Something truly magical happened today, which is ironic seeing how this is a science fiction class.
Today was the final day for people to make their decisions and cast their vote for the ultimate science fiction character. The contenders were as follows: Iron Man, the shining avenger or justice, Spider Man, the crime fighting teenage wonder, and Mr. Spock, the super genius who would make a wonderful computer.
Team Spider Man went to the table first, laying down the facts of how Spider Man was a very relatable character, and how he dealt with the same hardships high school students like us have to go through, all while saving his home city from being destroyed by an array of enemies. They found Spider Man to be a hero from nothing, pointing out the fact that Iron Man was a billionaire, and that Spock was a genius, and how both needed these things in order to fight crime, all while Spider Man was just a high school student who went through tooth and nail to get to where he is today. The team also showed videos from the Spider Man motion pictures, showing off the might of their sci-fi character.
Up next was Team Iron Man, who were more than ready to take on Team Spider Man's claims of Iron Man being unrelatable. They discussed their hero's inner struggles with alcoholism and the fact that his parents were killed while he was still young. They then went on to discuss that Iron Man is a great science fiction character, and not just a great superhero, with his powers coming from his technological genius and his ability to good both inside and outside of his suit. The team as well showed a clip of Iron Man in action, which further proved their point of how Iron Man was able to do good both in and out of the suit.
Then, the unthinkable. Team Spock, made up of only one member, took the stage. Most thought of the team as a lost cause, but then they began to listen. The lone member, after drawing up a profile of each character, talked about how the two previous contenders, while great heroes, only saved the day for show, and thought of nothing else but the glory of being a superhero. Spock, on the other hand, was only a side character that thought of nothing but ensuring what was best for his team. He didn't save lives and risk his own for the glory of being called a hero, he did it because it is what he sees is best to do. Spock was a complex character, and the reason the the two previous characters were so prolific in texts was because of how easy it was to write them into any story, while Spock had a specific character base and was unique in terms of his actions and reasoning when compared to all other sci-fi characters.
With the teams giving their two cents in, now came the moment the whole class had been waiting for for the past marking period, the vote that would determing who was the greatest science fiction character of all time. Eyes became shifty, hands trembled, sweat pooled around foreheads, and all around, a science fell from each side. Team Spider Man was by the windows, Team Iron Man was by the closets, and Team Spock was by the white board. This is when it all stopped, when Team Spider Man broke down and fell apart, with most of its members walking over to the white boards. Then, members of Team Iron Man started to think twice, and some of them walked over to the whiteboards. The bell then rang, and the vote was cast in a frenzy, and to everyone's shock and awe, particularly Mr. Rivers's, it was Team Spock, who was only one member strong, who won the day for science fiction and was voted in as the greatest science fiction character.
I'll be honest, I was very surprised. I never could've thought that something like this could ever happen in the way that it did. It was like watching the flap of a butterfly's wings cause a hurricane, like hear the entire human population say it was okay for doctors to kill newborns for the sake of population control. It was like witnessing an entire country cheer for the burning of books. Something like this was never intended to happen, but now here it is, and I couldn't be more happier. This is why I love science fiction, it's unpredictable, can go anywhere, and truly capture the idea of how chaotic and unreasonable the forces of the universe are, and in order for one to truly understand and appreciate there forces, one must simply let go and flow where ever the universe around them takes them.
Overall, it was a fun experience, and I can't be happier to have been in this class. It showed me new windows to the world, and new faces who would become my friends. I'll be sure to take the things I learned in this class and use them in my future, professional life. In conclusion, I'm happy, I'm free, and I'm proud to live in a very unique universe.
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