Diagnostic essay original and revised.

The Curse, The Gift... (Original paper)

In life, there is no certainty. We will die as every organism is destined to, age as the years run by, and occasionally fall ill to the infinite sickness or accidents that rule the days of our existence. We as a society, dream that we will become the bearer of powerful abilities, which would set us apart from the rest of the worlds, all ready, most powerful species. Thoughts of flying through the skies, free from the prisons of machinery into the open air with the wind blowing through the follicles of our hair. Teleporting to anywhere we set our minds too, from the Walls of China, the Summit of Everest, or even the ancient city of Manchu Picchu. Possibly, lifting a car above our heads and chucking it into the depths of space, while our feet are planted on the very soil it once stood. For myself, I would choose a simpler ability that would not excite those at first glance who wish to fly, teleport, or have superhuman strength. The ability I would have would be instantaneous cellular regeneration. This ability would supercharge my immunity system to always be at the top of any other species. Adapting and regenerating to anything that would harm me such as a disease or a simple accident. Not having to worry about the consequences and the toll I would put on my body. Yet, with all worries or problems that fleet us, more and new problems arise.

The first day I would have this ability it would possibly be the most interesting day of my life. I would, personally, test the very stints of my limitless ability by pushing the levels of my endorphins and slowly nullifying the pain sensors that shoot through the body. I would slowly see how my ability works by creating bruises, cuts, and even burn marks. Dangerous tests that would leave others disabled or dead would soon follow from falling out of high places to losing appendages and limbs. After all the conclusions have been accounted, I would join the military Special Force such as the U.S. Navy Seals or Army Rangers. Learn all that I can and become the ultimate tactical fighting machine. Life would become a virtual reality simulation, where the idealization of death would be but a long forgotten side note of the mind. Age would have no meaning for my regenerative body could keep my heart, muscles, bones, eyes, and any other system coursing through me on untapped levels of God-like stature. Yet, there is always the other route in life; which is far from the spectrum of war and tactical political growth and control.

The power that is contained in the genetic code of my body could save millions. . My body would be the healing temple for diseases that doctors can only give vaccinations and temporarily relief, which would finally be a distant memory to the suffering of the world. A new society of children with no fear of premature lives or unwanted illnesses, and I would be the father of it. However, the problem with any great power is that those with much more pull will always claim the rights of others as there own.

In our society, my power would never have been known. I would be a myth that was lost in the medical citations of future generations. My identity would be veiled in secrecy with scientists always around me. A lab rat to the corporation; dissected, experimented on, and studied to endless depths. In reality, why would you want one super human, when the biggest force is within numbers and having millions of cost efficient soldiers at your disposal? So, one has to wonder if my new found ability would truly be a gift or a curse.

As the world continuously rotates into unforeseen futures, there will always be humans with extraordinary talents that could be emphasized as special abilities. Knowing what I know about the outcomes and paths of my special ability, I would still choose the same. Maybe with this one power I could help those around me while still living a peaceful life. Yet, since I know how our society is, I would still have to play the game of life as secretly as possible. No animal should be caged. Freedom is a natural birth right, yet it is twisted for the betterment of society.





Revised Paper:

Power of Dreams


Prologue

In life, there is no certainty. We will die as every organism is destined to, age as the years run by, and occasionally fall ill to the infinite sickness or accidents that rule the days of our existence. We as a society, dream that we will become the bearer of powerful abilities, which would set us apart from the rest of the worlds, all ready, most powerful species. Thoughts of flying through the skies, free from the prisons of machinery into the open air with the wind blowing through the follicles of our hair. Teleporting to anywhere we set our minds too, from the Walls of China, the Summit of Everest, or even the ancient city of Manchu Picchu. Possibly, lifting a car above our heads and chucking it into the depths of space, while our feet are planted on the very soil it once stood. For myself, I would choose a simpler ability that would not excite those at first glance who wishes to fly, teleport, or have superhuman strength. The ability I would have would be instantaneous cellular regeneration. This ability would supercharge my immunity system to always be at the top of any other species, adapting and regenerating to anything that would harm me such as a disease or a simple accident. Not having to worry about the consequences and the toll I would put on my body. The power I could posses would make me unbounded by the constraints of the normal mind frame and physical prowess and make me the next link in human evolution. Yet, the real question is how would I use my power? Shall I use it for good and righteousness or a fall from grace and be evil… for I would be a god, neither which path I choose.

I have come to the realization that I am a monster. A beast trapped in the very captivity of my body. They say that good is the act of God while the path of evil is the lust and misguidance of Lucifer. I was but a man, whom just became a man, when I received this ‘gift,’ but now I have become something more. Maybe this is where the myths of Rome and Greece came from. Maybe our predecessors of time had abilities also but instead of not knowing what they had, they saw themselves as gods. How did I come to this point in my life? No love, no hope, no feeling, just a brain withered and spread to thinly. My heart beckons for acceptance but my brain shuts out its voice. My heart craves the desire for a tunnel of light, eternal sleep to whatever is left at the end of my life, and the sweet embrace of Michael, Samuel, Azreal, Malak Almawt, or any other name to which he is referred to as. My brain is a Darwin-istic power that believes in ‘survival of the fittest’, and does not want to die.
I remember bits and parts of the day I received my ability, it has been so long since I have had a chance to reflect. The past few years have been a whirlwind with memories starting to fade, childhood seems so far away. Maybe the reason I’m starting to become disarrayed and disconnected is because I’m losing the memories and lessons of my parents. Yet, that is beyond the point. Why must I be different…? The day I received my ‘gift’ has to be the beginning of my fall… I do not know how I received my power… maybe I have always had it, yet it was just dormant inside of me. I became arrogant, cocky, and reacted to fast to situations instead of thinking. I did not feel like a god, I was one. I started out by testing the very stints of my limitless ability. Pushing the levels of my endorphins and slowly nullifying the pain sensors that shoot through my body. I slowly saw how my ability works by creating bruises, cuts, and even burn marks. Dangerous tests that would leave others disabled or dead followed. I became the ultimate weapon for tactical warfare and in my mind I was a ‘god’. Enlisting in special operations for the U.S. Navy I was able to sharpen my skills. Missions like assignations, reconnaissance, and sabotage. I didn’t care what I was doing at the moments, it was just my job and I was good at it. After a few years of government work, and waking to the faces of the people I killed, I decided I wanted to do something different with my life. My days of bloodshed were over, so I disappeared. Leaving my former life, my family, and everything I knew. A fresh start is what I needed.
I fled to the northern shore of Venezuela and lived on the beach in a small one-bedroom bungalow, finally at peace. Staring into the ocean and free from my ability. Not needing the thoughts of being godly anymore I was free. I was humbled. And I had met a woman I feel in love with. Her name was Zaria. She had the most amazing green eyes, off shadowed by velvet black hair. Yet, I was found. She was not who she said she was. Then the prosecution came, under false allegations of treason, since the American government has a problem with Venezuela’s current president and need an excuse to lock me away forever. Brought back to the U.S. I was placed in a medical center to be broken down and have my ability duplicated. Everyday was a regiment of needles, probing, samples, diseases, and ‘aggressive’ experiments. All the acts were under the supervision of Zaria and she used me for my ability. She was a neuroscientist, who needed my ability to cure her ailing sister. I do not remember her real name. Yet, I continued calling her Zaria. I wanted to hurt her and make her remember the emotional pain she inflicted upon me! Besides the times I saw Zaria, I blocked out most of the time between surgical tables, gauntlet rooms of onslaught, and my six by five foot cell of solitude and mind deprivation numbered 24. The only comfort I had was with the person next to my cell. His name was Brayn. He was an amazing thinker from Russia, who was a spy for his ‘comrade’ nation. He would tell stories that made me feel like he and I were the same person just separated by continents. He told me of his ill actions, and how he only did what he needed to do to survive.
As the days faded away and my circadian rhythms were on a 25-hour clock, I lost time of what day and month it was. Today was different though. Zaria had a different look in her eyes. And even though she betrayed me I still deeply cared for her. Zaria, with two orderlies, came into my cell to retrieve me for more testing on the day I escaped. As I was being walked down the corridor chaos erupted. A fireball had erupted somewhere in the Facility. I was instantly knocked out.
I awoke half naked on a small island off of the coast of Brazil. But I was different, back to my old ways of the hunger of Godly worship. I needed to regain myself and find revenge. I wondered the beach until I found a group of people. They soon accepted me as one of their own. And as time grew, I started to meet the factions of guerrilla warfare in the South American countries. And as time progressed I soon became the local’s god. They saw what I could do. And amazed by my ability they raised me into power.
After years of conflict with CIA operatives, assignation attempts, and countless other economical problems, I started to lose the very people who helped me. Everyone eventually died and there was nothing left to fight for, the new generation that came in kept becoming more vicious, more aggressive and more outrageous in acts of violence. So, after 20 years of living like this it was time to leave. I fled early one night. Charting a boat from Brazil to Mexico. And traveled to the center of Mexico City. I bought an apartment loft in the city in Moras, Mexico City, Mexico. And spent the following years they’re being left alone. Away from the world and its insidious nature.
I am but all alone and out of the blue I receive a call. I pick up the phone, and on the other end is Brayn, my old friend who I thought was dead so many years ago. He tells me that he is at a hotel in room 124 down in the heart of Mexico City at a hotel called Casa Vieja. So I decide to grab my jacket and head out. When I reached the hotel I headed to his room. Knocked once, no answer. Knocked twice, no answer. I turned the handle and oddly enough it was open. I walked in and checked the rooms; I searched the area for any sign of him. And I saw a flicker in the bedroom. I opened the door. And in front of me their was a mirror. And in the mirror was me… and the reflection spoke to me and said:

???: Hi, I am Brayn.
Me: What is this!? What trick is this? (with a quiver in my voice)
Brayn: This is no trick. Just you, looking in the mirror of who you really are.
Me: I do not understand…
Brayn: I am you, well your brain, hence my name Brayn. A pun on the word brain.
Me: Why do u look so different from me though? Why are you me, yet dirty, long haired and a father-time beard in a medical gown?
Brayn: Because I am the real appearance of you. You never left “The
Facility.”
Me: So everything until the time I was captured is a lie? My escape?
My endless wandering? My new life?
Brayn: You became crazy and your only outlet was I. When you were
free all you did was rush into action, without thinking. Now I am
in control. And your soul is lost. In here you are not a god, you are
just a slave to your brains deceptions… me!

Epilogue


In our society, my power would never have been known. I would be a myth that was lost in the medical citations of future generations. My identity would be veiled in secrecy with scientists always around me. A lab rat to the corporation; dissected, experimented on, and studied to endless depths. In reality, why would you want one super human, when the biggest force is within numbers and having millions of cost efficient soldiers at your disposal? So, one has to wonder if any new found ability would truly be a gift or a curse.

As the world continuously rotates into unforeseen futures, there will always be humans with extraordinary talents that could be emphasized as special abilities. Knowing what I know about the outcomes and paths of the special ability I choose, I would still choose the same. Maybe with this one power I could help those around me while still living a peaceful life. Yet, since I know how our society is, I would still have to play the game of life as secretly as possible. No animal should be caged. Freedom is a natural birth right, yet it is twisted for the betterment of society.