blame on other people or things, rather than us. Society needs to hold people responsible for their actions and not automatically blame violent video games as the cause for violence. Since most young males play video games it is easy to make the claim that there must be a connection between a violent act and the video games he plays. Using the excuse of the video games serves to hide the greater cause of why people commit certain violent acts.There needs to be a lot more testing done before determining whether or not playing violent video games may actually lead to aggressive behavior. There are those who are adamant that violent video games do indeed lead to aggressive behavior, but their assumptions have been based on weak studies that only focused on short termed effects of violent video game playing. Even though there have been countless studies, it is hard to say if playing violent video games leads to real life violence.Video games have become a scapegoat of why people are violent. If someone played a violent video game in the past and committed a violent act, the video game was automatically blamed. These assumptions hold no merit because we like to blame things that happen on media, whether its television, movies, or vide o games. Researchers need to discuss what the effects of violent video games on young children lead to. Parents need to be responsible for the content that they allow their children to access, not the government.It is up to each individual family’s own code of ethics to determine whether or not a game is suitable for their child. With the sale of video games in the United States being in the billions and the number of people viewing these acts of violence being so numerous, there had to be other factors that influence this aggressive behavior. The sheer numbers of people who view these violent video games versus the number of aggressive acts are not even close in numbers. Blaming these games for people’s actions is obscured.If someone is capable of committing extreme violent acts, or acting in an aggressive manor, they were capable of it well before they took part in playing a computer game. It is down to the individual, who plays these games to act responsible, know r ight from wrong, and play the games for entertainment only. Violence is not just in video games; it is everywhere and all around us. Work cited. Sara Prot, MA, Katerlyn A. McDonald, Craig A. Anderson PhD, Douglas A. Gentile PhD. Video games: Good, Bad, or Other? Andrew K. Przybylski, Richard M. Ryan and C.Scott Rigby; Personality and Social Psychology Buletin; the motivating role of violence in video games. Christopher J. Ferguson, Stephanie M. Rueda, Amanda M. Cruz, Diana E. Ferguson, Stacey Fritz and Shawn M. Smith. â€Å"Violent video games and aggression: Causal relationship or byproduct of family violence and intrinsic violence motivation? † Criminal justice and behavior. (2008): 311-332. 22 Jan. 2013 Kristine L. Nowak, Marina Krcmar, Kristie M. Farrar. The causes and consequences of Presence: Considering the influence of violent video games on presence and aggression.June 2008, 256-268. 12 Jan 2013. MainFrame Guardian Video games and Violence in school: Do video games t hat we play the basis of why children are violent in school? Ziff Davis Media 2008. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. Poole, S. (2000, Apr 26). Parents 2: Healthy living: Video games will make your kids violent and more likely to fail at school, according to new research. nothing could be further from the truth, says games junkie steven poole. The Guardian,  pp. 16-2. 16. Ferguson, C. J. (2011). Video games and youth violence: A prospective analysis in adolescents.Journal of Youth and Adolescence,  40(4), 377-377-391. Keenan, T. (2008, Apr 04). Do some video games encourage violence? ; one former soldier thinks that this type of entertainment is teaching kids to kill. Nanaimo Daily News,  pp. C. 6. Study finds competition in video games, not violence, causes aggression. (2011, Sep 03). Daily Gleaner,  pp. C. 4. Grace Shin. (2008). Video Games. A Cause of Violence and Aggression. Lester Haines, (2005, Aug 15), Violent video games do not cause aggression.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 4~7

4 Pinnacle of the Pink Pyramid A low buzz of anticipation ran through the halls of the hospital. Reporters checked the batteries in their microrecorders and cell phones. Orderlies and nurses lingered in the hallways in hope of getting a glimpse of the celebrity. The FAA men straightened their ties and shot their cuffs. One receptionist in administration, who was only two distributorships away from earning her own pink Oldsmobile, ducked into an examining room and sucked lungfuls of oxygen to chase the dizziness that comes from meeting one's Messiah. Mary Jean was coming. Mary Jean Dobbins did not travel with an entourage, bodyguards, or any other of the decorative leeches commonly attached to the power-wielding rich. â€Å"God is my bodyguard,† Mary Jean would say. She carried a .38-caliber gold-plated Lady Smith automatic in her bag: the Clara Barton Commemorative Model, presented to her by the Daughters of the Confederacy at their annual â€Å"Let's Lynch Leroy† pecan pie bake-off, held every Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (She didn't agree with their politics, but the belles could sure sell some makeup. If the South did not rise again, it wouldn't be for lack of foundation.) Today, as Mary Jean came through the doors of the main lobby, she was flanked by a tall predatory woman in a black business suit – a severe con-trast to Mary Jean's soft pastel blue ensemble with matching bag and pumps. â€Å"Strength and femininity are not exclusive, ladies.† She was sixty-five; matronly but elegant. Her makeup was perfect, but not overdone. She wore a sapphire-and-diamond pin whose value approximated the gross national product of Zaire. She greeted every orderly and nurse with a smile, asked after their families, thanked them for their compassionate work, flirted when appropriate, and tossed compliments over her shoulder as she passed, without ever missing a step. She left a wake of acutely charmed fans, even among the cynical and stubborn. Outside Tucker's room the predatory woman – a lawyer – broke formation and confronted the maggotry of reporters, allowing Mary Jean to slip past. She poked her head inside. â€Å"You awake, slugger?† Tuck was startled by her voice, yanked out of his redundant reverie of unemployment, imprisonment, and impotence. He wanted to pull the sheets over his head and quietly die. â€Å"Mary Jean.† The makeup magnate moved to his bedside and took his hand, all compassion and caring. â€Å"How are you feeling?† Tucker looked away from her. â€Å"I'm okay.† â€Å"Do you need anything? I'll have it here in a Texas jiffy.† â€Å"I'm fine,† Tucker said. She always made him feel like he'd just struck out in his first Little League game and she was consoling him with milk and cookies. The fact that he'd once tried to seduce her doubled the humi-liation. â€Å"Jake told me that you're having me moved to Houston. Thank you.† â€Å"I have to keep an eye on you, don't I?† She patted his hand. â€Å"You sure you're feeling well enough for a talk?† Tucker nodded. He wasn't buying the outpouring of warm fuzzies she was selling. He'd seen her doing business on the plane. â€Å"That's good, honey,† Mary Jean said, rising and looking around the room for the first time. â€Å"I'll have some flowers sent up. A touch of color will brighten things up, won't it? Something fragrant too. The constant smell of disinfectant must be disturbing.† â€Å"A little,† Tuck said. She wheeled on her heel and looked at him. Her smile went hard. Tuck saw wrinkles around her mouth for the first time. â€Å"Probably reminds you of what a total fuckup you are, doesn't it?† Tucker gulped. She'd faked him out of his shoes. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mary Jean. I'm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She raised a hand and he shut up. â€Å"You know I don't like to use profanity or firearms, so please don't push me, Tucker. A lady controls her anger.† â€Å"Firearms?† Mary Jean pulled the Lady Smith automatic out of her purse and leveled it at Tucker's bandaged crotch. Strangely, he noticed that Mary Jean had chipped a nail drawing the gun and for that, he realized, she really might kill him. â€Å"You didn't listen to me when I told you to stop drinking. You didn't listen when I told you to stay away from my representatives. You didn't listen when I told you that if you were going to amount to anything, you had to give your life to God. You'd better damn well listen now.† She racked the slide on the automatic. â€Å"Are you listening?† Tuck nodded. He didn't breathe, but he nodded. â€Å"Good. I have run this company for forty years without a hint of scandal until now. I woke up yesterday to see my face next to yours on all the morning news shows. Today it's on the cover of every newspaper and tabloid in the country. A bad picture, Tucker. My suit was out of season. And every article uses the words ‘penis' and ‘prostitute' over and over. I can't have that. I've worked too hard for that.† She reached out and tugged on his catheter. Pain shot though his body and he reached for the ringer for the nurse. â€Å"Don't even think about it, pretty boy. I just wanted to make sure I had your attention.† â€Å"The gun pretty much did it, Mary Jean,† Tucker groaned. Fuck it, he was a dead man anyway. â€Å"Don't you speak to me. Just listen. This is going to disappear. You are going to disappear. You're getting out of here tomorrow and then you're going to a cabin I have up in the Rockies. You won't go home, you won't speak to any reporters, you won't say doodly squat. My lawyers will handle the legal aspects and keep you out of jail, but you will never surface again. When this blows over, you can go on with your pathetic life. But with a new name. And if you ever set foot in the state of Texas or come within a hundred yards of anyone involved in my company, I will personally shoot you dead. Do you understand?† â€Å"Can I still fly?† Mary Jean laughed and lowered the gun. â€Å"Sweetie, to a Texas way a thinkin' the only way you coulda screwed up worse is if you'd throwed a kid down a well after fessing up to being on the grassy knoll stompin' yellow roses in between shootin' the President. You ain't gonna fly, drive, walk, crawl, or spit if I have anything to say about it.† She put the gun in her purse and went into the tiny bathroom to check her makeup. A quick primping and she headed for the door. â€Å"I'll send up some flowers. Y'all heal up now, honey.† She wasn't going to kill him after all. Maybe he could win her back. â€Å"Mary Jean, I think I had a spiritual experience.† â€Å"I don't want to hear about any of your degenerate activities.† â€Å"No, a real spiritual experience. Like a – what do you call it? – an epiphany?† â€Å"Son, you don't know it, but you're as close to seeing the Lord as you've ever been in your life. Now you hush before I send you to perdition.† She put on her best beatific smile and left the room radiating the power of positive thinking. Tucker pulled the covers over his head and reached for the flask Jake had left. Perdition, huh? She made it sound bad. Must be in Oklahoma. 5 Our Lady of the Fishnet Stockings The High Priestess of the Shark People ate Chee-tos and watched afternoon talk shows over the satellite feed. She sat in a wicker emperor's chair. A red patent leather pump dangled from one toe. Red lipstick, red nails, a big red bow in her hair. But for a pair of silk seamed stockings, she was naked. On the screen: Meadow Malackovitch, in a neck brace, sobbed on her lawyer's shoulder – a snapshot of the pilot who had traumatized her was inset in the upper-right-hand corner. The host, a failed weatherman who now made seven figures mining trailer parks for atrocities, was reading the dubious rsum of Tucker Case. Shots of the pink jet, before and after. Stock footage of Mary Jean on an airfield tarmac, followed by Case in a leather jacket. The High Priestess touched herself lightly, leaving a faint orange stripe of Chee-to spoor on her pubes (she was a natural blonde), then keyed the intercom that connected her to the Sorcerer. â€Å"What?† came the man's voice, weary but awake. It was 2:00 A.M. The Sorcerer had been working all night. â€Å"I think we've found our pilot,† she said. 6 Who's Flying This Life? At the last minute Mary Jean changed her mind about sending Tucker Case to her cabin in the mountains. â€Å"Put him in a motel room outside of town and don't let him out until I say so.† In two weeks Tucker had seen only the nurse who came in to change his bandages and the guard. Actually, the guard was a tackle, second-string defense from SMU, six-foot-six, two hundred and seventy pounds of earnest Christian na;vet named Dusty Lemon. Tucker was lying on the bed watching television. Dusty sat hunched over the wood-grain Formica table reading Scripture. Tucker said, â€Å"Dusty, why don't you go get us a six-pack and a pizza?† Dusty didn't look up. Tuck could see the shine of his scalp through his crew cut. A thick Texas drawl: â€Å"No, sir. I don't drink and Mrs. Jean said that you wasn't to have no alcohol.† â€Å"It's not Mrs. Jean, you doofus. It's Mrs. Dobbins.† After two weeks, Dusty was beginning to get on Tuck's nerves. â€Å"Just the same,† Dusty said. â€Å"I can call for a pizza for you, but no beer.† Tuck detected a blush though the crew cut. â€Å"Dusty?† â€Å"Yes sir.† The tackle looked up from his Bible, waited. â€Å"Get a real name.† â€Å"Yes, sir,† Dusty said, a giant grin bisecting his moon face, â€Å"Tuck.† Tucker wanted to leap off the bed and cuff Dusty with his Bible, but he was a long way from being able to leap anywhere. Instead, he looked at the ceiling for a second (it was highway safety orange, like the walls, the doors, the tile in the bathroom), then propped himself up on one elbow and considered Dusty's Bible. â€Å"The red type. That the hot parts?† â€Å"The words of Jesus,† Dusty said, not looking up. â€Å"Really?† Dusty nodded, looked up. â€Å"Would you like me to read to you? When my grandma was in the hospital, she liked me to read Scriptures to her.† Tucker fell back with an exasperated sigh. He didn't understand religion. It was like heroin or golf: He knew a lot of people did it, but he didn't un-derstand why. His father watched sports every Sunday, and his mother had worked in real estate. He grew up thinking that church was something that simply interfered with games and weekend open houses. His first ex-posure to religion, other than the skin mag layouts of the women who had brought down television evangelists, had been his job with Mary Jean. For her it just seemed like good business. Sometimes he would stand in the back of the auditorium and listen to her talk to a thousand women about having God on their sales team, and they would cheer and â€Å"Hallelujah!† and he would feel as if he'd been left out of something – something beyond the apparent goofiness of it all. Maybe Dusty had something on him besides a hundred pounds. â€Å"Dusty, why don't you go out tonight? You haven't been out in two weeks. I have to be here, but you – you must have a whole line of babes crying to get you back, huh? Big football player like you, huh?† Dusty blushed again, going deep red from the collar of his practice jersey to the top of his head. He folded his hands and looked at them in his lap. â€Å"Well, I'm sorta waitin' for the right girl to come along. A lot of the girls that go after us football players, you know, they're kinda loose.† Tuck raised an eyebrow. â€Å"And?† Dusty squirmed, his chair creaked under the strain. â€Å"Well, you know, it's kinda†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And suddenly, amid the stammering, Tucker got it. The kid was a virgin. He raised his hand to quiet the boy. â€Å"Never mind, Dusty.† The big tackle slumped in his chair, exhausted and embarrassed. Tuck considered it. He, who understood so much the importance of a healthy sex life, who knew what women needed and how to give it to them, might never be able to do it again, and Dusty Lemon, who probably could produce a woody that women could chin themselves on, wasn't using it at all. He pondered it. He worked it over from several angles and came very close to having a religious experience, for who but a vicious and vengeful God would allow such injustice in the world? He thought about it. Poor Tucker. Poor Dusty. Poor, poor Tucker. He felt a lump forming in his throat. He wanted to say something that would make the kid feel better. â€Å"How old are you, Dusty?† â€Å"I'll be twenty-two next March, sir?† â€Å"Well, that's not so bad. I mean, you might be a late bloomer, you know. Or gay maybe,† Tuck said cheerfully. Dusty started to contract into the fetal position. â€Å"Sir, I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind,† he whimpered. There was a knock on the door and he uncurled, alert and ready to move. He looked to Tucker for instructions. â€Å"Well, answer it.† Dusty lumbered to the door and pulled it open a crack. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"I'm here to see Tucker Case. It's okay, I work for Mary Jean.† Tuck recognized Jake Skye's voice. â€Å"Just a second.† Dusty turned and looked to Tucker, confused. â€Å"Who knows we're here, Dusty?† â€Å"Just us and Mrs. Jean.† â€Å"Then why don't you let him in?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† He opened the door and Jake Skye strode through carrying a grocery bag and a pizza box. â€Å"Greetings.† He threw the pizza on the bed. â€Å"Pepperoni and mushroom.† He glanced at Dusty and paused, taking a moment to look the tackle up and down. â€Å"How'd you get this job? Eat your family?† â€Å"No, sir,† Dusty said. Jake patted the tackle's mammoth shoulder. â€Å"Good to be careful, I guess. Momma always said, ‘Beware of geeks bearing gifts.' Who are you?† â€Å"Jake Skye,† Tuck said, â€Å"meet Dusty Lemon. Dusty, Jake Skye, Mary Jean's jet mechanic. Be nice to Dusty, Jake, He's a virgin.† Dusty shot a vicious glare at Tuck and extended a boxing glove size mitt. Jake shook his hand. â€Å"Virgin, huh?† Jake dropped his hand. â€Å"Not including farm animals, though, right?† Dusty winced and moved to close the door. â€Å"You-all can't stay long. Mr. Case isn't supposed to see no one.† Jake put the grocery bag down on the table, pulled out a fourinch-thick bundle of mail, and tossed it on the bed next to Tucker. â€Å"Your fan mail.† Tucker picked it up. â€Å"It's all been opened.† â€Å"I was bored,† Jake said, opening the pizza box and extracting a slice. â€Å"A lot of death threats, a few marriage proposals, a couple really interesting ones had both. Oh, and an airline ticket to someplace I've never heard of with a check for expenses.† â€Å"From Mary Jean?† â€Å"Nope. Some missionary doctor in the Pacific. He wants you to fly for him. Medical supplies or something. Came FedEx yesterday. Almost took the job myself, seeing as I still have my pilot's license and you don't, but then, I can get a job here.† Tucker shuffled through the stack of mail until he found the check and the airline ticket. He unfolded the attached letter. Jake held the pizza box out to the bodyguard. â€Å"Dopey, you want some pizza?† â€Å"Dusty,† Dusty corrected. â€Å"Whatever.† To Tuck: â€Å"He wants you to leave ASAP.† â€Å"He can't go anywhere,† said Dusty. Jake retracted the box. â€Å"I can see that, Dingy. He's still wired for sound.† Jake gestured toward the catheter that snaked out of Tucker's pajama bottoms. â€Å"How long before you can travel?† Tucker was studying the letter. It certainly seemed legitimate. The doctor was on a remote island north of New Guinea, and he needed someone to fly jet loads of medical supplies to the natives. He specifically mentioned that â€Å"he was not concerned† about Tucker's lack of a pilot's license. The â€Å"need was dire† and the need was for an experienced jet pilot who could fly a Lear 45. â€Å"Well,† Jake said, â€Å"when can you roll?† â€Å"Doctor says not for a week or so,† Tucker said. â€Å"I don't get it. This guy is offering more money than I make for Mary Jean. Why me?† Jake pulled a Lone Star from the grocery bag and twisted off the cap. Tuck zeroed in on the beer. Dusty snatched it out of Jake's hand. â€Å"The question is,† Jake said, glaring at Dusty, â€Å"what the fuck is a missionary doctor in Bongo Bongo land doing with a Lear 45?† â€Å"God's work?† Dusty said innocently. Jake snatched back his beer. â€Å"Oh blow me, Huey.† â€Å"Dusty,† Dusty corrected. Tucker said, â€Å"I'm not sure this is a good idea. Maybe I should stay here and see how things pan out with the FAA. This guy wants me right away. I need more time.† â€Å"Like more time will make a difference. Damn, Tucker, you don't have to sink eyeball deep in shit to know it's a good idea to pull yourself out. Sometimes you have to make a decision.† Tucker looked at the letter again. â€Å"But I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Before Tucker could finish his protest, Jake brought the Lone Star in a screaming arc across Dusty Lemon's temple. The bodyguard fell like a dead tree and did a dead-cat bounce on the orange carpet. â€Å"Jesus!† Tucker said. â€Å"What the fuck was that?† â€Å"A decision,† Jake said. He looked up from the fallen tackle and took a pull on the foaming Lone Star. â€Å"Sometimes this high-tech world calls for low-tech solutions. Let's go.† 7 Travel Tips â€Å"I can't believe you hit him,† Tucker said. He was in the passenger seat of Jake Skye's camouflaged Land Rover. It was much more car than was re-quired for the Houston expressway, but Jake was into equipment overkill. Everything he owned was Kevlar, GorTex, Polarfleece, titanium alloy, graphite-polymer composite, or of â€Å"expedition quality.† He liked machines, understood how they worked, and could fix them if they didn't. Sometimes he spoke in an incomprehensible alphabet soup of SRAM, DRAM, FOR-TRAN, LORAN, SIMMS, SAMS, and ROM. Tuck, on the other hand, knew most of the words to â€Å"Mommas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys† and could restore burned toast to new by scraping off the black stuff. Of the two, Jake was the cool one. Tucker had always found being cool a little elusive. As Jake put it, â€Å"You've got the look, but you can't walk the walk or talk the talk. Tucker, you are a hopeless geek trapped in a cool guy's body, but out of the goodness of my heart, I will take you on as my student.† They'd been friends for four years. Jake had taught Tuck to fly. â€Å"He'll be fine. He's a jock,† Jake shouted over the buffeting wind. He hadn't bought a top for the Land Rover, opting instead for the Outback package with the â€Å"patented rhinoceros poking platform.† â€Å"He was just a kid. He was reading the Bible.† â€Å"He would have ripped my arms off if I'd let him.† Tuck nodded. That was probably true. â€Å"Where are we going?† â€Å"The airport. Everything you need is in that pack in the back.† Tucker looked into the back of the Rover. There was a large backpack. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because if I don't get you out of the country right now, you're going to jail.† â€Å"Mary Jean said she had that handled. Said her lawyers were on it.† â€Å"Right, and I go around smacking kids with beer bottles for recreation. The hooker filed a civil suit this morning. Twenty million. Mary Jean has to throw you to the wolves to save her own ass. She has to let the court prove that you fucked up all on your own. I grabbed your passport and some clothes when I got your mail.† â€Å"Jake, I can't just take off like this. I'm supposed to see a doctor tomorrow.† â€Å"For what?† Tuck pointed to the lump of bandages in his lap. â€Å"What do you think? He's supposed to take this damn tube out of me.† â€Å"We'll do it in the bathroom at the airport. There's some antibiotics in the first-aid kit in the pack. I confirmed you for a flight to Honolulu that leaves in an hour. From there you go to Guam, then to someplace called Truk. That's where this doctor is supposed to meet you. I've got it all written down. There was an e-mail address at the bottom of the letter. I sent him a message to expect you tomorrow.† â€Å"But my car, my apartment, my stuff.† â€Å"Your apartment is a pit and I put your stuff worth keeping in a ministorage. I've got the pink slip for your Camaro. Sign it over to me. I'll sell it and send you the money.† â€Å"You were pretty fucking sure I'd want to do this.† â€Å"What choice do you have?† Jake parked the Land Rover in short-term parking, shouldered the pack, and led Tucker into the international terminal. They checked the pack and found a rest room near Tucker's departure gate. â€Å"I can do this myself,† Tucker said. Jake Skye was peering over the door into the stall where Tucker was preparing to remove his bandages and, finally, the catheter. A line of businessmen washed their hands at a line of lavatories while trying not to notice what was going on behind them in the stall. â€Å"Just yank it,† Jake Skye said. â€Å"Give me a minute. I think they tied a knot inside it.† â€Å"Don't be a wuss, Tucker. Yank it.† The businessmen at the sinks exchanged raised eyebrows and one by one broke for the rest room door. Jake said, â€Å"I'm going to give you to five, then I'm coming over the stall and yanking it for you. One, two†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A rodeo cowboy at the urinals hitched up his Wranglers, pulled his hat down, and made a bowlegged beeline for the door to get on a plane to someplace where this sort of thing didn't happen. â€Å"Five!† Security guards rushed through the terminal toward the screaming. Someone was being murdered in the men's room and they were responsible. They burst into the rest room with guns drawn. Jake Skye was coiling up some tubing by the sinks. There was whimpering coming from one of the stalls. â€Å"Everything's fine, officers,† Jake said. â€Å"My friend's a little upset. He just found out that his mother died.† â€Å"My mother's not dead!† Tucker said from the stall. â€Å"He's in denial,† Jake whispered to the guards. â€Å"Here, you better takes this.† He handed the tubing to one of the guards. â€Å"We don't want him hanging himself in grief.† Ten minutes later, after condolences from the security staff, they sat in the departure lounge drinking gin and tonics, waiting for Tuck's boarding call. Around them, a score of men and women in suits fired out phone calls on cell phones while twenty more performed an impromptu dog pile at the bar, trying to occupy the minuscule smoking area. Jake Skye was cataloging the contents of the pack he'd given to Tuck. Tucker wasn't listening. He was overwhelmed with the speed with which his life had gone to shit, and he was desperately trying to sort it out. Jake's voice was lost like kazoo sounds in a wind tunnel. Jake droned, â€Å"The stove will run on anything: diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, even vodka. There's a mask, fins, and snorkel, and a couple of waterproof flashlights.† The job with Mary Jean had been perfect. A different city every few days, nice hotels, an expense account, and literally thousands of earnest Mary Jean ladies to indulge him. And they did, one or two at each convention. Inspired by Mary Jean's speeches on self-determination, motivation, and how they too could be a winner, they sought Tucker out to have their one adventurous affair with a jet pilot. And because no matter how many times it happened, he was always somewhat surprised by their advances, Tucker played a part. He behaved like a man torn from the cover of some steamy romance novel: the charming rogue, the passionate pirate who would, come morning, take his ship to sea for God, Queen, and Country. Of course, usually, sometime before morning, the women would realize that under the smooth, gin-painted exterior was a guy who sniffed his shorts to check their wearability. But for a moment, for them and for him, he had been cool. Sleazy, but cool. When the sleaze got to him, he needed only to suck a few hits of oxygen from the cabin cylinder to chase the hangover, then pull the pink jet into the sky to convince himself he was a professional, competent and in control. At altitude he turned it all over to the autopilot. But now he couldn't seduce anyone or allow himself to be seduced, and he wasn't sure he could fly. The crash had juiced him of his confidence. It wasn't the impact or even the injuries. It was that last moment, when the guy, or the angel, or whatever it was appeared in the copilot's seat. â€Å"You ever think about God?† Tucker asked Jake. Jake Skye's face went dead with incomprehension. â€Å"You're going to need to know about this stuff if you get into trouble. Kinda like checking the fuel gauges – if you know what I mean.† Tucker winced. â€Å"Look, I heard every word you said. This seemed important all of a sudden, you know?† â€Å"Well, in that case, Tuck, yes, I do think about God sometimes. When I'm with a really hot babe, and we're going at it like sweaty monkeys, I think about it then. I think about a big old pissed-off Sistine Chapel finger-pointin' motherfucker. And you know what? It works. You don't come when you're thinking about shit like that. You should try it sometime. Oh, sorry.† â€Å"Never mind,† Tucker said. â€Å"You can't let that kid with the Bible get to you. He's too young to have given up on religion†¦doesn't have enough sin under his belt. Guys like us, best bet is that it's all bullshit and we go directly to worm food. Try not to think about it.† â€Å"Right,† Tucker said, totally unsatisfied. If you had a question about any piece of gadgetry on the planet, Jake Skye was your man. But spiritually, he was a hamster. Which, actually, was one of the things Tucker used to like about him. He tried not to think about it and changed the subject. â€Å"So what do I need to know about flying a Lear 45?† Jake seemed relieved to be back into the realm of technology. â€Å"I haven't seen one yet, but they say it flies just like Mary Jean's old Lear 25, only faster and a longer range. Better avionics. Read the manuals when you get there.† â€Å"What about navigation equipment?† Tucker's navigation was weak. Since he'd gotten his jet license, he'd depended completely on automatic systems.† â€Å"You'll be fine. You don't buy a four-million-dollar plane and cheap out on the navigation and radios. This doctor's got an e-mail address, which means he's got a computer. You'll be able to access charts and weather, and file flight plans with that. Check the facilities at your destinations, so you'll know what to expect. Some of these Third World airstrips just have a native with a candle for night landings. And check your fuel availability. They'll sell you sewer water instead of jet fuel if you don't check. You ever deal with Third World airport cops?† Tucker shrugged. Jake knew damn well he hadn't. He'd gotten his hours flying copilot in the Mary Jean jet, and they'd never taken that outside of the continental United States except for one trip to Hawaii. â€Å"Well,† Jake continued, â€Å"the catchword is ‘bribe, bribe, and bribe.' Offer the highest amount you can at the lowest level of authority. Always have a thick roll of American dollars with you, and don't bring it to the table if you're not willing to lose it. Keep something stashed in your shoe if they tap you out.† â€Å"You think this doctor is going to have me hauling drugs?† â€Å"Good chance of it, don't you think? Besides, it doesn't matter. These people are brutal. Half the time the government guys have the same last name, so if you move up the ladder, you're just talking to the uncle of the last one that hit you. He has to charge you more out of pride.† Tucker cradled his head in his hands and stared into his gin and tonic. â€Å"I'm fucked.† Jake patted him on the arm, then drew back at the intimacy of the act. â€Å"They're calling your flight. You'll be fine.† They rose and Jake threw some cash on the table. At the gate Tucker turned to his friend. â€Å"Man, I don't know what to say.† Jake extended his hand. â€Å"No sweat, man. You'd have done it for me.† â€Å"I really hate flying in the back. Check on that kid from the motel, okay.† â€Å"I'm on it. Look, everything you need is in the pack. Don't leave it behind.† â€Å"Right,† Tucker said. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He turned and walked down the ramp to the plane. Jake Skye watched him go, then turned, walked to a pay phone, dialed some numbers, and waited. â€Å"Yeah, it's Jake. He's on his way. Yeah, gone for good. When can I pick up my check?†

what lead to federation essays

what lead to federation essays THE ISSUES THAT LED TO THE FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA From about 1850 1890 there was a strong movement for a federation of the colonies. In about 1857, a Victorian committee stated that a federal union would be in the interest of all the growing colonies. However, there was not enough interest or enthusiasm for taking positive steps towards bringing the colonies together. Some people thought that the rivalry that existed between the colonies was too strong to be able to come to any agreement. Calls for greater unity grew louder as the century progressed and several reasons began to stand out as significant in the push for a federation between the colonies. Some of the reasons for federation to take place included, defense, transport, communication, the desire for white Australia and the economic advantages to be gained. Defense was raised as an issue from the 1880s. Each colony had its own defense force and was heavily reliant on the British navy for protection. European countries were taking interest in the area and there was concern that there may be a need for a stronger and more unified defense force. Colonial government knew that it would be difficult to stop other European nations from setting up colonies. When Germany occupied the Northern part of New Guinea, some people believed that a united Australia could have kept Germany out all together. Through a federal union of the colonies, there were economical advantages to be gained. The tariff policies of the different colonies were progressively more irritating to business people. Under a federation, these would be removed and free trade would lessen the costs of production and open up new markets. Some politicians believed that the business and government of other countries, particularly Britain, would be more willing to invest and grant loans to a united Australia rather than to individual colonies. ...

Anti-Semitism Essay Writing

Anti-Semitism Essay Writing Anti-semitism is a word that is used for those people who are against Jews or Jewish communities. It is a discriminatory word that became very popular during and after the Holocaust. Although this word became strong during this time it was not a new word for Jews. The word anti-Semitism has been around since the time of when early Greeks and Romans reigned. This book explained how the name Jew originates from the word Judah, one of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. These tribes were persecuted by the Greeks and Romans and then separated throughout all parts of the world. Being spread all over the world they had no place to call their homeland, therefore people in the communities where they settled called them the others. Another strike against them during these times were their lack of one religion to worship from and this also contributed to their criticism. During the reign of the dictatorship of Hitler is when the world started their negative thinking towards the Jews. Hitler put the blame of the financial hardship of Germany on the Jewish people, which began the hatred of the Germans towards the Jews. This started Hitlers support from the German people, but not all supported him completely on his actions towards the Jews and their torture. Some of the German people who did not side with Hitler did not make it aware to anybody during the time of the Holocaust because they too would have been treated as a Jew even though they were not. The non-supporters later came out after Hitlers defeat and admitted to helping the Jews escape their deaths and torture by transporting them from warehouses, abandoned schools and even in their own homes. Even though the non-supporters efforts were strong Hitlers reign still was able to kill 3.5 million Jews. One of Hitlers allies was Joseph Stalin a Russian Dictator during Hitlers Reign. Stalin was at first a supporter of Jews and had hired many into the governing body of Russia. After finding out about all that Hitler was proclaiming Stalin then began to strike against the Jews in Russia, first by firing all government employees that were Jews then by taking away their right to their own religion. These acts led to an outbreak of terrorism towards the Russian authorities and government agents by the Jewish people. With the Jewish religion being abolished by the Russian dictatorship most of the Russian Jews were wishing to leave their homeland just to be able to worship their own religion. Most Jews were denied their request to emigrate. After the Holocaust and during Stalins Dictatorship in Russia most of the Jews from both countries that were awarded emigration flocked to the U.S. mainly for the purpose of freedom of religion. The American people were seeing the over abundant amount of Jewish emigration and were getting concerned about an over population of Jewish communities that could then over populate America and take over with their own way of living. America didnt only offer Jews a place to worship without worry of prosecution, but the discrimination against them also followed them to the U.S. Groups such as the Skinheads or the KKK were enveloped with the growing amount of negative acts against them. Some of these acts such as attaching hate notes to bricks or rocks and throwing them through the windows of Jewish homes. The KKK also went as far as lynching a Jew if they had found that a Jewish person had done something wrong in the community or even just a rumor of such. American teenagers were also getting into the act of terrorism by vandalizing the homes of Jewish families. When the juveniles were captured and taken in for questioning the officers were finding out that the kids had no idea why they were doing such acts, but could only say that all they knew is that certain acts of vandalism would be upsetting to the families. History books only skim the history behind Judaism and the Jews that is why kids are just doing these crimes out of spite and for no other particular reason. Even in modern day America discrimination does still exist. Through all the equal rights laws and freedom of religion there will always be groups of people who will think their way of life is better which brings hatred and terrorism.

Using the Spanish Preposition Durante

Using the Spanish Preposition Durante The Spanish preposition durante has roughly the same meaning as the English during and is thus used in indicating what happens in durations of time. However, it is not used in exactly the same way as its English equivalent, and it is often better translated by the preposition for rather than by during. Durante is used most similarly to during when it takes a singular object: Durante febrero, las condiciones de sequà ­a empeoraron. During February, drought conditions got worse.El nivel del mar ha subido entre 10 y 20 cm durante el siglo XX. The sea level rose between 10 and 20 centimeters during the 20th century.Se recomienda la utilizacià ³n de gafas del sol durante el tiempo del tratamiento. The use of sunglasses is recommended during the time of treatment. Unlike the English word, durante is freely used with plural periods of time: Durante aà ±os ha ocupado la atencià ³n de nuestros medios de noticias. For years it has had the attention of our news media.Mantenerse en esta posicià ³n durante cuatro segundos. Stay in this position for four seconds.Durante muchos siglos los antisemitas odiaban la religià ³n de los judà ­os. For many centuries, anti-Semites hated the Jewish religion. When speaking of past events, the preterite progressive verb form (the progressive form using the preterite of estar) is used to indicate that something happened during the entire period of time. Thus Estuve estudiando durante los tres meses would be used to say, I studied for the full three months. But Estudià © durante los tres meses would mean only that I studied at some point during the three months.

Immigration Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Immigration Law - Essay Example It was a state of peace, goodwill, preservation and mutual assistance. In this state of nature, people had all the rights which the nature could provide. The provision of these rights is justified by the fact that in the state of nature, the human natural condition was a state of complete and perfect liberty that was able to conduct a person’s life in a way that one could see best fits. The other theoretical model of state is the state as a provider of identity. In this theory, a person is mainly identified by state he or she comes from. Despite the plethora of human identification, very little attention has been paid when it comes to identification of foreigners in a given state. Given the present globalization and internationalization of human movement, the inflow of foreigners into states has remained too high.1 In the modern times, nationalism is one of the main social and political problems. Nationalism mainly involves imposing culture in a society which replaces most multiculturalism, local and low cultures. The origin of nationalism regards the transformation of a society from a social structure and agrarian based economy to one which is mainly centered on industrialism. A society before industrialism was vertically bound and about 80 percent of its population made up of peasant farmers. There were strict boundaries between communities and between classes. With these separate communities being bound under the ‘state’, they do not share a common language, myths, memories, ancestry or religion. Peasant were born as farmers and still died as farmers with no chances of social advancement or economic mobility due to lack of standardized education. As a result, these communities totally did not wish to impose their culture or language to the neighboring communities. Nationalism strives for ethnicity or one culture under the same roof or ‘state’. The mentioned is the most successful

John Dalton's Atomic Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

John Dalton's Atomic Theory - Essay Example John Dalton, born in the 18th century is known as the father of Atomic Theory and is mainly known for his work on the atomic theory and Dalton’s Law for partial gases (Fishman, 2008). By education he was a chemist and later shifted his focus on researching and meteorology. Even though, today advanced research has shown that Dalton’s theory was not absolutely correct, yet we cannot forget his pioneering work that encouraged others to think on the same lines and made progression in the field. After the proposed theory and up to this day any work in the fields of physics or chemistry is very much rooted in the theory. Dalton, was very much fascinated with the properties of gases. It was while doing research on meteorology that we concluded that when water evaporated it existed as an independent gas. He explained that unless both water and air were composed of the same discrete particles it was not possible for both to exist in the air together. This encouraged him to perform a series of experiments with gases, following which he proposed his atomic theory. While introducing his concept he published in the book A New System of Chemical Philosophy that â€Å"We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence (Dalton, 1808). In short Dalton proposed four main concepts. Firstly, all matter is made up of minute and indestructible atoms. Secondly, all atoms in similar elements have identical chemical and physical properties. Next he also said that compounds are made up of atoms combining in a fixed ratio and lastly, he proposed that chemical reactions merely include the rearrangement of the constituent particles (Thompson, 1807). On a personal level, I think that Dalton’s work is truly pioneering and phenomenal since a simple evaporation of water instilled questions in his mind about the existence of smaller particles. One of the major drawbacks that can be seen in his experiments is that

Old Turtle Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Old Turtle Story - Essay Example Thus, it is vital for humans to handle nature with most peculiar care and respect. Moreover, presence of ancestors and voices of natural entities proclaim the need to preserve them for human survival and future generations. Thus, a supernatural force has always been needed for humans to guide them of their wrong actions. ‘Old Turtle’ by Douglas Wood is a tale which revolves around many themes. However, the most notable of those are two, which declare that the presence of God can be seen and felt in his creation and natural life of Earth has been a power and sign of God’s presence. Since, the inception humans argued about the presence of God and that created a chaos and discord on Earth. Therefore, the author eventually signifies through animals, rock, mountain, river and breeze (every God created entity) that God is present and need not to be seen but felt and believed in. Existence of God, spirits, and life on Earth is closely intertwined and that was the core religious ideas for the preliminary habitants of Earth. According to Ake HultKrantz, due to geographical location Native American tribes mainly believed in spirits, shamanism, hunting and animal rituals as both cultural and religious practices (12). Same can be observed in ‘The old turtle’ when different animals associated God’s presence in the excellence of their personal trait. In the tale, animals and natural entities like breeze and rocks have voices so to speak of their presence and significance. Thus, wise turtle sums up how to consider mightiness of God at the supreme level of each and every trait of all the species of Earth (Wood). Simultaneously, Native American life style was closely associated to nature (popular perceptions like mother Earth) thus, hunting and belief in spirits were considered religious trait and due to tribal life style differences in religious norms appeared as none of the tribes

Marketing McDonald's in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing McDonald's in India - Essay Example Ltd. Ever since its launch; there has been significant amount of internal and external threats that have been faced by the brand on a regular basis. The SWOT Analysis Strengths: The brand McDonalds presents the American culture in the customized Indian menus, which is a huge take home for Indian consumers. The big and established brand name of McDonald’s has become a part of the lifestyle of today’s India, and youngsters in the age group of 18 -25 finds it as an enriching and satisfying experience while satisfying their taste buds. Low priced meals for the lunch and dinner time have helped the brand to attract young consumers in the McDonalds outlets, who try to cover up their eating habits with their limited pocket money based finances (ICMR n.d., p.7-8).. The menu is highly customized in nature in order to cater to the taste and preferences of Indian consumers (ICMR n.d., p.6-7). Highly segmented division of food menus for catering to both vegetarian and non vegetaria n consumers (ICMR n.d., p.7). Provides value for money products for single items and bundled product offerings for multiple items, thereby giving the customers a very effective pricing advantage that fits into their consumption styles and patterns (ICMR n.d., p.7). Weakness With the rise in fuel costs, offering flat prices for home delivery just at the rate of Rs.10 may actually reduce the profit margin for the brand in the long run. Due to tremendous popularity of the brand, there has been a significant amount of opportunity cost involved with the failure to entertain customers. Failure to entertain customers due to non availability of space in the outlets may lead customers to switch to other brands like KFC, Dominos etc. Opportunities From the time period of 1995, when McDonalds fast entered into Indian market through joint venture collaboration, an average person used to eat out only 3-4 times a month. But there has been a significant change in the consumer behaviour as of recen t times. As of today, more and more individuals prefer to eat out on a more regular basis with average spending ranging from Rs 100 – 150 (ICMR n.d., p.15). The rise of nuclear families in India has also popularized the concept of eating out and also increasing the number of footfalls at the quick service outlets like McDonalds (ICMR n.d., p.14). Threats In order to keep up with competitors of global repute like KFC, Taco Bell, Domino’s and Pizza Hut who aiming to gain an increase in market share in India by opening new outlets all over India at a very aggressive pace, it is increasingly necessary for McDonalds to get into a hyper expansion mode and fund the expansion into small town areas and regional locations by venturing into Tier II and Tier III cities (ICMR n.d., p.14-15). For developing and sustaining with the expansion process, it is

Enterprise resource planning systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterprise resource planning systems - Essay Example As well, the literature search involves other organizations with comparable characteristics and using industry-oriented (IERP) system (Kayas, McLean, Hines & Wright, 2008). With this understanding, a comparative analysis to assess the weaknesses and strengths of the architectures of every system and how each system has been or might have been effective in the planning processes is presented from a broad perspective. To start with is the analysis of the first two organizations, which have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. From literature, CISCO and IBM are two organizations with comparable culture; hence they have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) system towards realizing organizational objectives and gains in the shortest time possible (Wolfrum & Christopher, 2007). CISCO Systems is one of the organizations known to have efficient and well designed organizational system. CISCO Systems firm has always been focused in keeping a positive business culture in all its business activities through the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (Lea, Gupta & Yu, 2005). As well, IBM Inc. is another firm that has implemented this type of system towards managing its business operations and enhancing effective and competent production in the global perspective. Through comparing these organizations, it is quite clear that the architectures of the systems used have some points of weaknesses and strengths, which may be effective in planning. On the points of strengths, the architecture of this systems helps to manage business operations whereas enhancing simplicity in labor force (Huang, Wang, Yu & Chiu, 2004). However, the architecture of the systems brings inconvenience at some points, given that systems are prone to malfunction. Secondly, the other two comparable organizations in terms of characteristics and use of industry-oriented (IERP) system

How alcoholic and drug-attic parents effects a students learner, and Research Paper

How alcoholic and drug-attic parents effects a students learner, and what is there outcome in life - Research Paper Example Children are heavily dependent on their parents especially during the early stages of their life. Parents satisfy all their demands and provide love, care and attention and thus create an atmosphere conducive for the overall development of their children. But this description is not suitable for certain households in which either of the parents are drug addicts or alcoholics. The familial atmosphere is entirely different in such cases and the children who belong to such families face a number of difficulties which cause serious damages to their character formation and also to the overall development of the child. Studies have also found that the academic performance of such learners is also adversely affected. This paper is an attempt to analyze the difficulties faced by student learners with alcoholic or drug-attic parents, to identify the impact of parental alcoholism on the life of their children and also to identify appropriate strategies to deal with such children. Challenges fa ced by learners of Alcoholic Parents Many studies have shown that most of the children start identifying the parental drug use and alcoholism between 10 to 12 years of age even though it is subjected to interpersonal variations. There are also cases in which the child identifies some sort of problem in his house even at the age of five but fails to recognize what exactly the problem is because none of the family members will be ready to explain things to him. According to the results of National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in the year 1996 8.3 million children in the United States live with alcoholic or drug addict parents and the most surprising fact is that this contributes to 11 percent of the total child population in the US. Appendix 1 provides a clear idea regarding the nature of substance abuse by parents. 3.8 million children live with alcoholic parents and 2.1 million children live in households with their drug addict parents and 2.4 million children belong to parents wh o are addicted to both alcohol and drugs (see Appendix 1). It is also observed that the children living with substance abusing parents are found in all age groups. Appendix 2 gives the statistics of children who belong to different age groups and who live with drug-attic and alcoholic parents (see Appendix 2). These statistics are quite disturbing and alarming. The drug use and alcoholism of parents put their children in dilemma at early ages which affect their character formation adversely as they grow. The effect may vary from person to person but it is much heavier in the case of certain individuals. There is a global acceptance regarding the fact that parental alcoholism adversely affects the emotional, cognitive and social functions of the children as they are exposed to the parental illness for a long period of time. There is every possibility for such persons to become anti-socials and to be involved in criminal activities and eventually to end up in prison (Frank, 1983, p.22 ). It is also possible to observe a high degree of risk involved in the case of children with alcoholic and drug addict parents to develop personality disorders, behavioral problems and ultimately to become alcoholic and drug addicts. The parent-child conflicts and conflicts between their patents may lead to impaired

Enterprise resource planning systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterprise resource planning systems - Essay Example As well, the literature search involves other organizations with comparable characteristics and using industry-oriented (IERP) system (Kayas, McLean, Hines & Wright, 2008). With this understanding, a comparative analysis to assess the weaknesses and strengths of the architectures of every system and how each system has been or might have been effective in the planning processes is presented from a broad perspective. To start with is the analysis of the first two organizations, which have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. From literature, CISCO and IBM are two organizations with comparable culture; hence they have implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) system towards realizing organizational objectives and gains in the shortest time possible (Wolfrum & Christopher, 2007). CISCO Systems is one of the organizations known to have efficient and well designed organizational system. CISCO Systems firm has always been focused in keeping a positive business culture in all its business activities through the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (Lea, Gupta & Yu, 2005). As well, IBM Inc. is another firm that has implemented this type of system towards managing its business operations and enhancing effective and competent production in the global perspective. Through comparing these organizations, it is quite clear that the architectures of the systems used have some points of weaknesses and strengths, which may be effective in planning. On the points of strengths, the architecture of this systems helps to manage business operations whereas enhancing simplicity in labor force (Huang, Wang, Yu & Chiu, 2004). However, the architecture of the systems brings inconvenience at some points, given that systems are prone to malfunction. Secondly, the other two comparable organizations in terms of characteristics and use of industry-oriented (IERP) system

Rhetorical Analysis (Ad Critique) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical Analysis (Ad Critique) - Essay Example The advertisement may look silly and nonsensical. It showed how everybody was moved to dance including the characters in the video game and painting but this silliness made the audience immediately understand what the ad is all about – that it is an energy drink. The audience may not understand what is in the drink or what the ingredients are, but they know that whatever is in the energy can surely make one move. Of course the audience know that the advertisement is exaggerated. But they do not necessarily believe whatever was shown in the ad that even the animals, painting and video character dance. The ad may not be physically feasible but it appealed to the audience’s tickle bone that made the advertisement funny and memorable. In this advertisement, the pathos or emotional is taken to the extreme because other rhetorical device were discarded particularly the logos or logic. In an effort of the advertisement to make an impression to its audience through the use of pathos, it disregarded the consideration of logic. Such, the advertisement did not mind if it made any sense or not. It just wanted to sell its product after all and not to make sense. Mountain Dew knows that it is not reason that makes people buy but rather their emotion. So the approach of the advertisement is to make a point that the audience understands that the product that the advertisement is trying to sell will make them energetic. It was able to achieve this by showing that everybody in the ad danced after the main characters drank the energy drink. Never mind if it is impossible or silly to see a painting dance or a mounted deer or even a dog to dance. As long as the audience finds it cute and made them smile or laugh, then the ad had served its purpose of appealing to the emotion of the audience and most likely, they will buy the product when they see one. The Mountain Dew Kickstart

The Defining Characteristics of Ancient Egypt Essay Example for Free

The Defining Characteristics of Ancient Egypt Essay As ancient civilizations began to be recovered by archeologists and theories abounded, Vere Gordon Childe took the reins and wrote on his findings for nearly the last forty years of his life. Indeed, Childe was the first to â€Å"[view] the development of cultures as homotaxial, [which] led Childe to define stages of civilization according to social and economic patterns . † It is this approach that led archeologists to view ancient civilizations as prospering economies and has helped to set the characteristics for further defining them. Ancient Egypt, for example, can be defined by three major elements: the effects of the first wars in Egypt, the hieroglyphics that define Egypt as a literary culture, and the parliamentary Egypt, that of Kingdoms, Empires, and City-States. Ancient Egypt was not a warring nation and did not seek out new territories and conquest. In fact, during the Old Kingdom, the pharaohs were mostly involved in their people, their governments, and in building their economy. However, it was not to last. The early Asiatics invaded Egypt and brought the fall of the Old Kingdom. For the first time, Egypt had to set up defenses and plan for attacks from their surrounding nations and during the Middle Kingdom, Egypt took great strides to protect themselves from the warring and invading barbarians. By the New Kingdom, Egypt had become a vast military power and the neighboring nations had much to fear from retaliatory conquest and invasion. Egypt was not the simple, quiet nation that they once were—they were a powerful, wealthy nation that saw conquest as a way to further enrich their people and nation. Another way in which ancient Egypt can be defined characteristically is through their hieroglyphics. Egyptian hieroglyphics are one of the most complex languages in history; and, throughout archeological study, it is one of the few languages that has lasted without change for centuries. Indeed, â€Å"perhaps no modern society, with the possible exception of France, has such a preoccupation with the purity of language as the Egyptian society does . † Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics tell many stories: that of love, war, and planting seasons. They were, undeniably, as literary a nation as any have ever been. Finally, the development of Egyptian parliamentary procedures has a set of characteristics not seen in any other ancient nation. Egypt began with a ruling pharaoh—known affectionately as the â€Å"pyramid builders† who created the most striking and remarkable archeology in history with each new ruling leader. Pharaohs ruled their kingdoms for life, at which time their throne passed on to a son or relative—unless the family was overthrown. And, it is at the end of these reigns that war, strife, and even prosperousness have made their marks on Egypt—most notably, the end of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom, which brought rulers strikingly different from those of the past as Egypt moved to prosperity as a nation and war for conquest. Overall, as archeologists know, â€Å"no more difficult task confronts the historian than to trace the gradual emergence of a civilization, since this necessarily belongs to ages where written documents are either non-existent or very scanty . † It is through their tiring study that ancient Egypt and the characteristics that define it as a nation have emerged. Of these characteristics, a study of ancient war, hieroglyphics, and Egyptian parliamentary procedures mark Egypt most profoundly, differentiating it from other ancient nations. Bibliography. Asante, Molefi Kete. (2002). Culture and Customs of Egypt. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Childe, Vere Gordon. (1956). Piecing Together the Past: The Interpretation of Archelogical Data. New York: Frederick A. Praeger. Erman, Adolf. (2001). Life in Ancient Egypt, Vol. 2. London: Macmillian. Gardiner, Alan. (1964). Egypt of the Pharoahs: An Introduction. London: Oxford UP. Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C. and Jeremy A. Sabloff. (1979). Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing.

Reflection on Engineering Work

Reflection on Engineering Work PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER Summary Statement These are the competency Units and Elements. These elements must be addressed in the Summary Statement (see Section C). If you are applying for assessment as a Professional Engineer, you will need to download this page, complete it and lodge it with your application. Competency Element A brief summary of how you have applied the element Paragraph number in the career episode(s) where the element is addressed PE1 KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASE PE1.1 Comprehensive, theory-based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the engineering discipline Theoretical knowledge gained from studying Renewable Energy Resources , Mechanics of Materials and Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning was used in the projects. CE 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 PE1.2 Conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics and computer and information sciences which underpin the engineering discipline I used different mathematical equations for the designing of Parabolic Trough. Heating and Cooling load for the Air Conditioning were calculated using load calculation equations. CAMEL software was used to optimize the load and analyze and compare it with manual calculations. CE 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 3.8, 3.11, 3.12, 3.21 PE1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline Knowledge gained in Finite Element Methods and analysis software ANSYS helped to analyze the drop table. CE 2.1, 2.2, 2.10 PE1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline Sequential switching of energy resources from traditional fossil fuels to renewable energy resources is seeming eminent. Parabolic Trough is the future of energy sector in energy deficient countries, like Pakistan. CE 1.1, 1.2,1.21 PE1.5 Knowledge of contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline Being aware of the side effects some of fossil fuels have on the environment, helped us to use the environmental friendly Solar power to generate electricity. It reduces the carbon foot print and hence, guarantees a greener and healthier future. CE 1.2, 1.21 PE1.6 Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of contemporary engineering practice in the specific discipline Being project leader the responsibility laid on my shoulders to ensure successful timely completion of the project. For this I employed Primavera and Microsoft Project software to finish the project within given timeline. CE 1.8, 2.7, 3.5, 3.7 PE2 ENGINEERING APPLICATION ABILITY PE2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving Working on renewable energy project incited students and industrialists to use this energy source to power their needs. And I visited them to help them design the projects. CE 1.21 PE2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources I used the VRV system instead of the Central Air Conditioning as it is more energy efficient and gives more control. I used CAMEL to analyze the manual load calculations and suggest changings in the structure of building. ANSYS was used to analyze the drop table for the drop test. CE 2.2, 2.10, 3.4, 3.21, 3.22 PE2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes In each project I followed the engineering design process i.e. Defined the problem, searched for solution and picked a solution and developed it (Solar Power Plant). At the end, I prepared the report for each project including all experiments in systematic order. CE 1.21 PE2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects I used my management skills and software i.e. Primavera and Microsoft Project to keep track of the progress and finish it within given time. CE 1.7, 1.8, 2.7, 3.5, 3.7 PE3 PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES PE3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability Before the start of each project I made sure that my team follows the predefined guide lines to ensure professional and ethical conduct. Safety talks before every critical activity helped to achieve this goal. CE 1.8, 1.9, 1.20, 2.14 PE3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains I presented my Final Year Project (Solar Trough) in front of project supervisor, Chairman of Mechanical Engineering department and an external examiner. CE 1.21 PE3.3 Creative innovative and proactive demeanour Used economical techniques to select the Concentrated Solar Power technology, which need small absorbing surfaces and large reflective surfaces. Absorbing materials are more expensive than the reflective surfaces. CE 1.10 PE3.4 Professional use and management of information I kept record of all the meetings by writing minutes of meetings at the end of each meeting. Prepared the project reports using all the experimental and theoretical knowledge. CE 1.5,1.8,1.9,2.7,3.5,3.7 PE3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct My leadership skills and professional attitude during my final year project helped me to be leader in next two projects as well. Leading project teams more than once groomed my leadership skills and helped to enhance my professional conduct. CE 1.7, 2.1, 3.5 PE3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership My leadership in the projects was effective enough to finish the projects well in time and in good team spirit. I inspired my team members to work through difficult situations and solve issues without being stressed out. CE 3.5, 2.11,

Stereotypes and Stereotyping - I Was a Teenage Hippie Essay -- Example

Stereotyping - I Was a Teenage Hippie Imagine a 17-year-old kid. He is five feet eleven inches tall, weighs 180 lbs., with very long hair and a beard. His hair parts in the middle and stops at his waist, meaning his hair is about three and a half feet long. He dresses not for the fashion of the day, but with old standards: blue jeans and a flannel shirt in the winter or blue jeans and a short sleeve shirt in the summer. Generally, his shirts in summer are T-shirts, typically with some provocative text or an advertisement for a rock group. That kid was me in 1974. I was the stereotypical "hippie," and my social circle during that year and the four years preceding it (two of those years in middle school and two years in high school) included other hippies. The hippie subculture has often been subject to a stereotyped image over the years. The image identified with the hippie is one of an individual that is generally unclean and unkempt, usually lives in squalor, has a drug habit, and is not very smart. Of course, male members of the hippie subculture all had long hair. Though the conservatives stereotyped me and my friends by what they saw, they did not know a single thing about us. The group I was involved with socially was made up of eight other guys besides myself and two girls, but the eleven of us were known by our peers as "The Dirty Dozen." We were looked upon by the conservatives in our town as being "just a bunch of damn hippies." Obviously, The Dirty Dozen was stereotyped because of our appearance. Indeed, it would have been easy for any of us to change our image to something more socially acceptable. For example, cutting my air, shaving off my beard, and changing my... ...day. I find myself not being so quick to judge by looks alone. I find myself consciously thinking that I should not stereotype what I see before me. I do not know the person; I only know the image. I certainly do not want to consider myself so narrow minded that I engage in the very behavior displayed by the conservatives in the 1960s and 1970s. Because of the tendency of people to stereotype others, I hold the belief that I would be subject to stereotyping today. While I maintain views that might be politically incorrect and continue to hold dear a bit of the non-conforming attitude embraced by the hippie subculture, would people guess that to look at me today? Considering my conservative image today, would people guess that on the inside I might still be a "hippie?" Or would they look at me and see me as a "boring old fart" conservative yuppie?

High School Sports Importance

High School Sports Most high schools have at least four sports they offer to their students. In many districts, there must be an equal amount of sports for boys and girls. Some even have co-ed sporting clubs. High school sports have been a vital part of the high school curriculum for many years. For years the school districts have realized the importance of sports. However, not all parents fully realize the importance. Some children are not even allowed to participate in school sports, because of the cost, the time commitment, or the possibility of injury.The truth is that high school sports are more than just fun. They are great tools to helpstudents learn about life. They can teach students who are involved many things. Teamwork, cooperation, and leadership are several things students can learn from school sports. They can take these things into their everyday lives as well. When they build confidence on the sporting field, they are also building confidence against the world. They will be able to work well with others in all other areas of life as well. High school sports are also the perfect way to keep teens away from drugs and other dangerous behaviors.Coaches are great role models that can often encourage players to be well behaved. Some schools even have limits on GPAs for their athletes. If a student athlete’s grades fall below a certain point, they cannot play. Students who love sports will do anything to play, including study more. They will also be less likely to try drugs or break the law in any other manner. So, allow your children to participate in school sports. Get involved and make friends with the parents of the other students as well. The whole family can have a great time and learn about sports together

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SEVENTEEN GAIA

GAIA It took hours for the ship from the space station to reach the vicinity of the Far Star – very long hours for Trevize to endure. Had the situation been normal, Trevize would have tried to signal and would have expected a response. If there had been no response, he would have taken evasive action. Since he was unarmed and there had been no response, there was nothing to do but wait. The computer would not respond to any direction he could give it that involved anything outside the ship. Internally, at least, everything worked well. The life-support systems were in perfect order, so that he and Pelorat were physically comfortable. Somehow, that didn't help. Life dragged on and the uncertainty of what was to come was wearing him down. He noticed with irritation that Pelorat seemed calm. As though to make it worse, while Trevize felt no sense of hunger at all, Pelorat opened a small container of chicken-bits, which on opening had rapidly and automatically warmed itself. Now he was eating it methodically. Trevize said irritably, â€Å"Space, Janov! That stinks!† Pelorat looked startled and sniffed at the container. â€Å"It smells all right to me, Golan.† Trevize shook his head. â€Å"Don't mind me. I'm just upset. But do use a fork. Your fingers will smell of chicken all day.† Pelorat looked at his fingers with surprise. â€Å"Sorry! I didn't notice. I was thinking of something else.† Trevize said sarcastically, â€Å"Would you care to guess at what type of nonhumans the creatures on the approaching ship must be?† He was ashamed that he was less calm than Pelorat was. He was a Navy veteran (though he had never seen battle, of course) and Pelorat was a historian. Yet his companion sat there quietly. Pelorat said, â€Å"It would be impossible to imagine what direction evolution would take under conditions differing from those of Earth. The possibilities may not be infinite, but they would be so vast that they might as well be. However, I can predict that they are not senselessly violent and they will treat us in a civilized fashion. If that wasn't true, we would be dead by now.† â€Å"At least you can still reason, Janov, my friend – you can still be tranquil. My nerves seem to be forcing their way through whatever tranquilization they have put us under. I have an extraordinary desire to stand up and pace. Why doesn't that blasted ship arrive?† Pelorat said, â€Å"I am a man of passivity, Golan. I have spent my life doubled over records while waiting for other records to arrive. I do nothing but wait. You are a man of action and you are in deep pain when action is impossible.† Trevize felt some of his tension leave. He muttered, â€Å"I underestimate your good sense, Janov.† â€Å"No, you don't,† said Pelorat placidly, â€Å"but even a naive academic can sometimes make sense out of life.† â€Å"And even the cleverest politician can sometimes fail to do so.† â€Å"I didn't say that, Golan.† – â€Å"No, but I did. – So let me become active. I can still observe. The approaching ship is close enough to seem distinctly primitive.† â€Å"Seem?† Trevize said, â€Å"If it's the product of nonhuman minds and hands, what may seem primitive may, in actual fact, be merely nonhuman.† â€Å"Do you think it might be a nonhuman artifact?† asked Pelorat, his face reddening slightly. â€Å"I can't tell. I suspect that artifacts, however much they may vary from culture to culture, are never quite as plastic as products of genetic differences might be.† â€Å"That's just a guess on your part. All we know are different cultures. We don't know different intelligent species and therefore have no way of judging how different artifacts might be.† â€Å"Fish, dolphins, penguins, squids, even the ambiflexes, which are not of Earthly origin – assuming the others are – all solve the problem of motion through a viscous medium by streamlining, so that their appearances are not as different as their genetic makeup might lead one to believe. It might be so with artifacts.† â€Å"The squid's tentacles and the ambiflex's helical vibrators,† responded Pelorat, â€Å"are enormously different from each other, and from the fins, flippers, and limbs of vertebrates. It might be so with artifacts.† â€Å"In any case,† said Trevize, â€Å"I feel better. Talking nonsense with you, Janov, quiets my nerves. And I suspect we'll know what we're getting into soon, too. The ship is not going to be able to dock with ours and whatever is on it will come across on an old-fashioned tether – or we will somehow be urged to cross to it on one – since the unilock will be useless. – Unless some nonhuman will use some other system altogether.† â€Å"How big is the ship?† â€Å"Without being able to use the ship's computer to calculate the distance of the ship by radar, we can't possibly know the size.† A tether snaked out toward the Far Star. Trevize said, â€Å"Either there's a human aboard or nonhumans use the same device. Perhaps nothing but a tether can possibly work.† â€Å"They might use a tube,† said Pelorat, â€Å"or a horizontal ladder.† â€Å"Those are inflexible things. It would be far too complicated to try to make contact with those. You need something that combines strength and flexibility.† The tether made a dull clang on the Far Star as the solid hull (and consequently the air within) was set to vibrating. There was the usual slithering as the other ship made the fine adjustments of speed required to bring the two into a common velocity. The tether was motionless relative to both. A black dot appeared on the hull of the other ship and expanded like the pupil of an eye. Trevize grunted. â€Å"An expanding diaphragm, instead of a sliding panel.† â€Å"Nonhuman?† â€Å"Not necessarily, I suppose. But interesting.† A figure emerged. Pelorat's lips tightened for a moment and then he said in a disappointed voice, â€Å"Too bad. Human.† â€Å"Not necessarily,† said Trevize calmly. â€Å"All we can make out is that there seem to be five projections. That could be a head, two arms, and two legs – but it might not be. – Wait!† â€Å"What?† â€Å"It moves more rapidly and smoothly than I expected. – Ah!† â€Å"What?† â€Å"There's some sort of propulsion. It's not rocketry, as nearly as I can tell, but neither is it hand over hand. Still, not necessarily human.† There seemed an incredibly long wait despite the quick approach of the figure along the tether, but there was finally the noise of contact. Trevize said, â€Å"It's coming in, whatever it is. My impulse is to tackle it the minute it appears.† He balled a fist. â€Å"I think we had better relax,† said Pelorat. â€Å"It may be stronger than we. It can control our minds. There are surely others on the ship. We had better wait till we know more about what we are facing.† â€Å"You grow more and more sensible by the minute, Janov,† said Trevize, â€Å"and I, less and less.† They could hear the airlock moving into action and finally the figure appeared inside the ship. â€Å"About normal size,† muttered Pelorat. â€Å"The space suit could fit a human being.† â€Å"I never saw or heard of such a design, but it doesn't fall outside the limits of human manufacture, it seems to me. – It doesn't say anything.† The space-suited figure stood before them and a forelimb rose to the rounded helmet, which – if it were made of glass – possessed oneway transparency only. Nothing could be seen inside. The limb touched something with a quick motion that Trevize did not clearly make out and the helmet was at once detached from the rest of the suit. It lifted off. What was exposed was the face of a young and undeniably pretty woman. Pelorat's expressionless face did what it could to look stupefied. He said hesitantly, â€Å"Are you human?† The woman's eyebrows shot up and her lips pouted. There was no way of telling from the action whether she was faced with a strange language and did not understand or whether she understood and wondered at the question. Her hand moved quickly to the left side of her suit, which opened in one piece as though it were on a set of hinges. She stepped out and the suit remained standing without content for a moment. Then, with a soft sigh that seemed almost human, it collapsed. She looked even younger, now that she had stepped out. Her clothing was loose and translucent, with the skimpy items beneath visible as shadows. The outer robe reached to her knees. She was small-breasted and narrow-waisted, with hips rounded and full. Her thighs, which were seen in shadow, were generous, but her legs narrowed to graceful ankles. Her hair was dark and shoulderlength, her eyes brown and large, her lips full and slightly asymmetric. She looked down at herself and then solved the problem of her understanding of the language by saying, â€Å"Don't I look human?† She spoke Galactic Standard with just a trifle of hesitation, as though she were straining a bit to get the pronunciation quite right. Pelorat nodded and said with a small smile, â€Å"I can't deny it. Quite human. Delightfully human.† The young woman spread her arms as though inviting closer examination. â€Å"I should hope so, gentleman. Men have died for this body.† â€Å"I would rather live for it,† said Pelorat, finding a vein of gallantry which faintly surprised him. â€Å"Good choice,† said the woman solemnly. â€Å"Once this body is attained, all sighs become sighs of ecstasy.† She laughed and Pelorat laughed with her. Trevize, whose forehead had puckered into a frown through this exchange, rapped out, â€Å"How old are you?† The woman seemed to shrink a little. â€Å"Twenty-three, gentleman.† â€Å"Why have you come? What is your purpose here?† â€Å"I have come to escort you to Gaia.† Her command of Galactic Standard was slipping slightly and her vowels tended to round into diphthongs. She made â€Å"come† sound like â€Å"comb† and â€Å"Gaia† like â€Å"Gay-uh.† â€Å"A girl to escort us.† The woman drew herself up and suddenly she had the bearing of one in charge. â€Å"I,† she said, â€Å"am Gaia, as well as another. It was my stint on the station.† â€Å"Your stint? Were you the only one on board?† Proudly. â€Å"I was all that was needed.† â€Å"And is it empty now?† â€Å"I am no longer on it, gentleman, but it is not empty. It is there.† â€Å"It? To what do you refer?† â€Å"To the station. It is Gaia. It doesn't need me. It holds your ship.† â€Å"Then what are you doing on the station?† â€Å"It is my stint.† Pelorat had taken Trevize by the sleeve and had been shaken off. He tried again. â€Å"Golan,† he said in an urgent half-whisper. â€Å"Don't shout at her. She's only a girl. Let me deal with this.† Trevize shook his head angrily, but Pelorat said, â€Å"Young woman, what is your name?† The woman smiled with sudden sunniness, as though responding to the softer tone. She said, â€Å"Bliss.† â€Å"Bliss?† said Pelorat. â€Å"A very nice name. Surely that's not all there is.† â€Å"Of course not. A fine thing it would be to have one syllable. It would be duplicated on every section and we wouldn't tell one from another, so that the men would be dying for the wrong body. Bussenobiarella is my name in full.† â€Å"Now that's a mouthful.† – â€Å"What? Seven syllables? That's not much. I have friends with fifteen syllables in their names and they never get done trying combinations for the friend-name. I've stuck with Bliss now ever since I turned fifteen. My mother called me ‘Nobby,' if you can imagine such a thing.† â€Å"In Galactic Standard, ‘bliss' means ‘ecstasy' or ‘extreme happiness,'† said Pelorat. â€Å"In Gaian language, too. It's not very different from Standard, and ‘ecstasy' is the impression I intend to convey.† â€Å"My name is Janov Pelorat.† â€Å"I know that. And this other gentleman – the shouter – is Golan Trevize. We received word from Sayshell.† Trevize said at once, his eyes narrow, â€Å"How did you receive word?† Bliss turned to look at him and said calmly, â€Å"I didn't. Gaia did.† Pelorat said, â€Å"Miss Bliss, may my partner and myself speak Privately for a moment?† â€Å"Yes, certainly, but we have to get on with it, you know.† â€Å"I won't take long.† He pulled hard at Trevize's elbow and was reluctantly followed into the other room. Trevize said in a whisper, â€Å"What's all this? I'm sure she can hear us in here. She can probably read our minds, blast the creature.† â€Å"Whether she can or can't, we need a bit of psychological isolation for just a moment. Look, old chap, leave her alone. There's nothing we can do, and there's no use taking that out on her. There's probably nothing she can do either. She's just a messenger girl. Actually, as long as she's on board, we're probably safe; they wouldn't have put her on board if they intended to destroy the ship. Keep bullying and perhaps they will destroy it – and us – after they take her off.† â€Å"I don't like being helpless,† said Trevize grumpily. â€Å"Who does? But acting like a bully doesn't make you less helpless. It just makes you a helpless bully. Oh, my dear chap, I don't mean to be bullying you like this and you must forgive me if I'm excessively critical of you, but the girl is not to be blamed.† â€Å"Janov, she's young enough to be your youngest daughter.† Pelorat straightened. â€Å"All the more reason to treat her gently. Nor do I know what you imply by the statement.† Trevize thought a moment, then his face cleared. â€Å"Very well. You're right. I'm wrong. It is irritating, though, to have them send a girl. They might have sent a military officer, for instance, and given us a sense of some value, so to speak. Just a girl? And she keeps placing responsibility on Gaia?† â€Å"She's probably referring to a ruler who takes the name of the planet as an honorific – or else she's referring to the planetary council. We'll find out, but probably not by direct questioning.† â€Å"Men have died for her body!† said Trevize. â€Å"Huh! – She's bottom-heavy!† â€Å"No one is asking you to die for it, Golan,† said Pelorat gently. â€Å"Come! Allow her a sense of self-mockery. I consider it amusing and good-natured, myself.† They found Bliss at the computer, bending down and staring at its component parts with her hands behind her back as though she feared touching it. She looked up as they entered, ducking their heads under the low lintel. â€Å"This is an amazing ship,† she said. â€Å"I don't understand half of what I see, but if you're going to give me a greeting-present, this is it. It's beautiful. It makes my ship look awful.† Her face took on a look of ardent curiosity. â€Å"Are you really from the Foundation?† â€Å"How do you know about the Foundation?† asked Pelorat. â€Å"We learn about it in school. Mostly because of the Mule.† â€Å"Why because of the Mule, Bliss?† â€Å"He's one of us, gentle†¦ What syllable of your name may I use, gentleman?† Pelorat said, â€Å"Either Jan or Pel. Which do you prefer?† â€Å"He's one of us, Pel,† said Bliss with a comradely smile. â€Å"He was born on Gaia, but no one seems to know where exactly.† Trevize said, â€Å"I imagine he's a Gaian hero, Bliss, eh?† He had become determinedly, almost aggressively, friendly and cast a placating glance in Pelorat's direction. â€Å"Call me Trev,† he added. â€Å"Oh no,† she said at once. â€Å"He's a criminal. He left Gaia without permission, and no one should do that. No one knows how he did it. But he left, and I guess that's why he came to a bad end. The Foundation beat him in the end.† â€Å"The Second Foundation?† said Trevize. â€Å"Is there more than one? I suppose if I thought about it I would know, but I'm not interested in history, really. The way I look at it is, I'm interested in what Gaia thinks best. If history just goes past me, it's because there are enough historians or that I'm not well adapted to it. I'm probably being trained as a space technician myself. I keep being assigned to stints like this and I seem to like it and it stands to reason I wouldn't like it if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She was speaking rapidly, almost breathlessly, and Trevize had to make an effort to insert a sentence. â€Å"Who's Gaia?† Bliss looked puzzled at that. â€Å"Just Gaia. – Please, Pel and Trev, let's get on with it. We've got to get to the surface.† â€Å"We're going there, aren't we?† â€Å"Yes, but slowly. Gaia feels you can move much more rapidly if you use the potential of your ship. Would you do that?† â€Å"We could,† said Trevize grimly. â€Å"But if I get the control of the ship back, wouldn't I be more likely to zoom off in the opposite direction?† Bliss laughed. â€Å"You're funny. Of course, you can't go in any direction Gaia doesn't want you to go. But you can go faster in the direction Gaia does want you to go. See?† â€Å"We see,† said Trevize, â€Å"and I'll try to control my sense of humor. Where do I land on the surface?† â€Å"It doesn't matter. You just head downward and you'll land at the right place. Gain will see to that.† Pelorat said, â€Å"And will you stay with us, Bliss, and see that we are treated well?† â€Å"I suppose I can do that. Let's see now, the usual fee for my services – I mean that kind of services – can be entered on my balancecard.† â€Å"And the other kind of services?† Bliss giggled. â€Å"You're a nice old man.† Pelorat winced. Bliss reacted to the swoop down to Gaia with a naive excitement. She said, â€Å"There's no feeling of acceleration.† â€Å"It's a gravitic drive,† said Pelorat. â€Å"Everything accelerates together, ourselves included, so we don't feel anything.† â€Å"But how does it work, Pel?† Pelorat shrugged. â€Å"I think Trev knows,† he said, â€Å"but I don't think he's really in a mood to talk about it.† Trevize had dropped down Gaia's gravity – well almost recklessly. The ship responded to his direction, as Bliss had warned him, in a partial manner. An attempt to cross the lines of gravitic force obliquely was accepted – but only with a certain hesitation. An attempt to rise upward was utterly ignored. The ship was still not his. Pelorat said mildly, â€Å"Aren't you going downward rather rapidly, Golan?† Trevize, with a kind of flatness to his voice, attempting to avoid anger (more for Pelorat's sake, than anything else) said, â€Å"The young lady says that Gaia will take care of us.† Bliss said, â€Å"Surely, Pel. Gaia wouldn't let this ship do anything that wasn't safe. Is there anything to eat on board?† â€Å"Yes indeed,† said Pelorat. â€Å"What would you like?† â€Å"No meat, Pel,† said Bliss in a businesslike way, â€Å"but I'll take fish or eggs, along with any vegetables you might have.† â€Å"Some of the food we have is Sayshellian, Bliss,† said Pelorat. â€Å"I'm not sure I know what's in it, but you might like it.† â€Å"Well, I'll taste some,† said Bliss dubiously. â€Å"Are the people on Gaia vegetarian?† asked Pelorat. â€Å"A lot are.† Bliss nodded her head vigorously. â€Å"It depends on what nutrients the body needs in particular cases. Lately I haven't been hungry for meat, so I suppose I don't need any. And I haven't been aching for anything sweet. Cheese tastes good, and shrimp. I think I probably need to lose weight.† She slapped her right buttock with a resounding noise. â€Å"I need to lose five or six pounds right here.† â€Å"I don't see why,† said Pelorat. â€Å"It gives you something comfortable to sit on.† Bliss twisted to look down at her rear as best she might. â€Å"Oh well, it doesn't matter. Weight goes up or down as it ought. I shouldn't concern myself.† Trevize was silent because he was struggling with the Far Star. He had hesitated a bit too long for orbit and the lower limits of the planetary exosphere were now screaming past the ship. Little by little, the ship was escaping from his control altogether. It was as though something else had learned to handle the gravitic engines. The Far Star, acting apparently by itself, curved upward into thinner air and slowed rapidly. It then took up a path on its own that brought it into a gentle downward curve. Bliss had ignored the edgy sound of air resistance and sniffed delicately at the steam rising from the container. She said, â€Å"It must be all right, Pd, because if it weren't, it wouldn't smell right and I wouldn't want to eat it.† She put a slim finger into it and then licked at the finger. â€Å"You guessed correctly, Pd. It's shrimp or something like it. Good!† With a gesture of dissatisfaction, Trevize abandoned the computer. â€Å"Young woman,† he said, as though seeing her for the first time. â€Å"My name is Bliss,† said Bliss firmly. â€Å"Bliss, then! You knew our names.† â€Å"Yes, Trev.† â€Å"How did you know them?† â€Å"It was important that I know them, in order for me to do my job. So I knew them.† â€Å"Do you know who Munn Li Compor is?† â€Å"I would – if it were important for me to know who he is. Since I do not know who he is, Mr. Compor is not coming here. For that matter,† she paused a moment, â€Å"no one is coming here but you two.† â€Å"We'll see.† He was looking down. It was a cloudy planet. There wasn't a solid layer of cloud, but it was a broken layer that was remarkably evenly scattered and offered no clear view of any part of the planetary surface. He switched to microwave and the radarscope glittered. The surface was almost an image of the sky. It seemed a world of islands rather like Terminus, but more so. None of the islands was very large and none was very isolated. It was something of an approach to a planetary archipelago. The ship's orbit was well inclined to the equatorial plane, but he saw no sign of ice caps. Neither were there the unmistakable marks of uneven population distribution, as would be expected, for instance, in the illumination of the night side. â€Å"Will I be coming down near the capital city, Bliss?† asked Trevize. Bliss said indifferently, â€Å"Gaia will put you down somewhere convenient.† â€Å"I'd prefer a big city.† â€Å"Do you mean a large people-grouping?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It's up to Gaia.† The ship continued its downward path and Trevize tried to find amusement in guessing on which island it would land. Whichever it might be, it appeared they would be landing within the hour. The ship landed in a quiet, almost feathery manner, without a moment of jarring, without one anomalous gravitational effect. They stepped out, one by one: first Bliss, then Pelorat, and finally Trevize. The weather was comparable to early summer at Terminus City. There was a mild breeze and with what seemed to be a late-morning sun shining brightly down from a mottled sky. The ground was green underfoot and in one direction there were the serried rows of trees that bespoke an orchard, while in the other there was the distant line of seashore. There was the low hum of what might have been insect life, a flash of bird – or some small flying creature – above and to one side, and the clack-clack of what might have been some farm instrument. Pelorat was the first to speak and he mentioned nothing he either saw or heard. Instead, he drew in his breath raspingly and said, â€Å"Ah, it smells good, like fresh-made applesauce.† Trevize said, â€Å"That's probably an apple orchard we're looking at and, for all we know, they're making applesauce.† â€Å"On your ship, on the other hand,† said Bliss, â€Å"it smelled like†¦ Well, it smelled terrible.† â€Å"You didn't complain when you were on it,† growled Trevize. â€Å"I had to be polite. I was a guest on your ship.† â€Å"What's wrong with staying polite?† â€Å"I'm on my own world now. You're the guest. You be polite.† Pelorat said, â€Å"She's probably right about the smell, Golan. Is there any way of airing out the ship?† â€Å"Yes,† said Trevize with a snap. â€Å"It can be done – if this little creature can assure us that the ship will not be disturbed. She has already shown us she can exert unusual power over the ship.† Bliss drew herself up to her full height. â€Å"I'm not exactly little and if leaving your ship alone is what it takes to get it cleaned up, I assure you leaving it alone will be a pleasure.† â€Å"And then can we be taken to whoever it is that you speak of as Gaia?† said Trevize. Bliss looked amused. â€Å"I don't know if you're going to believe this, Trev. I'm Gaia.† Trevize stared. He had often heard the phrase â€Å"collect one's thoughts† used metaphorically. For the first time in his life, he felt as though he were engaged in the process literally. Finally he said, â€Å"You?† â€Å"Yes. And the ground. And those trees. And that rabbit over there in the grass. And the man you can see through the trees. The whole planet and everything on it is Gaia. We're all individuals – we're all separate organisms – but we all share an overall consciousness. The inanimate planet does so least of all, the various forms of life to a varying degree, and human beings most of all – but we all share.† Pelorat said, â€Å"I think, Trevize, that she means Gaia is some sort of group consciousness.† Trevize nodded. â€Å"I gathered that. – In that case, Bliss, who runs this world?† Bliss said, â€Å"It runs itself. Those trees grow in rank and file of their own accord. They multiply only to the extent that is needed to replace those that for any reason die. Human beings harvest the apples that are needed; other animals, including insects, eat their share and only their share.† â€Å"The insects know what their share is, do they?† said Trevize. â€Å"Yes, they do – in a way. It rains when it is necessary and occasionally it rains rather hard when that is necessary – and occasionally there's a siege of dry weather when that is necessary.† â€Å"And the rain knows what to do, does it?† â€Å"Yes, it does,† said Bliss very seriously. â€Å"In your own body, don't all the different cells know what to do? When to grow and when to stop growing? When to form certain substances and when not to, and when they form them, just how much to form, neither more nor less? Each cell is, to a certain extent, an independent chemical factory, but all draw from a common fund of raw materials brought to it by a common transportation system, all deliver wastes into common channels, and all contribute to an overall group consciousness.† Pelorat said with a certain enthusiasm, â€Å"But that's remarkable. You are saying that the planet is a superorganism and that you are a cell of that superorganism.† â€Å"I'm making an analogy, not an identity. We are the analog of cells, but we are not identical with cells – do you understand?† â€Å"In what way,† said Trevize, â€Å"are you not cells?† â€Å"We are ourselves made up of cells and have a group consciousness, as far as cells are concerned. This group consciousness, this consciousness of an individual organism – a human being, in my case†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"With a body men die for.† â€Å"Exactly. My consciousness is far advanced beyond that of any individual cell – incredibly far advanced. The fact that we, in turn, are part of a still greater group consciousness on a higher level does not reduce us to the level of cells. I remain a human being – but above us is a group consciousness as far beyond my grasp as my consciousness is beyond that of one of the muscle cells of my biceps.† Trevize said, â€Å"Surely someone ordered our ship to be taken.† â€Å"No, not someone! Gaia ordered it. All of us ordered it.† â€Å"The trees and the ground, too, Bliss?† â€Å"They contributed very little, but they contributed. Look, if a musician writes a symphony, do you ask which particular cell in his body ordered the symphony written and supervised its construction?† Pelorat said, â€Å"And, I . take it, the group mind, so to speak, of the group consciousness is much stronger than an individual mind, just as a muscle is much stronger than an individual muscle cell. Consequently Gaia can capture our ship at a distance by controlling our computer, even though no individual mind on the planet could have done so.† â€Å"You understand perfectly, Pel,† said Bliss. â€Å"And I understand it, too,† said Trevize. â€Å"It is not that hard to understand. But what do you want of us? We have not come to attack you. We have come seeking information. Why have you seized us?† â€Å"To talk to you.† â€Å"You might have talked to us on the ship.† Bliss shook her head gravely, â€Å"I am not the one to do it.† â€Å"Aren't you part of the group mind?† â€Å"Yes, but I cannot fly like a bird, buzz like an insect, or grow as tall as a tree. I do what it is best for me to do and it is not best that I give you the information – though the knowledge could easily be assigned to me.† â€Å"Who decided not to assign it to you?† â€Å"We all did.† â€Å"Who will give us the information?† â€Å"And who is Dom?† â€Å"Well,† said Bliss. â€Å"His full name is Endomandiovizamarondeyaso – and so on. Different people call him different syllables at different times, but I know him as Dom and I think you two will use that syllable as well. He probably has a larger share of Gaia than anyone on the planet and he lives on this island. He asked to see you and it was allowed.† â€Å"Who allowed it?† asked Trevize – and answered himself at once, â€Å"Yes, I know; you all did.† Bliss nodded. Pelorat said, â€Å"When will we be seeing Dom, Bliss?† â€Å"Right away. If you follow me, I'll take you to him now, Pel. And you, too, of course, Trev.† â€Å"And will you leave, then?† asked Pelorat. â€Å"You don't want me to, Pel?† â€Å"Actually, no.† â€Å"There you are,† said Bliss as they followed her along a smoothly paved road that skirted the orchard. â€Å"Men grow addicted to me on short order. Even dignified elderly men are overcome with boyish ardor.† Pelorat laughed. â€Å"I wouldn't count on much boyish ardor, Bliss, but if I had it I could do worse than have it on your account, I think.† Bliss said, â€Å"Oh, don't discount your boyish ardor. I work wonders.† Trevize said impatiently, â€Å"Once we get to where we're going, how long will we have to wait for this Dom?† â€Å"He will be waiting for you. After all, Dom – through – Gaia has worked for years to bring you here.† Trevize stopped in midstep and looked quickly at Pelorat, who quietly mouthed: You were right. Bliss, who was looking straight ahead, said calmly, â€Å"I know, Trev, that you have suspected that I/we/Gaia was interested in you.† â€Å"‘I/we/Gaia'?† said Pelorat softly. She turned to smile at him. â€Å"We have a whole complex of different pronouns to express the shades of individuality that exist on Gaia. I could explain them to you, but till then ‘I/we/Gaia' gets across what I mean in a groping sort of way. – Please move on, Trev. Dom is waiting and I don't wish to force your legs to move against your will. It is an uncomfortable feeling if you're not used to it.† Trevize moved on. His glance at Bliss was compounded of the deepest suspicion. Dom was an elderly man. He recited the two hundred and fiftythree syllables of his name in a musical flowing of tone and emphasis. â€Å"In a way,† he said, â€Å"it is a brief biography of myself. It tells the hearer – or reader, or senser – who I am, what part I have played in the whole, what I have accomplished. For fifty years and more, however, I have been satisfied to be referred to as Dom. When there are other Doms at issue, I can be called Domandio – and in my various professional relationships other variants are used. Once a Gaian year – on my birthday – my full name is recited-in-mind, as I have just recited it for you in voice. It is very effective, but it is personally embarrassing.† He was tall and thin – almost to the point of emaciation. His deep-set eyes sparkled with anomalous youth, though he moved rather slowly. His jutting nose was thin and long and flared at the nostrils. His hands, prominently veined though they were, showed no signs of arthritic disability. He wore a long robe that was as gray as his hair. It descended to his ankles and his sandals left his toes bare. Trevize said, â€Å"How old are you, sir?† â€Å"Please address me as Dom, Trev. To use other modes of address induces formality and inhibits the free exchange of ideas between you and me. In Galactic Standard Years, I am just past ninety-three, but the real celebration will come not very many months from now, when I reach the ninetieth anniversary of my birth in Gaian years.† â€Å"I would not have guessed you at more than seventy-five, s-Dom,† said Trevize. â€Å"By Gaian standards I am not remarkable, either in years or in appearance of years, Trev. – But come, have we eaten?† Pelorat looked down at his plate, on which perceptible remnants of a most unremarkable and indifferently prepared meal remained, and said in a diffident manner, â€Å"Dom, may I attempt to ask an embarrassing question? Of course, if it's offensive, you will please say so, and I will withdraw it.† â€Å"Go ahead,† said Dom, smiling. â€Å"I am anxious to explain to you anything about Gaia which arouses your curiosity.† â€Å"Why?† said Trevize at once. â€Å"Because you are honored guests. May I have Pel's question?† Pelorat said, â€Å"Since all things on Gaia share in the group consciousness, how is it that you – one element of the group – can eat this, which was clearly another element?† â€Å"True! But all things recycle. We must eat and everything we can eat, plant as well as animal – even the inanimate seasonings – are part of Gaia. But, then, you see, nothing is killed for pleasure or sport nothing is killed with unnecessary pain. And I'm afraid we make no attempt to glorify our meal preparations, for no Gaian would eat except that one must. You did not enjoy this meal, Pel? Trev? Well, meals are not to enjoy. â€Å"Then, too, what is eaten remains, after all, part of the planetary consciousness. Insofar as portions of it are incorporated into my body, it will participate in a larger share of the total consciousness. When I die, I, too, will be eaten – even if only by decay bacteria and I will then participate in a far smaller share of the total. But someday, parts of me will be parts of other human beings, parts of many.† Pelorat said, â€Å"A sort of transmigration of souls.† â€Å"Of what, Pel?† â€Å"I speak of an old myth that is current on some worlds.† â€Å"Ah, I don't know of it. You must tell me on some occasion.† Trevize said, â€Å"But your individual consciousness – whatever it is about you that is Dom – will never fully reassemble.† â€Å"No, of course not. But does that matter? I will still be part of Gaia and that is what counts. There are mystics among us who wonder if we should take measures to develop group memories of past existences, but the sense-of-Gaia is that this cannot be done in any practical way and would serve no useful purpose. It would merely blur present consciousness. – Of course, as conditions change, the sense-of-Gaia may change, too, but I find no chance of that in the foreseeable future.† â€Å"Why must you die, Dom?† asked Trevize. â€Å"Look at you in your nineties. Could not the group consciousness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  For the first time, Dom frowned. â€Å"Never,† he said. â€Å"I can contribute only so much. Each new individual is a reshuffling of molecules and genes into something new. New talents, new abilities, new contributions to Gaia. We must have them – and the only way we can is to make room. I have done more than most, but even I have my limit and it is approaching. There is no more desire to live past one's time than to die before it.† And then, as if realizing he had lent a suddenly somber note to the evening, he rose and stretched his arms out to the two. â€Å"Come, Trev – Pel – let us move into my studio where I can show you some of my personal art objects. You won't blame an old man for his little vanities, I hope.† He led the way into another room where, on a small circular table, there were a group of smoky lenses connected in pairs. â€Å"These,† said Dom, â€Å"are Participations I have designed. I am not one of the masters, but I specialize in inanimates, which few of the masters bother with.† Pelorat said, â€Å"May I pick one up? Are they fragile?† â€Å"No no. Bounce them on the floor if you like. – Or perhaps you had better not. Concussion could dull the sharpness of the vision.† â€Å"How are they used, Dom?† â€Å"You put them over your eyes. They'll cling. They do not transmit light. Quite the contrary. They obscure light that might otherwise distract you – though the sensations do reach your brain by way of the optic nerve. Essentially your consciousness is sharpened and is allowed to participate in other facets of Gaia. In other words, if you look at that wall, you will experience that wall as it appears to itself.† â€Å"Fascinating,† muttered Pelorat. â€Å"may I try that?† â€Å"Certainly, Pel. You may take one at random. Each is a different construct that shows the wall – or any other inanimate object you look at – in a different aspect of the object's consciousness.† Pelorat placed one pair over his eyes and they clung there at once. He started at the touch and then remained motionless for a long time. Dom said, â€Å"When you are through, place your hands on either side of the Participation and press them toward each other. It will come right off.† Pelorat did so, blinked his eyes rapidly, then rubbed them. Dom said, â€Å"What did you experience?† Pelorat said, â€Å"It's hard to describe. The wall seemed to twinkle and glisten and, at times, it seemed to turn fluid. It seemed to have ribs and changing symmetries. I – I'm sorry, Dom, but I did not find it attractive.† Dom sighed. â€Å"You do not participate in Gaia, so you would not see what we see. I had rather feared that. Too bad! I assure you that although these Participations are enjoyed primarily for their aesthetic value, they have their practical uses, too. A happy wall is a long-lived wall, a practical wall, a useful wall.† â€Å"A happy wall?† said Trevize, smiling slightly. Dom said, â€Å"There is a dim sensation that a wall experiences that is analogous to what ‘happy' means to us. A wall is happy when it is well designed, when it rests firmly on its foundation, when its symmetry balances its parts and produces no unpleasant stresses. Good design can be worked out on the mathematical principles of mechanics, but the use of a proper Participation can fine tune it down to virtually atomic dimensions. No sculptor can possibly produce a first-class work of art here on Gaia without a well-crafted Participation and the ones I produce of this particular type are considered excellent – if I do say so myself. â€Å"Animate Participations, which are not my field,† and Dom was going on with the kind of excitement one expects in someone riding his hobby, â€Å"give us, by analogy, a direct experience of ecological balance. The ecological balance on Gaia is rather simple, as it is on all worlds, but here, at least, we have the hope of making it more complex and thus enriching the total consciousness enormously.† Trevize held up his hand in order to forestall Pelorat and wave him into silence. He said, â€Å"How do you know that a planet can bear a more complex ecological balance if they all have simple ones?† â€Å"Ah,† said Dom, his eyes twinkling shrewdly, â€Å"you are testing the old man. You know as well as I do that the original home of humanity, Earth, had an enormously complex ecological balance. It is only the secondary worlds – the derived worlds – that are simple.† Pelorat would not be kept silent. â€Å"But that is the problem I have set myself in life. Why was it only Earth that bore a complex ecology? What distinguished it from other worlds? Why did millions upon millions of other worlds in the Galaxy – worlds that were capable of bearing life – develop only an undistinguished vegetation, together with small and unintelligent animal life-forms?† Dom said, â€Å"We have a tale about that – a fable, perhaps. I cannot vouch for its authenticity. In fact, on the face of it, it sounds like fiction.† It was at this point that Bliss – who had not participated in the meal – entered, smiling at Pelorat. She was wearing a silvery blouse, very sheer. Pelorat rose at once. â€Å"I thought you had left us.† â€Å"Not at all. I had reports to make out, work to do. May I join you now, Dom?† Dom had also risen (though Trevize remained seated). â€Å"You are entirely welcome and you ravish these aged eyes.† â€Å"It is for your ravishment that I put on this blouse. Pel is above such things and Trev dislikes them.† Pelorat said, â€Å"If you think I am above such things, Bliss, I may surprise you someday.† â€Å"What a delightful surprise that would be,† Bliss said, and sat down. The two men did as well. â€Å"Please don't let me interrupt you.† Dom said, â€Å"I was about to tell our guests the story of Eternity. – To understand it, you must first understand that there are many different Universes that can exist – virtually an infinite number. Every single event that takes place can take place or not take place, or can take place in this fashion or in that fashion, and each of an enormous number of alternatives will result in a future course of events that are distinct to at least some degree. â€Å"Bliss might not have come in just now; or she might have been with us a little earlier; or much earlier; or having come in now, she might have worn a different blouse; or even in this blouse, she might not have smiled roguishly at elderly men as is her kindhearted custom. In each of these alternatives – or in each of a very large number of other alternatives of this one event – the Universe would have taken a different track thereafter, and so on for every other variation of every other event, however minor.† Trevize stirred restlessly. â€Å"I believe this is a common speculation in quantum mechanics – a very ancient one, in fact.† â€Å"Ah, you've heard of it. But let us go on. Imagine it is possible for human beings to freeze all the infinite number of Universes, to step from one to another at will, and to choose which one should be made ‘real' – whatever that word means in this connection.† Trevize said, â€Å"I hear your words and can even imagine the concept you describe, but I cannot make myself believe that anything like this could ever happen.† – â€Å"Nor I, on the whole,† said Dom, â€Å"which is why I say that it would all seem to be a fable. Nevertheless, the fable states that there were those who could step out of time and examine the endless strands of potential reality. These people were called the Eternals and when they were out of time they were said to be in Eternity. â€Å"It was their task to choose a Reality that would be most suitable to humanity. They modified endlessly – and the story goes into great detail, for I must tell you that it has been written in the form of an epic of inordinate length. Eventually they found (so it is said) a Universe in which Earth was the only planet in the entire Galaxy on which could be found a complex ecological system, together with the development of an intelligent species capable of working out a high technology. â€Å"That, they decided, was the situation in which humanity could be most secure. They froze that strand of events as Reality and then ceased operations. Now we live in a Galaxy that has been settled by human beings only, and, to a large extent, by the plants, animals, and microscopic life that they carry with them – voluntarily or inadvertently – from planet to planet and which usually overwhelm the indigenous life. â€Å"Somewhere in the dim mists of probability there are other Realities in which the Galaxy is host to many intelligences, but they are unreachable. We in our Reality are alone. From every action and every event in our Reality, there are new branches that set off, with only one in each separate case being a continuation of Reality, so that there are vast numbers of potential Universes – perhaps an infinite number – stemming from ours, but all of them are presumably alike in containing the one – intelligence Galaxy in which we live. – Or perhaps I should say that all but a vanishingly small percentage are alike in this way, for it is dangerous to rule out anything where the possibilities approach the infinite.† He stopped, shrugged slightly, and added, â€Å"At least, that's the story. It dates back to before the founding of Gaia. I don't vouch for its truth.† The three others had listened intently. Bliss nodded her head, as though it were something she had heard before and she were checking the accuracy of Dom's account. Pelorat reacted with a silent solemnity for the better part of a minute and then balled his fist and brought it down upon the arm of his chair. â€Å"No,† he said is a strangled tone, â€Å"that affects nothing. There's no way of demonstrating the truth of the story by observation or by reason, so it can't ever be anything but a piece of speculation, but aside from that. Suppose it's true! The Universe we live in is still one in which only Earth has developed a rich life and an intelligent species, so that in this Universe – whether it is the all-in-all or only one out of an infinite number of possibilities – there must be something unique in the nature of the planet Earth. We should still want to know what that uniqueness is.† In the silence that followed, it was Trevize who finally stirred and shook his head. â€Å"No, Janov,† he said, â€Å"that's not the way it works. Let us say that the chances are one in a billion trillion – one in 1021 – that out of the billion of habitable planets in the Galaxy only Earth through the workings of sheer chance – would happen to develop a rich ecology and, eventually, intelligence. If that is so, then one in 1021 of the various strands of potential Realities would represent such a Galaxy and the Eternals picked it. We live, therefore, in a Universe in which Earth is the only planet to develop a complex ecology, an intelligent species, a high technology – not because there is something special about Earth, but because simply by chance it developed on Earth and nowhere else. â€Å"I suppose, in fact,† Trevize went on thoughtfully, â€Å"that there are strands of Reality in which only Gaia has developed an intelligent species, or only Sayshell, or only Terminus, or only some planet which in this Reality happens to bear no life at all. And all of these very special cases are a vanishingly small percentage of the total number of Realities in which there is more than one intelligent species in the Galaxy. – I suppose that if the Eternals had looked long enough they would have found a potential strand of Reality in which every single habitable planet had developed an intelligent species.† Pelorat said, â€Å"Might you not also argue that a Reality had been found in which Earth was for some reason not as it was in other strands, but specially suited in some way for the development of intelligence? In fact, you can go further and say that a Reality had been found in which the whole Galaxy was not as it was in other strands, but was somehow in such a state of development that only Earth could produce intelligence.† Trevize said, â€Å"You might argue so, but I would suppose that my version makes more sense.† â€Å"That's a purely subjective decision, of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  began Pelorat with some heat, but Dom interrupted, saying â€Å"This is logic-chopping. Come, let us not spoil what is proving, at least for me, a pleasant and leisurely evening.† Pelorat endeavored to relax and to allow his heat to drain away. He smiled finally and said, â€Å"As you say, Dom.† Trevize, who had been casting glances at Bliss, who sat with mocking demurity, hands in her lap, now said, â€Å"And how did this world come to be, Dom? Gaia, with its group consciousness?† Dom's old head leaned back and he laughed in a high-pitched manner. His face crinkled as he said, â€Å"Fables again! I think about that sometimes, when I read what records we have on human history. No matter how carefully records are kept and filed and computerized, they grow fuzzy with time. Stories grow by accretion. Tales accumulate – like dust. The longer the time lapse, the dustier the history – until it degenerates into fables.† Pelorat said, â€Å"We historians are familiar with the process, Dom. There is a certain preference for the fable. ‘The falsely dramatic drives out the truly dull,' said Liebel Gennerat about fifteen centuries ago. It's called Gennerat's Law now.† â€Å"Is it?† said Dom. â€Å"And I thought the notion was a cynical invention of my own. Well, Gennerat's Law fills our past history with glamour and uncertainty. – Do you know what a robot is?† â€Å"We found out on Sayshell,† said Trevize dryly. â€Å"You saw one?† â€Å"No. We were asked the question and, when we answered in the negative, it was explained to us.† â€Å"I understand. – Humanity once lived with robots, you know, but it didn't work well.† â€Å"So we were told.† â€Å"The robots were deeply indoctrinated with what are called the Three Laws of Robotics, which date back into prehistory. There are several versions of what those Three Laws might have been. The orthodox view has the following reading: ‘1) A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; a) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; ~) A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. ‘ â€Å"As robots grew more intelligent and versatile, they interpreted these Laws, especially the all-overriding First, more and more generously and assumed, to a greater and greater degree, the role of protector of humanity. The protection stifled people and grew unbearable. â€Å"The robots were entirely kind. Their labors were clearly humane and were meant entirely for the benefit of all – which somehow made them all the more unbearable. â€Å"Every robotic advance made the situation worse. Robots were developed with telepathic capacity, but that meant that even human thought could be monitored, so that human behavior became still more dependent on robotic oversight. â€Å"Again robots grew steadily more like human beings in appearance, but they were unmistakably robots in behavior and being humanoid made them more repulsive. So, of course, it had to come to an end.† â€Å"Why ‘of course'?† asked Pelorat, who had been listening intently. Dom said, â€Å"It's a matter of following the logic to the bitter end. Eventually the robots grew advanced enough to become just sufficiently human to appreciate why human beings should resent being deprived of everything human in the name of their own good. In the long run, the robots were forced to decide that humanity might be better off caring for themselves, however carelessly and ineffectively. â€Å"Therefore, it is said, it was the robots who established Eternity somehow and became the Eternals. They located a Reality in which they felt that human beings could be as secure as possible – alone in the Galaxy. Then, having done what they could to guard us and in order to fulfill the First Law in the truest sense, the robots of their own accord ceased to function and ever since we have been human beings – advancing, however we can, alone.† Dom paused. He looked from Trevize to Pelorat, and then said, â€Å"Well, do you believe all that?† Trevize shook his head slowly. â€Å"No. There is nothing like this in any historical record I have ever heard of. How about you, Janov?† Pelorat said, â€Å"There are myths that are similar in some ways.† â€Å"Come, Janov, there are myths that would match anything that any of us can make up, given sufficiently ingenious interpretation. I'm talking about history – reliable records.† â€Å"Oh well. Nothing there, as far as I know.† Dom said, â€Å"I'm not surprised. Before the robots withdrew, many parties of human beings left to colonize robotless worlds in deeper space, in order to take their own measures for freedom. They came particularly from overcrowded Earth, with its long history of resistance to robots. The new worlds were founded fresh and they did not even want to remember their bitter humiliation as children under robot nursemaids. They kept no records of it and they forgot.† Trevize said, â€Å"This is unlikely.† Pelorat turned to him. â€Å"No, Golan. It's not at all unlikely. Societies create their own history and tend to wipe out lowly beginnings, either by forgetting them or inventing totally fictitious heroic rescues. The Imperial government made attempts to suppress knowledge of the pre-Imperial past in order to strengthen the mystic aura of eternal rule. Then, too, there are almost no records of the days before hyperspatial travel – and you know that the very existence of Earth is unknown to most people today.† Trevize said, â€Å"You can't have it both ways, Janov. If the Galaxy has forgotten the robots, how is it that Gaia remembers?† Bliss intervened with a sudden lilt of soprano laughter. â€Å"We're different.† â€Å"Yes?† said Trevize. â€Å"In what way?† Dom said, â€Å"Now, Bliss, leave this to me. We are different, men of Terminus. Of all the refugee groups fleeing from robotic domination, we who eventually reached Gaia (following in the track of others who reached Sayshell) were the only ones who had learned the craft of telepathy from the robots. â€Å"it is a craft, you know. It is inherent in the human mind, but it must be developed in a very subtle and difficult manner. It takes many generations to reach its full potential, but once well begun, it feeds on itself. We have been at it for over twenty thousand years and the sense-of-Gaia is that full potential has even now not been reached. It was long ago that our development of telepathy made us aware of group consciousness – first only of human beings; then animals; then plants; and finally, not many centuries ago, the inanimate structure of the planet itself. â€Å"Because we traced this back to the robots, we did not forget them. We considered them not our nursemaids but our teachers. We felt they had opened our mind to something we would never for one moment want them closed to. We remember them with gratitude.† Trevize said, â€Å"But just as once you were children to the robots, now you are children to the group consciousness. Have you not lost humanity now, as you had then?† â€Å"It is different, Trev. What we do now is our own choice – our own choice. That is what counts. It is not forced on us from outside, but is developed from the inside. It is something we never forget. And we are different in another way, too. We are unique in the Galaxy. There is no world like Gaia.† â€Å"How can you be sure?† â€Å"We would know, Trev. We would detect a world consciousness such as ours even at the other end of the Galaxy. We can detect the beginnings of such a consciousness in your Second Foundation, for instance, though not until two centuries ago.† â€Å"At the time of the Mule?† â€Å"Yes. One of ours.† Dom looked grim. â€Å"He was an aberrant and he left us. We were naive enough to think that was not possible, so we did not act in time to stop him. Then, when we turned our attention to the Outside Worlds, we became aware of what you call the Second Foundation and we left it to them.† Trevize stared blankly for several moments, then muttered, â€Å"There go our history books!† He shook his head and said in a louder tone of voice, â€Å"That was rather cowardly of Gaia, wasn't it, to do so?† said Trevize. â€Å"He was your responsibility.† â€Å"You are right. But once we finally turned our eyes upon the Galaxy, we saw what until then we had been blind to, so that the tragedy of the Mule proved a life-saving matter to us. It was then that we recognized that eventually a dangerous crisis would come upon us. And it has – but not before we were able to take measures, thanks to the incident of the Mule.† â€Å"What sort of crisis?† â€Å"One that threatens us with destruction?† â€Å"I can't believe that. You held off the Empire, the Mule, and Sayshell. You have a group consciousness that can pluck a ship out of space at a distance of millions of kilometers. What can you have to fear? – Look at Bliss. She doesn't look the least bit perturbed. She doesn't think there's a crisis.† Bliss had placed one shapely leg over the arm of the chair and wriggled her toes at him. â€Å"Of course I'm not worried, Trev. You'll handle it.† Trev said forcefully, â€Å"Me?† Dom said, â€Å"Gaia has brought you here by means of a hundred gentle manipulations. It is you who must face our crisis.† Trev stared at him and slowly his face turned from stupefaction into gathering rage. â€Å"Me? Why, in all of space, me? I have nothing to do with this.† â€Å"Nevertheless, Trev,† said Dom with an almost hypnotic calmness, â€Å"you. Only you. In all of space, only you.†