carlos-m.net

This was part of my final portfolio for Fiction and Poetry Writing II with Amy Eisner.

Carlos Macasaet
7 December 2004
200.106 – Final Portfolio

A foreigner was caught trespassing on the palace grounds last month. His neck did not bear the number that uniquely identifies all living citizens of the state. He carried no papers and he spoke no language that anyone could understand. He was promptly arrested and my supervisor, citizen 392332, put me in charge of his incarceration. He would be the first prisoner to be entirely in my charge. At first, I thought this was a test because a citizen in my range is not usually permitted such responsibilities. Perhaps my superiors suspected me of plotting against the state and wanted to observe me closer. Perhaps they wanted to make sure I was not shirking my duties and so they brought in a spy, who carefully concealed the identification number that usually shows prominently on the back of the neck and uniquely identifies each living citizen. I had heard of such things being done before. With treason on the rise, the state has had more reason to spy on its citizens. I also know that certain high-ranking citizens use a technique to conceal their identification numbers when they travel abroad. However, it is impossible to conceal the markings permanently and they begin to show again within a month’s time. I dismissed the notion that he might be a spy when I realised that all of the higher-ranking citizens that worked in the prisons had their hands full now that our prisons housed nearly a third of the state’s population. Either way, it was quite an honour to have a prisoner of my own. I would treat this matter with the utmost care and attention to detail.

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This short story was written for Introduction to Fiction and Poetry Writing with Joshua Malbin during the first semester of my first year at Johns Hopkins University. This was part of my final portfolio for the class. It was a revision of a previous assignment. When I began writing this story, I intended for it to be completely original. However, when I think about it, it seems like it was slightly influenced by the movie Perfect Blue by Sada Yuki Murai.

Carlos Macasaet
Introduction to Fiction and Poetry Writing
Final Portfolio — Short Story
December 10, 2001
 
Aya and Nicole were best friends since grade school. They met at the San Francisco Conservatory where their parents had taken them every week for music lessons since they were both four years old. At the time, Aya was learning to play the violin and Nicole was learning to play the cello. For her age, Aya was remarkably good at the violin. Nicole longed to play as well as Aya — so much so that for a long time, she begged her parents to allow her to quit the cello to take up the violin. However, around the time when the girls turned thirteen, they found that their true calling was singing. But this was not the extent of their talents. By the time they were in high school, they were both accomplished dancers and played leading roles in their school’s musicals.
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This was written for English class with Chantel Acevedo while I was in 12th grade at Winchester Thurston School. Its purpose was to imitate the entries in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy from the novel of the same name by Douglas Adams.

Carlos Macasaet
May 8, 2001
English 12 — Galactic Guide Entry

Hammer PacketSphere Network Emulator (an Empirix product)

The Hammer PacketSphere is a cool looking device that when placed in one’s living room will cause visitors to marvel at the impressive looking piece of hardware. The visitors will then proceed to ask the owner of the device what exactly the machine does and they will be amazed at both said person’s technological knowledge and ownership of such a cool device.

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