Innovation Assignment - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2843 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category IT Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Ans: 1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Innovation is generation which can accept and realize new ideas products or services. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refer to the notion of doing something different rather than doing the same thing better. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ For example: In the most recent 6 years, the worldwide portable telecoms industry has been formed by the presentation of 4G LTE innovation. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Innovation Assignment" essay for you Create order This versatile innovation has changed the way we impart, as well as influenced our lives in a wide range of courses from the sort of media we watch to the measure of gadgets we purchase. Because of this, the quantity of arrangements and memberships of 4G have been blasting in the most recent two years, Vision gain computes that somewhere around 2012 and 2014 the quantity of 4G LTE memberships expanded by very nearly five times, as the Chinese sending of 4G fundamentally changed the worldwide market in 2014. E-business has changed the retail division with enormous hitters, for example, Amazon in the US, Alibaba in China and Rakuten in Japan giving shoppers access to an endless exhibit of items less nosy grindstones, for example, human communication. Ans 2. Invention includes the formation of new things from new thoughts while innovation is the acquaintance of new ideas, with enhance what as of now exists. Inventions for this situation may be licensed not at all like innovatio ns which are intended to be utilized by people in general to enhance existing thoughts. Invention is concerned with a particular item while innovation addresses an extensive variety of concern looking to better them. window 8 Computers The thought for a invention may be produced on paper or on a Computer, by composing or drawing, by experimentation, by making models, by experimenting, by testing and/or by making the invention in its entire structure. Conceptualizing likewise can start new thoughts for a invention. Collaborative creative procedures are habitually utilized by architects, creators, engineers and researchers. Co-innovators are every now and again named on licenses. Ans 3. Invention : an invention includes the typifying of an item thought into and object that is new has utility. Invention includes new thoughts new revelations. These are produced by means of procedure of experimentation to touch base at a workable development this ordinarily structures a piece o f the exploration component and advancement. Example: On 10th March 1875 Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Mr Watson held the first ever conversation on the telephone. Excited by their discovery they demonstrated their invention to senior executives at Western Union. A few days later they received the following response à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“after careful consideration which is interesting as a novelty, we have come to the conclusion that it has no commercial possibilitieswe see no future for an electrical toyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Within 4 years there were 50,000 telephones in the US and within 20 years there were 5 million. During this time, the company that Bell formed, American Telephone and Telegraph (ATT) became the largest corporation in the US. The original patent number (174455) became the single most valuable patent in history. Commercialization = is the procedure or cycle of presenting another item or generation system into the business sector dining another item spent f or promoting deals advancement and other showcasing endeavours. Commercialization includes a scope of business exercises, for example, showcasing association and account these are obliged to set up the development for business sector. Example: I phone à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“explosion of I Phone applicationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  from Naught on 2008. Diffusion = Diffusion is a procedure where atoms from an exceptionally focused zone move to a place where there are less particles. It is an unconstrained and programmed procedure that conveys oxygen to the blood in the lungs and oxygen from the blood to whatever is left of the body tissues. Example: Pliny the Elderhad previously described thecementation processwhich produces steel from the element iron through carbon diffusion. Another example is well known for many centuries, the diffusion of colours ofstained glassorearthenwareandChinese ceramics. Ans 4. The Business models is perceive to be the key to unlocking the new opportunities created on the market. It is a enabling device, that is a tool, that allows inventors to profit their ideas and inventions. Business models innovation refers to the creation, or reinvention, of a business itself. Whereas innovation is more typically seen in the form of a new product or service offering, a business model innovation results in an entirely different type of company that competes not only on the value proposition of its offering, but aligns its profit formula, resources and processes to enhance that value proposition, capture new market segments and alienate competitors. The Business models is perceive to be the key to opening the new open doors made available in the market. It is an empowering gadget, that is an instrument, that permits creators to benefit their thoughts and inventions. Business models innovation refers to the creation, or rehash, of a business itself. Though innovation is all the more normally found as another item or administration offering , a business model innovation brings about an altogether diverse kind of organization that contends not just on the worth recommendation of its putting forth, however adjusts its benefit equation, assets and procedures to improve that esteem suggestion, catch new market sections and distance contenders. Ans 5 In innovation is three type of different form. Product (2) Service (3) process. (1)Product: An item is the thing offered available to be purchased. An item can be a service or an item. It can be physical or in virtual or digital structure. Each item is made at an expense and each is sold at a cost. The value that can be charged relies on upon the business sector, the quality, the advertising and the portion that is focused on. Every item has a valuable life after which it needs substitution, and an existence cycle after which it must be re-created. In FMCG speech, a brand can be redone, re-dispatched or reached out to make it more pertinent to the section and times, regularly keeping the item just about the same. Example: Computer, Mobile phone, TV, car, audio. (2)Service: A Service is a situated of activities or arrangements that are put set up or are performed to give a repeatable and predictable arrangement of results, deliverables, and execution for individuals, organizations and systems that speak to purchasers or recipients of such results. Example: Network service provider, internet service provider, healthcare, council. (3)Process: In contrast produce product and service order to utilise a process. Implementing new or significantly improved production often has an even bigger impact on society than service innovation the prising standard of living that the world has enjoyed since the industrial revaluation In contrast deliver item and service request to use a procedure. Executing new or significantly enhanced generation regularly has a considerably greater effect on society than administration advancement the prising way of life that the world has appreciated subsequent to the modern revaluation. Example: Method of education, System of Internet Banking, new equipment for new technology. Ans 6 Various types of innovation require various types of organisational environment and distinctive managerial abilities. Each represents to an alternate test: incremental innovation challenges the organizations customary controls, while progressive and building advancement challenges the organizations methodology and controls. Three kind of structure is (1) Product (2) Service (3) Process Administration structure is pulling in clients: Every organization gives some level of administration. Contrasts in administration quality can be depicted as a distinction in degree. A distinction in degree is something everybody shows improvement over others. The appalling certainty is individuals on the less than desirable end have some major snags seeing contrasts in degree. That, as well as since contrasts in degree frequently relate with actually many administration levels, they have a tendency to be extremely lavish to move forward. Endeavours to upgrading contrasts in degree are regularly interests in better equivalence. In any case, not all distinctions are made equivalent. Individuals have a simple time seeing a distinction in kind. A distinction in kind is something I get from one that I dont get from another; ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in a broad sense distinctive and may even catch me off guard. Practically every case of organizations that have separated in view of administration (e.g., Amazon, Zippos, Container Store, Starbucks, and so forthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ), do as such with a moderately little number of contrasts in kind not only countless in degree. The uplifting news is that making a little number of contrasts in kind doesnt essential cost as much as inclining up countless in degree. Ans 7: Innovation is four types Incremental Innovation: Incremental innovation refines and enhances a current configuration, through upgrades in the parts. On the other, hand it is essential to stretch these are enhancements not changes, the segments are not profoundly adjusted. Incremental innovation are the commonest. Progressive upgrades in information and materials lead to most items and administrations being upgraded over the long haul. However these upgrades commonly take the type of refinements in segments instead of changes in the framework. Example: Googles arrival of Gmail, proclaimed by numerous as the best web mail administration, is an illustration of such commitment to incremental innovation. At the point when Gmail dispatched it had a constrained list of capabilities yet did one thing exceptionally all around, conveyed email. Not at all like contenders it was clean and simple to use with no diverting blaze promotions and various interface upgrades. Over the long run Google discharged more components and improved the service, speedier, and less demanding to utilize. A long time later Gmail was taken out of beta lastly recorded as being complete, however right up til today upgrades keep on happening. The organization has utilized this literally the same approach various times with their new items, from their Maps administration to the browser Chrome. (2)Radical innovation: However, if the idea of innovation is tricky, precisely what constitutes radical innovation is much all the more so. Amongst both Academics and professionals, meanings of radical development can shift generally, especially when the term is connected to the broadly challenged field of manageability. Numerous contend essentially that radical development must convey a stage change in execution change if supportable advancement is to be figured it out. Then again others contend that restricting the centre of innovation to execution changes. Example: Flat screen TV use LCD, Jet engine à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" gas turbine, MP3 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" MP3 documents Most of 10% innovations are radical. The changes regularly prompt times of extensive uncertainly, maybe with contending plans and expanded competition. (3) Modular Innovation: The individual s can easily share their information, send out it, import it, and alter protection, across different social networks, items and different situations. Their information gets to be particular, adaptable, and compact. Clients experience comprises of numerous modules that make up their aggregate client experience. Substance and usefulness are completely decentralized over these modules, every giving a solitary or little arrangement of capacities or encounters, are the restrictive stages, and engage the individuals, the clients of experience. Example: iPod (First was radical, however Apple create new form with new size and shading) Modular Innovation can be quickly depicted as the items and stages comprising of or encouraging. (1)Relationships (human individuals, items, human items) (2)Control of Experience (from creation to capacity to association) (3)Ownership of Content (individual substance from remarks to companion records and then some) (4) Architectural innovation: Includes new technology arrangement of generation and thus opens up new linkages to businesses and clients it is described by the making of new market. Innovation of this sort characterizes the fundamental design of item specialized and showcasing. With engineering innovation, the segments and related outline ideas stay unaltered, however, the arrangement of the framework. Example: The Sony Walkman gives a decent case of structural innovation. The Walkman when it first turned out was an exceedingly innovative new item, however it included 60 practically no new technologies. All the fundamental segments that went into the Walkman were attempted and tried having been utilized on a mixed bag if different items. Compact sound recording devices that could both play and record music had been available for a long time. Fashioners at Sony, began with a current little sound tape recording device, the Pressman (Henry and Walker, 1991), a little lightweight recording device intended for pre ss columnists. They continued to uproot the recording hardware and the speakers, and included a little stereo speaker. An arrangement of lightweight earphones finished the bundle. Since there were no speakers the new machine required substantially less power. The unlucky deficiency of speakers implied it could be made much littler while the way that it required a great deal less power implied it could utilize just little batteries making it all that much lighter. Along these lines an altogether different sort of framework with an altogether different sort of construction modelling started to develop. Thus the Walkman was borne. It was new kind of sound item. It was an individual stereo that empower its young, versatile clients to listen to music at whatever point and wherever they needed, and without being bugged by more seasoned eras worried about clamour. Source: Sanderson and Uzmeri (1995) Ans 8 Herd behaviour describes how people in a gathering can act together without arr anged direction. At the point when creatures share in herd behaviour, for instance in a risky circumstance, every individual gathering part lessens the threat to itself by relocating as close as could be allowed to the focal point of the escaping gathering. The herd thus shows up as a unit in moving together, yet this activity rises up out of the clumsy conduct of self-serving people. Herd behaviour is recognized from herd mindset on the grounds that it applies to all animals, while the term attitude suggests a particularly human sensation. Herd attitude suggests a trepidation based response to companion weight which makes people act with a specific end goal to abstain from feeling deserted from the gathering, i.e. to embrace certain practices and take after patterns. Herd mentality is additionally now and again known as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mob mentality.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  In the setting of innovation, both companion weight and similarity may show contrarily. Congruity is about the i mpacts relating to the development and maintenance of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“business as usual standards and helps organizations work easily and typically by means of the self-disposal of practices seen as in spite of unwritten principles. In this sense, it can be seen as a negative drive that avoids demonstrations that are perceptually problematic or perilous, something genuinely creative organizations joyfully grasp. Since similarity is a gathering wonder, components, for example, gathering size, unanimity, union, status, former duty, and general feeling help focus the level of congruity an individual presentations. In the context of innovation, both peer pressure and conformity may manifest negatively. Conformity is about the influences pertaining to the formation and maintenance of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“business as usualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  norms, and helps companies function smoothly and predictably via the self-elimination of behaviours seen as contrary to unwritten rules. In this sense, it can be perceived as a negative force that prevents acts that are perceptually disruptive or dangerous, something truly innovative companies happily embrace. Because conformity is a group phenomenon, factors such as group size, unanimity, cohesion, status, prior commitment, and public opinion help determine the level of conformity an individual displays. Ans 9 None of the types of innovation outlined using this framework is entirely watertight. Inevitably there is overlap and there will be many occasions when it is a matter of judgement as to which category an innovation should be placed in. However, this is not really an issue. This study provides a conceptual framework with respect to service innovation, especially from a service perspective. Even though innovation has discussed as one of the most critical elements in enhancing the competitiveness of service. Categories and particular this form helps to show that innovation are not identical categorizing innovations in this w ays can also help to show that the influence of technology and change can vary considerably technology works in a verity of ways however its impact differ when applied to whole system or when for comparison is to individual components of categorization has a predictive power such that those evaluate the potential impact of a particular innovation Distinguishing four different types of innovation can also help to explain why the responses of firms to the introduction of new technology will often vary. Technology effect a rapid of a new technology Because it is likely to rein force the competitive position of incumbent manufactures other hand if the technology leads to system changes and introduction of new architecture incumbents are less to be happy about changes as their position will be eroded. There was a multiplicity of competing. They need to recognise that the dominant design that does eventually emerge is not always technically to its rivals. Bibliography (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=4cad=rjauact=8ved=0CDMQFjADurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhighered.mheducation.com%2Fsites%2Fdl%2Ffree%2F0077108612%2F316020%2FChapter02.pdfei=vhVuVcfaC8XUmAXooYDYDwusg=AFQjCNH_liEnmfB19SOR0UM-A4X7pX. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/how-human-behavior-can-skew-innovation/. 703 Innovation Management Page 1 of 10

The Young Protagonist And Stefan Narrator And The Older...

Danial Surti Throughout the essay, Stephen refers to the young protagonist and Stefan refers to the narrator and the older Stephen. How is memory presented in Spies? In Spies, Michael Frayn realistically presents memory, by showing it is flawed, prompted by physical triggers, its connection with objects and emotions and that it can be overwritten by imagination. Frayn presents memory as something that is fallible and cannot always be trusted. From the start of the novel the reader is invited to question the accuracy of Stefan’s memory. Stefan admits to only â€Å"half remember[ing]† the events of his childhood, and warning the reader that his memory may be flawed. Similarly, he jokes about turning into â€Å"Amnesia Avenue† however, this hides a simple truth, Stefan fears that â€Å"this †¦ may be the last chance [he’ll] get† and that he may never be able to unravel the â€Å"frightening [and] half-understood† events of his childhood. Furthermore, it also presents the possibility that Stefan may have already started to forget the events. However, these confessions, at the start of the novel, are not enough for the reader to fully mistrust Stefan rather they create a small element of doubt. Yet, as the novel progresses Stefan is established as an unreliable narrator whose memory cannot be trusted . Throughout the novel Stefan questions the accuracy of his own memory, through the use of rhetorical questions, he asks, â€Å"Or have I got everything back to front?† and â€Å"is memory being overwritten by

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 22 Free Essays

Seth wasn’t at the bookstore the next day, which I took as a bad sign. It was usually his passive-aggressive reaction to whenever we had a fight. I thought about him a lot while I worked, thinking of that awful blowout. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 22 or any similar topic only for you Order Now We’d had a lot of uncomfortable talks in our time together, but we’d never had anything like that. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what about it bothered me – aside from the obvious – but I kept feeling like it was a pivotal moment, something that was going to have long-reaching effects. It scared me, and I wanted to fix things. And, of course, there was Nyx to worry about. I was going to find a victim after work, and then Vincent said the angels would come while I was asleep – when Nyx made her move. â€Å"You okay?† I looked up from the stack of checks I was signing in my office. Maddie stood there in a black pencil skirt and fitted white blouse that made her look super amazing. She’d worn her hair down too. â€Å"Wow,† I said. â€Å"What’s the occasion?† â€Å"Nothing,† she said, with a shrug. â€Å"Wardrobe overhaul.† She lifted one foot, revealing three-inch black heels. â€Å"Holy shit,† I said. â€Å"You don’t do anything in halves.† She beamed, and I noticed something about her that had nothing to do with the new clothes. There was joy in her eyes – a happiness that made her confident and even more radiant. She was a far cry from the bitter woman who’d shown up at the auction. â€Å"What’s going on?† I asked, not fixating on myself for the first time today. Her grin widened, revealing her phantom dimple. A moment later, she turned more serious. â€Å"I’ll tell you later. My news is good. But you†¦what’s the matter? You look awful.† Yasmine had said the same thing last night. It really was a sad day when a succubus couldn’t stay on top of her game. I shook my head. â€Å"It’s†¦complicated.† I offered a weak smile. â€Å"I’ll deal with it, don’t worry. Now, come on. I’d rather hear something cheerful. Tell me what’s going on.† â€Å"Can’t. They need me out there. I just came to drop these off.† She set a stack of papers on my desk. They practically melted into the other stacks I already had. My office was so chaotic, it could have been a lair for Nyx in and of itself. â€Å"Come on, the suspense is going to drive me crazy,† I teased. â€Å"Well†¦you think you can give me a lift to the airport tomorrow? I’m going home for Christmas.† â€Å"You taking Doug with you?† â€Å"Nope. He’s your holiday gift. But I’ll give you the scoop then if you can give me a ride. I’d probably need to leave around five.† â€Å"Five o’clock traffic on the Friday before Christmas. We’re going to have a lot of time to talk.† A bit of her normal nervousness reappeared. â€Å"If it’s a problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Nope. We’re closing early anyway. We’ll go then.† Maddie left, and I found myself momentarily distracted by whatever her news could be. Whatever it was, it was a good thing. I liked the change it had brought about. That sort of happiness and confidence suited her. My thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. I answered and found Seth on the other end. â€Å"Hey,† I said, hoping I sounded cool and confident and not desperate and relieved. â€Å"Hey.† A long pause followed. â€Å"I†¦just†¦wanted to make sure we were on for Christmas.† My heart sank. No: â€Å"I’ve missed you.† No: â€Å"I’m sorry.† â€Å"Sure. Wouldn’t miss it.† Thinking about Christmas. I experienced a weird sense of d? ¦j? ¤ vu. We’d also been with his brother on Thanksgiving. And like now, we’d also been fighting. There it was again: my life, the endless loop. You aren’t learning. You aren’t changing. Of course, Seth and I had patched up the other fight. Maybe that kind of resolution would repeat itself too. After all, holidays were supposed to be magic, right? â€Å"Okay,† he told me. â€Å"I’ll pick you up.† â€Å"Okay.† Another long pause. â€Å"I’d come by today, but†¦well. The book†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The book. Always the book. Then again, I was busy with chaos deities today. â€Å"Yeah, I know. It’s fine.† â€Å"We’ll talk on Christmas.† â€Å"Okay.† We hung up. A chill ran through me. There it was again. I had no gift for premonition, but an inner instinct – one that had nothing to do with Nyx’s visions of the future – told me there was something big coming. After work, I drove over to Bellevue, Seattle’s richest and most pretentious suburb. A city in its own right, Bellevue was pretty much the polar opposite of SeaTac. Hotels, restaurants, and shopping were continually being added to its downtown strip, and the influx of money from Boeing and Microsoft was steadily replacing older, plain buildings with sleeker and more stylish architecture. Bellevue was also home to a guy I knew named Kevin. I’d met him years ago in a bar. There was nothing overly extraordinary about Kevin. He was neither a sinner nor a saint, instead occupying some happy ground in the middle that yielded a decent amount of energy whenever I slept with him. His most notable trait was that he was perpetually available. He worked at home – some Web business, I believed – and never seemed to go out, despite being good-looking and sociable. I didn’t question that too much, though, because it suited my purposes whenever I needed quick and easy sex with someone I didn’t completely loathe. â€Å"Sandra,† he said happily, opening the door of his condo for me. He had dark brown hair and a closely trimmed, very new beard that I approved of. Dark brown eyes regarded me with amusement. â€Å"Been a while.† My â€Å"Sandra† form had a petite build similar to the one I usually wore. After that, the resemblance ended. My hair was now curly and black, my eyes a blue that looked violet sometimes. Underneath my long black coat, I wore a sleeveless navy blue dress that fit snugly and was far too skimpy for this kind of weather. â€Å"It has been,† I agreed. â€Å"Does that mean you aren’t going to let me in?† He smiled and stepped back, grandly waving me inside. â€Å"What, do you think I’m crazy or something? Only an idiot would turn you away.† I followed Kevin down the hall and into his living room. He’d redecorated since the last time I was here, and the change was nice. The furniture and d? ¦cor were now all done in shades of a grayish blue that reminded me of winter twilights. A fireplace crackled on one side of the room, and a large bay window looked out to another set of condos. I draped my coat over a chair and smoothed miniscule wrinkles out of the dress. â€Å"You want something to drink?† he asked, hands in his pockets. I shook my head. â€Å"I don’t have much time.† He gave me a rueful smile. â€Å"You never do. You know, sometimes I feel used.† â€Å"Is that a problem?† â€Å"Problem?† he asked with a snort. â€Å"A beautiful woman who wants to have sex with me and no commitments? Hardly a problem.† He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"Use me all you want.† He came closer still, and we met in a kiss. No delay, no preamble. I wrapped my arms around his neck and parted my lips, eager to feel him and taste him. His hands rested on my hips for a moment, then slid upward. He caught my dress’s straps and pulled them down, baring my breasts and still kissing me the whole time. Pushing forward, he pressed me against the wall, near the fireplace. I felt its heat against the bare skin of my legs. His hands cupped my breasts, thumbs sliding to my nipples and squeezing them. He varied the intensity, sometimes hard and sometimes gentle. I broke the kiss long enough to incline my head toward the uncovered window behind him. â€Å"The window – â€Å" He crushed his mouth back against mine. Our tongues danced together briefly, and then he pulled back just long enough to say, â€Å"I know.† The tone of his voice told me that he not only knew – he also wanted it that way. I didn’t question it. This apparently was the season for exhibitionism. Eventually, he moved his mouth away from mine and trailed kisses down my neck. I tilted my head back and arched the rest of my body toward his. One of his hands continued cupping a breast as he nibbled on its nipple, teeth and tongue stirring it to arousal. His other hand pushed up my skirt, eagerly seeking my panties and what lay within. The ache for his energy and his touch coursed through me. I moaned softly as he moved his lips down my body. Shifting to the floor, he settled on his knees while still keeping me standing against the wall. He pulled the panties down all the way, so they hung around my ankles. Sliding his hands between my thighs, he pulled them apart slightly and then buried his face between them, his stubble tickling me. I was burning and wet, more so than I’d realized, and when his tongue touched my aching clit, I moaned more loudly and felt my knees tremble slightly. I started to tell him that he didn’t need to do this, that it was okay if he just wanted to get straight to the main event. But as his tongue gently moved back and forth, building the heat and ecstasy within me, I swallowed my words. The last three guys I’d slept with hadn’t made me come, and although this visit was strictly utilitarian and part of the Nyx plan, I suddenly and selfishly wanted to get more than his life energy out of it. Back and forth his tongue moved, speed and intensity continually shifting. As his thoughts began to trickle into me, I could tell that he liked doing that not simply for the sake of novelty, but also because he liked seeing the way I reacted to each slight change. He was one of those men who truly enjoyed making a woman happy. The burning spot he’d brought to life between my legs grew and grew, expanding beyond where his tongue touched, beyond my thighs. Steadily, it spread into my whole body, all the way to my fingertips. I felt like fire in human – or rather, succubus – form and writhed against the wall, against him. My knees buckled as the searing pleasure reached a critical point inside me, and his hands moved down to steady my legs and keep me upright. At last the core within me exploded, the fire turning to pure light, pure bliss. I cried out at the way the orgasm consumed me, at the way his tongue still kept teasing me even in the throes of my climax. Finally, even he couldn’t keep me upright. My legs had turned to jelly, and I sank to the floor in front of him. He smiled, genuinely pleased, and leaned forward to kiss me. I could taste me on his lips. â€Å"Come on,† he said, taking my hands and helping me up. He led me over to the window and peeled off the rest of my dress. He eased me onto a high window seat. Removing his own clothes, he murmured, â€Å"I should go find a condom.† My breathing was rapid, my heart pounding away. â€Å"No, I want to feel you – just you.† I took his hand and brought it between my legs, guiding his fingers into me. â€Å"I want you to feel me.† I’d been wet before starting all this and was now doubly so after what he’d just done. His fingers glided easily inside of me, and his eyes widened at what he felt. Indecision played on his face, and then he nodded. If counseling any of my human friends, I would certainly advocate safe sex. It didn’t matter for me personally, however, since I couldn’t catch anything or get pregnant. Often with victims, I’d talk them out of any sort of protection in order to increase their guilt. With Kevin tonight, I didn’t want to bother with condoms simply because I didn’t want to waste the time. My urgency and desire were too strong. I wanted him now. I slid my hands down his stomach and felt how hard he was. He wanted me too. I wrapped my fingers around him, stroking and massaging and loving the way he swelled within my hand. Pressing my back against the cold glass, I drew my knees up to me and then spread them wide, feeling rather like a butterfly. The window seat was exactly the perfect height, putting us hip to hip as I led him inside of me. We both gasped at the contact. He pushed in as far as possible, our hips pressed skin to skin. The way he filled me up was exquisite. Shape-shifting meant I could make myself as tight as possible, and I loved how he tested the limits of it. He paused a moment, simply savoring the way our bodies felt together, and then slowly began moving in and out of me, rocking me against the window with each thrust. And with that, his life began pouring into me in earnest. I nearly exhaled with relief. The sensation of that energy filling me up rivaled the feel of his body inside me. I had missed it so much, missed the wonder and joy of that pure, indescribable energy generated by the human soul. Nyx had been stealing a part of me, and I was glad to have it back, if only for this moment. The thoughts coming through with his energy were happy and content ones as he reveled in the pleasure of being with me. A secret, kinky part of him was turned on by hoping that his neighbors across the way might be watching. He hoped they were. He hoped they were jealous. His thrusts grew harder and harder, and he murmured over and over how wonderful I was, how beautiful. Still sensitive from him going down on me, I came twice more, my body melting as the orgasms’ spasms shook me. At last, I felt his body tense and saw his expression signal he was about to lose control. I dug my nails into his arms and begged him to come in me. He did, shoving me so hard against the window that I hoped the glass would hold. The peak of his energy hit me with his climax, and as it faded, we both sighed happily. I didn’t abandon him quite as quickly as I had Bryce, but I didn’t spend time lounging in the afterglow either. I helped him get dressed and made sure he was situated comfortably on the couch before I left. I liked him, after all, and hoped I’d see him again in some other casual situation. His face was languid and content as we made our good-byes. â€Å"You are the most exhausting woman I’ve ever been with,† he told me, eyelids flickering with fatigue. I couldn’t help a smile. Of course I was. Other lovers didn’t steal his soul – at least not literally. â€Å"Does that mean you want me to stay away longer next time?† He smiled and yawned. â€Å"No. Absolutely not.† Still smiling, I left and headed back to the city. But as I drove closer to downtown, brimming with energy, my happy feelings faded. I remembered why I’d had to go see him in the first place and what would happen tonight. My body, so achingly hot an hour ago, grew cold. When I arrived back at my apartment, Vincent, Carter, and Yasmine were already waiting for me. None of them commented on my glow. Instead, they launched right into the plan. â€Å"Nyx will probably come trolling around tonight,† Carter explained. â€Å"And when she sees you’ve got energy again, she’ll do her thing.† Yasmine nodded along. â€Å"We can’t be here when it happens. Vincent will be around, out in the living room. She won’t suspect him of anything; she’ll figure he’s an ordinary human. But when he senses her feeding off of you, he’ll let us know. Then, we’ll show up and bind her.† I didn’t like the sound of any of that – neither the feeding nor the binding. â€Å"What’s that mean?† â€Å"We’ll pull her out and trap her,† said Carter. Presumably â€Å"out† meant out of me. Yikes. â€Å"Then we’ll take her away, back to her prison,† added Yasmine. Their confidence inspired confidence in me, and I suspected I was being influenced by angelic charisma. But there was no way out of this, not if I wanted to shake my nighttime visitor. â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"Let’s do this.† The angels left. It was still early evening, so I hung out with Vincent. We played a couple games of cards and watched bad movies. Hanging out with him in such a casual way made it easy to forget he was a nephilim. When midnight loomed, I stood up and stretched. â€Å"I don’t think I can sleep,† I remarked. â€Å"It’s like trying to go to bed on Christmas Eve. Too jittery to settle down. Except†¦it’s not Santa I’m waiting for.† He smiled. â€Å"Well, try. If we need to, we can probably give you a sedative or something, but this whole thing will be more efficient without.† It took a long time – lying in bed for almost two hours – before I fell asleep. It wasn’t easy to relax when you were inviting a creature of chaos to come feed off of you. And yet, as I drifted off, I couldn’t help a small flicker of eagerness. I’d be dreaming the dream again. And I did. It started from the beginning, like always, running all the way to the part where the little girl fell and my dream-self comforted her. The girl’s tears were drying when we both heard the faint sound of a car door closing. My dream-self straightened up. A smile blossomed on her face as she regarded her – my – daughter with the kind of over-exaggerated excitement adults often use with children. â€Å"You hear that?† my dream-self asked. â€Å"Daddy’s home.† Mirrored excitement showed on the girl’s face as my dream-self stood up, still holding the girl and balancing her on one hip. It was an act of some coordination, considering how small my dream-self was. They walked to the front door and stepped outside onto a porch. It was nighttime, all quiet darkness, save for a small light hanging on the porch. It shone onto a long stretch of unbroken white snow on the lawn and the driveway. All around, more snow fell in a steady stream. I didn’t recognize the place, but it certainly wasn’t Seattle. That much snow would have sent the city into a panic, putting everyone on Armageddon alert. My dream-self was perfectly at ease, barely noticing the snow. Wherever she was, it was a common occurrence. In the driveway, a car had just pulled up. I felt my dream-self’s heart swell with happiness. A man stood behind it, a non-descript dark figure in the faint lighting. He took out a rolling suitcase and slammed the trunk shut. The little girl clasped her hands in excitement, and my dream-self waved a hand in greeting. The man returned the wave as he walked toward the house, and my waking self tried desperately to see his face. It was too dark. I needed him to get closer, just a little closer – I couldn’t get any closer because just then, I felt my soul get ripped out of me. I sat up in bed, nearly screaming in agony at the pain coursing through me. All four angels, plus Vincent, ringed the room. The power pulsing around us felt like smoke. I could barely breathe. And there, beside my bed, was Nyx. She looked a lot like Erik’s description: an old, emaciated woman. Her skin and hair were white, her dark eyes sunken and inhuman. A tattered, gossamer dress wrapped around her body. She had an almost translucent look, like she wasn’t entirely solid, and a sparkling aura shone around her. I couldn’t see the forces being wielded, but I felt them distinctly. The angels temporarily had her enclosed in walls of power, but she wasn’t bound, not yet. She pushed back against their restraints with considerable power of her own, and I gaped. Any one of those angels dwarfed my own power – yet, their combined force was still an even match for hers. It was a staggering thought, and I couldn’t understand why she’d need my energy since she had so much of her own. And actually, she did have some of mine. She’d taken about half before they’d pulled her out of me. Nyx shrieked in rage, still pushing back on them. Then, bit by bit, I could see the balance shift. Her power was fading the more she used it. The angels’ was steady. They were weakening her. She realized this and panic showed on her face. Casting frantic eyes over all the angels, she finally rested her gaze on Yasmine. There was still enough of a faint connection between us that I realized what Nyx was going to do. She’d sought out the least powerful of the foursome. Mustering the last of her power, she blasted it toward Yasmine, hoping both to smash the angels’ united front and hurt Yasmine enough to cause a distraction. A heartbeat before Nyx unleashed her attack, I saw Vincent’s face. He too realized what she was going to do. He moved forward, and I felt his mask drop. The telltale nephilim signature washed over me, and his power filled the room as well. There was a lot of it. He’d held back in the alley. Invisible energy rushed from Nyx toward Yasmine, trying to destroy the angel. But Vincent was there, blocking the attack. It rebounded back on Nyx. She screamed again, her defenses shattering. The other angels seized the opportunity, and bands of light snapped into place around her. A moment later, the light faded, but the restraints were there, even if I could no longer see them. She clawed around her, like a twisted version of a mime in a box, but she was trapped. She couldn’t get through the walls they’d locked her in. They’d done it. They’d recaptured Nyx. But none of the angels were paying attention to her. They were all looking at Vincent. â€Å"You,† gasped Joel. He didn’t hesitate. He strode toward the nephilim, and I saw Joel’s body start to shimmer with light. He was about to transform into his true form, a form of terrible beauty and power. But Yasmine was faster. The slim, dark-haired woman became pure light. She was all the colors of the rainbow and none of them. A sword of flame appeared in her hands. She stepped in front of Vincent – who was screaming at her to stop – and swung toward Joel. The blade hit him, and he screamed. An awful, burning sensation was starting to flood me. Hastily, I shielded my eyes and looked away, realizing what I’d almost done. An angel’s true form was an indescribable thing, requiring senses a human – or a human-turned-succubus – didn’t possess. Staring at her could cause me major damage. Even being in the same room with her hurt. But I’d seen what I’d needed to before looking away. I’d seen the sword fall. Yasmine had attacked Joel. Nyx had pegged her as the weakest of the four, but Yasmine and Joel must have been incredibly close in power. Catching him by surprise like that tipped the scales. The air in the room swirled, reaching hurricane levels. Power exploded around me, like a sun going supernova. Everything was fire and wind. And screaming. Twin screams: Yasmine’s and Joel’s. I wrapped my arms around me, burying my face, certain I was going to die. The energy exploding toward me reached a point in which it would surely blow up the building, blow up the world. Stronger and stronger it grew. Suddenly, it all reversed. Power rushed away from my side of the room, back toward the angels. It was like a black hole had formed, sucking everything toward it. Of course, it was only pulling energy, not physical objects, but I nonetheless felt like it was dragging me in too. I clutched the bed’s comforter, using it like an anchor to hold me down. Time ceased to have meaning. Ten seconds or ten hours could have passed for all I knew. Finally, the rushing stopped, and everything went still. The atmosphere returned to normal. No more insane power levels. There was only what you would normally expect in a room with three angels, a nephilim, a succubus, and a primordial entity of chaos. The latter had suddenly moved to the backburner of everyone’s attention. Yasmine had returned to her â€Å"human† form. It was safe for me. I looked up, expecting Carter and Whitney to swoop in and attack her. But they stood frozen. No trace of Joel remained. He was gone, destroyed. The typhoon of power had marked his death. Yasmine was on her knees, fingers digging into the sides of her face. She sobbed, murmuring words that sounded like frantic prayers. Vincent, like the angels, kept his distance from her. She had just killed Joel. I didn’t understand why no one was acting. Why were they just standing there? Everyone seemed to be waiting for something. Suddenly, a voice hissed beside me, more in my mind than spoken aloud. â€Å"Succubus.† I looked into Nyx’s cavernous eyes. Like Vincent and the angels, I’d forgotten about her. She extended her hand toward me, and I cringed. Fortunately, the invisible binds kept her from getting any closer. â€Å"Succubus,† she repeated. â€Å"Touch the walls. Use the last of your power to set me free.† â€Å"What? No!† I was dividing my attention between her and the others. The angelic group still stood motionless. â€Å"Free me, and I’ll help you exact your revenge.† â€Å"Revenge? Who are you talking about?† â€Å"The one who sent me to you when I escaped,† she rasped. â€Å"The one who promised you to me.† I had no clue what she meant. â€Å"Like†¦who freed you?† She cast an uneasy look behind her. Time was ticking down on her distraction. â€Å"No, you were promised to me! But I can help you. Help you punish – â€Å" â€Å"No,† I said. She was too dangerous. Whatever insane revenge she was talking about wasn’t worth what she could do to mortals if she was freed. Her desperation grew. The angels were eventually going to remember her, and we both knew it. â€Å"I will show you the end of the dream!† she cried. â€Å"I’ll show you the man. The man in the dream.† My heart stopped. â€Å"He isn’t real,† I whispered. â€Å"It was all a lie. You used it to trick me.† â€Å"No! Everything I show is true. Always true.† â€Å"It can’t be†¦it’s impossible.† I swallowed and felt tears starting to fill my eyes. I wanted it to be true. More than anything. â€Å"That can’t ever happen to me.† Nyx beat her hands on her unseen prison walls. â€Å"It’s real! It’s the future! I’ve seen it. Touch the walls, and I will show you. I will show you the man in the dream!† I wanted to. I wanted to see him. I needed to see him. The man in the dream. The man who could maybe truly make this future happen†¦. My hand moved forward, like it was being controlled by an outside force. Nyx’s eyes widened, eager and hungry. All of a sudden, a scream split the air. No, it was more than a scream. When Yasmine had destroyed Joel, that had involved screaming. This was more than that. It was the most horrible noise in the universe, a phenomenon that went beyond mere sound. Much as my eyes couldn’t exactly perceive an angel’s appearance, my ears couldn’t fully comprehend this. My hand dropped from Nyx, and I jerked my gaze to the angels. Yasmine was still on her knees, and flames were starting to consume her. It was no ordinary fire, though. It reminded me of the light of her true form: all colors and none. Carter and Whitney watched, faces unreadable. Vincent also watched. He’d taken a few steps toward me, backing away from the fire. The look on his face was filled with a jumble of emotions, none of them good. I didn’t understand what was happening to Yasmine yet, but I knew what would happen to him. â€Å"Get out,† I told him in a low voice. His face was pale, as pale as Nyx’s. He looked like he’d aged a hundred years. â€Å"I can’t†¦I can’t leave her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You have to. They’ll destroy you. Or if they don’t, someone else will. Someone else in the city will have noticed this. You know I’m right.† His eyes were still on Yasmine. I could no longer see her, though. She was all flame – flame that had turned black. â€Å"Go!† I exclaimed. â€Å"It’s what she’d want. She did this for you!† Vincent flinched at those words and finally looked at me. The full force of his grief made the held-back tears spill down my cheeks. â€Å"Go. Please,† I begged. Joel had been destroyed. Yasmine looked like she was about to be. I couldn’t stand anymore death. He said nothing, but after several seconds, he turned invisible. I felt his aura go. Across the room, the flames were starting to fade. Yasmine was slowly reappearing, completely unscathed. She looked no different, but something about her signature had changed. I felt the same golden light, the impression of saffron and frankincense. But it was edged in something else. It no longer had the sharp, crystalline quality of angelic auras. That was gone, replaced by a dark and smoky feel – a smokiness that had nothing to do with the fire. The flames finally disappeared altogether, and Yasmine still knelt on the floor. Seconds later, another signature joined us, one I knew well. Jerome stood in the room, apparently back from whatever clandestine matters he’d needed to oversee. He looked from face to face, finally focusing on mine. â€Å"Jesus Christ. What have you done now?† I ignored him, unable to tear my gaze from Yasmine. She looked the same, exactly the same. And yet, she wasn’t†¦ She’d noticed the change too. She held her arms out in front of her, studying them as though she’d never seen herself before. Horror flooded her features. â€Å"No,† she moaned. â€Å"No†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She began sobbing again. Carter finally looked away from her and met Jerome’s eyes. â€Å"This is yours now, Charon.† Jerome nodded and stepped toward Yasmine. â€Å"Time to go.† She looked up at him, face glistening with tears. She said nothing, but she didn’t need to. Her expression said everything. It was a plea, a plea that none of this was real, that maybe – just maybe – Jerome could make it all go away. He shook his head and touched her shoulder. They vanished. The room was quiet, an unnatural quiet that felt almost oppressive. My voice seemed strange and out of place. â€Å"Wh-what happened?† I asked Carter. I noticed now that Whitney was crying. â€Å"Yasmine has fallen,† he said softly. â€Å"She’s a demon now.† How to cite Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 22, Essay examples

Smoke Free Restaurants Essay Example For Students

Smoke Free Restaurants Essay According to an article in Public Health News titled Number of Smoke-Free Restaurants Soars, and published March 9, 1999, cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals and exposure to environmental smoke or secondhand smoke is responsible for 1,000 non-smoker deaths in Washington state each year. Listed below are some ideas that will help eliminate the problem of cigarette smoke ruining many meals in restaurants. In the past few years some public places have established their facilities as non-smoking out of respect of the customers health and enjoyment. Some examples are public transportation and public federal buildings. The customer respect issue regarding smoking needs to be adopted by all restaurants to avoid the nuisance of stale tobacco smells and tastes. Once solution to eliminate this problem is to create all restaurants as non-smoking. A second idea is to require all restaurants to install air purifier/cleaners. Non-smoking restaurants, enclosed smoking sections and required air purifier/cleaners offer different ways to eliminate dining in a smokey restaurant.Creating restaurants as non-smoking would avoid the problem of nicotine odors ruining many meals. The Onion, located in downtown Spokane, requires that all smoking be done in the bar area. The bar is separated from the main restaurant by a gate. I ate lunch at this restaurant, and while I was there smoke from the bar drifted to my table and spoiled my lunch. The non-smoking policy is catching on in various public places and restaurants taking on the same policy would solve this problem of spoiled meals caused by cigarette smoke. Enclosed smoking sections is also a solution to smokey restaurants.

Gaia Vs Selfish Gene Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Gaia Vs. Selfish Gene Essay, Research Paper Peoples have ever wondered how life evolved on Earth. Richard Dawkins # 8217 ; book The Selfish Gene and James Lovelock # 8217 ; s book The Ages of Gaia effort to cast some visible radiation on this argument. Dawkins # 8217 ; presents a reductionist point of position in that he argues that development takes topographic point wholly through the effects of natural choice on the endurance of selfish cistrons. Lovelock, on the contrary, provides a holistic position of development and argues that the full Earth evolves as a super-organism where the biology controls the abiota. Besides the dissension in the differing scientific positions, the linguistic communication used in both of the books is besides really different. Most of our apprehension of a construct depends, to a certain grade, on the linguistic communication used to depict it. Both Dawkins and Lovelock to a great extent use scientific metaphors in explicating the biological theories presented in their books. We will write a custom essay sample on Gaia Vs Selfish Gene Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, the metaphors used by Dawkins make the reader think beyond the range of the scientific message of his theory, therefore weakening his statement. While, Lovelock # 8217 ; s usage of metaphors stimulates scientific logical thinking and therefore beef uping his statement. John Lovelock in his book The Ages of Gaia presents an statement for a theory regulating the relationship between the Earth # 8217 ; s biology and its physical environment. Lovelock holistic position of nature combines biological science and geoclimatology as one scientific discipline, which he calls geophysiology, # 8220 ; the survey of life and inanimate Earth as a individual system ( Lovelock 11 ) . # 8221 ; Lovelock # 8217 ; s theory provinces that life is necessary to keep the planet # 8217 ; s thermodynamic and chemical composing in its current province of homeostasis ( the inclination of a system to keep stableness even with external breaks ) until some external force interrupts it, at which point it will travel to a new stable province. He footings this theory # 8220 ; Gaia # 8221 ; , after the Grecian goddess of Earth. The Gaia theory delivers two primary deductions: life beings regulate their planet, and the development of species and their physical milieus are a ind ividual inseparable procedure. The hypothesis points to stable conditions, such as O degrees, C dioxide concentrations and clime, as grounds that populating beings maintain a vital environment. The Gaia Hypothesis is a metaphor in itself that helps depict the planet as a life being ; a metaphor for the Earth every bit seen as a individual physiological system. Lovelock describes the planetal ecosystem as alive because it behaves like a life being by modulating its temperature and chemical science at a changeless province favorable for life to develop. Another metaphor used by Lovelock is Daisyworld. Daisyworld is a computer-stimulated theoretical account of an fanciful planet developed by Lovelock to specifically show his Gaia hypothesis. In this theoretical account, Lovelock presents the behaviour of the theoretical planet Daisyworld where the environment consists of a individual entity ( planetal temperature ) , and the biology consists of merely two species: dark daisies that absorb radiation, and hence warming the planet and light daisies that tend to reflect visible radiation, which has a chilling consequence. Like the Earth, Daisyworld maintains a changeless temperature and the conditions for its endurance by following its ain natural procedures. In the yesteryear, when the Sun was non every bit bright as today, dark daisies flourished because they were able to absorb the heat from the sunshine. The dark daisies bit by bit took over most of the planet, increasing the planet # 8217 ; s clime. When the suns strength increased , the lighter daisies began to boom by reflecting visible radiation and chilling the planet. Therefore, the population of the visible radiation and dark daisies adj ust themselves of course to maintain the temperature invariable at the optimum degree for daisy growing. In this manner, Daisyworld is a metaphor for a self-acting system, as predicted by Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. The Selfish Gene gives a really different position of the development of life. Dawkins presents a reductionist position in his theory that cistrons are the primary manner for natural choice and development. Dawkins looks at the evolutionary procedure, how Deoxyribonucleic acid replicates in organizing human life, and the possibility that there is a societal analogue to genetics where human traits can be culturally transmitted. Dawkins # 8217 ; book besides delivers two primary deductions: that development takes topographic point wholly through the effects of natural choice and extension of cistrons and that cistrons are selfish, non selfless. Dawkins provinces that development began in the ancient seas. He uses the metaphor # 8220 ; aboriginal soup # 8221 ; to depict the contents of the seas before living things came approximately. In this # 8220 ; aboriginal soup, # 8221 ; protein molecules indiscriminately bonded together to organize # 8220 ; replicators, # 8221 ; DNA. Dawkins provinces that there was an unconscious battle for endurance amongst the replicators. He so goes on to associate the behaviour of cistrons to human behaviour and personality by presenting the construct of a # 8220 ; selfish cistron, # 8221 ; where he defines # 8220 ; selfish # 8221 ; as a cistron scheme to guarantee its survive over its rival allelomorphs. His usage of the term # 8220 ; selfish # 8221 ; personifies cistrons as an person, capable of doing determinations for its ain good. In his gap statement, Dawkins provinces, # 8220 ; we are survival machines-robot vehicles blindly programmed to continue the selfish molecules known as cistrons # 8221 ; ( Dawkins seven ) . By naming human existences # 8220 ; survival machines # 8221 ; and # 8220 ; automatons, # 8221 ; Dawkins implies that we are non in control for our ain actions. Again, his metaphors takes the reader off from his scientific logical thinking and do them believe of a distinguishable person that is drawing the strings of development for its ain good. This statement besides conjures up moral deductions that suggest that we are non in control of our lives and there is no point for our ain being. The point Dawkins wants to do is that metaphorically cistrons do possess a selfish ability. However, Dawkins # 8217 ; metaphors make it hard to take the selfish cistron theory from its moral deductions. In decision, Dawkins explains development non in footings of the larger image like that of life things or species development, but alternatively changes the position to the smallest possible unit, the cistron. Lovelock explains development in footings of a larger image ; his Gaia hypothesis provinces that life on Earth controls the physical and chemical conditions of the environment. Both Dawkins and Lovelock use metaphoric linguistic communication to depict the scientific constructs they want to present. These metaphors are cardinal to our apprehension of their thoughts. However, Dawkins usage of metaphors weakens his statement. His cardinal metaphor, # 8220 ; selfish cistrons, # 8221 ; makes one imagine a image of a automaton being inside us, who built us entirely for its benefit and has control over our being. Dawkins # 8217 ; metaphors are first-class in acquiring us to believe, but I believe it turns our ideas in a way Dawkins would non hold wanted, off from the scientific ba se. On the other manus, Lovelock # 8217 ; s Gaia theory is able to direct its metaphors towards scientific discipline, and promote farther research. Lovelock # 8217 ; s book helps his readers and scientists now realize that organisms adapt to environment every bit good as carbon monoxide adapt with the environment. Bibliography Dawkins, Richard. # 8220 ; The Selfish Gene. # 8221 ; Oxfod University Press, 1989. Lovelock, James. # 8220 ; The Ages of Gaia. # 8221 ; Norton Paperback, 1988.

10 Facts About Carbon

10 Facts About Carbon One of the most important elements for all living things is carbon. Carbon is the element with atomic number 6 and element symbol C. Here are 10 interesting carbon facts for you: Carbon is the basis for organic chemistry, as it occurs in all living organisms. The simplest organic molecules consist of carbon chemically bonded to hydrogen. Many other common organics also include oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.Carbon is a nonmetal that can bond with itself and many other chemical elements, forming over ten million compounds. Because it forms more compounds than any other element, it is sometimes called the King of the Elements.Elemental carbon can take the form of one of the hardest substances (diamond) or one of the softest (graphite).Carbon is made in the interiors of stars, although it was not produced in the Big Bang. Carbon is made in giant and supergiant stars via the triple-alpha process. In this process, three helium nuclei fuse. When a massive star turns into a supernova, carbon scatters and can be incorporated into next-generation stars and planets.Carbon compounds have limitless uses. In its elemental form, diamond is a gemstone and used for drilling/cutting; graphite is used in pencils, as a lubricant, and to protect against rust; while charcoal is used to remove toxins, tastes, and odors. The isotope Carbon-14 is used in radiocarbon dating. Carbon has the highest melting/sublimation point of the elements. The melting point of diamond is ~3550 °C, with the sublimation point of carbon around 3800 °C. If you baked a diamond in an oven or cooked it in a frying pan, it would survive unscathed.Pure carbon exists free in nature and has been known since prehistoric time. While most elements known since ancient time only exist in one allotrope, pure carbon forms graphite, diamond, and amorphous carbon (soot). The forms look very different from each other and display dissimilar properties. For example, graphite is an electrical conductor while diamond is an insulator. Other forms of carbon include fullerenes, graphene, carbon nanofoam, glassy carbon, and Q-carbon (which is magnetic and fluorescent).The origin of the name carbon comes from the Latin word carbo, for charcoal. The German and French words for charcoal are similar.Pure carbon is considered non-toxic, although inhalation of fine particles, such as soot, can damage lung tissue. Graphite and charcoal are considered safe enough to eat. While non-toxic to humans, carbon nanoparticles are deadly to fruit flies. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe (hydrogen, helium, and oxygen are found in higher amounts, by mass). It is the 15th most abundant element in the Earths crust. More Carbon Facts Carbon usually has a valence of 4, which means each carbon atom can form covalent bonds with four other atoms. The 2 oxidation state is also seen in compounds such as carbon monoxide.Three isotopes of carbon occur naturally. Carbon-12 and carbon-13 are stable, while carbon-14 is radioactive, with a half-life of around 5730 years. Carbon-14 is formed in the upper atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with nitrogen. While carbon-14 occurs in the atmosphere and living organisms, it is almost completely absent from rocks. There are 15 known carbon isotopes.Inorganic carbon sources include carbon dioxide, limestone, and dolomite. Organic sources include coal, oil, peat, and methane clathrates.Carbon black was the first pigment used for tattooing. Ãâ€"tzi the Iceman has carbon tattoos that endured through his life and are still visible 5200 years later.The amount of carbon on Earth is fairly constant. It is transformed from one form to another via the carbon cycle. In the carbon cycle, pho tosynthetic plants take carbon from air or seawater and convert it into glucose and other organic compounds via the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis. Animals eat some of the biomass and exhale carbon dioxide, returning carbon to the atmosphere. Sources Deming, Anna (2010). King of the elements?. Nanotechnology. 21 (30): 300201. doi:10.1088/0957-4484/21/30/300201Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.Smith, T. M.; Cramer, W. P.; Dixon, R. K.; Leemans, R.; Neilson, R. P.; Solomon, A. M. (1993). The global terrestrial carbon cycle. Water, Air, Soil Pollution. 70: 19–37. doi:10.1007/BF01104986Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.

Systems Engineering Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 108

Systems Engineering Management - Case Study Example The G-Soft was the riskiest function that the program could embrace. Precisely, this is because it had a poor managerial structure and duty stipulation making it ineffective. Additionally, the workers in the program were resentful because of their withdrawal from the previous workstation without prior knowledge. Consequently, their morale is low, resulting in poor team cohesion. The Techno State University has the most impact on the program as a whole (Case Study, 2015). Specifically, this is because the university professor had sufficient experience in developing devices for use in similar research. In addition, the Direct Broadcast mode used with the SASS program met the specification required in the transfer of data to support field measurements. In spite of that, the major shortcoming of the Techno University subcontractor was the high cost of the SASS function needed in the primary program. The ethical concern facing Jim is the rational of proceeding with the project amidst the threats facing the program and the lack of an adequate solution for the same. Specifically, this concerns the absence of both human and financial resources, as well as information to make sound decisions. Bob should approach the head of the Spacecraft IPT and discuss the importance of collaboration in executing the program projects. In doing so, he should inform him that the information required by his team is critical for the completion of other parts of the program (Case Study, 2015). In addition, he should emphasize that a delay in one of the projects can lead to a failure of the whole program. Furthermore, he should consult external officers such as the head of the program to intervene and find a permanent solution to the problem.

A literature review on Capital Investment Decisions Essay

A literature review on Capital Investment Decisions - Essay Example Some experienced investors feel that while making investments decisions it is very important to have a personal involvement rather than admitting a broker. The Global Investment Institute [2007] observes that relying on brokers will lack attention towards the account section, which seems to help a lot in increasing the returns of investments. In addition to that it says, â€Å"You need to become familiar with each stock you have in your portfolio so that you can make decisions on your own in the short-term, while still relying upon your financial advisor to structure your portfolio with a mix of the right instruments (stocks, bonds, money market, etc.) to help you make money in the long run†.Global-Investment-institute.com [2007]. Investment decision making is not an easy job, as the people involved in decision-making process have to calculate the previous income statements of the company or business is addition to evaluating all the accounts report and statistical details of the profit and loss of the company. Capital investments decisions have to be prepared relying on the returns and analysing whether the investment would be profitable. However, they are found to be useful in terms of â€Å"formulating long term goals†, â€Å"recognition of statistically dependent proposals†, â€Å"estimation and forecasting of current and future cash flows† etc observes [fao.org 2007] in addition to this fao.org initiates the economic evaluation of the investment proposals as another important aspect of investment decision making. The investment alternatives also have to be considered in order to make the decision in a profitable way. The investment analysis plays a very important role as a precautionary step in decision-making as there appears to be risks in returns, which would be acting as a major drawback in the financial conditions of a business or a company. There are instances of wrong decision-making in which there might be either lack of organised

Recruit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Recruit - Case Study Example The questions are designed to get complete information about the job since sections like background cover requirements such as travel, licensing needs and seasonal changes. The contacts section covers 62 questions on the level of supervision and the level of contacts with employees/clients. Similarly, the physical requirements section cover things like tools which are to be used on the job and other physical activities demanded by the position. Once the questionnaire has been filled, it can be used with reasonable accuracy to judge the type of position and the requirements for the position (HR Guide, 2001). Functional Job Analysis Scales have been used in America since the 1940s to deduce what exactly the requirements are for a particular job. Essentially, this is seen as a representative of what workers do in a job by analyzing the equipment used, the data needed, the people interaction, the instructions given and by analyzing their abilities of reasoning, math and verbal skills. Using these scales it is possible to analyze what the requirements for a cinema manager should be and how the cinema would employ his/her skills for a more efficient delivery of services (HR Guide, 2001). Another method which can be used is the OAI (Occupational Analysis Inventory) that locates and evaluates a person's performance on more than 600 responsibilities and duties which are part of any given job. This inventory looks at the goals of the job, the behaviour of the individual at the job, the mental activities required, the information handled by the person and the context in which the work is done. This inventory is then ranked against the rating scales defined for the task which includes the four elements of extent, application, and functions of the job or specific element of the job. While this method has been applied to many different types of work, it is less reliable then than the PAQ (HR Guide, 2001). The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) was developed in the 70s as a structured job analysis tool which connects the characteristics of a job to human characteristics found in individuals. The PAQ considers 195 components of work which are divided into five categories to understand where information comes from, the reasoning abilities used by the workers, the output created, relationships with other individuals and the context of the job in social and physical terms (HR Guide, 2001). As discussed earlier, there are several other methods for analyzing the requirements of a job and understanding what kind of individual would be best suited to fill a particular role. Clearly the application of experimentation and scientific analysis to the field of HR has had positive results since these surveys and questionnaires have had better than average success in predicting the requirements for a position in the work force. 2. Job Analysis for Cinema Manager Knowing about the activities of a cinema and the process of running of a cinema

Mental Illness Analysis of Film Session 9 (2001)

Mental Illness Analysis of Film Session 9 (2001) Erica Moghtader Session 9: Mental Illness Analysis Deemed as one of the major cult films of all time, Session 9 invokes terror in the most realistic way possible- through abnormal psychology. In the end of the story, the character Mary Hobbes’ evil personality alternate, Simon, chillingly states when asked where he lives to the psychologist: â€Å"I live in the weak and the wounded, Doc (Anderson, 2001). Statements such as this lead to the notion that anyone could end up in a situation with, or actually like, the main character Gordon. In this paper I will discuss the various characters’ mental illnesses shown in Session 9 along with their symptoms, portrayal, and treatment amongst peers. This intense psychological horror film, directed by Brad Anderson, is centered on the restoration of a large mental asylum, built in 1871 and closed in 1985. Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan), owner of an asbestos removal company, agrees to restore the building in an impossible turnaround time of one week. Gordon hires a crew: Phil (David Carusoe), Hank (Josh Lucas), Jeff (Brandon Sexton III), and Mike (Stephen Gevedon). Mike, secretly listens to nine old recorded therapy sessions that he found, which focused on patient #444 Mary Hobbes. Each employee has personal issues that get in the way of the job, and in combination with stress, it leads to the pinnacle of the story. The movie ends with all characters dead except Gordon, who has made patient room #444 his home. Considering the aforementioned synopsis, there are three characters that portray mental illness throughout the movie. Gordon, the main character, seems disturbed from the beginning of the movie. As the scenes unfold, symptoms of schizophrenia begin to arise. In one of the first scenes as Gordon and Phil tour the asylum for an asbestos removal bid, Gordon has his first auditory and visual hallucination. As Gordon intently focuses on a specific room, #444, he sees a shadow move across his face while hearing â€Å"Hello, Gordon† (Anderson, 2001). Both kinds of hallucinations go on throughout the movie, in particular when his hallucination eggs him on to kill his wife and baby: â€Å"Do it, Gordon!† (Anderson, 2001). In the final scenes of the movie, the voice reappears repeating the same statement as he murders all the employees. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema (2011) deliberates that schizophrenic auditory hallucination such as these â€Å"often have a negative quality, criticizing or threatening the individuals or telling them to hurt themselves or others† (p. 223). Persecutory delusion for ms towards the end of the movie when Gordon believes that Phil is lying about a certain phone call because he thinks Phil killed/hurt Hank. Catanotic excitement is also displayed as Gordon runs aimlessly throughout the asylum looking for Hank, whom had been missing for days. There were several scenes that contained avolition. Many times Gordon sat â€Å"daydreaming† in the cemetery, room 444, and in front of his home. Gordon also presented a symptom of sleepwalking, or somnambulism, when he gave Hank a frontal lobotomy. Dr. Prakash Masand (1995) associated sleepwalking with schizophrenia: â€Å"The prevalence of somnambulism is 1 to 6 percent in the general adult population, although a higher incidence has been reported in patients with schizophrenia, hysteria and anxiety neuroses.† Not only did Gordon suffer from a mental illness, so did his nephew Jeff. Jeff, a young chap who needed a job, suffered from situational phobia. In particular he suffered from nyctophobia or in layman’s terms, fear of the dark. On his first day in the asylum, the breaker flips and in turn Mike asks Jeff to go down in the basement to turn it on. Jeff directly tells him he has nyctophobia and will not go down. When he is forced to go down in the basement the first time and has to walk through a slightly dark room, he hurriedly remedies the problem. At the end of the movie in the tunnels, as the lights slowly go out putting Jeff in complete darkness, he has a severe panic attack. The DSM-5 states that Specific Phobia disorder can be diagnosed if the individual shows immediate fear, avoidance and out of proportion reaction to the phobic situation (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011, p. 119). By the same token, patient Mary Hobbes also displays mental illness in the film. Although former, deceased patient Mary Hobbes never physically appears in Session 9, she makes quite an impression. Mary Hobbes was admitted into the asylum and diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. She had been traumatized by her brother Peter after he scared her causing her to fall on her porcelain doll, which in turn severely cut up her chest. At this point Simon took over Mary and killed Peter with his new hunting knife. In the taped sessions of Mary’s therapy, she does not remember anything that happened, even hysterically stating: â€Å"Nothing happened! No! I can’t remember!† (Anderson, 2001). Susan Nolen-Hoeksema (2011) explains that people suffering from dissociative identity disorder usually report significant periods of amnesia when the other personalities are in control (p. 163). Mary displayed three different identities: the Princess as the child alter, which is often associated with the development of dissociative identity disorder; Billy, the protector alter, who protects the individual from trauma; and Simon, the persecutor alter, who often inflicts pain or punishment (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011, p. 162). Subsequently, the treatment amongst the mentally ill characters was different than the sane characters. Depending on the situation, characters Gordon, Jeff and Mary were stigmatized or treated with compassion, At first Phil empathizes with Gordon over his fight with his wife. Phil then quickly takes advantage of the situation to get a bigger bonus; he discusses with Mike that they should force Gordon off the project due to his behavior/health. Phil knows Gordon is not in the state of mind to handle being removed, and even says so when he’s smiling to himself on the roof: â€Å"It’s gonna get ugly† (Anderson, 2001). Jeff is stigmatized from the moment he announced his phobia. Mike was irritated and called him names like â€Å"Mullet Head.† Phil completely disregarded Jeff’s phobia, which forced him to go down into the basement to fix the breaker in the dark. Though Jeff’s mistreatment did exasperate his illness, the mistreatment of Gordon by Phil led the persecutory delusions of Phil hurting Hank. Though I do not condone the mistreatment, there are several other aspects I do enjoy about Session 9. Session 9 is one of the best independent horror movies, winning best director at the Catalonian International Film Festival in 2001. Considering myself a horror buff since my early twenties, this is one of my favorites. In my opinion, movies are the scariest if they could really happen. The realistic production and general plot make this movie even scarier. As I compared the mental illnesses of the characters to factual data, I realized that the symptoms portrayed were very close to being true to form. Every time I have watched Session 9 I find different aspects to debate or admire. Now that I added abnormal psychology to my mental list, there are even more to ponder! In conclusion, various mental illnesses symptoms, portrayal, and treatment amongst peers were shown in Session 9. From Gordon’s schizophrenia to Mary’s dissociative identity disorder, to Jeff’s nyctophobia, Session 9 accurately portrays the symptoms and typical mistreatment of the mentally ill. Many fans of the movie think that Mary Hobbes was possessed by Genius Loci, an ancient ideology that a spirit is attached to a place, and in turn possessed Gordon. And in all actuality, who is to say something like a Genius Loci does not exist? Maybe one day science will mesh with the supernatural, or at least get along with each other. References Anderson, B. (Director). (2001).Session 9[DVD]. Masand, Prakash. (1995). Sleep Walking.American Family Physician. http://www.drplace.com/Sleepwalking_-_includes_patient_notes.16.21241.htm Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2011). Abnormal psychology (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Computer Fanatics - Good or Evil? :: essays papers

Computer Fanatics - Good or Evil? Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Charles Manson, and David Koresh were all fanatics of some nature. These fanatics did not have a helpful side effect for people but caused death and one of them a World War. Fanatics don’t all have to be bad though some fanatics helped our way of life or increased it with entertainment. Such fanatics like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird have made basketball a more enjoyable sport to watch. A fanatic is a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal. All of the above mentioned have had or have these qualities. One type of fanatic that has grown larger in numbers is the computer fanatic. With the rise of technology and the Internet kids and adults are becoming fanatical with computers. Some of the traits of a computer fanatic are a need or want to be around a computer most of the time, talks a lot about computers, and there incredible knowledge for them. A computer fanatic always wants to be around a computer and if he isn’t it’s almost like a withdrawal from a drug. To a computer fanatic a computer is almost like a drug and if he doesn’t get a constant supply of it then he gets moody or restless. Programmers and other computer technicians are almost all computer fanatics and they spend at least 40 hours a week on a computer. Computers to these people are basically there life and that is why the coined term computer nerd was created. A good example of a computer fanatic can be seen in the movie Matrix that the main actor is seen next to his computer asleep and it looks as if he hasn’t moved all day. They love computers like someone might love their wife. When a computer fanatic isn’t around their computer they are always talking about them. They will always at some point have to talk about some thing related to computers. They have a difficult time separating their computer from any other part of their life. It’s hard to carry a conversation with a computer fanatic because sooner or later they will mention something related to computers. Sometimes it can be interesting but usually they speak at a level of understanding that a non-computer fanatic would not understand. There level of understanding is above most normal people and that is another way to tell if they are computer fanatics.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 18

Around ten the next morning, the phone jolted me out of a dream I'd been having about jellyfish and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Rolling over, I picked it up, discovering in the process that I ached a lot less than I had last night. Immortal healing in action. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Hey, it's Seth.† Seth! Yesterday's events rushed back to me. The birthday party. The ice cream. The perfume. I again wondered who he'd had to meet after dropping me off at the bookstore. â€Å"Hi,† I gushed, sitting up. â€Å"How are you?† â€Å"Not bad. I'm, uh, over at Emerald City, and I didn't see you†¦ they said it's your day off.† â€Å"Yeah, I'll be back tomorrow.† â€Å"Okay. So, um, do you want to maybe do something today? Lunch? Or a movie maybe? Unless you have other plans†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No†¦ not exactly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I bit my lip, silencing the immediate acceptance that wanted to spring forth. I still had that strange, inexplicable attraction and sense of comfortable familiarity with Seth. I would have liked to hang out with him more, but I had already tried walking the line of friendship and dating with Roman, only to have that blow up in my face. It would be far better never to get started with Seth, despite my longings. Besides, I hadn't forgotten about my angelic bodyguard; I didn't really want him tagging along. Best to keep Carter indoors as long as possible. â€Å"But I'm sick.† â€Å"Really? I'm sorry.† â€Å"Yeah, you know†¦ just that kind of run-down feeling.† It wasn't entirely a lie. â€Å"I don't really feel up to getting out today.† â€Å"Oh. Okay. Do you need anything? Do you want me to bring you any food maybe?† â€Å"No†¦ no,† I hastily assured him, banishing images of Seth feeding me chicken soup while I lounged around in cute pajamas. Christ. This was going to be harder than I thought. â€Å"I don't want you to have to keep taking care of me. Thanks, though.† â€Å"I don't mind. I mean, no problem.† â€Å"I should be in tomorrow, if this doesn't get worse†¦ so I'll see you then. Maybe we can have coffee. Or rather, I'll have coffee and you can†¦ not have coffee.† â€Å"Okay. I'd like that. Not having coffee, I mean. Would you mind†¦ that is, can I check on you later? Call you again?† â€Å"Sure.† The phone was safe enough. â€Å"Okay. If you need anything before then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know how to reach you.† We said our goodbyes and disconnected, and I clambered out of bed to see what mischief Carter had managed this morning. I found the angel sitting on a stool by my kitchen counter, feeding Aubrey sausage with one hand while he held some sort of breakfast sandwich in the other. An enormous McDonald's bag sat on the counter near him. â€Å"I made breakfast,† he told me, eyes on Aubrey. â€Å"Don't give her that,† I chastised. â€Å"It's bad for her.† â€Å"Cats don't eat kernels of dry food in the wilderness.† â€Å"Aubrey couldn't survive in the wilderness.† I scratched her head, but she was more interested in licking the grease off her chops. Opening the bag, I found a variety of sandwiches and hash brown patties. â€Å"I didn't know what you'd want,† Carter explained as I pulled out a Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit. I bit into it, melting at that scrumptiousness, grateful weight gain and cholesterol were nonevents for me. â€Å"Hey, wait. Did you actually go to McDonald's?† â€Å"Yup.† I swallowed the food. â€Å"You just left? Just now?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"What kind of bodyguard are you? What if the nephilim came back and attacked me?† He eyed me and shrugged. â€Å"You look okay to me.† â€Å"You're not very good at this.† â€Å"Who was on the phone?† â€Å"Seth.† â€Å"The author?† â€Å"Yeah. Wanted to hang out today. I told him I was sick.† â€Å"Poor guy. You're breaking his heart.† â€Å"Better that than something else.† I finished the sandwich and went for a second one. Aubrey watched me hopefully. â€Å"So what are we doing today?† â€Å"Nothing. At least, I'm not going out, if that's what you mean.† â€Å"You aren't going to attract nephilim attention that way.† He glanced around my apartment and grimaced when I didn't respond. â€Å"It's going to be a long day then. I hope you at least have cable.† We spent the rest of the morning more or less staying out of each other's way. I let him use my laptop, and he got caught up in surfing eBay. What he could be looking for, I had no idea. As for me, I stayed in my pajamas after all, tossing a robe over them and deeming that good enough. I attempted to call Roman once, knowing I'd need to face him eventually, but I only managed to leave a voice mail message. I hung up with a sigh, opting to curl up on the couch with a book Seth had recommended in one of his e-mails. Just as I was starting to think I'd recovered from the dense breakfast and needed lunch, Carter suddenly peered over the top of the laptop, like a hound sniffing the wind. â€Å"I have to go,† he told me abruptly, standing up. â€Å"What? What do you mean?† † Nephilim signature.† I bolted upright from my lounging position. â€Å"What? Where?† â€Å"Not here.† With that, he blinked out of sight. I sat there, looking around uneasily. Whereas earlier I'd felt stifled by his presence, his sudden disappearance became a gaping hole in my environment. I was exposed. Vulnerable. When he didn't return in a few minutes, I tried unsuccessfully to pay attention to my book, finally giving up after I'd reread the same sentence five times. Still wanting lunch, I called and ordered a pizza, making sure I included enough for Carter. Doing this wasn't the best of ideas on my part since it meant opening the door eventually. When I did, I expected no less than an army of nephilim outside. Instead, I only found a bored-looking pizza guy, demanding $15.07. I munched on the pizza and tried to watch television with little luck. Turning to the laptop, I checked my e-mail and found that Seth had sent me a funny letter, much more eloquent than our earlier conversation, per usual. It only provided temporary distraction, and I was on the verge of breaking out the paint-by-number kit when Carter blinked back into my living room. â€Å"What the hell was that? Where have you been?† The angel regarded me with a calm, wry smile. â€Å"Easy there, haven't you ever heard of respecting boundaries in a relationship? It was in that book you were so quick to discard.† â€Å"Cut it out. You can't just say ‘ nephilim signature' and then disappear like that.† â€Å"I can actually. I have to.† He found the cold pizza on my counter and bit into a piece. Swallowing, he continued, â€Å"This nephilim's got a real twisted sense of humor. Every once in a while, it likes to unmask†¦ flash us, so to speak. This time it came from West Seattle.† â€Å"You can detect that from this far away?† â€Å"Jerome and I can. We never catch the creep, but we have to check it out anyway. Leads us on a merry chase.† The implications seemed obvious to me. â€Å"So you leave me? What if it's a setup? What if it flashes you over there and then zaps back to me while all the attention's away?† â€Å"It can't just ‘zap' around. Nephilim don't move like higher immortals do; they're constrained by the same limitations as you, fortunately. This one would have to get in a car and drive back over here, just like everyone else, which would hardly be a speedy process. You're protected by miles of traffic congestion.† â€Å"Weird.† â€Å"Like we said, they're unpredictable. They like breaking rules, shaking up the status quo just to see what we'll do.† â€Å"Weird,† I repeated. â€Å"Does it even know you're there? That it's making you drop everything and come?† â€Å"If the nephilim's close enough, it'd be able to sense the teleporting but nothing else past that. As long as we're masked, our identities, strength, and whatever stay hidden. So, if it is lurking, it knows two higher immortals came to check it out, but not much more than that.† â€Å"And it just watches and waits,† I concluded. â€Å"Kind of twisted. Lord, these things are a pain in the ass.† â€Å"Tell me about it. They ‘do not go gently into that good night.' â€Å" I blinked at the poetic reference. â€Å"Wait†¦ that's what's going to happen? You're going to kill†¦ er, destroy it or something?† Carter cocked his head toward me curiously. â€Å"What'd you think would happen? Ten years and parole?† â€Å"I†¦ don't know. I just figured†¦ wow. I don't know. Are you into that? The whole smiting thing? I mean, I suppose you guys vanquish evil on a regular basis, huh?† â€Å"We smite, as you so cutely term it, when we have to. Demons tend to be more into it than we are. In fact, Nanette even offered to come up and take care of this nephilim,† he recalled, referring to Portland's archdemoness. â€Å"But I told Jerome I'd help.† â€Å"Wouldn't Jerome want to do it himself?† â€Å"Do you refuse backup when it's offered?† he asked me, answering my question with a question which, really, was no answer at all. Thinking about it, he laughed softly. â€Å"Of course, I forget, Georgina rushes in where angels fear to tread.† â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know how that quote really goes.† I stood up and stretched. â€Å"Well, if the excitement's over, I think I'll take a bath.† â€Å"Wow. The harsh lifestyle of a succubus. I wish I had your job.† â€Å"Hey, our side's always recruiting. You might need to be a little prettier to be an incubus, though. And a little more charming.† â€Å"Untrue. Mortal women go for jerks. I see it all the time.† â€Å"Touche.† I left him and took my bath, afterward finally giving up my pajamas for jeans and a T-shirt. I returned to the living room, turned on the television, and found The African-Queen just starting. Carter closed the laptop and watched with me. I'd always liked Katharine Hepburn but couldn't help marvel at what a dull day this was turning out to be. Avoiding going outside wouldn't do me any good in the long term since I'd have to drag Carter around with me tomorrow anyway when I went to work. My self-imposed enclosure today only prolonged the inevitable. In light of this, I considered breaking the cabin fever by seeing if he wanted to go to dinner after the movie. He shot up before I could speak, once more sensing a nephilim signature. â€Å"Twice in one day?† â€Å"It happens.† â€Å"Where now?† â€Å"Lynn wood.† â€Å"This guy gets around.† But I was speaking to empty air; Carter had disappeared. Sighing, I turned back to the movie, feeling a little more at ease after the angel's last explanation. The nephilim was in Lynnwood, trying to be a nuisance to Jerome and Carter. Commuting time was rapidly approaching, and Lynnwood was no small jump away. No nephilim would beat the angel back. As Carter had pointed out, I was safe for the time being. I had no need to panic. Yet, I nearly jumped out of my skin anyway when I heard the phone ring a few minutes later. Nervously, I picked up the receiver, imagining a nephilim blasting out of it. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Hey. It's me again.† â€Å"Seth. Hi.† â€Å"Hope I'm not bothering you. I just wanted to see how you are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Better,† I told him sincerely. â€Å"I liked your e-mail.† â€Å"Did you? Cool.† Our normal silence fell. â€Å"So†¦ did you get a lot of writing done today?† â€Å"I did actually. About ten pages. That never sounds like a lot, but – â€Å" A knock sounded at the door, and a chill ran down my spine. â€Å"Can-can you hang on?† â€Å"Sure.† Hesitantly, I prowled toward the door like a cat burglar, as though slow and drawn-out movements would actually do something against an insanely powerful supernatural being. Reaching the door, I carefully peered out the peephole. Roman. Exhaling with relief, I opened the door, resisting the urge to throw my arms around him. â€Å"Hi.† â€Å"Are you talking to me?† asked Seth through the phone. â€Å"Hi,† Roman told me, looking just as uncertain as I felt. â€Å"Can†¦ I come in?† † Er, no I'm not, I mean, yes you can, and yes I am talking to you now.† I stepped aside so Roman could enter. â€Å"Look Seth, can I, um, call you back? Or maybe†¦ I'll just see you tomorrow, okay?† â€Å"Uh, yeah. I guess. Everything okay?† â€Å"It's fine. Thanks for calling.† We hung up, and I gave Roman my full attention. â€Å"Seth Mortensen, famous author?† â€Å"I've been sick today,† I explained, using the same excuse I'd given Seth. â€Å"He just wanted to check on me.† â€Å"Terribly considerate of him.† Roman put his hands in his pockets and paced. â€Å"We're just friends.† â€Å"Of course you are. Because you don't date, right?† â€Å"Roman – † I cut off the onslaught that wanted to rush out, switching to safer territory. â€Å"Can I get you anything? Soda? Coffee?† â€Å"I can't stay. I was passing through and got your message. I just thought I'd†¦ I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid.† He turned as if to leave, and I frantically reached out, grabbing his arm. â€Å"Wait. Don't. Please.† He turned to face me, looking down from his lofty height, the normally good-humored face grave today. Fighting my natural reaction at such proximity, I felt surprised when his expression softened, and he noted, mildly astonished, â€Å"You really aren't feeling well.† â€Å"W-what makes you say that?† I had shape-shifted my bruises away as Jerome had suggested and whatever smarting pain I felt was no longer visible. Gingerly, he reached out and stroked my cheek, fingers becoming bolder. â€Å"I don't know†¦ you're just†¦ kind of pale, I guess.† I started to point out I wasn't wearing makeup and then realized I wanted to appear sick. â€Å"Probably a cold.† He let his hand drop. â€Å"Is there anything I can do for you? I don't like†¦ seeing you like this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lord, how bad did I look? â€Å"I'm fine. I just need rest. Look, about the other night – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry,† he interrupted. â€Å"I shouldn't have pushed you – â€Å" I stared, amazed. â€Å"You didn't do anything. It was me. I was the nutjob. I'm the one who couldn't handle things.† â€Å"No, it was my fault. I knew how you felt about getting serious, and I still kissed you.† â€Å"I did as much kissing as you. That wasn't the problem. Me freaking out was the problem. I was drunk and stupid. I shouldn't have done that to you.† â€Å"It's no problem. Really. I'm just glad you're okay.† A faint smile glimmered on his handsome features, and I remembered Seth saying I was easy to forgive. â€Å"Look, since we both feel we're at fault, maybe we can make it up to each other. Go out sometime this week and – â€Å" â€Å"No.† The calm certainty in my voice startled both of us. â€Å"Georgina – â€Å" â€Å"No. Roman, we aren't going out anymore†¦ and I don't think we can really pull off friends either.† I swallowed. â€Å"It'd be better if we just make a clean break – â€Å" â€Å"Georgina,† he exclaimed, eyes widening. â€Å"You can't be serious. You and I – â€Å" â€Å"I know. I know. But I can't do this. Not now.† â€Å"You're breaking up with me.† â€Å"Well, we weren't ever really going out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What happened to you?† he demanded. â€Å"What happened to you at some point in your life that made you so terrified of getting close to another person? What makes you run like this? Who hurt you?† â€Å"Look, it's complicated. And it doesn't matter. That past is gone, remember? I just can't do this with you now, okay?† â€Å"Is there someone else? Doug? Or Seth?† â€Å"No! There's no one. I just can't be with you.† We went around and around, rephrasing the same points in different ways, our emotions growing and growing. It felt like forever, but really only a few minutes passed as he pressed and I refused. He never turned angry or pushy, but his dismay was clearly apparent, and I felt certain I'd cry as soon as he left. Finally, glancing at the time, he ran a hand ruefully through his dark hair, turquoise eyes luminous with regret. â€Å"I have to go. I want to talk to you more – â€Å" â€Å"No. I don't think we should. It's better. I've really liked being with you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He laughed harshly, walking toward the door. â€Å"Don't say that. Don't sugar coat things.† â€Å"Roman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I felt horrible. Anger and grief were written all over his face. â€Å"Please understand – â€Å" â€Å"See you around, Georgina. Or maybe not.† He had barely slammed the door when tears spilled down my cheeks. Going to my bedroom, I lay down on my bed, ready for a good cry that never came. No more tears issued forth, in spite of my mixed feelings of despair and relief. Part of me wanted to call Roman back right now, make him return to me; the other part coolly warned I now had clear reason to cut Seth off as soon as possible before things escalated. Good Lord, why did it seem I was always hurting people I cared about? What was it about me that made me repeat this cycle over and over? Roman's devastated face still hovered in my mind, but I took comfort in the fact that he hadn't been traumatized as much as Kyriakos. Not nearly as much. The discovery of my affair with Ariston had led to condemnation from both our families and an impending divorce coupled with the loss of my dowry. I think I might have been able to handle that scorn, even the hateful looks. What I could not handle was the way Kyriakos had been stripped of all life and caring. I almost wished he would turn angry and lash out at me, but there was nothing like that within him. Nothing at all. I had destroyed him. After several days of separation, I found him sitting on one of the rocky outcroppings overlooking the water. I tried to engage him in conversation a number of times, but he wasn't responding to any of it. He would only stare out at that expanse of blue, face dead and expressionless. I stood by him, my own emotions writhing inside me. I had reveled in being a forbidden object of desire with Ariston, but I also wanted to be one of love with Kyriakos. I couldn't have it both ways apparently. I reached out to wipe the tears from his cheeks, and he slapped my hand away. It was the closest he had ever come to hitting me. â€Å"Don't,† he warned, leaping up. â€Å"Don't ever touch me again. You sicken me.† I felt my own tears now, even if his anger meant he was still alive. â€Å"Please†¦ it was a mistake. I don't know what happened.† He laughed hollowly, a terrible, mirthless sound. â€Å"Don't you? You seemed to know perfectly well at the time. So did he.† â€Å"It was a mistake.† He turned his back to me and walked over to the edge of the cliff, staring out at the sea. He spread his arms out and tipped his head back, letting the wind blow over him. Gulls cried nearby. † Wh-what are you doing?† â€Å"I am flying,† he told me. â€Å"If I keep flying†¦ right over this edge, I will be happy again. Or better yet, I won't feel anything at all. I won't think about you anymore. I won't think about your face or your eyes or the way you smile or the way you smell. I won't love you anymore. I won't hurt anymore.† I approached him, half-afraid my presence would make him go over. â€Å"Stop it. You're scaring me. You don't mean any of this.† â€Å"Don't I?† He looked at me, and there was no more anger or cynicism. Only grief. Sorrow. Despair. Depression blacker than a moonless night. It was terrible and frightening. I wanted him to snap at me again, to yell at me. I would have even let him hit me, if only to see some sort of heat in him. There was none of that, though. Only darkness. He gave me a sad, bleak smile. The smile of one already dead. â€Å"I will never forgive you.† â€Å"Please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You were my life, Letha†¦ but no more. No more. I have no life now.† He walked away, and even as my heart broke, I exhaled in relief to see him moving away from the cliff. I wanted to run after him but gave him his space instead. Sitting down in his spot, I drew my knees up and buried my face in them, half wishing I was dead. â€Å"He'll come back here, you know,† a voice suddenly said behind me. â€Å"The pull is too strong. And next time, he may go over.† I jerked my head up, startled. I hadn't heard anyone approach. I didn't recognize the man who now stood there, odd in a town where everyone knew everyone else. He was slim and well-groomed, dressed in clothes more elegant than I usually saw around here. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"They call me Niphon,† he said with a small bow. â€Å"And you are Letha, Marthanes ‘ daughter, formerly wife of Kyriakos.† â€Å"I still am his wife.† â€Å"But not for long.† I turned my face away. â€Å"What do you want?† â€Å"I want to help you, Letha. I'd like to help you with this mess you've gotten yourself into.† â€Å"No one can help me. Not unless you can undo the past.† â€Å"No. No one can undo the past. I can make people forget it, though.† I slowly turned back to him, assessing his bright eyes and dapper manner. â€Å"Stop joking. I'm not in the mood.† â€Å"I assure you, I am most earnest.† Staring at him, I suddenly somehow knew he was telling the truth, as impossible as it was to believe. Later I would learn that Niphon was an imp, but at the time, I had only sensed that he had a strange air about him, the whispering of power that promised he really could do what he said. â€Å"How?† His eyes gleamed, not unlike Hugh's when he was on the edge of a major deal. â€Å"To erase the memory of what you've done is no small feat. It carries a price.† â€Å"Can you make me forget too?† â€Å"No. But I can make everyone else forget. Your family, your friends, the town. Him.† â€Å"I don't know†¦ I don't think I could go back to them then. Even if they didn't remember, I still would. I couldn't face Kyriakos like that. Unless†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, wondering if it might not be better never to come in contact with them again. â€Å"Can you make them forget me altogether? Make it like I've never been born?† Niphondrew a sharp, excited breath. â€Å"Yes, oh yes. But a favor like that†¦ a favor like that carries an even higher price†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He'd explained it to me then, what I'd have to give in return to completely blot me from the minds of those I'd known. My soul was a given. I'd carry it as long as I walked the earth, but it would have a lease on it, so to speak. That was the standard price for any hellish deal. But hell wanted more of me: my eternal service in the corruption of souls. I would spend the rest of my days seducing men, fulfilling their fantasies for my own gain and for those whom I served. It was an ironic fate, considering what had brought me to this point. To aid me, I'd gain the ability to take any form I chose, as well as the power to enhance my own charm. And of course, I'd have eternal life. Immortality and invulnerability. For some, that might have been benefit alone. â€Å"You'd be good. One of the best. I can sense it within you.† Imps had the ability to look into a person's soul and nature. â€Å"Most people think desire is only in the body, but it's here too.† He touched my forehead. â€Å"And you would never die. You would stay young and beautiful forever, until the earth perishes.† â€Å"And after that?† He smiled. â€Å"That's a long way off, Letha, whereas your husband's life is at stake now.† That had been what sold me. The knowledge that I could save Kyriakos and give him a new life, a life free of me where he would have a chance to be happy once more. A life where I could slink away from my disgrace and maybe even be rightfully punished. My soul – which I barely understood anyway – seemed a small price. I'd agreed to the bargain, first shaking on it, then putting my mark on paperwork I couldn't read. Niphon left me, and I returned to town. It was eerily simple. When I returned, it was exactly as he had promised. The wish had already been carried out. No one knew me. Passing people – people I'd known my entire life – gave me the glances reserved for strangers. My own sisters walked by me without recognition. I wanted to find Kyriakos, to see if it was the same for him, but I couldn't muster the courage. I didn't want him to see my face, not ever again, even if he didn't recognize it. So I spent the day wandering, trying to accept the fact that I was gone to these people. It was harder than I thought it would be. And sadder. When nightfall came, I retreated again to the outskirts of town. I had nowhere to stay, after all. No family or friends. Instead, I sat in the dark, watching the moon and stars, wondering what I was supposed to do now. The answer came quickly. She rose almost from the ground, at first appearing as nothing more than a shadow, then gradually coalescing into the shape of a woman. The air vibrated with power around her, and suddenly I felt suffocated. I backed up, terror filling every part of me, my lungs unable to take in air. Wind rose from nowhere, whipping my hair and flattening the grass around me. Then, she stood before me, and the night was still again. Lilith. Queen of the Succubi. Lady of the Night. The First Woman. Fear like I had never known swept over me – and lust. I had never been attracted to a woman before, but Lilith has that effect on everyone. It is fixed in her being. No one can resist her. She wore a tall, slim shape that night, willowy and lovely. Her skin was the pale white of the aristocracy of that time – a white never achieved by those of us who worked outside regularly. Her hair was a raven's wing of black, falling in gleaming waves to her ankles. And her eyes†¦ well, let me just say there's a reason the old myths call succubi â€Å"flame-eyed.† Her eyes were beautiful and deadly, promising anything you could ever want or desire if only you would let her help you. I still can't remember what color they were, but I could not look away from them that night. â€Å"Letha,† she crooned, approaching me. The air shimmered around her, and I actually trembled now from my desire. I wanted to run but instead sank to my knees, both from respect and the inability to stand. She came to me and tipped my chin so that I had to look in those eyes again. Sharp, black nails dug painfully into my skin, and it felt wonderful. â€Å"You will be my own daughter now, spreading discord and passion for the rest of your days. You will be both punisher and tester, a creature of both dreams and nightmares. Mortals will do anything for you, just for a touch. You will be loved and desired until the earth is dust.† I whimpered at her proximity, and then she moved closer still, lifting me up so I stood before her. Those glorious lips came to mine, and that kiss shot orgasmic pleasure through my body. My cries were lost, smothered in that kiss. I closed my eyes, unable to look at her and unable to break away. I soaked into that ecstasy pulsing over and over in my body. And yet, as I let that bliss consume me, something else happened too. My mortality was being stripped away. It felt like disintegrating, like I had become ashes in the wind. I wondered if that was how death felt. Like you were nothing. Gone. Then, just as quickly, I was put back together, myself once more. But I could feel the power burning through me now, different from the life that filled humans. My immortality shone like a star in the night, cold and pure. No longer would old age threaten. No longer would sickness haunt me. No longer would my flesh be passionately driven by the knowledge that time was short, that I had to leave my mark on the world. That I had to pass on my blood. I opened my eyes, and the onslaught of pleasure disappeared. So did Lilith. I stood alone in the darkness, quivering with my newfound power. And with that power, I could feel something more: an itch in my flesh. An itch that told me my skin could become anything I wanted it to be with only a thought. I was reborn. I was empowered. And I was hungry†¦ â€Å"What's wrong?† Blinking back tears, I looked up at Carter. He stood in the doorway to my bedroom, pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, face concerned. â€Å"Nothing,† I muttered, burying my face in my pillow. â€Å"No nephilim ?† â€Å"No nephilim.† An awkward pause followed. â€Å"Look†¦ are you sure you're okay? Because you don't look okay.† â€Å"I'm fine. Didn't you hear me?† He still wouldn't give up, though. â€Å"I know we're not that close, but if you need to talk – â€Å" â€Å"Like you'd understand,† I scoffed, venom in my voice. â€Å"You've never had a heart. You don't know what it's like, so don't even pretend like you do.† â€Å"Georgina.† â€Å"Go. Away. Please.† I turned back toward my pillow, waiting for another protest, but none came. When I dared a peek, the angel was gone.