George Washington II

When Tommy finally came to, he found Abel lying on the ground, still unconscious.  He shook him a bit and was able to wake him.  Once on their feet, they stepped out of the time machine and surveyed their surroundings.  Small houses dotted the landscape for miles.  The stench of fish hung in the air, indicating that they were near water.

"We have arrived.  Welcome to Long Island," said Abel, breaking the silence," It was here that George Washington escaped us with a lucky fog."  To Tommy, this lucky fog appeared to be a lame excuse for losing such a big figure, but in reality, this was just enough to hide Washington's forces.  Abel went back into the time machine a pulled out two large backpacks.  Tommy didn't notice them before traveling in the time machine, and was curious to know what their use was.

"They are just the weapons and supplies we will need," said Abel, noticing Tommy's quizzical look.  Tommy ripped open his sack and was able to locate his weapon almost immediately.  Feeling no reason to look any further through the bag, Tommy quickly zipped it back up.

"Where to now?" asked Tommy.

"The Royal Tavern.  It should only be a couple miles from here," replied Abel.  He had done extensive research before conducting this very complex operation.  The Royal Tavern was a British hot spot during the Revolutionary War.  Soldiers from all around the island gathered here not only for a nice drink, but also to hear some rumors.  Often times, these rumors involved the Continental Army. 

"Yeah, well where is the time machine going to go?" asked Tommy.

"Oh yeah."  Abel pulled out a thin remote and pressed a small red button.  Almost immediately, the time machine suddenly vanished.  Abel pressed the remote again, and the time machine reappeared.

"A cloaking device," whispered Tommy, not believing his eyes.

"Yes exactly.  I mastered it by simply changing the light fragments to bend around the time machine.  It is impossible to see without this device," explained Abel.  Not willing to waste anymore time, the two men hurried down to town and easily found the Royal Tavern.  Abel, followed by Tommy, casually walked into the tavern and found it overflowing with people.  Everyone was dressed in clothing from the 1700's.  It was incredible; the time machine actually worked.

Not knowing the reason for entering the tavern, Tommy followed Abel's lead.  After a couple of minutes roaming the tavern, Abel approached a man with a long white wig and an elegant red coat.  The tavern was extremely loud, so when the man and Abel exchanged words, Tommy was unable to hear them.  Suddenly, the man pulled out a flintlock pistol and aimed it at Abel.  The tavern instantly turned silent.

"You have made a terrible mistake, sir," said the man in the wig in an British accent,” Do you think you can just come here and order me around like I’m your slave?”  The man was obviously quite annoyed with Abel, but was able to maintain his straight face.

“No disrespect, sir, but I believe you have been looking for these,” said Abel, pulling out one of the Katanas.  He slowly let his hand run across the blade, but did not take his eyes off the man in the wig.  The sword was glamorous.  Its blade shined like diamonds and was unbelievably sharp.  “Now believe me.  You don’t want to mess with me.”

“Ah yes.  My apologies,” said the man in the wig, putting his pistol back in his holster,” Come with me.” The two men exited the tavern immediately, and followed the man in the wig out behind the tavern.  “I have been searching for these for an eternity.”

“Yes these are quite rare.  I believe very few exist in this world.  Am I correct?” asked Abel.

“These are among the rarest and most valuable items in the entire New World.  Tell me, where exactly did you find these magnificent weapons?”

“I am afraid I cannot reveal that information, but if you are willing to give us food and shelter, then I think we can strike a deal.”

“Most certainly sir.  Follow me.”

The two men followed him to a small house only a couple hundred yards away from the tavern.  It was fairly large compared to the rest of the houses in the area.  It had a grand wraparound porch, blood red shutters, and a large oak door.  In large gold letters, the name, Williams, hung from a sign above the oak door.  Before entering, the man turned around and finally introduced himself, and apologized again for his rudeness.  He also included some background knowledge of himself as they stepped into the house.  The house was fairly simple, and was fitted with luxurious wood work. 

They followed Mr. Williams up the stairs and into a small room at the end of the hallway.  It appeared to be his office because a large oak desk sat directly in the center of the room.  The desk was piled high with papers and quills.  Mr. Williams shuffled through the papers until he reached a large map toward the bottom of the pile.  It was unlike any map the two had ever seen.  Because of the large decrease in buildings and streets, Long Island was completely transformed.  Red and blue ink dotted the piece of paper. 

“May I ask a favor sir,” said Mr. Williams.

“Anything,” replied Abel.

“This is a secret map of the island.  I need this to be delivered to a man four houses down from here.  His name is Jerry Wilkins.  Say it’s from Walter Williams.  Please restrain yourselves from looking at it though, for it reveals General Washington’s army’s position.” 

Abel raised his eyebrows and quickly accepted Mr. Williams’ task, though the two had no intentions in handing the secret map over.  The two thanked Mr. Williams and followed him down to their room.  Their room was very simple.  Two cots with blankets sat in the middle of the room, but that was pretty much it.  After Mr. Williams showed them to their room, Abel and Tommy immediately fell asleep.

Tommy and Abel awoke simultaneously to the sound of a roosters’ crow.  Both had slept a great deal and found that they had slept through breakfast.  Their stomachs growled furiously, so the two went downstairs and found Mr. Williams munching on a gigantic sandwich.  As he was about to take another enormous bite, Mr. Williams spotted the two and motioned them to come inside.

Two sandwiches sat neatly on the kitchen table.  With a quick thanks, the two ate savagely and quickly devoured their sandwiches.  Minutes after, the two were on their way to “deliver the package”, borrowing two powerful mustangs from Mr. Williams.  Just before leaving, Abel and Tommy made sure to give Mr. Williams the Katanas to maintain their cover as traders.  By night fall, the world would be changed forever. 

Science or Religion

Author's Note: This is my POV assignment for the book Angels and Demons.  

The book, Angels and Demons, is told in several points of view.  One point of view I find very common is that of Robert Langdon.  Langdon is a professor of symbology, which affects how the story is interpreted  sometimes.  Some things that he thinks are obvious are actually things that are most definitely not common knowledge.  For example, he quickly deciphered the first part of a poem that led them to discovering where the first cardinal was going to be murdered. 

Langdon's point of view is just one of many within the book.  Another point of view that is commonly found in the book is Vittoria Vetra.  Unlike Langdon, she is a scientist.  Symbology and science are bitter opposites, and have been rivals for a very long time.  Because most of the problems Vittoria and Langdon face are religious related, her knowledge is very limited.  The only things understood completely when the story is told in her perspective is that of the science behind things and her feelings towards the Illuminati.  The religious parts only makes sense to her once Langdon deciphers it.

Scene told in Vittoria's perspective:

Vittoria explained the antimatter perfectly.  What she didn't quite get was why Kohler looked completely terrified.  She wasn't too surprised about the American's terrified reaction, but Kohler had witnessed discoveries similar to that of hers.  Vittoria continued to explain more of the processes on how she developed it, but it wasn't until she had said the total amount of antimatter produced. 

"A quarter of a gram?!" said Kohler in disbelief. 

To Vittoria's knowledge, she was well aware of the fact that this was equivalent to the explosives in the atom bomb that detonated in Hiroshima.  She wasn't surprised Kohler asked her to show her where she kept it.  With urgency, the two men followed Vittoria to the compartment where she kept the remaining antimatter.  Right before scanning her eye in the lock, she noticed the two staring in disbelief at the ground.  Vittoria should have known better, as a familiar looking eye ball laid on the ground.  Vittoria gasped in horror as she realized it was her father's. 

Vatican Bombing?

Author's Note: This is my prediction piece for the book, Angels and Demons.   Below is the scene I am predicting will happen sometime during the book.

I predict the Illuminati will bomb St. Peters Basilica with a time bomb.  On the cover of the book, it shows the inside of St. Peters Basilica and directly below it is an explosion with digital numbers. The digital numbers is like a timer going down.  Also, a murder has already occurred, which leads me to believe there is going to be a big firefight between the people that killed the man (the Illuminati) and Dr. Langdon and his allies for two reasons.  One, there is already a history of violence within the books, and two because in some books, such as Patriot Games, the main character is indirectly associated with the bad guys, and end up fighting them in the end.

Scene:

Bullets flew everywhere, occasionally finding their target.  The guards were taking heavy casualties and were slowly being pushed back deeper and deeper into the church.  In a matter of minutes, the guards were forced to retreat all the way into center of St. Peters Basilica.  Once within, everything became silent.  Anxious, the guards started to shuffle, but seconds later, a loud beeping was heard, freezing everyone in the room.  The beeping started slow but grew faster and faster until it was just one continuous beep.  That's when the bomb went off.  An earsplitting explosion jarred the entire church.  Huge pieces of plaster rained down on the remaining guards, instantly burying them alive.  St. Peters Basilica famous dome shuttered and finally caved in on itself.

The Five Compounds in the Human Body

Author's Note:  This is my science paper.  I chose the topic about the five compounds in the human body, because I'm an athlete, and when I saw fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, I immediately wanted to know the purpose for these compounds.  Learning about them has helped me to eat healthier.

What if I told that out of all the organic compounds in your body, there are only five necessary for life?  Eating the right foods and staying healthy are the best ways to supply these five compounds.  But first things first, what exactly are the five organic compounds necessary for life? 

One of these compounds is fats/oils.  Without fats and oils, several things go wrong.  Fats and oils are responsible for maintaining a healthy circulation and a healthy immune system (Simon), so these areas would be negatively affected.  Also, vitamins A, D, E, and K wouldn’t be properly distributed through the bloodstream (Fat Nutrition) — another negative.  Lastly, because fats and oils are one of the three nutrients that supply the body with calories, you would have energy loss  (Fat Nutrition).  Since the body relies on stored fat for calories, after the first 20 minutes of exercise when carbohydrates supply has been expended (Fat Nutrition), you will develop fatigue very quickly without an adequate supply of fats and oils.

Though fats and oils are essential, you have to consume the correct fats in the correct proportions.  Saturated fats are very unhealthy fats.  Eating extensive amounts of these fats increases the risks of heart disease and cholesterol build up (Fat Nutrition).  Limit your saturated fat intake so that it supplies only 10% of your calorie intake (Fat Nutrition).  Unsaturated fats help lower your cholesterol, but have a higher calorie make up, so you still need to limit these fats (Fat Nutrition). 

Besides fats and oils, carbohydrates are another compound necessary for life.  They are also another one of the three nutrients that supply the body with calories. Carbohydrates actually are the nutrients that most calories should come from, between 40% to 60% (Carbohydrates).  You are probably already thinking about eating fewer carbohydrates to reduce calories in order to lose weight, but that is not the right way to go about it. 

Decreasing your carbohydrate intake either results in low calorie consumption or increase of fat consumption to make up for lack of calories (Carbohydrates).  Both ways result in an unhealthy body because the first way does not supply enough calories to run the body properly, and the second way increases the risk of heart disease and cholesterol build up.  On the other hand, eating excessive amounts of carbohydrates increases the risk of obesity (Carbohydrates, due to the high amount of calories being unused and stored.  Also, besides proportions, choosing the right carbohydrates is very important.  Foods with complex sugars, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthiest.  This is because, unlike processed simple sugars, complex sugars contain not only calories, but also vitamins, minerals and fiber (Carbohydrates). 

Like fats and carbohydrates, proteins are another compound that supplies calories.  Though they provide calories, a protein’s main function is to repair and maintain the human body, which is why foods high in protein content are very popular for athletes.  Be careful though when consuming excessive amounts of protein because too much may result in putting strain on your kidneys.  On the other hand, eating low levels of proteins will reduce the lean body weight. 

Eating the correct amount of protein is important, but you also have to watch what proteins you are eating.  Basically, there are two types of proteins, essential and nonessential.  Essential proteins are proteins your body can only receive from foods (Protein in Diet Nutrition).  The difference between essential and nonessential proteins is that the body can produce nonessential proteins using substances already found in the body (Protein in Diet Nutrition).  No matter if it’s essential or nonessential, these proteins are broken down into amino acids and enter into the bloodstream where they are used to make enzymes and structural proteins (How Cells Work).

The enzymes that amino acids help make are used throughout the body.  The basic function an enzyme has within a cell is to let the cell conduct rapid chemical reactions (Brain).  When needed, these chemical reactions let the cell build or take things.  This process is what makes the cell grow and reproduce (Brain).  Also, the more important a chemical reaction is to a cell and the more often the reaction is needed, the more of the same type of enzymes are produced (Brain).

An enzyme’s function is to build or take things, but they are also the reason for certain deficiencies.  For example, lactose intolerance is where the lactose in milk does not get broken down to its glucose components, making it indigestible (Brain).  This is due to a malfunction of the enzymes that are supposed to break the lactose down.  This problem can actually be fixed by swallowing a drop of lactase before consuming dairy.  However,  many enzyme deficiencies aren’t solved so easily (Brain).

The final organic compound necessary for life in the human body are nucleic acids.  DNA is, without a doubt, the most famous nucleic acid, but some other ones are RNA, mRNA, and tRNA (Biochemistry:Nucleic Acids).  All of these nucleic acids are used to help cells copy and make proteins (Biochemistry:Nucleic Acids).  DNA also has another job that is important in the reproductive process.  Nucleic acids let organisms transfer genetic information from generation to generation (Bailey).  DNA, which actually stands for deoxyribunucleic acids, is the nucleic acid responsible for containing, copying and transferring genetic information to an organism’s offspring (Bailey).

All these organic compounds are very important.  None are more important than the other.  Knowing what you know now, be sure to eat healthy because three of the five compounds are found in the diet.  The other two are just as important because they have essential roles in the human body.  Without any one of these compounds, the human body would not be able to survive.