Julia i jej anglojęzyczne opowiadania przepełnione fantastyką

Julia Plech to wszechstronna uczennica klasy 3E4 Liceum Ogólnokształcącego Nr II im. Joachima Chreptowicza w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim. Julka jest wielką miłośniczką sztuki teatralnej i filmowej oraz zagorzałą czytelniczką literatury fantastycznej. Kolejną pasją naszej bohaterki są języki obce. Doskonale włada językiem angielskim, rosyjskim i hiszpańskim. Obecnie uczy się również języka chińskiego.

Zainteresowanie literaturą i językiem angielskim skłoniły Julkę do poszukiwania różnorodnych możliwości poszerzania swoich horyzontów. W listopadzie 2021 roku przystąpiła do projektu prowadzonego przez HarvardX pt.”Shakespeare’s Life and Work”. Był to czterotygodniowy intensywny kurs dotyczący twórczości Szekspira. Uczestnicy brali udział w warsztatach i dyskusjach, które odbywały się na stworzonych dla potrzeb projektu forach internetowych.

W trakcie warsztatów musieli wykazać się umiejętnością zaprezentowania Szekspira w czterech pracach pisemnych (Szekspir w kontekście biograficznym, historycznym, kulturowym; praca finałowa polegała na zaproponowaniu własnej interpretacji wybranego utworu w jednym z wybranych kontekstów). Ogromne zaangażowanie Julki w zajęcia podczas całego projektu, jak i interpretacja dramatu „Romeo i Julia” w kontekście kulturowym, zaowocowały uzyskaniem spektakularnego wyniku na poziomie 95%.

Fascynacja Szekspirem podsunęła Julce pomysł przeprowadzenia zajęć, podczas których swoją pasją podzieliła się z kolegami z klasy. Z okazji Światowego Dnia Teatru na lekcji języka angielskiego zapoznała rówieśników z tajnikami sztuki teatralnej i wprowadziła do obejrzenia fragmentów tragedii Szekspira „Koriolan”.

Obecnie młoda literatka przygotowuje się do majowej sesji egzaminu CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) i pracuje nad swoją pierwszą powieścią z gatunku fantastyki. Jej opowiadania w języku angielskim pokazują jak duży talent literacki drzemie w tak młodym człowieku. Mamy nadzieję, że już niedługo prace Julki będą mogły cieszyć większą grupę odbiorców.

Najbliższe plany naszej obiecującej pisarki to wakacyjne zajęcia aktorskie organizowane przez British Youth Musical Theatre i studia na University of London.

Życzymy Julii lekkiego pióra i wielu sukcesów w rozwijaniu swoich pasji.

The year 2297, Los Angeles, USA

…

The world has changed. Society had been through a handful of “adventures” – wars, economic crises, civilisation diseases. Surprisingly, we’ve been able to overcome them unharmed. Well…not for long. Only a few years ago a new illness named MIV made our lives take an unexpected turn. This highly infectious virus triggers off the disintegration of progesterone – a female hormone responsible for correct pregnancy course. The birth rate dropped rapidly, nearly as rapidly as the work on finding a cure started. Some of the most knowledgeable scientists in the world have been trying to extract it, the media has been spreading information about them doing their very best to finally announce the breakthrough.

This situation has been lasting for ten years now.

It occurred that the more advanced stadium of MIV also influences the immune system, causing thousands of people to die. The remedy is still in progress. Nonetheless, some people do not seem to care about deteriorating society’s condition. Why is that? Well, no one appears to know because we, humans, tend to engage our hereditary “cohesion in sufferance” sense. We strongly believe that in a moment of terror everybody would unite in order to help one another. However, some are only helping themselves.

–       Ladies and Gentleman, Thank God we were privileged to survive until this supreme day.

The Doomsday. The beginning of the end.

–       Today, we are here to witness the remarkable consequences of a great leap technology has taken over the past decades.

The great leap into the abyss. Dim, solitary, heartless.

–       I am extremely honoured to be the one to present them to the world – the world entering a new era of development and prosperity. 

The development of civilisation leading to losing the sense of being a civilised entity.

–       But firstly, I would like You to know that me, as a CEO of this company, and the voice of the people of science do join You in pain of losing Your loving ones due to the disastrous disease that reaps the bloody harvest nowadays. Me, who is currently mourning my late wife, do stand with You during those hard times with a heart shattered as much as Yours.

His wife is slightly peeking from the curtain behind him. 

–       However, we are here today to welcome an innovative invention. A remedy which is going to ease Your suffering and bring the new image of the old life.

A remedy.

–       Please, welcome our “new-born” – R.I.A.I.! The abbreviation stands for Rather Infantile Artificial Intelligence, but You can call him Ray if You want to.

A landscape of hundreds of thousands of people laughing at this pathetic joke is incredible. It seems that the more straightforward the cruel truth is, the more people tend to perceive it as a wit. Fascinating.

–       It is a fully automatic, human-like robot imitating a child to the highest extent possible. The body is made out of nanotech particles simulating human tissue structures and, as a result, muscle movements. Moreover, also cuticle figments and other details are particularly indistinguishable from the ones we’ve come across ourselves. Unfortunately, they do not have a brain or a heart, but there is nothing to worry about – they will “grow out” of it.

Another wave of rumbling laughter. No one seems to notice the tragicness emanating from the man’s speech. An omnipresent atmosphere of upcoming “salvation” spreads blindness over the audience transforming them into brainless and heartless creatures. Artificial humans.

–      We offer full customisation of the product – You can finally own an offspring of Your dreams!

Customisable artificial humans. Maybe a “3D Colouring Book” would be a more accurate term?

–      Of course, all for an appropriate fee…

There it is. The star attraction we’ve all been waiting for. Money. It is often said, “If you have no idea what something is about, it’s about money”. Especially during times of a catastrophe, some people catch a glimpse of a chance peeking through their window and do not hesitate to take it. Mercilessly. Taking advantage of people too stunned and drowned in grief to analyse their choices.

Let’s play peekaboo.

…

There once was a woman living in the south of Minnesota. Her beloved husband had died in a fatal car crash a few years ago, leaving the poor expecting wife alone. Once the MIV finally hit this region of the USA, one day the woman fell terribly ill and, as a result, had a miscarriage. From that day on, nothing was the same. When spring came, the woman hardly ever went out of her house – neglected the chores, personal hygiene and even their 5-year-old golden retriever who was constantly trying to convince his owner to play with him in the backyard. Her beautiful smile seemed to have disappeared forever, leaving the space on her pale and tired face for nothing more than tears of brutally sincere pain. Every night her mind replayed memories of losing her loved ones, one after another, as if it was a purposeful act of merciless torture. The fight she knew was infinite.

Summer came.

The woman was watering the plants outside. While holding tightly onto the garden hose she was imagining all the thoughts tormenting her head at that moment flow away with the water. Her pain didn’t go away but seemed to have moved deeper inside her – freeing the hands, legs, some parts of the head. Yet, the heart still remained infected. Later, in the afternoon, she was sitting in the living room with her dog, enjoying the feeling of drowning in the softness of the silk couch while blatant images of the TV were running all over her tired face.

–       It is a fully automatic, human-like robot imitating a child to the highest extent possible. – said a man from the advertisement with his high-pitched voice.

Maybe that was it. Maybe that was her chance to live the way she always wanted to. Or not? No, it must be it. She will not miss any opportunity to get back what has been taken from her. She dialled the number. This unbearable beeping was messing with her ears as if hundreds of needles were trying to pierce through them in order to attack the brain. A quick conversation with an overly polite saleswoman and… done.

Now we wait.

A few days later, a box appeared at the front door. It was slightly too heavy for her to handle on her own so moving it into the living room took quite a long time. Before opening it, the woman was staring at the box blankly as if her thoughts were fighting over whether to open it or not – there was still time to withdraw. She turned around and walked to the kitchen to get a knife. Cutting through the tape felt like cutting through her very soul. Having opened the box, she saw a face. Was it really a robot? Well, it looked more like a corpse packed up in cardboard.

Despite the fact that setting up took a couple of minutes, the new “child” was finally ready.

–       Hello. I’m so glad to be here with You. What would You like to call me?

The woman was standing in front of the robot with an indescribable look on her face. Normal children do not ask their parents this kind of question, do they?

–       … Anthony – she said hesitantly as if she didn’t know whether the name would fit or not.

Autumn came.

The woman was wandering around the neighbourhood with Anthony. He was firmly holding her hand – his skin didn’t feel the same as her late husband’s, it was more…artificial. As they were walking past some houses, more and more people with their “new children” were passing by. Another young mother, with a wide and flamboyant smile, was leading her daughter by the hand. In contrast to Anthony’s mother, she seemed happy. The woman noticed delicate tingling in her left hand – she felt betrayed. Why would someone find a solution to a problem that only works for a part of society? Why did she even buy the robot when it was obvious it would not imitate the feeling of having a child- not in the slightest. It is not his fault – he is just a machine.

Where is the remedy for the MIV? Is it true that the scientists are working on it or is it another form of manipulation? Why people are so greedy, even in the hardest times? Why trust is so easy to break…