Structural Transformation in The Rise of Silas Lapham free essay sample

An examination of William Dean Howells novel The Rise of Silas Lapham. This paper analyzes the structural symmetry of the opening and closing scenes in The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells in order to demonstrate the moral change that Silas Lapham has undergone. The author uses the opening and closing interviews to explore the deeper aspects of Silas morality and identity. The author also makes use of various critical reviews. The structural symmetry, which appears in the opening and closing scenes in The Rise of Silas Lapham, provides a lens through which the true transformation of Silas Lapham can be viewed. The two scenes, which both involve an interview with Colonel Lapham concerning his solidity, mirror each other in order to demonstrate the moral change that Silas has undergone. The novel is an exchange between beginnings and endings, for Silas must eventually fall in order to rise. The financial risen but morally fallen man portrayed in the opening interview becomes the morally risen but financially fallen man in the closing interview. We will write a custom essay sample on Structural Transformation in The Rise of Silas Lapham or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus, as Wai-Chee Dimock states in , The Economy of Pain, What makes Laphams fictive trajectory possible is a crucial and animating process of exchange: an exchange between beginnings and endings, between what he starts out with and what he ends up with (Dimock 82-83). Given this perspective, it is then essential to analyze Laphams transformation through the parallel exchange between the opening and closing scenes.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay Free Online Research Papers Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Written by J.K. Rowling Two Most Important Characters: Harry Potter The hero and main protagonist of the tale, he is now 17 and much different, maybe even unrecognizable (Had it not been for his Lighting Bolt scar) from the boy he was 7 years ago. Then he was just an average person with no knowledge of his magical abilities, his caregivers (his horrific Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon) had him locked in a cupboard underneath their staircase. He has now left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one year short of graduation, in pursue of the horcruxes that keep the evil Voldemort alive. Voldemort The most evil and treacherous wizard alive. He is the main antagonist of the series and to most folks in the world he is so feared that people wont even utter his name, instead refer to him as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He once was undefeatable, or so he thought, as a prophecy told him of a boy who would destroy him, he went in search of the boy. The boy happened to be Harry Potter. When he went to the house that Harry lived, where he uses the Avada Kavarda curse (which kills instantly) on both of the boys parents, when he goes to Harrys room he finds nothing more than an infant. He attempts the same curse on him as well, but it backfires. That was 17 years ago Description of Setting: Unlike the previous books in the series, this story doesnt take place at Hogwarts for the majority of the time. Instead, it is a search that spans many cities (mostly fictional) all around Europe. Summary: In the final iteration of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry along with his best-friends Ron and Hermione, must make a final stand against evil Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, for the fate of the world rests in their hands. All is up to them. Will they find the horcruxes that hold pieces of Voldemort soul? Will they be able to stay out of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Nameds grasp long enough to destroy said horcruxes? Will Voldemort win the final fight and rule the Wizarding World once again? Will Harry survive? All is answered in this epic tale of Good versus Evil. Reasons Why to Read Gives an amazing end to the long running Harry Potter series that J.K. Rowling has been publishing for the past decade. Is the final book in the main series. The book is over 700 pages long and can keep you entertained for weeks. Has an epilogue that tells of the aftermath and what the world is like, nineteen years after the final chapter. Research Papers on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsThe Fifth HorsemanTrailblazing by Eric AndersonWhere Wild and West MeetUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Hockey GameEffects of Television Violence on Children19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Horned Gopher (Ceratogaulus) - Facts and Figures

Horned Gopher (Ceratogaulus) - Facts and Figures Name: Horned Gopher; also known as Ceratogaulus (Greek for horned marten); pronounced seh-RAT-oh-GALL-us Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Epoch: Late Miocene (10-5 million years ago) Size and Weight: About one foot long and a few pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large head with small, beady eyes; paired horns on snout About the Horned Gopher (Ceratogaulus) One of the most improbable megafauna mammals of Miocene North America, the Horned Gopher (genus name Ceratogaulus) certainly lived up to its name: this foot-long, otherwise inoffensive gopher-like creature sported a pair of sharp horns on its snout, the only rodent ever known to have evolved such an elaborate head display. To judge by its small eyes and mole-like, long-clawed front hands, Ceratogaulus evaded the predators of its North American habitat and avoided the noonday heat by burrowing into the grounda trait shared by the prehistoric armadillo Peltephilus, the only other known horned, burrowing mammal in the fossil record. (The Horned Gopher also bears an uncanny resemblance to the mythical Jackalope, which, however, seems to have been made up out of whole cloth sometime in the 1930s.) The big question, of course, is: why did the Horned Gopher evolve horns? An amazing amount of paperwork has been expended on this mystery, the most likely answer coming to us via the process of elimination. Since both male and female Horned Gophers possessed horns of roughly the same size, these horns clearly couldnt have been a sexually selected characteristicthat is, males didnt impress females during mating season with their long hornsand the structures were oriented in such a way that they would have been of practically no use in digging. The only logical conclusion is that these horns were intended to intimidate predators; a hungry Amphicyon, for instance, might have thought twice about lunching on the bite-sized Ceratogaulus (and getting a mouthful of painful horn in the process) if a more easily swallowed creature happened to be cowering nearby.

Synecdohe, New York Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Synecdohe, New York - Movie Review Example The movie is also based on the unique trait of representing a whole story in the part of the movie Plot, Theme and Characterization The movie depicts the life of a theatre director, played by Philip Hoffman who suffers throughout his life in various physical ailments. However his condition deteriorated as her wife departs taking the daughter with her. Throughout the movie Caden depicts the inevitability of death and holds the idea that everyone around him is already dead. It is the philosophies of death that surrounds him thought in the movie. The film uniquely portrays the self-discovery of Caden in the movie. The transition stages of Caden have been vividly described in the movie. The movie describes the four stages of Caden where he identifies the destructiveness and the constructive nature present with him. In other portions of the movie Caden’s consciousness and the urge for his wife and family grows. Caden becomes aware of himself and the archetypal spirit within him. He also undertakes a critical analysis of himself through which he understands his ego and has a complete self realization. At the end of the move his quest for his self discovery ends and realizes the truth associated with his love and life. The self-realization of Caden depicted within the movie can be traced back to the Jungian philosophy which states the four stages of self realization which has been portrayed through Caden’s role in the movie Synecdoche, New York. In order to undergo the process of self-realization Caden decides to make a play based on his own life story. The technique of using the play in the movie was a unique element used for depicting the life story. In the movie Caden is portrayed to be in a myopic state of mind which provides the justification of using the play in order to analyze the series of events which went through his life. In the play composed by Caden, the role of Caden was played by Sammy, whose role was very influential in deciding the outc ome of the play. The role played by Sammy portrayed Caden’s life in the best possible way and at some point it appeared that he overtook the original life of Caden in the movie. The actor in the play also provided suggestion regarding his role play but Caden did not agree with him. Finally in the play, Caden hands over the responsibility of the direction to an actress and he steps into the shoes of the cleaning lady of her wife. Cadens decision to play the role of cleaning lady shows the passion of his love towards her wife. It illustrates Cadens viewpoint that in order to stay close with her wife he was also ready to be the cleaning lady. It also reflects Caden’s state of mind when Adele left him and highlights the desperateness within him to get his wife back in the later stage of his life. Caden also surrendered himself to his daughter and held him to be responsible for her dying condition. The movie reached its peak when Caden describes himself to be homosexual to his daughter and takes the burden of the entire disturbance which was there in his personal life with his wife. In the play another dramatization has been provided to highlight the theme of the movie. One of the characters in the play, Hazel is shown to purchase a house which has been on fire. At the initial stage Hazel was reluctant to purchase the house as she feared that it will be the cause of her death. Ultimately Hazel

Wars and Attempts at Territorial Expansion are Often the Result of Essay

Wars and Attempts at Territorial Expansion are Often the Result of States' Rational Efforts to be Secure - Essay Example Different nations presented different strategies and reasons for war. The reasons for engagement in war and expansion of territories for different nations were diverse with the first reasons being the security dilemma. However, other nations engaged in war and expansion effort for different reasons. According to analysis of different wars that transpired within different areas of the world, the major reason for efforts to expand territories and take part in warfare was purely to make the nation or kingdom have more security compared to its enemies. This was considered a long-term assurance of safety, since the majority of the leader feared countries that had enormous population, since the populace had the capacity to provide large armies and other warfare equipments. Security was considered the most imperative aspect for any leadership mainly in the yester years since no permanent boundaries had been in place, as evident today where boundaries have been predetermined. Various wars an d expansion efforts were captured in an attempt to make certain countries secure from their enemies. The Crimean wars can be presented as one of the wars that involved expansion of territories in a bid to improve security for the attackers. ... Therefore, Russia was obtaining a solid foundation although Ottoman still possessed the greater parts of Balkan. Ottoman’s performance in the acquisition and expansion of the territories had been on a downward trend at that moment after episodes of significant conquers. The Russians were considered the protectors of the holy place for the Christians in the Ottoman’s territory. The French assisted in combating conflicts between the Christian and Orthodox thus obtaining regards from the Turks (Badem 64). In this period, Russia resolved to utilizing tension as an instrument to acquire authority over Constantinople together with the advantage it had regarding, contact with the Mediterranean. The move significantly cause panic for the French and Britain who profoundly objected the move since they had developed rivalries with Russia. They viewed the move as an upset of authority within the region. Soon after the refusal of the demands, war broke out in various areas around th e Turkish Empire. In response, Turkey established war with Russia thus leading to the large war between the two regions in the warfare of Oltenitza (Badem 99). Consequently, Russia overpowered Turkish forces through the utilization of the famous shell guns. However, the victory was short-lived with the affirmation of warfare on Russia by the Turkish allies mainly the French and the British. Turk gained further support from Austria since they had considerable opposition to the expansion plans that Russia depicted through subsequent conquers (Badem 65). Therefore, the three realized the objective of stumping Russia out of Balkans. In addition, the powers resolved to

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis

Real Estate Bubble and Financial Crisis Introduction The most significant economic event in 1990s was the Financial Crisis in East Asian, which also affected the world economy in the next few decades. People probably question the specificity of the East Asian Crisis. Radelet and Sachs (1998.p.1) gave a response to this question: The East Asian financial crisis is remarkable in several ways. The crisis has hit the most rapidly growing economies in the world. It has prompted the largest financial bailouts in history. It is the sharpest financial crisis to hit the developing world since the 1982 debt crisis. It is the least anticipated financial crisis in years. In my view, Asian financial crisis is triggered by real estate bubbles. This paper is organized around the topic the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis as below. Section 1 introduces what is real estate bubble; what are the factors inducing the occurrence of a real estate bubble; and by what measurements to identify this phenomenon. Then, Section 2 discusses the effects of real estate bubble in Financial Crisis reflect in different approaches: theoretical economic approach statistical data and historical facts. In conclusion, besides summarize the main idea of the overall contents, the exposure of the limitation of the theoretical economic approach will be mentioned. Real estate bubble The real estate bubble, also known as property or housing bubble is considered as an economic bubble, which is also a cyclical phenomenon occurs in the local or worldwide real estate market. Its prime feature is that the valuation of housing is growing swiftly, however, once the peoples financial situation and economic indicators unable to sustain such upward trend of price that follows the collapse of housing pricing. That implies a negative equity in investment for the proprietors. (Investor Dictionary. Com) There are several factors that induce the burst of the real estate bubble in Asia from 1997 to 1998. The following focuses on several main reasons: An excessive support of bank lending The developers are unable to cope with the investment of the real estate based on their own capital due to the function of this industry-capital-intensive. Thus, bank lending becomes a major source of funds. Before the mid-90s, the Asian real estate is fairly booming. However, because of the lack of a formal system of banking supervision, banks competed for developers by lowering interest rate. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan and Wachter, 2004) Governments improper macro-guidance and control Government intervention influences the real estate bubble in two perspectives: On the one hand, the land market and economic system is not mature or perfect enough. On the other hand, it is the limitation of the land resources and the market mechanism. Therefore, inappropriate regulation contributes to the growing of the real estate bubble. (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009) Some other reasons For example, the relaxed financial environment; excess international capital flows (An International Comparison of the Real Estate Bubble, 2009); excessive amount of house ownership; speculate in purchasing; and bad lending practice ( Merriam, 2009) When economists acknowledge the reasons of bubble burst, they strive to distinguish the breading real estate bubble by the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators. That aims to prevent the bubble burst. Housing affordability index Monthly housing affordability index (HAI) is a method to identify whether housing is becoming more or less affordable for the typical household. The HAI incorporated changes in key variables affecting affordability: housing prices, interest rates, and income. The formula is: HAI= (Median Family Income/Qualifying Income)*100% HAI ratio denotes the level of affordability. When HAI ratio is high, more people are able to buy a house. (Dr. Econ, 2003) This index facilitates banks to adjust fiscal policy. Assumed that the HAI is high, banks probably adopt liberal policies to extend loans, such as decrease the lending rates. Price to earnings ratio The real estate price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is the basic measurement to evaluate the comparatively assessment of the equities. This ratio is determined by three factors: The price of purchasing a house; the price of renting a house; and the spending on renting a house. The formula is: Real Estate P/E Ratio: House price/ (RentExpenses) This ratio provides an intuitive analysis that how purchasing houses restricts other family expenses. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Give an example of Washington DC House P/E ratio, which provides an integrated thinking about how purchase interacts with rent. The graph below states a rapidly grow in the ratios, which implies that the speed of raising purchasing price is extremely faster than that of renting price. It seems that such increasing trend will lead to real estate bubble, if none approaches is using to control it. (Eric, 2006) Some other financial ratios or economic indicators: Such as real estate price to rent ratio; gross rental yield; ownership ratio; housing debt to income ratio; housing debt to equity ratio; or deposit to income ratio. (The Real Estate Bubble in the 2000s-Housing Market Indicators, n.d.) Real estate bubble cause Asian Financial Crisis The growing booming economy of Southeast Asia is known as the the tiger economies between the late 90s and early 20s. Counties in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Hong Kong (China) were regarded as the states with the most remarkable economic growth worldwide. According to the Gross Domestic Product, it seems that economies of these states increased by 6% to 9% annually. However, good times do not last long, from June 1997 to January 1998, the burst of financial crisis this Asian miracle was dashed to the ground. In the end of 1997, collapses of the stock and currency markets in these state occurred frequently, then, at the beginning of 1998, the stock market lost more than 70% of their profits. (Hill, n.d.) In the economy system, real estate, compare with other sectors, it is the most highly leverage sector that cause a financial crisis of the utmost probability. The increasingly compound of issues or difficulties lead to the real estate deviates from the normal development. That not only generates a breeding ground of the real estate bubble, but also potential risks for financial crisis. Because of the rapidly decrease of real estate price, there was a disastrous loss of bank lending in some Asian countries, which also affects the current monetary assets. (Lanka Rating Agency Limited, n.d.) There is a theoretical economic approach (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) that analysis the correlation between the return of real estate and the fluctuation in the spreading of bank loans. If the numerical value of the correlation is below zero, which indicates a phenomenon of under pricing, which prick up the exacerbation of financial crisis. This assumption could be explained though a formula, that calculates the housing price for trade: P=V () M (, s ()) +B Here are the meanings that each symbol denotes: V denotes the basic valuation of a house; M denotes the valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house and the par valuation of bank lending for having a mortgage on a house with certain deposit rate; denotes the intending fluctuating level of a house; s denotes spreading of the bank loan according to certain deposit rate. Assumed that set an accurate price for mortgage, a houses marketable valuation is equivalent to par valuation, in addition, price for trade is equivalent to the basic valuation of a house. Suppose that is an independent variable, while s is a dependent variable, thus: 0 = 0 is equivalent to zero, as the spreading of the bank loan modulates according to recoup the bank for the transformations in the value as a result of the put option is included in the mortgage lending. When is equivalent to zero, it means the transformations in the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round. However, when is below zero, it means the intending fluctuating level of a house ( has an impact on the covariance of the house return with the market. When the house price changes in response to the spreading: = 0 ; = 0 ; 0 Thus, if the growing fluctuating level of a house ( is completely spread round, then the correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is equivalent to zero. Furthermore, if this correlation influences the covariance between the house and the whole market is influences, it on the verge of zero. From another point of view, assumed that the spreading of the bank loan transforms according to under price rather than the intending fluctuating level of a house (, the house price changes in response to the spreading is completely distinctive: = 0; = 0; and 0 Therefore, correlation between the house price for trade and the spreading of bank loan is below zero, as following equations: = ) ) 0 These two distinctive house prices which are influenced by default spreading generate an appropriate effect of under price: Under pricing of the default risk in non-recourse lending produces a negative correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Correctly pricing the default risk in non-recourse lending produces no correlation between asset returns and changes in the default spread. Countries that experience under pricing, experience larger market crashes following negative demand shocks. On the base of this theoretical economic approach, we could analyze the practical cases, in 1997 Asian Financial crisis, to support the idea that the collapse of real estate bubble causes Financial Crisis The financial crisis was began from Thailand and then extended over the whole Asian even the whole world. During that period, the characteristic of its economy is overheating with a deficit of 8% in 1997. The valuation of housing increased swiftly and collapsed swiftly. The main element that generated difficulties for financial institutions was the loans to real estate. (Hunter, Kaufman, and Krueger, 1999) According to the data from the Investment Property Databank , (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) the figure below is obtained. Based on the theoretical economic approach, the numerical value of correlation below zero will lead to a result of under pricing. Such under price may cause a great amount loss of funds, which will finally deteriorate into a financial crisis. From the above figure, Thailand is the typical example that explains the real estate bubble causes financial crisis. At the beginning of the 1990s, a massive amount of foreign funds continued to flow in the Asia market until the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis started. During that period, the lower deposit interest rate in the country encouraged people to seek investment channels with higher return. Meanwhile, foreign funds benefited the growing of the real estate industry. Additionally, because bank expanded the total amount of lending though decreasing the lending rate, under pricing became uncontrollable. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) In the In 1996, Thailand loaned to the real estate sector US $160 billion, which accounted for 30% to 40% of the total lending. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The figure below illustrates the amount of funds finance companies lend to industries related to the real estate and manufacturing from 1987 to 1996 in Thailand. It is obviously that the loans to real estate sector rapidly grew between 1989 and 1990, after that the percentage of real estate loan to the total loan maintained at a relative high level, which was between 20% and 30%. (Source: Bank of Thailand) Another support case is Malaysia. Between 1992 and 1996, over 70% of the bank lending was invested in real estate sector and stock market. (Mera and Renaud, 2000) The massive amount of funds injected into the real estate industries lead to a rapidly increase in GDP in that period. It is the fact that GDP increased by 40%, 62% 115% and 70% in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand respectively, that was much greater than that in Germany (19%), United Kingdom(16%) and United States (21.5%). However, this accelerated the formation of the Asian real estate bubble. (Koh, Mariano, Pavlov, Phang, Tan, and Wachter, 2006) It shown in the below figure that Malaysia, Philippine, and Singapore also generated an negative correlation before the occurrence of financial crisis Conclusion To summarize this paper, at the beginning a briefly introduction of the real state bubble is given. In this part it includes the definition, the reasons for breeding real state bubble, for example banks compete by lower lending interest rates to excessive support the real estate industry, and governments improper macro-guidance and control. Follow that are the measurements of financial ratios and economic indicators, such as housing affordability index and price to earnings ratio, which benefit to identify the signal of bubble burst. The most important part in the paper is to analyze the relationship between the real estate bubble and the financial crisis to produce a result that the real estate bubble is a factor that triggers the start of the Asian financial crisis. A theoretical economic approach is given with some statistical data, figure and real facts of Asian financial crisis. However, there some limitations in this theoretical economic approach, that do not agree with the reality. In the above figure, Hongkong and Japan generate positive correlation, according to theory this do not according with under pricing lead to financial crisis. The fact is that Japan is a typical example to illustrate that governmental action has negative impacts on the real estate industries. The Nikkei 225 index increased rapidly from 10000 to 38916 (peak value) between 1985 and 1989. Facing this, the manager of the Bank of Japan focused on dealing with the inflation rather than shrinking monetary policy, which reflected a decrease trend in housing price. The real estate bubble burst. (Frankel and Tschoegl, 1993) This is one of the limitations of the economic approach, which need further improve.

Digital Fortress Chapter 123-126

Chapter 123 An ashen technician ran to the podium. â€Å"Tunnel block's about to go!† Jabba turned to the VR onscreen. The attackers surged forward, only a whisker away from their assault on the fifth and final wall. The databank was running out of time. Susan blocked out the chaos around her. She read Tankado's bizarre message over and over. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI â€Å"It's not even a question!† Brinkerhoff cried. â€Å"How can it have an answer?† â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"The kill-code is numeric.† â€Å"Silence,† Fontaine said evenly. He turned and addressed Susan. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher, you've gotten us this far. I need your best guess.† Susan took a deep breath. â€Å"The kill-code entry field accepts numerics only. My guess is that this is some sort of clue as to the correct number. The text mentions Hiroshima and Nagasaki-the two cities that were hit by atomic bombs. Maybe the kill-code is related to the number of casualties, the estimated dollars of damage†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, rereading the clue. â€Å"The word ‘difference' seems important. The prime difference between Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Apparently Tankado felt the two incidents differed somehow.† Fontaine's expression did not change. Nonetheless, hope was fading fast. It seemed the political backdrops surrounding the two most devastating blasts in history needed to be analyzed, compared, and translated into some magic number†¦ and all within the next five minutes. Chapter 124 â€Å"Final shield under attack!† On the VR, the PEM authorization programming was now being consumed. Black, penetrating lines engulfed the final protective shield and began forcing their way toward its core. Prowling hackers were now appearing from all over the world. The number was doubling almost every minute. Before long, anyone with a computer-foreign spies, radicals, terrorists-would have access to all of the U.S. government's classified information. As technicians tried vainly to sever power, the assembly on the podium studied the message. Even David and the two NSA agents were trying to crack the code from their van in Spain. PRIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTS RESPONSIBLE FORHIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI Soshi thought aloud. â€Å"The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki†¦ Pearl Harbor? Hirohito's refusal to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We need a number,† Jabba repeated, â€Å"not political theories. We're talking mathematics-not history!† Soshi fell silent. â€Å"How about payloads?† Brinkerhoff offered. â€Å"Casualties? Dollars damage?† â€Å"We're looking for an exact figure,† Susan reminded. â€Å"Damage estimates vary.† She stared up at the message. â€Å"The elements responsible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Three thousand miles away, David Becker's eyes flew open. â€Å"Elements!† he declared. â€Å"We're talking math, not history!† All heads turned toward the satellite screen. â€Å"Tankado's playing word games!† Becker spouted. â€Å"The word ‘elements' has multiple meanings!† â€Å"Spit it out, Mr. Becker,† Fontaine snapped. â€Å"He's talking about chemical elements-not sociopolitical ones!† Becker's announcement met blank looks. â€Å"Elements!† he prompted. â€Å"The periodic table! Chemical elements! Didn't any of you see the movie Fat Man and Little Boy-about the Manhattan Project? The two atomic bombs were different. They used different fuel-different elements!† Soshi clapped her hands. â€Å"Yes! He's right! I read that! The two bombs used different fuels! One used uranium and one used plutonium! Two different elements!† A hush swept across the room. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium!† Jabba exclaimed, suddenly hopeful. â€Å"The clue asks for the difference between the two elements!† He spun to his army of workers. â€Å"The difference between uranium and plutonium! Who knows what it is?† Blank stares all around. â€Å"Come on!† Jabba said. â€Å"Didn't you kids go to college? Somebody! Anybody! I need the difference between plutonium and uranium!† No response. Susan turned to Soshi. â€Å"I need access to the Web. Is there a browser here?† Soshi nodded. â€Å"Netscape's sweetest.† Susan grabbed her hand. â€Å"Come on. We're going surfing.† Chapter 125 â€Å"How much time?† Jabba demanded from the podium. There was no response from the technicians in the back. They stood riveted, staring up at the VR. The final shield was getting dangerously thin. Nearby, Susan and Soshi pored over the results of their Web search. â€Å"Outlaw Labs?† Susan asked. â€Å"Who are they?† Soshi shrugged. â€Å"You want me to open it?† â€Å"Damn right,† she said. â€Å"Six hundred forty-seven text references to uranium, plutonium, and atomic bombs. Sounds like our best bet.† Soshi opened the link. A disclaimer appeared. The information contained in this file is strictly for academic use only. Any layperson attempting to construct any of the devices described runs the risk of radiation poisoning and/or self-explosion. â€Å"Self-explosion?† Soshi said. â€Å"Jesus.† â€Å"Search it,† Fontaine snapped over his shoulder. â€Å"Let's see what we've got.† Soshi plowed into the document. She scrolled past a recipe for urea nitrate, an explosive ten times more powerful than dynamite. The information rolled by like a recipe for butterscotch brownies. â€Å"Plutonium and uranium,† Jabba repeated. â€Å"Let's focus.† â€Å"Go back,† Susan ordered. â€Å"The document's too big. Find the table of contents.† Soshi scrolled backward until she found it. I. Mechanism of an Atomic Bomb A) Altimeter B) Air Pressure Detonator C) Detonating Heads D) Explosive Charges E) Neutron Deflector F) Uranium Plutonium G) Lead Shield H) Fuses II. Nuclear Fission/Nuclear Fusion A) Fission (A-Bomb) Fusion (H-Bomb) B) U-235, U-238, and Plutonium III. History of the Atomic Weapons A) Development (The Manhattan Project) B) Detonation 1) Hiroshima 2) Nagasaki 3) By-products of Atomic Detonations 4) Blast Zones â€Å"Section two!† Susan cried. â€Å"Uranium and plutonium! Go!† Everyone waited while Soshi found the right section. â€Å"This is it,† she said. â€Å"Hold on.† She quickly scanned the data. â€Å"There's a lot of information here. A whole chart. How do we know which difference we're looking for? One occurs naturally, one is man-made. Plutonium was first discovered by-â€Å" â€Å"A number,† Jabba reminded. â€Å"We need a number.† Susan reread Tankado's message. The prime difference between the elements†¦ the difference between†¦ we need a number†¦ â€Å"Wait!† she said. â€Å"The word ‘difference' has multiple meanings. We need a number-so we're talking math. It's another of Tankado's word games-‘difference' means subtraction.† â€Å"Yes!† Becker agreed from the screen overhead. â€Å"Maybe the elements have different numbers of protons or something? If you subtract-† â€Å"He's right!† Jabba said, turning to Soshi. â€Å"Are there any numbers on that chart? Proton counts? Half-lives? Anything we can subtract?† â€Å"Three minutes!† a technician called. â€Å"How about supercritical mass?† Soshi ventured. â€Å"It says the supercritical mass for plutonium is 35.2 pounds.† â€Å"Yes!† Jabba said. â€Å"Check uranium! What's the supercritical mass of uranium?† Soshi searched. â€Å"Um†¦ 110 pounds.† â€Å"One hundred ten?† Jabba looked suddenly hopeful. â€Å"What's 35.2 from 110?† â€Å"Seventy-four point eight,† Susan snapped. â€Å"But I don't think-â€Å" â€Å"Out of my way,† Jabba commanded, plowing toward the keyboard. â€Å"That's got to be the kill-code! The difference between their critical masses! Seventy-four point eight!† â€Å"Hold on,† Susan said, peering over Soshi's shoulder. â€Å"There's more here. Atomic weights. Neutron counts. Extraction techniques.† She skimmed the chart. â€Å"Uranium splits into barium and krypton; plutonium does something else. Uranium has 92 protons and 146 neutrons, but-â€Å" â€Å"We need the most obvious difference,† Midge chimed in. â€Å"The clue reads ‘the primary difference between the elements.' â€Å" â€Å"Jesus Christ!† Jabba swore. â€Å"How do we know what Tankado considered the primary difference?† David interrupted. â€Å"Actually, the clue reads prime, not primary.† The word hit Susan right between the eyes. â€Å"Prime!† she exclaimed. â€Å"Prime!† She spun to Jabba. â€Å"The kill-code is a prime number! Think about it! It makes perfect sense!† Jabba instantly knew Susan was right. Ensei Tankado had built his career on prime numbers. Primes were the fundamental building blocks of all encryption algorithms-unique values that had no factors other than one and themselves. Primes worked well in code writing because they were impossible for computers to guess using typical number-tree factoring. Soshi jumped in. â€Å"Yes! It's perfect! Primes are essential to Japanese culture! Haiku uses primes. Three lines and syllable counts of five, seven, five. All primes. The temples of Kyoto all have-â€Å" â€Å"Enough!† Jabba said. â€Å"Even if the kill-code is a prime, so what! There are endless possibilities!† Susan knew Jabba was right. Because the number line was infinite, one could always look a little farther and find another prime number. Between zero and a million, there were over 70,000 choices. It all depended on how large a prime Tankado decided to use. The bigger it was, the harder it was to guess. â€Å"It'll be huge.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"Whatever prime Tankado chose is sure to be a monster.† A call went up from the rear of the room. â€Å"Two-minute warning!† Jabba gazed up at the VR in defeat. The final shield was starting to crumble. Technicians were rushing everywhere. Something in Susan told her they were close. â€Å"We can do this!† she declared, taking control. â€Å"Of all the differences between uranium and plutonium, I bet only one can be represented as a prime number! That's our final clue. The number we're looking for is prime!† Jabba eyed the uranium/plutonium chart on the monitor and threw up his arms. â€Å"There must be a hundred entries here! There's no way we can subtract them all and check for primes.† â€Å"A lot of the entries are nonnumeric,† Susan encouraged. â€Å"We can ignore them. Uranium's natural, plutonium's man-made. Uranium uses a gun barrel detonator, plutonium uses implosion. They're not numbers, so they're irrelevant!† â€Å"Do it,† Fontaine ordered. On the VR, the final wall was eggshell thin. Jabba mopped his brow. â€Å"All right, here goes nothing. Start subtracting. I'll take the top quarter. Susan, you've got the middle. Everybody else split up the rest. We're looking for a prime difference.† Within seconds, it was clear they'd never make it. The numbers were enormous, and in many cases the units didn't match up. â€Å"It's apples and goddamn oranges,† Jabba said. â€Å"We've got gamma rays against electromagnetic pulse. Fissionable against unfissionable. Some is pure. Some is percentage. It's a mess!† â€Å"It's got to be here,† Susan said firmly. â€Å"We've got to think. There's some difference between plutonium and uranium that we're missing! Something simple!† â€Å"Ah†¦ guys?† Soshi said. She'd created a second document window and was perusing the rest of the Outlaw Labs document. â€Å"What is it?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"Find something?† â€Å"Um, sort of.† She sounded uneasy. â€Å"You know how I told you the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb?† â€Å"Yeah,† they all replied in unison. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Soshi took a deep breath. â€Å"Looks like I made a mistake.† â€Å"What!† Jabba choked. â€Å"We've been looking for the wrong thing?† Soshi pointed to the screen. They huddled around and read the text: †¦the common misconception that the Nagasaki bomb was a plutonium bomb. In fact, the device employed uranium, like its sister bomb in Hiroshima. â€Å"But-† Susan gasped. â€Å"If both elements were uranium, how are we supposed to find the difference between the two?† â€Å"Maybe Tankado made a mistake,† Fontaine ventured. â€Å"Maybe he didn't know the bombs were the same.† â€Å"No.† Susan sighed. â€Å"He was a cripple because of those bombs. He'd know the facts cold.† Chapter 126 â€Å"One minute!† Jabba eyed the VR. â€Å"PEM authorization's going fast. Last line of defense. And there's a crowd at the door.† â€Å"Focus!† Fontaine commanded. Soshi sat in front of the Web browser and read aloud. †¦Nagasaki bomb did not use plutonium but rather an artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"Damn!† Brinkerhoff swore. â€Å"Both bombs used uranium. The elements responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both uranium. There is no difference!† â€Å"We're dead,† Midge moaned. â€Å"Wait,† Susan said. â€Å"Read that last part again!† Soshi repeated the text. â€Å"†¦artificially manufactured, neutron-saturated isotope of uranium 238.† â€Å"238?† Susan exclaimed. â€Å"Didn't we just see something that said Hiroshima's bomb used some other isotope of uranium?† They all exchanged puzzled glances. Soshi frantically scrolled backward and found the spot. â€Å"Yes! It says here that the Hiroshima bomb used a different isotope of uranium!† Midge gasped in amazement. â€Å"They're both uranium-but they're different kinds!† â€Å"Both uranium?† Jabba muscled in and stared at the terminal. â€Å"Apples and apples! Perfect!† â€Å"How are the two isotopes different?† Fontaine demanded. â€Å"It's got to be something basic.† Soshi scrolled through the document. â€Å"Hold on†¦ looking†¦ okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Forty-five seconds!† a voice called out. Susan looked up. The final shield was almost invisible now. â€Å"Here it is!† Soshi exclaimed. â€Å"Read it!† Jabba was sweating. â€Å"What's the difference! There must be some difference between the two!† â€Å"Yes!† Soshi pointed to her monitor. â€Å"Look!† They all read the text: †¦two bombs employed two different fuels†¦ precisely identical chemical characteristics. No ordinary chemical extraction can separate the two isotopes. They are, with the exception of minute differences in weight, perfectly identical. â€Å"Atomic weight!† Jabba said, excitedly. â€Å"That's it! The only difference is their weights! That's the key! Give me their weights! We'll subtract them!† â€Å"Hold on,† Soshi said, scrolling ahead. â€Å"Almost there! Yes!† Everyone scanned the text. †¦difference in weight very slight†¦ †¦gaseous diffusion to separate them†¦ †¦10,032498X10?134 as compared to 19,39484X10?23.** â€Å"There they are!† Jabba screamed. â€Å"That's it! Those are the weights!† â€Å"Thirty seconds!† â€Å"Go,† Fontaine whispered. â€Å"Subtract them. Quickly.† Jabba palmed his calculator and started entering numbers. â€Å"What's the asterisk?† Susan demanded. â€Å"There's an asterisk after the figures!† Jabba ignored her. He was already working his calculator keys furiously. â€Å"Careful!† Soshi urged. â€Å"We need an exact figure.† â€Å"The asterisk,† Susan repeated. â€Å"There's a footnote.† Soshi clicked to the bottom of the paragraph. Susan read the asterisked footnote. She went white. â€Å"Oh†¦ dear God.† Jabba looked up. â€Å"What?† They all leaned in, and there was a communal sigh of defeat. The tiny footnote read: **12% margin of error. Published figures vary from lab to lab.