It is time for another installment in our OPS Authors series for the 2021 - 2022 school year. In this post we focus on an OPS Author from the sixth grade, Dean, who has been kind enough to share his story, The Breakthrough: Part 1. The story, is a potent mix of humor and science fiction, so we hope you enjoy it. When you are done, check out our interview with the author!
The Breakthrough
Part 1
“Attention all people of New Genetics corporation! We have a new breakthrough in technology. I would like to announce Nano-tech. We have found a way to combine atoms with technology. We took dead skin, only to find a new born baby the next day. The donor was fascinated! Because of this breakthrough, we can now release this in our store outlets. We-”
“Great. I have to do yet another documentary about technology. Well can’t hurt. Right?” I got up off the couch. Hopped into my clothes and out of the house. “Just another day,” I thought. I turned on the radio. “Hey guys. I would like to announce the best journalist of the month. His name. Jim Granderson!” “Gah!? Me? Why me? Haven’t I already gotten enough attention,” I wanted my son to get the report of the month. It’s always me.” My son. Right. If he already messed up, he’d be out of his job. In fact, he wouldn’t even know how to handle the role. I raised him when he was younger to be as wise as me. I give up. I hate it. I hate it all. And I hate this place the most. The same stuff happens every decade or so. Thanks to global warming, I have to deal with smog every couple of days and earthquakes. Just the thought of them. Well, may as well fall back into the present. “Here we are. Los Angeles!” I start, “One of the biggest cities on earth.” “Sir! You there,” I spoke in an unheard tone. “What do you think about this… Nano-tech?” “Well, for starters, I don’t mind it. The world is technology now. Elon Musk just announced the Tesla bot. So you know. We're doomed,” he said. I asked another individual. “What do you think about-” he cut me off. “I think it’s amazing! I was allowed to modify my bike and like, basically everything else in the world,” he said, sounding insane. “Best of all, they do implants now! It’s fantastico! Anyways, bye amigo!” “Implants? I got to get this stuff for myself,” I thought. I ran over to the nearest outlet. It was so odd. So new. So… futuristic. I decided to pick a jar up. It contained an odd hexagon of swirls. “Nano-tech? Why isn’t it as solid as advertised,” I thought. I decided to walk to the counter. The clerk seemed like he regretted working in the store. Once I reached the counter, I decided to ask a particular question. “What is it, old man?” he said. I cringed. “A-hm. Jim. Not old man. Anyways, one thing of Nano-tech, sir,” I mentioned. “Oh! A mk III model? That’ll cut you four hundred dollars, and because you're the first to buy it, we take off tax,” He sounded disappointed. “Thanks, and how about I buy one for you too?” “What!? Oh um, that's not necessary,” he shrieked. “I insist!” I forwarded the money. I waddled out, looking smug and spiffy. “Mk III, huh?” I started. “May as well test this in the mojave. It’s the most open spot for miles.” I left the city. It was already annoying getting out, but having the Nano-tech hitting the sides of the jar was even worse. I blinked, and something happened. I couldn’t tell what, but something flashed for a tenth of a second. I didn’t acknowledge it. Then it happened. *BLAAAM* *BLAAAM* My phone shook. It happened. Someone broke into my home. I stumbled out of my car and ran in. I gasped. “Out of breath,” I breathed. I turned the corner. Orange swirls in the shape of a body… no. My body. Suddenly, everything turned dark. The last thing I could hear was my own laughter. “Gasp! What h- happened!?” I exclaimed. “Jim. You were found fatally wounded in your home. We noticed you had some spare Nano-tech in your car, so we decided to patch you up with it,” the Nurse said. “What!? Why would you do that to me? It was the thing that almost killed me!” “It was the only way! Your son was very concerned! Besides, it was also the only medically advanced thing able to save you last night.” the doctor countered. I was about to attack him, but my hand was restrained. Dark hexagons formed and everybody went silent. They slowly handed me my clothes and I got out of there as fast as I could. It was odd to feel like this, but now I have to help the world become safer because of my clone. I’m going to stop it. Even if it takes my life. The Breakthrough: Part 1 by Dean is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Author Interview:
Your story, The Breakthrough: Part 1, is an interesting mix of humor and science fiction. Do you enjoy mixing genres in your writing?
I personally enjoy doing it because it makes the story a witty adventure, with some action to keep it new and refreshing. I would do this more often if I could. What literary genres do you enjoy reading for pleasure the most? I enjoy reading Sci-fi and fantasy books. They have a fun adventure and plot which is fun to follow. I know that you began writing this story in the library one day, what was the inspiration for this story? I decided to write this story because of a realistic fiction story I had created. If you read The Breakthrough, you would know that the main threat is technology and Nano-tech. I made this up because it just sounded like a tech like name that could stand on its own. My colleague, one James McNeil informed me that Nano-tech was in fact used in Avengers infinity war and Endgame. I made my own version up. It happened to be used already. Did the idea for it come to you fully formed or did you develop it as you wrote it? The idea would come to life after I came home after writing a draft in my head. It had to be tweaked to become school appropriate, but other than that it was completed in my head. This story contains a lot of dialogue between characters and internal monologue by the main character. Do you enjoy developing characters in this way or was it just an approach that lent itself to this story? I was going for the 1st person point of view, but I had decided to give the character a snotty 70’s detective. He had this personality that felt unique. I try to make every character I create unique and one that drives stories through personality. Do you like to write all of the time or purely when inspiration strikes? Yes and no. Yes because an idea can come to life, but no because I never truly write them. I feel like this was the one time that I truly had a chance to shine in my writing aspect. The closest I got were detailed pipe cleaner models, or pictures. This story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and the title suggests there are future parts to the story. Any hints on when and what we can expect in future installments? Try expecting the next installments around late December or early 2022. You have to wait and see what happens to Jim Granderson. Will he rage war with New Genetics, or be slain by his Nano-tech clone? You’ll have to wait. Do you plan on writing throughout your life? I’ll see. In the future, I either want to be an author, or an artist. I may do both. I don’t know for sure though. Thank you to Dean for sharing his story and for answering our questions.
2 Comments
Danny monanooca (Brother)
1/4/2022 11:19:29 am
great job dean.
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Dannyqs
1/4/2022 11:26:09 am
im just joking
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