Into the Unknown

As of February 25, 2006, the world population stands at 6.5 billion. Currently, this not a problem. However, it may become a quite serious one in the near future.

In 1950, the world population stood at 2.5 billion. Since then, the world population has increased by a billion almost every decade. Experts are predicting that in a mere forty years, world population will be just above 9 billion. Clearly, the population growth rate will become a problem by the end of the century.

We have several ways to address this situation. China is already passing one of them: population restriction. Thanks to the law, nobody can have anymore than two children. Population restriction is a very sensible method of addressing our problem, for it will cut population growth rate drastically. But it won't work forever; eventually, the population would rise again.

Our next method is to finish colonizing our world. We have so much unused space! There's Antarctica, the sky, the seas! We haven't even taken advantage of more than an eighth of our world. We still have some ways to go before we can begin colonizing the sea and making cities in the sky, but it's not too far off.

The most obvious method is colonizing the stars. We send colony ships to new worlds, explore them, make them our own. Once again, there a multiple ways of going about colonizing extrasolar planets.

Our first is habitat building. We go to planets that cannot naturally sustain life and build giant enclosed spaces for us to live in. NASA has recently launched a similar project. What NASA plans to do is send a small population to the moon and establish a small base there, which will expand over time. Then they will launch a mission from the moon to Mars and start the process over. Unfortunately, this will be a very painstaking process, as NASA plans to have their lunar base started in twenty years.

Our second option is to terraform planets that cannot sustain life so it becomes more earth-like. This is a little further in the future, for it requires that we create a breathable atmosphere, which is currently outside of our reach on a planet-wide scale.

Our final option is to select planets that can sustain life and build there like we would any colony here on Earth. This method seems to have the best likelihood of succeeding, for just last year, Gliese 581 c was found. Gliese 581 c is a planet orbiting just inside its parent star's habitable zone. Gliese 581 c is the most earth-like planet ever found out of the current 333 that are cataloged. Gliese 581 c is 1.5 time larger than Earth and may have water on its surface. Gliese 581 c is also only 20.3 light years away, which is relatively close in terms of space.

Gliese 581 c, however, has an interesting aspect that may pose a problem to colonizing it: it is tidally locked. When a planet is tidally locked, it means that it is in very much the same situation to its star as the moon is to Earth: one side is always facing towards the star and the other facing away. Gravity there is also 2.3 times stronger than on Earth, and one year equals 13 Earth days.

The main problem with this last method is travel: space is so big and our lives so short. We can always create a massive city-sized ship which holds all the necessities a colony will need when they arrive and hope that the original colonists' children or other descendants have retained some knowledge on how to go about living on the surface of the planet, and even that poses problems such as bone deterioration in space. However, space holds the most promise for humanity and we would be fools not to explore it.

Ten Greatest Military Leaders

Below are the names of who I consider to be the ten greatest military leaders of all time, along with their birth date, death date, position in government or military, nationality, and a short biography.

10. Suleiman the Magnificent

Born: April 27, 1494

Died: September 5/6, 1566

Position: Tenth and Longest Reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

Nationality: Turkish

Bio: Suleiman is not very well known to us Americans because at the time of Suleiman's rule, America was being discovered. Under the rule of Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire expanded to twice its former size, taking much of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. At its height, the Ottoman Empire was thought unstoppable. They had massive Great Bombards, which had taken the City of Constantinople, and brought the Byzantine Empire, the remnants of the Roman Empire down with it. Unfortunately, Suleiman had expanded too fast, and was facing economic problems.

9. Owain Glyndwr

Born: 1354 (Possibly 1359)

Died: Uncertain, but was last seen in 1412

Position: Last Welsh Prince of Wales; Leader of the Welsh Revolt

Nationality: Welsh

Bio: Once again, Glyndwr is not very well known to Americans. Or at least, that's what it is at first glance. Glyndwr penetrated far into both Welsh and English culture. Shakespeare even made Glyndwr a character in his play Henry IV as Owen Glendower.

Glyndwr was a great strategist. Before his coronation, Glyndwr served in the English military, which would become very useful when he led the revolt against England in 1400. Come 1400, Glyndwr revolted against English rule, using their tactics against them. Glyndwr won every one of the battles against the English. That is, until the English adopted a new strategy.

The new strategy was economic blockade. It worked very well and turned the tables on the Welsh. Slowly, the rebellion faded. Glyndwr was last seen in 1412. Since then, the Welsh have revered him as the only man willing to stand up to foreign occupation of Wales, and say that when Wales is threatened again, he will rise from his unknown grave and lead the Welsh opposition. Glyndwr was voted 23rd in a list of the 100 greatest Britons. The Welsh are petitioning to make September 16th a national holiday, the day that Glyndwr declared revolution. Just this year, Glyndwr University was established in honor of him. Glyndwr truly was a great leader, and holds a special place in the hearts of both English and Welsh alike.

8. Constantine I

Born: February 27, 272

Died: May 22, 337

Position: Emperor of Rome; First Emperor of Byzantine Empire

Nationality: Roman

Bio: Unlike the last two people, Constantine is fairly well known, as both an idiot and a genius. Despite what Constantine did, his accomplishments, whether they be smart ones or not, set the stage for future conquerors.

Constantine’s first notable achievement is making Christianity an official religion of the declining Roman Empire. An excellent idea at first sight, but a painfully obvious one too. To adopt Christianity after opposing it was stupid and foolish. Ironically, Rome is now home to the Vatican City, the center of Catholic religion.

A few years later Constantine proved his stupidity. He relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, and renamed the city Constantinople. Moving the capital of the Roman Empire after centuries was the stupidest possible thing he could have done socially. Strategically, Byzantium was a great decision. Although relocating the capital sped up the steady decline of the Romans, it helped to preserve the Roman Empire for another good millennium. By relocating the capital, Constantine had created the Byzantine Empire, who would later reacquire almost everything the Romans had lost, only to be destroyed by Suleiman.

7. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Born: October 14, 1890

Died: March 28, 1969

Position: Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces

Nationality: American

Bio: Although Eisenhower is known for many accomplishments, he is announced here solely for his military career.

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, one can already tell Eisenhower was great general. He was five star-general, and worked directly with three of the great leaders of the Allied Forces: Churchill, Montgomery, and Stalin.

Eisenhower is probably most well-known for Operation Overlord, the Allied taking of northwest Europe. All in all, Eisenhower truly was a great leader, and rightly deserves to be on this list.

6. Joseph Stalin

Born: December 18, 1878

Died: March 5, 1953

Position: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR

Nationality: Russian

Bio: Another World War II leader, Stalin has also proved himself to be a great leader, whether it come to military, politics, or social relations. Stalin was a very powerful man, becoming dictator of the then small Soviet Union and making some of the largest and most decisive decisions in World War II.

Stalin’s rise to power was not immediate as others, for he was exiled to Siberia as an adult, returning to Russia to work his way slowly up the political tree of the Soviet Union.
Stalin, in a way, was responsible for starting the war, for the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the nonaggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, cleared the way for Hitler’s invasion of Poland, which in many ways started the war. This was an excellent strategic decision, for Stalin later claimed that war with Hitler would be inevitable, and that the pact would buy him the time needed to reinforce the Soviet military. The pact did give Stalin what he and the world needed.

Come 1940, Hitler broke the pact, seeing the Soviet troops on the Finnish border. Once again, Stalin had proved himself to be a strategic genius. By provoking Hitler into war, he had hurt the morale of the Nazis and forced Hitler into a two-fronted war. If Hitler had broken a pact with the Soviets, who was to say his people wouldn’t receive the same treatment?

Hitler, however, prolonged his invasion of Russia too long, and attacked Moscow in winter, one of the events that led to the end of World War II. From there, Stalin led the Soviets to victory against the Nazis, establishing the Soviets as one of three superpowers.

5. Napoleon Bonaparte

Born: August 15, 1769

Died: May 5, 1821

Position: Emperor of France

Nationality: French

Bio: Unlike other leaders, Napoleon did not receive his position as Emperor of France through hard work and dedication, nut through cunning and deceit.

Napoleon first signed into the military, becoming so good of a strategist, that he was a general a mere thirteen years after becoming ensign, and led the French in an invasion of Egypt shortly after forcing the Italian surrender by taking Venice. Receiving word of French defeats in the War of the Second Coalition, Napoleon fled to France, and seized control. From there, Napoleon led the French to many victories and defeats, and was eventually exiled to Saint Helena.

4. Julius Caesar

Born: July 12, 100 BC

Died: March 15, 44 BC

Position: Dictator of the Roman Republic

Nationality: Roman

Bio: Born to a patrician family who was believed to be descended from Venus, Caesar laid the foundation for the Roman Empire, and is ranked by historians as one of the best strategic leaders in history.

Perhaps what made Caesar so deadly was his ability to maneuver strategically on almost any form of land and in any weather and the invention of the Caesar Cipher. Without him, it is unlikely Rome would ever have won independence and become a great empire.

3. Alexander the Great

Born: July 20, 356 BC

Died: June 10, 323 BC

Position: General of Macedonia

Nationality: Macedonian

Bio: The oldest leader on this list, Alexander saw to the fall of many empires, most of which were his doing or his allies.

Taught by Aristotle, who had been taught by Plato, and in turn Socrates, Alexander’s past was vital to his future as a conqueror. When he realized that a horse, previously deemed to wild to be ridden, was afraid of its shadow, Alexander turned him to the sun and rode the horse effortlessly. His father, Philips II, told him “My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedonia is too small for you.”

In later years, Alexander began to regret his father’s victories, saying that the more he inherited, the less he could take for himself. Then one year, after his father’s marriage to his fifth wife, Alexander blew his top when his new stepmother’s uncle said that the marriage would hopefully result in a worthy heir to the throne, when in fact, Alexander was the only current heir. Alexander, furious, left Macedonia

Years later, Alexander returned to Macedonia. His father, planning an assault on the Greeks, gave Alexander control of half of his army for the attack on Athens. Not long after victory, Philips was assassinated, some say with the planning on Alexander’s part. The army proclaimed Alexander king and finished the Greek campaign under his rule.

From there, Alexander went on to take the entire world known to the Greeks, never losing a single battle in the twelve years he expanded his empire. When he died, his empire fell into chaos, and the Romans rose to claim the throne.

2. Adolf Hitler

Born: April 20, 1889

Died: April 30, 1945

Position: Dictator of Germany

Nationality: Austrian

Bio: The Nazi party leader of Germany in World War II, Hitler is still remembered today as one of the greatest generals of all time.

Most of us don’t think of Hitler’s family when we referenced him. Most of us think of him as a monster, never thinking he actually cared for anything or anyone. Hitler was the fourth child of six. His father was an illegitimate child and had born his mother’s surname, Schicklgruber for 39 years. Come 1876, he took his stepfather’s name and called himself Hitler. He then fathered Hitler, who was born in Austria and lived there most of his childhood.

During World War I, Hitler served in France and Belgium in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment. During this war, he developed an admiration of the Germans, and became a German patriot. It wasn’t until 1932 that he became a German citizen.

After being inducted as a citizen, Hitler pursued the creation of the Nazi party, and landed himself in jail for it. After his jailing, Hitler continued to form the Nazi party, and eventually succeeded. Then came the Holocaust, bringing with it World War.

Hitler unwaveringly led his troops to war, winning many battles, but losing many more after his unsuccessful invasion of Russia. Seeing defeat was inevitable, Hitler committed suicide, his plan failed.

1. Temujin

Born: 1162

Died: 1227

Position: Khan of the Mongols

Nationality: Mongolian

Bio: Almost everyone has heard of the great Temujin. They are simply more familiar with the name he earned for himself: Genghis Khan.

Genghis was by far the best leader mankind has ever known. Though it took nearly forty years, Genghis united the nomadic tribes of Mongolia, and led to victory after victory for his short reign of twenty-one years.

In the year 1206, Genghis had been crowned Khan of the Mongols, and begun his military conquest, which would eventually lead to the creation of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire ever established and the second largest empire ever, second only to the British Empire. By the end of his life, Genghis had expanded Mongolian territory to hold all that is now called Mongolia, Kazakstan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, the northeast tip of Iran, the north half of Afghanistan, the north half of Pakistan, the north half of China, and finally the southeast fourth of Russia. The Mongols continued to conquer even long after Genghis was dead; at their height of power, the Mongols held Mongolia, Kazakstan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kashmir, Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iraq, Armenia, Baku, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, the east half of Romania and finally the south half of Russia.

As can clearly be seen, all of these leaders were astonishing, setting the stage for the future, and are still remembered today as some of the greatest warriors of all time.

Election Day

Tommorow is election day, the day we chose our new president for the traditional four-year term. Whether it be McCain or Obama can't be currently told. But is it worth it to go through the election process, or even elect a president at all?

Our government, as many of you know, is based off of the government of the Roman Empire. It is from there that we took the idea of the two party system, from the Patricians and the Plebians. The form of government Rome adopted worked fabulously, along with the many other governments who later adopted the government. For centuries this government has risen above others, proving it was the best. And yet, is it?

There are three main types of governments: Democracy, Socialist, andCommunist. Currently, the Democracy is by far the most popular form of government, giving much power to the people, but also reserving some for the actual governing body. In the U.S., we have a Republican Democracy, which has two different parties, each with their bonuses and penalties. When looking into America's history, we can see that although a Democracy is efficient, it may not be the most efficient form of governing, as it has caused many problems in our past. Normally, this would mean that the government isn't perfect, just like its people. Nothing to get upset about. But since there is a government that would have allowed us to bypass the problems we've faced ease, this is certainly something to consider.

Before we move on to the nearly-perfect government, let's look into the Socialists. Socialism is the form of government when the government assigns the people jobs based on their talents and abilities for the greater good of the people. does this sound familiar? It should; the Socialist government is commonly confused with the Communist government.

Now what are Communists? Well, Communism is very much alike Socialism, except for one key aspect: the government doesn't exist. In a true Communist government, people chose the job that would best aid the people, bypassing their own dreams for the common good. They do it without complaint, and enjoy helping their people in any way they can. In all honesty, the government doesn't really exist. Unlike Socialism, Communism doesn't assign people jobs, and also unlike Socialism, Communism treats everyone the same. Everyone has the same things. If one person has something, everyone else must have it. This is truly an ingenious idea, because when we look back, what has caused a vast majority of all wars to occur? The answer: because one country had something another didn't. By giving evreyone all the same things, Communism has solved the problem tha occurs everywhere, and not just with governments. The problem that Communism solved was the very same problem individuals are constantly faced with. Although Communism isn't perfect, it is by far the closest we can get to a Utopian government.

If Communism is so great then why don't we become Communists? The answer lies in sheer numbers. Communism worked great for the Asians, but only because they didn't have such large populations. Over time, most Communist countries became Socialist because giving the people all the same things was getting expensive. There are very few true Communist governments left, and at a world population of 6.5 billion, not surprisingly. Numbers was Communism's flaw. Everyone had to have the same things, and because of that, the government didn't get internal income. The only money they saw came from other countries. When there became more people, supporting their needs be came increasingly expensive, forcing the Communists to become Socialists. For some time, socialism was efficient. Yet, the government became to powerful, and with power came the greed for more. Many Socialist countries became corrupted, going to war with the weaker countries. Then came the Democracy.

After being ruled by a government who was too powerful, people embraced the Democracy with open arms. To this very day, the Democracy is the most popular form of government. However, if Communism's flaw of not being able to support numbers was solved, Communism would be the most efficient government ever thought of.

The Future . . . Is it Really Here?

From my point of view, yes, the future has come. Recently, I have thought of many ways that many of the things we see in Star Trek and Star Wars and many other beloved science fiction franchises could possibly become a reality. Below is what I have come up with.

Universal Translator

As nice of an idea as a Universal Translator is, it just doesn't seem that such a thing could work, because there is no universal standard for a certain sound. Some languages have sounds that have no equivalent in any other language. Theoretically, a Universal Translator is an impossibility.

Transporters

Transporters really aren't too far in the future. We already have many less powerful versions invented, and almost everyone had at least on of these inventions. You may be surprised to hear that this technology is not recent. In fact it was created in the late 1800s. The technology is the phone, the television, and later, the computer.

All of these inventions use a form of transmitting, whether it be sounds, or whether it be electrons. From these technologies, we can possibly create transporters, taking it one step up from a computer, which transmits electrons and sound, so that it could also transmit protons and neutrons. From here, the transporter should be relatively easy.

Light-Speed Travel

Light-speed travel appears in almost every science fiction franchise. It is deemed the ultimate form of travel. You may be surprised to know that light-speed travel may already exist.

Let's look at the Big Bang theory. According to the theory, there was a sudden burst of light, causing the small universe to rapidly expand. If we assume that the Big Bang is fact, than we have the secrets to light-speed travel.

To travel at light-speed, we merely have to install particle colliders on to starships. But not just any; ones like the one at CERN, a massive scientific facility in Switzerland, which are home to many scientific breakthroughs daily. There is a problem though; CERN's particle collider spans all the way to France and then back again. How do we fit something this large on a tiny starship?

For this answer, we turn to the body. The large intestines are incredibly long, yet, because they are coiled, they take up relatively little space. If we do this with a particle collider, it would consume considerably less space.

Now how can a particle collider cause light-speed travel? When we take the Big Bang into mind, that's all a particle collider is for; to ram particles into one another at velocities faster than most space shuttles in an effort to recreate the Big Bang. This has never happened, but a very interesting substance was found in a particle collider on recent years: antimatter.

I am not going to delve in to the properties of antimatter currently, but I shall later. Antimatter is highly unstable. Anything matter it comes in contact with is automatically destroyed, leaving behind photons, highly concentrated rays of intense light. By creating antimatter in a particle collider, and then letting it come in contact with matter may cause the sort of light that caused the Big Bang, pushing to, and perhaps beyond, the speed of light. These photons may also help to create Genesis.

Genesis

Genesis, for those who may not know, is the creation of matter from nothing. According to Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, to create Genesis, you must reorganize the particles in space to become a habitable form. With photons, assuming the Big Bang theory is true, the particles would move, and hopefully create life.

Mass Energy

Many might say we already have mass energy, and indeed, we may. But do we have the energy needed for powering a full-sized starship? I think not.

Once again, our answer lies with antimatter. Although unstable, antimatter is the most efficient power source in the world, with 100% efficiency. Just one microscopic droplet would be enough to power the city of New York for a full twenty-four hours. The main problem with antimatter as power is its instabilty. If antimatter comes in contact with any form of matter, even air, it autmatically destroys the matter, leaving photons behind. If this problem can be solved, then our need for power is resolved, leaving an abundance behind.

The Death Star

Many scientists have conducted studies on whether or not something such as the Death Star can ever be recreated. They all came to the same conclusion: it's impossible. And indeed it is. But even if it wasn't, why build the Death Star, when we have a planet-destroying weapon that is much more portable, weighing a mere twelve pounds?

The weapon is antimatter. Antimatter is highly destructive, one-fourth of a gram having a blast radius of half of a mile. According to research and math I have done, twelve pounds would be enough to obliterate Earth. Considering the Death Star was the size of a planet, antimatter is the ultimate weapon.

Yet the problem remains; how do you move antimatter? Well, you could put the twelve pounds in a container with magnets which would keep the antimatter exactly centered. That allows the antimatter to leave the particle collider. Then you merely place a rechargeable battery on the container which will take over if the container happens to be taken from its energy source. Eventually, the battery would go dead, releasing the antimatter, causing the end of a planet. Or else you could fire the animatter through space like a torpedoe. Space is a void, so you wouldn't have to worry about an unpredicted explosion. As soon as the antimatter touched the atmosphere, it would explode, destroying that side of Earth. The other side would be left untouched, but because one half was destroyed, the other half would not survive.

So is the future really here? With these technologies, that is for certain a yes. Science-fiction is fiction no longer.

Term Project: Codes

In Algebra, we are doing a term project in codes. We have to make three codes and explain how to solve them. Below are three of the codes my partner and I came up with. Each is accompanied with a little information regarding how to solve it. See if you can decipher them. Answers shall be given in my next post.

Vigenere Cipher

• This cipher requires a keyword
• This cipher requires a Cipher Box (below)

(Hint: The keyword is a country famous for its dynasties and inventions. This country has five letters in its name)

Code: I V W Q J Q I

Substitution Cipher

• This cipher replaces letters with other letters or symbols

(Hint: A=A, B=D, C=C)

Code: S O H A T SO G O O F

Fibonacci Sustitution

• A substitution cipher created by my partner and I
• Based on the Fibonacci Sequence

(Hint: The code is in a reverse order)

Code: 75025/233/377/10946/55/196418/21/13/987/196418/21/4181/233/377/34

2/233/13/6765/196418/8/28657/34/13/75025/75025/28657/34/34/17711/13/987/987/2

75025/55/196418/75025/1597/28657/46368/21/6765/28657/75025/233/46368/28657

Defender

Once again, I have returned to the Space Center, this time being Captain on the Deep Space Station (DSS) Magellan, second in command, soon to be first, as the Admiral was retiring. The mission's name was Defender .



Mission Briefing: Just on the border of Klingon and Federation space was a nebula, which harbored a one-planet solar system, completely empty of life. Next to the border in Klingon space was a planet called Fossaria, which was rich in dilithium crystal. But instead of the Klingons mining it themselves, they sent slaves to do it, and were planning to kill these slaves as soon as all the crystal was mined. The Federation would not tolerate this. A fleet was sent to successfully rescue the slaves. They were put on the planet in the nebula, which they named New Fossaria. However, soon the former slaves started to disappear, therefore the Magellan was sent with three objectives in mind: 1. Send oxygen tanks to the surface 2. Find where the people are disappearing to 3. Watch for Klingons



We completed our first objective without difficulty. Then we had a security breach on Deck 4. I sent three officers to investigate: Chief of Security, Strategic Operations, and Divisionary Communications. It was a terrible mistake on my part to send Strategic Operations, for we were approached by a Klingon Warbird, who wanted a fight. Luckily, I had been Tactical Officer on another ship, and knew how to operate the station for a successful outcome. Soon following the destruction of the Klingon Warbird, the SS Tigress, flagship of the Loyalist, a race who loved the Klingons, came on sensors. Scorpion, Admiral of the Loyalist fleet, told us he had taken our three officers hostage and planted a bomb on Deck 4. He was however willing to make a trade: complete access to Security files, all weapons unloaded, and all officers under his command for our ship and crew. We agreed.

Lucky for us, Scorpion suddenly fell and was taken to the brig on my orders. The detonator for the bomb stayed with me. An interesting event happened just then: we ran across a century-old Klingon Warbird, which was still sending signals of distress, although its crew was long deceased. The message told us that the captain's vessel had been boarded by an unknown life form, which slowly took his crew one by one, transforming them into hostile zombies, until he was the only one left. We prayed we should not encounter this creature. Everything else passed smoothly, me guiding the USS Ranger to certain points for a greater field of vision, which we would soon need, for on the Ranger's sensors, an entire alien fleet appeared. I immediately ordered Strategic Operations to prepare for battle, to raise the shields, and deactivate cloaking device. We destroyed the fleet with heavy damage. It was a time for celebration. We soon found it was not to be.

One alien had beamed aboard our ship, and started to do what it had done to the Klingon ship. Everyone on the station was being taken at an alarming pace, but the creature never came on the bridge. Not yet. I made my throat sore that night, shouting orders to prepare my crew, and not a moment too soon. I had just barely posted both Security Officers at the door to the Magellan when the Main Computer announced the creature was coming for us. I screamed to hide behind their computer terminals, but the crew couldn't move. I speak for everyone on board the bridge of the Magellan when I saw we will never forget what we saw next. The thing came running into the room, which we had a short warning of from Security, who ran from the door faster than I thought possible, screeching at the top of their lungs like a frightened little girl. All but three crew members ran, the ones who didn't run being the Admiral, Strategic Operations, and I. An idea came to me at that moment: if we don't fear the creature, it won't attack us. I immediately acted upon this thought, leaping over the desk in front of me, screaming to the crew not to fear the creature. The alien ran by me three times, never touching me once, and as abruptly as he came in, he left. But it was not the last we would see of his type.

My crew was shocked at the sudden entrance and exit of the alien. Perhaps Security was most frightened, for they refused to get any closer to the door than twenty feet, until I threatened to send the to the brig. I was cut short in my threat by the monstrous creature pounding up on the floor. An ignorant Security Officer, who was a little upset with me, pounded back in reply, which engaged a long conversation of pounding. I kept yelling not to acknowledge the pounding, for it was fearing the thing. Eventually Security listened, and would have been severely punished for letting Scorpion escape so he could pound on the floor, when we were once more honored with a visit from the thing. It did not catch us unawares this time. Each and every member of our crew followed my orders and stood their ground while the creature came in and took a member of our crew, Divisionary Communications. He never came again, but our crew did, in the same fashion as described by the dead Klingon Captain. One by one we were taken, until only five remained. We would have died, had Security not had an idea. We could activate tranzine gas, a knock-out gas, which would safely allow us to examine our fellows and free them. We tried this idea, and were rewarded with success.

We received a call from New Fossaria, just a few minutes before the rest of the population was taken. When we looked for the reason, we saw a ship of the type that attacked us in the form of a small fleet of twelve. This ship was more prepared for our tactics, and we were sorely in need of a miracle. That's when I remembered the THX-118, a device with enough power to destroy an entire planet. If it could blow a planet to smithereens, surely it could do the same to a ship. I ordered activation of this weapon, and as soon as it was fully charged, it was fired in a devastating, outright deadly attack. Although we should have been mourning the death of this advanced race, we couldn't help but celebrate.

Scorpion just wouldn't give up. He sent twenty men up to the bridge to kill us. Following common sense, I figured it was best to surrender. They kept us as hostages in the briefing room of our ship. We managed to knockout a guard, which gave us freedom to configure a battle-plan. Luckily, Scorpion didn't know the layout of the ship, and had put us in the armory. We were capable of taking our bridge back, and rightfully did so, with minor casualties. When we counted the bodies, we found one was missing: Scorpion. Scorpion had escaped and was taking his ship, the SS Tigress, around to finish us off. We put up a valiant fight, losing all but the phasers, which were destroyed in the climax of the battle. We were sitting ducks. We had lost everything and the SS tigress was coming around for the final blow that would end our lives in the merciless form of a torpedo. Just as all hope was lost, the USS Ranger arrived on the scene, turning the tables with it. The SS Tigress was destroyed, Scorpion dead, and we knew were the people were being taken. Not for the last time, we held a joyous celebration, which was to be cut short.

In the middle of our celebration, someone looked at Counter Intelligence's station and was shocked to see that the Klingons had amassed a massive fleet of more ships than the radar could count. We had seven minutes to prepare for the battle. I ordered Long-Range Communications to send a request to Starfleet for backup, I directed the USS Ranger back to the station, and ordered the activation of the CRM-114, which would transform every terminal on the staion into a battle station. We were quick, but not quick enough; when the Klingon fleet arrived, nothing was ready: the CRM-114 was still charging, The fleet that was being sent had not yet arrived, and the USS Ranger was still two minutes away. When the CRM-114 was finally activated, it was the only thing operational, with the USS Ranger still thirty seconds away. Even when the USS Ranger arrived, we were still being sorely beaten. Then the fleet Starfleet had sent us arrived. Had the fleet come a second later, we wouldn't have survived. After the fight, we celebrated for the last time.

Shadows

June 19, Thursday, I returned to the Space Center for another adventure. This time around, I was placed on the Voyager as a Security Officer, despite my intentions to be Admiral on the Magellan. I still had a great time, however.

Our mission briefing told us that in Romulan space, three Borg Cubes had appeared. Every race immediately saw the threat that the Borg possessed and ran to the aid of the Romulans. The Cubes were destroyed, with heavy losses on the Romulans, who were not a powerful race after the encounter, and few losses on the Federation and Klingons. Everyone returned to their claim of space, and was excited by the impossible win. The victory was short lived, for the Borg soon returned with an entire army of Borg Cubes. The Romulans could no longer stand in the way of the Borg, the Klingons had decided to make a fleet large enough to take down the Borg, leaving their space an easy claim for the Borg, and the Orion Pirates had fled at first sight of the Borg, leaving the Federation to face the Borg alone. The federation decided the only planet that they absolutely could not allow to fall to the Borg was Earth, their Base of Operations, and so decided to make the last stand there. All Federation star ships were ordered to the frontier defense between Earth and Mars. The battle plan was that as soon as the front line's phasers were drained and they had to reload the torpedoes, they would go behind the back line to recharge and reload. If any ships were to be damaged, they would go behind Earth and return to the fight when they were repaired. However, during the fight, the Federation lost too many ships in the front line, and from then on the ships were forbidden to repair unless weapons weren't on-line. The skirmish turned out better for the Federation than the Romulans because they used strategy, instead of an all-out warfare. There were only three Borg Cubes left at the end, but his came at a price; the Federation had lost every one of their ships. The Borg then attacked the surface of Earth, assimilating everyone in sight. A few scientists had managed to get to underground bases. They knew it was only a matter of time before the Borg found them, and so released a virus that would kill any living creature on the surface of the Earth, including the Federation's own. The Borg fled the planet after they learned of this disease, and two out of three Borg Cubes successfully escaped. The third experienced technical problems, forcing the crew to abandon ship. The Federation knew that the Borg would be back to finish what it had started, and came to the conclusion that the only way to defeat the Borg was to have an astonishing force in such little time. The only way to do that, though, would be to find dilithium crystals enough to power. The Federation sent out messages to all of the Milky Way for dilithium crystals, and the only place that didn't respond was a small sector named 30CDR, which contained three solar systems, 30CDR A, 30CDR B, and 30CDR C. Our mission was to find dilithium crystals in one of the three systems.

We put together a ship made of the wreckage of the other ships lost in the fight, plus the trans-warp of the one Borg Cube that had to be abandoned. We set out for 30CDR, and everything was peaceful. That is, until we were boarded by Orion Pirates. There were ten of them, far too many for two Security Officers, and we were soon overrun. Before the pirates had arrived, we had hidden a phaser, and so luckily, we were able to force the pirates off the ship. All except the leader and his second in command named Ginger. We threw the pirates in the brig, unwilling to interrogate them at the moment, for we had to look for our sashes which were stolen and hidden by the pirates. We had very little time to do so because the pirates had called for reinforcements, and we couldn't get through brig's force field without our sashes. When we finally wormed the location of the sashes out of our prisoners, we learned they were in a place we really didn't want them to be: the brig. Not to mention all of our captured phasers had been put in the brig too. This was our situation: We couldn't get in the brig and had only one phaser, whereas our so-called prisoners could come and go as they pleased, had six phaser and a shield (the cot). Not a very pleasurable situation. We were relieved when the other pirates came, for they were only a rescue party. We arrived at 30CDR shortly after, but it was time to stop for the night.

The next morning, we had an unpleasant encounter with the Borg, who apparently wanted their trans-warp back, and as if that weren't enough, to rip us limb from limb. I suppose the fact that we high-tailed out of there didn't help the mood of the Borg. All well, we had a mission. We arrived at 30CDR shortly after the meeting. When we came out of the trans-warp we were astonished at what surrounded us: a graveyard of ships, some dating back nearly three-thousand years. We were intrigued by this, but nothing more. we scanned 30CDR for any likely spots for dilithium crystal and found that 30CDR A was the most hopeful. We set a course for it, but along the way through the graveyard, we found a rock floating through space, composed entirely of dilithium crystal. We decided we should go there instead, but an interesting thing happened; all of a sudden the computer mainframe went dead, and a man's shadow appeared on the computer. Slowly, he tied a rope around his neck and securwed the other end to a stick. Then the rope grew taut, and the man was lifted off the floor. Before to long, the man went limp. He had hung himself. We knew that this meant we were going to be shown no mercy, and Security was dispatched to guard Deck Two. Who it was that had accessed the computer mainframe and started scanning the files, we didn't know, but were soon to find out. Suddenly, the alarm alerted us of an unidentified life form about to transport onto the bridge of the ship and told us to go to Sick Bay. We hastened to comply, practically tripping over one another in an attempt to get to Sick Bay.

When we were all in Sick Bay, everyone who had a phaser had it trained on the stairway. We were taking no chances. We listened carefully for anything that might give away the intruder's position, but heard nothing but heavy breathing, which we rightly assumed was us. Then .........
Clang, clang, bang! Everyone of us jumped and tensed at the sound of metal clanging on metal. The Captain decided we were done hiding and sent Security to investigate. My partner and I unwillingly did so. Where ever there was a hiding spot, we shot before we investigated. We found: nothing. Nothing at all. The creature had vanished. Then we hear laughter, coming from everywhere. This beast was the reason our computer mainframe had shut down, and it was using the computer to taunt us! We told the crew it was safe to return; for now. Security was constantly moving, checking everywhere for the beast that had a crude sense of humor. Then we hear the creature say "Knock, Knock,", or rather we heard it breath it. Within seconds, we hear the door rattling, starling and scaring us all once more. When the creature breathed the words "Come out and play," the Captain tried to communicate with it by asking it who it was and what it wanted. The beast replied by breathing "I am your worst nightmare," and "This is a game for all of us. Don't you want to play?" Its reply could mean only one thing; it was a Borg and it was about to show its self after toying with us for a long time.

Everyone with phasers was immediately stationed down by the portal, for that was the most likely entrance. One Security Officer saw something move and shot his phaser. Then everyone tensed waiting for return fire, which came a few seconds later. We all scrammed to different areas of Deck Two, The Security officer who had shot to a sniping point on the stairs, the First Officer to Sick Bay, and me behind the counter. We all started shooting the Borg, but everything was reflected off him, back to us. The Borg then climbed to Deck Two, and from all the screaming we heard, we guessed it didn't go well. When we were revived from being stunned, we went upstairs to find that the Borg was gone, nowhere to be found. We were also informed that we had abducted the dilithium-composed rock. Not too long after the Borg came again, but this time, I was stationed upstairs. I shot it again, and once more, fell. An interesting thing happened then. One of the crew wasn't scared of the Borg, and when the Borg came near, it couldn't touch the crew member. The Borg left soon, and now, everyone knew how to ward off the Borg: do not show fear.

We got a little of our power back and decided it was time to get out of here, but the question was, how? Our engines were damaged, beyond repair aboard the ship, and we didn't have enough power for the trans-warp. Luckily, one of our crew came up with a brilliant solution: we fire a torpedo at one of the broken ships and ride the shock wave out of there. However, this caused radiation leaks to sprout all around the ship and the only safe place was Sick Bay. We all crowded in until the radiation alarm shut off. Just before the radiation disappeared, the doctor received a note from the Borg on his terminal, which said: "I am coming for you Greyson" and another shortly after which contained the following information "I can see and hear you Greyson." I wasn't too happy about this.

Finally! We had all power back! Plus we were just coming off the shock wave. We were all very happy. That is until we came to a halt from the shock wave and discovered several Borg Cubes waiting for us. We knew that if we were to make it out of there, we had to activate trans-warp, but we had a small issue. The Borg was coming for us to keep us from going into trans-warp. Security's mission: keep the Borg off the bridge. We couldn't shoot it or else that would stun us, which we couldn't afford in this moment of truth, so we did the only thing we could: we taunted it. We ran from it, and true to its word, it came after me. Nothing anyone else did would sway it's attention from me. Then, there was an interesting turn of events. When I was cornered, no way out, it suddenly turned and ran off ship. Why, we all asked? The answer? We had successfully escaped the Borg and completed our mission.