Creative+Writing+-+FINAL+COPY

= = =**Questions 1-4** =

1. List 5 Positive consequences and 5 Negative consequences? Positive: a) Lots of people will be freed from old age. b) Arthritis will become a nonexistent affliction. c) Immortality d) Maintain a youthful mind. e) People will extend their knowledge to no end.

Negative: a) Overpopulation b) Dwindling resources c) If really young people drank it, they'd turn into babies d) Fights over possession of water e) Political issues

2. Describe your character. Complete these questions on your wiki. Create a page called "Character Development" 3. Describe the setting. The story takes place in New York, where the protagonist has set up a small laboratory in his apartment. He is always bothered by cars going by, even at night.

4. What is the main conflict? The protagonist wants to make an energy source out of the Fountain of Youth's water. The man vs. nature and man vs. man conflict comes into play here. = = =**__ Energetic __**= = A Short Story by Bruno Koloska =

In the middle of Lower Manhattan, he grimaced angrily. Once again, he had failed. Time and time again he had changed his methods, his materials. He tried to remember all the different times he had tried...but stress-induced insomnia blocked the beaten path he tried to take like a fortress, laced with barbed wire. It was such a pungent thought that he dared not think of his many attempts for fear of painfully brushing against them.

Dr. Brunhild staggered out of his laboratory, and with difficulty, opened the door to the grungy public bathroom just outside of his low-rate, converted apartment. Turning on the tap with his elbow, he cursed. Thrusting his hands under the thick stream of water, Dr. Brunhild winced. Fighting through the pain, he kept his hands in place, not wanting to drag out the pain.

Halfway through his experiment, a flask had exploded. He had wounded his hands as a result. Now, picking out the glass pieces, he bandaged up his hands and fingers and returned to his partly demolished lab to clean up and salvage from the wreckage. Looking at the flickering clock radio sitting lopsidedly on a stack of books, he realized that he should have left long ago, as it was 2 am. Dr. Brunhild left his lab, leaving the cleaning for later, only now acknowledging his tiredness and need for sleep. As he gathered his intact belongings, he noticed that the building had become remarkably louder. and Dr. Brunhild knew it was the fault of the explosion he had caused. As he left the building to drive to his house where he lived with his spouse, he made a mental note to apologize tomorrow.

As the doctor drove home (made difficult by the cuts on his hands), he let his thoughts wander back to when he first discovered the Fountain of Youth. He had stumbled upon it a year and two or three months ago...he couldn't remember which. However, he managed to recall how he came to see it for what it was: a dying leaf had fallen pitifully into its waters, and was instantly rejuvenated, like an immediate answer to a prayer. Dr. Brunhild had recognized that misuse would lead to the end of man through internal struggle for power. He, almost selfishly, had taken home a large sample, destroyed the fountain, and experimented on the amazing fluid since. The energy source he intended to create would change the world. As he pulled into the driveway, he reminded himself that this was his way of making difference in this flawed world he lived in. If he was successful in creating the energy source, he would destroy the remainder of the sample.

"Did you do it?"

Dr. Brunhild turned his head and replied blatantly to his wife, 'No. If I had, I would be looking a lot happier, right?"

Mrs. Brunhild huffed. "You need some help with your experiment."

"You know that only you and I may know. This is for the good of mankind." snapped Dr. Brunhild.

"I still don't understand why it has to be a secret." sighed Mrs. Brunhild.

"I have told you many times. A scientist much more competent than I would take the Fountain of Youth's water and create either a weapon or a disease, or simply use it, unaltered, for monetary gain." lectured Dr. Brunhild.

Mrs. Brunhild looked out of the living room window and replied softly, "Yeah...I know."

The next day, relatively early in the morning, Dr. Brunhild drove to a shop that he frequently restocked his materials and supplies at. The small shop, called "Supplies for the Scientific", was manned by only one person, a lively old man named Mr. Collins. "Hello, Brunhild!" called Mr. Collins cheerfully."What would you like today?"

"A new set of flasks, please." replied Dr. Brunhild.

"Ah," chuckled the old man, rubbing his hands together. "Destroyed another set, have you? And I suppose you still won't tell me what did it."

A small man scouring bookshelves in the corner of the shop turned his head, interested. He went unnoticed by both Dr. Brunhild and Mr. Collins.

"Please just give me a new set, all right?"

The man shuffled nearer, intrigued.

"All right." Mr. Collins dug around feverishly under his counter top and emerged with a box of flasks. "Thirty dollars instead of forty for you." he said optimistically.

As Dr. Brunhild paid Mr. Collins, the small man, now very near, asked, conversationally and in a surprisingly low voice,

"I've always found science fascinating. May I ask what you're working on?"

Dr. Brunhild was taken aback by the man's nosiness, and said evasively, "Nothing important, just maintaining my equipment."

The small man's eyes shrewdly studied Dr. Brunhild's face. Then the man left, not saying another word.



Weeks later, after intensive experimenting, Dr. Brunhild recalled the incident with the small man. Thinking nothing of it other than that the man was curious, he continued experimenting after eating a frozen dinner that he reheated with his small microwave in his converted apartment. After midnight, Dr. Brunhild had fallen asleep at his desk. He thought he had been close...

Dr. Brunhild awoke to a violent shuddering. His most recent experiment using the Fountain of Youth's water was shaking and rapidly changing color. The shaking intensified, and the room was so colorful Dr. Brunhild thought that he had finally snapped.

Then all of a sudden...nothing.

The flask was glowing a neon sky-blue color. Dr. Brunhild imagined diving in and swimming until he was content that this, this was the perfected fruits of his efforts. Until he had changed anything and everything living in this world.



It took a year and a half to build a simple machine that could house and use the energy source. Dr, Brunhild had found that the tiniest amount of the Fountain of Youth's water was enough to create many centuries worth of energy. When the machine, a fan, started moving, and kept moving, faster and faster, Dr. Brunhild immediately told his wife, and in his zeal, phoned the news also, completely forgetting that he did not want many people to know. His wife, knowing this, said to him: "I thought it was too dangerous to let others know because they would misuse it!"

Ignoring her, Dr. Brunhild said happily, "I won't let that happen!"



After scheduling an interview, Dr. Brunhild went on national television to demonstrate his invention.

"This is the fuel that will change the world! A single drop powers a car around the world hundreds of times, and appliances will stay on indefinitely! Think of the possibilities!"

Dr. Brunhild paused; it had the effect he hoped it would have. All of the audience were muttering amongst themselves.

"I will now demonstrate on this specially made lamp."

As the onlookers waited in anticipation, Dr. Brunhild put a drop of his formula into the lamp, like gasoline into a car. Then he flicked the "On" switch.

The lamp did not respond. The sound of something short circuiting loudly emitted from the fan. Then it started smoking, and bolts of electricity shot out of the machine in all directions until it was destroyed completely.

The entire audience was silent. Aghast, Dr. Brunhild stuttered, "What...I-I don't..."



After what seemed like hundreds of repetitions of the same question, "Why do you think it didn't work?", Dr. Brunhild continued to repeat it in his head. As he drove home in shame, he asked himself, why, why, WHY didn't it work?

As he drove into the driveway of his and his wife's house, he resolved never to show his face again, shamed as he was.

As he entered the living room, his wife said, "I saw it on the news."

After a long pause, she said, "I did it."

Dr. Brunhild's head might as well have been kicked into overdrive. Just as it seemed like every capillary in his body were to blow, he regained control. Somewhat.

"WHAT?!" hollered Dr. Brunhild."It was you? YOU sabotaged the demonstration, sabotaged my LIFE!"

Mrs. Brunhild shot to her feet. "Your life? I might as well have saved it!"

"HOW do you figure THAT?"

Dr. Brunhild sat down heavily, and crossed his arms so tightly it seemed unlikely that he would unravel them for several years.

Mrs. Brunhild replied to her husband's torrent of disgustion and lack of understanding with tears forming rapidly in her eyes.

"You were going against everything you had ever said to me about this experiment, this stupid //thing// that's been your driving force for so long! You said it yourself : if that energy source falls into hands of a scientist, of //anybody// other than you or me they would make an abomination."

"I couldn't let you take that chance."

Dr. Brunhild stared at his wife for a long time.



The next day, during breakfast, Dr. Brunhild apologized. Neither of them had said a word since the events of the previous night. Looking up at his wife, he muttered "I'm sorry."

Mrs. Brunhild said nothing.

"You were right to sabotage me, and i should be truly ashamed of being a hypocrite."

Still, Mrs. Brunhild said nothing.

"I'm going to destroy the energy source, destroy all my notes about it, and forget all about it.

"I should never have tried to make it, and i should have known it would only lead to terrible things.

"I'm so sorry."

An uncomfortable silence hovered over them both for the longest time.

Finally, Mrs. Brunhild said, "It's for the best."



After Dr. Brunhild destroyed the energy source, both he and his wife moved to Montana. Selling the house was not difficult, and finding one wasn't hard either.

Living there, they forgot all about the Fountain of Youth.

Completely.

It was behind them, so utterly behind them that it was practically erased from their memories.

They are living there still...

THE END

=Questions 5-8=

5. How does the main character change over the course of the story? The main character realizes that the energy source he is trying to create is just going to create more conflict in the world, and instead of using it, he destroyed it. At first he wanted to make the energy source with no thought for the consequences if he succeeded. Perhaps he thought that he wouldn't succeed.

6. Describe the use of Irony in your story. The irony comes into the story when Dr. Brunhild's wife sabotages him. She was so supportive before, but now she is against him.

7. What symbols are present in your story? The vial that shook violently, then stopped, and shone a bright colour symbolized success through trial and error. Dr. Brunhild had worked intensly and for a long time, with much trial and error, to make the energy source come about.

8. What is the theme of your story? The theme of the story states that you shouldn't work so massively hard on everything, because sometimes, it isn't as good as it was in your mind.

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