Home Automation Provide For The Aged Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Home Automation Provide For The Aged - Outline Example This helps in alerting the wardens of unfortunate occurrences such as when the elderly people fall down in the absence of any warden. The wardens are expected to respond to the buzzing sound with immediate effect. These technologies have been clearly effective and helpful in making the lives of elderly people living in care homes aresafer and more interesting. Internet allows the elderly to connect with the outside world. Through such a technology, they can be able to get some enlightenment on what is going on past the walls. They can also be able to keep up with their passions; the things they used to love while still younger. With the buzzers, it is clearly evident that they can be helpful in making sure that there are no preventable deaths or accidents taking place in these homes. The wardens cannot be able to personally attend to all the elderly people in the care home round the clock (Meduse, Governance, Health And Medicine 2008, p. 121). This is even emphasized by the fact that some of the elderly people will also love to enjoy their own privacy at some time. This technology enables wardens to be there when they are needed. There are a number of diet problems that are common with the elderly. At the late stage of the lives of human beings, their bodies tend to need more of nutrients such as: Calcium and vitamin D for bone health; fibre to stay regular; healthy fats to lower chances of heart disease, potassium for blood pressure and to avoid fatigue and depression; and vitamin b12 for energy and brain function. For the elderly people weight is always a very big determinant of their diet. They should be neither overweight nor underweight. Due to low rates of metabolism and lack of physical activities older people are at the risk of being obese. In the other hand some of them might suffer from lack of appetite thus limiting the amount of food they consume. Some elderly

To Build a Fire Essay Example for Free

To Build a Fire Essay A hero is someone who possess valor, capability, and captures the admiration of others through courageous deeds and noble traits; the main character in â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London lacks all of these characteristics. The man makes many rookie errs throughout the short story and utilizes numerous tips from an old timer from Sulphur creek to try and fix them, he is grateful to the old timer, save for when he believes he is no longer in danger. After building a successful fire rather than thank the old timer he says to himself â€Å"well, here he [is]; he [has] had the accident; he [is] alone; and he [saves] himself† (pg. 26). The man believes he is better than average and believing that it is him all by himself exemplifies his arrogance. The fire fails and the man is once again wet in negative fifty below weather and to survive he must do something to stay warm, his idea is rather horrid though. To save himself and his fingers the man has the wild idea to â€Å"kill the dog and bury his hands in the warm body until numbness [goes] out of them† (pg, 530). When the man has to choose between his life and another he chooses to save himself essentially proving that he is not a hero, but rather a scoundrel. After all else the man merely surrenders his life, gives up, and decides to die in the least painful way possible. The man thinks it would be a good idea â€Å"to sleep to death† his intention is for it to be â€Å"like taking an anesthetic† (pg 533). Hero’s do not give up or take the easy way out; the man is a coward for just handing in his life in the manner in which he did. The man in Jack London’s story never reaches a heroic state; he is a normal man that makes a few mistakes and pays dearly for them.

Anti-Voucher Point of View Essay -- essays papers

Anti-Voucher Point of View The idea of school vouchers sounds like a wonderful idea to get children the best possible education, until the issue is analyzed more closely. In reality, this system is hurting more children than the ones that they are helping. The people and institutions that do not support the use of vouchers believe that by taking away funds from the already failing public school system, it is causing a decrease in the level of education for children in public schools. With new initiatives like the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† campaign causing and the greater demands on teachers and children there is not room for a cut in funding (Traub 13). There are also increasing amounts of standardized tests, with guidelines that teachers must teach to, and that students must pass in order to show proficiency in the subject matter. The last thing that the public school system needs is funds taken away and distributed to the education of children in private institutions. There are not enough text books , computers, technological resources, and teachers in the public school system to meet these new high demands. When the standard is set so high and is unattainable it is not logical to take away funding from an already failing system. Every parent has a choice to send their child to a public school; if they choose to or not is their personal decision. A free public education is a right that is granted to every child in the United States. Children are required by law to attend school until they are at least sixteen years of age. Whether or not a child’s parents choose to send them to public or private school is their choice. Parents have the right to send their children to public school at no extra cost to them, whether they pay tax... ...sin. It discusses how the vouchers have moved into use in religious schools, and why people are upset about this. Chan, Swell. (2004 Sept. 1). The Washington Post. Retrieved on November 23, 2004 from: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7&did=000000686712711&SrchMode =1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&T S=1101223405&clientId=41150 (DC VOUCHERS CHAN) Traub, James. (2003 Dec. 21). The New York Times Magazine. p13. Retrieved November 30, 2004. From: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? index= 0&did =000000507793821&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD &RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1101794958&clientId=41150. Shultz, Fred, ed. Education. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2004. Collins, John William and Nancy Patricia O’Brien, ed. The Greenwood Dictionary of Education. 1st ed. 2003.

Blended Families

Family Report – Blended Families Blended families, also known as  stepfamilies, are more  familiar  now than ever. Statistics show that 65% of remarriages include  children from previous relationships. When families blend  to create stepfamilies, things rarely progress  as  smoothly  as planned. Some children might resist the many changes they have to face, while parents might become frustrated or disappointed when their new family doesn’t function the way they want to or like their previous family did. The three most important things blended families need to do  are  have appropriate discipline,  overcome their difficulties,  and spend quality time with each other. The most common problem in blended families is discipline. In disciplining children, parents should remember the Bible passage  Ephesians 4:2 â€Å"Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other’s faults because of your love. †Ã‚  New customs,  personalities,  and memories are all added to the new household. However, it is still important that a child is the child and an adult is still the adult. Children need a balance of love and discipline in their lives. Stepparents must give their stepchildren their much needed affection, as they would do to their own children. As you do this, the loving feelings will grow in time. It is the role of every parent (step or natural) to obey their responsibility of properly raising children and children have a responsibility to honor and listen to their parents. It would be very helpful if  the natural parent talked to their children early on to acknowledge the control the  stepparent has  and the respect that needs to be given towards the stepparent. When the children know ahead of time what is expected of them, their acceptance of the new family will be much easier. When two separate families come together, there are going to be many conflicts. Talking about them and understanding the other's feelings is a necessary and critical thing to do. It's very tempting for parents to stand up for their own child and point a finger at the stepchild and it's equally tempting for parents to accuse their spouse of unbalanced discipline. In times like these, parents should remember the  Bible  passage  Ephesians 4:29, 31-32: â€Å"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgive one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. †Ã‚  Parents must understand that their  children are thrown together with near strangers and suddenly feel they have to compete for their parent's attention. It will take time to build a history, but someday the feelings  will grow from affection into familial love. It may take time and most likely won't be very easy, but it is well worth the effort in the end. Quality time is crucial in blended families. Stepparents should remember the Bible passage  Isaiah 66:13: â€Å"I will comfort as a child is comforted by its mother. †Ã‚  Stepparents also need to be understanding about the fact that the children need quality time with their natural parent. This gives the children time to know they are still important and that the stepparent is not trying to come between them and their natural parent. It is also very important to go for an outing as a whole family. Parents can't forget to make time for the two of them without the kids as well. Children do not have enough maturity to understand the dynamics of a new family and how loving it could be; but adults should. Much like when couples adopt a child, they chose to marry into a family with children. Pray a lot for them and with them, nurture them, care  for them, and accept them even when they seem to push away. Blended families are becoming more and more important in our society. It’s very crucial for adults today to understand what the most important things are in creating a blended family. Having appropriate discipline will help the children grow up to be polite, civil, and courteous. Overcoming difficulties and spending quality time with your new family will help you all become closer and have a healthy relationship. Therefore, it’s clear that having appropriate discipline, overcoming difficulties, and spending quality time with each other are the three most important things for a blended family to do.

Doing Homework Via Internet Essay

Have you ever done your homework without handling either pen or paper? This is extremely doable, thanks to the rapid growth of internet. Internet is a technology that allows citizens easily access or get information from all around the world regardless of space and time. Internet has dominated the business and communication area. Indeed, nowadays most of citizens build a network and business, market their product or service, and do online transaction in the internet. Likewise, internet begins to penetrate into education area. People today, especially students, can do their homework online by using internet, namely, they are using online assignment. It is kind of homework for students which is uploaded by teachers in the internet, and students have to do it online before the deadline. Online assignment’s popularity increased day by day due to its benefits for educational institutions. There are respectively two benefits of using online assignment for both students and teachers. To start with, there are two benefits of using online assignment for students. First, online assignment increases students’ intellegence. Online assignment allows more practice questions that can be used for exam preparation. It encourages students to stay focus on the course material. While students are doing the online assignment, they are provided with a number of attempts to submit their answers and immediate feedback. Students can master the course material by always trying to find the way to solve the questions and correcting their own mistakes. This process is splendidly helpful in polishing the students’ brain and increasing their intellegence. Secondly, online assignment improves students’ chance of success. It encourages students to find more material online. Students can access various sources on the web. Online assignment also provides a video lecture and flash animations which display some principles and show how they are applied. Students can find alot of different type of questions that they cannot find in the book. These features can enable students to easily achieve their goal to fully understand the course materials. Besides, nowadays most of students are smart in using technology devices such as mobile phone and laptop. Therefore, by setting up students’ homework accessible in their devices will increase their interest in learning. That is, online assignment will also result in students’ motivation for the lessons in general. In addition, there are two more benefits of using online assignment for teachers. First, online assignment provides teachers with less work. The process of collecting and grading homework assignment is easier for teachers. Especially for larger classroms, it saves time and energy. Teachers no longer have to spend a lot of hours for grading and correcting homework. Thus, teachers can put more their time into other activities such as extending their office hours for more personal contact with their students. Secondly, online assignment provides an instant feedback for teachers. Teachers can observe the difficult or easy questions for students. They can evaluate the weakness and strengths of their students, which allows teachers to prepare their lecture course material accordingly. For example, thanks to the feedback they get, they may give more time in explaining the problematic units in a more detailed way and can assign some more assignments to ensure that students have comprehended the problematic units. To sum up, since the changing prospect of internet, online assignment has started to play a role in the educational institutions. Online assignment improves students’ understanding of the course material, which also helps them to get higher test scores. Furthermore, it saves time and energy, which mean gives teachers more time to prepare their lecture in explaining the problematic units. Thus, it is clear then, online assignment has great benefits for both students and teachers. It is reasonable to expect that soon that online assignment will be used by all educational institutions in the world for the better future of education.

THE RETIREMENT CRISIS Example

THE RETIREMENT CRISIS Example THE RETIREMENT CRISIS – Coursework Example The Retirement Crisis By definition, a crisis is a situation of great danger or difficulty that involves an imminent critical change. Concerning the contemporary society, there is a retirement crisis. Steve Skvara, a retired electrical steelworker from Union Township, Indiana, significantly highlighted the gravity of the issue facing all Americans. Skrava mentioned healthcare for every person, and justice to workers who lose their benefits in corporate liquidation, and retirement security for seniors, as critical areas that require scrutiny to deal with the retirement crisis. A number of unsung heroes in the country undergo the brunt of the retirement crisis. It is quite unfortunate that retirees cannot afford healthcare for their families. Obamacare largely resulted from Skrava’s voice, and other retirees that are in a crisis. There is need for legislation to ensure retirees still enjoy their benefits even if a company runs bankrupt. This is achievable through institution of policies to ensure retirement security for seniors. Skrava blames the federal government for the loss of his pension, but at the same time, retirees must safeguard themselves from impending problems in future. Mr. Skrava is a symbol of the retirement crisis that affects all Americans. As an electrical worker in the manufacturing industry, he should have foreseen and saved adequately for his future. The 21st century is more of a technological economy than the 20th century that was an industrial economy. It is necessary for workers to adapt to such changes, and maybe even have two jobs. America is a cannibalistic society in which only the smartest survive, and those who whine demise. One cannot sit down and simply wait for the government to assure them of their pensions or harass bankrupt companies to care for their retirees.

Marine Sniper essays

Marine Sniper essays The marine corps has many books of horrorendous battles, brave heroes, and all around awesome stories that help show why the corps is the most highly respectable and honorable branch of all the US armed services. Even though Marines fight as a team it's the indivdual marine who whens the battle. When the corps recongizes an individual for his accomplishments he gets craved into our history. Such as John Basilone, Dan Daly, And Archibald Henderson, they are just a few that come to mind first. But there are a few that hold a special spot in our hearts. One of these individuals is Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock. Carlos Hathcock was a Marine Sniper During the Vietnam War. He has accomplished 95 confirmed kills the highest to to date in Marine Corps history. Unlike the Army a Marine Sniper is a hunter, outdoorsmen, and marksmen. He earns each kill. The book I chose to right about is Marine Sniper By Charles Henderson. Carlos Hathcock was born in the country somewhere in Arkansas and was recruited at the recruiting station in Little Rock.He spent his days like most little boys when he was young getting dirty outside. With his dog and a .22 rifle he would hunt. Although it was not people he was hunting its hard to believe that it would not help him in the future not to mention his career. When he was seventeen he signed up for the marines. In the begining years of his first enlistment he found himself interested in the marine corps rifle team. Traveling around with the team he acquired many medals as well as prostege among the shooting comunity. Before leaving for Veitnam to help begin a scout sniper program he left back a wife and a son. Once in Vietnam Gunnery Sgt. Hathcock and Capt. Land trained marines in how to be snipers. Going out for at least a week at a time Hathcock and one other marine would go out and post themselves in a position that would hopefully bring them some action. On one oc casion a North vietnamesse ...

Less is More When it Comes to Unique

Less is More When it Comes to Unique Less is More When it Comes to Unique Less is More When it Comes to Unique By Maeve Maddox The word unique is related to a whole class of words derived from the Latin word for one, (unus) for example: uniform, unilateral, and unicorn. Soldiers tend to look alike when they are in uniform. Among allied states, a unilateral action is one taken by one member or side only. (Latin latus = side) A unicorn has one horn. (Latin cornus = horn of an animal) The word unique has the meaning one of a kind. It is a useful word and the widespread misuse of it tends to dissipate its usefulness. Listen to any talk show and you will hear people say that something or other is very unique, or rather unique, or somewhat unique. Such usage corresponds to saying that a woman is somewhat pregnant. With unique (as with pregnancy) there is no middle ground. If something is unique, thats it. To precede the word with an intensifier like very or a comparative like less or more, defeats the purpose. That is not to say that one mustnt ever use a word to modify unique. One CAN say that a thing is: nearly unique really unique perhaps unique in some respects unique but never ever very unique. TIP: Preserve the unique usefulness of the word unique by thinking twice before putting a modifier in front of it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Congratulations on or for?Latin Words and Expressions: All You Need to KnowWhen to Spell Out Numbers

The Impact of E-world Usage on Sociability Essay

The Impact of E-world Usage on Sociability - Essay Example This essay stresses that for the e-world users, the results of the study may give them information and awareness on the impact of e-world use on their sociability patterns. With these they may be helped in effectively striking out a balance between their desire to use technology as a tool, and the various facets of their social lives. For the academe, the research may yield solid empirical evidence on the impact of e-world use on the sociability of these users; this may provide impetus for further research. Finally, the researcher may garner several benefits, specifically the opportunity to undertake and master the research process, and its requisite competencies. A significant body of research has thoroughly presented the impact of the use of the Internet in general. Such research has concentrated mostly on its influence on social life and interpersonal communication. Two of the more popular studies have effectively documented results which support such hypothesis of decreasing tren ds with certain social life facets. The current study aims to limit itself to an investigation of the impact of e-world use on the sociability of users. It present a thorough study of the effects of various IT tools on this dependent variable. Moreover, the impact of e-world usage shall be measured only on the sociability construct; other influences or effects will not be tackled in this investigation.

FASB Revenue Recognition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FASB Revenue Recognition - Essay Example ccounted principles (GAAP) establish the standards, rules and procedures which accountants must follow when realizing bookkeeping and accounting work. The GAAP framework is developed through a series of assumptions, principles and constraints. Two important principles Legal Plan Services should keep in mind are revenue recognition principle and the matching principle for expenses. The revenue recognition principle stipulates that revenues should be recognized when the work is realizable and earned. Receiving cash does not imply the business has performed the work. â€Å"Expenses are recognized not when the work is performed, or when the product is produced, but when the work or product actually makes its contribution to revenue† (Wikipedia). Administration expenses do not follow the matching principles since they are not directly linked to the creation of specific revenue, they are considered period costs. The best way for Legal Plan Services to present a report that clearly presents the amount of revenues and expenses in a reliable, comparable and consistent manner is through the financial statement called income statement. The income statement is divided into two parts within the report. At the top of the report revenues are illustrated, while the bottom part gives the user information about the expenses the company incurred. In the income statement the company should include notes to the statement to explain the practices utilized for creating revenues and recognizing expenses. The company has serious flaws in both its revenue and expense recognition methodology. The company is collecting money from customers for a service they will provide in the near future. This event behaves like unearned revenue. Unearned revenue is sometimes referred to as deferred revenue (Weygandt & Kieso & Kimmel, 97). In the ledger of the company the journal entry would be a debit to cash and a credit to unearned revenue. At the time the company provides the service the journal entry

Science Fiction and Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Science Fiction and Film - Essay Example Further, rather than limiting the text, science fiction constructs have been argued to actually engender more insightful philosophical investigations. In a popular science fiction blog, writer Brad Templeton (2010) recently indicated, In mainstream literature, the clichà © is that the purpose of literature is to â€Å"explore the human condition.† SF tends to expand that, to explore both the human condition and the nature of the technology and societies we create, as well as the universe itself†¦ The best hard SF thus explores the total human condition. In this sense, the futuristic settings and slightly fantastical subject matter aid the text in constructing an investigation into the nature of humanity that otherwise couldn’t be as successfully broached in more traditional writing or film. While the nature of science fiction is broad to the extent that it can encompass most literary examinations, it seems that despite its genre characteristics the central concern of the science fiction text is the examination of the humanity of its characters. In Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and the Wachowski brother’s The Matrix the nature of humanity is literally explored through the philosophical investigation of what it means to be human. In examining the philosophical quandaries posed by Blade Runner and The Matrix, this essay demonstrates that despite their technologies and futuristic settings, the central concern of these science fiction works is the investigation into humanity and what it means to be human. Blade Runner posits a future world wherein the Tyrell Corporation has constructed a robot so equal in intelligence to its creator that upon its revolt on a distant planet it had to be banned on earth. The film opens with an investigator questioning a man seemingly to discover whether he is a replicant; that is, one of the robotic beings that have been outlawed on earth. By Director Ridley Scott opening the film with this

You can choose the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

You can choose the topic - Essay Example These different types of sports shoes will be discussed in detail below. The first category of these sports shoes are soccer shoes which are also commonly known as soccer cleats or football shoes. They are called so because they have cleats or studs. The importance of these cleats is for prevention of injuries due to the differences in the playing field from a normal walking road or pavement ways. The cleats help to maintain balance and prevent slipping on the ground and especially the soft playing ground. The next category is the bowling shoes. These shoes are customized with special soles that are usually smooth and flat with rubber material to prevent friction when sliding while at the same time allowing for the player to be able to brake. The top is made of leather which is to prevent them from quick wear and tear (this is especially so for the rental bowling shoes). The condition provided for these shoes is that the wearer should be careful to prevent them from getting wet or dirty as these two will prevent them from not only sliding well but also from effective braking which thereby provides considerable risks. Other than these two, there are also hiking/ mountain climbing shoes. Hiking shoes are especially made to withstand all types of rough terrain and outdoor activities. In this regard, they are made with special pads or patches on the inside to reduce any form of friction which may cause ankle injuries and blisters. To further prevent blisters and ensure comfort over long distance, these shoes are lined inside with leather. They are also stiff in order to support the foot firmly. For those intending to mountaineer, their shoes have crampons in addition to the above mentioned features to prevent slipping. Lastly, they are also waterproof for those intending to hike on water-prone surfaces. Athletic shoes as

Cultural phenomenon in African-American History from the Colonial Era Essay

Cultural phenomenon in African-American History from the Colonial Era to Reconstruction - Essay Example Her sisters were sold away from the family. Her mother held the rest of the family together with a determined resistance which was an inspiration to her daughter. Ben was freed from slavery at the age of forty-five, but continued to work as a foreman for his former owners. The family was helpless to fight for the freedom which his wife and children were later entitled to. (Biography.com). The young Harriet’s childhood was marked by harsh conditions: she inserted her toes into the smoldering ashes of a fire at night, in order to avoid frostbite. She received severe whippings even as a small child, working at various jobs, including weaving, housekeeping and baby-sitting, by the age of six. At the age of 12, she was seriously injured by a blow to the head, inflicted by a white overseer for refusing to help him tie up a runaway slave. This injury continued to be the source of life-long seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes. In 1844, at the age of 25, Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man, who did not share her dreams of escaping to freedom in the North (Williams).    In 1849, Harriet’s owner died and she feared being sold to the South. This impelled her to make a bid for freedom. She was initially accompanied by her two brothers, but the men lost their courage and returned to their slave life. Guided by the North Star, penniless and friendless, Harriet hid during the day and walked across strange country by night. Her determination is seen in her words, â€Å"I had reasoned dis out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder† (qtd. In Simkin). She secured aid from white abolitionists. Harriet’s escape bid included being covered in a sack and carried in a wagon, using a succession of ‘safe houses’ and finally crossing the Mason-Dixon line (dividing the free states of the North and the slave states of the South) to reach Phi ladelphia. In a poignant tribute to her freedom, Harriet says, â€Å"When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything† (qtd. in Biography. Com). Harriet then embarked on the next stage of her life, which was to make her one of the most remarkable women in African-American history. Harriet took on a job in Philadelphia, worked tirelessly, and used her pay to help other blacks follow her path to freedom. She made the acquaintance of William Still, who was one to the most active ‘station masters’ of the Underground Railroad. The UGRR was the route to freedom along which slaves were transported from the South to the North. In order to maintain secrecy, the routes were called ‘lines’, the safe-houses were ‘stations,’ the slaves were ‘freight’ or ‘packages’ and the agents who guided them were the ‘conductors.’ With Stillâ₠¬â„¢s help, and that of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, Harriet became an official ‘conductor’ of the UGRR. When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made the North dangerous for runaway slaves, who faced the threat of recapture and return to their former masters, the UGRR made Canada the destination of the people it guided. In 1851, Tubman moved to St. Catharines in Canada and used the city as the base for her activities.

How is capability deprivation a more powerful approach for finding Essay

How is capability deprivation a more powerful approach for finding ways to fight poverty than a focus on raising the incomes of - Essay Example The realities faced by the poor people can be termed as dissimilar, multifaceted and dynamic; an aspect that leads to the analysts and researchers looking for explanations and solutions to the problem of unemployment. This paper shall address the issue of unemployment by arguing from the point that, poverty can be easily eliminated by applying the capability restitution mechanism as opposed to raising the income of the poor. The view of poverty in terms of capability perspective is one that is multi-dimensional as seen in the work of Sen (1). In the work, the author continues to argue that since poverty can be analyzed from the perspective of an individual’s lack of the basic items, income is one of the main items that would allow the same individual access their basic wants (2). This is to mean that, insufficient or lack of capital is a major determining factor of the ability of an individual to reassure their daily life. This interprets the reason why some families and perso ns are more economically able as contrasted to others. Therefore, in this case, the incapability of an individual to access the income that would be helpful in reducing poverty is useful in coming up with policies useful for dealing with poverty. It is at this juncture that Sen insists that; it would not be possible to give all these persons the necessary amount of money to maintain their livelihoods (2). Sen poses a question on whether it would be probable to fund a sick or a disabled person with sufficient funds to protract their livelihoods (2). In this case, it would be more sensible and practical to allow these individuals to obtain the skills of accessing income as opposed to giving them the funds. Though Sen is cautious of the fact that it would not be undemanding for persons with special needs and the sick to work equally the same as the ordinary persons, giving them an opportunity to acquire the right skills to work is the best solution in assuaging poverty (2). Capability restitution method is yet another more potent approach in alleviating poverty as the approach deals with issues of handling poverty. Poverty that is realistic, as indicated by Sen, does not revolve around the income liberty, but the main concern is a consideration of the mechanisms that bring out the poor persons from their misery (2). A cited example is that of the elderly members of the society, and other groups that are sinking in misery (1). In this case, apportioning a certain amount of money in an endeavor to fight poverty would result to the same persons being reliant on the fact that, with or with no jobs, they have an amount of money set aside for their use. It is warranted, from this argument, to argue that these persons have undeniably been reduced to slaves of their own desolation, as they have no capability to secure a job, and earn a considerable amount of money that would be helpful for their personal development. Sen gives a case in point whereby a family is allocate d funds as a means of alleviating poverty (2). In the event that the boy-child is given priority over the girl due to their gender difference, as seen in Asia and parts of North Africa, then a new division of poor persons will automatically emerge. In terms of capability deprivation, this means that girls are not given a chance to exercise their full potential as they are neglected in terms of access to healthcare, income amongst others (Sen 1). In the long run, the

Cultural phenomenon in African-American History from the Colonial Era Essay

Cultural phenomenon in African-American History from the Colonial Era to Reconstruction - Essay Example Her sisters were sold away from the family. Her mother held the rest of the family together with a determined resistance which was an inspiration to her daughter. Ben was freed from slavery at the age of forty-five, but continued to work as a foreman for his former owners. The family was helpless to fight for the freedom which his wife and children were later entitled to. (Biography.com). The young Harriet’s childhood was marked by harsh conditions: she inserted her toes into the smoldering ashes of a fire at night, in order to avoid frostbite. She received severe whippings even as a small child, working at various jobs, including weaving, housekeeping and baby-sitting, by the age of six. At the age of 12, she was seriously injured by a blow to the head, inflicted by a white overseer for refusing to help him tie up a runaway slave. This injury continued to be the source of life-long seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes. In 1844, at the age of 25, Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man, who did not share her dreams of escaping to freedom in the North (Williams).    In 1849, Harriet’s owner died and she feared being sold to the South. This impelled her to make a bid for freedom. She was initially accompanied by her two brothers, but the men lost their courage and returned to their slave life. Guided by the North Star, penniless and friendless, Harriet hid during the day and walked across strange country by night. Her determination is seen in her words, â€Å"I had reasoned dis out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder† (qtd. In Simkin). She secured aid from white abolitionists. Harriet’s escape bid included being covered in a sack and carried in a wagon, using a succession of ‘safe houses’ and finally crossing the Mason-Dixon line (dividing the free states of the North and the slave states of the South) to reach Phi ladelphia. In a poignant tribute to her freedom, Harriet says, â€Å"When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything† (qtd. in Biography. Com). Harriet then embarked on the next stage of her life, which was to make her one of the most remarkable women in African-American history. Harriet took on a job in Philadelphia, worked tirelessly, and used her pay to help other blacks follow her path to freedom. She made the acquaintance of William Still, who was one to the most active ‘station masters’ of the Underground Railroad. The UGRR was the route to freedom along which slaves were transported from the South to the North. In order to maintain secrecy, the routes were called ‘lines’, the safe-houses were ‘stations,’ the slaves were ‘freight’ or ‘packages’ and the agents who guided them were the ‘conductors.’ With Stillâ₠¬â„¢s help, and that of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, Harriet became an official ‘conductor’ of the UGRR. When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made the North dangerous for runaway slaves, who faced the threat of recapture and return to their former masters, the UGRR made Canada the destination of the people it guided. In 1851, Tubman moved to St. Catharines in Canada and used the city as the base for her activities.

We 8 CRJ 520II Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

We 8 CRJ 520II - Research Paper Example The move towards evaluation of program outcomes has moved from the intent of activities to the actual occurrence of the intended change. The most important stage in program implementation is to determine whether the achievements are taking place in the adopted activities. This is to determine whether there were other factors that contributed towards the occurrence of the change (Hatry, Newcomer & Wholey, 2013). This methodology of assessing whether there were other extra factors contributing to a program’s change is known as SROI (Social Return on Investment). SROI is an evaluation framework that assesses the outcomes of a practice or a program. In order to achieve the intended goals, there are four factors that need to be evaluated. These factors include deadweight, attribution, displacement, and drop off. Deadweight-this is the changes that people expected to take place anyway. Deadweight accounts for any part of change that would happen due to either internal motivations or environmental factors. For instance, the objectives of a certain community program may be to increase job opportunities for the residents. However, a portion of those employed may also get may also get employed due to changes of the labor market. The portion of those counted to could have found a job due to factors other than the activities of the program should not be included when evaluating the program (Royse, Thyer & Padgett, 2010). Displacement- this factor focuses on whether the achieved change resulted in some sort of displacement or unintended costs. For instance, a crime prevention program may be implemented to reduce criminal activities in a certain neighborhood and not displacing such criminal activities in the neighborhood community (Hatry, Newcomer & Wholey, 2013). The value of reducing criminal activities in the intended region would be

War in the Air Essay Example for Free

War in the Air Essay If there was a war today, aircraft would be used for the following reasons, parachuting soldiers into enemy lines, bombing enemy countries, transporting supplies to troops, spying on the enemy, observe aircraft carriers to gain valuable information about operations in the enemy lines. In 1914 planes were not as useful and were mainly used to watch enemy activities. The only weaponry used by aircraft were the guns which pilots carried to shoot down enemy planes this was very dangerous as pilots risked hitting the propeller and having the shot rebound and killing themselves. Later in 1915 a man called Anthony Fokker a Dutch designer working for Germany designed a machine gun timed to fire between the airplanes propellers. The invention made air combat more deadly and lead to dogfights which was clashes with enemy aircraft. Another source of weaponry used by pilots was small hand bombs which were dropped by hand; these bombs had little effect on the enemy and outcome of the war. In 1914 planes resources disabled the aeroplanes from transporting supplies to troops and operating attacks on the enemy. During 1914 planes were extremely unreliable and very dangerous, they were mostly used for observing the enemies lines, spying and collecting valuable information. At later stages Germany developed the Gotha it was one of the first bomber aircraft, these aeroplanes were very valuable as they collected information from the enemy lines they took valuable photographs. These aeroplanes were a great help for sailors and troops. The Zeppelins were not much use for attacking this was due to them not being able to carry enough bombs to do serious damage. These were a valuable weapon for war at sea and the Germans had the most advanced ones. In the earlier stages of war the important aircraft were the airships, the airships were gas powered by engines with massive bags of Hydrogen. The airships were mainly used by the British army for accompanying ships and tracking down u-boats. They spotted u-boats on the surface of the water and they gave a warning to allied troops. However Germany had an advantage as their airships were the Zeppelins they were an important weapon but more so to the war at sea. The Zeppelins flew higher and travelled at a greater speed.

Academic Performance And Motivation Education Essay

Academic Performance And Motivation Education Essay This chapter aims to answer the following question, what are the differences in motivation between male and female, differences in motivation among the 3 year of study, and relationship between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. This studys results suggest there is statistically significant difference in academic motivation between male and female, and significant difference in motivation among 3 years of study among UTAR students. However, there is significant relationship between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. In addition, each variable will be examined for significant and non-significant differences between the genders, as well as applicability to previous studies, significance to college enrollment and possible future research. Motivation Results for motivation suggested there are statistically differences between male and female. This might be interpreted as meaning the more motivated a student is, the more likely they are to enroll in, attend regularly and graduate from University or College. Academic Motivation Scale-College Version (AMS-C) was used to measure motivation, which reported average scores of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. for male students andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for female students (see Tableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in Chapter 4). The data represents a difference found between the two groups, with the female students reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation. When comparing male students and female students, results of this study suggest there are higher levels of motivation reported by the femala students. The current study found similarities to past research. According to Nadia (2010) indicated that female students more likely to have academic ethics than male students, which are characterized by higher academic attainment. Furthermore, the findings of the study show that female students were intrinsically motivated than males. In contrast, male students were extrinsically motivated than females. The possible explanations of these findings are that males are expected to be the main breadwinner of the family in society (Nadia, 2010). Whereas, for females, they are academic performance and motivation is based on self-exploration and internal satisfaction (Nadia, 2010). Data have shown that there is a significant link between a parents education and a childs motivation for college enrollment. Other research suggests, for first-generation students, the motivation to enroll in college is a deliberate attempt to improve his or her social, economic, and occupational standing (Ayala Striplen, 2002). Academic Performance and Motivation On top of that, findings suggest that there is significant relationship (r=.;n-)between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. Academic performance was using grade point average (GPA) and the average of (B-). These findings are consistent with previous literature. Johnson (1996) and other researchers also found out that academic achievement is highly correlated with students motivation (as cited in Nadia, 2010). Due to the previous research, the types of the motivation can affect on the performance of the students. This is because intrinsic and extrinsic motivation effects on the achievement and goals of the students performance. Students enjoyment when they learn new things is an example of intrinsic motivation. For instance, student may do their homework because they find it interesting and satisfying to learn about certain subjects (Isiksal, 2010). Findings also supported previous research based on SDT, which posit the relation between students being intrinsically motivated and academically successful (Turner, Chandler Heffer, 2009). As Fortes, Rodrigues and Tchantchane (2010) pointed out that when students are realize that the academic courses can improve their career prospects, they will be motivated to improve their academic performance as well. These types of students are tending to more on extrinsic motivation and other such as they want to get more reward or praise. Moreover, students with ammotivation also can affect their academic performance. They will experience feelings of incompetence and expectancies of uncontrollability they perceive their behavior as caused by forces out their own control. They feel undeceived and start asking themselves why in the world, why they go to school or they may stop participating in academic activities (Nadia, 2010). Year of Study The results for motivation among 3 years of study in UTAR students. This could be due to the differences in age and experience during their study in University. A research done by Uguroglu (1982) and McClure (1986) found that older students were more stable in certain personality characteristics and have higher achievement motivation and self-control than the younger one (as cited in Habibah Elias Rafaei abdul Rahman, 1995). Female stuents hv in general a better motivation profile and spent more time studying for their courses. Due to these observations, it is expected that the average female student would be the significant better performer in her first year at university. But it was observed, that the group of female students did not scored better in their first year. Students find increasingly little that is directly relevant or useful in their daily lives or those students ability belief and goal orientations shift from being positive and task focused to being more pessimistic and performance focused in their study. Intrinsic motivation is certainly not being supplanted by extrinsic motivation in the second year in University (Lepper, Iyengar Corpus, 2005) . Limitations of the Study There have several limitations that are identified during the progress of completing in this study such as that is related to population sample limitations to only one University, with a limited amount of student willing or able to participate. It might be more beneficial towards this type of research to have a wider range of University involvement in hopes to have a larger amount of student participants. With a larger amount of participants, this research could possible give results that are more inferential and accurate from the data. In addition, there is the lack of a large sample size within the target population. Instead of focusing research efforts on just one University, students from all Kampar,Perak state University or College could be considered as potential participants. It suggested that a larger population yield a larger amount of participants and could potentially lower instances of extraneous flaws thus results are reliable and valid to all state-level University or College populations. On top of that, this research is only focusing on the demographic variable, such as years of study, gender and GPA. However, there were other variables that might affect the level of motivation and academic performance. For example, classrooms environment, parental-child attachment styles, parental behavior, urban or rural area, peer pressure, courses, faculty, socioeconomic status (SES) and others. Those variables may account for the shift in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Another possible flaw is an inadequate time to collect the questionnaires. Even have give enough time for participants to fill in the questionnaire, but they may not collaboration to participate answering the questionnaire. Additional research is needed in order to get the reliability results and to determine the generalization of such findings to other populations and cultures. Recommendations for Future Research With the conclusion of this study, some possible recommendations for future research haven arisen. In the future, studies could aim to focus on younger demographic where intervention can be assesses and applied. This would include factors that are currently lacking, like motivation and college academic preparation. This research study discovery that preparing people for college starts at young age, as early as elementary school. This information could initiate further research, which aspires at a much younger demographic than the current study. Possible development of interventions for implementing programs that targets for the purpose of college preparation and provide the social support needed for these youth to be motivated to want and attend college could also be explored. Moreover, it is important assess the absence of parental figures, like with those in prison or who have passed away. For example, if a child is raised by a single parent, it might be important to narrow down factors and see how perceived social support and motivation apply to his or her circumstance. Once again by knowing what could contribute to these individuals can further assist those interested in implementing programs that target these particular populations. In the Western countries, researchers are very focusing about youngers education and performance in school, and there have many research talking about this, but yet very few research in Malaysia. Therefore more research should be conducted in order to know more about the students motivation in school, how this can effect on their learning and the perception or early support services for parents. Therefore, future research could be important in finding which variables are contributing to or the level of motivation in homes as children develop ideals for future. This would be helped to improve the education and getting more researches in Malaysia. Conclusion

Emily Character Analysis of A Rose for Emily Essay -- A Rose For Emily,

Miss Emily Up Close In the short story of A Rose for Emily, the main character illustrates a disturbed individual that doesn't want to separate herself from a deceased loved one. Everyone knows what its like to loose a loved one, but the town of Jefferson had no idea how hard Emily had taken death until they unraveled her deep, dark secret. People knew what it must have been like to be Emily. They knew the type of life she had lived and felt bad for the way her father had kept her all cooped up and sheltered away from any man. They also knew her father had felt that no man was good enough for her. The people of Jefferson felt that the family thought they were better then everyone else and showed no sort of insanity. When her father died, people realized the toll it had taken on Emily. They were somewhat relieved to know he was gone, and she too would discover what it was like to be a ?pauper.? They also knew they could pity her and the woman even came to her house to console her. They found it interesting when they saw no sense of grief amongst her face, and that she acted like she had no idea of the death of her father. People of Jefferson still didn?t think she was crazy, they had just figured it was all she had to do. She wasn?t very tidy and she had left an African American to clean up her house and be her butler . They women knew that a man surely didn?t know how to clean a house so they knew he was the reason for the horrible smells. The scent of her house was gruesome, and left people nauseous. Unfortunately, no one had the guts to let her know that she had basically had an odor, which surrounded her property. So the townspeople had squeezed lemon juice around her yard to relieve the horrid smell. When Miss Emil... ...dering emotions which might have driven Emily to her insanity. Although it is hard, I have not even thought of the perverted things that she had done to Mr. Barron, nor have I thought that an individual was capable of telling themselves that someone isn?t dead and argue with people and say I wouldn?t give up their body. Emily did go through a lot in her lifetime. It is hard to loose someone close to you, and especially if that is all you truly have. I feel that all Emily wanted was to feel loved, and to have someone in her life that made her feel special and feel like she was somebody. She was lonely, and she needed someone to love her and someone for her to love. She sought attention which she rarely received as a child. She demonstrates a quite luminous type of psychosis that was affected and hindered from her father?s death and corrupt and shelter childhood.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 2 Flight

TRANTOR-†¦ The capital of the First Galactic Empire†¦ Under Cleon I, it had its â€Å"twilight glow.† To all appearances, it was then at its peak. Its land surface of 200 million square kilometers was entirely domed (except for the Imperial Palace area) and underlaid with an endless city that extended beneath the continental shelves. The population was 40 billion and although the signs were plentiful (and clearly visible in hindsight) that there were gathering problems, those who lived on Trantor undoubtedly found it still the Eternal World of legend and did not expect it would ever†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 6. Seldon looked up. A young man was standing before him, looking down at him with an expression of amused contempt. Next to him was another young man-a bit younger, perhaps. Both were large and appeared to be strong. They were dressed in an extreme of Trantorian fashion, Seldon judged-boldly clashing colors, broad fringed belts, round hats with wide brims all about and the two ends of a bright pink ribbon extending from the brim to the back of the neck. In Seldon's eyes, it was amusing and he smiled. The young man before him snapped, â€Å"What're you grinning at, misfit?† Seldon ignored the manner of address and said gently, â€Å"Please pardon my smile. I was merely enjoying your costume.† â€Å"My costume? So? And what are you wearing? What's that awful offal you call clothes?† His hand went out and his finger flicked at the lapel of Seldon's jacket-disgracefully heavy and dull, Seldon himself thought, in comparison to the other's lighthearted colors. Seldon said, â€Å"I'm afraid it's my Outworlder clothes. They're all I have.† He couldn't help notice that the few others who were sitting in the small park were rising to their feet and walking off. It was as though they were expecting trouble and had no desire to remain in the vicinity. Seldon wondered if his new friend, Hummin, was leaving too, but he felt it injudicious to take his eyes away from the young man who was confronting him. He teetered back on his chair slightly. The young man said, â€Å"You an Outworlder?† â€Å"That's right. Hence my clothes.† â€Å"Hence? What kind of word's that? Outworld word?† â€Å"What I meant was, that was why my clothes seem peculiar to you. I'm a visitor here.† â€Å"From what planet?† â€Å"Helicon.† The young man's eyebrows drew together. â€Å"Never heard of it.† â€Å"It's not a large planet.† â€Å"Why don't you go back there?† â€Å"I intend to. I'm leaving tomorrow.† â€Å"Sooner! Now!† The young man looked at his partner. Seldon followed the look and caught a glimpse of Hummin. He had not left, but the park was now empty except for himself, Hummin, and the two young men. Seldon said, â€Å"I'd thought I'd spend today sight-seeing.† â€Å"No. You don't want to do that. You go home now.† Seldon smiled. â€Å"Sorry. I won't.† The young man said to his partner. â€Å"You like his clothes, Marbie?† Marbie spoke for the first time. â€Å"No. Disgusting. Turns the stomach.† â€Å"Can't let him go around turning stomachs, Marbie. Not good for people's health.† â€Å"No, not by no means, Alem,† said Marbie. Alem grinned. â€Å"Well now. You heard what Marbie said.† And now Hummin spoke. He said, â€Å"Look, you two, Alem, Marbie, whatever your names are. You've had your fun. Why don't you go away?† Alem, who had been leaning slightly toward Seldon, straightened and turned. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"That's not your business,† snapped Hummin. â€Å"You're Trantorian?† asked Alem. â€Å"Also not your business.† Alem frowned and said, â€Å"You're dressed Trantorian. We're not interested in you, so don't go looking for problems.† â€Å"I intend to stay. That means there are two of us. Two against two doesn't sound like your kind of fight. Why don't you go away and get some friends so you can handle two people?† Seldon said, â€Å"I really think you ought to get away if you can, Hummin. It's kind of you to try to protect me, but I don't want you harmed.† â€Å"These are not dangerous people, Seldon. Just half-credit lackeys.† â€Å"Lackeys!† The word seemed to infuriate Alem, so that Seldon thought it must have a more insulting meaning on Trantor than it had on Helicon. â€Å"Here, Marbie,† said Alem with a growl. â€Å"You take care of that other motherlackey and I'll rip the clothes off this Seldon. He's the one we want. Now-â€Å" His hands came down sharply to seize Seldon's lapels and jerk him upright. Seldon pushed away, instinctively it would seem, and his chair tipped backward. He seized the hands stretched toward him, his foot went up, and his chair went down. Somehow Alem streaked overhead, turning as he did so, and came down hard on his neck and back behind Seldon. Seldon twisted as his chair went down and was quickly on his feet, staring down at Alem, then looking sharply to one side for Marbie. Alem lay unmoving, his face twisted in agony. He had two badly sprained thumbs, excruciating pain in his groin, and a backbone that had been badly jarred. Hummin's left arm had grabbed Marbie's neck from behind and his right arm had pulled the other's right arm backward at a vicious angle. Marbie's face was red as he labored uselessly for breath. A knife, glittering with a small laser inset, lay on the ground beside them. Hummin eased his grip slightly and said, with an air of honest concern, â€Å"You've hurt that one badly.† Seldon said, â€Å"I'm afraid so. If he had fallen a little differently, he would have snapped his neck.† Hummin said, â€Å"What kind of a mathematician are you?† â€Å"A Heliconian one.† He stooped to pick up the knife and, after examining it, said, â€Å"Disgusting-and deadly.† Hummin said, â€Å"An ordinary blade would do the job without requiring a power source.-But let's let these two go. I doubt they want to continue any further.† He released Marbie, who rubbed first his shoulder then his neck. Gasping for air, he turned hate-filled eyes on the two men. Hummin said sharply, â€Å"You two had better get out of here. Otherwise we'll have to give evidence against you for assault and attempted murder. This knife can surely be traced to you.† Seldon and Hummin watched while Marbie dragged Alem to his feet and then helped him stagger away, still bent in pain. They looked back once or twice, but Seldon and Hummin watched impassively. Seldon held out his hand. â€Å"How do I thank you for coming to the aid of a stranger against two attackers? I doubt I would have been able to handle them both on my own.† Hummin raised his hand in a deprecatory manner. â€Å"I wasn't afraid of them. They're just street-brawling lackeys. All I had to do was get my hands on them-and yours, too, of course.† â€Å"That's a pretty deadly grip you have,† Seldon mused. Hummin shrugged. â€Å"You too.† Then, without changing his tone of voice, he said, â€Å"Come on, we'd better get out of here. We're wasting time.† Seldon said, â€Å"Why do we have to get away? Are you afraid those two will come back?† â€Å"Not in their lifetime. But some of those brave people who cleared out of the park so quickly in their eagerness to spare themselves a disagreeable sight may have alerted the police.† â€Å"Fine. We have the hoodlums' names. And we can describe them fairly well.† â€Å"Describe them? Why would the police want them?† â€Å"They committed an assault-â€Å" â€Å"Don't be foolish. We don't have a scratch. They're virtually hospital bait, especially Alem. We're the ones who will be charged.† â€Å"But that's impossible. Those people witnessed the fact that-â€Å" â€Å"No people will be called.-Seldon, get this into your head. Those two came to find you-specifically you. They were told you were wearing Heliconian clothes and you must have been described precisely. Perhaps they were even shown a holograph. I suspect they were sent by the people who happen to control the police, so let's not wait any longer.† Hummin hurried off, his hand gripping Seldon's upper arm. Seldon found the grip impossible to shake and, feeling like a child in the hands of an impetuous nurse, followed. They plunged into an arcade and, before Seldon's eyes grew accustomed to the dimmer light, they heard the burring sound of a ground-car's brakes. â€Å"There they are,† muttered Hummin. â€Å"Faster, Seldon.† They hopped onto a moving corridor and lost themselves in the crowd. 7. Seldon had tried to persuade Hummin to take him to his hotel room, but Hummin would have none of that. â€Å"Are you mad?† he half-whispered. â€Å"They'll be waiting for you there.† â€Å"But all my belongings are waiting for me there too.† â€Å"They'll just have to wait.† And now they were in a small room in a pleasant apartment structure that might be anywhere for all that Seldon could tell. He looked about the one-room unit. Most of it was taken up by a desk and chair, a bed, and a computer outlet. There were no dining facilities or washstand of any kind, though Hummin had directed him to a communal washroom down the hall. Someone had entered before Seldon was quite through. He had cast one brief and curious look at Seldon's clothes, rather than at Seldon himself, and had then looked away. Seldon mentioned this to Hummin, who shook his head and said, â€Å"We'll have to get rid of your clothes. Too bad Helicon is so far out of fashion-â€Å" Seldon said impatiently, â€Å"How much of this might just be your imagination, Hummin? You've got me half-convinced and yet it may be merely a kind of†¦ of-â€Å" â€Å"Are you groping for the word ‘paranoia'?† â€Å"All right, I am. This may be some strange paranoid notion of yours.† Hummin said, â€Å"Think about it, will you? I can't argue it out mathematically, but you've seen the Emperor. Don't deny it. He wanted something from you and you didn't give it to him. Don't deny that either. I suspect that details of the future are what he wants and you refused. Perhaps Demerzel thinks you're only pretending not to have the details-that you're holding out for a higher price or that someone else is bidding for it too. Who knows? I told you that if Demerzel wants you, he'll get you wherever you are. I told you that before those two splitheads ever appeared on the scene. I'm a journalist and a Trantorian. I know how these things go. At one point, Alem said, ‘He's the one we want.' Do you remember that?† â€Å"As it happens,† said Seldon. â€Å"I do.† â€Å"To him I was only the ‘other motherlackey' to be kept off, while he went about the real job of assaulting you.† Hummin sat down in the chair and pointed to the bed. â€Å"Stretch out, Seldon. Make yourself comfortable. Whoever sent those two-it must have been Demerzel, in my opinion-can send others, so we'll have to get rid of those clothes of yours. I think any other Heliconian in this sector caught in his own world's garb is going to have trouble until he can prove he isn't you.† â€Å"Oh come on.† â€Å"I mean it. You'll have to take off the clothes and we'll have to atomize them-if we can get close enough to a disposal unit without being seen. And before we can do that I'll have to get you a Trantorian outfit. You're smaller than I am and I'll take that into account. It won't matter if it doesn't fit exactly-â€Å" Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I don't have the credits to pay for it. Not on me. What credits I have-and they aren't much-are in my hotel safe.† â€Å"We'll worry about that another time. You'll have to stay here for an hour or two while I go out in search of the necessary clothing.† Seldon spread his hands and sighed resignedly. â€Å"All right. If it's that important, I'll stay.† â€Å"You won't try to get back to your hotel? Word of honor?† â€Å"My word as a mathematician. But I'm really embarrassed by all the trouble you're taking for me. And expense too. After all, despite all this talk about Demerzel, they weren't really out to hurt me or carry me off. All I was threatened with was the removal of my clothes.† â€Å"Not all. They were also going to take you to the spaceport and put you on a hypership to Helicon.† â€Å"That was a silly threat-not to be taken seriously.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"I'm going to Helicon. I told them so. I'm going tomorrow.† â€Å"And you still plan to go tomorrow?† asked Hummin. â€Å"Certainly. Why not?† â€Å"There are enormous reasons why not.† Seldon suddenly felt angry. â€Å"Come on, Hummin, I can't play this game any further. I'm finished here and I want to go home. My tickets are in the hotel room. Otherwise I'd try to exchange them for a trip today. I mean it.† â€Å"You can't go back to Helicon.† Seldon flushed. â€Å"Why not? Are they waiting for me there too?† Hummin nodded. â€Å"Don't fire up, Seldon. They would be waiting for you there too. Listen to me. If you go to Helicon, you are as good as in Demerzel's hands. Helicon is good, safe Imperial territory. Has Helicon ever rebelled, ever fallen into step behind the banner of an anti-Emperor?† â€Å"No, it hasn't-and for good reason. It's surrounded by larger worlds. It depends on the Imperial peace for security.† â€Å"Exactly! Imperial forces on Helicon can therefore count on the full cooperation of the local government. You would be under constant surveillance at all times. Any time Demerzel wants you, he will be able to have you. And, except for the fact that I am now warning you, you would have no knowledge of this and you would be working in the open, filled with a false security.† â€Å"That's ridiculous. If he wanted me in Helicon, why didn't he simply leave me to myself? I was going there tomorrow. Why would he send those two hoodlums simply to hasten the matter by a few hours and risk putting me on my guard?† â€Å"Why should he think you would be put on your guard? He didn't know I'd be with you, immersing you in what you call my paranoia.† â€Å"Even without the question of warning me, why all the fuss to hurry me by a few hours?† â€Å"Perhaps because he was afraid you would change your mind.† â€Å"And go where, if not home? If he could pick me up on Helicon, he could pick me up anywhere. He could pick me up on†¦ on Anacreon, a good ten thousand parsecs away-if it should fall into my head to go there. What's distance to hyperspatial ships? Even if I find a world that's not quite as subservient to the Imperial forces as Helicon is, what world is in actual rebellion? The Empire is at peace. Even if some worlds are still resentful of injustices in the past, none are going to defy the Imperial armed forces to protect me. Moreover, anywhere but on Helicon I won't be a local citizen and there won't even be that matter of principle to help keep the Empire at bay.† Hummin listened patiently, nodding slightly, but looking as grave and as imperturbable as ever. He said, â€Å"You're right, as far as you go, but there's one world that is not really under the Emperor's control. That, I think, is what must be disturbing Demerzel.† Seldon thought a while, reviewing recent history and finding himself unable to choose a world on which the Imperial forces might be helpless. He said at last, â€Å"What world is that?† Hummin said, â€Å"You're on it, which is what makes the matter so dangerous in Demerzel's eyes, I imagine. It is not so much that he is anxious to have you go to Helicon, as that he is anxious to have you leave Trantor before it occurs to you, for any reason-even if only tourist's mania-to stay.† The two men sat in silence until Seldon finally said sardonically, â€Å"Trantor! The capital of the Empire, with the home base of the fleet on a space station in orbit about it, with the best units of the army quartered here. If you believe that it is Trantor that is the safe world, you're progressing from paranoia to outright fantasy.† â€Å"No! You're an Outworlder, Seldon. You don't know what Trantor is like. It's forty billion people and there are few other worlds with even a tenth of its population. It is of unimaginable technological and cultural complexity. Where we are now is the Imperial Sector-with the highest standard of living in the Galaxy and populated entirely by Imperial functionaries. Elsewhere on the planet, however, are over eight hundred other sectors, some of them with subcultures totally different from what we have here and most of them untouchable by Imperial forces.† â€Å"Why untouchable?† â€Å"The Empire cannot seriously exert force against Trantor. To do so would be bound to shake some facet or other of the technology on which the whole planet depends. The technology is so interrelated that to snap one of the interconnections is to cripple the whole. Believe me, Seldon, we on Trantor observe what happens when there is an earthquake that manages to escape being damped out, a volcanic eruption that is not vented in time, a storm that is not defused, or just some human error that escapes notice. The planet totters and every effort must be made to restore the balance at once.† â€Å"I have never heard of such a thing.† A small smile flickered its way across Hummin's face. â€Å"Of course not. Do you want the Empire to advertise the weakness at its core? However, as a journalist, I know what happens even when the Outworlds don't, even when much of Trantor itself doesn't, even when the Imperial pressure is interested in concealing events. Believe me! The Emperor knows-and Eto Demerzel knows-even if you don't, that to disturb Trantor may destroy the Empire.† â€Å"Then are you suggesting I stay on Trantor for that reason?† â€Å"Yes. I can take you to a place on Trantor where you will be absolutely safe from Demerzel. You won't have to change your name and you will be able to operate entirely in the open and he won't be able to touch you. That's why he wanted to force you off Trantor at once and if it hadn't been for the quirk of fate that brought us together and for your surprising ability to defend yourself, he would have succeeded in doing so.† â€Å"But how long will I have to remain on Trantor?† â€Å"For as long as your safety requires it, Seldon. For the rest of your life, perhaps.† 8. Hari Seldon looked at the holograph of himself cast by Hummin's projector. It was more dramatic and useful than a mirror would have been. In fact, it seemed as though there were two of him in the room. Seldon studied the sleeve of his new tunic. His Heliconian attitudes made him wish the colors were less vibrant, but he was thankful that, as it was, Hummin had chosen softer colors than were customary here on this world. (Seldon thought of the clothing worn by their two assailants and shuddered inwardly.) He said, â€Å"And I suppose I must wear this hat.† â€Å"In the Imperial Sector, yes. To go bareheaded here is a sign of low breeding. Elsewhere, the rules are different.† Seldon sighed. The round hat was made of soft material and molded itself to his head when he put it on. The brim was evenly wide all around, but it was narrower than on the hats his attackers had worn. Seldon consoled himself by noticing that when he wore the hat the brim curved rather gracefully. â€Å"It doesn't have a strap under the chin.† â€Å"Of course not. That's advanced fashion for young lanks.† â€Å"For young what?† â€Å"A lank is someone who wears things for their shock value. I'm sure you have such people on Helicon.† Seldon snorted. â€Å"There are those who wear their hair shoulder-length on one side and shave the other.† He laughed at the memory. Hummin's mouth twisted slightly. â€Å"I imagine it looks uncommonly ugly.† â€Å"Worse. There are lefties and righties, apparently, and each finds the other version highly offensive. The two groups often engage in street brawls.† â€Å"Then I think you can stand the hat, especially without the strap.† Seldon said, â€Å"I'll get used to it.† â€Å"It will attract some attention. It's subdued for one thing and makes you look as if you're in mourning. And it doesn't quite fit. Then, too, you wear it with obvious discomfort. However, we won't be in the Imperial Sector long.-Seen enough?† And the holograph flickered out. Seldon said, â€Å"How much did this cost you?† â€Å"What's the difference?† â€Å"It bothers me to be in your debt.† â€Å"Don't worry about it. This is my choice. But we've been here long enough. I will have been described, I'm quite certain. They'll track me down and they'll come here.† â€Å"In that case,† said Seldon, â€Å"the credits you're spending are a minor matter. You're putting yourself into personal danger on my account. Personal danger!† â€Å"I know that. But it's my free choice and I can take care of myself.† â€Å"But why-â€Å" â€Å"We'll discuss the philosophy of it later.-I've atomized your clothes, by the way, and I don't think I was seen. There was an energy surge, of course, and that would be recorded. Someone might guess what happened from that-it's hard to obscure any action when probing eyes and mind are sharp enough. However, let us hope we'll be safely away before they put it all together.† 9. They traveled along walkways where the light was soft and yellow. Hummin's eyes moved this way and that, watchful, and he kept their pace at crowd speed, neither passing nor being passed. He kept up a mild but steady conversation on indifferent topics. Seldon, edgy and unable to do the same, said, â€Å"There seems to be a great deal of walking here. There are endless lines in both directions and along the crossovers.† â€Å"Why not?† said Hummin. â€Å"Walking is still the best form of short-distance transportation. It's the most convenient, the cheapest, and the most healthful. Countless years of technological advance have not changed that.-Are you acrophobic, Seldon?† Seldon looked over the railing on his right into a deep declivity that separated the two walking lanes-each in an opposite direction between the regularly spaced crossovers. He shuddered slightly. â€Å"If you mean fear of heights, not ordinarily. Still, looking down isn't pleasant. How far does it go down?† â€Å"Forty or fifty levels at this point, I think. This sort of thing is common in the Imperial Sector and a few other highly developed regions. In most places, one walks at what might be considered ground level.† â€Å"I should imagine this would encourage suicide attempts.† â€Å"Not often. There are far easier methods. Besides, suicide is not a matter of social obloquy on Trantor. One can end one's life by various recognized methods in centers that exist for the purpose-if one is willing to go through some psychotherapy at first. There are, occasional accidents, for that matter, but that's not why I was asking about acrophobia. We're heading for a taxi rental where they know me as a journalist. I've done favors for them occasionally and sometimes they do favors for me in return. They'll forget to record me and won't notice that I have a companion. Of course, I'll have to pay a premium and, again of course, if Demerzel's people lean on them hard enough, they'll have to tell the truth and put it down to slovenly accounting, but that may take considerable time.† â€Å"Where does the acrophobia come in?† â€Å"Well, we can get there a lot faster if we use a gravitic lift. Not many people use it and I must tell you that I'm not overjoyed at the idea myself, but if you think you can handle it, we had better.† â€Å"What's a gravitic lift?† â€Å"It's experimental. The time may come when it will be widespread over Trantor, provided it becomes psychologically acceptable-or can be made so to enough people. Then, maybe, it will spread to other worlds too. It's an elevator shaft without an elevator cab, so to speak. We just step into empty space and drop slowly-or rise slowly-under the influence of antigravity. It's about the only application of antigravity that's been established so far, largely because it's the simplest possible application.† â€Å"What happens if the power blinks out while we're in transit?† â€Å"Exactly what you would think. We fall and-unless we're quite near the bottom to begin with-we die. I haven't heard of it happening yet and, believe me, if it had happened I would know. We might not be able to give out the news for security reasons-that's the excuse they always advance for hiding bad news-but I would know. It's just up ahead. If you can't manage it, we won't do it, but the corridors are slow and tedious and many find them nauseating after a while.† Hummin turned down a crossover and into a large recess where a line of men and women were waiting, one or two with children. Seldon said in a low voice, â€Å"I heard nothing of this back home. Of course, our own news media are terribly local, but you'd think there'd be some mention that this sort of thing exists.† Hummin said. â€Å"It's strictly experimental and is confined to the Imperial Sector. It uses more energy than it's worth, so the government is not really anxious to push it right now by giving it publicity. The old Emperor, Stanel VI, the one before Cleon who amazed everyone by dying in his bed, insisted on having it installed in a few places. He wanted his name associated with antigravity, they say, because he was concerned with his place in history, as old men of no great attainments frequently are. As I said, the technique may spread, but, on the other hand, it is possible that nothing much more than the gravitic lift will ever come of it.† â€Å"What do they want to come of it?† asked Seldon. â€Å"Antigrav spaceflight. That, however, will require many breakthroughs and most physicists, as far as I know, are firmly convinced it is out of the question. But, then, most thought that even gravitic lifts were out of the question.† The line ahead was rapidly growing shorter and Seldon found himself standing with Hummin at the edge of the floor with an open gap before him. The air ahead faintly glittered. Automatically, he reached out his hand and felt a light shock. It didn't hurt, but he snatched his hand back quickly. Hummin grunted. â€Å"An elementary precaution to prevent anyone walking over the edge before activating the controls.† He punched some numbers on the control board and the glitter vanished. Seldon peered over the edge, down the deep shaft. â€Å"You might find it better-or easier,† said Hummin, â€Å"if we link arms and if you close your eyes. It won't take more than a few seconds.† He gave Seldon no choice, actually. He took his arm and once again there was no hanging back in that firm grip. Hummin stepped into nothingness and Seldon (who heard himself, to his own embarrassment, emit a small squeak) shuffled off with a lurch. He closed his eyes tightly and experienced no sense of falling, no feeling of air movement. A few seconds passed and he was pulled forward. He tripped slightly, caught his balance, and found himself on solid ground. He opened his eyes, â€Å"Did we make it?† Hummin said dryly, â€Å"We're not dead,† then walked away, his grip forcing Seldon to follow. â€Å"I mean, did we get to the right level?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"What would have happened if we were dropping down and someone else was moving upward?† â€Å"There are two separate lanes. In one lane everyone drops at the same speed; in the other everyone rises at the same speed. The shaft clears only when there are no people within ten meters of each other. There is no chance of a collision if all works well.† â€Å"I didn't feel a thing.† â€Å"Why should you? There was no acceleration. After the first tenth of a second, you were at constant speed and the air in your immediate vicinity was moving down with you at the same speed.† â€Å"Marvelous.† â€Å"Absolutely. But uneconomic. And there seems no great pressure to increase the efficiency of the procedure and make it worthwhile. Everywhere one hears the same refrain. ‘We can't do it. It can't be done.' It applies to everything.† Hummin shrugged in obvious anger and said, â€Å"But we're here at the taxi rental. Let's get on with it.† 10. Seldon tried to look inconspicuous at the air-taxi rental terminus, which he found difficult. To look ostentatiously inconspicuous-to slink about, to turn his face away from all who passed, to study one of the vehicles overintently-was surely the way to invite attention. The way to behave was merely to assume an innocent normality. But what was normality? He felt uncomfortable in his clothes. There were no pockets, so he had no place to put his hands. The two pouches, which dangled from his belt on either side, distracted him by hitting against him as he moved, so that he was continually thinking someone had nudged him. He tried looking at women as they passed. They had no pouches, at least none dangling, but they carried little boxlike affairs that they occasionally clipped to one hip or another by some device he could not make out. It was probably pseudomagnetic, he decided. Their clothes were not particularly revealing, he noted regretfully, and not one had any sign of dcolletage, although some dresses seemed to be designed to emphasize the buttocks. Meanwhile, Hummin had been very businesslike, having presented the necessary credits and returned with the superconductive ceramic tile that would activate a specific air-taxi. Hummin said, â€Å"Get in, Seldon,† gesturing to a small two-seated vehicle. Seldon asked, â€Å"Did you have to sign your name, Hummin?† â€Å"Of course not. They know me here and don't stand on ceremony.† â€Å"What do they think you're doing?† â€Å"They didn't ask and I volunteered no information.† He inserted the tile and Seldon felt a slight vibration as the air-taxi came to life. â€Å"We're headed for D-7,† said Hummin, making conversation. Seldon didn't know what D-7 was, but he assumed it meant some route or other. The air-taxi found its way past and around other ground-cars and finally moved onto a smooth upward-slanting track and gained speed. Then it lifted upward with a slight jolt. Seldon, who had been automatically strapped in by a webbed restraint, felt himself pushed down into his seat and then up against the webbing. He said, â€Å"That didn't feel like antigravity.† â€Å"It wasn't,† said Hummin. â€Å"That was a small jet reaction. Just enough to take us up to the tubes.† What appeared before them now looked like a cliff patterned with cave openings, much like a checkerboard. Hummin maneuvered toward the D-7 opening, avoiding other air-taxis that were heading for other tunnels. â€Å"You could crash easily,† said Seldon, clearing his throat. â€Å"So I probably would if everything depended on my senses and reactions, but the taxi is computerized and the computer can overrule me without trouble. The same is true for the other taxis.-Here we go.† They slid into D-7 as if they had been sucked in and the bright light of the open plaza outside mellowed, turning a warmer yellow hue. Hummin released the controls and sat back. He drew a deep breath and said, â€Å"Well, that's one stage successfully carried through. We might have been stopped at the station. In here, we're fairly safe.† The ride was smooth and the walls of the tunnel slipped by rapidly. There was almost no sound, just a steady velvety whirr as the taxi sped along. â€Å"How fast are we going?† asked Seldon. Hummin cast an eye briefly at the controls. â€Å"Three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.† â€Å"Magnetic propulsion?† â€Å"Yes. You have it on Helicon, I imagine.† â€Å"Yes. One line. I've never been on it myself, though I've always meant to. I don't think it's anything like this.† â€Å"I'm sure it isn't. Trantor has many thousands of kilometers of these tunnels honeycombing the land subsurface and a number that snake under the shallower extensions of the ocean. It's the chief method of long-distance travel.† â€Å"How long will it take us?† â€Å"To reach our immediate destination? A little over five hours.† â€Å"Five hours!† Seldon was dismayed. â€Å"Don't be disturbed. We pass rest areas every twenty minutes or so where we can stop, pull out of the tunnel, stretch our feet, eat, or relieve ourselves. I'd like to do that as few times as possible, of course.† They continued on in silence for a while and then Seldon started when a blaze of light flared at their right for a few seconds and, in the flash, he thought he saw two air-taxis. â€Å"That was a rest area,† said Hummin in answer to the unspoken question. Seldon said, â€Å"Am I really going to be safe wherever it is you are taking me?† Hummin said, â€Å"Quite safe from any open movement on the part of the Imperial forces. Of course, when it comes to the individual operator-the spy, the agent, the hired assassin-one must always be careful. Naturally, I will supply you with a bodyguard.† Seldon felt uneasy. â€Å"The hired assassin? Are you serious? Would they really want to kill me?† Hummin said, â€Å"I'm sure Demerzel doesn't. I suspect he wants to use you rather than kill you. Still, other enemies may turn up or there may be unfortunate concatenations of events. You can't go through life sleepwalking.† Seldon shook his head and turned his face away. To think, only forty-eight hours ago he had been just an insignificant, virtually unknown Outworld mathematician, content only to spend his remaining time on Trantor sight-seeing, gazing at the enormity of the great world with his provincial eye. And now, it was finally sinking in: He was a wanted man, hunted by Imperial forces. The enormity of the situation seized him and he shuddered. â€Å"And what about you and what you're doing right now?† Hummin said thoughtfully, â€Å"Well, they won't feel kindly toward me, I suppose. I might have my head laid open or my chest exploded by some mysterious and never-found assailant.† Hummin said it without a tremor in his voice or a change in his calm appearance, but Seldon winced. Seldon said, â€Å"I rather thought you would assume that might be in store for you. You don't seem to be†¦ bothered by it.† â€Å"I'm an old Trantorian. I know the planet as well as anybody can. I know many people and many of them are under obligation to me. I like to think that I am shrewd and not easy to outwit. In short, Seldon, I am quite confident that I can take care of myself.† â€Å"I'm glad you feel that way and I hope you're justified in thinking so, Hummin, but I can't get it through my head why you're taking this chance at all. What am I to you? Why should you take even the smallest risk for someone who is a stranger to you?† Hummin checked the controls in a preoccupied manner and then he faced Seldon squarely, eyes steady and serious. â€Å"I want to save you for the same reason that the Emperor wants to use you-for your predictive powers.† Seldon felt a deep pang of disappointment. This was not after all a question of being saved. He was merely the helpless and disputed prey of competing predators. He said angrily, â€Å"I will never live down that presentation at the Decennial Convention. I have ruined my life.† â€Å"No. Don't rush to conclusions, mathematician. The Emperor and his officers want you for one reason only, to make their own lives more secure. They are interested in your abilities only so far as they might be used to save the Emperor's rule, preserve that rule for his young son, maintain the positions, status, and power of his officials. I, on the other hand, want your powers for the good of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Is there a distinction?† spat Seldon acidly. And Hummin replied with the stern beginning of a frown, â€Å"If you do not see the distinction, then that is to your shame. The human occupants of the Galaxy existed before this Emperor who now rules, before the dynasty he represents, before the Empire itself. Humanity is far older than the Empire. It may even be far older than the twenty-five million worlds of the Galaxy. There are legends of a time when humanity inhabited a single world.† â€Å"Legends!† said Seldon, shrugging his shoulders. â€Å"Yes, legends, but I see no reason why that may not have been so in fact, twenty thousand years ago or more. I presume that humanity did not come into existence complete with knowledge of hyperspatial travel. Surely, there must have been a time when people could not travel at superluminal velocities and they must then have been imprisoned in a single planetary system. And if we look forward in time, the human beings of the worlds of the Galaxy will surely continue to exist after you and the Emperor are dead, after his whole line comes to an end, and after the institutions of the Empire itself unravel. In that case, it is not important to worry overmuch about individuals, about the Emperor and the young Prince Imperial. It is not important to worry even about the mechanics of Empire. What of the quadrillions of people that exist in the Galaxy? What of them?† Seldon said, â€Å"Worlds and people would continue, I presume.† â€Å"Don't you feel any serious need of probing the possible conditions under which they would continue to exist.† â€Å"One would assume they would exist much as they do now.† â€Å"One would assume. But could one know by this art of prediction that you speak of?† â€Å"Psychohistory is what I call it. In theory, one could.† â€Å"And you feel no pressure to turn that theory into practice.† â€Å"I would love to, Hummin, but the desire to do so doesn't automatically manufacture the ability to do so. I told the Emperor that psychohistory could not be turned into a practical technique and I am forced to tell you the same thing.† â€Å"And you have no intention of even trying to find the technique?† â€Å"No, I don't, any more than I would feel I ought to try to tackle a pile of pebbles the size of Trantor, count them one by one, and arrange them in order of decreasing mass. I would know it was not something I could accomplish in a lifetime and I would not be fool enough to make a pretense of trying.† â€Å"Would you try if you knew the truth about humanity's situation?† â€Å"That's an impossible question. What is the truth about humanity's situation? Do you claim to know it?† â€Å"Yes, I do. And in five words.† Hummin's eyes faced forward again, turning briefly toward the blank changelessness of the tunnel as it pushed toward them, expanding until it passed and then dwindling as it slipped away. He then spoke those five words grimly. He said, â€Å"The Galactic Empire is dying.†

The Indigo Spell Chapter Nineteen

SOMEHOW, I STILL LOST. If Adrian were capable of on-the-fly calculations, I'd swear he was using his powers to affect the way the dice rolled. Most likely, he either had some innate and inexplicable Monopoly skills I just couldn't understand – or he was very, very lucky. But through it all, I had fun, and losing to him was a lot better than having Veronica haunt me in my sleep. He continued the dream visits for the next few days, and although I never felt completely safe from her, I at least didn't have her occupying the forefront of my mind at all times. That honor was saved for my weekend trip to St. Louis, which came around more quickly than I expected. Once I was on the plane, the reality of what I was about to attempt hit me. This was it, the point of no return. In the safety of Palm Springs, I'd been able to maintain a somewhat cool and collected attitude. St. Louis had seemed far away back then. Now the tasks ahead of me seemed daunting and kind of crazy. And dangerous. There was no part of this that wouldn't get me into serious trouble. Lying to Stanton. Breaking into top secret servers. Even charming information out of Ian could have repercussions. And really who was I to think I would have any ability to lure secrets from him? I wasn't like Rose or Julia. They had men fawning all over them. But me? I was socially awkward and pretty inept when it came to romance. Maybe Ian liked me, but that didn't mean I'd have some magical power over him. Of course, if that part of the plan with him failed, then I'd be free of my other tasks. Every single part of this was overwhelming, and as I stared out the plane's window, watching St. Louis grow closer and closer, my feelings of dread grew. My palms were too sweaty to hold a book, and when I refused food, it was because of the queasiness in my stomach, not some obsession with calories. I'd gone back and forth on whether to get a hotel room or stay at the facility itself, which provided guest housing for visiting Alchemists like me. In the end, I opted for the former. The less time I spent under the watchful eyes of my masters, the better. It also meant I didn't have to worry about my outfit attracting attention. I hadn't exactly followed all of Adrian's suggestions, but the dress I'd purchased for this trip was a bit racier than my normal business casual wardrobe. Okay, a lot racier. It would have been completely out of place among the modest and neutral-colored attire Alchemists usually wore. But when Ian met me in the hotel's lobby for dinner, I knew I'd made the right choice. â€Å"Wow,† he said, eyes widening. â€Å"You look amazing.† Apparently, his Alchemists sensibilities weren't offended by my outfit. It was a form-fitting minidress that went about to my mid-thigh, with an open back and a disconcertingly low V-neck that gave me cleavage I hadn't even known was possible. Any demureness the dress's long sleeves might have offered was undone by the fabric combination: a beige underdress covered in black and maroon lace. It gave the illusion that I was wearing lace with nothing underneath. The saleswoman had assured me that every part of the dress was supposed to fit that snugly (for once in my life, I'd actually suggested a larger size) and that I needed at least four-inch black heels to make it all work. With the help of a lot of hairpins, I'd even managed to pull my hair up into a bun, which wasn't easy with my layered haircut. I felt conspicuous walking through the lobby, but no one gave me any shocked looks. The few I did get were admiring ones. The hotel was pretty posh, and I was just one of a number of women dressed in holiday cocktail dresses. Nothing scandalous or out of the ordinary. You can do this, Sydney. And wearing a revealing dress wasn't nearly as difficult as breaking into a server, right? Right? I smiled as I approached Ian and gave him a quick hug, which was weird both because it was with Ian and because I felt naked in the dress. This femme fatale thing was harder than I'd thought it'd be. â€Å"I'm glad I got to see you again,† I said. â€Å"I know what an inconvenience this must be, with no notice.† Ian shook his head so adamantly that I almost expected to hear rattling. â€Å"N-no. No trouble at all.† Satisfied he'd gotten a look, I slipped on my coat, a mid-length black trench, and gestured toward the exit. â€Å"Time to brave the elements?† He hurried ahead of me to open the door. A scattering of snowflakes drifted down, resting on my coat and hair. My breath made a frosty cloud in the air, and I had a momentary flashback to traipsing across that field with Adrian. Little had I known that search for Marcus would lead to me running errands for him in a tight dress. Ian had parked in the hotel's front circle drive. He drove a Toyota Corolla, which was made even more boring by the fact that he'd chosen it in white. A little air freshener shaped like a tree hung from the rearview mirror, but rather than the usual pine scent, a small label declared it to be â€Å"New Car Scent.† Mostly it smelled like plastic. I put on a brave face. Marcus really owed me one. â€Å"I made us a reservation at this really great seafood place,† he told me. â€Å"It's close to the facility, so we can head on over to the service right away.† â€Å"Sounds great,† I said. I never ate seafood in any landlocked state. The restaurant was called Fresh Cache, which didn't improve my opinion of it. Still, I had to give it credit for attempts at a romantic atmosphere. Most of the lighting came from candles, and a pianist in the corner played covers of easy-listening songs. More well-dressed people filled the tables, laughing and chatting over wine and shrimp cocktails. The host showed us to a corner table, covered with burgundy linen and decorated with a scattering of green orchids. I'd never seen any up close and was actually quite taken with how exotic and sensual they were. If only I was here with anyone but Ian. I was hesitant to take my coat off. It made me feel exposed, and I had to remind myself of the consequences of Alchemists and Warriors working together. As soon as the dress was unleashed again, I had the satisfaction of seeing Ian melt once more. I remembered Adrian's advice about confidence and put on a smug smile, hoping I gave the impression that I was doing Ian a great favor by allowing him to be in my presence. And, to my complete and utter amazement, it seemed to work. I even allowed myself to indulge in a dangerous thought: maybe it wasn't the dress wielding such power here. Maybe it was me. Opening the menu, I began skimming for a beef or poultry option. â€Å"What do you recommend?† â€Å"The mahi mahi is great here,† he said. â€Å"So is the swordfish.† The waiter stopped by, and I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. I figured they couldn't really mess up the anchovies in the dressing. We were left alone to wait, with nothing to do now but move on to small talk. Ian picked up the ball. â€Å"I suppose you still can't tell me much about where you're at, huh?† â€Å"Afraid not. You know how it is.† I buttered a sourdough roll with what I was pretty sure was exactly half a tablespoon. I didn't want to go too crazy, but I could allow myself a little indulgence since I ordered a salad. â€Å"I can tell you I'm in the field. I just can't say much else.† Ian's attention shifted off my neckline as he stared into the candle's flame. â€Å"I miss that, you know. Being in the field.† â€Å"You used to be, right? What happened?† I hadn't thought much about it lately, but when Ian had accompanied Stanton and me to the Moroi court, he had been pulled from his post to make the trip. He'd been assigned somewhere in the south, Florida or Georgia, I thought. â€Å"Those Moroi holding us prisoner is what happened.† He shifted his gaze back to me, and I was startled at the fierceness I saw. â€Å"I didn't handle it very well.† â€Å"Well, none of us did.† He shook his head. â€Å"No, no. I really didn't handle it well. I kind of freaked out. They sent me to anger management training afterward.† I nearly dropped the roll. I had in no way expected that. If someone had asked me to name the top ten people who needed anger management, Ian wouldn't have even made the bottom of the list. My father, however, would have been near the top. â€Å"How – how long were you there?† I stammered. â€Å"Two weeks, and then I was good to go.† Admittedly, I didn't know the extent of the rage that had landed him in anger management, but I found it interesting that two weeks was good enough to deem him ready to work again. Meanwhile, Keith's scheme to use Moroi to make money had earned him at least two months in re-education – maybe more, since I hadn't heard any updates in a while. â€Å"But they wouldn't let me work in the field,† Ian added. â€Å"Figure I shouldn't be around Moroi for a while. So that's why I'm stuck here.† â€Å"In the archives.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Doesn't sound so bad,† I told him. I wasn't entirely lying. â€Å"Lots of books.† â€Å"Don't fool yourself, Sydney.† He began tearing a pumpernickel roll into pieces. â€Å"I'm a glorified librarian.† Maybe so, but that wasn't my concern. What was my concern was Wade telling me that the archives were on a secure level, one floor up from the surveillance room that held security footage. He'd drawn me a map of each floor, making sure I memorized the layout and the best ways to get in and out. â€Å"I'd still love to see them,† I said. â€Å"I mean, the history they contain is amazing.† Again, not entirely a lie. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes drop to my plunging neckline again. This wasn't that difficult! Really, I didn't know why I hadn't been using my â€Å"womanly charms† a long time ago. Actually, I never really knew I had any, until now. â€Å"Could you get me in for a tour? Of the archives specifically. You seem like the kind of guy who could get access to . . . a lot of places.† Ian choked on his roll. After a bout of coughing, he glanced up at my face, then my cleavage (again), and then back to my face. â€Å"I'd, um, love to, but it's not really open to the public – I mean, even the Alchemist public. Only those with special scholar access are allowed in. We could look at the general access parts of the building, though.† â€Å"Oh. I see.† I looked down at my plate, pouting slightly, but didn't say anything else. As the waiter arrived with our food, I hoped my silence was making him reconsider what he could be missing out on. Eventually, Ian couldn't take it anymore. He cleared his throat, maybe because there was still bread stuck in it. â€Å"Well, I might be able to . . . you see, the problem is just getting you down to the secure levels. Once you're through that checkpoint, it's not hard to get you into the archives – especially if I'm working.† â€Å"But you can't do anything about the main checkpoint?† I coaxed, as if all real men should be able to do that. â€Å"No, I mean . . . maybe. I've got a friend who works there. I don't know if he's got a shift tomorrow, but he still might be able to help. He owes me some money, so I can use this as a trade. I hope.† â€Å"Oh, Ian.† I flashed him a smile that I hoped rivaled one of Marcus's. â€Å"That's amazing.† I remembered what Adrian had said. â€Å"I'd be so, so grateful if you could pull it off.† My reaction clearly delighted Ian, and I wondered if Adrian had been right about how â€Å"so, so grateful† was translated. â€Å"I'll call him tonight after the service,† Ian said. He looked determined now. â€Å"Hopefully we can make it happen before your flight tomorrow.† I rewarded him by hanging on his every word for the rest of dinner, as though I'd never heard anything quite so fascinating. All the while, my heart raced with the knowledge that I was now one step closer to fulfilling Marcus's task, one step closer to potentially proving a connection to a bunch of gun-toting zealots and the organization I'd served my whole life. The salad was tiny, so I agreed to see the dessert menu after dinner. Ian suggested we share, but that was a little too intimate for me, not to mention unhygienic. So, I ate an entire lemon tart by myself, confident in the knowledge that I was still a long ways from the five-pound mark. When Adrian had told me I'd look healthier if I gained a little weight, he'd added that it would improve my bra size. I couldn't even imagine what that would do for this dress. The Alchemist center in St. Louis was contained inside a giant, industrial building that went undercover as a manufacturing plant. Moroi facilities – the court and their schools – usually posed as universities. How ironic that â€Å"creatures of the night† would live among beautifully landscaped gardens while â€Å"servants of the light† like us skulked in ugly buildings with no windows. Inside, however, everything was pristine, bright, and well-organized. A receptionist checked us in when we arrived at the main desk and buzzed us through, along with many others who arrived for the service. There were golden lilies everywhere. For many, this was a fun-filled family event, and lots of children trailed their Alchemist parents. It made me feel strange as I watched them, these kids who had been born into our profession. I wondered how they'd feel ten years from now. Would they be excited to step up to the plate? Or would they start questioning? The center had three floors aboveground and five underneath. People off the street could hardly just come wandering in, but we still took precautions by keeping the more benign offices on the main floor. As we all walked down the corridor to the auditorium, we passed Payroll, Travel, and Maintenance. All the offices had clear windows looking into them from the hall, maintaining the Alchemist ideal that we had nothing to hide. The secure offices belowground weren't quite so open, however. I'd been in this facility once before for a training seminar, and it had actually taken place in the auditorium we entered for the service. Despite the spiritual theme of tonight's event, the room bore little resemblance to a church. Someone had gone to the effort of decorating the walls with red-bowed evergreen garlands and setting pots of poinsettias on the stage. The room had a state-of-the-art audio-visual system, including a giant screen that gave a larger-than-life look at whatever was happening onstage. The auditorium's seating was so efficient that even those in the farthest corners had a pretty clear view, so I think the screen was just for emphasis. Ian and I found two seats near the middle of the auditorium. â€Å"Aren't you going to take off your coat?† he asked hopefully. No way was I going to unleash the dress in this den of taupe and high collars. Besides, if I kept the coat on, it would just give him something to keep looking forward to. Adrian would be proud of my ability to manipulate the opposite sex . . . and I couldn't help but wonder just how well Adrian would be able to stand up to this dress. Clearly, I was getting overly confident with this new power. â€Å"I'm cold,† I said, pulling the coat tighter. It was kind of ridiculous since the lights from the stage and high number of bodies had already made the room stifling, but I figured since it was so cold outside, I could get away with it. For someone who always seems to be so cold, you sure can warm up pretty fast. â€Å"Sydney? Is that you?† I froze, not from the shock of hearing my name, but from the voice that had said it. I'd know that voice anywhere. Slowly, I turned away from Ian and looked up into my father's face. He was standing in the aisle, wearing a heavy wool suit, with melted snowflakes in his graying dark blond hair. â€Å"Hi, Dad,† I said. Then I saw who was standing beside him. â€Å"Zoe?† It was all I could do not to jump up and hug her. I hadn't seen or spoken to my younger sister since that night I'd been pulled out of bed and sent on my Palm Springs mission. That was the mission she believed I'd stolen from her, no matter my protests. It was the mission that had driven her away from me. I eyed her now, trying to assess where we stood. She didn't wear the blatant hatred she had at our last meeting, which was a good sign. Unfortunately, she didn't look all that warm and friendly either. She was cautious, studying me carefully – almost warily. She did not, I noticed, have a golden lily on her cheek yet. â€Å"I'm surprised to see you here,† said my father. His parting words to me had been â€Å"Don't embarrass me,† so I wasn't really astonished by his low expectations. â€Å"It's the holidays,† I said. Forcing a smile now was far more difficult than it had been with Ian. â€Å"It's important to be here with the group. Do you know Ian Jansen?† Ian, wide-eyed, jumped up and shook my father's hand. Clearly, he hadn't expected a parental meeting so soon. â€Å"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir.† My father nodded gravely and looked back and forth between the two of us. Whatever surprise he'd had at seeing me here had just been trumped by me being here with a date. Glancing at Ian, I tried to guess how he'd appear to someone like my dad. Clean cut, respectful, an Alchemist. The fact that Ian tended to bore me was irrelevant. I doubted my father had ever thought much about me dating, but if so, he probably hadn't thought I'd get a catch like this. â€Å"Would you like to join us, sir?† asked Ian. I had to give him credit; he'd overcome his initial shock and was now in proper suitor mode. â€Å"It would be an honor.† At first, I thought Ian was just laying it on thick. Then I realized meeting my father might actually very well be an honor. Jared Sage wasn't a rock star, but he did have a reputation among the Alchemists that, by their standards, was outstanding. My father seemed to like the flattery and agreed. He took a seat beside Ian. â€Å"Sit by your sister,† he told Zoe, nodding in my direction. Zoe obeyed and stared straight ahead. She was nervous too, I realized. Looking her over, I felt an ache from how much I'd missed her. We'd inherited the same brown eyes from our father, but she'd gotten Mom's brown hair, which made me a little jealous. Zoe also looked a lot more put together than the last time I'd seen her. She wore a pretty dark brown cashmere dress and didn't have a single hair out of place. Something about her appearance bothered me, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first. It soon hit me. She looked older. She looked like a young lady, like my peer. I supposed it was silly of me to feel sad, since she was fifteen, but I kind of wished she could stay a little kid forever. â€Å"Zoe.† I kept my voice low, not that I needed to worry about the men overhearing. My dad was interrogating Ian. â€Å"I've been wanting to talk to you for so long.† She nodded. â€Å"I know. Mom tells me each time you call.† But there was no apology for dodging my calls. â€Å"I'm sorry about the way we left things. I never meant to hurt you or one-up you. I thought I was doing you a favor, saving you from getting involved.† Her mouth tightened, and something hard flashed in her eyes. â€Å"I don't mind being involved. I want to be involved, you know. And it would've been great! Being in the field at fifteen. I could have a stellar career. Dad would be so proud.† I chose my next words very carefully so that she wouldn't take offense. â€Å"Yeah, but another year with Dad will really be, um, stellar. He's got so much experience – and you want to get as much as you can, believe me. Even if you have to wait for an assignment at sixteen, you'll still be ahead of the rest of us.† Each word out of my mouth made me feel sick, but Zoe seemed to buy it. I wasn't bothered by her wanting to be part of the cause – but it killed me that she was clearly doing it to impress our dad. â€Å"I suppose. And I am learning a lot. I wish I could at least get some field experience – even if it's not my own post. It's all theory with Dad. I've never even seen a Moroi.† â€Å"I'm sure he'll fix that.† I didn't like encouraging this, but at least she was speaking to me. The lights dimmed, ending our conversation. Organ music filled the room, and the scent of frankincense drifted around us. Incense and resin were common components in magic, and my mind was instantly starting to make associations from the spell books I'd painstakingly copied. Frankincense is used to heal burns. It can also be used when casting divining or purifying spells – I immediately stopped that train of thought. Even if I was keeping it to myself, thinking about magic in the middle of an Alchemist church service was pretty sacrilegious. I shifted uncomfortably, wondering what all these people would think if they knew the truth about me: that I practiced magic and had kissed a vampire. . . . Alchemist priests were called hierophants. They performed blessings and offered moral advice, when needed. In day-to-day affairs, they wore suits, but for this occasion, the lead hierophant wore robes that reminded me uncomfortably of the robes some of the Warriors had donned. It was yet another reminder of our shared history – and maybe our shared future. Marcus had been right. This was a mystery I had to solve, regardless of where I stood on breaking the tattoo. I'd attended services like this off and on throughout my life and knew the Latin prayers by heart. I chanted along with the rest of the congregation and listened avidly as the hierophant reaffirmed our goals, his voice echoing through the sound system. Even though the Alchemists' religion had loose connections to Christianity there was very little mention of God or Jesus or even Christmas. Most of his sermon was about how we had to help protect humanity from the temptation of following Strigoi who offered unholy immortality. That warning, at least, wasn't exaggerated. I'd heard stories and even seen for myself what happened when humans decided to serve Strigoi. Those Strigoi promised to turn their servants as a reward. Those humans helped Strigoi spread their evil and became monsters themselves, no turning needed. Keeping those dark vampires hidden was for the good of weak humans who couldn't protect themselves. I paid especially close attention when the hierophant mentioned the Moroi offhandedly in his sermon, as a means to an end in defeating the Strigoi. He didn't exactly inspire warm and fuzzy feelings about them, but at least he wasn't calling for Moroi and dhampir destruction either. I agreed with a good part of the message, but it no longer filled me with the fire it once had. And when the hierophant started droning on and on about duty, obedience, and what was â€Å"natural,† I really began feeling disconnected. I almost wished there was more talk of the divine, like you'd find at a normal church service. With everything going on in my life, I wouldn't have minded a connection to a higher power. Sometimes, when I listened to the hierophant, I wondered if everything he was saying had just been made up by a bunch of people sitting around in the Middle Ages. No holy mandate required. I felt like a traitor when the service ended. Maybe Adrian's joke had been right: I didn't even need Marcus to break my tattoo and connection to the group. Glancing at my companions – and even the other Alchemists in the room – it was clear I was alone. All of them looked captivated by the sermon, devoted to the cause. I was again eerily reminded of the Warriors and their fanatical devotion. No, no, whatever else the Alchemists are guilty of, we have nothing to do with that kind of unhinged behavior. And yet . . . it was more complicated than that, I realized. The Alchemists didn't shoot first and ask questions later or make our members battle each other. We were civilized and logical, but we did have a tendency to just do what we were told. That was the similarity, one that could be dangerous. Zoe and my father walked out with Ian and me. â€Å"Isn't it amazing?† she asked. â€Å"Hearing that . . . well, it just makes me so glad Dad decided to raise another Alchemist in the family. It's good to boost our numbers.† Had that truly been his motivation? Or was it because he didn't trust me after I'd helped Rose? It was infuriating that the only conversation I could have with Zoe centered around Alchemist rhetoric, but I'd take it over the silence of the last few months. In my heart, I longed to talk the way we used to. I wanted it back. Even though she'd warmed up a little, that old familiarity that had once existed between us was gone. â€Å"I wish we had more time,† I told her once our groups were ready to part in the parking lot. â€Å"There's so much I want to talk to you about.† She smiled, and there was a genuineness in it that warmed me. Maybe the distance between us wasn't irreparable. â€Å"Me too. I'm sorry about . . . well, the way things were. I hope we get some time together soon. I . . . I've missed you.† That nearly broke me down, as did her hug. â€Å"We'll be together soon, I promise.† Ian – whom my father now seemed to regard as a future son-in-law – drove me back to my hotel and couldn't stop gushing about how awesome it had been to meet Jared Sage. As for me, I could still feel where Zoe had hugged me. Ian promised he'd get in touch with me in the morning about a tour of the archives. Then, weirdly, he closed his eyes and leaned forward. It took me a moment to realize that he expected a good-night kiss. Seriously? That was how he went about it? Had he ever even kissed anyone before? Even Brayden had displayed a little more passion. And, of course, neither guy measured up to Adrian. When I did nothing, Ian finally opened his eyes. I gave him another hug – with the coat on – and told him how happy I was that he'd met my dad. That seemed to satisfy him. Adrian made his nightly check-in with me once I was asleep later on. Naturally, he wanted to know about my dress. He also kept trying to find out how exactly I'd won Ian over and seemed amused at the few details I decided to give him. But mostly I couldn't stop talking about Zoe. Adrian soon gave up on the other topics and simply listened to me gush. â€Å"She spoke to me, Adrian!† I paced around the reception hall, clasping my hands in excitement. â€Å"And she wasn't mad. By the end, she was happy to see me. Do you know what that's like? I mean, I know you don't have any brothers or sisters, but to have someone you haven't seen in a while welcome you back?† â€Å"I don't know what it's like,† he said quietly. â€Å"But I can imagine.† I was too caught up in my own joy at the time, but later, I wondered if he was talking about his incarcerated mother. â€Å"It's nice to see you so happy,† he added. â€Å"Not that you've been miserable lately, but you've had a lot to worry about.† I couldn't help but laugh at that and came to a halt. â€Å"Are you saying evil witches and espionage are stressful?† â€Å"Nah.† He walked over to me. â€Å"All in a day's work for us. But I'm going to make my way to bed now. You seem like you can get by without me tonight.† He'd visited me every night since Veronica's dream. Most of the trips were short now, but I still knew it was a lot of effort and spirit for him. â€Å"Thank you. I feel like I can't say that to you enough.† â€Å"You don't have to say it at all, Sage. Good luck tomorrow.† Right. Stealing top secret info from a highly secure facility. â€Å"Thanks,† I said again. A little of my mood dimmed, but not all of it. â€Å"No matter what happens, though, patching things up with Zoe makes me feel like this mission is already a success.† â€Å"That's because you haven't been caught.† He cupped my face in his hands and leaned close. â€Å"See that you aren't. I don't want to have to dream visit you in prison . . . or wherever it is bad Alchemists go.† â€Å"Hey, at least I'd have you for company, right?† He gave me a rueful headshake, and the dream vanished around me.