Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Brittany Johnson for

designing our cover page.

www.illobritt.com

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“Corruptio”

Published by

Faith Harvest Ministries, Inc.

Copyright © 2013

Printed in the U.S.A.

All rights reserved

Harvest Times Books

A publication of Faith Harvest Ministries, Inc.

7 Burnt Tree Circle

Savannah, Georgia 31419

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This short story is dedicated to

Dr. Lauren Camille Mason

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Corruptio

By: Josh Bowen, Catie Cofield, Sam Dunning,

Dana Ortiz, Blake Pye, William Racz, and

Laurel Simmons

Table of Contents

1. Preface Page 1

2. Part One Page 3

3. Part Two Page 7

4. Part Three Page 13

5. Epilogue Page 17

6. Commentary Page 19

Preface

Before the story can begin, some things must first be made clear. These were strange – the times in which we

are depicting. All records and static information that our kind once held are now gone. We do know of these times through

oral tradition. We know that in the ancient times our people were scared. . . and foolish too. They were beginning to realize

that they were not so wise as they once thought. They had already come up with all of their geniuses and machines and

theories. They found these things to be very swell – at first.

They began to realize, however, when the more breakthroughs and more discoveries brought to them by their

machines and theories the more they realized their place was just one, amongst many, in shared open space. They were

foolish because they refused to integrate this fact that their "science" knew, and chose to view themselves as one, against

all, in limited space.

All of the world's supplies and resources were owned, not by individuals who were behaving selfishly, but by small

groups who had taken advantage of people in hard times. These groups managed to buy up every government, every nation,

and every market. The result was that all of their world became divided and privatized. Their police, their water supply,

even their whole countries with their vast militaries were “bought” up one by one as they slowly went bankrupt and

collapsed, subsequently being swallowed up by the greedy. The result was a completely polarized society with a very small

population of highly rich and affluent persons, ruling a horde of enslaved laborers the world over. This story, which has

most likely changed somewhat due to our people's oral tradition, is a prelude to the most pivotal moment of human history.

We are just now beginning to recover from the Revolutions that healed the divide. The fighting that destroyed all

things and stories that we once had, was a result of the paragons in this story and their actions we portray. In our

ancestors' time there was not the consideration of the needs of all, like we now have. One was prescribed only to take heed

to oneself. Those living of this time were trained to think that if everyone behaved selfishly everything would all balance out

in the end in some mystical way. Eventually, the people came to realize that that was not the case, but by this point it was

too late.

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PART I

Immediately after graduation, a man in a suit and tie handed me an invitation. It was from a certain Cartier

Investment Incorporated. I opened it up and could not believe my eyes. I had just graduated from University. How could I

have this opportunity with such little experience? The tall gleaming skyscraper I see in my path. The monolith that ushers in

is the start of my life. As I approached the building, I felt excitement grow within me. I can’t describe the feeling. Cartier

Investment Inc. looks me square in the eye. This place that lingers in front of me has become my fate. It’s like I was

destined to be here after all my hard work. As I walked through the revolving door, I nearly lost my breath. A beautiful

woman greeted me with an alluring smile and gleaming eyes.

“Mr. Johnson-”

“Please call me Solomon”

“We have been waiting such a long time for your arrival. How rude of me not introduce myself. I’m sorry, I’m

Jessica. Let me show you around. After your tour I’ll take you to your cubicle.”

“Sounds great.”

“Solomon, this is Silas. He'll be your cube partner. We don't like our employees working alone. I think you'll find our

business practices to your liking, ” said Jessica as she smiled and went back to her job.

Silas, looking at Jessica as she left, said, “So you're the one everyone around here has been talking about”.

Perturbed, I said ,“How? I'm not any different from the other employees here.”

“Get used to being surprised, ” He stated paradoxically, while returning to a hefty stack of paperwork.

The first order of business was to file paperwork involving clients who had invested their hard-earned cash, but

something about it was odd. Many of the clients were big name companies and people who dropped heavy sums into Cartier,

but, for the moment, I brushed it aside.

-One month later-

“Mr. Elias has an important job for you,” said Jessica over my cubicle partition. “You may not like it, but it pays

handsomely.”

Ahh, Elias. The CEO himself. Skeptically, I said ,“Okay, what exactly does this job entail?”

“Some of our benefactors haven't been investing the amounts they agreed to.”

Benefactor? That's an odd word choice.

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“Seeing as you have all of their information, we need you to tap into their accounts to retrieve what we require.

Start small. Three million should do.”

Visibly flinching, I said, “Three million is not a paltry sum by any means, and it could put me in jail for life.”

“On completing this assignment, you'll receive a 100,000 dollar bonus,” she said as she turned away, “If you

choose to do it, that is.”

I considered the offer for a few weeks before caving in, thinking These guys are incredibly wealthy. I'm sure

they've stepped on a few people's toes to get where they're at.

Our “hero”, Solomon Johnson, has started down a path that he cannot retread. These assignments would

continue and grow in size for months. He has unwittingly allowed himself to be drawn into the purpose for which

he was designed.

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PART II

I've been told that I need to speak to Mr. Elias, which is a prospect that I find exciting and terrifying at the same

time. Often I would wonder why I hadn't been able to speak with him, especially since I'm doing such precarious and delicate

assignments. As I walked in, he turned from his skyline view and welcomed me with a hearty grin.

“Solomon! A pleasure to finally see you in person,” he said while firmly shaking my hand. “We have many great

plans for your future, but I needed to make sure you could be trusted for the even greater task we have planned for you.”

“I think you'll find my talents adequate, sir, but, I must ask why I was the one chosen to do these tasks.”

“Ah, that was our means of finding out if we could trust you, but there are some things that I need share with you.

Solomon, have you ever wondered how this job seemed to fall into your lap?”

“It certainly has crossed my mind a few times, sir.”

His grin turning into a devilish half-smile, he began to explain something to me that would forever change my life.

“You were our most promising employment prospect from a very young age.”

Confused, I said, “What exactly do you mean?”

“We've been watching you, helping you, nearly raising you, for a very long time, to be the person that we need you

to be, and now you're here. Finally.”

Truly disturbed, I said, “I don't understand. Is this a joke?”

Ignoring my question, he continued, “Have you wondered why you were put into the best private schools? And

how you managed to receive numerous scholarships for University? We've guided you ever since you were a young boy, but

only for your good.”

He would continue on for an hour, fighting my disbelief by bringing up events throughout my life until I was ready

to accept the truth. Afterwards, I could only describe what I felt as a feeling of dreaded purpose.

“We want you to help us make the world a better place,” he would go on to say.

Still in shock, I didn't fully grasp the weight of those words.

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He explained to me that he needed me to be trained to fit the purposes that the company required of me. I said

that I needed some time to consider all of this, and he allowed me that time saying that he would be there when I was ready

and that there would be great rewards for my noble actions. At this point, there was no way I could deny what he was

telling me because it all made too much sense. I needed to think, but, more than that, I needed someone to talk to. Someone

I could trust.

When I first met Silas, I didn't think much of him. To be honest, he was short with me and gave me no reason to

bear good feelings toward him. He was cynical but simultaneously honest. Brutally honest in a way that a man hardened by

the trials of life could be, and I found that similar to myself. In short, we became friends. After my conversation with Elias, I

decided to give Silas a visit.

“So you've come back to where the plebians gather, eh?” Silas said with his usual sarcastic smirk. “Had your fill

of the high and mighty?”

It was a jab, Plain and simple, but I was in no mood for a witty reply. “What do you know about Mr. Elias?”

“I know that he doesn't care much for his employees,” He looked at me, “well, most of his employees, that is.”

I just stood there in thought.

Seeing my troubling introspection, he said, “What exactly did he tell you?”

I told him exactly what Elias told me.

Once I finished, he immediately became deadly serious. “He is not to be trusted.”

“Silas, what do you know that you're not telling me?”

Silas stared at me blankly and declared, “They have her in a vice grip.”

Curious, I asked, “Who?”

“Jessica. Tell me Solomon. Have you noticed anything strange about her?”

“She seems like any normal secretary. Pretty dull person.”

“Exactly. They're brainwashing her. She's my wife, but she doesn't even remember me.”

And at the moment, Silas' sarcastic facade was gone, and he appeared to be truly vulnerable. A man whose only

objective was to get his wife back, and that objective was becoming less and less realistic. We sat there for about half a

minute before anything else was said.

“Tell me everything you know.”

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“She worked here before me, and the longer she stayed, she became less of herself. One day, she just stopped

coming home. I managed to get a job here because I had to know exactly what happened to her, and if there was anything

that I could do. I knew that they were doing nefarious things here, but what you've told me has put everything into

perspective.”

“I had no idea.”

“I've been trying to find out for months now, but I know one thing. You can't go down the path that he wants you to

tread, and I know you've already started. You've been stealing money from people, but you can still turn back and run.”

There was the choice. There was no doubt in my mind that if I continued with Elias' plans I would become wealthy

and powerful, but there would be consequences.

I said, “I don't know if I can turn back.”

Silas said with immediate disbelief, “What do you mean? You know he's evil. You know what he's done with Jessica.

Imagine what else he's done.”

“I just need time.”

“Time? This should not be a hard decision.”

“Why are you so concerned about what happens to me in this company? I have nothing to do with you're wife.

Maybe you're just jealous of my position.”

“I have no words for that.”

Then I left. At the time, I didn't know what decision I would make, but I was uncertain how much longer I would still

be friends with Silas. Little did I know what events would take place thereafter.

The pull of power was too strong for Solomon. He would grow in power and position, unknowingly

readying himself for his destiny.

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PART III

After a while, I came to realize that there was more to Elias then meets the eye. He trained me in numerous

martial arts, assisted by agility and strength enhancers developed by the underground portion of his company. He noted

how I learned at an incredible pace. At first, I wondered what the purpose of me learning to fight was. One day I asked him.

“Solomon it's time for you to fulfill your purpose.”

Irritated, I said, “You still haven't told me what that purpose is.”

“Follow me. All will be revealed.”

We left his training room and went into his office. Releasing a hidden latch under his desk, a door way opened on

one of his walls, revealing a small elevator. As we descended down the elevator, the tension grew stronger. Despite all of

my preparation, I wasn't prepared to hear what he was about to tell me.

Perhaps to break the tension, Elias said, “Solomon, have you ever wondered about your parents?”

Maintaining a concentrated equilibrium, I said, “Yes, as an orphan undoubtedly would.”

Elias kept his silence until we reached as far down as the elevator would go. We walked down a giant, metal-lined

corridor, lights awakening as we passed them. Now there were pods. Pods that could fit grown men in them. Eventually

there were windows lining the corridor, each giving glimpses to massive chambers, containing even more pods. I thought I

heard a slight thumping behind me, but Elias assured me it was machinery activating. Finally, we arrived in a laboratory

with a single, prominent pod, along with numerous beakers and other things that one would find in a laboratory.

Elias turned around to me, spreading his arms wide and saying “This is where you were born.”

I was paralyzed with shock and enraged with the thought of this man controlling my life.

“This is where you fulfill your purpose.”

I have realized the sick joke that is my life.

“This is where I become all-powerful.”

I was bred for this purpose from birth until now. My heritage is one of petri dishes.

Elias charged at me and yelled, “And this is where you submit to me.”

The fight was inevitable and would have happened later if not now. Power over the world could not be split two

ways.

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Elias may have been more experienced, but that does not mean he was more skilled. Elias threw a right hook, but

that was the wrong choice. A hook is slow and done in arrogance, and my dodge was swift. As I dodged behind, I took aim at

his lower back to strike his lumbar plexus. If one is skilled enough, such a blow can cause your enemy to momentarily lose

control of his lower body, and I was beyond skilled. Elias let out a painful grunt as I took the opportunity to make a leg

sweep. He fell to the ground, and I immediately dealt a death blow to his solar plexus. Elias let out his final breath, his

arrogance being his downfall. Now, I will take his mantle and rise to control this world. After all, I still have a purpose.

As I approached the cloning pod, I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure in the corner of the room.

But it was too late for the great Solomon. Caught off guard, a knife sailed through the sterile laboratory

air to implant itself in his chest, severing his aorta. Solomon immediately collapsed, and, from the shadows, Silas

approached.

Bending down to hold his former friend, Silas said “This was the only way it could end.”

Blood erupted from Solomon's mouth. He said “Wh-wh-why?”

Shedding a single tear, Silas declared “You lost sight of yourself, and became what he wanted you to

be.”He grabbed Solomon's hand. “You could have turned back, but you wanted the power, no matter the cost.”

Solomon began to weep as he realized his mistake.

“Solomon. All is not lost for you have defeated a great evil today.”

Solomon took his final breaths and spoke “Let my death mean something. That's all I ask. ”

Silas nodded and said, “The battle is over for you. Now you can have your rest.”

Silas laid the body of Solomon down, folded his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes. Thus ends the

tale of Solomon.

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Epilogue

The death of Solomon has become that which we now hold dear to us. Without the lessons taught to us by their

actions our people would still be struggling against each other in endless competition for resources. Elias' big plan was no

plan at all. It was built upon enslavement and world domination. Elias had been alive for many thousands of years and saw

life through the eyes of as many forms as one might imagine. He had been planning and effecting evil and corruption

throughout existence in all sorts of bad company. Once Elias all of his plans for passing his legacy on to another fate saw a

chance to intervene.

Our hailed hero Silas defeated Solomon not as a submission of one man to another, but as the submission of the

last man to another. When he defeated Solomon and Solomon understood his sacrifice all was made right. There was the

initial collapse of the Revolutions when the horde, now leaderless, was unleashed upon their former oppressors. There was

also a time that the 'Knights Of Olde' as they called themselves tried to hijack our supply lines to attempt to re-form the old

ruling class. That group was quickly dispelled.

It is said that when the great and merciful Solomon did agree to give his life of evil to the universe to restore all

balance he did see the lives of all things at all times through all perspectives. At once his body, it is said, turned to dus t in

Silas's arms. All of his body that is except for his heart, the knife point of Silas' still puncturing it. Silas then took the heart

back to his home with his wife and he did sire many sons. And those sons live on and teach their sons the one thing that all

never forget; bad company corrupts good character.

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Commentary Blake Pye

Throughout the development of our story, it is important to note that it was not stationary. The ending, especially, was

something that changed many times to better fit the moral and the characters that are being portrayed. A dynamic

atmosphere of change was always present. One down side to that is the inevitable confusion that comes with group work,

but that is something that we overcame. The small time frame for the development and writing of our story combined with

its high ambitions would prove to be the greatest challenge of all. Overall, I enjoyed working with my group, and I'm proud of

the story.

Catie Cofield

In our short story, “Corruptio” we establish the moral, “bad company corrupts good character.” We chose this moral

because it reflects the society we face every day. Our group worked very well together as a whole. We began by setting up

a deadline sheet, which allowed us to stay on track during the process. We met regularly and were able to accomplish a

great deal of work each time. The story itself, prologue and epilogue was written mainly by Josh and Blake. Dana

constructed the mind map and helped outline the story in the beginning. Racz and Josh handled the videoing and editing of

our footage. Laurel digitalized our mind map onto Prezi. Sam contributed the hard copy of our short story. I helped work on

the typing of the paper and the mini sub assignments required. Dana, Laurel, Sam and I worked on the revision and editing

of the project. Dana, Laurel and I completed the Prezi and electronic version of our project. As a whole, it came together

very well and detailed. I was a little worried at first due to the requirements, the time given and the fact I am not too keen

on group projects. However, in the end I was very pleased with our honors project. Our main challenge faced was time.

Surprisingly, our team pulled through and we were able to defeat time and meet up regularly completing the assignment as

instructed.

Sam Dunning

At first I was uncertain about how the group would work together, and if we would be able to accomplish everything in only

two weeks. Once the group met, I could tell that everyone was serious about their grade and that we were willing to work

together. The first meeting Blake was thinking about a moral in the book of Proverbs that referred to honoring your

parents. After that meeting 1 Corinthians 15:33 came to my mind. It says “bad company corrupts good character”, which is

our moral of the story. It demonstrates how many times we get caught up in the wrong crowd or with people who do not

have the same morals or character that we have. So, spending a lot of time around that environment will eventually cause

someone’s good character to stumble. Once the moral was decided everything started to flow and we were able to get a lot

accomplish in a short period of time. The guidelines we set helped us stay on schedule and minimized the stress. Blake was

the primary writer, and then Josh came to help with the writing. They also worked on the preface and epilogue since they

came up with the main ideas for the story. Dana created the mind map and the rest of us started to brainstorm about the

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best way for us to contribute to the project. Laurel, Catie, Dana, and I worked on revising the story, while Racz and Josh did

the video recording and editing. Laurel, Catie, and Dana set up the website and the electronic version of the book. I took the

story and put it into a paperback book. In the end, we all worked together to create the presentation. I enjoyed working with

everyone in the group. Even though the project was difficult, everyone worked very hard and we accomplish it together.

Overall, the project helped me to work more as a group, instead of an individual.

Joshua Bowen

For me this project was very difficult, but a lot of fun. Our group was asked to make a story with a contemporary moral, as

well as to get it as close to publishing (online or in print) as we could. Luckily the group was very dynamic and was able to

move seamlessly through change after change. At times it seemed like we had taken on far too much, but we all believed so

strongly in our ideas and concepts that we wanted to see them all come to fruition. As Catie put it time was our greatest

obstacle.

As for the story itself it is mostly the brainchild of Blake and myself. Blake is really great at coming up with compelling

situations to put the characters that really drive the story. All of his concepts have really deep significance in today's

society it is a shame we had to condensed them into such a short narrative. All along I am trying keep up with his lively

story-telling with more static characters and environments that provide roots for the story to be relatable. When Blake and

I met to discuss only the story I suggested a few minor things to his version of the story at the time and the next draft tha t

we met over had those very things seamlessly woven in to his constantly progressing narrative.

I was mostly responsible for writing the preface and epilogue for the story. I wanted to do these parts because I felt it was

where I could contribute most to the project as a whole. I enjoyed the challenge of taking such a dense and potent narrative

into a more stable, relevant environment. I wanted to establish the rules and realities in which we chose to let this story

operate.

In the end I was very happy with the finished project. I truly feel that everyone in the group was able to bring some sort of

valuable skill that we all worked to integrate until in the end we all became essential to each other and to the story. There is

no way that any one of us or even a handful of us could take any more credit that anyone else in the group. It would have

never happened had these few people had not come together on this specific prompt at this specific moment in the

continuum of this existence. I am really grateful to have gotten the opportunity to do this project.

Dana Ortiz

Coming into this project, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m the type of person who would rather work alone as opposed

to with other individuals. I feel that sometimes group members do not take the wok seriously, or they don’t take the

deadlines into considerations, which ultimately hinders the productivity of the group as a whole. To write a story in two

weeks seemed like a far-fetched idea to me. I felt like we would not get anything done with the amount of time we had.

However, I liked how every member in my group was ready to set up a meeting time to begin our project. After meeting a

few times we gathered all of our ideas as to how we were going to approach our task at hand. We initially agreed that we

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would complete every portion of the project together, and that if something were to be done separately, there would have

to be agreed upon by all group members. We each played separate roles but we worked as a unit. When we agreed upon a

moral, we all had ideas as to what type of story we were to write. The directions were to “write a contemporary story with

a moral fitting to contemporary society.” I liked the moral that we chose: “Bad company corrupts good character.” It is

contemporary to today’s society because oftentimes people to tend to fall into the wrong crowds, which causes a distortion

of their behavior and ultimately leads to them getting into serious trouble. However, I was not pleased with the story

prompt that my overall group wanted to use. I felt that it wasn’t contemporary enough, and that the story would have had to

be a novel for it to make sense. We didn’t have time for a novel. However, we worked together to make the story as

contemporary and compact as we could. I created the mind map to show the process we went through to map out the way

our project would flow. My fellow group members and I also set specific deadlines to get things done on time. The story was

mostly written by Blake, who was assisted by Josh. They held similar views on writing the story so that we decided it would

be easier for us not to interfere with their vision. They also decided they wanted to write the epilogue and preface from

their views, and/or the views of their characters. Racz and Josh also decided to work together in the filming and editing of

our commentary, which everyone in the group agreed to be a part of. Catie, Laurel, Sam, and I agreed to revise the full

narrative, and create an electronic book of the story. In addition to our electronic book, Sam created a paperback version

of the text. We all came together to set up the way we wished to present our story. This project was definitely not easy.

However, I feel that it helped me to work better with my peers and get out of my comfort zone.

William Racz

I have been able to get a whole new perspective on the making of the story by making a narrative of it. I am filming and

editing the “Making of…” our story. There is a whole different story to each narrative that I had never seen before. Outside

of each narrative there is another narrative and another one after that. This project has really helped me visualize this. By

seeing the play between the writers of the story I can see the play inside the story being born.

Laurel Simmons

The moral of our story “Corruptio” is bad company corrupts good character. We chose this moral as a group because it is

very relevant in today’s society. We all worked together on each part of the project. However, Blake and Josh did the

majority of the writing of the actual story. Catie did the Table of Contents and Dana worked on the mind map. I digitalized

the mind map and the presentation, with help from Catie. Sam made the book. Racz handled the editing and filming of our

video. The biggest challenge we faced was time. We were all worried about finishing all the elements of our project in our

time limit. In the end, everything came together and I think we came up with a great, well thought out project.

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