Wall Street and The Great Depression :: American History Essays

Wall Street and The Great Depression â€Å"You could talk about Prohibition, or Hemingway, or air conditioning, or music, or horses, but in the end you had to talk about the stock market, and that was when the conversation became serious.† [From John Brooks’s Once in Golconda] Wall Street has a long and varied 200-plus years of history, full of colorful vignettes and wheeling-dealing. Almost from the moment that the market was organized out-of-doors in the 18th century, it has been a symbol of the best and worst finance has had to offer. It has been known for its scandals, avarice, and greed on the one hand and ingenuity and even patriotism on the other. At times, it is impossible to live with, while at others, impossible to live without. And lurking just below the surface, are events and personalities that have shaped American history. Wall Street and The History of the Stock Market In March of 1792, twenty-four of New York City’s leading merchants met secretly to discuss ways to bring order to the securities business and to wrest it from their competitors, the auctioneers. Two months later, on May 17, 1792, these merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement, calling for the signers to trade securities only among themselves, to set trading fees, and not to participate in other auctions of securities. These men had founded what was to become the New York Stock Exchange. The New York Stock Exchange rented a room on Wall Street and every morning the president, Anthony Stockholm, read the stocks to be traded. The exchange was an exclusive organization, new members were required to be voted in, and a candidate could be black-balled by three negative votes. In 1817 a seat on the exchange cost $25, in 1827 it increased to $100, and in 1848 the price was $400. By 1929, the Wall Street con game had convinced millions of Americans that the country was riding on an upward spiraling wave of financial glory and both rich and poor had put their money into stocks and bonds. Stock prices were pushed up beyond any relationship with the actual worth of the companies. But, as history shows, what goes up, must come down: à ¼ October 24, 1929 â€Å"Black Thursday†: A record 12.9 million shares changed hands on Black Thursday (a new record – 4 million shares was considered a busy day back then) and the ticker tape fell behind by one and a half hours.

Analysis of A.E. Housman’s Terence, this is stupid stuff Essay

A.E. Housman’s â€Å"Terence, this is stupid stuff† is a poem that starts out as a friend of Terence talking to him, but it then shifts to Terence talking to his friends. Then shifts from a humorous tone to a more serious tone. It also shifts in setting, time, place, and idea. This poem demonstrates figurative language which is language employing figures of speech; language that cannot be taken literally or only literally. This poem also has several different poetic devices, which is a device that contributes to content and poetic structure that does not involve meaning in term of language. This poem in certain lines is very hard to follow without knowing the background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first verse of this poem Terence friend is speaking to him about how sad all his poems are; all of them are about death. His friend is telling him he needs to lighten up and get drunk. His friend says, â€Å"It gives a chap the belly-ache. . .To hear such tunes as killed the cow†. Terence’s friend is referring to Terence’s poetry. He is also referring to his poetry that it killed the cow because it was so sad. These are both an example of a hyperbole (overstatement) that is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth. All the verses in this poem have a rhythm, which is any wavelike recurrence of motion or sound. The rhythm is eight beats per line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second verse in the poem Terence is talking to his friends about getting drunk and having a good time. He also say... Analysis of A.E. Housman’s Terence, this is stupid stuff Essay A.E. Housman’s â€Å"Terence, this is stupid stuff† is a poem that starts out as a friend of Terence talking to him, but it then shifts to Terence talking to his friends. Then shifts from a humorous tone to a more serious tone. It also shifts in setting, time, place, and idea. This poem demonstrates figurative language which is language employing figures of speech; language that cannot be taken literally or only literally. This poem also has several different poetic devices, which is a device that contributes to content and poetic structure that does not involve meaning in term of language. This poem in certain lines is very hard to follow without knowing the background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first verse of this poem Terence friend is speaking to him about how sad all his poems are; all of them are about death. His friend is telling him he needs to lighten up and get drunk. His friend says, â€Å"It gives a chap the belly-ache. . .To hear such tunes as killed the cow†. Terence’s friend is referring to Terence’s poetry. He is also referring to his poetry that it killed the cow because it was so sad. These are both an example of a hyperbole (overstatement) that is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth. All the verses in this poem have a rhythm, which is any wavelike recurrence of motion or sound. The rhythm is eight beats per line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second verse in the poem Terence is talking to his friends about getting drunk and having a good time. He also say...

Comparing The Speckled Band and Neighbourhood Watch :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Colin Dexter Essays

Comparing The Speckled Band and Neighbourhood Watch In this essay I' am going to compare & contrast two detective stories. A pre-twentieth century story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called 'The Speckled Band' & a modern story by Colin Dexter called Neighbourhood Watch. I will describe the language, characters, social and historical context, Style, the plot, similarities and differences between the two. I will also state which I prefer & why. The Speckled Band starts off with Miss Stoner going to Sherlock Holmes's house and asking for his help. She tells him of her sister's death and of how her sister had heard a whistle at night for the past week or so. On the night of her death there was a loud scream of terror and just after a whistle Miss Stoner went to inspect quickly but as she neared her sisters room she stumbled out and said silently a 'speckled band'. Miss Stoner was quite worried because her sister was soon to be married and now so is she. As soon as she left Dr Roylott came barging in wanting to know what Miss Stoner had come to see Holmes for. Holmes tried to put off answering Dr Roylott and answered with something about the weather. In disgust Dr Roylott picked up Holmes's poker and bent it then he left. Once Dr Roylott left Holmes picked up his poker and bent it back as straight as possible in one go. Holmes and Watson soon left for Stoke Moran which is the home to DR Roylott and Miss Stoner who live with one servant. But they told the dog cart driver that took them there that they were archaeologists and were interested in the building itself. They got off the dog cart near the plantation that was on Dr Roylott's land. He let some gypsies live there and often used to go with them on voyages and trips. When Holmes started to look at the rooms he began in Miss Stoners room which was supposed to be having some repairs done to the wall because the builders punctured the wall while doing repairs in the other wing of the house. When Holmes looked at it there wasn't any repairs done to the wall and nothing wrong with it either. Holmes soon went on to the next room which was currently being used by Miss Stoner Holmes automatically noticed the ventilator and told Watson that he knew that it was somewhere near due to the fact that the dead sister could smell Dr Roylott's cigars and could hear things that Dr Roylott was doing and that meant there was some kind of connection between the rooms and

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 11 Sacratorium

AURORA-†¦ A mythical world, supposedly inhabited in primordial times, during the dawn of interstellar travel. It is thought by some to he the perhaps equally mythical â€Å"world of origin† of humanity and to be another name for â€Å"Earth.† The people of the Mycogen (q.v.) Sector of ancient Trantor reportedly held themselves to be descended from the inhabitants of Aurora and made that tenet central to their system of beliefs, concerning which almost nothing else is known†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 50. The two Raindrops arrived at midmorning. Raindrop Forty-Five seemed as cheerful as ever, but Raindrop Forty-Three paused just inside the door, looking drawn and circumspect. She kept her eyes down and did not as much as glance at Seldon. Seldon looked uncertain and gestured to Dors, who said in a cheerful businesslike tone of voice, â€Å"One moment, Sisters. I must give instructions to my man or he won't know what to do with himself today.† They moved into the bathroom and Dors whispered, â€Å"Is something wrong?† â€Å"Yes. Raindrop Forty-Three is obviously shattered. Please tell her that I will return the Book as soon as possible.† Dors favored Seldon with a long surprised look. â€Å"Hari,† she said, â€Å"you're a sweet, caring person, but you haven't the good sense of an amoeba. If I as much as mention the Book to the poor woman, she'll be certain that you told me all about what happened yesterday and then she'll really be shattered. The only hope is to treat her exactly as I would ordinarily.† Seldon nodded his head and said dispiritedly, â€Å"I suppose you're right.† Dors returned in time for dinner and found Seldon on his cot, still leafing through the Book, but with intensified impatience. He looked up with a scowl and said, â€Å"If we're going to be staying here any length of time, we're going to need a communication device of some sort between us. I had no idea when you'd get back and I was a little concerned.† â€Å"Well, here I am,† she said, removing her skincap gingerly and looking at it with more than a little distaste. â€Å"I'm really pleased at your concern. I rather thought you'd be so lost in the Book, you wouldn't even realize I was gone.† Seldon snorted. Dors said, â€Å"As for communications devices, I doubt that they are easy to come by in Mycogen. It would mean easing communication with tribespeople outside and I suspect the leaders of Mycogen are bound and determined to cut down on any possible interaction with the great beyond.† â€Å"Yes,† said Seldon, tossing the Book to one side, â€Å"I would expect that from what I see in the Book. Did you find out about the whatever you called it†¦ the temple?† â€Å"Yes,† she said, removing her eyebrow patches. â€Å"It exists. There are a number of them over the area of the sector, but there's a central building that seems to be the important one.-Would you believe that one woman noticed my eyelashes and told me that I shouldn't let myself be seen in public? I have a feeling she intended to report me for indecent exposure.† â€Å"Never mind that,† said Seldon impatiently. â€Å"Do you know where the central temple is located?† â€Å"I have directions, but Raindrop Forty-Five warned me that women were not allowed inside except on special occasions, none of which are coming up soon. It's called the Sacratorium.† â€Å"The what.† â€Å"The Sacratorium.† â€Å"What an ugly word. What does it mean?† Dors shook her head. â€Å"It's new to me. And neither Raindrop knew what it meant either. To them, Sacratorium isn't what the building is called, it's what it is. Asking them why they called it that probably sounded like asking them why a wall is called a wall.† â€Å"Is there anything about it they do know?† â€Å"Of course, Hari. They know what it's for. It's a place that's devoted to something other than the life here in Mycogen. It's devoted to another world, a former and better one.† â€Å"The world they once lived on, you mean?† â€Å"Exactly. Raindrop Forty-Five all but said so, but not quite. She couldn't bring herself to say the word.† â€Å"Aurora?† â€Å"That's the word, but I suspect that if you were to say it out loud to a group of Mycogenians, they would be shocked and horrified. Raindrop Forty-Five, when she said, ‘The Sacratorium is dedicated to-‘, stopped at that point and carefully wrote out the letters one by one with her finger on the palm of her hand. And she blushed, as though she was doing something obscene.† â€Å"Strange,† said Seldon. â€Å"If the Book is an accurate guide, Aurora is their dearest memory, their chief point of unification, the center about which everything in Mycogen revolves. Why should its mention be considered obscene? Are you sure you didn't misinterpret what the Sister meant?† â€Å"I'm positive. And perhaps it's no mystery. Too much talk about it would get to tribespeople. The best way of keeping it secret unto themselves is to make its very mention taboo.† â€Å"Taboo?† â€Å"A specialized anthropological term. It's a reference to serious and effective social pressure forbidding some sort of action. The fact that women are not allowed in the Sacratorium probably has the force of a taboo. I'm sure that a Sister would be horrified if it was suggested that she invade its precincts.† â€Å"Are the directions you have good enough for me to get to the Sacratorium on my own?† â€Å"In the first place, Hari, you're not going alone. I'm going with you. I thought we had discussed the matter and that I had made it clear that I cannot protect you at long distance-not from sleet storms and not from feral women. In the second place, it's impractical to think of walking there. Mycogen may be a small sector, as sectors go, but it simply isn't that small.† â€Å"An Expressway, then.† â€Å"There are no Expressways passing through Mycogenian territory. It would make contact between Mycogenians and tribespeople too easy. Still, there are public conveyances of the kind that are found on less developed planets. In fact, that's what Mycogen is, a piece of an undeveloped planet, embedded like a splinter in the body of Trantor, which is otherwise a patchwork of developed societies.-And Hari, finish with the Book as soon as possible. It's apparent that Rainbow Forty-Three is in trouble as long as you have it and so will we be if they find out.† â€Å"Do you mean a tribesperson reading it is taboo?† â€Å"I'm sure of it.† â€Å"Well, it would be no great loss to give it back. I should say that 95 percent of it is incredibly dull; endless in-fighting among political groups, endless justification of policies whose wisdom I cannot possibly judge, endless homilies on ethical matters which, even when enlightened, and they usually aren't, are couched with such infuriating self-righteousness as to almost enforce violation.† â€Å"You sound as though I would be doing you a great favor if I took the thing away from you.† â€Å"Except that there's always the other 5 percent that discusses the never-to-be-mentioned Aurora. I keep thinking that there may be something there and that it may be helpful to me. That's why I wanted to know about the Sacratorium. â€Å"Do you hope to find support for the Book's concept of Aurora in the Sacratorium?† â€Å"In a way. And I'm also terribly caught up in what the Book has to say about automata, or robots, to use their term. I find myself attracted to the concept.† â€Å"Surely, you don't take it seriously?† â€Å"Almost. If you accept some passages of the Book literally, then there is an implication that some robots were in human shape.† â€Å"Naturally. If you're going to construct a simulacrum of a human being, you will make it look like a human being.† â€Å"Yes, simulacrum means ‘likeness,' but a likeness can be crude indeed. An artist can draw a stick figure and you might know he is representing a human being and recognize it. A circle for the head, a stalk for the body, and four bent lines for arms and legs and you have it. But I mean robots that really look like a human being, in every detail.† â€Å"Ridiculous, Hari. Imagine the time it would take to fashion the metal of the body into perfect proportions, with the smooth curve of underlying muscles.† â€Å"Who said ‘metal,' Dors? The impression I got is that such robots were organic or pseudo-organic, that they were covered with skin, that you could not easily draw a distinction between them and human beings in any way.† â€Å"Does the Book say that?† â€Å"Not in so many words. The inference, however-â€Å" â€Å"Is your inference, Hari. You can't take it seriously.† â€Å"Let me try. I find four things that I can deduce from what the Book says about robots-and I followed up every reference the index gave. First, as I say, they-or some of them-exactly resembled human beings; second, they had very extended life spans-if you want to call it that.† â€Å"Better say ‘effectiveness,' † said Dors, â€Å"or you'll begin thinking of them as human altogether.† â€Å"Third,† said Seldon, ignoring her, â€Å"that some-or, at any rate, at least one-continues to live on to this day.† â€Å"Hari, that's one of the most widespread legends we have. The ancient hero does not die but remains in suspended animation, ready to return to save his people at some time of great need. Really, Hari.† â€Å"Fourth,† said Seldon, still not rising to the bait, â€Å"there are some lines that seem to indicate that the central temple-or the Sacratorium, if that's what it is, though I haven't found that word in the Book, actually-contains a robot.† He paused, then said, â€Å"Do you see?† Dors said, â€Å"No. What should I see?† â€Å"If we combine the four points, perhaps a robot that looks exactly like a human being and that is still alive, having been alive for, say, the last twenty thousand years, is in the Sacratorium.† â€Å"Come on, Hari, you can't believe that.† â€Å"I don't actually believe it, but I can't entirely let go either. What if its true? What if-its only one chance out of a million, I admit-it's true? Don't you see how useful he could be to me? He could remember the Galaxy as it was long before any reliable historical records existed. He might help make psychohistory possible.† â€Å"Even if it was true, do you suppose the Mycogenians would let you see and interview the robot?† â€Å"I don't intend to ask permission. I can at least go to the Sacratorium and see if there's something to interview first.† â€Å"Not now. Tomorrow at the earliest. And if you don't think better of it by morning, we go.† â€Å"You told me yourself they don't allow women-â€Å" â€Å"They allow women to look at it from outside, I'm sure, and I suspect that is all we'll get to do.† And there she was adamant. Hari Seldon was perfectly willing to let Dors take the lead. She had been out in the main roadways of Mycogen and was more at home with them than he was. Dors Venabili, brows knitted, was less delighted with the prospect. She said, â€Å"We can easily get lost, you know.† â€Å"Not with that booklet,† said Seldon. She looked up at him impatiently. â€Å"Fix your mind on Mycogen, Hari. What I should have is a computomap, something I can ask questions of. This Mycogenian version is just a piece of folded plastic. I can't tell this thing where I am. I can't tell it by word of mouth and I can't even tell it by pushing the necessary contacts. It can't tell me anything either way. It's a print thing.† â€Å"Then read what it says.† â€Å"That's what I'm trying to do, but it's written for people who are familiar with the system to begin with. We'll have to ask.† â€Å"No, Dors. That would be a last resort. I don't want to attract attention. I would rather we take our chances and try to find our own way, even if it means making one or two wrong turns.† Dors leafed through the booklet with great attention and then said grudgingly, â€Å"Well, it gives the Sacratorium important mention. I suppose that's only natural. I presume everyone in Mycogen would want to get there at one time or another.† Then, after additional concentration, she said, â€Å"I'll tell you what. There's no way of taking a conveyance from here to there.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Don't get excited. Apparently, there's a way of getting from here to another conveyance that will take us there. We'll have to change from one to another.† Seldon relaxed. â€Å"Well, of course. You can't take an Expressway to half the places on Trantor without changing.† Dors cast an impatient glance at Seldon. â€Å"I know that too. It's just that I'm used to having these things tell me so. When they expect you to find out for yourself, the simplest things can escape you for a while.† â€Å"All right, dear. Don't snap. If you know the way now, lead. I will follow humbly.† And follow her he did, until they came to an intersection, where they stopped. Three white-kirtled males and a pair of gray-kirtled females were at the same intersection. Seldon tried a universal and general smile in their direction, but they responded with a blank stare and looked away. And then the conveyance came. It was an outmoded version of what Seldon, back on Helicon, would have called a gravi-bus. There were some twenty upholstered benches inside, each capable of holding four people. Each bench had its own doors on both sides of the bus. When it stopped, passengers emerged on either side. (For a moment, Seldon was concerned for those who got out on the traffic side of the gravi-bus, but then he noticed that every vehicle approaching from either direction stopped as it neared the bus. None passed it while it was not moving.) Dors pushed Seldon impatiently and he moved on to a bench where two adjoining seats were available. Dors followed after. (The men always got on and got off first, he noticed.) 51. â€Å"For instance,† she said and pointed to a smooth boxed-off area on the back of the bench directly before each of them. As soon as the conveyance had begun to move, words lit up, naming the next stop and the notable structures or crossways that were nearby. â€Å"Now, that will probably tell us when we're approaching the changeover we want. At least the sector isn't completely barbaric.† â€Å"Good,† said Seldon. Then, after a while, leaning toward Dors, he whispered, â€Å"No one is looking at us. It seems that artificial boundaries are set up to preserve individual privacy in any crowded place. Have you noticed that?† â€Å"I've always taken it for granted. If that's going to be a rule of your psychohistory, no one will be very impressed by it.† As Dors had guessed, the direction plaque in front of them eventually announced the approach to the changeover for the direct line to the Sacratorium. They exited and again had to wait. Some buses ahead had already left this intersection, but another gravi-bus was already approaching. They were on a well-traveled route, which was not surprising; the Sacratorium was bound to be the center and heartbeat of the sector. They got on the gravi-bus and Seldon whispered, â€Å"We're not paying.† â€Å"According to the map, public transportation is a free service.† Seldon thrust out his lower lip. â€Å"How civilized. I suppose that nothing is all of a piece, not backwardness, not barbarism, nothing.† But Dors nudged him and whispered, â€Å"Your rule is broken. We're being watched. The man on your right.† 52. Seldon's eyes shifted briefly. The man to his right was rather thin and seemed quite old. He had dark brown eyes and a swarthy complexion, and Seldon was sure that he would have had black hair if he had not been depilated. He faced front again, thinking. This Brother was rather atypical. The few Brothers he had paid any attention to had been rather tall, light-skinned, and with blue or gray eyes. Of course, he had not seen enough of them to make a general rule. Then there was a light touch on the right sleeve of his kirtle. Seldon turned hesitantly and found himself looking at a card on which was written lightly, CAREFUL, TRIBESMAN! Seldon started and put a hand to his skincap automatically. The man next to him silently mouthed, â€Å"Hair.† Seldon's hand found it, a tiny exposure of bristles at his temple. He must have disturbed the skincap at some point or another. Quickly and as unobtrusively as possible, he tugged the skincap, then made sure that it was snug under the pretence of stroking his head. He turned to his neighbor on his right, nodded slightly, and mouthed, â€Å"Thank you.† His neighbor smiled and said in a normal speaking voice, â€Å"Going to the Sacratorium?† Seldon nodded. â€Å"Yes, I am.† â€Å"Easy guess. So am I. Shall we get off together?† His smile was friendly. â€Å"I'm with my-my-â€Å" â€Å"With your woman. Of course. All three together, then?† Seldon was not sure how to react. A quick look in the other direction showed him that Dors's eyes were turned straight ahead. She was showing no interest in masculine conversation-an attitude appropriate for a Sister. However, Seldon felt a soft pat on his left knee, which he took (with perhaps little justification) to mean: â€Å"It's all right.† In any case, his natural sense of courtesy was on that side and he said, â€Å"Yes, certainly.† There was no further conversation until the direction plaque told them they were arriving at the Sacratorium and Seldon's Mycogenian friend was rising to get off. The gravi-bus made a wide turn about the perimeter of a large area of the Sacratorium grounds and there was a general exodus when it came to a halt, the men sliding in front of the women to exit first. The women followed. The Mycogenian's voice crackled a bit with age, but it was cheerful. He said, â€Å"It's a little early for lunch my†¦ friends, but take my word for it that things will be crowded in not too long a time. Would you be willing to buy something simple now and eat it outside? I am very familiar with this area and I know a good place.† Seldon wondered if this was a device to maneuver innocent tribespeople into something or other disreputable or costly, yet decided to chance it. â€Å"You're very kind,† he said. â€Å"Since we are not at all familiar with the place, we will be glad to let you take the lead.† They bought lunch-sandwiches and a beverage that looked like milk-at an open-air stand. Since it was a beautiful day and they were visitors, the old Mycogenian said, they would go to the Sacratorium grounds and eat out of doors, the better to become acquainted with their surroundings. During their walk, carrying their lunch, Seldon noted that, on a very small scale, the Sacratorium resembled the Imperial Palace and that the grounds around it resembled, on a minute scale, the Imperial grounds. He could scarcely believe that the Mycogenian people admired the Imperial institution or, indeed, did anything but hate and despise it, yet the cultural attraction was apparently not to be withstood. â€Å"It's beautiful,† said the Mycogenian with obvious pride. â€Å"Quite,† said Seldon. â€Å"How it glistens in the daylight.† â€Å"The grounds around it,† he said, â€Å"are constructed in imitation of the government grounds on our Dawn World†¦ in miniature, to be sure.† â€Å"Did you ever see the grounds of the Imperial Palace?† asked Seldon cautiously. The Mycogenian caught the implication and seemed in no way put out by it. â€Å"They copied the Dawn World as best they could too.† Seldon doubted that in the extreme, but he said nothing. They came to a semicircular seat of white stonite, sparkling in the light as the Sacratorium did. â€Å"Good,† said the Mycogenian, his dark eyes gleaming with pleasure. â€Å"No one's taken my place. I call it mine only because it's my favorite seat. It affords a beautiful view of the side wall of the Sacratorium past the trees. Please sit down. It's not cold, I assure you. And your companion. She is welcome to sit too. She is a tribeswoman, I know, and has different customs. She†¦ she may speak if she wishes.† Dors gave him a hard look and sat down. Seldon, recognizing the fact that they might remain with this old Mycogenian a while, thrust out his hand and said, â€Å"I am Hari and my female companion is Dors. We don't use numbers, I'm afraid.† â€Å"To each his†¦ or her†¦ own,† said the other expansively. â€Å"I am Mycelium Seventy-Two. We are a large cohort.† â€Å"Mycelium?† said Seldon a bit hesitantly. â€Å"You seem surprised,† said Mycelium. â€Å"I take it, then, you've only met members of our Elder families. Names like Cloud and Sunshine and Starlight-all astronomical.† â€Å"I must admit-† began Seldon. â€Å"Well, meet one of the lower classes. We take our names from the ground and from the micro-organisms we grow. Perfectly respectable.† â€Å"I'm quite certain,† said Seldon, â€Å"and thank you again for helping me with my†¦ problem in the gravi-bus.† â€Å"Listen,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two, â€Å"I saved you a lot of trouble. If a Sister had seen you before I did, she would undoubtedly have screamed and the nearest Brothers would have bustled you off the bus-maybe not even waiting for it to stop moving.† Dors leaned forward so as to see across Seldon. â€Å"How is it you did not act in this way yourself?† â€Å"I? I have no animosity against tribespeople. I'm a scholar.† â€Å"A scholar?† â€Å"First one in my cohort. I studied at the Sacratorium School and did very well. I'm learned in all the ancient arts and I have a license to enter the tribal library, where they keep book-films and books by tribespeople. I can view any book-film or read any book I wish to. We even have a computerized reference library and I can handle that too. That sort of thing broadens your mind. I don't mind a little hair showing. I've seen pictures of men with hair many a time. And women too.† He glanced quickly at Dors. They ate in silence for a while and then Seldon said, â€Å"I notice that every Brother who enters or leaves the Sacratorium is wearing a red sash.† â€Å"Oh yes,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two. â€Å"Over the left shoulder and around the right side of the waist-usually very fancily embroidered.† â€Å"Why is that?† â€Å"It's called an ‘obiah.' It symbolizes the joy felt at entering the Sacratorium and the blood one would spill to preserve it.† â€Å"Blood?† said Dors, frowning. â€Å"Just a symbol. I never actually heard of anyone spilling blood over the Sacratorium. For that matter, there isn't that much joy. it's mostly wailing and mourning and prostrating one's self over the Lost World.† His voice dropped and became soft. â€Å"Very silly.† Dors said, â€Å"You're not a†¦ a believer?† â€Å"I'm a scholar,† said Mycelium with obvious pride. His face wrinkled as he grinned and took on an even more pronounced appearance of age. Seldon found himself wondering how old the man was. Several centuries?-No, they'd disposed of that. It couldn't be and yet, â€Å"How old are you?† Seldon asked suddenly, involuntarily. Mycelium Seventy-Two showed no signs of taking offense at the question, nor did he display any hesitation at answering, â€Å"Sixty-seven.† Seldon had to know. â€Å"I was told that your people believe that in very early times everyone lived for several centuries.† Mycelium Seventy-Two looked at Seldon quizzically. â€Å"Now how did you find that out? Someone must have been talking out of turn†¦ but its true. There is that belief. Only the unsophisticated believe it, but the Elders encourage it because it shows our superiority. Actually, our life expectancy is higher than elsewhere because we eat more nutritionally, but living even one century is rare.† â€Å"I take it you don't consider Mycogenians superior,† said Seldon. Mycelium Seventy-Two said, â€Å"There's nothing wrong with Mycogenians. They're certainly not inferior. Still, I think that all men are equal.-Even women,† he added, looking across at Dors. â€Å"I don't suppose,† said Seldon, â€Å"that many of your people would agree with that.† â€Å"Or many of your people,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two with a faint resentment. â€Å"I believe it, though. A scholar has to. I've viewed and even read all the great literature of the tribespeople. I understand your culture. I've written articles on it. I can sit here just as comfortably with you as though you were†¦ [tit].† Dors said a little sharply, â€Å"You sound proud of understanding tribespeople's ways. Have you ever traveled outside Mycogen?† Mycelium Seventy-Two seemed to move away a little. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Why not? You would get to know us better.† â€Å"I wouldn't feel right. I'd have to wear a wig. I'd be ashamed.† Dors said, â€Å"Why a wig? You could stay bald.† â€Å"No,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two, â€Å"I wouldn't be that kind of fool. I'd be mistreated by all the hairy ones.† â€Å"Mistreated? Why?† said Dors. â€Å"We have a great many naturally bald people everywhere on Trantor and on every other world too.† â€Å"My father is quite bald,† said Seldon with a sigh, â€Å"and I presume that in the decades to come I will be bald too. My hair isn't all that thick now.† â€Å"That's not bald,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two. â€Å"You keep hair around the edges and over your eyes. I mean bald-no hair at all.† â€Å"Anywhere on your body?† said Dors, interested. And now Mycelium Seventy-Two looked offended and said nothing. Seldon, anxious to get the conversation back on track, said, â€Å"Tell me, Mycelium Seventy-Two, can tribespeople enter the Sacratorium as spectators?† Mycelium Seventy-Two shook his head vigorously. â€Å"Never. It's for the Sons of the Dawn only.† Dors said, â€Å"Only the Sons?† Mycelium Seventy-Two looked shocked for a moment, then said forgivingly, â€Å"Well, you're tribespeople. Daughters of the Dawn enter only on certain days and times. That's just the way it is. I don't say I approve. If it was up to me, I'd say, ‘Go in. Enjoy if you can.' Sooner others than me, in fact.† â€Å"Don't you ever go in?† â€Å"When I was young, my parents took me, but-he shook his head-â€Å"it was just people staring at the Book and reading from it and sighing and weeping for the old days. It's very depressing. You can't talk to each other. You can't laugh. You can't even look at each other. Your mind has to be totally on the Lost World. Totally.† He waved a hand in rejection. â€Å"Not for me. I'm a scholar and I want the whole world open to me.† â€Å"Good,† said Seldon, seeing an opening. â€Å"We feel that way too. We are scholars also, Dors and myself.† â€Å"I know,† said Mycelium Seventy-Two. â€Å"You know? How do you know?† â€Å"You'd have to be. The only tribespeople allowed in Mycogen are Imperial officials and diplomats, important traders, and scholars-and to me you have the look of scholars. That's what interested me in you. Scholars together.† He smiled delightedly. â€Å"So we are. I am a mathematician. Dors is a historian. And you?† â€Å"I specialize in†¦ culture. I've read all the great works of literature of the tribespeople: Lissauer, Mentone, Novigor-â€Å" â€Å"And we have read the great works of your people. I've read the Book, for instance.-About the Lost World.† Mycelium Seventy-Two's eyes opened wide in surprise. His olive complexion seemed to fade a little. â€Å"You have? How? Where?† â€Å"At our University we have copies that we can read if we have permission.† â€Å"Copies of the Book?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"I wonder if the Elders know this?† Seldon said, â€Å"And I've read about robots.† â€Å"Robots?† â€Å"Yes. That is why I would like to be able to enter the Sacratorium. I would like to see the robot.† (Dors kicked lightly at Seldon's ankle, but he ignored her.) Mycelium Seventy-Two said uneasily, â€Å"I don't believe in such things. Scholarly people don't.† But he looked about as though he was afraid of being overheard. Seldon said, â€Å"I've read that a robot still exists in the Sacratorium.† Mycelium Seventy-Two said, â€Å"I don't want to talk about such nonsense.† Seldon persisted. â€Å"Where would it be if it was in the Sacratorium?† â€Å"Even if one was there, I couldn't tell you. I haven't been in there since I was a child.† â€Å"Would you know if there was a special place, a hidden place?† â€Å"There's the Elders' aerie. Only Elders go there, but there's nothing there.† â€Å"Have you ever been there?† â€Å"No, of course not.† â€Å"Then how do you know?† â€Å"I don't know that there's no pomegranate tree there. I don't know that there's no laser-organ there. I don't know that there's no item of a million different kinds there. Does my lack of knowledge of their absence show they are all present?† For the moment, Seldon had nothing to say. A ghost of a smile broke through Mycelium Seventy-Two's look of concern. He said, â€Å"That's scholars' reasoning. I'm not an easy man to tackle, you see. Just the same, I wouldn't advise you to try to get up into the Elders' aerie. I don't think you'd like what would happen if they found a tribesman inside.-Well. Best of the Dawn to you.† And he rose suddenly-without warning-and hurried away. Seldon looked after him, rather surprised. â€Å"What made him rush off like that?† â€Å"I think,† said Dors, â€Å"it's because someone is approaching.† And someone was. A tall man in an elaborate white kirtle, crossed by an even more elaborate and subtly glittering red sash, glided solemnly toward them. He had the unmistakable look of a man with authority and the even more unmistakable look of one who is not pleased. 53. Hari Seldon rose as the new Mycogenian approached. He hadn't the slightest idea whether that was the appropriate polite behavior, but he had the distinct feeling it would do no harm. Dors Venabili rose with him and carefully kept her eyes lowered. The other stood before them. He too was an old man, but more subtly aged than Mycelium Seventy-Two. Age seemed to lend distinction to his still-handsome face. His bald head was beautifully round and his eyes were a startling blue, contrasting sharply with the bright all-but-glowing red of his sash. The newcomer said, â€Å"I see you are tribespeople.† His voice was more high-pitched than Seldon had expected, but he spoke slowly, as though conscious of the weight of authority in every word he uttered. â€Å"So we are,† said Seldon politely but firmly. He saw no reason not to defer to the other's position, but he did not intend to abandon his own. â€Å"Your names?† â€Å"I am Hari Seldon of Helicon. My companion is Dors Venabili of Cinna. And yours, man of Mycogen?† The eyes narrowed in displeasure, but he too could recognize an air of authority when he felt it. â€Å"I am Skystrip Two,† he said, lifting his head higher, â€Å"an Elder of the Sacratorium. And your position, tribesman?† â€Å"We,† said Seldon, emphasizing the pronoun, â€Å"are scholars of Streeling University. I am a mathematician and my companion is a historian and we are here to study the ways of Mycogen.† â€Å"By whose authority?† â€Å"By that of Sunmaster Fourteen, who greeted us on our arrival.† Skystrip Two fell silent for a moment and then a small smile appeared on his face and he took on an air that was almost benign. He said, â€Å"The High Elder. I know him well.† â€Å"And so you should,† said Seldon blandly. â€Å"Is there anything else, Elder?† â€Å"Yes.† The Elder strove to regain the high ground. â€Å"Who was the man who was with you and who hurried away when I approached?† Seldon shook his head, â€Å"We never saw him before, Elder, and know nothing about him. We encountered him purely by accident and asked about the Sacratorium.† â€Å"What did you ask him?† â€Å"Two questions, Elder. We asked if that building was the Sacratorium and if tribespeople were allowed to enter it. He answered in the affirmative to the first question and in the negative to the second.† â€Å"Quite so. And what is your interest in the Sacratorium?† â€Å"Sir, we are here to study the ways of Mycogen and is not the Sacratorium the heart and brain of Mycogen?† â€Å"It is entirely ours and reserved for us.† â€Å"Even if an Elder-the High Elder-would arrange for permission in view of our scholarly function?† â€Å"Have you indeed the High Elder's permission?† Seldon hesitated the slightest moment while Dors's eyes lifted briefly to look at him sideways. He decided he could not carry off a lie of this magnitude. â€Å"No,† he said, â€Å"not yet.† â€Å"Or ever,† said the Elder. â€Å"You are here in Mycogen by authority, but even the highest authority cannot exert total control over the public. We value our Sacratorium and the populace can easily grow excited over the presence of a tribesperson anywhere in Mycogen but, most particularly, in the vicinity of the Sacratorium. It would take one excitable person to raise a cry of ‘Invasion!' and a peaceful crowd such as this one would be turned into one that would be thirsting to tear you apart. I mean that quite literally. For your own good, even if the High Elder has shown you kindness, leave. Now!† â€Å"But the Sacratorium-† said Seldon stubbornly, though Dors was pulling gently at his kirtle. â€Å"What is there in the Sacratorium that can possibly interest you?† said the Elder. â€Å"You see it now. There is nothing for you to see in the interior.† â€Å"There is the robot,† said Seldon. The Elder stared at Seldon in shocked surprise and then, bending to bring his lips close to Seldon's ear, whispered harshly, â€Å"Leave now or I will raise the cry of ‘Invasion!' myself. Nor, were it not for the High Elder, would I give you even this one chance to leave.† And Dors, with surprising strength, nearly pulled Seldon off his feet as she stepped hastily away, dragging him along until he caught his balance and stepped quickly after her. 54. It was over breakfast the next morning, not sooner, that Dors took up the subject-and in a way that Seldon found most wounding. She said, â€Å"Well, that was a pretty fiasco yesterday.† Seldon, who had honestly thought he had gotten away with it without comment, looked sullen. â€Å"What made it a fiasco?† â€Å"Driven out is what we were. And for what? What did we gain?† â€Å"Only the knowledge that there is a robot in there.† â€Å"Mycelium Seventy-Two said there wasn't.† â€Å"Of course he said that. He's a scholar-or thinks he is-and what he doesn't know about the Sacratorium would probably fill that library he goes to. You saw the Elder's reaction.† â€Å"I certainly did.† â€Å"He would not have reacted like that if there was no robot inside. He was horrified we knew.† â€Å"That's just your guess, Hari. And even if there was, we couldn't get in.† â€Å"We could certainly try. After breakfast, we go out and buy a sash for me, one of those obiahs. I put it on, keep my eyes devoutly downward, and walk right in.† â€Å"Skincap and all? They'll spot you in a microsecond.† â€Å"No, they won't. We'll go into the library where all the tribespeople data is kept. I'd like to see it anyway. From the library, which is a Sacratorium annex, I gather, there will probably be an entrance into the Sacratorium.† â€Å"Where you will be picked up at once.† â€Å"Not at all. You heard what Mycelium Seventy-Two had to say. Everyone keeps his eyes down and meditates on their great Lost World, Aurora. No one looks at anyone else. It would probably be a grievous breach of discipline to do so. Then I'll find the Elders' aerie-â€Å" â€Å"Just like that?† â€Å"At one point, Mycelium Seventy-Two said he would advise me not to try to get up into the Elders' aerie. Up. It must be somewhere in that tower of the Sacratorium, the central tower.† Dors shook her head. â€Å"I don't recall the man's exact words and I don't think you do either. That's a terribly weak foundation to- Wait.† She stopped suddenly and frowned. â€Å"Well?† said Seldon. â€Å"There is an archaic word ‘aerie' that means ‘a dwelling place on high.' â€Å" â€Å"Ah! There you are. You see, we've learned some vital things as the result of what you call a fiasco. And if I can find a living robot that's twenty thousand years old and if it can tell me-â€Å" â€Å"Suppose that such a thing exists, which passes belief, and that you find it, which is not very likely, how long do you think you will be able to talk to it before your presence is discovered?† â€Å"I don't know, but if I can prove it exists and if I can find it, then I'll think of some way to talk to it. It's too late for me to back out now under any circumstances. Hummin should have left me alone when I thought there was no way of achieving psychohistory. Now that it seems there may be, I won't let anything stop me-short of being killed.† â€Å"The Mycogenians may oblige, Hari, and you can't run that risk.† â€Å"Yes, I can. I'm going to try.† â€Å"No, Hari. I must look after you and I can't let you.† â€Å"You must let me. Finding a way to work out psychohistory is more important than my safety. My safety is only important because I may work out psychohistory. Prevent me from doing so and your task loses its meaning.-Think about it.† Hari felt himself infused with a renewed sense of purpose. Psychohistory-his nebulous theory that he had, such a short while ago, despaired ever of proving-loomed larger, more real. Now he had to believe that it was possible; he could feel it in his gut. The pieces seemed to be falling together and although he couldn't see the whole pattern yet, he was sure the Sacratorium would yield another piece to the puzzle. â€Å"Then I'll go in with you so I can pull you out, you idiot, when the time comes.† â€Å"Women can't enter.† â€Å"What makes me a woman? Only this gray kirtle. You can't see my breasts under it. I don't have a woman's style hairdo with the skincap on. I have the same washed, unmarked face a man has. The men here don't have stubble. All I need is a white kirtle and a sash and I can enter. Any Sister could do it if she wasn't held back by a taboo. I am not held back by one.† â€Å"You're held back by me. I won't let you. It's too dangerous.† â€Å"No more dangerous for me than for you.† â€Å"But I must take the risk.† â€Å"Then so must I. Why is your imperative greater than mine?† â€Å"Because-† Seldon paused in thought. â€Å"Just tell yourself this,† said Dors, her voice hard as rock. â€Å"I won't let you go there without me. If you try, I will knock you unconscious and tie you up. If you don't like that, then give up any thought of going alone.† Seldon hesitated and muttered darkly. He gave up the argument, at least for now. 55. The sky was almost cloudless, but it was a pale blue, as though wrapped in a high thin mist. That, thought Seldon, was a good touch, but suddenly he missed the sun itself. No one on Trantor saw the planet's sun unless he or she went Upperside and even then only when the natural cloud layer broke. Did native Trantorians miss the sun? Did they give it any thought? When one of them visited another world where a natural sun was in view, did he or she stare, half-blinded, at it with awe? Why, he wondered, did so many people spend their lives not trying to find answers to questions-not even thinking of questions to begin with? Was there anything more exciting in life than seeking answers? His glance shifted to ground level. The wide roadway was lined with low buildings, most of them shops. Numerous individual ground-cars moved in both directions, each hugging the right side. They seemed like a collection of antiques, but they were electrically driven and quite soundless. Seldon wondered if â€Å"antique† was always a word to sneer at. Could it be that silence made up for slowness? Was there any particular hurry to life, after all? There were a number of children on the walkways and Seldon's lips pressed together in annoyance. Clearly, an extended life span for the Mycogenians was impossible unless they were willing to indulge in infanticide. The children of both sexes (though it was hard to tell the boys from the girls) wore kirtles that came only a few inches below the knee, making the wild activity of childhood easier. The children also still had hair, reduced to an inch in length at most, but even so the older ones among them had hoods attached to their kirtles and wore them raised, hiding the top of the head altogether. It was as though they were getting old enough to make the hair seem a trifle obscene-or old enough to be wishing to hide it, in longing for the day of rite of passage when they were depilated. A thought occurred to Seldon. He said, â€Å"Dors, when you've been out shopping, who paid, you or the Raindrop women?† â€Å"I did of course. The Raindrops never produced a credit tile. But why should they? What was being bought was for us, not for them.† â€Å"But you have a Trantorian credit tile-a tribeswoman credit tile.† â€Å"Of course, Hari, but there was no problem. The people of Mycogen may keep their own culture and ways of thought and habits of life as they wish. They can destroy their cephalic hair and wear kirtles. Nevertheless, they must use the world's credits. If they don't, that would choke off commerce and no sensible person would want to do that. The credits nerve, Hari.† She held up her hand as though she was holding an invisible credit tile. â€Å"And they accepted your credit tile?† â€Å"Never a peep out of them. And never a word about my skincap. Credits sanitize everything.† â€Å"Well, that's good. So I can buy-â€Å" â€Å"No, I'll do the buying. Credits may sanitize everything, but they more easily sanitize a tribeswoman. They're so used to paying women little or no attention that they automatically pay me the same.-And here's the clothing store I've been using.† â€Å"I'll wait out here. Get me a nice red sash-one that looks impressive.† â€Å"Don't pretend you've forgotten our decision. I'll get two. And another white kirtle also†¦ to my measurements.† â€Å"Won't they think it odd that a woman would be buying a white kirtle?† â€Å"Of course not. They'll assume I'm buying it for a male companion who happens to be my size. Actually, I don't think they'll bother with any assumptions at all as long as my credit tile is good.† Seldon waited, half-expecting someone to come up and greet him as a tribesman or denounce him as one-more likely-but no one did. Those who passed him did so without a glance and even those who glanced in his direction moved on seemingly untouched. He was especially nervous about the gray kirtles-the women-walking by in pairs or, even worse, with a man. They were downtrodden, unnoticed, snubbed. How better to gain a brief notoriety than by shrieking at the sight of a tribesman? But even the women moved on. They're not expecting to see a tribesman, Seldon thought, so they don't see one. That, he decided, augured well for their forthcoming invasion of the Sacratorium. How much less would anyone expect to see tribespeople there and how much more effectively would they therefore fail to see them! He was in fairly good humor when Dors emerged. â€Å"You have everything?† â€Å"Absolutely.† â€Å"Then lets go back to the room, so you can change.† The white kirtle did not fit her quite as well as the gray one did. Obviously, she could not have tried it on or even the densest shopkeeper would have been struck with alarm. â€Å"How do I look, Hari?† she asked. â€Å"Exactly like a boy,† said Seldon. â€Å"Now let's try the sash†¦ or obiah. I had better get used to calling it that.† Dors, without her skincap, was shaking out her hair gratefully. She said sharply, â€Å"Don't put it on now. We're not going to parade through Mycogen with the sash on. The last thing we want to do is call attention to ourselves.† â€Å"No, no. I just want to see how it goes on.† â€Å"Well, not that one. This one is better quality and more elaborate.† â€Å"You're right, Dors. I've got to gather in what attention there is. I don't want them to detect you as a woman.† â€Å"I'm not thinking of that, Hari. I just want you to look pretty.† â€Å"A thousand thanks, but that's impossible, I suspect. Now, let's see, how does this work?† Together, Hari and Dors practiced putting their obiahs on and taking them off, over and over again, until they could do it in one fluid motion. Dors taught Hari how to do it, as she had seen a man doing it the day before at the Sacratorium. When Hari praised her for her acute observations, she blushed and said, â€Å"Its really nothing, Hari, just something I noticed.† Hari replied, â€Å"Then you're a genius for noticing.† Finally satisfied, they stood well apart, each surveying the other. Hari's obiah glittered, a bright red dragonlike design standing out against a paler field of similar hue. Dors's was a little less bold, had a simple thin line down the center, and was very light in color. â€Å"There,† she said, â€Å"just enough to show good taste.† She took it off. â€Å"Now,† said Seldon, â€Å"we fold it up and it goes into one of the inner pockets. I have my credit tile-Hummin's, really-and the key to this place in this one and here, on the other side, the Book.† â€Å"The Book? Should you be carrying it around?† â€Å"I must. I'm guessing that anyone going to the Sacratorium ought to have a copy of the Book with him. They may intone passages or have readings. If necessary, we'll share the Book and maybe no one will notice. Ready?† â€Å"I'll never be ready, but I'm going with you.† â€Å"It will be a tedious trip. Will you check my skincap and make sure no hair shows this time? And don't scratch your head.† â€Å"I won't. You look all right.† â€Å"So do you.† â€Å"You also look nervous.† And Seldon said wryly, â€Å"Guess why!† Dors reached out impulsively and squeezed Hari's hand, then drew back as if surprised at herself. Looking down, she straightened her white kirtle. Hari, himself a trifle surprised and peculiarly pleased, cleared his throat and said, â€Å"Okay, let's go.†

The Lost Symbol Chapter 71-75

CHAPTER 71 Mal'akh stood naked in the billowing warmth of his steam shower. He felt pure again, having washed off the last remaining scent of ethanol. As the eucalyptus-infused vapors permeated his skin, he could feel his pores opening to the heat. Then he began his ritual. First, he rubbed depilatory chemicals across his tattooed body and scalp, removing any traces of body hair. Hairless were the gods of the seven islands of Heliades. Then he massaged Abramelin oil into his softened and receptive flesh. Abramelin is the sacred oil of the great Magi. Then he turned his shower lever hard to the left, and the water turned ice cold. He stood beneath the frigid water for a full minute to close his pores and trap the heat and energy within his core. The cold served as a reminder of the icy river in which this transformation had begun. When he stepped from the shower, he was shivering, but within seconds, his core heat emanated up through his layers of flesh and warmed him. Mal'akh's insides felt like a furnace. He stood naked before the mirror and admired his form . . . perhaps the last time he would see himself as a mere mortal. His feet were the talons of a hawk. His legs–Boaz and Jachin–were the ancient pillars of wisdom. His hips and abdomen were the archways of mystical power. Hanging beneath the archway, his massive sex organ bore the tattooed symbols of his destiny. In another life, this heavy shaft of flesh had been his source of carnal pleasure. But no longer. I have been purified. Like the mystical eunuch monks of Katharoi, Mal'akh had removed his testicles. He had sacrificed his physical potency for a more worthy one. Gods have no gender. Having shed the human imperfection of gender along with the earthly pull of sexual temptation, Mal'akh had become like Ouranos, Attis, Sporus, and the great castrati magicians of Arthurian legend. Every spiritual metamorphosis is preceded by a physical one. Such was the lesson of all the great gods . . . from Osiris, to Tammuz, to Jesus, to Shiva, to the Buddha himself. I must shed the man who clothes me. Abruptly, Mal'akh drew his gaze upward, past the double-headed phoenix on his chest, past the collage of ancient sigils adorning his face, and directly to the top of his head. He tipped his head toward the mirror, barely able to see the circle of bare flesh that waited there. This location on the body was sacred. Known as the fontanel, it was the one area of the human skull that remained open at birth. An oculus to the brain. Although this physiological portal closes within a matter of months, it remains a symbolic vestige of the lost connection between the outer and inner worlds. Mal'akh studied the sacred patch of virginal skin, which was enclosed by the crownlike circle of an ouroboros–a mystical snake devouring its own tail. The bare flesh seemed to stare back at him . . . bright with promise. Robert Langdon soon would uncover the great treasure that Mal'akh required. Once Mal'akh possessed it, the void on top of his head would be filled, and he would at last be prepared for his final transformation. Mal'akh padded across his bedroom and took from his bottom drawer a long strip of white silk. As he had done many times before, he wrapped it around his groin and buttocks. Then he went downstairs. In his office, his computer had received an e-mail message. It was from his contact: WHAT YOU REQUIRE IS NOW WITHIN REACH. I WILL CONTACT YOU WITHIN THE HOUR. PATIENCE. Mal'akh smiled. It was time to make final preparations. CHAPTER 72 The CIA field agent was in a foul mood as he descended from the reading-room balcony. Bellamy lied to us. The agent had seen no heat signatures whatsoever upstairs near the Moses statue, nor anywhere else upstairs for that matter. So where the hell did Langdon go? The agent retraced his steps now to the only place they'd spotted any heat signatures at all–the library's distribution hub. He descended the stairs again, moving beneath the octagonal console. The noise of the rumbling conveyors was grating. Advancing into the space, he flipped down his thermal goggles and scanned the room. Nothing. He looked toward the stacks, where the mangled door still showed hot from the explosion. Other than that, he saw no– Holy shit! The agent jumped back as an unexpected luminescence drifted into his field of vision. Like a pair of ghosts, the dimly glowing imprints of two humanoids had just emerged from the wall on a conveyor belt. Heat signatures. Stunned, the agent watched as the two apparitions circled the room on the conveyor loop and then disappeared headfirst into a narrow hole in the wall. They rode the conveyor out? That's insanity. In addition to realizing they had just lost Robert Langdon through a hole in the wall, the field agent was now aware that he had another problem. Langdon's not alone? He was just about to switch on his transceiver and call the team leader, but the team leader beat him to it. â€Å"All points, we've got an abandoned Volvo on the plaza in front of the library. Registered to one Katherine Solomon. Eyewitness says she entered the library not long ago. We suspect she's with Robert Langdon. Director Sato has ordered that we find them both immediately.† â€Å"I've got heat signatures for both of them!† shouted the field agent in the distribution room. He explained the situation. â€Å"For Christ's sake!† the team leader replied. â€Å"Where the hell does the conveyor go?† The field agent was already consulting the employee reference schematic on the bulletin board. â€Å"Adams Building,† he replied. â€Å"One block from here.† â€Å"All points. Redirect to the Adams Building! NOW!† CHAPTER 73 Sanctuary. Answers. The words echoed in Langdon's mind as he and Katherine burst through a side door of the Adams Building and out into the cold winter night. The mysterious caller had conveyed his location cryptically, but Langdon had understood. Katherine's reaction to their destination had been surprisingly sanguine: Where better to find One True God? Now the question was how to get there. Langdon spun in place, trying to get his bearings. It was dark, but thankfully the weather had cleared. They were standing in a small courtyard. In the distance, the Capitol Dome looked startlingly far away, and Langdon realized this was the first moment he had stepped outside since arriving at the Capitol several hours ago. So much for my lecture. â€Å"Robert, look.† Katherine pointed toward the silhouette of the Jefferson Building. Langdon's first reaction on seeing the building was astonishment that they had traveled so far underground on a conveyor belt. His second reaction, however, was alarm. The Jefferson Building was now abuzz with activity–trucks and cars pulling in, men shouting. Is that a searchlight? Langdon grabbed Katherine's hand. â€Å"Come on.† They ran northeast across the courtyard, quickly disappearing from view behind an elegant U- shaped building, which Langdon realized was the Folger Shakespeare Library. This particular building seemed appropriate camouflage for them tonight, as it housed the original Latin manuscript of Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, the utopian vision on which the American forefathers had allegedly modeled a new world based on ancient knowledge. Even so, Langdon would not be stopping. We need a cab. They arrived at the corner of Third Street and East Capitol. The traffic was sparse, and Langdon felt fading hope as he scanned for taxis. He and Katherine hurried northward on Third Street, putting distance between themselves and the Library of Congress. It was not until they had gone an entire block that Langdon finally spotted a cab rounding the corner. He flagged it down, and the cab pulled over. Middle Eastern music played on his radio, and the young Arab driver gave them a friendly smile. â€Å"Where to?† the driver asked as they jumped into the car. â€Å"We need to go to–â€Å" â€Å"Northwest!† Katherine interjected, pointing up Third Street away from the Jefferson Building. â€Å"Drive toward Union Station, then left on Massachusetts Avenue. We'll tell you when to stop.† The driver shrugged, closed the Plexiglas divider, and turned his music back on. Katherine shot Langdon an admonishing look as if to say: â€Å"Leave no trail.† She pointed out the window, directing Langdon's attention to a black helicopter that was skimming in low, approaching the area. Shit. Sato was apparently dead serious about recovering Solomon's pyramid. As they watched the helicopter land between the Jefferson and Adams buildings, Katherine turned to him, looking increasingly worried. â€Å"Can I see your cell phone for a second?† Langdon handed her his phone. â€Å"Peter told me you have an eidetic memory?† she said, rolling down her window. â€Å"And that you remember every phone number you've ever dialed?† â€Å"That's true, but–â€Å" Katherine hurled his phone out into the night. Langdon spun in his seat and watched as his cell phone cartwheeled and splintered into pieces on the pavement behind them. â€Å"Why did you do that!† â€Å"Off the grid,† Katherine said, her eyes grave. â€Å"This pyramid is our only hope of finding my brother, and I have no intention of letting the CIA steal it from us.† In the front seat, Omar Amirana bobbed his head and hummed along with his music. Tonight had been slow, and he felt blessed to finally have a fare. His cab was just passing Stanton Park, when the familiar voice of his company dispatcher crackled over the radio. â€Å"This is Dispatch. All vehicles in the area of the National Mall. We have just received a bulletin from government authorities regarding two fugitives in the area of the Adams Building . . .† Omar listened in amazement as Dispatch described the precise couple in his cab. He stole an uneasy glance in his rearview mirror. Omar had to admit, the tall guy did look familiar somehow. Did I see him on America's Most Wanted? Gingerly, Omar reached for his radio handset. â€Å"Dispatch?† he said, speaking quietly into the transceiver. â€Å"This is cab one-three-four. The two people you asked about–they are in my cab . . . right now.† Dispatch immediately advised Omar what to do. Omar's hands were trembling as he called the phone number Dispatch had given him. The voice that answered was tight and efficient, like that of a soldier. â€Å"This is Agent Turner Simkins, CIA field ops. Who is this?† â€Å"Um . . . I'm the taxi driver?† Omar said. â€Å"I was told to call about the two–â€Å" â€Å"Are the fugitives currently in your vehicle? Answer only yes or no.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Can they hear this conversation? Yes or no?† â€Å"No. The slider is–â€Å" â€Å"Where are you taking them?† â€Å"Northwest on Massachusetts.† â€Å"Specific destination?† â€Å"They didn't say.† The agent hesitated. â€Å"Is the male passenger carrying a leather bag?† Omar glanced in the rearview mirror, and his eyes went wide. â€Å"Yes! That bag doesn't have explosives or anything in–â€Å" â€Å"Listen carefully,† the agent said. â€Å"You are in no danger so long as you follow my directions exactly. Is that clear?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"Omar,† he said, breaking a sweat. â€Å"Listen, Omar,† the man said calmly. â€Å"You're doing great. I want you to drive as slowly as possible while I get my team out in front of you. Do you understand?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"Also, is your cab equipped with an intercom system so you can communicate with them in the backseat?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"Good. Here's what I want you to do.† CHAPTER 74 The Jungle, as it is known, is the centerpiece of the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG)–America's living museum–located adjacent to the U.S. Capitol Building. Technically a rain forest, the Jungle is housed in a towering greenhouse, complete with soaring rubber trees, strangler figs, and a canopy catwalk for more daring tourists. Normally, Warren Bellamy felt nurtured by the Jungle's earthy smells and the sunlight glinting through the mist that filtered down from the vapor nozzles in the glass ceiling. Tonight, however, lit only by moonlight, the Jungle terrified him. He was sweating profusely, writhing against the cramps that now stabbed at his arms, still pinned painfully behind him. Director Sato paced before him, puffing calmly on her cigarette–the equivalent of ecoterrorism in this carefully calibrated environment. Her face looked almost demonic in the smoke-filled moonlight that streamed down through the glass ceiling overhead. â€Å"So then,† Sato continued, â€Å"when you arrived at the Capitol tonight, and you discovered that I was already there . . . you made a decision. Rather than making your presence known to me, you descended quietly into the SBB, where, at great risk to yourself, you attacked Chief Anderson and myself, and you helped Langdon escape with the pyramid and capstone.† She rubbed her shoulder. â€Å"An interesting choice.† A choice I would make again, Bellamy thought. â€Å"Where is Peter?† he demanded angrily. â€Å"How would I know?† Sato said. â€Å"You seem to know everything else!† Bellamy fired back at her, making no attempt to hide his suspicion that she was somehow behind all this. â€Å"You knew to go to the Capitol Building. You knew to find Robert Langdon. And you even knew to X-ray Langdon's bag to find the capstone. Obviously, someone is giving you a lot of inside information.† Sato laughed coldly and stepped closer to him. â€Å"Mr. Bellamy, is that why you attacked me? Do you think I'm the enemy? Do you think I'm trying to steal your little pyramid?† Sato took a drag on her cigarette and blew the smoke out of her nostrils. â€Å"Listen carefully. No one understands better than I do the importance of keeping secrets. I believe, as you do, that there is certain information to which the masses should not be privy. Tonight, however, there are forces at work that I fear you have not yet grasped. The man who kidnapped Peter Solomon holds enormous power . . . a power that you apparently have yet to realize. Believe me, he is a walking time bomb . . . capable of initiating a series of events that will profoundly change the world as you know it.† â€Å"I don't understand.† Bellamy shifted on the bench, his arms aching in his handcuffs. â€Å"You don't need to understand. You need to obey. Right now, my only hope of averting a major disaster is to cooperate with this man . . . and to give him exactly what he wants. Which means, you are going to call Mr. Langdon and tell him to turn himself in, along with the pyramid and capstone. Once Langdon is in my custody, he will decrypt the pyramid's inscription, obtain whatever information this man is demanding, and provide him with exactly what he wants.† The location of the spiral staircase that leads to the Ancient Mysteries? â€Å"I can't do that. I've taken vows of secrecy.† Sato erupted. â€Å"I don't give a damn what you've vowed, I will throw you in prison so fast–â€Å" â€Å"Threaten me all you like,† Bellamy said defiantly. â€Å"I will not help you.† Sato took a deep breath and spoke now in a fearsome whisper. â€Å"Mr. Bellamy, you have no idea what's really going on tonight, do you?† The tense silence hung for several seconds, finally broken by the sound of Sato's phone. She plunged her hand into her pocket and eagerly snatched it out. â€Å"Talk to me,† she answered, listening carefully to the reply. â€Å"Where is their taxi now? How long? Okay, good. Bring them to the U.S. Botanic Garden. Service entrance. And make sure you get me that god-damn pyramid and capstone.† Sato hung up and turned back to Bellamy with a smug smile. â€Å"Well then . . . it seems you're fast outliving your usefulness.† CHAPTER 75 Robert Langdon stared blankly into space, feeling too tired to urge the slow-moving taxi driver to pick up the pace. Beside him, Katherine had fallen silent, too, looking frustrated by their lack of understanding of what made the pyramid so special. They had again been through everything they knew about the pyramid, the capstone, and the evening's strange events; they still had no ideas as to how this pyramid could possibly be considered a map to anything at all. Jeova Sanctus Unus? The secret hides within The Order? Their mysterious contact had promised them answers if they could meet him at a specific place. A refuge in Rome, north of the Tiber. Langdon knew the forefathers' â€Å"new Rome† had been renamed Washington early in her history, and yet vestiges of their original dream remained: the Tiber's waters still flowed into the Potomac; senators still convened beneath a replica of St. Peter's dome; and Vulcan and Minerva still watched over the Rotunda's long-extinguished flame. The answers sought by Langdon and Katherine were apparently waiting for them just a few miles ahead. Northwest on Massachusetts Avenue. Their destination was indeed a refuge . . . north of Washington's Tiber Creek. Langdon wished the driver would speed up. Abruptly, Katherine jolted upright in her seat, as if she had made a sudden realization. â€Å"Oh my God, Robert!† She turned to him, her face going white. She hesitated a moment and then spoke emphatically. â€Å"We're going the wrong way!† â€Å"No, this is right,† Langdon countered. â€Å"It's northwest on Massachu–â€Å" â€Å"No! I mean we're going to the wrong place!† Langdon was mystified. He had already told Katherine how he knew what location was being described by the mysterious caller. It contains ten stones from Mount Sinai, one from heaven itself, and one with the visage of Luke's dark father. Only one building on earth could make those claims. And that was exactly where this taxi was headed. â€Å"Katherine, I'm certain the location is correct.† â€Å"No!† she shouted. â€Å"We don't need to go there anymore. I figured out the pyramid and capstone! I know what this is all about!† Langdon was amazed. â€Å"You understand it?† â€Å"Yes! We have to go to Freedom Plaza instead!† Now Langdon was lost. Freedom Plaza, although nearby, seemed totally irrelevant. â€Å"Jeova Sanctus Unus!† Katherine said. â€Å"The One True God of the Hebrews. The sacred symbol of the Hebrews is the Jewish star–the Seal of Solomon–an important symbol to the Masons!† She fished a dollar bill out of her pocket. â€Å"Give me your pen.† Bewildered, Langdon pulled a pen from his jacket. â€Å"Look.† She spread the bill out on her thigh and took his pen, pointing to the Great Seal on the back. â€Å"If you superimpose Solomon's seal on the Great Seal of the United States . . .† She drew the symbol of a Jewish star precisely over the pyramid. â€Å"Look what you get!† Langdon looked down at the bill and then back at Katherine as if she were mad. â€Å"Robert, look more closely! Don't you see what I'm pointing at?† He glanced back at the drawing. What in the world is she getting at? Langdon had seen this image before. It was popular among conspiracy theorists as â€Å"proof† that the Masons held secret influence over our early nation. When the six-pointed star was laid perfectly over the Great Seal of the United States, the star's top vertex fit perfectly over the Masonic all-seeing eye . . . and, quite eerily, the other five vertices clearly pointed to the letters M-A-S-O-N. â€Å"Katherine, that's just a coincidence, and I still don't see how it has anything to do with Freedom Plaza.† â€Å"Look again!† she said, sounding almost angry now. â€Å"You're not looking where I am pointing! Right there. Don't you see it?† An instant later, Langdon saw it. CIA field-operations leader Turner Simkins stood outside the Adams Building and pressed his cell phone tightly to his ear, straining to hear the conversation now taking place in the back of the taxi. Something just happened. His team was about to board the modified Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter to head northwest and set up a roadblock, but now it seemed the situation had suddenly changed. Seconds ago, Katherine Solomon had begun insisting they were going to the wrong destination. Her explanation–something about the dollar bill and Jewish stars–made no sense to the team leader, nor, apparently, to Robert Langdon. At least at first. Now, however, Langdon seemed to have grasped her meaning. â€Å"My God, you're right!† Langdon blurted. â€Å"I didn't see it earlier!† Suddenly Simkins could hear someone banging on the driver's divider, and then it slid open. â€Å"Change of plans,† Katherine shouted to the driver. â€Å"Take us to Freedom Plaza!† â€Å"Freedom Plaza?† the cabbie said, sounding nervous. â€Å"Not northwest on Massachusetts?† â€Å"Forget that!† Katherine shouted. â€Å"Freedom Plaza! Go left here! Here! HERE!† Agent Simkins heard the cab screeching around a corner. Katherine was talking excitedly again to Langdon, saying something about the famous bronze cast of the Great Seal embedded in the plaza. â€Å"Ma'am, just to confirm,† the cabbie's voice interjected, sounding tense. â€Å"We're going to Freedom Plaza–on the corner of Pennsylvania and Thirteenth?† â€Å"Yes!† Katherine said. â€Å"Hurry!† â€Å"It's very close. Two minutes.† Simkins smiled. Nicely done, Omar. As he dashed toward the idling helicopter, he shouted to his team. â€Å"We've got them! Freedom Plaza! Move!†

The Special Education for the Visually Impaired

Special education has come a long way since the room down the hall with the crayon books and easy work. There was a time that special education students were placed together in a classroom, given easy work to do that would not challenge them and provided separate recesses and lunch periods so that they would not mingle with the regular education students. It was a stigma that nobody wanted for their child but it wasn't until the mid-1960's that it began to change. Beginning with Brown vs the school board lawsuit, stemming from a Black student who wanted to attend a predominately white school, the life of a special education student has transformed significantly. Today, special education students are protected from discrimination and segregation by federal and state laws. Students with special learning needs are educated in the least restrictive environment and school systems are ordered to accommodate their special needs so that the playing field will be level for their educational journey. Blind students are classified special education by the very nature of their disability. They are classified as such so that the federal education statutes with regards to special education can protect them from being segregated or shunned by the regular education system. Blind students have their inability to see in common, however, outside of that they are as individual and diverse as their sighted peers. There are federal guidelines in place regarding the education and interventions that pertain to blind students however. A student who is blind can present challenges when it comes to behavioral interventions because some of the tried and true methods are not applicable when it comes to a blind student. Making a student write an essay, write sentences or run laps is not feasible when the student needing the intervention is blind. While many behavioral interventions that apply to sighted students will in fact work with blind students it is important to have alternative plans in place for the behavior intervention of those who cannot see. When the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was passed, educators, parents and students began to hammer out plans and pathways to the fair treatment and education of those who had special needs. The students who were blind had previously been sent off to schools for the blind, where they only associated with other blind students, worked with blind geared materials and learned that they were blind in a sighted world. Today, blind students who want to attend regular public schools are not only encouraged to do so they are given the right by federal law to do so, and the school must take whatever steps are needed to allow that education(Anderson, 2004). The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the resulting final federal regulations published in 1999 describe related services as an essential component of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for many students with disabilities(Anderson, 2004). † Those related services include everything from transportation to counseling services that will assist the special education student in their quest to receive a public education with their peers. Every special education student, including those who are blind is provided with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). This plan outlines the student's educational needs, the way those needs will be met and what accommodations will be provided by the school system in providing that education(Zabriskie, 2003). While the federal law protects all special education students there are areas of interest that are specifically geared to the education of blind students(Kozub, 2006). As part and parcel of an blind student's IEP it is important to consider the disability and remember its limitations when planning the student's curriculum, extra curricular activities and physical education abilities. Because a blind student is often at a disadvantage when it comes to physical activity in both during the routine school curriculum and the aspects of physical education the IEP team must consider alternatives to include these elements in the school day. In addition the IEP team must consider appropriate behavior interventions for the blind student that acts out due to frustration about not being able to participate as fully as their sighted peers. This frustration may be from the child's anger at his or her limitations or may be founded in messages being sent to that student by well meaning parents who are concerned about their child's physical development as well as educational development. â€Å"The need for heightened levels of fitness in order to navigate barriers found in both home and community settings is important for children and adults with visual impairments. This is a critical mobility issue for children given the need for independence in daily living activities that increases with age and becomes a necessity during adulthood. In addition, issues of mobility within the larger community are a concern later in adulthood if individuals who lack vision rely on public transportation (which may or may not be accessible depending on fitness levels needed to independently reach bus stops). In all, it is imperative that adequate levels of physical activity are encouraged in children and adolescents with visual impairments to facilitate independence into adulthood. The following study is an initial investigation using a family systems framework of activity levels in a select group of children and adolescents with visual impairments(Kozub, 2006). † These and other concerns raise a need for behavioral interventions that are specifically geared to meet the needs of blind students(Robinson, 2001). â€Å"School success may be minimal for students who have difficulties building social relationships and ultimately fail at developing social competence. As a result, social skills training is often provided to increase pro-social interaction. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of teaching appropriate social functioning, there is concern about generalization and maintenance of learned skills(Gilles, 2003). † Blind students are at a specific disadvantage in the regular classroom setting. They are unable to determine when the classroom is noisy when it is appropriate to speak out, when it is appropriate to remain quiet and how to gain the teacher's attention by finding her by sight then moving toward her(Bricker, 2004). It is situations such as these that create a problem when it comes to behavior for the blind student. Not only are inappropriate behaviors a risk when a student is frustrated by being blind, but there are every day behaviors that must be addressed for the blind student and the regular education student to blend into a classroom and create a positive and cohesive learning environment. A student who cannot see where the teacher is to gain his or her attention will often times yell out or shout out the teacher's name. This can not only be disruptive to the classroom from a educational standpoint, but it can also provide a foundation for mimic behavior from the sighted students(Prochaska, 2002). A classroom with 15-23 students all shouting out names of the teacher or others that are needed will quickly become an impossible learning environment. It is important to develop a behavioral intervention for such situations and implement that intervention with the blind student(Bricker, 2004). One intervention would be to provide the blind student with a bell, with which he could ring it once and then patiently wait for the teacher to either arrive at the desk or verbally let the student know he or she will be there momentarily. A blind student may become loud and disruptive when frustrated or angry. It is important for teachers to understand that the frustration may not be with any one person in particular but may in fact be about not being sighted the way the other students in the classroom are. It is important o have appropriate behavior interventions in place from the beginning so that the students who are blind can depend on the consistent response to certain behaviors. When a student acts out and become verbally loud and disruptive it can be disruptive for the entire classroom. Whereas a sighted student can be told to go to the hall or go to the principal the sending of a blind student is more complicated as they will require an aide to accompany them. If less drastic attempts to reduce the undesired behavior are not successful then an aide should be appointed to escort the student from the classroom, however, there should be mandated approaches built into the student's IEP for behavioral interventions before that point arrives. One step that can be taken in behavior intervention with a blind student is to have the student learn how to self direct the anger. If he or she is feeling frustrated it is important that the student have a place to vent that frustration so that it does not come out in inappropriate behaviors in the classroom. Allowing that student to be excused to talk to the guidance counselor about the current frustration is one behavior intervention that will allow the student to address the frustration while at the same time preserving the integrity of the classroom setting and the lessons being taught to the remaining students. Another approach to redirecting undesired behavior will be touch and sound. A blind student cannot read social cues from other students and teachers by the look on their face. It is important to help the student who is blind find ways to read social cues using the other senses. Teachers should instruct the seeing students in ways to use hearing and touch to convey cues to the students who are blind. In addition the students that are blind should be guided in listening to voice cues and other sounds that can clue them to the social attitudes and feelings of those around them. It is important that blind student intervention programs provide clear cut guidelines in helping the students redirect themselves and their behavior to more acceptable avenues. It is important for teachers and students to recognize the very real limitations that a blind student must face on a daily basis. The student who is educated in a regular education classroom is subjected to a well rounded experience, while at the same time must face frustrations that he or she would not have to deal with in a school for the blind. It is important that behavior interventions for the blind student take into consideration the disability and how that disability impacts the student not only from an educational standpoint, but also from a social and emotional standpoint as well. Behavior interventions should include guidance for future behaviors that will provide a foundation for the student to build on successful encounters with each passing year. The federal government mandates that accommodations be put in place but it is up to the individual school to design the accommodations that fit the individual blind student. Blind students are as diversified as sighted students and as such must have behavioral intervention plans in place that address their individual needs.

A Human Resource Manager Dealings

Human resources management deals with the theories, concepts, and practices that enable organizations to attract and retain employees. Human resource managers are responsible for designing effective compensation systems. They must be aware of the most recent laws and regulations governing what managers can and cannot do, and they must apply nondiscriminatory recruiting, selection, promotion, and pay standards. New and important developments in advanced industrial societies have created additional challenges in human resource management, resulting in increased opportunities in such areas as ersonnel management, labor relations, labor and employment law, and compensation and employee benefits. Another of the business fields most important areas is finance. Finance is the study of how individuals and organizations make decisions about short-term and long-term investments and how these investments are financed. This major teaches theoretical and practical aspects of financial management. The general aspect is to explain how financial techniques can solve some of societies most important problems. Human resource management and finance our main aspects in the educational field of business, hat cannot be disregarded in a business society. I chose the profession of a human resource manager so I could basically have control in what I do in the business type atmosphere. This profession has many different departments in a business and the managers of those departments have a lot of control in how they run their departments. These departments consist of employee relations, organizational development, compensation, benefits, labor relations, and functions management also known as a generalist. All the managers of these departments in a corporation are very well paid. I become more anxious to start working in this business field as I keep learning Money has played a major role in my decision to choose this profession. The salaries all depend upon the company. For example in the division of organizational development the starting salary is 52,000 dollars out of college. After three years it is 82,000 dollars. Four more years it is more than 120,000 dollars. This was a major influence in the decision of making human resource management a career choice. In the career of business no matter what your major is the concept or center that the business world revolves around is he act of dealing with money. After careful studying of these career paths and choices I have come to the conclusion that money makes all the difference in the world. At the salary rate and employee benefits of the profession makes this job one that can last a full Although it requires a lot of hard work the profession of being a human resource manager is one that leaves great financial standing to support a family and good retirement funds. The idea of having money is not all about having it for yourself. Many people who criticize others for looking for a career with good financial standing assume that person ants money for themselves. Many people use money as an influence for choosing their careers are thinking about their future which hopes to consist of a family. This is my motive, I want my family, just like everyone else to live life better than I did so I can show that hard work pays off. Selfishness has nothing to do with anything, the future has everything to do with it. I really want this career to lasts for me as long as it can. The more financial support that I have as a result of being in this field is for the better to I really felt no pressure in choosing this career, I made this choice on my own and I hoose to stick with it. I did not feel any pressure to attend college I knew I had to go to college mainly because of influence of the society I grew up in. My parents are both equally successful in the way that they are both bosses in their career. This is what I use as my motivation in order to succeed just like both of them. It actually makes me push harder because of the fact that they had to deal with life a lot worse than I had to. I might feel pressure to succeed but never did I knew from the beginning, as soon as I was able to talk, The negative aspect in being a human resource manager is the worst feeling in any profession. The act of telling someone that has a wife and children that they are not needed not because of their work performance but because of the cutbacks of major corporations and businesses is something that hurts your conscience. This is something that does not only effect the employee but it effects the employer. I am going to work to change this aspect in the job. My philosophy on this subject is going to be no termination of a job unless it is absolutely necessary. My goal as long as I am in this profession is not to fire a single worker. I feel when people are secure of their jobs they work faster, work harder, and work better. Even though this might be far fetched I will try to complete this goal for as long as I can. Even though this is not something that I look forward to doing, I know it is something that comes with the territory. I chose this career path based on the business class I took in high school. We went through one chapter based on this profession. This is the only chapter in the business book that I actually ended up reading. This is the point when I knew what I was going to do in my life. This decision effected many aspects of my high school life. For example, this decision helped me choose what colleges I wanted to go to. f the school did not have uman resource management in a list with all of their business degrees than I did not even seem interested to the slightest degree. After careful research in salary and job potential along with benefits I knew that I was going to choose this career based on one business class my junior year in high school. The profession of a human resource manager has many divisions. The top executive and managerial positions have to be occupied with someone with a college degree. However there are positions that go under specialist divisions that get paid good money to do minor human resource jobs such as being in payroll or other small departments. There are a lot of specific aspects that are all gone over in college courses. For example, if you work for a company based on finance you need to know all the principles of that subject that is learned in a business college course. This is not something you learn unless you spend many years on the same aspect. In an interview with Mike Sauter, a human resource manager for Duracell in Indianapolis, there was one main subject of the interview centered in one question. What are the physical, mental, and emotional stability†s it takes to Brandon: What made you choose the business field as your major? Mike: In college it was the first thing that caught my attention out of all the majors that my school provided, it was the field that I was positive I could do. Brandon: Did anyone influence you to choose this field? Mike: No, I kind of just decided on my own my freshman year. Brandon: Where did you go to college? Mike: I attended the university of Indiana (Bloomington). Brandon: Did you know the percentages of those who graduated in this field? Mike: I think around 85 percent of the class graduated out of the school of business. Brandon: Did the remaining 15 percent drop out or fail in this field? Mike: I am not sure but I would guess that the majority of those who did not get a degree Brandon: What do you think is the biggest challenge one faces going into this field? Mike: Probably the biggest challenge one faces is trying to be the best in your field. If you are the best then you have the concentration and motivation to succeed. Many people think the biggest challenge is getting hired, but if you are the best then the jobs basically Brandon: What sacrifices does one have to make in order to succeed in this field? Mike: There are so many but, the most influential are the social sacrifices one has to make. You cannot go to every party, you sometimes have to even miss physical workouts, also if your in a relationship you have to separate and sacrifice time or it†s not going to Brandon: What are the best options for those with double majors? Mike: Well, the advantage to having a double major is there are double your chances of having better job opportunities and offers. The disadvantage is all the work. Brandon: If you could change majors, would you choose another field? Mike: Not a chance, I just feel like I know this field to well. Brandon: What do you think is the biggest aspect one needs to know going into this Mike: The biggest aspect is just simply knowing what you want to do and know that you Brandon: What benefits come out of the field of business? Mike: It all depends on the company. Benefits can have many different ranges such as dental plans up to medical benefits. My job is to decide what would best help the Brandon: What are the ranges of salaries for a human resource manager? Mike: The range of salaries depends on how many employees you have. If you have thousands of employees, than you could make up to 90 to 120 thousand dollars a year. Brandon: What are the ranges of salaries for a person in finance? Mike: I am not to sure about someone in finance but, I would guess that their salaries could range up in the high thousands. Brandon: Where did you spend your internship? Mike: I actually spent my internship at Walmart, doing stuff like payroll and attendance, Brandon: What are the starting salaries like for a human resource manager? Mike: It all depends on the type of position you are in. You could be just coming out of college and finishing your internship and still have over a thousand employees under you. Brandon: Are you satisfied with your salary? Mike: I am very satisfied, I feel that all my hard work paid off and deserving. Brandon: Why did you choose to become a human resource manager? Mike: When I was looking through the tasks in business I felt like I knew this area already, and it was so familiar that I knew I could succeed. Brandon: How much time of your job do you spend yearly? Mike: I spend over 11 months. This is a profession that requires daily attendance, and I must be the person who sets good examples for the other workers. Brandon: Is this a job that requires a lot of overtime work? Mike: It doesn†t require a lot but, on any given day you can work about one or two hours Brandon: What is the biggest task for a human resource manager? Mike: The hardest thing in this field is after getting to know and trust an employee, telling that same person that they are no longer needed in this business. After that you realize that these people have families to feed also but, there is nothing more you can do. It is the hardest thing I ever had to do but, it is the path I chose. Brandon: What are the physical, mental, and emotional stability†s does it take to Mike: The physical part is to be able to get up every morning and expect something different every time you put a suit on to go to work, and being able to handle it. The ental part is believing in your self enough to know that you can be the best, and make a difference in the work place. The emotional part is trusting the people you work with and hoping that we as a team can help each other succeed. I have a very positive opinion of college it seems to be everything I expected. I am taking time to get use to Indiana but I am still having fun while doing it. The time I spend at Ball State University has all been worth it and I do not really plan on leaving to transfer to another school anytime soon. Being at a university like this one is everything I expected since I first visited almost nothing has changed. I knew I was going to choose this school as one of my top choices when I saw it had my major. I made my final decision when I came to visit. The main challenge that faces me now is getting through all the hard courses, and pressures that come with graduating from college. Other these obstacles I think I should be better than fine. Whatever is ahead of me, whatever size problem it seems to be, I know I will be ready for it. Before I get through with a degree in human resource management I need to get use to and practice with this career. I will be working at the Washington Wizards arena the MCI Center. This should be an excellent experience for me mainly because I can decide whether or not I want to be doing this for the rest of my life. This is great timing because I can change career paths if I do not like this type of career. I will be working under someone whose position I will hopefully be in after I graduate college. I will be doing work that employees that do not have a college degree such as handling payroll for example. The main difference between training for a career and pursuing an education is being well skilled in either one subject or in all subjects of a profession. The act of being trained or a job and not going to college has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that you get money faster and you do not have to waste time and money on a college education when you can be working the next day. The disadvantages are that without a college education your job can be replaced easier with someone who was taught the same job but more thoroughly, and with a college education it is easier to get a job with a higher â€Å"Under the general direction of the CEO and COO, this position creates and implements Human Resources programs including, but not limited to, recruitment, employee evelopment, compensation and benefits, management development, employee training and employee relations (www. hrm. org).† After the interview Mr. Sauter wished me luck and surely let me know what was ahead and the problems I had to deal with. I realized that being a human resource manager is hard work mentally, physically, and emotionally. However, I also realized that facing problems and obstacles is what life is all about and I am going to have to handle it at one time or another. I also realized that for me it is now do or die and I must confront all challenges to the best of my ability.