William O. Douglas Honors College

Before we go any further, let me answer the question you just might be wondering—Why Minerva’s Owl? Minerva’s Owl—sometimes also referred to as Athena’s Owl—represents wisdom, knowledge, and scholarship. What better name for a journal that represents the DHC, an interdisciplinary honors college whose motto is Sapere Aude, Dare to be Wise, and whose foundational pillar is Undergraduate Research? Of course, it should also be noted that our campus is home to a number of barred and great horned owls.

I have the absolute joy of teaching amazing students at the DHC, as the work in this first issue demonstrates. Here you will find fascinating essays on scientific history by Gabby Triana and Lauren Taracka, who write about the work and legacies of Rita-Levi Montalcini and Charles M. Bogert, respectively. In the world of literary analysis, there’s Anthony Krueger reflecting on the implications of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Rebekah Janway pondering the relationship between faith and liberation in the fiction of Alejo Carpentier and Toni Morrison. There is music here, too, as Elijah Jarreau Bergevin and Alison Banchero have both shared original works that I guarantee you will want to listen to more than once. And speaking of music, don’t miss the joyful, appreciative essay on AJR’s “Burn Down the House” by our recent graduate, Olivia McDougall.

Some of these works, in the spirit of the DHC, are harder to categorize. These include Yuheng Changyun Chen’s book jacket design for Frankenstein, Daniel Caldeira’s analysis and implementation translating the poetry of Han Shan, or David Wacker’s ruminations on Elon Musk’s similarities to comic book legends. Check out, too, Dominic Choi’s essay on democracy and Emma CrowE’s on young people in leadership—both students remind us of what is at stake in our world, but that their generation is up to the challenge.

Our students care about our earth and its inhabitants, so it’s a treat to see Kimberly Barnett’s research into Hawaiian monk seals and how they can be Preserved, not to mention Therin Lucas’ academic ruminations on empathy in the modern age. But it is also a joy to see what interdisciplinarity means to some of these students, who wrote climate-themed fiction (cli-fi) to discuss the growing threat of climate change. Authors Fiona Fualaau, Piper Rutzer, Logan Vosburg, Noah Christy, and one anonymous student, wrote fictional tales that are hilarious, sad, or sometimes strange, but all quite entertaining, thoughtful, and well-informed.

Like I said before, it’s a great group of students. But I would be remiss if I did not give an especially giant THANK YOU AND WELL DONE to one of the students mentioned above, Elijah Jarreau Bergevin, who is graduating in a few short weeks but somehow managed to spend an inordinate amount of time helping put together this first issue of Minerva’s Owl. Elijah hounded his peers to submit work, then to submit their bios; but he also designed our entire first issue and edited essays! I’m not sure how we’ll manage to publish the next edition, but that concern is for another day. Thank you, Elijah, and thank you to all the students who took the brave step in sharing their work. I am very proud to be a part of such an amazing college, and I hope you enjoy our first issue. Welcome to Minerva’s Owl!

Matt Martinson, Editor of Minerva’s Owl ∎

IT WAS 2006 in the heart of New York City. The New York Knicks failed to make the play-offs for the third consecutive year. President George W. Bush’s approval rating had hit at an all-time low. Panic! at the Disco released “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and Justin Timberlake performed “SexyBack” on the MTV Video Music Awards—hosted by Jack Black—at Radio City Music Hall. For the American people, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… and three young kids were out pursuing their dream in the streets of Manhattan.

Adam, Ryan, and Jack Metzger were trying their hand at busking in Central Park and Washington Square. The youngest at nine years old, Jack led vocals while his older brothers backed him with instrumentals. The boys played covers of songs old and new, anything to get enough money for new instruments with which to experiment. The brothers spent many years on street corners serenading strangers, earning their 10,000 hours. In the following years, when YouTube started gaining traction, the boys put up videos of their covers: more and more inventive spins on pop songs. Jack and Ryan also started trying their hand at writing, directing, and acting in their own little sketches for video content. At that time, the boys had very few followers, but nonetheless continued to play, to save up, to buy more equipment, to make more music.

As they grew, the boys were exposed to their parents’ old records and the sounds of a very different generation influenced their style. The Beach Boys; the Beatles; Peter, Paul, and Mary among many others inspired them, but more contemporary artists like Kanye West also came into play. Later, while eldest brother Adam pursued his degree at Columbia University, the younger two brothers took note of sampling—the music trend of artists taking sound clips and reusing them in their songs. Jack mentioned to his brotherhow cool it would be if someone sampled Spongebob Squarepants on a track.

“Well, why don’t we do it?” was Ryan’s reply.

In spring of 2013, the brothers, naming themselves AJR after their own initials, released a video of their first single “I’m Ready.” The song sampled the popular Spongebob catchphrase, and became a classic, upbeat, dance-floor pop song. The brothers sent the link to their video to several celebrities over Twitter, until famous singer-songwriter Sia noticed them and passed it along to her manager. The song was then commercially released that summer and began to see regular radio play, and the band was labeled as the next up and comers in the music scene.

After “I’m Ready,” AJR released a five song EP of the same name. Their first song continued to grow, receiving millions of views on YouTube and going platinum in Canada and Australia. The brothers continued to create music (and go to school; the eldest was only in his early twenties at this time), releasing another single and EP titled Infinity in 2014. The majority of the band’s music was pop songs, easy to listen to with familiar rhythms and lyrics of love and youth. Remarkably, the boys chose to mix and record all their own music in their NYC apartment living room, instead of paying for studio time. Paying homage to their workspace and independence, the band released their first album Living Room in 2015. Except for some bouncier, odd-duck tracks like “Big Idea” and “Thirsty,” most of the songs fit the same earlier patterns of the pop genre. However, in 2016, the band experienced the shift that would change their music career forever.

Before the What Everyone’s Thinking EP came out, AJR had little recognition beyond their break-out hit. However, the tracks on the latest EP sounded entirely evolved from the brother’s previous style. The lyrics were brimmed with honesty, abandoning the emptiness of many other pop tunes. The boys sang about missing out on their friends while pursuing their dreams, about being unsure about what love means, about not trying so hard to be cool, about being human. Their style of composition had also matured. The band would release videos on how they made their songs, revealing that they took whatever strange sound they could make and mix it however they could to make it new and interesting. They had people who were not musicians or artists, such as their ever supportive father, come in and sing to add a new dimension to their songs. They used something they called “spokestep,” a technique of recording a someone singing, then cutting it up over a beat in editing. They continued to utilize sampling, taking bits of anything from Fountains of Wayne to yodeling competitions. The EP was well-received with hundreds of messages from fans who deeply related to the music. This was all the push the brothers needed to keep writing freely, and not what they thought would sell.

On June 9th, 2017, the three brothers dropped the album that would unknowingly launch their music career to a unimaginable level. Several songs on the album made it to regular radio play, giving the band more recognition and growing their dedicated fan base. The Click clearly communicated AJR’s desire to get real in their music, with songs about the detached feelings of growing up or distaste toward the typical party scene. One of their most successful songs, “Sober Up,” featured Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and paved the way for more collaborations with artists such as Steve Aoki and Lil Yachty. The band had been on tours before, playing small venues where the opener drew more fans than they, but now they began to sell out everywhere. The kids who had been playing to no one on street corners now began to sing for thousands.

Shortly after their album The Click debuted, AJR announced that they had been asked to create the theme for Supersize Me 2: Holy Chicken, a documentary attempting to expose the fast food industry’s lax safety regulations. The band had been asked to write for other people before, but never for a movie. The theme song, “Burn the House Down,” would live to surpass its original purpose and become the honest encapsulation of the political attitudes of its time. “Burn the House Down” expresses the band’s indecision to either “keep things light” or to get involved in important issues. The song, with compelling lyrics such as “Or should I march with every stranger from Twitter to get shit done? / Used to hang my head low / Now I hear it loud / Every stranger from Twitter is gonna burn this down” further cemented the band’s dedication to revolution and their abandonment of passivity. The song called out deception plaguing the media cycle and public affairs, and the need to burn it all down in order to expose the truth.

*   *   *

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 acted as a catalyst for various protest movements around the country. Marches have occurred on the White House doorstep since the signing of the Constitution, but the Trump administration triggered a marked influx. Beyond Washington, protests like the Women’s March and National Pride March were seen nation-wide. People from all over rallied together to advocate for science and evidenced-based policies, for immigrant’s rights and racial justice, for transparency over Russian involvement in elections, and even for the publication of Trump’s tax returns. People, especially those liberal-leaning, felt that their voices weren’t being heard and that the President was not reflective of their values. Change in politics is gradual and incremental, but it felt like everyday a new injustice was being thrown at the American people. Families were being separated at the border, more evidence that Russia swayed the 2016 election came to light, allegations of sexual abuse from the President were revealed, racism, sexism, and hate seem to run rampant and unchecked, and overall many people felt disheartened and disgusted with the state of the nation. So, with the power of social media, users of popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter planned protests. The marches drew thousands of people together, uniting many for a common cause. Today’s youth, often labeled as lazy and entitled, came together in the March for Our Lives, an empowering result from one of many tragic school shootings. High-schoolers fed up with feeling unsafe on their campuses advocated for stricter gun control laws and led the biggest youth rally since the Vietnam War, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people. Americans refused to take anything sitting down and demonstrated their needs loudly to those in charge.

The effectiveness of these protests is a tricky one to determine, as many perceived different goals for the marches. Some believe getting people out on the streets and building a community of like-minded people is a strong start, but others think success is nothing less than immediate change and tangible evidence that they have been heard. Further, some argue that current protests lack the solid political backing that are required to enact true change, and that the marches will never be as powerful as they mean to be without that factor. However, even though many of the things modern protests have demanded have yet to come to fruition, it does not necessarily mean the marches have been for naught. Many of the marches throughout history that today are viewed as world-shattering did not see the change they were fighting for immediately. Politics take time, and the justice and change in policies the people demand to see might still be a long time coming. However, it is necessary to take up the fight, for the people to demonstrate that enough is enough.

Protest songs in the past like “Fortunate Son” by Credence Clearwater Revival or “The Times They are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan rallied people for their cause, stoking the flames of change in hearts across the nation. Music was a way for artists to contribute to the fight, giving a voice to those silenced and reflecting the opinions of the oppressed or wronged. Protest songs today have the same effect, uniting thousands to sing in one voice and empowering movements. “Burn the House Down” provides a battlecry for a whole new generation of people. It is a warning of accountability for those in the corrupt establishment; the harbingers will burn it down.

Works Cited “Burn the House Down” Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnyLfqpyi94 AJR Zach Sang Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQnXGsKwaIU&t=1725 Recent Marches Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rallies_and_protest_marches_in_Washington,_D.C.#2018 Supersize Me 2 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me_2:_Holy_Chicken! Article on political protests, bustle.com: https://www.bustle.com/p/do-political-protests-actually-change-anything-29952 2006 NYC Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2006_in_New_York_City AJR Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJR_(band) One of AJR’s “How We Made THE CLICK” Vidoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YWj3DAo6xM  ∎

I wave at absolutely everyone, have for a long time. I remember my friend once asked me why I did this, and we joked that it was a secret ploy to mess with people, that I wanted people to question if they had met me before. But there is no trick, no selfish intent, and in time I came to realize why I wave: it is a show of empathy. In fact, the majority of my daily interactions with other people are related to empathy in some way: my smiles, greetings, and hugs are all underlined by a feeling of empathy. I say it is empathy because performing such acts helps me connect to other people and show them goodwill.

By now, many of us, myself included, are asking what empathy is. While we would all agree that it is beneficial to ourselves and society, most of us would likely be at a loss for words trying to define it. And that is not a bad thing. Scientists, philosophers, and researchers have been trying to define empathy with words for years, and its true definition is still hotly debated. Many people want the universality of language to mold empathy into a recognizable whole. That is a valid desire, as a consistent definition would allow humans to understand and develop empathy more readily. For example, S. Natale, a researcher of empathy, presents his research toward establishing a method of teaching empathy to the general public in An Experiment in Empathy. He writes that “members of the general public were found to be functioning midway between levels one and two on a five-point scale of empathy” (15). This extreme lack of empathy drives Natale to perform an experiment in developing empathy. However, before he displays his research, Natale explicitly outlines the specific definition and parameters of empathy used in the experiment. Because of the nature of science as a consistent and repeatable process, he must use a single definition. In this way, a universal empathy is much more open to proper study and debate. Ezra Stotland and his colleagues likewise base their research in measuring empathy in Empathy, Fantasy and Helping on a single definition. They also express that “[t]he meaning and measurement of emotion is crucial” (12) in regards to said definition. In other words, they must always measure and define emotions and empathy consistently throughout the experiment.

While Natale and Stotland both follow the principle of carefully keeping to one definition, their empathies are not quite the same. For instance, Natale’s first phase of empathy involves “the ability to sense the emotions of another person” (16), while Stotland’s definition includes the “observer reacting emotionally” (12) to another’s emotions.  To sense and to react, while related, are two separate actions. “Sense” does not imply that the person reacts—visibly or internally—to said sensation, while “react” does. Moreover, Natale splits empathy into three distinct phases, while Stotland relies on a single, more broad definition. It is difficult to judge the quality of both definitions, but the fact remains that despite their differences, they are both employed in important research and experiments. And both sets of research aim to expand our understanding of empathy. If their definitions were one and the same, such discrepancies would not exist.

Or would they? Natale uses his definition to learn how to teach empathy, while Stotland uses his to develop a method of quantifying empathy. Even if the definition of empathy was the same for both, their goals are a guiding factor in how they gather and interpret their data. Furthermore, Natale and Stotland are different people with different experiences, so this same definition would most certainly have a different meaning to each of them. And they would likely describe this underlying meaning with different words as well.

Many other concepts have been referred to as ‘empathy’ before. Daniel Batson, in his essay “These Things Called Empathy: Eight Related but Distinct Phenomena,” compiles a helpful list and analyses of several of these concepts. He explains that such a comparison helps “reduce confusion by recognizing complexity” (8). Essentially, if we are to discuss empathy, we need to disentangle the various concepts we call “empathy” from each other. He also claims that the term empathy is applied to a multitude of concepts in our attempts to answer two fundamental questions: “How can one know what another person is thinking and feeling? What leads one person to respond with sensitivity and care to the suffering of another?” (Batson 3) Batson’s reasoning regarding these questions is valid, as humans have always been interesting in the inner workings of their minds and those of others. What Batson does not mention is that these questions, lingering in the back of humanity’s collective mind for decades, are a cause of our difficulty in creating a universal empathy because they have ambiguous answers. Uncertain questions are subjective; uncertain answers are subjective. And subjectivity means many interpretations, as seen in the comparison of Natale’s and Stotland’s works. But, most importantly, subjectivity inhibits the concept of a fully objective definition of empathy.

Some have embraced this subjectivity. Leslie Jamison, for example, in her book The Empathy Exams, presents several scenarios involving empathy in both her fictitious medical patient lives and her real one. But ultimately, her stories do not culminate in one overarching meaning of empathy, nor does she intend them to. Instead, she interprets empathy based on her own feelings or the backgrounds of her patient roles. It changes depending on the scenario given. Her first interpretation of empathy emphasizes this fluidity: “empathy requires inquiry as much as imagination [and] means acknowledging a horizon of context… beyond what you can see” (5). Jamison believes that empathy is not a fixed, quantifiable object of our psyche, but rather a dynamic body that relies on both context and imagination, two variable attributes of any interaction. And Jamison is right to accept empathy’s changeable nature, because context and imagination are rarely neutral variables. Context is the setting in which events present themselves to someone. While it can be objective in the sense of foundational facts or clear societal labels, context often involves the personal and internal perceptions and reactions of those involved, which are not objective. Imagination is likewise a highly individualized notion that, given no bounds, can go almost anywhere. If we are to rely on context and imagination to be empathetic, then subjectivity will invariably dominate such interactions. And if this is the case, objectively defining empathy may very well be impossible.

Many would argue that the act of putting empathy into words means making it objective, but I would disagree. We may speak the same language, but it is not right to say that we interpret this language rigidly or equally. English has many words that, from an objective point of view, have the same meaning but, in practice, have differing meanings because of context. Context makes words and ideas subjective because the same situation, the same words, are colored with a different coat of paint each time they are utilized, and each time they are experienced. As appealing as this diversity may seem, there are inevitable issues involved with such fluidity. Friedrich Nietzsche recognizes these problems in his essay “On Truth and Lies in an Extra-Moral Sense.” His essay overall concerns the underlying subjectivity of human languages, but in one paragraph he directs his criticism at “the formation of concepts” (Nietzsche 61). He claims that the terms we use for abstract concepts are supposed to “fit innumerable, more or less similar cases… in other words, a lot of unequal cases” (61). Essentially, he means that these terms are meant to characterize a whole concept, and yet are built up from wholly different and unequal examples. He further adds that such language practices undermine a concept’s true meaning because the definition of it that is given is unclear.

Empathy is much the same as the terms described by Nietzsche: a word that is required to describe many situations that ultimately have many differences. As it stands, empathy is now considered by many to be an ‘umbrella’ term. It is used to classify many smaller, more particular terms, but it itself is vague and generalized. Jamison’s example as a medical actor reflects this when she acknowledges the evaluation “checklist item 31” (3), which is “‘Voiced empathy for my situation/problem’” (3). She points out that since the item is ultimately about “say[ing] the right words” (Jamison 3), many of the students use vague and rigid phrases such as “that must be really hard” in response to what would be overwhelming and stressful circumstances. Jamison’s example shows that, in this case, the usage of the term empathy is a problem. Empathy today has become such a broad concept that when confronted with it on a test, many students are unable to decide what it means, and instead use vague phrases in the hope that they will work. This is not empathy’s fault, as its broadness is the result of the subjectivity we apply to it every day. Empathy is waving at someone; now, it is holding the door for someone; now, it is saying a greeting; now, it is buying your hungry friend food; now, it is a compliment. These may seem like similar actions, and some of them are, but they are still different actions with different contexts, connotations, and outcomes. And more than that, these same actions are performed by a multitude of unique and personalized individuals every day. Even if two actions seem in every sense identical, they are still performed by different people. As a result, subjective empathy is as hard to comprehend as objective empathy.

If empathy cannot be one or the other, what if it is both? In our need to classify empathy so precisely, we have overlooked another option: empathy as a concept both subjective and objective. And such a thing is not impossible if we consider empathy on a personal level. Something personal is unique to a person, so subjectivity is present, but opinions and preferences are not solely based on a person’s feelings. A person is free to define empathy in their own terms, but that person likely does not derive such terms solely from internal forces. These terms also come from the people around a person, commonly held assumptions in society, and, in some cases, facts. Objectivity is present as well, albeit in smaller doses.

I do not mean to say, in my consideration of personal empathy, that humans cannot have a standard concept of empathy. Without such standard, we cannot teach new generations this vital skill and quality. It would even be a great notion to agree on a loose definition; but to confine this concept to narrow-minded and overly specific terms is to push away the understanding of our fellow man, for their empathy, however different, will always be empathy. Nevertheless, a definition that is too loose will grow to mean nothing, replaced by more specific and specialized terms. A balance is most certainly needed, and personal empathy is simply one way to achieve it.

Empathy is a strange concept. Sharing in the feelings of others? Feeling how others feel? Acting on such perceptions? It is a complicated puzzle of feelings, actions, and reactions that, even as science continues to advance, has never quite been solved. It is difficult to treat empathy as a neutral concept because of the varying ways in which it is defined and expressed. But if empathy is purely individualized, then it cannot be defined at all. We have all known about empathy since we were young children, but many of us have brushed it off as something we know and recognize, despite our inability to voice its meaning. But that inability should be an advantage, as it is exactly what gives empathy its flexibility. Because we cannot utter the definition, we simply show empathy, and see it, and react on it instead. We hug, we cry, we laugh, we thank, and we wave. And that is the beauty of empathy. It is not locked behind words with no meaning, or a door that cannot be opened—we have already found it. I have found that I wave because there are so many overwhelming days where that is all I can manage. So many days where I simply have too much to think about to do anything else. That is my flexible empathy at work. I show empathy in other ways, of course, but at my core, empathy, to me, is acknowledging other people, showing that I am thinking about them somehow, even if it is only through a hand gesture. This, too, may change with time. But that is me. And you are you. Your own brand of empathy, regardless of others, deserves to be seen. The world, now more than ever, is in desperate need of empathy. Rather than debate its meaning or judge others based on it, we should be showing it instead. So, show your empathy; the world will thank you for it. 

Works Cited Batson, C. Daniel. “These Things Called Empathy: Eight Related but Distinct Phenomena.” The Social Neuroscience of Empathy, edited by Jean Decety and William Ickes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2009 Jamison, Leslie. The Empathy Exams: Essays. Graywolf Press, 2014 Natale, S. An Experiment in Empathy. National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales, 1972. Nietzsche, Friedrich. “On Truth and Lies in an Extra-Moral Sense.” Oregon State U, oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Nietzsche/Truth_and_Lie_in_an_Extra-Moral_Sense. Stotland, Ezra, et al. Empathy, Fantasy and Helping. Sage Library of Social Research, vol. 65, Sage Publications, Inc., 1978. ∎

“Joshua” is an original song, recorded a cappella. More music like this can be found at https://soundcloud.com/thejarreau. ∎

“Leaves” is an original song for voice and three basses. More music like this can be found at https://www.facebook.com/AlisonBancheroOfficial and through https://www.instagram.com/alisonbanchero/. ∎

On July 19, 2019, at Paradise Cove on the Island of Oʻahu in the state of Hawaiʻi, Nanea, a Hawaiian monk seal was born. Nanea was monitored during her first six-weeks of life by Hawaiʻi Marine Animal Response (HMAR) and NOAA Fisheries to make sure she stayed healthy and matured properly while nursing. After this six-week period, HMAR’s main concern for Nanea was letting her have the opportunity to interact with other monk seals during this essential time in her development. After much consideration, HMAR and NOAA Fisheries decided to relocate her to the North Shore of  Oʻahu so she could grow up with other wild monk seals—with less human disturbance. Nanea’s relocation went smoothly, as NOAA fisheries had no concerns about her behavior or overall health. HMAR and NOAA Fisheries continued to closely monitor her for the next four weeks to make sure she adjusted to her new environment. She was doing amazing. Nanea was seen frequently socializing and playing with other seals, which proved her relocation was incredibly successful as she remained healthy.(Fisheries)

However, after two months of life, all hopes for Nanea’s future were shattered. On

September 24, 2019, Nanea was discovered dead on the North Shore of Oʻahu. HMAR and NOAA Fisheries “determined that the circumstances surrounding her death indicated that she did not die of natural causes.”(Fisheries) Since the overall population of Hawaiian monk seals in the main

Hawaiian Islands is only around 300 total, the news of Nanea’s death was heartbreaking.(Fisheries) Hawaiian monk seals, also known as Monachus schauinslandi​​, are the only marine mammal found solely in United States waters. This, along with being one of the two mammals native to the Hawaiian Islands, makes the Hawaiian monk seal an interesting and important animal to protect. Although Hawaiian monk seals were declared endangered in 1976, according to NOAA fisheries the Hawaiian monk seal population grew by “three percent each year between 2014 and 2016”.(Brown) This shows that with enough care and consideration, humans can help protect and promote the increase of the Hawaiian monk seal population. Supporting the population growth of these marine mammals can be maximized by continuing to ensure they have safe places to breed and reproduce in the Hawaiian Archipelago, as well as focusing on preventing human-caused deaths of Hawaiian monk seals. Minimizing all sources of monk seal mortality will help to create more favorable conditions for this species to thrive.  

To know how to best protect Hawaiian monk seals, it is important to first understand the anatomical features of these animals. Hawaiian monk seals grow to be about six to seven feet long and weigh between four- and six-hundred pounds, with female seals tending to be larger than males. Hawaiian monk seals can live for more than thirty years in the wild, but few live that long due to the wide variety of threats they face every day. These animals enjoy warm subtropical waters and, surprisingly, spend two thirds of their life out at sea as they can be found “throughout the entire Hawaiian archipelago a distance of 1,549 miles from Kure Atoll in the northwest to Hawai’i Island in the southeast.”(Fisheries)

Furthermore, Hawaiian monk seals have a very distinctive look: when seal pups are born, they are black, “while weaned pups and older seals are dark gray to brown on their back and light gray to yellowish brown on their belly.”(Fisheries) Hawaiian monk seals also have funny-looking folds of skin around their neck area. According to National Geographic, the monk seal is named after these folds of skin that resemble a monk's cowl, and also because they are normally seen alone or in small groups.(Brown)These seals go through a "catastrophic molt" about once per year.

During this molt, they shed the top layer of their skin and fur. Even with these yearly molts, Hawaiian monk seals still have distinct natural markings, such as scars, which help researchers identify them. In addition to natural markings, NOAA Fisheries personnel apply tracking tags to monk seals’ rear flippers. The combination of natural markings and tracking tags allows for long-term monitoring of individual monk seals.

Despite the fact that little is known about the ancient history of Hawaiian monk seals, according to Culture, Conservation, and Conflict: Assessing the Human Dimensions of Hawaiian​ Monk Seal Recovery​, the Hawaiian monk seal is estimated to have occupied  the Hawaiian Archipelago for fourteen million years. This has given this species time to adapt to all of the geological changes the Hawaiian Archipelago has undergone. Humans, on the other hand, have been estimated to have inhabited Hawaii since 1250-1290 AD. This makes humans relatively new additions to the islands when compared to Hawaiian monk seals. The oldest information on Hawaiian monk seals dates back to the prehistoric period, but relatively little is known about the importance of these animals at this time. Based on examinations of archaeological deposits, it is believed that ancient Polynesian societies, which inhabited Hawaii during the prehistoric period, did consume Hawaiian monk seals in small amounts. This suggests that although this species is believed to have an unknown use, they were still had some use in ancient Polynesian societies.(Fisheries)

In addition to calling Hawaii home for an estimated fourteen million years, the Hawaiian monk seal has had an interesting role in Hawaiian culture. Ancient Hawaiian societies pass their information down through Mo‘olelo—oral stories told by the Kūpuna—community elders. This has made it difficult for researchers to find an exact use of the Hawaiian monk seal in Hawaiian culture. Researchers have found, however, that there are many terms that are used to describe

Hawaiian monk seals in Hawaiian culture, depending on the geographical location of the society. The first term, ‘īlioholoikauaua, is the most common term for the Hawaiian monk seal and translates as “dog that runs in rough water.”(Watson) The second term, nā mea hulu, meaning “the furry ones,” has also been used when referring to the monk seal species. The last term, ōhūlu, means “a seal hunter” and was used very rarely. The importance of these terms is still being researched, but as of now, the presence of multiple terms to describe this species suggests that the Hawaiian monk seal has had an interesting role in Hawaiian culture.(Watson)

Moreover, as researchers move past studying the prehistoric period, and move into the historic and modern periods, knowledge about Hawaiian monk seals begins to grow. In the early 1800’s, the first whalers began arriving in Hawaii, and by the 1840’s and 50’s, major sealing expeditions had begun in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. During these expeditions, thousands of Hawaiian monk seals were killed for their fur and oil. After the sealing voyages of the nineteenth century, only a few Hawaiian monk seals had survived. An example of the depleted population of Hawaiian monk seals can be seen in  the before and after images from the Saginaw, sealing expedition in 1870, around Midway Islands.(McClenchan) The top image in Figure One, although faded, shows the presence of many Hawaiian monk seals on Midway Islands when the sealing expedition began, whereas the bottom image shows the absence of Hawaiian monk seals when the sealing expedition ended.(McClenchan) The sealing voyages of the nineteenth century left the Hawaiian monk seal population throughout the archipelago depleted and with minimal genetic diversity: the species was near extinction.(Watson)

In the decades to come, sealing voyages moved away from Hawaii as the Hawaiian monk seal population was almost completely extinct. By the 1900s, all focus had moved away from Hawaiian monk seals and their population actually began to rise again. In the 1950’s the focus on these animals began to grow, and by 1976 the Hawaiian monk seal was officially declared an endangered species. The declaration of endangerment was a huge step for this species as conservation efforts could  begin.(Lowry) As of now, the Hawaiian monk seal population in the Hawaiian Archipelago is still only around fourteen hundred seals total. This population size makes these seals one of the most endangered species in the world. Although this species is protected under federal law, there are still many threats that impact these seals on a day-to-day basis. For the purposes of this essay, the threats are grouped into two main categories: environmental dangers and human-caused threats.  

The first environmental threat to Hawaiian monk seal populations is disease. These seals lack the antibodies that could protect them from particular diseases resulting in Hawiian monk seals being extremely vulnerable to potential infection. The main diseases that affect these seals are found on the shores of many beaches in Hawaii: leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and West Nile virus. According to NOAA Fisheries, “Since 2001, there have been a minimum of eight monk seal deaths from toxoplasmosis in the Hawaiian Islands, with at least three deaths occurring since 2014.”(Fisheries) This number is most likely an underestimate of the real cases of the disease and its effect on the population. The second and third threats go hand-in-hand as they are food limitation and habitat loss.(United States) The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are greatly impacted by sea level rise, as most of the NWHI are low-lying atolls. These areas happen to be the primary pupping locations for the Hawaiian monk seals, which has had a negative effect on pups, as they have to find other areas to survive. With these pups having to find new places to live, the areas that have food are limited, which in turn has left juvenile seals starving and is the driving factor for population decline in the NWHI.(United States) These components are not the only environmental threats to the Hawaiian monk seal population; they are simply the most relevant and detrimental to the overall population.

In addition to the three environmental threats listed above, this essay will focus on the four main human-caused threats. The first threat is fishery interactions. Since the 1990’s, fishery management has been able to eliminate interactions with monk seals, but due to fishermen and Hawaiian monk seals sharing the same environment, there have been many negative interactions.(Fisheries) According to NOAA Fisheries, “Between 1976 and 2016, there have been 155 documented hookings and entanglements in gill nets, which resulted in 12 monk seal deaths.” This shows that even with fishermen being cautious, Hawaiian monk seals are still going to be affected by fisheries. The second human-caused threat goes along with the first: entanglement. Hawaiian monk seals are greatly affected by marine pollution and have one of the “highest documented entanglement rates of any pinniped species, and pups and juveniles are the most often entangled.”(Fisheries) Since these animals have had such a hard time with marine pollution in the NWHI, NOAA has teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard to clean over “800 metric tons of debris in the NWHI since 1996….”(Fisheries) Although these centers are trying to prevent seal entanglement, marine pollution is still a growing problem across the Hawaiian Archipelago.  

The last two human-caused threats are the worst, yet also the most preventable. They include human-seal interactions and intentional seal killing by humans. Human-seal interaction includes feeding, disturbing sleeping and resting seals, touching, and even swimming with juvenile seals. Although all of these things are illegal, as these seals are protected under federal law, these threats have become a serious issue across the main Hawaiian island chain.

Along with human interactions is intentional killing of Hawaiian monk seals. This threat to the Hawaiian monk seal is an extreme human impact and although it may be thought of as one of the least common threats, it is sadly not: “As of June 2017, at least four seals have died from apparent gunshots (including one pregnant female) and five from blunt force trauma.”(Fisheries) This indicates that Hawaiian monk seals, while protected by federal law, are somehow not fully protected from human interactions.(United States) 

With all of these threats in mind, it is hard to believe that this species is still surviving. Luckily, since they was declared endangered, plenty of research has gone into protecting the Hawaiian monk seal population. There are four main elements scientists are focusing on to promote the conservation of this species. These elements include improving the survival rate of female monk seals in the NWHI, maintaining extensive field presence during breeding season in the NWHI, ensuring the natural growth of these seals in the main Hawaiian islands by reducing all environmental and human-caused threats, and reducing the probability of new infectious diseases coming in contact with the Hawaiian monk seal population.(United States) To determine what techniques would work best to protect and research these animals, researchers have tried many different techniques, some of which have not worked out well.  

In 1982, during a study on Hawaiian monk seal populations on Lisianski island, researchers wanted to have a way to count the amount of seals on the island. In order to do so, these researchers would mark the resting seals with commercial bleach. This technique, although thought to work at the time, did not promote a healthy environment for the seals.(Stone) Since this research in 1982, technology has come a long way, and now, Hawaiian monk seals are marked with chips so that they can be tracked by NOAA Fisheries. This technique allows NOAA to determine how far these seals travel as well as if they emerge on a populated beach. This helps NOAA and other organizations focused on the protection of these animals to display signs warning beachgoers that these seals are endangered and federally protected.(United States)

Although NOAA and other organizations focus particularly on protecting these seals, everyday beachgoers can also help promote the conservation of the Hawaiian monk seal population. There are four main things that residents of Hawaii and tourists of the Hawaiian Islands should focus on: obeying posted signs regarding Hawaiian monk seal protection, becoming informed about these seals endangerment, standing up when they see people harming these animals, and helping clean marine debris when the opportunity arises. If all beachgoers could follow these four tips, the Hawaiian monk seal population would have a better chance of emerging from the endangered species list.

Although some believe the Hawaiian monk seal is not an essential species to protect, this unique creature is an essential part of the rich and diverse marine life of Hawaii. If the Hawaiian monk seal were to disappear from the ecosystem completely, it would offset many other species’ population sizes. As it was shown so well in The biggest Little Farm ​documentary, everything in nature is connected.(Chester) It is essential to have a diverse set of species in an ecosystem. I personally believe that the Hawiian monk seal is a ecologically important and beautiful species, and it definitely deserves our protection. Being a Hawaii resident for my entire life, I have seen many Hawaiian monk seals and can speak to their beauty and importance; although the population is declining, these animals have an important part to play in the marine life ecosystem of Hawaii. I hope that one day these species are removed from the endangered species act, but to make that happen there is still a lot of work to do.  

Nanea’s story inspired me to look into a species that I have often looked past because they are not one of the most picturesque species of Hawaii. However, since I have begun my research on this species, I have read three other articles of Hawaiian monk seal pups dying. This news has saddened me, as I now know that there are only 1,400 of these seals left in the world. At the same time, these sad news articles have also inspired me to not only learn more about this species, but also to do what I can to protect them. In my research, I have found how incredibly resilient this species can be. They have inhabited the Hawaiian Archipelago for an estimated fourteen million years. They have survived geographical changes, losing parts of their environment, sealing voyages, and even present day, human-caused threats. The Hawaiian monk seal is an incredible, adaptive species and if we all do our part to protect them, we may be able to bring their population back from the brink of extinction.  

Works Cited  ~Brown, Eric, Guy Hughes, Randall Watanuki, Thea C. Johanos, and Tracy Wurth. "The Emergence of an Important Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus Schauinslandi) Pupping Area at Kalaupapa, Moloka'i, in the Main Hawaiian Islands." Aquatic Mammals 37, no. 3 (2011): 319-25. ~Chester, John and Molly Chester. The Biggest Little Farm​ ​. Universal Studios Canada, 2019. ~Fisheries, NOAA. “Death of Young Hawaiian Monk Seal RL44/Nanea | NOAA Fisheries,” October 8, 2019, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/death-young-hawaiian-monk-seal-rl44-nane a. ~Fisheries, NOAA. “Hawaiian Monk Seal | NOAA Fisheries,” Accessed September 23, 2019, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/hawaiian-monk-seal. ~“Hawaiian Monk Seal.” National Wildlife Federation. Accessed October 11, 2019, https://www.nwf.org/Home/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Hawaiian-Monk-Seal. ~“Hawaiian Monk Seal | National Geographic.” Accessed October 11, 2019, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/h/hawaiian-monk-seal/. ~Lowry, Lloyd F., David W. Laist, William G. Gilmartin, and George A. Antonelis. "Recovery of the Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus Schauinslandi): A Review of Conservation Efforts, 1972 to 2010, and Thoughts for the Future." Aquatic Mammals 37, no. 3 (2011): 397-419. ~McClenachan, Loren. “Historical Ecology of the Hawaiian Monk Seal:Summary of Historical Data Available to Estimate Historical Population Size.” Scripps Institution of Oceanography:2-3. ~Southwest Fisheries Science Center (U.S.). Honolulu Laboratory, issuing body, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (U.S.). Protected Species Division. issuing body, issuing body ~Southwest Fisheries Science Center (U.S.). Honolulu Laboratory, and Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (U.S.). ~Stone, H. Sheridan. Hawaiian Monk Seal Population Research, Lisianski Island, 1982​ ​. NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFC 47. Honolulu, Hawaii: USDeptof Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Center, 1984. http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo1553​ 4. ~United States. Marine Mammal Commission. The Biological Viability of the Most Endangered​ Marine Mammals and the Cost-Effectiveness of Protection Programs: A Report to Congress from the Marine Mammal Commission.​ Bethesda, Md.]: Marine Mammal Commission, 2008. http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS9267​ 8. ~United States. National Marine Fisheries Service. Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian Monk Seal​   (Monachus Schauinslandi): Revision​. 2nd rev. ed. Silver Spring, Md.]: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2007, http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS100989.​   ~Watson, Tk, Jn Kittinger, Js Walters, and Td Schofield. “Culture, Conservation, and Conflict: Assessing the Human Dimensions of Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery.” Aquatic Mammals​, 37, no. 3 (n.d.): 386–396. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.37.3.2011.38​ 6. ∎

Part I: The Tesla Titan

“Tesla Titan, he’s a hero! Gonna bring emissions down to zero!” Now that may be a clear rip off of the classic Captain Planet theme song, but the Tesla Titan deserves the same recognition as the beloved pollution fighter. The Tesla Titan is not only stopping the crimes of fossil fuel overconsumption and outdated automobiles, but also making space travel less environmentally destructive. Reusable rockets have decreased cost and waste by a big margin. He has also promised that moving to Mars in the future is possible. Though he wouldn’t be able to do all of these amazing feats if it weren’t for his infinitely smart Artificial Intelligence by the name of OpenAI (needs a better nickname). It is said that Tony Stark himself went to the Tesla Titan for pointers on how to be a world-saving superhero. The Tesla Titan keeps giving more and more to our wonderful planet; he is a true hero and spectacle.  

His only flaw would be that he hasn't done a good job at keeping his identity hidden. Just about anyone with a WiFi connection knows the Tesla Titan’s real name which of course is Elon Musk. Musk is one of the richest people on the planet, and he has been doing his best to use it for good! The Tesla Titan’s Origin Story begins in the country of South Africa, where he began toying using computers at a young age. At the young age of twelve he sold a video game he had developed to a magazine company. It was a space-themed “shoot-em-up” called Blastar, and it made the future billionaire a cool 500 dollars. You can actually play it in your browser now with a little digging.

At the age of seventeen, while continuing to get more adept with computers, Musk decided to get a Canadian passport. His reasons were based around not wanting to support apartheid—a segregation order in South Africa—with military service as well as chasing better economic opportunities in North America. He first attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, but then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where he earned two bachelor’s degrees. From there, Musk went to Stanford for graduate school, quitting after a mere two days. He thought that the future was with the internet, and he was correct; in a relatively short amount of time, Musk sold his first online company, Zip2, for 309 million dollars (Gregersen).  

Elon Musk, aka the Tesla Titan, has become a dominant figure in the tech industry over the past decade, and for good reason, too. He has brought about paradigm shifts in many different fields with relative ease. This is a result of his influence that he has gained over the years. He has the capability to alter public thinking quicker than it would otherwise change. A paradigm shift is comparable to a scientific revolution, something that generally requires a lot of marketing, money, and, usually, time. Throughout this essay I will compare his ability to sell products to the abilities of the Marvel character Tony Stark, aka, Ironman. Both have helped invent and create amazing pieces of technology. They also have much success selling these technologies, and the similarities go on and on.  

The Tesla Titan gets his name after the electric car company he co-founded and where he continues to hold the title of CEO. The car company was founded in 2003 with the idea of fun-to-drive electric vehicles in mind. They launched their first full electric vehicle in 2008, named the Tesla Roadster. The Model S was launched in 2012, becoming the best in its class in every category. The company has released many more vehicles over the years, and just last year, it announced the Cybertruck, which currently has over 650,000 orders. Tesla is also close to releasing a self-driving semi-truck, which promises a 500-mile range on a full charge. From Tesla’s beginning right up to today, “Elon leads all product design, engineering and global manufacturing of the company's  electric vehicles, battery products and solar energy products” (Tesla).  

Recently, Tesla became the highest valued car company in the world, reaching an estimated $208 billion value in July of 2020. It is now being valued at $387 billion by Yahoo Finance today, with the possibility of another jump in value after it was announced that Tesla is joining the S&P 500. In its seventeen-year lifetime, Tesla became the forefront of electric vehicles, and it has reached farther than any other car brand before it.  

Although Tony Stark never released his own brand of vehicles, he is known to be the owner of many expensive sports cars. He also created the Model 52 Iron Man Armor, which could fully transform into a flying car, equipped with two circular jets on the bottom to keep it off the ground. So there’s some comparisons to be made between these two men. In the movie, Spiderman: Homecoming, a Stark Cargo Plane is robbed. Where this might not be the best example of its abilities, it still has the capability to cloak itself and stay off radar. So they both have their experience in transporting goods.  

The Tesla Titan’s highest reaching feat is SpaceX, which he founded just a year before Tesla. SpaceX has also reached the forefront in its field of sending rockets to space and, now, landing them back on earth. Falcon 9 was the first ever successful landing of an orbital rocket booster back in 2015. Since then, there has been nowhere to go but up! Following the Falcon 9 was the Falcon Heavy in 2018 and then the revolutionary Super Heavy Starship System this year. The Starship System can carry a total of 220,000 pounds. It is designed to travel quickly to different cities around the globe. It doesn’t stop there, though; the System was also built with the idea of transporting supplies  and people to and from the Moon and Mars. It does all this at a fraction of the cost of SpaceX’s closest competitor, Boeing. SpaceX has even transported multiple astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) with its Dragon spacecraft (Gregersen). Just recently, four astronauts were successfully transported to the ISS in association with NASA (Wattles).  

A clear paradigm shift occurred when Falcon 9 became the first booster to land itself back on Earth. A mere thirteen years after its founding, the company managed to break a barrier no one had come near breaking before. The main thing that Tesla and SpaceX have in common is their fearless leader, The Tesla Titan. With the amount of success that Elon Musk has had over just the past two decades in these two fields, a connection has to be made with his influence. After so many successes, it would be hard for the world not to believe in his hero-like abilities being behind some of  today’s paradigm shifts.  

Connecting this to Tony Stark comes a little easier than comparing a single transforming car suit. Stark Industries has connections to the creation of the original Helicarrier that is used by the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. Tony proposed the original idea to S.H.I.E.L.D., and with the help of Dr. Reed Richards and the former Xman Forge, they were able to design and eventually build the aircraft. Not that readers are able to see much of it, but there has also been a mention of the Stark Industries Aerospace Division, which supposedly created the first spaceship capable of space travel. It was first brought up in Iron Man, Vol. 1, #60, back in 1973, but not much has been said about it since.  

Finally, the last evidence I will provide for The Tesla Titan’s ability to perform paradigm shifts in a single bound comes in the form of Open AI. He founded the company alongside Sam Altman and others with a beginning pledge of one billion dollars. Since its inception, the company has worked on many different AI-related projects, from a fully AI Dota 2 team that regularly beats the best of the best human teams, to slightly less impressive—when it comes to competitive gaming—but still impressive bipedal AI simulations that learned to sumo wrestle one another. Moreover, Open AI developed an AI-trained robot hand that can solve a Rubik’s Cube. Then there’s the music generating AI, Jukebox, that has its own Soundcloud. But maybe the most impressive use so far is GPT-3, a unique text-suggestion software that can gather data in split seconds and fill out a full Excel sheet with data after a simple topic search and a few button presses.

In 2018, Musk left the company’s board but still remains a donor. He left the company because of possible future contests between it and the AI that runs his Tesla vehicles’ self-driving. While he might not be with the company anymore, the amount the company accomplished while he was associated with it is still nothing to scoff at. This is another great example of how someone of his status and income can significantly increase the rate of technological progress.

These accomplishments provide the easiest area to find similarities between The Tesla Titan and Iron Man. Both have their hands in the super intelligent AI basket. Tony Stark, of course, has his AI-assistant Jarvis with him wherever he goes, whether it’s in a pair of super fancy Heads-Up Display Glasses, in his massive super smart home, or of course while he’s in his trademark Iron Man suits. Jarvis is used for instant information, hacking, and even controlling certain aspects of the various Iron Man armors.  

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jarvis ends up inhabiting a Vibranium-based body that eventually leads to him becoming Vision. The body was constructed under the instruction of another super AI, Ultron, who intended on using the body as his most powerful form yet. As some will know, Ultron turns out to be an evil Artificial Intelligence with the classic, “exterminate the human race” mindset. Thinking quickly, Stark puts Jarvis into the body so it cannot be inhabited by Ultron. Vision is “powered” by the Mind  Stone (one of the six world creating Infinity Stones) which gives Jarvis full sentience.

My claim earlier about Tony Stark going to Elon Musk for inspiration was not that far fetched. Robert Downey Jr. did in fact go to Musk for tips on how to play the super-rich, tech playboy that is Tony Stark. And this completely makes sense, as The Tesla Titan is very comparable to Marvel’s Iron Man. It is a good thing that The Tesla Titan is on the good side, as it would be quite dangerous if he suddenly turned evil. He would have all the money and equipment he could need to possibly take over the world…  

Part II: Neuralink The Nefarious  

Neuralink The Nefarious, comes from a different timeline than The Tesla Titan, a timeline where the man behind the mask chooses to use his influence for evil rather than good. Neuralink The Nefarious sees the world as being infected by the parasite that is the human race, and he plans to use whatever resources he has—and he has plenty of resources—to expel the Earth of its sickness. But he won’t stop there—why conquer one planet, when you can conquer two, plus a moon? He develops spaceships with the cover story of cheaper space travel and commercial use for everyone. Behind the scenes, though, he schemes in the shadows. Along with his plans for stealing worlds, he is developing his mode of extinction for the human race in the form of mind-altering brain implants, which he markets as a possible cure for previously incurable diseases. The idea of self enhancement can drive practically anyone to madness, and he feeds on that desire. The implants are said to also provide information to the user just by thinking. While he’s at it, he has also sold “Not Flamethrowers” to the general public, another tool in his master plan. Neuralink the Nefarious will stop at nothing to become the Earth’s one true owner.  

This section of the essay will go over how not only does Elon Musk have similarities to those of Superheros, but he is also very capable of becoming a super villain. I will also go over the idea that when paradigm shifts do happen so quickly because of his influence, Technological Disjunction is rarely part of the equation.  Technological Disjunction is what happens when society doesn’t fully agree with a new technology that is being developed. For example, the use of drones by the public—many people worried about personal privacy. This has led to many regulations, including the requirement that the operator have a license to fly their drone over another’s property. Without a lot of technological disjunction, products that maybe should not be put on the market become available. Throughout this portion of the essay, I will compare Musk’s projects to multiple villains spread across pop culture, comparing their views and evil plans with those of Neuralink the Nefarious.  

Once again, Neuralink the Nefarious gets his name after one of his evil companies. Elon Musk founded Neuralink in July 2016, with a goal of solving paralysis and improving the human being by tampering with neurons in the brain. The “link” will be implanted into the person’s head with very thin “neural threads” reading interactions between the neurons that are used for movement in the brain. Their plan is to begin by creating a wireless link between users’ brains and their mobile devices: “The Neuralink app would allow you to control your iOS device, keyboard and mouse directly  with the activity of your brain, just by thinking about it” (Neuralink). As Neuralink learns more from its different iterations, the ability to help those with paralysis and other disabilities comes next. Or so they say.  

I believe that Neuralink the Nefarious got this idea straight from the 2014 Action  Film Kingsman: The Secret Service. The film’s antagonist is Richmond Valentine, a rich tech mogul looking to provide the world with “Free Calls, Free Internet, For Everyone, Forever.” He does so by implanting a chip directly connected to the brain. Sound familiar? It is later revealed that Valentine had an ulterior motive with his fancy Wi-Fi chips; not only do the chips provide said services, but they can also be used to make everyone who has one go into a murderous rage. So he markets and sells the chips around the world, and most of the first world ends up with one within a matter of a few weeks. He then activates their murder function and anyone with a chip begins doing whatever they can to hurt and kill everyone around them. Then of course the protagonist saves the day, but that’s besides the point. The point is this: if Neuralink the Nefarious really is inspired by Valentine—or vice versa—who knows what else these “links” will do to us.

A few months after founding Neuralink, Musk founded the Boring Company whose primary goal is to devise and create new methods of transportation. They plan to market underground tubes made for getting places quicker. However, for this essay, I will be focusing on one of the Boring Company’s previous products: in 2018, The Boring Company sold “Not a Flamethrower” to anyone who had a 500 dollars to burn. The 20,000 units sold out, generating ten million dollars for the company. Selling items similar to a flamethrower to the public doesn’t sound safe, obviously, as there is always the distinct possibility of someone wielding one with evil intentions.

I was not able to find a villain that specifically sold flamethrowers to the public. However, there is Norman Osborn, a prominent figure in New York, who is the head of Oscorp, which is a leader in various technologies. Behind the scenes though, Norman is the Green Goblin, one of Spiderman’s oldest foes. After taking an intelligence- and strength-enhancing serum, Osborn ends up going insane, which spurs his liking of destruction. I wouldn’t put selling flamethrowers off the radar for Mr. Osborn, whatever it takes to drive the city to the ground. Neuralink the Nefarious was pretty unique with this one, selling flamethrowers to almost anybody is something not many super villains have thought of, perhaps making him more villainous than the most evil of super villains.

These two companies of his are prime examples of technological disjunction being forgotten. Through vigilant marketing, economic class, and a wide influence, Elon Musk and his reputation have survived, even thrived, where others would have found themselves in the proverbial doghouse. Of course there will always be articles about how what he is doing is wrong, but they haven’t been impactful enough to keep Musk from continuing his work. He has accomplished so much that it has become hard to stop his Neuralink the Nefarious side—if it exists.    

Conclusion

Whether we are in the Tesla-Titan or the Neuralink-the-Nefarious timeline, Elon Musk has made major strides in whatever line of work he steps into. His companies have accomplished more in under twenty years than many have accomplished in over 100. There are so many more examples from his life to support both sides of this  argument, but I ultimately align myself with the Tesla Titan, not only because he’s the good guy but because there is more evidence for Elon being “good” rather than “bad.” I appreciate his thoughts on renewable energy and his efforts to save the planet from climate change. While I was writing this, my dad sent me an article about the announcement of ZETA, a group of electric vehicle manufacturers, including Tesla, arguing for no more sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030, moving our world  closer to the electric vehicle paradigm.  

To reiterate, Elon Musk is in a special place in the science world. He is highly intelligent and very well known, giving him the power to trigger paradigm shifts in pretty much every industry he touches, which so far has been for the positive. But if he continues to avoid Technological Disjunction, he could potentially turn toward evil, which could negatively impact all of humanity. It’s the job of the public to keep figures like Musk in check, to make sure they remain the Tesla Titans rather than become Nefarious Neuralinks.

Works Cited ~Brockman, Greg. “OpenAI API.” OpenAI , OpenAI, 28 Sept. 2020,  openai.com/blog/openai-api/. ~CB Insights. “8 Industries Being Disrupted By Elon Musk And His Companies.” CB Insights Research , CB Insights, 21 Sept. 2020, www.cbinsights.com/research/report/elon-musk-companies-disruption/ ~Chandler, Simon. “Elon Musk Is 'Distracting Us' From Real Tech Issues, AI Figures Warn.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 May 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2020/05/18/elon-musk-is-damaging-te ch-and-the-tech-industry/?sh=6206e5e19b8d. ~“Elon Musk.” Tesla, Inc , www.tesla.com/elon-musk. ~Evannex. “A Transportation Paradigm Shift Is Coming Thanks To Tesla's Elon Musk.” InsideEVs , InsideEVs, 22 Feb. 2020, insideevs.com/news/400142/tesla-elon-musk-transportation-paradigm-shift ~Fandome Contributors. “Iron Man Armor Model 52.” Marvel Database , marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Iron_Man_Armor_Model_52. ~Fandome Contributors. “Norman Osborn (Earth-616).” Marvel Database , marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Norman_Osborn_(Earth-616). ~Fandome Contributors. “S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.” Marvel Database , marvel.fandom.com/wiki/S.H.I.E.L.D._Helicarrier. ~Fandome Contributors. “Stark Industries Aerospace Division/Appearances.” Marvel Database , marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Stark_Industries_Aerospace_Division/Ap pearances.  ~Gibbs, Samuel. “Elon Musk Sells All 20,000 Boring Company 'Flamethrowers'.”  The Guardian , Guardian News and Media, 1 Feb. 2018, www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/01/elon-musk-sells-out-boring-c ompany-flamethrowers-fire.  ~Gregersen, Erik. “Elon Musk.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 27 Aug. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Elon-Musk.  ~Hern, Alex. “Elon Musk: the Real-Life Iron Man.” The Guardian , Guardian News  and Media, 9 Feb. 2018, www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/09/elon-musk-the-real-life-iron- man. ~Klebnikov, Sergei. “Tesla Is Now The World's Most Valuable Car Company With A $208 Billion Valuation.” Forbes , Forbes Magazine, 1 July 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds- most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/?sh=6d99944f5334 ~Neuralink , neuralink.com/. ~“Not A Flamethrower.” The Boring Company,  www.boringcompany.com/not-a-flamethrower.  xxx Peterson, Andrea. Even Elon Musk Knows He's a Good Supervillain Candidate . 25  Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/04/17/even-elon-musk- knows-hes-a-good-supervillain-candidate/. ~“Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Valuation Measures & Financial Statistics.” Yahoo! Finance , Yahoo!, 18 Nov. 2020, finance.yahoo.com/quote/tsla/key-statistics/?guccounter=1. ~Vaughn, Matthew, et al. Kingsman: the Secret Service . 20th Century Fox, 2015. ~Wall, Mike. “Wow! SpaceX Lands Orbital Rocket Successfully in Historic First.” Space.com , Space, 22 Dec. 2015, www.space.com/31420-spacex-rocket-landing-success.html. ∎

Let's hope the water isn’t too choppy around the cape” an old man with olive skin and stark white hair turned to a young boy, “Listo?” He said. The gangly young boy ducked into the cabin of a small silver fishing boat as it taxied out of a marina. “Ready!” Smiled the boy. The engines kicked on and the small boat, probably ten meters from bow to stern, set off towards the mouth of the bay. They passed the rest of town along the coast, small brightly colored houses dotted the coast, and other, much larger boats, navigated near the harbor. The boat pushed past the town and other vessels until it was surrounded by pristine coastal forest to its sides and a view of the endless ocean in front. Wonderstruck The boy gazed out the windows at the expanding ocean, it was a dreary day. “The rain will slow down the wind, and hopefully make our ride a little smoother,” said the man. The boy nodded, “You think there will be more fish in the next bay over?” “Si” the man responded. It took the pair almost an hour to reach the mouth of the bay, where they planned to hug the cape and enter the next bay over. The boy had been fishing before, not nearly as long as the lifetime of fishing the man had done, but he had fished. Yet, the boy never could shake his excitement at seeing the immensity of the sea. As the boat crossed the cape, the boy shifted to look out at the open waters. He could see nothing but wind-whipped waves and an eternal horizon. Yet he dreamed of the world just underneath the surface, vibrant, frigid, and totally free. He was secretly glad the fishing had been so bad this season because it meant he could venture further out, and see more. 

After passing the cape, the boy peered into the new fjord. Hugged by mountains the water led straight to a diminutive glacier, whose visible recession was a painful reminder of how much these ice mountains had diminished since he was a child. He wondered what they must have looked like when the old man was a child. The boy gazed upon the bay with awe, seeing a whale breach, watching the seagulls flock to their Cliffside nests. They passed a river opening, where massive bears hunted the returning schools of salmon. Every once and awhile he’d spot a wandering moose, grazing on spruce trees. He had seen all of these things plenty of times but watched as intently as someone who didn’t want to miss it. The sheer magnitude of the bay astounded the boy. As the boat passed the across the bay, underneath them deep in the frigid waters of south-central Alaska, fathoms below the surface a rockfish at the bottom of the fjord sat in stillness. 

It watched as the plethora of diverse creatures that call this bay their home passed. Gigantic crabs patrolled the ocean floor picking off shrimp, and other small creatures. A massive octopus scoured the kelp groves in the distance. Alongside those yearlong denizens, the summer months brought new life to the bay. The days were long and the nights almost non-existent. The change in light and waters meant the return of the bay’s seasonal visitor. The songs of a lone whale filled the water as it fed on krill and phytoplankton. Overhead the tide brought in massive schools of salmon, returning to their ancestral home to give life to the next generation. Their silver scales exponentially reflecting the dim sunlight that pierced through the silty waters. A brilliant orchestra of color like shining silver clouds followed the current inward. 

The beauty of this oceanic ecosystem was of no note to the rockfish who only noted how sparse the bay seemed this season. It assumed warming waters would attract more summer visitors to the bay, but the warm water had decimated the local phytoplankton population. It hadn’t hunted those translucence autotrophs since it was juvenile, but their disappearance had been followed by waves of scarcity. The plankton was the backbone of the bay and with less of them, meant less of everything. The consequences of which meant the rockfish needed to hunt even more, and worry about others who needed to do the same. It watched patiently as prey fall to predator, awaiting his turn. After some time lurking in the deep and not finding shrimp or another crustacean to feed on, it swam upward towards the almost heavenly shine of the salmon to look for food. The salmon passively floated with the tide up the bay, picking off herring in preparation for a long journey none of them had ever made, but all knew. 

The rockfish neared the school and spotted one herring beneath the mob of salmon. It seemed to be hurt, keeping its speed away from the rockfish but maintained an almost lifeless cadence. The rockfish pursued the injured herring, whose slow and circular movement was typical of an injured fish. Following behind and below, the rockfish crept through the glacial silt-filled waters of the inlet. It hadn’t eaten today and was unperturbed by the other movements it noticed on the oceans’ floor. It gently stalked the bleeding herring, until out of its periphery it sensed movement at the floor beneath it. Below and to the left, two eyes opened from the sand. The rockfish immediately began to consider its hunt. Another rockfish? A crab? The octopus? It knows the Bay's underpopulation has lead to more aggressive and innovative hunting tactics. Just at that moment, the pair of eyes blinked as a cloud of sand erupted from the area. The rockfish could sense the danger, and knew it must make a decision. It lunged for the injured herring. Its mouth expanded and shot out, engulfing the entire fish. There was a sharp pain as its mouth was pierced in two places. As the rockfish struck the herring, a massive halibut emerged from the sand-screen. It's long, flat, and wide body-colored camouflage on the side where its eyes were located, and stark white on the opposite side. It was a behemoth of a fish, two meters long and at least one hundred and fifty kilos. It lifted its body from underneath the ocean floor and with two violent, precise convulsions propelled itself inches away from the rockfish.

The rockfish saw the opening maw of the gigantic halibut and jerked away to the right. Immediately it started rising up the water, glad it had escaped its ambush and certain demise. Hurt and bewildered at what strange force yanked it to safety, it tugged again to the right, nothing. It continued to lash left, right, down, up, forward, back. Any direction to free itself of whatever’s grip so mechanically controlled it, all to no avail. Was this the force that had been killing all of the phytoplankton? It thought. The rockfish rose through the school of salmon, the reflecting light was blinding. As it rose and rose the light grew brighter, its eyes ached and its stomach felt as if it was going to explode. Never before had it experienced such an attack on the senses. The blinding inhospitable light coupled with the most indescribable, uncomfortable, and unnatural internal sensation moved it into an even more primal fear. It lashed, trying to break free from whatever invisible creature had it gripped. Each jolt only exacerbated the pain derived from the deep gouges in its mouth. As it fought for its life, the light got even brighter, and brighter, and brighter. Almost blinded, the rockfish breached the water's surface. 

“Cheeeehoooooo!!” Screamed a boy from a small boat some 10 meters away. A cold wind pierced through the injured rockfish, whose unvented swim bladder had expanded through its mouth. Dazed and confused it floated near the water's surface. Its eyes burnt from the piercing light as it saw a myriad of strange, grotesque creatures meandering about. A thin line now reflected the sunlight, connected the hooks in the fish's mouth, to a rod at the end of the small boat. It had never seen anything so reflective, the hull of the boat seemed like another sun to the rockfish. From the other side of the boat, an old man appeared and spoke out to the boy “Pues, es muy pequeño. ¿Quieres devolverlo?” The boy reeled the fish in closer and peered at the seemingly mutated creature. The rockfish convulsed, trying to run water through its gills. How can these creatures could hold their breath so easily it wondered.“Pienso que si” said the boy “¿Podrías mostrarme cómo soltarlo?” The man walked over and began showing the boy something on his fishing rod. The rockfish floated on the surface of the water, the thin veil shielding its world from one it had never seen before. The sounds of seagulls patrolling the air above and water adjacent created a cacophony of calls. It noted these avian aliens, with their long feather fins they were able to swim like the rockfish, but looked so different when they did it. The rockfish stared at a world of strange creatures that had no scales and no fins. It assumed the men to be some form of crustacean, given their long skinny appendages. But they moved so quickly? What were they floating on, and why were they on top of it? The rockfish wondered what they were doing in there, it wondered what creatures this alien even eat. It wondered if these were the creatures hunting all of the phytoplankton.

An inch from its life, it remained in limbo for what felt like an eternity as the young boy fumbled over his lines. The fish drew nearer and nearer to the boat until the boy grabbed it. “Well, here’s hoping I don’t fuck this up” he whispered to himself as he reached into the rockfish’s mouth. The boy's hands felt warm, and soft to the rockfish, unlike anything it had felt before. The battered fish felt the boy’s strange fleshy fingers painful dislodged something and pull out a small, sharp hook. It lashed out in pain, and with its very last ounce of life, it flailed and dislodged the other hook. It slipped from the boy's hands and fell back to the surface of the water, away from the boy “dammit!” He yelled. The rockfish started floating away from the boy, still unable to break the surface of the water because of its ballooned swim bladder. It laid there, having escaped these exotic predators, but lost as to what it could do now. It remembered the metallic clouds of salmon, the silver schools fight against the utter scarcity of the bay.

Within seconds of its escape, the rockfish heard a crystal clear call. The sound traveled slower, but it was sharp and short. It almost reminded it of the serene whale songs it had been listening to only moments ago. The seagulls that had been surrounding the floating rockfish quickly evacuated the vicinity. The rockfish saw their feathers fall, left behind on the water. It laid there perplexed by the strange waste these creatures had left, and why they were floating like the rockfish. A sharp shadow engulfed the fish as a bald eagle, bigger than both the humans descended on it. Its dagger-like talons pierced the rockfish’s body. Blood spurted from the laceration and stained the white feathers floating atop the water with a streak of deep crimson. The fish convulsed, but the tension was almost instantly followed by a deep calm that overcame it. Almost effortlessly, the eagle lifted the fish flying higher and higher towards the forested mountains of the fjord. The wind whipped the rockfish as it saw the bay getting smaller and smaller. It wondered if the phytoplankton, and the consequence of their disappearance. It hoped its disappearance would have no such effect. But before all faded to black, the rockfish saw the entirety of the bay. It saw the humans watching the grand eagle make its departure. It noted the lonely whale breach. It surveyed the verdant mountains and the aliens that resided there. 10-foot grizzly bears, snatching silver salmon out of the air as if catching metallic clouds. It saw moose patrolling the rain-soaked forest. With its dying breath, it saw that the water it called its home brought life to every animal it could see. It seemed delicate, each conscious creature dancing on a thin line between hunter and hunted. It saw the majesty of its home, and the interconnectedness of all the creatures it once thought so alien. ∎

“WHOEVER STOLE MY WHEELBARROW F*** YOU B**** COME SEE ME.”

Duke stared at the words in front of the orange home in the Box. This was much different than the “Bless This Home” sign in front of his own house. His house--located in the suburbs, many miles away from the Box--was tall and well-groomed. The carpet in the house was soft under his paws, the bright yellow walls were smooth when he brushed his small furry blonde body against them, and food crumbs were plentiful.

Everything about humans fascinated Duke. He watched every movie with his family (even the scary ones), tried every food he was given, and even sang along when Madeline practiced the violin. When the day of the Box trip arrived, he sat in the family’s van and watched them exit the church. All Duke knew about church was that nobody wanted to go and Mom yelled at anyone who dared to wear jeans. Despite their complaints, Duke envied the time they spent in that small mysterious building.

Duke had been anticipating the visit to the Box for months. He was there when Mom had ordered the tickets online and had been attentively eavesdropping on the family’s Box discussions ever since. At dinner, Dad had remarked, “I can’t wait to see one of those Box-freaks in real life.” Dad acted really tough with his yelling and cursing and giving Duke the nickname “Schmuck”. When no one was looking, he cried during movies, sang to love songs on the radio, and cuddled with Duke after work.

Duke intently watched as Madeline, the oldest sibling, wrote a research paper about the Box:

The Box was built in 2067 in a small town formerly known as Finley, WA. After 6,000 different Hanford Nuclear Power Plant employees developed physical and mental mutations from a radioactive material leak, the government decided to intervene. Side effects ranged from psychotic behavior, tentacle growth from the brain, and green tinting to the skin. After the incident, the power plant was shut down; thousands of families were left without any source of income, ill, and angry.

First, they torched the mall, then the bank, then the churches. When they started murdering masses and rearranging the railroads, it became clear that no ordinary jail cell could contain the continually mutating victims. That’s when the Box was built. The Box is a sturdy, well-filtered facility that is 14.5 cubic miles large. All 6,000 employees were forcibly transferred to live in the Box permanently. Upon entering the Box, citizens were encouraged to build houses and begin farming with the artificial resources provided.

Duke recalled the times he had learned about the Box from the magic screen in the living room. When a Box resident attempted to scale the 14.5 mile wall in an effort to escape, he suffocated from lack of oxygen and died. In efforts to boost morale, the government transformed the Box into a freak show/amusement park for the citizens outside the Box. Within weeks, The Box became the most popular tourist attraction in eastern Washington. Duke was confused why such a sad place would bring people excitement, but he just assumed that it was yet another aspect of being human that he would never understand.

The day they went to the Box was a warm Sunday afternoon in October, so Dad decided a trip to the winery would be a good way to kill time before their appointment at the Box. Duke loved wineries. The long stretches of grass to chase his sisters on, the sunshine to bathe in, and the occasional hidden dead bird or rat to munch on. He loved how happy his family looked. Mom and Dad, sipping red wine and playing cards, and his sisters slicing apples with a small kitchen knife from Mom’s purse. Mom was incredibly thoughtful, she was prepared for anything.

Duke’s family approached the gates to the Box in their minivan and parked next to the ticket booth. A teenager wearing an “I SURVIVED THE BOX” T-shirt opened the ticket window. The shiny pimples on his face reminded Duke of the Skittles commercials his sisters thought were so funny.

“Tickets for seven please,” said Dad.

“Is your group interested in purchasing any souvenirs, sir?” the boy grunted.

“Nah, not today.” Eyeroll. Sigh.

“Welcome to the Box. At the Box, we have three rules: no leaving the vehicle, no weapons permitted, and no removing any items from the Box. Pictures are encouraged. If you post a photo, please use #getboxed to get 15% off your next visit. Since you’ve already signed the waiver you’re good to go.”

The family chanted “The Box! The Box! The Box!” as they traded their van for a rented military-grade Hummer. Duke sat in the passenger's seat on Mom’s lap. Mom is a charming woman whose big eyes, big nose, big mouth, big teeth, and big blonde Jennifer Anniston highlights, looked even bigger on her petite body. She wore large beaded earrings, pink lipstick, high heels, and a dress with lots of lines and shapes on it.

As Dad drove the Hummer through the gates and towards the steak fields, Duke recalled the time when mom had snuck him steak, fish, and even cabbage before dinner. She never forgot about Duke. He thought of their morning snuggles, the good books he read over her shoulder, and the time she defended his honor when he chewed up the cord to the vacuum cleaner. His favorite part of the day was sitting by her side and watching her paint. He often followed his family as their feet shuffled throughout the house. Mom’s were his favorite to follow.

There were times when Duke was convinced that despite her adoration for her biological children, he was indeed Mom’s favorite. He was a good boy. Mom made Duke feel as if--despite his small furry body--that he was human. It was Mom who insisted he join the family on long hikes and trips to the beach and demanded his appearance in every Christmas card. It was Mom who chose to bring him on the family’s big trip to see the Box.

Dad was not as enthusiastic to bring Duke. He found it outrageous that he had to buy an adult-priced ticket for a 10-pound chihuahua.

The further they drove into the Box, their amazement grew. Despite it being 2 pm, the sky was pitch black, and torches illuminated the houses built from garbage. Between the houses were fields of colorful produce, and green octopus-looking children eyeing the family closely, licking their lips. The fields felt endless. The air smelled different near the plants, a sweet, sour stench that made Duke feel dizzy.

Madeline shouted, “Mom look! That orange house is made of trash, just like we learned about in the documentary. The garbage man dumps our trash here so that the monsters can make houses.”

Duke watched as Mom’s bright green eyes faded to a watery grey, as they usually do after a few drinks. Her eyes were glued to a garden next to the orange house. Duke scratched her arm to ask for more snuggles, but she did not respond. The garden was filled with bright blue glowing pumpkins. She was entranced. So entranced that she didn’t even notice the threatening sign next to the house.

“Michael stop the car.”

Dad stopped the car; he is more obedient than Duke sometimes. Mom pulled a small kitchen knife from her purse, handed the knife to her two oldest children, and told them to go to the garden and grab a pumpkin for her.

They hesitated at first, confused why they were being encouraged to steal but soon jumped out of the car like it was the grandest adventure of their lives. They too, upon seeing the pumpkins for themselves, fell in love.

They had never looked at Duke the way they looked at those pumpkins. Was he not good enough? What did those pumpkins have that he didn’t? The pumpkins never chewed up their toys. That must be it.

Duke watched through the window. He observed their big cheesy smiles as the two girls tried to cut the pumpkin from the stem, and their terrified faces when the door to the orange house opened, a 300-pound green-skinned witch with scales instead of skin emerged. Her long hair was made of octopus tentacles that rattled as she walked. She wore a long nightgown made of bedsheets. After taking a long puff from her cigar, she asked them to leave.

Duke was ready to attack. He could sense that his sisters were in danger.

Dad opened the door to apologize, but before he could muster the words Mom had summoned her children to the car, put the pumpkin in her purse, and had called Box patrol.

The Box patrol rolled up in another military-grade Hummer with #GetBoxed logos on every door. Two tall brawny women armed with assault rifles exited the vehicle and inspected the scene. Duke noted the way they looked at the woman from the orange house. They grimaced at her scaly feet and overgrown nails. The stench seeping from her tentacles made them gag. The woman took a long puff from her cigar.

“These kids stole one of my pumpkins. The rules say no stealing. I’ve been growing these pumpkins for years. They are the only part of this Box that brings me joy.”

Mom remained calm, and looked the patrol woman in the eyes, “There seems to be a misunderstanding. My dog leaped from the car window and my daughters went to go grab him before he did any damage to this beautiful garden. Then this witch chased my children around the yard and threatened them with violence. I was so scared.” She paused and turned to the woman, “You have a lovely home by the way.”

Duke was in shock. That is not what happened. He was a good boy and stayed in the car.

How could the woman he loved so dearly lie so easily?

The woman became enraged by Mom’s lies and pleaded her innocence. The patrol women ignored her; they had already made up their minds.

“CHECK HER PURSE!” the witch yelled. The veins in her neck glowed through her skin.

The first gunshot fired. Duke whimpered. His sisters unbuckled their seatbelts. Mom locked the doors. Dad didn’t move, his eyes glued to the ground.

“SHE HAS MY PUMPKIN.”

The second shot fired. Duke began to bark. When his sisters cried, they were told to close their eyes. Mom was yelling now, demanding them to shut their eyes. Duke looked at mom, eyes wide open.

“PLEASE, LET ME LIVE!”

The third shot fired. Duke darted through the window to the Box Patrol and started biting their legs. He tore their pants but realized it was too late.

The woman’s body lay in front of her home. The little orange house made of garbage that she built herself. Her blood was a deep blue and bubbled as it pooled around her body. Duke walked to her corpse and stared at her. He licked her fingertips but she didn’t move.

Momo, age six, was crying and tugged at Mom’s shoulder, “Can we say sorry now? We’re really sorry we stole her pumpkins. I want to go home. Is she hurt? We should wake her up now.”

Duke’s other sisters remained silent, they knew better than to comment. They stared at the floor, nauseous with guilt.

The muscular Box Patrol women stood over her corpse, took a photo, and asked Mom and Dad if they would like a free copy of it emailed to them. Dad said no, Mom said yes, which means yes, the picture would be sent to her email address.

As one of the patrol officers bagged the body, another apologized to Mom, “We are sincerely embarrassed for your family’s traumatic experience today and would like to offer a gift to make up for it. We will be sending #GetBoxed T-shirts as well as #IsurvivedtheBoxFreak merchandise to your home as well as a 50% discount on your next visit.”

The blue glowing pumpkin now lives in the family’s beautiful home in Kennewick. It sat first in a glass box next to the easel where Mom paints, in place of where Duke used to sit. The glass seemed to be shrinking. Last week, the glass broke. Every day, Duke patiently waits for his morning snuggles, lunchtime walks, and evening painting, but Mom no longer shows any interest. She prefers to stare at the pumpkin. Her eyes have faded since staring at it, obsessing over it, and refusing to throw it away, even after it starts to decay. She has stopped sneaking Duke treats and inviting him on trips. When Duke chewed up a shoe out of boredom, she called him a monster.

His sisters stay in their rooms with the doors shut, not cracked, so he can’t push them open with his nose. At dinner, there is silence. The pumpkin at first sat on the piano during dinner but is now massive enough to be a table.

Duke often finds himself staring at the yellow walls, which have now begun to fade to green. The walls are no longer smooth, but prickly when he rubs against them. They’re covered in numerous paintings of the blue pumpkin. Duke stares in awe, confusion, and betrayal. The walls have become so shiny that Duke sees himself in the mirror for the first time. He doesn’t look human at all. He looks like a blue pumpkin. ∎

After finishing the book Frankenstein, I found an interesting connection between the content in the novel and a famous quote from ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. "Man on earth, good at birth. The same nature varies on nurture. With no education, there'd be an aberration. To teach well, you deeply dwell. What's a father? A good teacher. What's a teacher? A strict preacher." This quote sparked several ideas which I used to create my Frankenstein cover image. I integrate three themes in the model: man versus nature, man versus moral, and man versus man. These themes are exemplified through the ice mountain and ship in the background, the yin and yang symbol in the mid-ground, and the creature with Victor in the foreground.

In the novel, author Mary Shelly heavily describes the natural surroundings. The prefacing letters contain Shelly’s detail of the frosty, icy Arctic ocean; chapter five depicts the scary, stormy night; the pure and beautiful summit of Glacier Montanvert is laid out in chapter ten. From these passages, I selected an icy mountain and light blue ocean water with a ship for the background of my piece. This is especially of importance as the book starts and ends in the Arctic ocean. The ship also represents the character Walton as he and Victor Frankenstein are very similar in their curiosity, ambition, and innovation. Furthermore, the background signifies the journey that the creature and Victor have been through; they travel from Geneva to the Arctic ocean.

In the mid-ground, I have connected the story with my cultural background. I featured the yin and yang symbol from Taoism. The dark side of the symbol explains the negative side of human morality, and the bright side represents the opposite. Furthermore, I placed the characters' positions very carefully. I drew the creature’s body and Victor's inner-self on the dark side of the symbol. The dark side of the symbol represents the creature's obvious evil act in murdering three innocent lives; Victor's irresponsibleness for not teaching the his earns his inner-self placement there as well. In contrast, I place Victor's body and the creature's inner-self on the bright side. Victor is placed there for his high social status and his kindness towards his family and friends. Meanwhile, the inner-self of the creature's belongs to the bright side due to its intelligent, truthful, and sensitive nature. The yin and yang influence also highlights the dichotomy between the Chinese and English titles.

Finally, the foreground features the two protagonists in Frankenstein.  I was inspired to create the creature as Shelly describes it: "[h]is yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness" (Shelly, location 667). For Victor, I imagined him to be a wealthy eighteenth-century European. I have tried to emphasize that Victor is not a good father, nor a good teacher; he is irresponsible and thus not looking at the creature. The creature is crawling toward Victor while holding a journal and with a broken heart. This expands upon the relationship between the creature and Victor; the crawling action means the creature is hopelessly seeking help from Victor. The journal that the creature is holding is Victor’s own, from which the creature learns the of the society and history of the world. The broken heart tells the audience that the creature is hurt inside.

This image demonstrates the central themes of Frankenstein. I have taken a step further to connect the book to my cultural background and create this visual art from my own interpretation of Shelley’s work.

Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Pandora's Box Classics, 2020. Kindle e-book file. ∎