The aliens are in the U.S!
Jul 16, 2015
Jul 15, 2015
Siege of Earth
This is a short story I've written. Hope you like it!
Siege of Earth
The company of Genoware Corporationa biotech firmwas looking
for a research breakthrough for past several months. The CEO of the
company had been given an ultimatum to show some progress by its
investors. Now their only hope was a project launched last year, in 2121.
The project was to search space for signs of extraterrestrial life with their
satellite, called Explorer, and its probe Darwin . If successful, then Darwin
would obtain a DNA sample and send it back to Earth for studying. So far,
not a single sign of life was found.
Genoware Corporation HQ:
It was one a.m. The chief scientist in the biotechnology department,
Dr. Casis was going through an old file named CONT1980, trying to decode it
in his office. It was a response received many years ago, but nobody could
decode it so far. Many had thought it was only a space disturbance. But he
was refusing to believe that.
“Dr. Casis, could you look at this?”, requested Dr.Smith, Dr.Casis’s
assistant pointing to the probe dashboard. Darwin had detected something
cruising through the solar system at high speeds. They had a closer look at the
images sent by Darwin. The object was as long as the Empire State Building. It
was made of some type of silver metal. It was cylindrical in shape with some
transparent squares along the side. It was heading directly towards the Earth.
“It should reach our atmosphere within seven days,” said the assistant. He was
excited, but Dr. Casis got worried. What it is and more importantly, who was
travelling in it?
70 million miles from Earth:
“Sir, we have detected a planet with intelligent life forms on it,” said a
Votoros(grasshopper like alien) soldier rushing into the command center.
“How intelligent?” asked General Tronos of the Unifists. “Primitive,” replied
the soldier. “Invade the planet,” commanded Tronos. “Should we call in for
reinforcements or activate the wormhole generator?” questioned the soldier.
“Neither,” replied the general, “Alliance ships can detect when something
enters an artificial wormhole and they are already patrolling this area as we
speak. Reinforcements will draw too much attention to this sector. We will
slowly but surely reach the planet in time. Once the Alliance ships leave the
sector, divert all energy to the engines. The Unifists must unite the galaxy.”
Dr. Casis’s office:
Dr. Casis tried to contact the spaceship. But there was no response for
several hours. They kept trying but got more worried since the spaceship
kept approaching faster than expected. They had to act fast. In a desperate
attempt, he decided to use CONT1980 to send the signal from Explorer and
Darwin in a hopeful attempt to see if this would get a response. He was not
confident that he would be able to understand the response again this time.
He was just hoping for another miracle. He informed the U.S. president and
other scientists about the development.
100 million miles from Earth:
Astrosapien General Tenuros was looking at the holographic map of
the system he was in. No Unifists in the sector. He was about to tell the pilot
of the ship to leave the system but Hypersapien Admiral Tonos came in.
Tenuros was an Astrosapien who were the first advanced civilization to
evolve in the galaxy. Tonos was a Hypersapien who were usually strong and
smart in war. Tenuros was tall, blue skin, elongated back head, and with
green eyes with no pupils. He and Tonos had the same eye color and both
had no pupils, but Tonos was tall, had skin that looked like silver metal and
glinted in the bright light, and muscular. “Sir, our spies indicate that General
Tronos is attacking a planet with semiintelligent life forms on it. The
inhabitants are defenseless. Also, we received a message from the planet.
The planet is called Earth. It is plea for help from an Earthling,” informed
Tonos. “We must help them” said the commander. “Call in for
reinforcements. Fire up the wormhole generator.” commanded Tenuros.
Dr. Casis’s office:
“Doctor, you must look at this at once!” cried Dr. Smith. They didn’t
believe it. He got the exactly same response as was found in the old file. He
started to put it through his decoding software which wasn't successful for
so many years. But he was working more intensely this time as if he was
hoping for a different outcome this time. And it appeared on the screen
“Hello Earthling!” He and the assistant almost jumped out of their chairs.
They continued to read the decoded message. In few hours and after few
more exchanges, they realized that it was a response from another
spaceship which would be able to help them in this crisis. And that they are
about to intercept the fast approaching enemy spaceship. He immediately
communicated with the president and requested for more time before taking
any action on their own.
"But how did you decrypt the message?" Dr.Smith asked curiously. "I
had tried earlier all the modern ways of decoding the messages. But we
probably never tried some of the ancient ways to decipher the messages."
replied the doctor. And he continued "Sometimes we forget to look at simple
solutions for a complex problem. The approaching spaceship reminded me
about the Skytale, the method used by the Greek Spartan generals during
their war. That did the trick. It is possible that the aliens we communicated
somehow got the knowledge from their earlier contacts with the Earth. They
have much advanced version of it now and they also use it to contact their
allies during wartime." "But how could we trust those aliens to help us?"
assistant was now skeptical. "Should we not prepare ourselves to defend
us?" "We don't have a choice now, do we?" countered Dr. Casis.
Somewhere near Mars:
General Tronos’s ship entered the atmosphere. “Should we get into
battle stations?” asked a soldier. “Yes and do it quickly. We must be swift in
our attack,” ordered Tronos. The ship’s pilot came running toward Tronos
quickly. The pilot showed something on the holographic map. Tronos’s face
turned from eagerness to being infuriated.Tronos barked an order: “Alliance
forces have entered our area through a wormhole. And they are closing in on
us rapidly. Contact a Unifist base for reinforcements. NOW!” On the ship
heading straight for Tronos’s ship, General Tenuros came out of the control
room. “Battle stations!” he ordered. Admiral Tonos screamed, “Disable their
transmissions!” As Astrosapien and Hypersapien soldiers did as were they
told, thespaceshipshookviolentlyandtilted.“Theenemyhasengagedus!”
someone yelled as an emergency siren blared loudly. Tonos instantly told a
squadron of pilot fighters to disembark from the motherships immediately.
As pod fighters from the Alliance fought against the Tronos’s army of pod
fighters viciously, the motherships battled against each other relentlessly.
Dr. Casis's lab:
A team of scientists watched the battle between the spaceships via the
images sent by Darwin. A few hours later, the battling spaceships retreated
into deep space. The images captured were quite valuable to Dr. Casis to
sponsor his research for next several years. More importantly, a new chapter
of friendship saga between Earthlings and Hypersapiens and Astrosapiens
had begun.Maybe Earth would face more encounters again, but for now with
new alliance Earth would be more prepared for it for sure.
May 31, 2015
Kites
Kites are a common type of flying device ignored by the technological advancements of today. A kite is a toy that has a light frame with a thin material covering it. A long string determines the flight path of the kite.The kite glides. But do you know how the kite works?
First, let us define a kite. A kite is a child’s toy that has a frame that is light and has very thin material which stretches over it and is flown in the wind and the kite is at the end of a long string. The structure of a kite is composed of three main components: the kite body, the bridle, and the control line. Fabric, plastic, or plastic are stretched over the framework, converting the framework into a wing. The modern day uses of the kite are for recreation, scientific research, and art(such as aerial photography).
Let’s see a little about the kite’s history. It’s unknown about the origin and the exact date of the kite. However, the earliest use of the kite was 2,000 years ago. The first kite’s origin comes from a legend. A Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep his hat from flying away. Later kites were used for military purposes. For example, the Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty use of the kite was the first recorded use of the kite. He flew the kite over the walls of the city he was besieging to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to slip past the city’s defenses. Later, the use of the kite spread across Asia. The kite also contributed to the invention of the airplane(the plane the Wright Brothers invented). Did you know that kites were used during World War I? Also, during World War II, kites were used to signal stranded pilots. Homan Walsh flew a kite across the Niagara Gorge and and when his kite landed on the opposite side of the river and the bridge was built because Walsh’s kite’s string landed on the opposite side.
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| Source: http://blog.nasm.si.edu/aviation/how-kites-fly/ |
The kite is capable of flight due to several features. First, the kite’s framework is light as well as the framework’s covering(the paper/fabric/plastic part). Otherwise the kite’s weight would prevent itself from flying. Lift also helps the kite fly. Lift is an upward force that pushes it in the air. Lift is created by the variations in air pressure. The kite’s weight forces the kite downward due to gravity. Thrust forces the kite in the direction of motion. Forward motion, moving air, and tension from string all create thrust. Drag is the opposite force of the direction of motion and is created from the difference of the back and front’s air pressure and the friction between the moving air and surface of the kite. The equation equals coefficient x ((density x velocity squared)/2) x reference area.In order to launch a kite into flight, the force of lift must overcome the force of weight. But to ensure the kite is in steady flight, the forces must be in equilibrium(lift is same as weight and thrust is equivalent to drag).The kite’s tail helps the kite be stable in flight. If the kite reaches a high altitude where the winds are strong enough, then the person controlling the kite doesn’t need to run anymore to stay in the air.
The modern day uses of the kite are for recreation, scientific research, and art(such as aerial photography). One potential function of kites in the future include eco-friendly transportation. For example, one cargo commercial ship used a computer controlled kite to travel. In 2013, Makani tested a prototype of kite that would harness wind energy and send the energy to a ground station through the kite’s tether(the string). Wind turbines on the kite will generate the electricity. The kite’s tether is actually made up of a high strength core surrounded by conductive wires. This kite will eliminate 90% of materials of the standard wind turbine. Also, the kite will generate 50% more energy. Japan launched a kite into space with a Venus probe. The kite’s name is Ikaros which stands for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation. The kite was developed by JAXA( Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The kite deployed its solar sail and became the first space mission to be propelled by sunlight. Engineers at JAXA hope that missions in the future will combine solar sailing with electricity to provide power to ion propulsion engines.
The possibilities of kites’ functions are endless.
Ungifted by Gordon Korman
The book Ungifted by Gordon Korman is about a boy named Donovan Curtis who plays a major prank at his school. When he is about to get punished later, a mess-up occurs, and he lands into ASD (Academy of Scholastic Distinction). ASD is a school that is for the gifted students within the district. Donovan, on the other hand, isn't what you would call "gifted". However, Donovan finds safe refuge in the Academy from the punishment. Despite the fact of being ungifted, he manages to change and play a major role on his school's robotics team. What I learned from this book is that intelligence isn't everything. You need common sense and sometimes even though you don't have any plan or things don't work according to your plan, don't give up, quick thinking may save you. Want to know what happens to Donovan at the school? Read Ungifted to find out.
Killer Species #4: Ultimate Attack
"No chances." is the mantra of Dr. Catalyst, the infamous geneticist, had plans for the eradication of invasive species from the Floridian environment with the help of genetically engineered hybrid predators.
Apr 4, 2015
Pelorus Jack: Dolphin GPS
Imagine that your ship is lost in the middle of the New Zealand's Pelorus Sound, a waterway. You need to get to the French Pass.There is no GPS, barely any maps, and no knowledgeable person to guide you. Your crew is starting to lose hope, and you are desperate to have some instructions to guide you. But then all of a sudden, a dolphin surges up ahead of you.You start to follow the dolphin because you have no other option, and he navigates you to the French Pass. When he leaves you, you realize that he is your savior.
This isn't fiction; this is true! Pelorus Jack is the name of a Risso's dolphin (living in New Zealand) that helped ships navigate from Pelorus Sound to the deadly French Pass. The water in the French Pass is capable of reaching a speed of eight knots. However, Pelorus Jack never went through the French Pass itself. He was first noticed in 1888. The dolphin loved to swim along boats and ride their bow waves.
As the years passed, Pelorus Jack's popularity grew. But in the early 1900's, someone shot him. Fortunately, he survived. This led to people wanting Pelorus Jack to be protected by law. So in 1904, an order in the council stated that this dolphin be protected by law. In fact, he was the first dolphin to be protected by the government. By then, Pelorus Jack had become a tourist attraction.
But when the admired dolphin died, nobody knew what had happened. The most likely cause was of old age-the dolphin was 24 years old. However, years after his death, Pelorus Jack still remains one the most famous dolphins.
Most people believe that primates are the smartest animals on the Earth. But Pelorus Jack displays that dolphins too rival the intelligence of primates. He also displays selflessness, a trait rarely seen in humans.
If you want to see this incredible dolphin in action, see this quick video: Pelorus Jack Video
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| Pelorus Jack |
