Dreadful Sights: The Masked Allure

      My name is Stanley Whitcomb and the year is 2106. Throughout my life I have always been fascinated by the advancements made in the field of science and the power that it can wield. Ever since I was very young my father Richard warned me through the ancient tale of Icarus that having too much power can be a dangerous thing. My mother Ingrid was an intelligent scholar that became a famous novelist. Since a very early age I learned through the lessons that both my parents gave me that power was not rage, control or domination. With the lessons of their experience by my side I have been able to acknowledge that it is not simply what a young man learns about power, but also the manner in which he learns it, that truly determines how the person will use power in the service of him and others. In order to really learn how to use power and not be destructive a young man must have the capacity and resources to both channel and contain power.

        In my younger years as a working young adult I worked for a man by the name of Kellon Vohs who I had met at a young age. Kellon had been in a wheelchair all of his life. He had muscular dystrophy yet he was determined to be successful. Kellon had a rough childhood as his father James Vohs who was a successful architect saw him as a nuisance instead of a son. Fortunately, Kellon's mother Aurora Vohs who was a chemical engineer was very supportive of her son and brought out his gift for science to light. I had met Kellon while we were both in college as I stopped a bully by the name of Josh Thompson to stop picking on him. After that we quickly became good friends and I found out that we had a shared interest in science. As the years of college went by I had the pleasure to meet Kellon's mother Aurora. She was a kind and devoted mother that encouraged scientists and their pursuits of knowledge to make a better world. I always felt a feeling of resentment that Kellon had towards his father James every time that his name was mentioned. As a gift I would get Kellon a series of books to read like Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol which were written by Charles Dickens. In a way I wanted Kellon to embrace the notion that life is not perfect yet we can make them better if we believe in ourselves.

         Kellon's mother Aurora was the CEO of Standpoint Aid Industries which was a company that dealt in making different types of chemicals, fuel, drugs, food and many other products. Aurora's father Anthony Jameson was the founder of Standpoint Aid and he also loved his grandson Kellon. Anthony Jameson had a love for Gothic fiction and ancient castles which his grandson also liked. Among Anthony and Kellon's favorite works were Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Dracula, Frankenstein and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. In a way Anthony was the father that was absent in Kellon's life. Both Anthony and Aurora knew that Kellon would one day take over the company. Aurora was right as her son had a terrific mind for science and business. Many years later after he graduated from college Kellon took over the company two years after his grandfather Anthony had passed away.