1

Leni Foliadis currently works as a consulting project manager in one of the largest banks in South Africa. Prior to this, Leni lived and worked for a short time in the United Kingdom. Apart from various post-graduate, business and architectural qualifications, Ms. Foliadis, whos always had a keen interest in child behavior, graduated with a BA degree in 1996 in Psychology, Education and Sociology by part-time correspondence.

Ali Michaels lent her support for a short period abroad, as a social worker to orphaned, under-age children, before going on to study for an arts degree. This work experience laid the foundation for the tutoring of art, drama and language to young people in later years. Whilst continuing tutoring even today, Ms. Michaels follows her passion in health and wellness; prolifically studying and keeping abreast of all medical-related matters.

CORP AND FRIENDS,

SUSPENDED

Dedications

My nieces and nephews, Dino (my one and only darling godson), Alexi, Mary, Evan and Christina, my other darlings, whose preteen life experiences, inquisitiveness and all-enquiring natures were an inspiration for me to write this book.

Leni Foliadis Ali Michaels

CORP AND FRIENDS,

SUSPENDED

Copyright Leni Foliadis The right of Leni Foliadis to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781849633369

www.austinmacauley.com First Published (2013) Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd. 25 Canada Square Canary Wharf London E14 5LB

Printed & Bound in Great Britain

6

Acknowledgments

Heartfelt and sincere thanks go to Dr Gerry Schneider, a family doctor and friend of the utmost commitment and integrity who vetted and endorsed the contents of this book for its factual correctness, before passing on. You will always be remembered for your absolute concern and dedication. RIP.

FOREWORD
Do you like a good mystery, unravelling cryptic clues or even putting a puzzle together? If your answer is yes, follow my friends and me on an awe-inspiring adventure where youll find out about unbelievable things and places you didnt quite know about . Youll even be able to tell your friends about what youve experienced. If your answer is no however, which I really hope it isnt, youll wish you had gone on this thrilling adventure because lets admit it, you wouldnt want to be left behind and know less than those folk who chose yes, would you now? Along the way on this magnificent journey, I shall drop you many cryptic clues and before long, youll piece the puzzle clues together and solve this mystery as to where I live and who my friends and I are. Some sights and things may be easier to establish than others but eventually, everything will come together, youll see. Lets start from the beginning then, where youll try to understand the full picture. Just remember, if you cant establish everything, dont panic it doesnt make you less clever since thats part of the mystery. Continue to follow me until the very end. Like my ancestors before me, my red marine division within the regiment O [clue 1] can be traced right back to the first two human-folk, Adam and Eve, who walked this earth more than five thousand seven hundred years ago, according to the Hebrew-folk calendar. You must understand however, that the O regiment refers only to our guardians and carers, the human-folk species, and not to the animal species, although the red marine division
8

certainly does exist in the animal species also, even if it means in a slightly different form. From that one point on earth where Adam and Eve lived, their offspring began migrating (the terminology used when birds, for example, fly to warmer places to avoid the cold weather). So, Adam and Eves offspring began migrating to occupy the five continents of the world as we know them today: Africa, Asia, Europe, (North and South) America and Australia. Did you care to notice with the listing of the five continents that all the names start and end with the same letter? Clever! Huh? Now, where were we? Oh yes! And so it is that from these offspring who were the guardian-folk of the O red marine regiment, three other red marine regiments similar to mine evolved. These three newer regiments came to be known as, A [clue 2], B [clue 3] and AB [clue 4], and have been used for identification purposes ever since [clue 5]. Do you have any inkling who or what I am yet? Since each continent has different vegetation and climatic conditions, each regiment over the ages grew accustomed to the foods of that region. My regiment, for example, regiment O preferred, and still prefers to this day, a diet of animal products and proteins [clue 6]. Next sprouted regiments A and B, where regiment A became best suited to a vegetarian diet [clue 7] whilst regiment B became accustomed to a most varied diet including meat [clue 8]. The most modern and least populous regiment, AB, sprouted last from both regiments A and B as its name suggests, and gave rise to the friendliest of all the diets [clue 9]. Now Ive really confused you, havent I? I dont mean to but you do realise that in order to explain anything, I have to go back to the very beginning where it all began? If its true, as the saying goes that every army marches on its stomach, then it stands to reason that in order to fight and win successfully, an army would have to eat correctly to be lean and mean, right? The same then would apply to the marines too, and
9

the likes of me, of course! But to make things difficult for us marines, the state of our health lies not with us, but rather with our guardian-folk. Do you know who those guardian-folk are? Yes, these guardian-folk are the likes of you and your ancestors before you. You can determine our wellbeing or not, if you so please! In fact, you can very easily be me and my regiments guardian right this moment and you dont even know it. You can hold that key to whether my regiment and I are lean and mean or fat and sluggish! Dont be mistaken by thinking that since I am invisible and cannot be pinpointed, my regiment is invisible also. Then youll be truly mistaken. My regiment is visible and evident enough but what you cant see is each individual member, such as the likes of me, where each member has a significant and vital part to play for the continuation of your kind. After all, my marine regiment is a force of nature travelling submerged in a mixture of little more than three-quarters salty water (seventy-eight percent water to be exact) and a little less than a quarter (twenty-two percent) of solids. My regiment contains the entire genetic memory of your kind and of all living organisms. We are life itself [clue 10]. Have you established some or all of the clues yet? Maybe some brain power will help. Believe it or not, I have the ability to help you enhance that brain power too [clue 11], and when I travel closer to the surface you can feel me at various points where my regiment throbs and pulsates more furiously [clue 12]. This makes you realise that my regiment and I really do exist but are generally taken for granted.

10

INTRODUCTION
SUB-TERRESTRIALS

Hello out there! My name is, Corp. I am a special member of the marines, living and working in a floating, invisible world a kaleidoscope of colour and a riot of beautiful sites. My world is enveloped by you and your human-folk world, making me perceptibly responsive to any imbalances that may arise. And through a percussion of resonating muffled sounds which travel four times faster in waters such as these than in air, and vibrations that quiver over a constant thumping drone, I am also conscious of conversations. I would like to consider myself as having van Goghs ear for music! Ok, so youve guessed Im being sarcastic. How could I possibly have Vincents ear if Vincent van Gogh was a famous Dutch impressionist painter and not a musician who, in fact cut off his ear in a spontaneous act of insanity? The truth of the matter is Im tone deaf! The tunnelled waterways in which the marines and I live and work, are wait for it a pale, yellow coloura, dependent on how populated it is with various microscopic inhabitants with some inhabitants being microscopically small, some microscopically larger, some friendly and others more aggressive. Yup, we all live and work peacefully and harmoniously together most of the time, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and never knowing when night merges into day and when day merges into night. Nevertheless, we work in a magical world until something unexpected happens to throw us marines into disarray. And like
a

Plasma: a liquid component making up fifty-five percent of the volume of Corps suspended marine regiment.

11

everything in life which responds in its own unique way, the tunnelled waterways in which we live if threatened, are also no exception. The defence mechanisms of our tunnelled waterways when exposed to the view outside, the world of human-folk; get transformed into red streams. And as the colour, red, denotes danger, we marines anticipate the muffled sounds of screaming and hollering. In this submerged world, my whole marine regiment which makes up a capacity of twenty-two glasses (5.5 L or 9.68 pt), criss-crosses in and out of three circulatory systems, all of varying sizes, forces, descriptions and operations. In fact, its customary for my regiment to circulate, by squeezing through the narrow tunnelled waterways that work together over a distance of 96 500km (60 000 miles). Thats quite some travelling! The completed distance of one circuit, from the lowest and furthermost extremities, is accomplished in a mind-blowing twenty to sixty seconds, depending on various factors. This circuit route is repeated over and over with constant regularity at an average speed of 30 cm/ sec (11.8 in/ sec) and a peak of 100 cm/ sec (39.4 in/ sec). Do you fully comprehend how far this total distance is? Its staggering. Its like saying that one circuit we travel can wrap twice around the earth! But whats even more mind-blowing is if you guardian-folk consider that each member of my regiment is miniscule, approximately twenty-five thousand times smaller than a fine grain of sand, and we complete this distance in one circuit, repeated continuously at regular intervals like a metronome! I belong to the oldest and most popular red marine, regiment O. You folk know my regiment because you human-folk discovered us and classified us.

12

The first of these is the white divisionb, which comprises three broad units loosely regarded as the cytesc. Subdivided under the cytes are yet three further units, regarded as the philsd. All of these six units have very different but distinct functions, characteristics and appearances, and when clumped together, they comprise the largest portion of my marine regiment. For the sake of simplicity however, I shall refer to the whole white division as the whites whose marines are the valiant fighters of these tunnelled waterways, with each unit and its specific capability, deployed to the front to combat one of three foreign invading armiese. The second division, the red divisionf is smaller than the whites, and for the sake of simplicity I shall refer to them as the reds. Its this division, the reds, with their iron-rich nutrient dyes when they are assaulted, that spills its contents into the yellow tunnelled waterways and as a defence mechanism, transforms these tunnelled waterways into a squeamish red vision. Its this sight that signals danger and evokes the anticipated screaming and crying behaviour of the human-folk. And finally, the third divisiong is the smallest of all the divisions. For the sake of simplicity these marines with their gangly threaded bodies, Ive nicknamed the pluggers. Dont get me wrong. I totally respect the marines in this division for the role they play. They are a welcome sight when theyre in abundant numbers since they transform these yellow tunnelled waters in which we all live, into a cloudier yet livelier environment.
b

The 1st division of the marine regiment; commonly referred to in this way by Corp and his friends, which you will have to establish. c Three units of the 1st division of the marine regiment; commonly referred to in this way by Corp and his friends, which you will have to establish. d Three subunits of the 1st division of the marine regiment; commonly referred to in this way by Corp and his friends, which you will have to establish. e The three main types of bacteria classified according to their shapes. f The 2nd division of the marine regiment; commonly referred to in this way by Corp and his friends, which you will have to establish. g The 3rd division of the marine regiment; commonly referred to in this way by Corp and his friends, which you will have to establish.

13

Aside from this fact, without the exhaustive efforts of these gangly pluggers, together with the rest of the marines we would have long been wasted, washed away with the flow, and left to die.

14

CHAPTER 1 TOM-TOM AND ME

Did I mention that just as I was old and strong enough to leave the warmth and security of the marine nursery organ-site, in my report card I was characterised by my superior as being; A precocious and potentially fractious leader with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Hates losing, and reacts to defeat with anger and pouting-like symptoms. Must learn to be a team player. I guess this meant there was room for improvement because before I could even embark on my quest in this gargantuan, tunnelled world, my diet was immediately monitored to reduce my sugar intake and I was bundled off for OT (Occupational Therapy). Here I was given activities to burn off some of my unbridled energy and self-talk lessons on how to be a gracious loser, repeating phrases like, Be a good sport. Its only a game. Gradually I improved. And guess what? I gained plenty of respect from the rest of the marines. I even made many more friends simply because I didnt have this compulsive need to win all the time and to control all the game activities. Most folk dont like poor losers, especially those annoyingly grating, young, know-itall attention seekers. If you guardian-folk havent already noticed, I am a little chatterbox of sorts, although I like to consider myself as being smart, precocious, curious and socially adept. Perhaps Im flattering myself. I do remember though, after being punished some circuits back, one marine happened to mention that studies have been conducted by you folk that have affirmed a correlation
15

between traits of intelligence and being a chatterbox. So, its not all bad, but I must apply myself and put these attributes to good use, otherwise it would be a shameful waste. Long before the present circuit, my mentor and best friend whom I shall introduce to you guardian-folk in a little while, set restrictions to curb my incessant chatting. I was only allowed to chat at certain times. It was good in a way because the punishment that invariably followed was dramatically reduced. Lets admit it; chatting is disruptive especially when a certain decorum or sense of propriety is required. I guess the same can apply to you folk at home or in the classroom, where no talking is allowed except at tea breaks or in instances when you young-folk are requested to talk or respond to a teacher-folks question. Admittedly most of the time, this chatter is totally unnecessary and irrelevant. For the likes of you folk the chatter can wait for the playground, and for the likes of me in this inner world, it can wait for the circulatory routes or for any other time when Im not performing my duties of combat. You guardian-folk now know a little about me, so let me begin by introducing you to my best friend. His name is, Tom-Tom, TT for short. We are blood brothers. Im unsure exactly how TT got his name, but it could have been given to him endearingly from his exceptional ability to tune in to his inbuilt compass, his personal navigational skills and intelligence-gathering capabilities around these cloudy, tunnelled waterways. Or perhaps TT acquired his name from the Tommy submachine gun; since Ive been told this gun hits its target with precision. In any case, weve been best friends ever since I outgrew my diaper days in the incubator and was swept and shoved out of the marine nursery to explore and perform my role in this gargantuan, sub-terrestrial universe. TT is a trifle older and therefore wiser than me. He embraces the standards and principles of a fighting marine. Where he has a sound understanding and knowledge of how things operate, Im still much on a learning curve. Where I am inquisitive and impulsive, he is self-assured has a quiet demeanour and a drawing inner strength. We complement each other well.
16

Hes been my mentor and companion ever since I latched onto him, after being nudged out of the marine nursery. From that circuit on, TT and I began travelling together through an extensive network of fluctuating, yellow-tunnelled waterways1a. Have you guardian-folk ever heard the phrase that, blood is thicker than water? Well, there has to be some truth to this adage because thats us, TT and me! Were also as thick as thieves. Now theres another phrase that best describes how we do everything together. In fact, we take courage from our hero-folk of old, like Spartacus the Gladiator, King Arthur, Attila the Hun, Lion the Brave Heart and Chaka Zulu, to name but a few. We stand guard as part of a united front with the rest of our marine unit, against those foreign invaders that raise havoc with our regiments orderly and balanced existence. Every marine knows his or her duty in this inner world of tunnelled waterways, and we all go about our business diligently. The white marines and its six units to which TT and I belong, rally together to perform defined combative duties which best suit our distinct form. How true it is that, the whole TTs and my combined unit, is greater than the sum of its parts TT and me as individual marines, for when it comes to combating these intruders, we are so aptly designed that we cannot be rivalled in this function. But no matter how noble this sounds the same applies too, to the rest of my regiment, with each unit and division possessing its distinct form and function. TT and I for example look like colourless, round pin cushions. Its the short spikes protruding from our round bodies which characteristically give us our scaly appearance, making us look all the more hardy and rough. So we are lethal no doubt, not only in stature but also in nature! We are the fighters of these waters and our short spikes are the weapons we use to neutralise the three smaller but heavily populated, foreign invading armies: the red spheres, the blue rods and the green spirals1b that currently plague our sub-terrestrial world. And how remarkably sensible it is to be
1a

Plasma: a liquid component making up fifty-five percent of the volume of Corps suspended marine regiment. 1b The three main types of bacteria classified according to their shape.

17

shaped in a compact spiked ball, allowing TT and me and the rest of our unit, to fire our chemical weapons from any direction. We dont have faces and torsos as are common to you folk, since we have no use for two facial optical orbs1c, protruding gills of old as some folk have us believe, that have evolved into auditory devices1d, a proboscis1e, food-receiving orifice1f and certainly no limbs. But lying quietly inside our pin cushion bodies, we have what can be regarded as a very simple bi-lobed control centre1g. I know what you guardian-folk may be thinking. If we have no features like facial orbs, evolved gills, proboscises, or foodreceiving orifices and no limbs, how then are my friends and I able to hold conversations, and experience any of the attributes of the five senses in this submerged world? Quite simply, this is called personification, where I urge you to use some of your vast, imaginative and creative human-folk powers. Personification as the word suggests allows abstract objects, like my friends and me, to take over qualities and natures that you guardian-folk possess. And if you folk havent come across this terminology in your English lessons before, youll soon be in a position to show off to your teacher-folk, and to your class-folk, what you now know and what other interesting things youre about to find out. So tag along and keep imagining. Oh, and by the way, did I forget to tell you guardian-folk what you might be thinking? If we cannot identify each other with facial features like you human-folk do, how do we manage to know who the other is? Or better still, how in goodness sake you ask, can we be lethal marines and spurt successful shots if we cannot see? This question pleases me because I know youve got your human-folk thinking cap on. The easiest and simplest

1c

Eyes. Ears. Nose. 1f Mouth. 1g The nucleus which represents the brain.
1d 1e

18

explanation is to tell you that it is a kind of driving force which makes us do all these things without even having to think. This driving force in the human-folk species, as well as in the animal species, can be likened in much the same way as how one mother penguin specimen finds her chick amongst all those thousands of chicks in an enormous, noisy and tightly packed colony. Most of those youngsters all look and sound the same. So in this seemingly chaotic confusion, what drives the mother directly to her chick? Out of all those thousands of chicks which the mother has to sniff through, and if indeed the mother smells her chick, she waddles directly towards her unmistaken offspring. As extraordinary as it may sound, each mother is driven by instinct or by a force to her chick. Have you guardian-folk ever seen this wonder on satellite TVs Animal Planet? Maybe you should consider asking your teacher-folk, or even ask some intelligent adult-folk to explain this phenomenon further. Now without sounding rude, apart from being manipulated by this driving force, our eating and excreting is done by sucking and spurting. This is understandable if you think that by being so densely bunched in these yellow, cloudy waters, and by being constantly on the move, we have no time to stop and eat or to go to the toilet. So without needing any of your human-folk features we spoke about earlier, like limbs for walking or running, we move about at rapid speeds by squeezing against each other very tightly without any concerns of nasty body odours, to create a push-pull driving motion. Its this continuous motion and the high-low pressures of waterways that help us circumnavigate around the tiniest and narrowest tunnels without any problems. I have to admit there is a kind of energetic madness in here; a chaotic order. This last statement by the way is an oxymoron. Have you guardian-folk learnt that at school yet? If you havent, an oxymoron is a figure of speech which seems to be contradictory, but in essence produces a witty effect. Try to think of an oxymoron yourself. Dont be confused, now. An oxymoron doesnt make you a moron. Quite the contrary! By throwing an effective oxymoron into your speech, you will sound ever so witty and smart! Try it.
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CHAPTER 2
AROUND THE CLOCK 24/7

Organ-sites are little known to many of you human-folk and although there are approximately seventy-eight sites in these inner, tunnelled waterways which my regiment and I circumnavigate, together we shall only visit the major organ-sites on this adventure. I bet you guardian-folk didnt know that it would take a little more than one million mosquito specimens, 1.2 million specifically, and only one suck from each of these annoying nuisances to dry up the tunnelled waterways, leaving you folk looking more like, The Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz ? In all probability its highly unlikely this could ever happen, unless of course this suction of juices is conducted mechanically under specialised conditions2a by human-folk doctors. Needless to say, dont underestimate or even overlook the role these tunnelled waterways play. Its my regiment that makes up the volumes of this inner, sub-terrestrial world, and its our juices that are responsible for the bathing of these organ-sites. Of all the constantly burbling organ-sites well encounter in this adventure together, well visit the marine nursery2b, the filtering factories2c, the waste-water reservoir2d, the largest exposed organ-site2e, the two gas receptors2f, the muscular
2a 2b

? transfusion. The bone marrow. 2c The kidneys. 2d The bladder. 2e The skin. 2f The two lungs.

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pump2g, the control centre2h, the central food processing factory2i, the chemical factory2j, the bitter yellow fluid reservoir2k, the energy-regulating factory2l, the defence and clean-up centre2m, and the girl-folk reproductive factories2n. Dont lose sight of the fact that in my introduction, I did advise my regiment criss-crosses in and out of three circulatory tunnel systems which all work to the benefit of the other. And these systems arise separately, notably; the circulation from the muscular pump2o, the circulation from the two gas receptors2p and the circulation from the individual life-unit forms2q. All these organ-sites are differently sized and shaped, with each site having different vegetation, different looking inhabitants, and producing its own speciality. Each has a story to tell, with loads-full of mysteries to unravel much like an archaeological site for visiting tourist-folk. Though each organsite lives and works separately twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, each contributes to the wellbeing and smooth running of the whole region; whilst working interdependently with other organ-sites. In fact, when you folk get to intimately know these organ-sites, youll soon realise that nothing is designed haphazardly. Consider for a moment how a wrist watch works with all its springs and cogs. If you think thats incredible, then you guardian-folk havent seen anything yet. Not surprisingly then
2g 2h 2i

The heart. The brain. The stomach. 2j The liver. 2k The gallbladder. 2l The pancreas. 2m The spleen. 2n The left and right ovaries of women. 2o The coronary circulation: circulation of oxygen-rich (?), from the aorta and through the rest of the heart. 2p The pulmonary circulation: a short circulatory route from the heart to the lungs carrying de-oxygenated (?) and back to the heart again carrying oxygen-rich (?). 2q The systemic circulation: circulation of oxygen-rich (?) from the heart to individual cells in the body.

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that a moment for you folk mentioned earlier, and which according to an old English system measuring time represents one and a half minutes, may bring about a significant landscape change in these regions. Its because everything in this frenetic universe is dynamic, buzzing with movement without any rest. The marvels and glories that each organ-site has to expose are just incomprehensible. What an absolute testament of wonder, glory and magnificence, and how truly overwhelming and humbling it is to understand the way everything is intricately held together in this inner, suspended world. Its simply mesmerising, like something found in wonder books. Speaking of which, Ive often thought why all that Ive seen and speak of, and will soon expose to you guardian-folk too, is not classified as one of the wonders similar to the seven ancient wonders, the seven natural wonders, and the seven new wonders of the world. Who decides which external sites should feature as wonders of the world, but that my sub-terrestrial world should not? Im positive that if you guardian-folk continue with me on this awe-inspiring adventure, and you find out unbelievable things about these organ-sites, youll agree with me that my regiment and this inner wonder-world should also be given this unprecedented recognition and acclaim. Without labouring the point any further since Id like you guardian-folk to decide for yourself, I think its simply amazing that Im inconceivably begotten, not made created from nothing and made into being. Although in a wave to copy and underrate this remarkable feat, scientist-folk are presently feverishly attempting to replicate these faultless and effective organ-sites with a new technology called three-dimensional (3D) bio-ink printing2r. Its much like printing a document with a standard desktop printer only the words are substituted with blank lifeunit forms2s and the organ-site or prototype built up layer by layer.

2r

Stem cell printing. Stem cells: the master or generic units of life having the potential to grow quickly and easily into any of the two hundred different types of cells and further dividing to form a whole organ, tissue or organism.
2s

22

Interesting times! Who ever said science fiction could not become reality? Organ-sites with varying specifications will soon be purchased over the counter like any other goods.

23

CHAPTER 3
TOGETHER TO SAVE TWO WORLDS

You guardian-folk should have realised by now that my inner world is nothing like your sensory world, right? In fact, both worlds are delicately balanced and linked to one another. Anything you folk do to tip the balance of your planet can spell disaster for my world, and that of my marine friends. We are therefore heavily dependent on you, our guardian, to care for us. Over the centuries we have all learnt to share our worlds. You folk have learnt to share your world not only with plant and animal species, but also with other greedy, power-hungry folk who have no conscience when it comes to destroying the environment. In contrast however, my regiment has learnt to share its world with some loathsome and mean-polluting characters. And the link between your outer, cosmic, human-folk world and my inner, impersonal, tunnelled world, means that these polluting, trouble-making foreign invaders have slowly managed to prize their way from your world into mine, only to release havoc and to lead to fatal results and illnesses. For me and my co-inhabitants, these ugly trouble-makers range from fat, globular-specimen that clog up the system, to detestable, dangerous unwanted chemicals and gases which also pollute your outer world whilst edging their way inwards. The many illnesses and catastrophic events now evident in your folks world starkly prove that all is not well externally, tipping the once happy balance of relative good health for you human-folk, as well ours. These illnesses and ill health arise from overwhelming evidence resulting from you folk: having better and faster technology like faster and more freely available travel, an
24

exploding globe population and the destruction of natural resources, rain forests, wild life and aquatic habitats. Surely you folk should have realised by now that according to Isaac Newton, the English man-folks first and third laws of motion derived over three hundred and fifty years ago, these catastrophic events would be inevitable? From this: mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, philosophers and authors first law, a body remains in its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted on by an external force, and his third law, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, implies that all forces act in pairs with one force counteracting another. If for instance you were to be incessantly and brutally probed, pillaged and sucked dry of every ounce of precious mineral and nutrient from deep within your secret, cavernous and bountiful expanses, wouldnt you convulse, quake, erupt, pelt, belch, burn, freeze, flood and swallow in much the same way as mother earths belly and sea floor is doing? Dont you folk get it, that your relentless, hungry action of extracting natural gas and oil, and mining deeper into mother earths belly, has heightened and perhaps caused these phenomena? Having exhausted and tapped into all of the shallow mineral reserves mother earth has had to offer, your industrialist-folk have now turned to fracking, a process of injecting highly pressurized fluids; of which some are exceedingly toxic chemicals, into the earths belly, which threatens the: air, climate, health, food and water content of human and animal species alike without paying due consideration to seepage up to the earths surface. And not only does the pillaging not stop there, but theres also deeper and deeper jumbo-engine drilling for diamonds, gold, platinum, coal and other enriching resources at higher pressures and temperatures within the buried contours. Nearing a record depth of 4.0 km underground (2.48 miles or 13 123 ft), the deepest acclaimed operational gold mine south west of Johannesburg, in South Africa, a city purportedly recognised as also having the largest folk-made forest in the world (how ironic is that?), is penetrating without abatement. Although
25

its no consolation, this depth is 6 366 km (3 955.65 miles) from the earths centre point for now, meaning that the earths radius is 6 370 km (3 958.13 miles). Congratulations if you deduced this for yourself! And so, in her futile and frail attempts to aggressively protect and defend herself from such relentless predation from humanfolk, mother earths vengeful reactions are suitably justifiable, wouldnt you young-folk say? Furthermore, similar reactions have been experienced from the heavens where meteorites, the latest of which weighed approximately five-and-a-half average sized motor vehicles, streaked through the skies, exploded with a force thirty times that of the bomb dropped over Hiroshima in Japan during World War II, and then dropped to earth in the Urals of Western Russia, like a mighty fireball injuring many human-folk. Heres a thought. Why dont you clever school-folk debate the merits and demerits of the goings on around you in your class and see what you come up with and whether you agree or not. The negative reactive forces must be ended. After all, the theories of one intelligent human-folk date back to the late 1600s yet the natural active disasters of earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, famines, floods, typhoons, volcanic eruptions and plagues have increased at a phenomenal rate. And it is these signs of the times that make us marines immensely nervous and afraid. Ultimately, whatever negative forces are imparted by you folk on mother earth and father sky will boomerang back on you from both of them in return. The wake-up call has sounded. There are caring folk Ive been advised, who are taking brave measures to restore health to the outside world. These folk belong to organisations like Save the Planet and Greenpeace, to mention but only two of the thousands in existence reaching out from different vantage points. Their volunteer member-folk strive against much resistance to introduce a better and healthier life even though pessimists propose a case of, too little, too late! I therefore challenge all you adult and young-folk alike. Take your cues from the laws of nature. Pay attention to the greater, reactive disasters that are taking place all around your insular
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existence. The planet is slowly imploding, suffocating, choking blanketed for the most part on land and water with carelessly disposed litter. And unless all you folk pull together collectively to save your cosmic world and ours, before long well all be goners. And what can I do to pull together to save the planet? you young-folk ask anxiously. Im only one solitary little person! Even as a solitary, little folk-person there is so much you can do to help. Firstly, you can start by doing your modest bit at home. Try and negotiate with your parent-folk for pocket money if you undertake the collection and separation of all your home waste like paper, plastic and glass, handed over for recycling. And dont forget theres also the electronic bio-hazardous and radioactive e-waste that is illegal to dump, like those appliances operating with electrical cords such as computers, TVs, radios, toasters, kettles, mobile phones and even batteries as well as fused or old fluorescent and energy saving light tubes. Prove to your parent-folk that youre growing up and becoming more responsible. And dont be surprised when they start recognising and treating you in this way for itll be very gratifying and rewarding when they start regarding you as an equal. Being a responsible young-folk though also means that you must think carefully before you act. For example, think before you litter, think before you use aerosols, think before you waste water, think before you use electricity unnecessarily. I challenge you to think. Think and live green in respect to the environment and to the wider world! Consider that when you guardian-folk next want to clean your shoes, an eco-friendly alternative for shoe polish and chamois leather is to use olive oil dabbed on a cloth, or to use the inside of a banana peel. In fact, heres another of my fleeting thoughts... Why not challenge your parent-folk in turn to think green by having their bills sent to them electronically and by saving on the fossil fuels used for the delivery of the envelopes. In supporting the paperless route, imagine how vastly this will help to save trees where the rate of deforestation is still alarmingly high an area destroyed
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yearly roughly the size of Costa Rica (try and find this South American country on the map). How about boasting some intelligence by advising your parent-folk to stop shopping with plastic bags and instead to use recycled bags or products, or suggesting to your mother-folk that more suitable eco-friendly alternatives can be used in contrast to those unhealthy cleaning detergents. Quite simply, for the removal of heavy grease or grime in the washing of dishes, lemons and bicarbonate of soda are excellent substitutes, as is a mixture of vinegar and water for the cleaning of windows. See how much one solitary little folk can accomplish to save the planet? Enormous amounts! Dont underestimate your ability. Secondly, you learned-folk can debate the damaging effects of natural disasters at school. It will be very interesting to see what measures your class and teacher-folk can implement to improve such reactive disasters. Dont forget that mother earth will be appreciative of any bit of support she can get, where you folk can plant trees for example which breathe the breath-of-life3a back into her atmosphere, or where rain water can be collected in a water tank to feed a vegetable garden. Thirdly, as I mentioned before; linked directly to my localised world, my regiment and I are at the mercy of you folk, our guardian. It grieves us when you eat fatty, unhealthy foods, as delicious as they may be, since you place us at severe risk. And do you want to know how? By polluting our system with these sluggish, fat globules with your unhealthy food choices. These globules start to live and grow amongst us and begin to threaten our very existence. At best, these fat globules leave their fatty deposits behind on the inside of the walls of our waterways and restrict our circulatory flow. At worst, these fat globules knowingly destroy the quality of life both you folk and my marine regiment deserve. This they do by clogging up and hardening the tunnelled waterways3b through which we navigate, causing
3a 3b

Oxygen. Arteriosclerosis: from the Greek word arthero meaning artery and sclerosis meaning hardness. Caused from calcified fat (cholesterol and fatty acids).

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irreparable damage and even spelling death. So what good do they do? Absolutely nothing at all! In fact, on average, there is enough fat on the human-folk body already to produce at least seven bars of soap. Fancy that! I hope Ive stirred your conscience enough for you guardianfolk to take a small step in the right direction beginning right now. And in case youve forgotten, this brings to mind the first American man-folk, Neil Armstrong, who walked on the moon. His triumphant words when he jumped off his space craft and onto moon on 20 July 1969 were, Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Cannot these same words resonate again today for you folk for a different purpose?

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