A NEW ERA2110

R E S U R G E

Attention ReadersDo not return to your old ways. There may come a

time when you wish to sit back and stop thinking. Do

not succumb to the disease that gripped our previous

society. Your purpose now, your single greatest

contribution in this life, is to read and to reflect. We beg of

you, fight the allure of the seashell and the television. The

salamander burned down and burned us with it; it’s up to us

to hatch the phoenix.

Breaking News: Girl Found in Rehab Center

by Kyran Magpantay

Shocking reports yesterday from photojournalists document a former hidden rehabilitation center for “trou-bled youth” where a girl who was rumored to be dead was witnessed to be walking away from the build-ing. The girl, identified as Clarisse McClellan, was spotted walking from the remains of the former building with evidence of injury. Journalists quickly approached McClellan and while McClellan seemed worried that the journalists were going to quote, “take [her] away for being different,” she seemed shocked when the jour-nalists explained to her the recent events caused a societal shift where she was no longer considered incom-patible with society, and was instead welcomed back with open arms. Au-thorities have now began a search for more survivors of the rehabilitation center.

Thursday, after weeks of debate, the School Board adopted a new curriculum to encourage students to explore nature and to question the world around them. Formally including nature in the curricu-lum has long been absent, which many believe attributes to students’ inability to think freely. In the decades before the war, the focus in schools was to fill students’ minds with useless informa-tion, without time for examination and thoughtful thinking. Although TV classes and film-teachers were an efficient way of delivering mass quantities of informa-tion to students in a short period of time, students rarely retained much of the infor-mation. Even when students did retain the information, they were merely repeating it with little understanding of what they were actually saying.

The new curriculum is intended to simul-taneous use both the physical and digital worlds as learning tools. According to Chairwoman Sheryl Grey, “reintroduc-ing the natural world to students through hands on exploration will ignite their sens-es and promote the ability to truly learn new information.” This approach will allow students to develop the senses of their primitive ancestors that have long been abandoned. Research has shown that learning is more productive when all of the senses are engaged. This could only

occur if we allow students to explore the world and question why things are the way they are. At the same time, by tak-ing advantage of technological advance-ments, we will maximize students’ ability to process and access information.

A small faction of School Board mem-bers were seeking to eliminate all forms of technology in schools, fearing return to the pre-war days when reliance on technology hindered freethinking. How-ever, after the long period of introspec-tion, the majority of the School Board members feel that the people are ready to utilize technology in a productive and constructive manner, rather than allow-ing it to consume their lives at the loss of humanity. These members believe that combining an exploration of nature with technology will develop students’ critical thinking skills and create innovators, who are motivated to express new ideas, rath-er than students that learn an abundance of useless information fast and conform to society.

Parents and teachers are enthusiastic about the new direction schools will be taking. One educator, Mike Delano, de-scribed the School Board’s new referen-dum as “a phoenix rising from the ashes of the recent war, starting anew, and adopting a new way of thinking.”

School Board Optimistic About New Curriculum

by Hannah Nizinski

““

School Board Optimistic About New Curriculum

by Hannah Nizinski Reintroducing the natural world to studentsthrough hands-on exploration will ignite their senses and promote the ability to truly learn new information.

The Drop-Off Zone by Jerry Ashotyan“Please line up in order of the mass of your deposit, larger in front.

The Salamanders thank you for your cooperation.”

Art

Death of the Hero, Birth of the Soul

by Hannah Nizinski“The river was very

real; it held him comfortably and gave him the time at last,

the leisure, to consider this month, this year,

and a lifetime of years.” (Fahrenheit 451,134)

“The Burnt Bird Sings No More”

Questions Answered Featuring Faber

by Nicole Richmond

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?A: Since I am a retired English Professor, I am very fond of literature and composition. In my free time, I enjoy reading miscellaneous literary texts.Q: What is your most important moral?A: My most important moral is to own up to my thoughts and stand up for what I believe in, whether or not it is accepted in society.Q: What are your biggest pet peeves?A: People need to learn to think before they act. Or perhaps, think before they do not act. Choices are what define us as humans and they should not be taken for granted.Q: Do you think that people once enjoyed books? A: Of course, books used to bring me the most joy. People lost appreciation for them because instead of appreciating the quality and the meaning, people mistook them for everyday objects. They became usual.Q: Do you think that firemen once extinguished fires instead of starting them?A: I believe that in one point in time our

Disclaimer: This document was recovered from a couple of years before the war. The interviewer is a thinker questioning her existential angst, wanting to know if there are others who feel the same as she does.

society could not have been so shal-low. There is no way that books were created solely for the purpose of being burned. There must have been one time where books might have been trea-sured, and where maybe, just maybe, humanity stopped fires. Maybe just a sliver of morality might have existed within our humanity.Q: Do you believe life has a purpose?A: I believe that life has meaning. If you read between the lines, you will always find a deeper truth. In our society today, citizens are way too caught up in the technology. They care about momenta-neous satisfaction, not about meaning-ful knowledge. To me, that is the true purpose of life. Gaining knowledge, that one can carry on with him through his whole life… that is the purpose of life. Gaining, obtaining, and reciprocating knowledge is key for a purposeful life. Q: Are you happy?A: Once you are filled with regret, happi-ness is a hard concept to achieve again. I cannot be happy with myself, not after hiding in my cowardice for so long. The best way for me to be happy is to put all my effort to improve the quality of the people who build our tomorrow. It’s too late for me to be happy.

by Nicole Richmond

Questions Answered Featuring Beatty

by Lior Angel

Disclaimer: This document was recovered from a couple of years before the war. The interviewer is a thinker questioning her existential angst, wanting to know if there are others who feel the same as she does.Q: What do you like to do in your free time?A: Free time? I don’t have much of that… my main purpose is focusing on the state of the people. My people de-pend on me, to maintain simplicity.

Q: What is your most important moral?A: I believe that commitment and ded-ication to rules are the most important morals a person should have. They should be able to give up themselves for the greater good of society.

Q: What are your biggest pet peeves?A: My biggest pet peeves are people disobeying. Whether it is walking in the street, or reading books. Going against the norms of society causes a disruption among all the other citizens, and strays us away from the ultimate goal of com-plete happiness in our society.

Q: Do you think that people once en-joyed books? A: The idea that people MIGHT have even once read books is just absurd. Why would someone want to willingly struggle with such despair when there are other painless options available?

Q: Do you think that firemen once extinguished fires instead of starting them?A: Um… Well… of course not… well, perhaps a long time ago that could have happened in society... I am truly not so sure, but don’t take my word because as of right now, I don’t see a reason as to why firemen would want to put out fires instead of start them.

Q: Do you believe life has a purpose?A: Well of course, the purpose is to be up to date on what is going on in society. The purpose of my life, along with everyone else’s life, is to stay faithful to society by causing no complications.

Q: Are you happy?A: Well of course, I am happy. As long as I get to ensure my civic duty in society. After all the sadness is taken out of society, then happiness is guaranteed for myself and for all!

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The Monthly NewsletterDear Thinkers,

We here at the Resurge wish to take a moment to mourn the recent losses of our nation and celebrate the lives of those who have fallen victim to the War. We must take life as a series of challenges we learn from and grow from, and it is to this end that we must adopt the char-acteristics of the noble phoenix. Though it is birthed from ash, two things about the phoenix are never ques-tioned: its lustrous beauty and its tendency to come back stronger despite death in its wake. Let us each be like a spark of the wing of a thing much greater than our-selves, like the beautiful phoenix, and come togeth-er to rise into something we can once again be proud of- something that will doubtlessly soar for years to come. From all of us at Resurge, keep on keeping on.

May 10th May 15thMay 17th May 19th May 22ndMay 23rd May 27th May 29th

Poetry RecitalBook Swap

M. G. Library Grand Opening

Book SwapPoetry Recital

Republic Print ReleaseBook Swap

Gulliver’s Travels Print Release

Upcoming Events

Creative“Pages” by Jerry AshotyanPiecing together his mindSays it’s lost in the pages;Says he’s mad he can’t findWhat he’s looked for, for ages-

Says he’s thinking out loudMad at how he’s actedSays he’s finally proud His thoughts no longer [[redacted]]

He wants to burn the world;He wants to burn it all-Because the truth he’s unfurledWill make societies fall

Baptized in the fire,He was given the Apple,Crowned an unlikely friar,Made to head the chapel

He’s divined his musingsGrabbed straight from the pagesSaved from the town’s losingsThough they will burn for ages

“Bird Brain” by Arthur Kalaydjian

Birds are trapped inside of booksTo open a book doesn’t free it.To read a book doesn’t free it.

To understand a book is to free it.The bird doesn’t leave the pages.The bird doesn’t become visible.The bird enters the empty mind.

Until it is not empty anymore.

Writing“Finding Freedom” by Arthur Kalaydjian

Freedom is found in many different places,It’s found in books and in your mind in some cases.If you don’t read to understand, you will begin to fallBecause to understand reading is to understand all.

Freedom can have color and freedom can be faceless,It can be found on shelves and found in book cases.

Reading is to understand and reading is to know,Reading will cause any nation to grow.

“Unknown” By Israel ClarksonI scratch my head looking down at society

I’m taken, perplexed and feeling anxiety Unable to tell right from wrong

Feeling like I don’t belongTo me, my mind seems quite unique

Yet others see me as a freakI see things differently than others doThey all walk away, except for a few

I like these people, they think like meI wish I can make the others see.

Creative“Happiness” by Jose Gonzalez

Am I truly happy? Or am I not?That is the question we all forgot.

Do we follow society every dayOr do we follow what our heart has to say?

They asked me the question that I must agree,Changed everything about what I believed

Am I honestly happy?Because I am living sadly

I seek the truth but don’t know where to turnI guess I’ll look in the books we burn

They must have the answer to my questionOnly reading them will stop my obsession

Reading these books are the only wayI don’t care what society has to say

Now I am free and I’ve left the caveFrom the world in which my mind was enslaved.

“Deadly Books”

WritingI will stop following society

As it fills me with anxiety

I no longer know what’s trueBut I know what I must do

For the truth is what I needAnd to find it I must read

Sooner or later I will learnThe hidden meaning in the books we burn

There must be a reason why they are hiddenAnd why they are forbidden

I will find the reason by reading a bookAnd I don’t care if I’m labeled a crook

Because I know they are trappedAnd one day the truth will be unwrapped

Because I know their minds are controlledBut one day the truth will unfold.

“Truth” by Edward Ventura

“Deadly Books”

The Book of the Month: Gulliver’s Travels

by Andrew Martirosyan

Hello fellow book lovers! We’ve got quite a treat for you all this week. Let’s get right into it!

Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift is definitely worth a read. We won’t give anything away, but a quick run-down of the book is in order. A man wakes up on Lilliput to find himself surrounded by a society of 6 inch tall people. These people split into two factions, and the man soon finds out that they are at war because of their disagreement on which side to crack an egg. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Not much different than our society a few short months ago.

The story itself is absolutely breath-taking. Sort of, we could say, a pre-cursor to the dark age we just came out of. If you read this book you’re going to feel… nostalgic. The people in Lilliput went to war over something extremely petty. To them, this was a huge offense to both sides, mainly because their leaders said so. Perhaps they were as brainwashed by their government as we were. Just food for thought as you give this book the read it deserves.

by Andrew Martirosyan

The Adventures of the Book Defender

by Karin Dabach & Inola Cohen For Kids! Firemen burned books to ashes and the burnt words flew up into the air as if they’ve never existed. Firefighter Guy Montag was a part of Captain’s Beatty’s evil Salamander Squad. They were tall, big men who had dark hair, dark eyes, and fiery red cheeks. Captain Beatty, Montag, and the other firefighters all had the superpower of shooting out fire from their very own fingertips. Every time citizens are found having books, it is the malicious firefighters who go and use their superpowers to burn their existence. One dark and cold night after a long day of work, Montag left the fire station to get back home. On his way there, he stumbled upon a young and lonely girl walking all by herself. “Who’s that,” Montag thought, “Of course, [she’s] our new neighbor, Clarisse.” (4) He walked up to the innocent 17 year old and said, “Hey little lady, what are you doing out so late at night?” She fearfully replies, “My uncle says I shouldn’t be talking to you, Mr. Fireman.” (5) Montag stood confused, “Why is that?” “My uncle said firefighters used to put out fires, not start them’” she answers. “That’s rubbish talk.Your uncle knows nothing. Now c’mon little girl, I’ll walk you back to your house,” he exclaims. “How long have you’ve worked at being a fireman?” (5) “About ten years, why?” “Do you read any of the books you’ve burned?” (5) Montag was amused. “Haha! That’s against the law!” There was silence. Then Clarisse asks Guy, “Are you happy, Mr. Fireman?” “Excuse me?” Montag asked. As soon as he asked, she was gone. “I’m

The Adventures of the Book Defender

For Kids!happy, right?” he thought to himself. When he got home, he approached his wife, Millie, who was lying in her bed. “Millie!” Her face was as dead as when she watches her television screens. Montag tensed up. “Millie, wake up!” He noticed the bottle of pills on the floor and knew she had taken one too many. Next thing he knew, two men flew in with machines as their hands. They held down on Mildred’s chest as Montag thought, “These aren’t profes-sionals…” Montag came to think, why did Mildred take that many pills? How is it that Clarisse and her father and mother and un-cle smiled so quietly, and their laughter was relaxed and hearty, not forced. “What is it about her that makes me and Mildred differ-ent? Am I really happy?” Montag thought to himself. “I don’t know anything anymore,” he said to himself. One day at the firehouse, the alarm suddenly rang; someone was hiding books! Montag and the evil Salamander Squad rolled out to the scene. An old innocent woman stood by the door. “All right men, let’s get ’em!” The firemen rushed into the apartment. “To 451 and beyond!” they said. Books were everywhere. Montag was try-ing to keep up with the amount of books, trying to catch a peek at the delicate words. The firemen were shooting the books with their fiery superpowers, while the old lady stood there. “Come on, woman!” (35) She kneeled down next to her books. “You can’t ever have my books,” she said. “You know

the law,” said Beatty. “Where’s your com-mon sense? None of those books agree with each other.” (35) The woman did not move from her position and the firemen had to force her to leave her apartment before it went up into flames. “No,” she said. “I want to stay here.” (36) The ker-osene bloomed up around her. Captain Beatty ignited the flames with his finger-tips but before he could do anything, the woman struck a match and lit herself and her apartment on fire.

The Adventures of the Book Defender

For Kids! Guy Montag felt guilty like never before. He constantly thought to himself, “Was this my fault? Is this what’s supposed to be making me happy?” For almost a week he did not go to work and stayed home sick from the “incident”. This is where he had his transformation. As he touched the pages of the stolen book, Montag’s fiery hands turned soft with grief and regret. He wanted to know more about books; where did they come from? What do they mean? At this point, Montag thought the Salamander Squad was a disgrace. He started to collect books and read them, secretly of course. The more he stole and read, the more he changed from a Sala-mander to an intellect, The Book Defender. Mildred did not want to read, but wanted to watch television, the bane of his existence. The Defender was stuck. Even though he wanted to understand the mean-ing behind the books, he couldn’t quite get there. He needed someone to help him break the spell. He remembered an ex-professor he once met. Professor Faber wanted to change the world and in Mon-tag’s eyes, that was the direction he was heading in. He knew his mission, but knew he needed help. Professor Faber became his sidekick and together, they were going to save the world of books and bring back authentic happiness. All of a sudden one night at work an alarm was sent in. The men were all

ready to burn. As soon as they arrived at the house, Montag realized that it was his house that the alarm was sent from! Mildred sent in an alarm for Montag’s illegal books! Cap-tain Beatty fiercely grinned, “You did this to yourself, Montag! You fell into the trap. Now it’s time for you to burn your sins!” Montag couldn’t take it anymore. Beatty pushed him to his limit. The Book Defender rebels. “Be-atty, you are wrong. Books mean something, they give us knowledge and strength. Some-thing you lack!” The Book Defender grabs one of the few books still in tact and opens the pages revealing the powerful words to blind Beatty’s eyes. Beatty falls to the floor, “I will no longer let you stop me and others from thinking. You are evil and wrong. And now, you’re done.” Captain Beatty takes his last breath. Montag is on the run to get away from the police and helicopters that are search-ing for him because of what he’s done. He crossed the mighty river at which he then met a guy named Granger who welcomed him into a community of people who were just like him. Suddenly, a bomb drops killing all the evil book haters. He joins their group and they become heros. They’re building a new world, one better than before; a world full of wonderful books, wonderful thinking people, and smiles that had meaning behind them.

A NEW ERA2110

R E S U R G E