First Person Narrative: By Jake B

The year was 2950. When I had turned 18, an unthinkable opportunity was presented to me. I, and a few other lucky High school seniors, were nominated to go on a trip to another planet. The planet we were visiting was called Zekrom. It is a large planet with many moons and is located in an un-named galaxy 10 light years away from our own milky way. I boarded the shuttle along with the 5 others and prepared to be put to sleep for the long trip there.

When I had awakened, everything seemed dark and blurry. Sleeping for all that time definitely took its toll on my body. I slowly recuperated and regained my senses. Finally, I sat up and looked out the window of the room in which I had slept, and gasped. The land of Zekrom was so immensely different than earth. I was, to say the least, extremely shocked. After all of the members of our group had woken up and gotten dressed, we walked down the hallway to a briefing room where the leader of this trip, Professor Brown explained to us the rules and dangers of this new world. The land was primarily dense foliage. It was a tropical atmosphere; extremely humid and sunny. The air was composed of numerous gases that were toxic to the human body, so we all had to wear oxygen masks when outdoors. We were also warned about the many dangerous creatures that inhabited this planet. Once briefing has ended, we were free to go to our dormitories and sleep for the night.

Studying in Zekrom was everything I had expected and more. I had quickly adapted to the many rules of this land, and met the lands natives and become friends with the local tribes. The tribesmen were an average size of 12 feet tall and green all over. My research led me to discover their green skin helped them camouflage in the forests of the land. Spending time with these natives helped my research greatly and broadened my mind immensely. Furthermore, I had also discovered many new species of plants and animals.

Nearing the end of our time in Zekrom, I could not help feeling twinges of sadness. I had grown to love the land and its people; growing accustomed to their traditions and fitting in just as well. Despite these feelings, I longed for home and the reality of Earth. I also missed the food from home tremendously. On my last day on this amazing planet, I bid farewell to my friends in the tribes that I had become acquainted with, and gathered samples of some of the edible fruits for my family to try. I was officially ready to return home.

As I stepped off of the shuttle when we landed back in earth, I breathed in the air deeply. I saw my family waiting for me near the station and smiled to myself. No matter how much of an amazing experience I had in Zekrom, I missed and was very glad to finally be home.

Living at home seemed so dull compared to my extraordinary time in Zekrom. I began to miss the planet terribly. A few years later, I graduated college at the top of my class with my PHD in biology. Upon receiving my diploma, a man in a tuxedo asked me to come with him. I was, to say the least, extremely shocked when he brought me into a limo where the president of the US was sipping champagne. The president shook my hand and explained to me my research in Zekrom had assisted the governmental departments very significantly. He then gave me the most amazing offer of my life: to travel back and live in Zekrom working as a primary researcher. I nearly cried as i enthusiastically shook his hand vigorously and said i'd do it.

Two months later i was once again saying goodbye to my parents at the space station. As i was preparing to be put asleep for the journey i took one last look at earth. I smiled to myself. I was going to a new beautiful home where i cold make my biological dreams come true. I knew one day i would return to Earth, but i now thought of it as my place to visit. My new home was Zekrom...and i could not be happier.

The Other Earth By H. Kiselick

Today is a Wednesday of January in the year 2010, I’d tell you what the exact date was but to be honest I don’t know. It all started when i decided to create a rocket-like machine, a machine capable of flying 2345670000000 light years farther then the most advanced rocket ship. I finally decided on January 1^st that it was finally time to take it out for a test ride, next thing I know I ended up 400 billion light years away from Earth, gas source depleting, I was forced to make an emergency landing on an Earth-like planet that from as far as I could see had water on it and seemed like it was oxygenated but just to make sure I had brought plenty of supplies including oxygen tanks and masks. This planet was incredible it resembled earth in many ways but there was something about it that was different, it was much larger.

As I explored this new planet I heard a noise, a very strange noise it sounded like an extremely loud roar and as I was walking a huge shadow was hovering over me. I looked up and what I saw was nothing I have never seen before and lived my whole life thinking it was a fairy tale children used to hear stories about, it was a dragon. I was frozen in my tracks absolutely astounded by what I saw. When i sort of "regained consciousness" the beast was diving right at me.

Next thing I know I’m sprinting through a completely unknown, jungle being chased by now five giant fire breathing dragons. Just when I thought it was all over a loud boom a huge cloud of smoke was behind me and I was grabbed by a?...Human? The man took me to a secret hideaway that was underneath four huge trees . He revealed himself as a famous scientist who made the exact same mistake i had made. He’s been surviving here for 3 years on food and water that he brought on his ship but the ship had recently been destroyed by dragons so he’s been forced to live off the natural resources.

After days of nonstop talking and planning we had come up with a way to create enough fuel for my rocket which was still fully intact but was over 10 miles away. We were going to take the bark from the trees combined with a certain plant the scientist new about and one more very important ingredient, the only problem was it was the dragon’s abnormal and insane fire. How we were going to get this fire was all mapped out, first we would lure the dragon to our camp were we would get the dragon to breathe its extreme flames into a container that the scientist had been creating for the past year, the only problem was getting the dragon to breathe fire into the container.

We decided to put our plan into action at 3 in the morning when the dragon’s fire was strongest, my new scientist friend and I ran to the dragon’s den and got one of their attentions and started sprinting as fast as we could back to the hideout. We used a deer like creature to get the dragon to breathe into the container…it worked!!! The only problem was that now the entire dragon population was getting close to our hideout there's no way we would be able to fly out in time, whoever finds this note get out as fast as you can save yourself!

The Other Side of The Moon By: B Downey-Zayas

It was late October, 2050, and I had just walked into my rooming quarters to relax when I was called by the Chief of Flight NASA officer “Zayas, we need you in the conference room ASAP for briefing on your next excursion”. This would be my third and hopefully last research expedition to the Moon. On the past two we had found nothing but craters of rocks and some long frozen water, and still rumors of life circulated. Recent reports had been developed and publicized by astronomers who, with the newly developed Browning Telescope, claim to have witnessed organisms inhabiting, and walking around on the moon. Normally such reports would be dismissed, but with more confirmations coming in, their case strengthens. My team and I had already covered two sections of our desolate moon, and there had been nothing but rocks and ice to be found.

On the day of the final excursion, I climbed out of bed with purpose. I was determined to prove all the fools that the moon was no place for life, I knew from experience. I boarded the ship to see the rest of my team already there, prepping the ship for takeoff. As the team ran off the list of systems checks, I looked around the room at the confident group of astronauts assembled around me. Everyone seemed to be pleased to see me, yet there was to much going on for me to show it. My expedition partner DiScola came up to me to see how I was, there was little conversation between us two, just a silent nod and an affirmation that we had a job to do.

As DiScola and I strapped in before takeoff, he said to me “People think its dangerous for us to go up there.” “People think we are going to get abducted or something.”. I told him not to be foolish, that there is no way a life form of substantial size would even be able to survive in conditions on the moon; but even I did not know for sure what to expect. As DiScola and I sat uncomfortably going through pre-launch protocol, the time for liftoff came, and we descended into a drug induced sleep. Five days later we awoke, staring at the great grey surface of the moon, daring us to explore it. We were going to oblige.

The beginning scan for life forms went relatively easily, as me and DiScola quickly surveyed most of the sector we were assigned to scan. All of a sudden DiScola told me to stop scanning and come look at the readings he was taking. “I’m picking up something weird here Z” he said. The readings were indeed odd, an entire section of a crater was showing up very blurry on the scan, as if something were affecting the readings. Naturally, my partner and I dove into the crater to find a rock cavern that seemed to have been made by a crashing meteorite. DiScola informs me “The scanner is still buggin’ Z, I can’t tell what is going on with it, but we best check out this cave”. I reluctantly agreed. Just as I mustered the courage to take a step towards the cavern, something blue took a step towards me.

The creature stepped forward towards me again, and I was able to see it fully. It was a blue shell of a man, lacking nostrils and proper eyelids. His moon-rock beige eyes pierced into mine, and I froze in place. DiScola was the first to react.. “FireFox this is Recon 3, we have made contact, repeat, we have made contact”. The airwaves exploded as transmissions from other recon teams and transmissions from command were trying to gather vital intel, mainly our position, and the moon man remained motionless all the while. I took a step closer to him, but he did not move. I tried signaling to him, but no response, the man lay motionless until final he made a move. The moonman made the equivalent of falling on Earth, he started floating awa. Baffled, I jumped for him and brought him back down to the surface, but he was gone.

That was the first live moonman we ever discovered on the moon, the other 6 died in the crater due to overexposure to uranium radiation. The scanners that our recon teams had been using to try and find these men, was the thing that ended up killing them. On Earth people were disappointed, furious, heartbroken, and in our cases guilty. Nothing was found out about these men other than once they were dissected, scientist’s concluded that they were hyper sensitive to uranium radiation, and that they could breathe hydrogen. I was the first and only man to make physical contact with a live moonman, and I will always remember those piercing beige eyes and that blank, helpless stare I was given as we unknowingly killed our first Alien contacts.

Planet X by Tyler Lotz

Cast into oblivion, we seek to rise from the ashes. Since entering the worm hole, time has ceased to exist. The abyss slowly steals away sanity. Forgotten by our families, our friends, and God, fate cannot even predict what is next. Maybe it was seconds, maybe days, maybe weeks before contact of a suitable planet was made. The size of Planet X was made nebulous by an outer layer of toxic gases. They formed a conflagration of colors, blinding to the unprotected eye.

After pushing through the permeable layer which cover Plant X's ozone, complications arose. The land below consisted of dense, impassable forest canopies. Darkness consumed the earth below, and the ships lights illuminated a void in the jungle where landing was plausible. Masks, suits, weaponry were retrieved. Silence has never been louder.

The retractable bridge was deployed from the underparts of the shuttle. Sirens drowned out the prayers of hopeless. I knew their was no God in this land. A barrage of flaming arrows illuminated the skyline. Soon after blood painted the mud. My peripherals were eliminated by sweat condensing inside my mask. The flood lights begin initiating and expelling the darkness. Gun fire erupts around me. I hold on to my trigger for life, spraying a volley of bullets into the unknown. An unknown noise pierces my ears. Black.

My eyes slowly formulate the silhouettes of my surroundings. Where am I? How did I get here? What's next? These are the questions that gain most of my attention. The rest of my intention is on my team. Their condition, location, and safety determines my success, my honor. As my vision is regained, everything is immaculate. Syringes, knifes, saws and probes are all neatly lined along a crude dish. However the neatness is the least of my worries, why am I surrounded by these objects?

I hear a series of clicks and gurgles echo through the room. Pit, pat, pit, pat. The steps appear to be coming nearer and nearer. A single light sits above my head. Pit, pat, pit, pat, pat. Stand in the doorway is a figure. I would estimate it 8 feet tall. A tale slithers around the pair of legs. Two horns break the form of the head. Long, skinny arms fall next the hips. Four eyes rip through my skin. I begin to tremble...

A Whole New World by Michael Sutherland

Robert Taylor was a blacksmith who lived in London, England. Himself, his wife, Maria, and son, Thomas, all are going through a troubled time when Robert was offered the opportunity across the Atlantic ocean on a ship, to a whole new world. Robert knew this opportunity could change his life and expose prodigious liberty from the miserable life they had in England. The morning of September 6, 1620 Robert boarded the ship set for a new land, and said his distress farewells to his family he was leaving alone and praying to see again.

September 6, 1620

There is 102 other men, women, and children on this ship they called the Mayflower. Everyone including myself gives off the feeling of anxiety and terror for we do not know what we have embraced. Already, every second the thought of, are we going to encounter what we are wishing to find? Or will we survive this extensive, doubting expedition? They leaders of this ship, I believe, have exceeded the capacity, for I do not know where I will be spending the night, or who I will be sleeping next to for God knows how long we will be above this wooden craft. I believe this journal will be able to speed the duration of this trip, and allow me tally my days on this expedition to the mysterious world to come.

September 7, 1620

It is 6:00 A.M. and I have not slept one second due to the terror and uneasiness of the ship and people surrounding me. I feel alone, not knowing any soul aboard the ship, no one to talk to or ease the restlessness. The night was quiet; there were scattered cries from children, women, and men, who have already been struck by the loneliness and sorrow of missing their families they have left behind. I myself am coming to regret the decision of boarding the ship, and taking this pursuit on this expedition. We are being served a piece of bread and water as breakfast, and I wonder if I can really survive on this food supply for this entire expedition. It has not even been one full day, and regret thoughts are entering my mind! How will I survive if these irrelevant thoughts are coming about?

September 30, 1620

23 days I have been on this ship. Not exactly how I planned to be at this period, the continuous moving ways have unsettled my stomach, causing myself to be just as sick as the majority population of the ship. The leaders have ordered those who are sick to stay above on deck, for two reasons, one being so we do not be as contagious as we would be contained below with 103 people and the other being so we can ‘chuck’ overboard. I would give anything to feel as I did at home with my family, and never saw this sickness coming upon me, and viewed this time of the expedition tremendously different. Still no word on where about are we or when we will land (if we ever will). I continue to pray for many aspects of my life, my family, the ship, and more importantly that I will be reunited with my family.

November 1, 1620

55 days and we have finally gotten the word that we look to land soon. This heartwarming news brought about a whole new attitude and feeling throughout the ship. If we do not land soon I fear we will run out of food, already we have limited our meals to once a day and twice for children. Liquids being even scarcer of a supply and an imperative necessity to keep lives healthy. Many have grew sick from drinking the sea water, and I may result to that if we do not land soon, because I am not sure how much longer I will be able to reinforce my strength if I constantly strict my meals to less each day.

November 11, 1620

I see it! Just miles away from away from what can saves us all from this miserable ship, and bring us new journeys and for some new lives. I have doubted for so long that this day would never come, but on the 66^th day we have made it, and our prayers have been answered.

We have been exploring for hours looking for food, signs of life, and seeing if the land is habituated at all. Still more important questions wonder my mind along with everyone else’s, where do we sleep? Or what next, how do we begin a civilization out of nothing? Our leader has been noticed as Christopher Columbus, everyone looks to him for answers, and I have heard that he order trees to be cut down for homes.

November 12, 1620

It is 5:00 in the morning and not one soul sleeps, we all lay awake, terrified as we stare into the mysterious darkness of the new land from the ship. I can hear the whispers of people worried about what is going to happen for no one has any idea of what we will be doing, each day is a mystery.

THERE’S NOISES OF PEOPLE COMING FROM THE FOREST!

11:00 P.M.

We have been attacked from these animals that must have lived here. I believe they are the natives but they are vicious, and they definitely do not like the idea of us settling here. Many of our people have been injured from them, they could strike again at any time, we all hope for the best.

First Person Narrative By Andrew B.

The Captive

The last thing i remember was falling asleep in my bed, the same as any normal night before i was thrown into some strange world, the likes of which I had never seen. I was expecting to wake up laying my bed , but that was not the case as my eyes opened and beheld a world of mixed colors. There was a large crash and my entire world was turned upside down as I found myself in this a strange new place with no trace of how i got there.

I had no memory of how I got to this wired area, but it seemed surreal. My surrounding area seemed to be some alien forest, as far as I could see. What seemed like some version of trees towered dozens of feet above my head. I walked a between these trees in the path that seemed would have the least resistance, but It was not easy without any shoes on and just a pair of shorts. After walking a couple of steps I heard the dry leaves behind me rustle, as if something had been dropped on them from the trees. I turned around and there was a white linen bag, which had something inside. I stood still for a while not knowing what to do looking at the surrounding area. Eventually I walked to the bag and opened it and to my surprise I was filled with clothes: boots, shirt, jacket and jeans.

After more paranoia, and searching the surrounding tree with my eyes, I decided to put the clothes on and go quickly on my way. I didn’t like the idea of putting on clothes that seemed to appear out of nowhere but it was cold and I knew I could cover a lot more ground with those boots. I was hoping that I was just in a really bad dream, but I wasn’t about to take any chances so I walked away from the area where the clothes had been cautiously searching the surrounding ground.

While walking I was thought i had heard some noises. I began hearing noises becoming more persistent but they sounded hushed, as whispers, but whispers i wouldn't be able to understand even if i could have heard them clearly. When i stopped they also stopped and only continued after walking for a couple of minutes. The sounds were only increasing my paranoia forcing me to quicken my pace and send my heart pounding.

Eventually i broke into a sprint trying to lose the voices, they stopped almost instantly. the i could faintly hear very hushed sound as i kept running. i was sure now that they were voices, just in a language i could't understand, and they picked up when i refused to slowdown, sound almost panicked. I looked around for anything that I could see but to no avail. I could hear another faint unexplainable noise that sounded as if a large door had opened and then closed. As i lowered my pace i came to a stop listening for any more noises but it was all silent. I heard the small foot steps on metal and quickly turned to it to discover some atrocious, pale being, over six feet tall staring me with its large black eyes, and lanky features standing behind what i understood as a weapon. I saw nothing after that, I blacked out , unable to feel the pain of collapsing on the ground.

Neptune by Kevin Leithauser

Hello, it’s April 20^th 2420 and I am writing to you from the planet of Neptune. The new camps that are being set up are really working out well and I feel that we are making great progress in creating a settlement here. However, there are some issues that we are facing. For instance, with the gravity level here on Neptune it is hard for us to build structures. Also we are running out of food and drinks and need a new shipment very quickly. However, there are some problems that we are having. The natives here on Neptune are not always friendly and sometimes give us trouble. I fear that they will try and retaliate in the near future that we are not ready for...

Back on earth it is important that you start working on some sort of device that allows us to maneuver around better on Neptune. With their lack of gravity it is hard for us to build things, therefore it is necessary that you begin working on some sort of invention that allows us to stay strapped on to the thing that we are working on, or something that straps the thing we are working on to the ground as so it does not move around as much. With this projects completion I see us making great strides in the community’s development over shorter periods of time.

Another important message is that you send up food and drinks very quickly. With the growing population on this planet and the limited amount of food that we can find here we need people on earth to support us and keep us alive. Some of the most important foods that should be sending are bottled water, and canned foods such as soup, meat, and vegetables. I thank you in advance for you quick response with sending foods out to us on Neptune.

Finally the natives of this planet are really starting to be quite a problem. At first things were going smoothly here until someone discovered the new life forms. At first they were gentile and didn’t bother us but now they are starting to change. The more we build I feel it is aggravating them and they are starting to retaliate. Last week they went ahead and un-provokingly started to destroy a new house being made. I feel that we need to get some type of military/security up here to help us fend off these unwanted problems. If we do not begin to protect ourselves from this new life form i feel that we are in grave danger. When aggravated these creatures show brute strength and can easily wipe out our entire colony. It is imperative that you send up any kind of weapons that you have so that we may protect ourselves from these creatures.

I would greatly appreciate a quick reaction to these problems. Other then the things that were listed the project on Neptune is going very smoothly. I think that if we continue to do things as we are we will continue to make huge strides on this new world.

First Person Narrative by Ryan O.

Time Capsule Letter

To whoever finds this letter,

It is the year 2552 and I am from New York City, in the U.S. on Earth. Things have been relatively normal in the city up until this point. We humans have lived peacefully among the many races of aliens that we have invited onto our home planet. I live in a quaint little hundred story apartment building in the middle of the city with my pet robot. On a normal day I would have been going to work at the firm where I help design personal aircraft for residential use. However, this was not a normal day.

Like I had said before, we have lived alongside many alien races for years peacefully and with complete cooperation. Little did I know, the aliens thought differently. I had heard that there were groups of aliens gathering to make plans of taking over the city, but I had assumed they were myths of bigoted people who thought we shouldn’t be living with them. However, these myths were actually true and on a much larger scale than any human had imagined. Different races of aliens had formed terroristic groups throughout the world with plans on taking it over.

The aliens wanted Earth for several reasons. The first was their treatment by the humans. They believed that the human race was prejudiced against most of their races. They thought that they were not receiving the same rights as the humans and thought that it should be fare because we are all neighbors on the planet. Another reason was the condition of the Earth. Through centuries of green thinking and changes our way of life, Earth had become one of the cleanest, most fertile planets in the galaxy. It was much better than the home planets of most of the alien races and they thought that if they were able to take over, they could move their entire race to the planet.

On this one day, the various alien, terrorist groups coordinated an attack. All groups throughout the world attacked simultaneously in an attempt to catch the humans off guard. Luckily though, the human military system was designed to combat such an attack. Every country had its own army, but only humans were allowed to serve, keeping the military strong in a circumstance like this. I was part of the New York Battalion in the American army. Although the terrorist groups started out small, they quickly gained followers and became more powerful and the caused much havoc for the humans.

Even though the terrorist groups had the element of surprise on their side, they were not able to completely fulfill their goals. They were able to take over the smaller countries where the human population was not as great and the army was weaker but their eventual downfall was their own doing. Even though the different races had joined together to fight the humans, they were still different. Each race, through its own greed, wanted to be the most powerful of the joined aliens which led to fighting within the groups. This separation allowed us soldiers in the human armies to quickly and easily quiet the rebellion, restoring order as it had been before. This is what we thought, but apparently this rebellion was only a diversion for the main alien attack that was coming.

First Person Setting Narrative by Nick D.

Where Am I?

by Nick DiScola

October 25, 2010

It was just an average day in Franklin Lakes when I got a phone call from this scientist saying that he needed me in his experiment. It turns out I was qualified because of some survey I filled out online. So I told him that I would take part in his experiment after a three hour explanation about how it is 100% safe for me to do. Pretty much, he uses this high tech freezing technology that will preserve my body for 1,000 years and then unfreeze me by itself and release me in center of New York City on November 19, 3010.

November 19, 2010

This is my final day before the big experiment and I am extremely nervous. I have given my goodbyes to all my family and friends and I am ready for this to happen. I just have to drive to the location of the freezer and get it.

I just arrived here and it’s a beautiful day out in NYC and everyone seems to be acting normal, but I have a weird feeling in my stomach.

November 19, 3010

I just unfroze and I feel very stiff and it’s extremely hard to move, but I am required to keep a journal for this experiment. I’m going to take my first look outside…

It is like nothing I have ever seen before. Humans have grown wings and are flying all over the place! I didn’t see a single car around and there aren’t even roads. This is insane; I have to go walk around.

November 30, 3010

This world is ridiculous. Everywhere I go people look at me like I have nine heads. I did make a friend though named Steve Aoki. I told him my story and we have become very close. All the buildings are paper thin and they remind me of when you used to be able to walk into a store where they sell posters and they are all framed but you need to flip through them similar to reading a book. I don’t understand how people can walk inside of them because they are about a foot wide, but they have the same dimensions as a building had in 2010. Steve told me that there this thing that you step on and it makes your body somehow pixilated and then you reappear in what the building would look like. I just don’t understand how that could ever happen.

And everyone has wings; I don’t understand that either. They don’t have cars or any means of other transportation because they can fly everywhere. This makes it more than difficult for me to get paces because I have to walk everywhere.

I have no where to go; I have no house, no family and no where to go.

THE YEAR 9000 by Hacik Arslanoglu

I am walking home from the park after a long hard day of playing basketball and I don't feel like walking anymore , because I'm very tired. I decided to take a short cut and cut through the woods, because I figured that would be the quickest way I’d get home. While going through the woods I ran into this weird and awkward looking little machine. I wasn’t sure if I should touch it or not, because I thought it might belong to someone, or that it might be dangerous. I looked around me and saw no one near, so I took my chances and opened up the machine and observed it. I wasn’t sure what it did or how it was used, but I still went in it and took a seat.

There were many different controls in the machine, but one very tempting red button caught my eye. I couldn’t control myself so I pressed the red button. All of a sudden, all the doors shut and I was strapped on to my seat with a seatbelt. The machine started to shake and make loud noises, and next thing I knew it elevated into the sky and went full speed. I was terrified and didn’t know where I would end up. All I could do was wait and see. Finally, it started to slow down and I had arrived somewhere.

I was very scared and I didn’t want to get out of the machine. The environment and the surroundings were one that I had never seen before. I couldn’t figure out where I was so, I finally decided I would get out and check this place out. I started to walk and look for people or a store, so I could get some information. I found a group of people and asked them, Where is this place? In English, and they didn’t answer. They looked at me like I was stupid, and they started speaking some different language. I couldn’t figure out what language it was but it was one that I have never heard of. I decided to go to a store and see if everyone here didn’t speak English. It turned out to be that no one knew English here, I was even more scared now. Luckily they had the same alphabet as the English alphabet, and I saw a sign on the street that said, “Oradell”. I figured this couldn’t be the same Oradell where I go to school but it was! And what was even more surprising was that I found out I was in the year 9000! There was a red signal in the machine blinking 9000! 9000! 9000!

It was very interesting. Our own Country doesn’t even speak English anymore. There is a new main language in America. Also, there were no streets, because there was no cars. The main source of transportation was the flying car. Instead of bicycles, kids had jet packs and could get place to place in a matter of seconds. The rich owned a device, where they would say the food they wanted and it would make it for them automatically. There was no such thing as a schools or college; people would do whatever they wanted, when they wanted. The people were very ignorant and snobby, compared to the people back at home. I don’t think I would be accepted in this community. Their life styles are totally different than the ones we have back at home.

I am still very confused and scared, because I definitely do not belong here and I don’t know if I could stay here much longer. No one understands a word I say, I don’t know how to use the new electronic devices, and I don’t think I am accepted in this community. I am going to go back to my machine and getting out of here. I go back into the machine and the machine starts making weird noises and an explosion occurs. The machine won’t work anymore. I really want to go back home, I don’t know what to do or how to fix it. Am I going to be stuck in the future forever?!

First Person Narrative by Phillip Yoon

Message in a Bottle

Entry #305

May 24, 2032

It was a fairly tranquil day out in space. No sun flares, no cosmic mishaps, just a day of peace and serenity. My crew and I were ordered to repair an electrical problem on a satellite a few miles out of the moon’s gravitational force. I looked forward to this task as the shuttle was always a joy to ride. As I looked out the portal of the shuttle I saw the vast space of emptiness. The space was lit up by the conflagration of the sun millions of miles away. The distance between the planets seemed so close yet the planets were millions of miles apart.

As we approached the large glistening satellite I noticed a small object floating around aimlessly by one of the antennas. The crew suited up and made their way towards the satellites main power source. Before I joined them I decided to investigate the object. As I pulled closer using the rails on the satellite it became evident it was a large coffee can. I wondered how there could be a coffee can in space. When I took the lid off I discovered a bunch of papers rolled up to fit the cylindrical can. I decided to keep the can and returned the can to the shuttle.

After fixing the electrical problem the crew and I descended back towards the moon base. After being debriefed, the crew was granted the rest of the day off. I made my way to my room with my mysterious can. When I unrolled the papers, I was baffled by what I saw. The papers contained a long message; long enough to be a short story. It was a message in a bottle. I was intrigued and began to read…

To the first man reading this message,

Hello, my name is Boris Poteryanni and I have been lost in space for nearly four years now. I was sent on a space shuttle into space by the Russian government along with three other crew members. They have since died due to fatigue, illness, and muscle deterioration. The crew and I were to land on mars on 2021, two years after our departure. Once we landed, the crew became anxious to take the first steps on Mars. The captain, Vladimir Petrov was the first man ever to walk on a foreign planet. I followed shortly after becoming the second man to walk on mars. Things however went terribly wrong. Overwhelmed by excitement we recklessly strayed too far from the space shuttle. Unfortunately there was a solar flare. We spotted the flare too late and were doomed from the start. We ran back to the space shuttle as fast we could as the solar flare approached. I barely made it in. The three others were incinerated by the radiation and heat.

I have been able to survive comfortable due to the superfluous amount of food and water on the ship. However I feel I have became mentally insane. The loneliness itself drives me crazy. I wish to return to my wife and kids in Russia. The space shuttle however does not have enough fuel to make the trip. Russia has promised to send another ship in a few years, but I feel that they have left me for dead on this planet. This planet is nothing like earth. The inhabitants are violent and everyday is a struggle for survival. I have lost all hope except that I may communicate my discoveries. I write this message to anyone who may find it, on earth or in space, civilian or astronaut, to please here my story…

A Fiction by Ryan Finkel

The Last of Us

December 22^nd, 2012

"I can't believe I survived this" I thought to myself as I approached the city limits of Hackensack, New Jersey. I was astonished by the amount of emptiness that was present in the city I once called home . The whole city, along with the rest of the world, was set ablaze from the asteroids. It seems like I am the only person that is in the vicinity. There are no signs of any life at this point. Every night as I wander the demolished wasteland that used to be home, I wonder if I am the only person who survived the apocalypse. No one thought that the Mayan calendar was correct, but indeed it was. The entire planet was torn to shreds by a series of asteroids which consequently caused the nuclear meltdown of plants across the world. I, myself am surprised I survived. From this point on I will make it my life purpose to find survivors and recreate civilization.

December 23^rd, 2012

After spending the night in a beaten-down apartment building, I set off to search the debris to find out if anyone has survived. As I walked along what was left of the roads, I saw what seemed to be a signal fire in the distance. I gathered my things and headed off. As I came closer and closer I saw two men, about 30 years old. They were severely deformed due to the nuclear waste but could still function. These men were identical twins and told me of their journey to Hackensack as they had the same idea that I had. They had supplies that could last weeks and they invited me into their pack. We spent the rest of that day talking about the horrors that we witnessed two days earlier.

December 24^th, 2012

It was about 6 am when we were woken up by a loud explosion about 15 miles east of our location. Immediately we knew that It must’ve came from New York City. Immediately, I felt like I was not alone. There must have been a few others that survived besides the two men I ran into. We all packed up our things and headed to where we heard the noise. On our way there I was so astonished by the devastation all around me. My fellow partners seemed eerily unaffected by the destruction. It was almost as if they were turned into zombies. Who knows maybe they are! The nuclear waste could have altered their DNA. I feel that it would be in my best interest to keep my distance from them; at least for a little while.

December 25^th, 2012

Finally, we were about to cross what was left of the George Washington Bridge. Surprisingly it was still standing, barely, but enough to cross it safely. Looking out on the horizon, the skyline of New York City was no longer recognizable. The Empire State Building was destroyed along with many other magnificent architectural masterpieces. Out of nowhere, the twins that accompanied began to show seizure-like symptoms. As it turns out they did turn into zombies because of the nuclear radiation. I immediately sprinted across the bridge only to find hundreds of other zombies approaching from the highway. Suddenly, in the distance, a pickup truck filled with unaffected survivors sped up and threw me into their truck. Not knowing what to say, or what just happened, I kept my mouth shut, shocked, until we reached our destination.

December 26^th, 2012

Still in shock, the survivors told me that they were the few people that have been given the vaccine to prevent mutation from the radiation. They told me that they had given me the shot when I passed out in the truck. Whether I liked it or not, I was now one of few people who had survived without consequence. We reached Yankee Stadium, headquarters, and I was introduced to the other survivors who had been saved by Dr. Edwards, the man behind the vaccine. I listened intently as the doctor told me about how we were the last group on earth who survived the apocalypse. It was our job to repopulate, and try to rebuild the entire world, one city at a time. The only thing that was going through my head at this point was "could this repopulation be done?" I do not know.

Stranded by Tim C.

Day 6

We have just woken up on our fourth day here. We still are having trouble grasping reality. After a few days of wandering and just observing our surroundings we found a good spot to set up camp. After the accident, we all woke up on this island. We still recovering from the initial shock and accepting all the unanswered questions. Our team has been forced to become closer in way like no other. We need to rely on each other to survive.

We have set up a base with makeshift sleeping tents and a communal fire pit. We have been constantly exploring for food. We have been eating various types of indigenous fruit while also hunting wild game and sometimes fish. Being a nuclear research team we have never gotten socially close at all. I am eager, but also worried, to see how this sudden required bonding plays out. We will all see our true selves and now we are a team to survive, not just a team to make advances in nuclear science. Our accident has somehow brought us here and must use our skills to get ourselves back to our lives.

Life on this island changed drastically two days ago. After constant reports of murmurs in the trees, we discovered we are not the only inhabitants of this place. While looking for food, many heard chants and whispers. We eventually assembled a few people, including myself, to go out and explore. Sure enough, we saw through some trees a tiny village of natives. We were very careful to not draw attention. We noticed they looked very similar to humans but behavior was quite different.

The people appeared very happy. It was almost creepy. Everyone was smiling while living their lives. They lived a very primitive lifestyle, with the only seemingly visible objective being survival. It was almost robotic. I assume they have realized they must survive and have adapted their lifestyle to that single goal. Everyone had a job and that person never strayed from that job. All the men had buzz cuts. No women were present from our vantage point. They were all physically fit from what I could tell. It is probably from all the hunting and collecting of wood.

Now these people may sound human but let be noted that there was a strong inclination that something was not exactly right. We all agreed we must cautiously approach the situation with not much information on the people. We do not know their intentions and if they have ever seen other life forms. It is just another thing to add to our seemingly endless list of unanswered questions. The first of those questions would obviously have to be though, “How did we get here?!”

Ryan F

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde as interpreted by Ryan F

The theme of "life at all costs" is depicted in the novel and in the book when Dr. Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde to achieve his duality. Throughout the whole book, Dr. Henry Jekyll is concerned with the dual nature of man. He states that every man has a good side as well as a bad side. His experiment to create a potion clearly demonstrates the "life at all costs" theme. It is apparent that Dr. Jekyll will do anything to confirm his studies. “Right in the midst there lay the body of a man sorely contorted and still twitching. They drew near on tiptoe, turned it on its back and beheld the face of Edward Hyde." (Stevenson 54). Mr. Utterson and Poole break in to Jekyll's room only to witness the dead body of Edward Hyde. Dr. Jekyll did not care about the consequences on his body, as long as he achieved his goal.

In today's society, there is a certain group of people who will do anything to achieve their life goal, athletes. For example athletes who take steroids severely damage their bodies to get to their peak athletic ability. Much like Dr. Henry Jekyll, they do not care about the consequences. A few athletes, such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, have become so obsessed with being the best, that they will do anything and everything to get to the top. Both these men have had legendary careers, but if you look at them today, they are likely headed to jail for perjury. Money is not an issue with most athletes so obtaining such performance enhancers are quite easy. These men do such great physical damage to their own bodies by injecting these chemicals into themselves. Steroid abuse in professional athletic leagues has become a major problem because of the abundance of enhancers and the desire to be the best by many professionals.

Christopher C.

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde interpreted by Christopher Chi

In the story, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the theme "Life at all Cost" is shown strongly in the plot of the story. The main obsession of Dr. Jekyll was to create a potion that could separate the good conscience separated from the evil. He put most of his time and efforts into developing such a potion. Since this potion was very risky to try, people would not volunteer to test out the potion, and because of this Dr. Jekyll would test the potion on himself. "I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice. I knew well that I risked death; for any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of identity, might, by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least in opportunity in the moment of exhibition utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change" (Stevenson 69). He took the potion and turned into a monster. However, with this change, he still tries to correct his mistakes at the cost of harming others. This truly shows that, Dr. Jekyll will risk his life and also the life of others to grasp his life goal of making a human without an evil conscience but only the good.

In this time of age there are many people around the world that goes through anything just to reach their goal. Athletes especially have this sort of problem because they want to be the best of their sport, so you must train a lot. However, training alone takes up time and energy but it may not lead to you winning the gold medal. Barry Bonds took muscle enhancement drugs in order to become better than what he was before. His life goal was to beat a record in baseball in order to have his name set in history. He was willing to harm his own body in order to beat a record because that was his life dream of being someone that will be recognized in history. At the end, trying to pursue a goal at all cost proves to be bad for you and others.

Nick D.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde interpreted by Nick DiScola

In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the theme of Life at all Costs came into play in Dr. Jekyll's life. He was determined to separate the good and evil from people; that was his goal. He was so devoted to his experiment that he tried it on himself and it led him to death. "Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me, and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life" (Stevenson 89). Dr. Jekyll got so caught up in his experiments that it took over his life and he could not stop.

In real life, someone in sports would risk the well being of their own body to be better at their sport by taking steroids. They don't care that it is hurting them, they only care about how they are going to be better at their sport.

Tim C.

Life at all costs is a very prevalent theme throughout the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Dr. Jekyll dedicates his scientific career to perfecting the human conscious. He tries to create two separate persons out of himself, one being purely good, and one being inherently evil.  He is able to freely transform between with two personalities with a potion he developed for himself until he is unable to locate one of the ingredients of the crucial antidote.

Due to this error Dr. Jekyll is forced to remain in the body of Mr. Hyde for the rest of his life. Dr. Jekyll's greed to achieve the best of both worlds (good and evil) turns against him.  Dr. Jekyll comes to terms with his mistakes at the end of the story: "...Hyde will tear it to pieces; but if some time shall have elapsed after I have laid it by, his wonderful selfishness and circumscription to the moment will probably save it once again from the action of his ape-like spite" (Stevenson 78).  He writes the letter to Mr.Utterson signed Dr. Jekyll but in the form of Mr. Hyde.  He sees that Hyde's life is ruined by his mistakes and that now that he cannot transform back to Dr. Jekyll, his life as Dr. Jekyll is over as well.

Cloning in today's society is a very similar issue.  Many scientists these days with exponentially growing technology are putting all their efforts into cloning humans.  This practice can potentially be monumentally earth shattering to not only the science world but rest of the human race.  Similar to Dr. Jekyll's studies, these scientists are attempting to bend the laws of physics and life which could be disastrous.  They do not comprehend the potential cost in their pursuit of life at all costs.

Brian H

Throughout Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, life at all costs is a very significant topic. Dr. Jekyll wants to be able to do things that he wouldn't normally do in his "regular" body. He is respected by the community but wants to live a dangerous life. Never in his life would he ever think about doing crimes. In his study of science, he continually tries to find a way to be able to "switch people" by a magic potion. Because Dr. Jekyll feels so strongly about this, he loses many friends along the way including Utterson and Lanyon. After discovering the potion, Dr. Jekyll changes to Mr. Hyde. Hyde commits many crimes that are talked about in the community but Jekyll is not worried about it.

In this lifetime, the person that would probably be exhibiting this type of behavior is David Wright, a player for the New York Mets. When our family went to go to a met game, we were able to stop and talk with him. On the field, he looks like a player that many people would idolize. However, he really could care less about the fans and their feelings. Some people would like to make excuses for him, but there are none. Many people that were there with us also felt the same way.

Nick M.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde as interpreted by Nick M.

A common theme among Gothic novels is "Life at all costs" and this is no exception

in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Dr Henry Jekyll, the protagonist of the story, was willing to take risky experiments with his own life, just to feel younger and youthful. Towards the end of the novel, in his letter to Utterson, it is revealed that Jekyll began taking this potion that he himself developed. This potion would effectively transform the elderly Henry Jekyll into a smaller grotesque creature, that of Edward Hyde. As he continued to make these transformations, he began losing control of when he would switch forms, yet Jekyll continued to take the pills because he had so long desired for that feeling of life that Hyde presented to him. Jekyll writes in his letter, "He had now seen the full deformity of that creature that shared with him some of the phenomena of consciousness, and was co-heir with him to death: and beyond these links of community, which themselves made the most poignant part of his distress, he thought of Hyde, for all his energy of life, as something not only hellish but inorganic" (Stevenson 122). Also, throughout the story, Jekyll began ignoring his friends, the people who cared for him. The more he ignored them, the more they became concerned for him and investigated what was up with him. They were too late, as by the time they discovered that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person, Jekyll had died, and they had lost their friend. Jekyll had become so devoted to feeling younger that old age was not what killed him, but enjoying a youthful life did.

In today's world of professional sports, there are many athletes, particularly baseball players, that try to better their game with PEDs, or performance enhancing drugs. The main PED that was used by baseball players until the testing for it became more advanced, was steroids. These athletes that used steroids knew that the drug was damaging their body. Yet they were so set on being the best of players they didn't care. One player in particular was Mark McGuire. McGuire was constantly accused of steroid use in his playing days and constantly denied it. When he had to speak in front of Congress, he refuse to talk. This affected his social life after his retirement; he would hardly ever be seen in public. In 2010, McGuire decided he couldn't take any more of the problems that came from denying steroid use and came clean about it. Yet, for over a decade McGuire had to sacrifice his body and the life of a normal person just to be the best baseball player he could be.

Will P.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Will Palmeri

Frankenstein is a novel that revolves around the theme of anatomy, life, death, human relationships, and most importantly, “Life at All Costs”. It focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s ecstatic pursuit of life. The man’s obsession, however, leads to the abandoning of his entire social life, and results in the creation of a being some might call a monster. Although his experiment does not start off as a violent creature, his attitude changes when he becomes rejected by humans. This is because the monster was not made with the ability to understand human interaction. Being the dedicated scientist he is, Frankenstein created the monster with the biological intention of proving that humans can create life. He did not, in a sense, "program" the monster to be able to blend in with the world around him. He comes to realize, after observing the monster's abnormal behavior, that his quest for life is an impossible one. He cannot bring himself to continue his experiments. "Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world. Begone!" (Shelley 124).

The idea of "Life at All Costs" is visible with the mindsets of all soldiers who fight to protect their countries. The idea that men and women are risking their lives may sound contradictory, but in fact these people are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure peace and happiness for all citizens who occupy their nations. Although it may be portrayed in a different manner, both Frankenstein and military men and women follow the same path to preserve life at all costs.

Andrew B.

Frankenstein

"Life at all costs" is apparent in the book when Victor Frankenstein swears revenge on the monster he created after the death of his family members. Victor swore that he would never give up his cause until he put his creation to death or until Victor himself was killed. Victor blames himself for the creation of the beast that murdered his wife, brother and best friend and he feels guilty for their deaths and is infuriated that his creation still lived unrestrained to wreak havoc on human kind. Shelley made it clear that Victor would pursue Frankenstein until until the end of time when she writes, "I confess hat it is the devouring and only passion of my soul. My rage is unspeakable when I reflect that the Murder, whom I have turned loose upon society, still exists" (Shelley 177). The thought of revenge is the only thought on Victor's mind, it has become a devouring passion that drives him into a powerful rage.

Now in modern day, there are people who pursue others for the reasons of revenge and what they believe is justice. The law enforcement is always attempting to fight crime and bring those people who have wronged others to justice but there are some who take it further and can become obsessed with bring criminals to lawfulness. It is the job primarily of detectives and crime scene investigators to pursue those who are at fault for a crime often to the point of feeling personally affected or offended and make it their personal duty. Guilt could also play a large role if somebody else gets hurt or is affected by the same perpetrator and the law enforcement officer could have done something to stop them.

Ryan S.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Ryan Schindo

In the book Frankenstein, the theme "Life at all Costs" can be shown in this quote: "Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which i hoped to make." (Shelley 51) Some people would say that Victor Frankenstein is devoting his life at all costs for his interest at creating life. I say he is devoting his life as well as the life of his creation. He has left his dear Elizabeth, family, and friends to study at the University and mastering while understanding the anatomy of the Human body. His interest along with devotion to creating life had become successful in creating the monster from lifeless body parts.

I think there are not as many people with this type of devotion today. The only people that I think have the devotion like Victor Frankenstein would be the soldiers of our military. They risk their lives every day by defending our country. More devotion goes into different branches specifically the United States Navy Sea, Air and Land Teams, Otherwise known as the U.S Navy Seals. What they go through is considered to be the most physically and mentally demanding military training in existence. I would like to quote the training of the Navy Seals. "The comprehensive SEAL training process prepares you for the extreme physical and mental challenges of SEAL missions. Your preparation will consist of more than 12 months of initial training that includes Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL BUD/S School, Parachute Jump School and SEAL Qualification Training (SQT), followed by an additional 18 months of pre-deployment training and intensive specialized training. Everything in training is designed to push you to your physical and mental limits. " I would consider that to be devotion on a level that is indescribable which is why only such a small number can say they can be a part of it.

Nick D.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as interpreted by Nick Didio

The theme of "life at all costs" is clear in the ending of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll talks about being obsessed with separating the duality of nature into two forms, good and evil. "It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date . . . I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements." (Stevenson 68) Jekyll is clearly obsessed with completing his experiment and even he, a gentleman, realizes that he is both good and evil. The evil is trying to control him and come out in him. The evil is the life that Dr. Jekyll is trying to get to at all costs.

Today many people devote their lives to the destruction of evil at all costs. Soldiers and policemen both put everything on the line everyday to protect us from the evils around us. Policemen put their lives on the line to protect us from murders, rapists, robbers and other criminals. Soldiers go on tours of duty for up to 6 months leaving behind their children and wives to fight our enemies who would attack us constantly if our soldiers were not there to stop them from such attacks. Some soldiers give their lives protecting our freedoms. Since the war is so difficult and the enemy is very clever, many soldiers have served multiple tours of duty and given up a good portion of their lives to the fight for our freedom. Sadly, some soldiers pay the ultimate price in the fight against evil.

Eli M.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as interpreted by Eli Mallouhi.

"Life at all Costs." This is a strange theme but it is a major one in the story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is evident in the story as Dr. Jekyll tries out his experiment on himself. He created a potion that he needed to try out on somebody. At first he could not get someone to try it for him so he decided to take it himself. He later learned the dangers of this terrible decision. He changed too much as he kept taking the potion as he became almost obsessed with the fact that he was being changed. He became very destructive and began hurting people. It is very clear that his decision was not worth it. "He had now seen the full deformity of that creature that shared with him some of the phenomena of consciousness, and was co-heir with him to death: and beyond those links of community, which in themselves made the most poignant part of his distress, he thought of Hyde, for all his energy of life, as of something not only hellish but inorganic." (Stevenson 84) Robert Louis Stevenson even stated that he really lived by the quote "life at all costs."

There are many examples of people living with this determination in the real world now. A major example of this would be the University of Southern California athletic program. They are a very great program and have many great sports teams. However they decided that they could try and get away with recruiting illegally. In the recruitments of all-star players such as Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo, and Joe McKnight amongst others, they committed all of these violations hoping to help out their program, even though they knew the consequences of their actions. They did not seem to care because either they thought they could get away with it, or that the consequences were not as substantial as the rewards. They were mistaken. The whole program was severely punished for the next two years and it might take a few more to fully recover. I think its safe to say that it was not worth the risk.

Ryan O.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Ryan O.

"Life at all Costs" is an important part of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein, as a young man, starts reading about natural philosophy in the works of Cornelius Agrippa and other ancient philosophers. When he gets to college he starts to pursuit what he thinks is his life's work, to create life. Once he starts working on the project he becomes completely obsessed with it and forgets about his well being. We see this in the novel when he thinks to himself, "Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck I perceived that I had become; the energy of my purpose alone sustained me..."(Shelley 41). Frankenstein is finally able to create life, but it costs him everything. The monster he creates kills his closest loved ones and eventually he loses his life as well.

This theme is also very prominent today. Many athletes will risk hurting themselves and their reputations for the chance to become one of the greatest. One of the most known athletes for this is Sammy Sosa. He was on the list of the athletes in the MLB who used illegal-performance enhancing drugs. These drugs, although they can be extremely beneficial during use, can cause serious long term conditions. These conditions are widely known and it is common knowledge that they can hurt your body. Although Sosa denied the use of any drugs, his reputation was scarred from just being on the list and being tried for it. This caused him to lose many fans and may hurt his chances of becoming inducted into the Hall of Fame. He may have set records in the MLB but he lost most of his credit and fan-base do to his risking anything to do it.

Brian D-Z

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde interpreted by Brian Downey-Zayas

The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one that portrays a man desperate to satisfy his hungering for knowledge. Dr. Jekyll was desperate to find out if he could in fact separate the good and the evil from people. He was en route to a whole new branch of biology, and he would've done anything to reach his goal of full controlled separation of two separate entities. Here, in Dr. Jekyll's letter to Mr. Utterson he states "Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me, and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.". Committed in the key word in that quote, because Dr. Jekyll's devotion to is goal was so great that in the end he ends up dead because of it.

There are main devoted people in the world, and then there are obsessed people. People like Dr. Jekyll who was so obsessed with his life goal that they would stop at nothing to achieve it. A common people who suffer this obsession with success, are athletes. Athletes are so obsessed with succeeding whether its hitting home runs like Mark Mcguire, getting sacks like Brian Kushing, or throwing K's like Roger Clemens. Each of those three great athletes wanted to achieve their life goals so badly that they sacrificed their own health, and their reputation to do it.

Bobby L.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Bobby Lynch

Victor Frankenstein was obsessed with creating a monster. In Mary Shelley's introduction, she says, "Frightful it must be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the World." Victor's passion in trying to create life did indeed become very frightful, as his creation sought to destroy him. It was an obsession that would take over his life and cause him harm in the end. His pursuit to somehow avenge the death of his mother during childbirth was an impossible task, and his determined efforts were wasted and in no way worth it. It only caused pain not only for him, but for Elizabeth and all the others his creation encountered.

This book shows that the pursuit at all costs is not a good thing. Victor spends his entire life attempting to create something that would later kill his wife. This is similar to an athlete taking steroids in order to improve performance or a worker putting their health in danger in order to make money. There are many such people in our world today, such as magicians that try to perform dangerous tricks. These are all pursuits that are not worth risking self harm.

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE BY HACIK A

Life pursued at all costs is a perfect theme to the book The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . Dr. Jekyll wanted to separate good and evil from the human soul. He would try anything possible to get this done. Eventually he created a potion that would make this possible. Dr. Jekyll wanted to pursue his life goal before anything else in his life. After making the potion, Dr. Jekyll drank it himself. When he drank the potion, he turned into a homicidal pyscho named Mr. Hyde. "Although I had now two characters as well as two appearances, one was wholly evil, and the other was still the old Henry Jekyll". In the body of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll literally just lived his life to the fullest (in a bad way). The potion took out the evil side of him. As Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll thought he could do anything he wanted to. He started a lot of violence in society. In the movie, he abused a waitress, and thought he could get away with it. In the book he killed a person. He was so obsessed with the potion and it was all for satisfying his pleasures. Eventually he got himself into to much trouble, and that led him to his death.

Today, professional athletes do whatever they can to be the best. There is so much pressure on athletes in all levels, High School, College, and the Pros. They have to please their coaches, fans, and friends. Sometimes to get this done, athletes take an extreme measures, by taking steroids or performance enhancing drugs. These drugs could be very harmful to the bodies of athletes. Although, athletes know it is not good for their health, they still take these drugs just to get their main goal accomplished. Which is not the right thing to do.

Kevin L.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Kevin Leithauser

When reading Frankenstein the theme of "Life at All Costs" is very clearly seen. Victor Frankenstein is perusing life at all costs by trying to create life. By taking on this task he cuts all connections that he has with the outside world in order to not have anything distracting him from his goal. When Victor says "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world"(Shelley 40) you can clearly see his determination in breaking through the boundaries of life and death. With Victor perusing life at all costs he pays the ultimate price by losing his life due to his creation.

There are many athletes nowadays that have the same type of determination as Victor when it comes to achieving something at all costs. Athletes will now put there body through anything just so they might get a competitive edge when playing on the ball field. They will resort to anything including steroids that will not only ruin their body in the long run but also ruin their reputation. One well known athlete that had made the decision to use steroids was Roger Clemens. Not only did he use the illegal drugs and get caught but he also lied about using them in court; he is now facing potential jail time for lying about using drugs, and will most likely no longer have any chance of making the Hall of Fame. Roger Clemens decision to use steroids may have helped increase his play as a pitcher but in the long run it ended up ruining his career and his life.

Michael S

Frankenstein as interpreted by Michael Sutherland. In the novel Frankenstein, the theme "Life at all Cost" is shown how Victor Frankenstein strives for the creation of life. However, Frankenstein was so blinded by following through in his creation he did not see the consequences, or cost that could be made. When Victor Frankenstein says "at a sacrifice of my family and friends" (Shelly 89), he is truly obsessed with seeking the creation of life that he puts his own family and friends life's at cost. In my opinion I don't think Frankenstein's strive for the creation of life was worth it. His creation ended the lives of people very close to him, and left him with nothing but loneliness.

Today, athletes all over the world are injecting substances into their body that make them produce better results in the games. Such as Mark McGuire did in baseball when he took steroids. He was so caught up in the fact that he wanted to be the best player and hit the most home runs that he physically hurt his body by putting illegal substances to make him better. Mark McGuire's obsession with being the best player in baseball, hurt him in the long run, when he got caught and was not excepted into the Hall of Fame.