Week-15

Athena 2.0! Writing!

Heyy Guys!! Hope everyone's weeks are going good! Before we get into this week's blog post, let's take care of some housekeeping first!

Faces of Silicon Valley News!! 

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5)  Here's another writing piece. Like I said, last week I'll be really busy these coming weeks. So while I will post, it'll mostly be writing pieces. I enjoy writing them, and I'll love receiving your thoughts and comments! Hopefully, soon I will be able to return to my weekly posting of different topics! Thanks for understanding! 

6) Here's an intro to this week's writing piece. This piece was written in response to a prompt at one of my writing academies! I actually one ninth place out of several entries, and I received a ten-dollar Amazon Gift Card. The prompt was to write a 1500 word short story about a piece of technology that's really useful. So I decided to write about a piece of technology that works a bit like a chatbot. I incorporated aspects of Greek Mythology and places in Greece. Growing up, I loved mythology especially Greek Mythology and reading Percy Jackson books, so I'm glad I got to use that in my writing! Enjoy! 

 Athena 2.0: 

Far away, long ago, there was a princess. One night, her grandmother sat her down and spoke with a twinkle in her eye, "Dear child, this is a gift to remember me by. In the centuries to come, the world will crave the technology hidden within this precious gem. Protect it and ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

The girl looked forward to this job and tried her hardest to please her grandmother. The gift was a pair of beautiful gold earrings with a sapphire stone in the middle. What the child didn’t know was that inside that sapphire stone was a device. A device that not even modern-day engineers or programmers could construct. Inside the sapphire stone was a minuscule black device that worked like a virtual chatbot. Unlike computers or phones, this device had a name: Athena 2.0. 

*** June 2024 ***

At the beginning of summer, a group of middle-school students from Silver Middle excitedly boarded a flight in Los Angeles, California. They were part of their school’s quiz bowl team and were taking a field trip to learn more about Europe’s history and creations. Specifically, they were traveling to Athens, Greece, the booming capital of the country!

As the plane landed, Liz, a science whiz, dreamily stared out the window. “Think of all the possibilities, the different weather patterns, and the place behind the brains of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae,” she told her neighbor excitedly. Liz was immersed in learning about astronomy, physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry. Both of Liz’s parents were English professors, who believed more in Shakespeare than in Einstein. Quiz-bowl was Liz’s attempt to show them her talent and the value that came from it. 

Next to Liz, sat Emily, who was immersed in sketching in her journal. Emily was the team’s resident artist and writer. Emily dreamed of becoming an author, and writing fantasy stories while illustrating their covers. Besides having a great imagination, Emily was great at memorizing different cultures and styles. She could talk about all the great classics, and in one minute she could captivate her audience in a world full of different art styles. If she had two minutes, Emily could explain the five predominant religions and all their trademark rituals.  

Behind Emily, sat Jake who was interested in geography and current events. He could look at a map and state when each city, state, province, and landmark was made. He had a knack for navigating the complex web of global events and then relating them to the intricacy of geographical details. Jake was the go-to person for updates on international relations, and the latest breakthroughs in science, politics, and technology. The moderator could never finish a question before Jake's buzzer interrupted him with the right answer. 

Next to Jake, sat Mark. Mark was skilled in historical and societal events. His parents were famous politicians and his older brother had left a quiz bowl legacy at Silver Middle, a legacy Mark was eager to surpass. Mark knew all about the wars that had happened throughout many generations. His favorite social sciences were economics and linguistics. 

The team and their chaperone, Ms. Linda, made their way to their hotel and quickly checked into their rooms. After the team freshened up, they decided to go visit a nearby cave. Mark and Emily told the others about the history and culture behind this mysterious cave as they took a taxi there.

“This cave is called The Hidden City of Lost Things,” said Mark, while showing the others some pictures of the crystal stalactites hanging from the cave’s tall ceilings from the tourists’ booklet. 

“It’s rumored to be the secret hideaway of a princess,” Emily added in amazement. 

“Her name was Princess Arete. She’s a very popular figure in Greek mythology. She became the Queen of Scheria and was known for her intelligence. There's a rumor that the queen’s grandmother had a gift created for her. Many historians believe it was a rare gem with untold capabilities,” Ms. Linda read from the tour booklet. 

“Where is this gem,” Liz asked curiously. 

“No one knows…historians don’t know if it exists. Arete is a mythological figure, of course, who is probably based on an important matriarchal figure. But we don’t know if the gem even existed. After all, Scheria is derived from Odysseus’s travels. But, Odysseus himself never really existed,” said Emily. 

“This cave in Athens used to be the queen’s hideout, often she’d jot down ideas or just sit and think in there. It’s rumored that this special gem is hidden in a wooden box which is engraved with the name, Arete,” Mark explained when the taxi arrived in front of the cave. 

Unfortunately, Ms. Linda who had claustrophobia and a fear of small, dark spaces decided to wait outside, while the team entered the cave full of excitement and wonder. They decided to explore the cave and took turns left and right when suddenly they realized that they were lost. Unfortunately, none of the kids could get a signal on their phones. They were stuck in here until someone else came, panicking the kids tried banging against the walls of the cave. In hopes, the cave walls would break down, revealing some exit. Instead, a rock fell from a ledge above, barely missing Emily’s head. Surprised, Emily jumped, as the rock fell to the ground, where it shattered revealing a wooden box. Engraved on the box was the word, “Arete.” 

The kids looked at each other in astonishment, “Arete’s gem, the gift!” they shouted happily, momentarily forgetting their current troubles. As Mark picked up the gift and tried opening it, it wouldn’t budge. Then Jake tried hitting rocks against the box, tried prying it open, but nothing would work. The kids soon realized, that they needed a key, which was nowhere to be found. Disappointed, Liz tried escaping the cave again throwing rocks against its walls. Emily slumped against the wall in dismay, while Mark and Jake tried climbing the walls of the cave trying to see could collapse and reveal an opening. Liz was starting to hyperventilate, worried about the possibilities that could happen if they didn’t escape. 

“What if we run out of oxygen? Or die of food and thirst within a week? I still haven’t found the cure to allergies!” shouted Liz in despair, as she pushed the walls of the cave. Then with a loud crash, the stalactites of the cave fell. The kids screamed as they carefully walked away from the fallen stalactites. Suddenly, one stalactite shattered. As it shattered, it revealed a tiny gold key, which Jake grabbed, and with trembling hands opened the box. In front of them were two gold and sapphire earrings. Liz took them out of the box and quickly fastened them on her ears. 

“Don’t be so grabby,” said Jake, as they watched Liz admire the beautiful earrings as she put each of them on. 

“They’re very pretty, but they might be dirty,” Emily told Liz as Emily looked in the box for anything else. 

“Hello, I’m Athena 2.0. How may I help you?” said a female voice. 

“Did you guys hear that?!” Liz asked.

“Hear what?” Emily asked as Liz handed her one earring. As Emily heard the voice too, the girls concluded that there was a device hidden inside of the earrings, a sound that only they could hear. 

“What can you do?” Liz asked the chatbot. 

“Virtually anything, I can lead you to the nearest place of food or entertainment. I can tell you the formula of just about any theory, and any story.” the voice replied. 

“Lead us out of here!” Mark shouted. 

“Of course, using your GPS coordinates, you’ll arrive outside of the cave in ten minutes.” Athena 2.0 began leading them out of the cave. As the kids got out of the cave, they told Ms. Linda all about their adventures. They told her about the earrings but had decided to tell her it was tourists’ old earrings and kept the earrings true powers a secret. They wanted to use their powers for the betterment of each other. Specifically, they wanted to use it to win. 

After winning the quizbowl tournament in Greece and returning home to Los Angeles, they began realizing Athena 2.0’s capabilities. Liz had reprogrammed her mainframe, and quickly Athena 2.0 seemed like another member of the quiz bowl team. Liz or Emily would wear the earrings to a tournament and in less than 15 seconds, Athena 2.0 would come up with an answer so that the girls could buzz in. Before long, people began recognizing Silver Middle as the best quiz bowl team. Only the team knew of their secret weapon. Unfortunately, their team also began gaining unwanted attention. 

After one of their competitions, the kids held their trophies up victoriously, eager to go home and celebrate, when Ms. Linda walked up to the group. She was a private detective and she’d noticed the team’s newfound knack for victory. She’d seen the team have fun before competitions instead of preparing new material. As she approached them, she told them “You know, true victory isn't just in the outcome, but in the effort and perseverance poured into the journey. Success is only meaningful when earned through hard work and determination. You told me that the earrings had no meaning, but ever since you found them, you’ve been relaxed, but you’ve had so many victories. Did you guys lie? Does it have some hidden capabilities?” She asked in disappointment as she shook her head and the kids looked down shamefully. “You joined Quizbowl to learn, not to cheat. You should give that valuable piece of technology to a museum. Someone who deserves it. There’s no point in cheating.” The team realized their mistake and felt so bad, that they returned their trophies to their opponents and publicly apologized.”

“Let’s make a pact,” Liz told the others. 

“ I agree, technology is amazing and it’s easy to get lost in it. But we can’t let that happen,” Emily replied. 

“ Cheating isn't the way to go; we can’t lose sight of honesty and the value of true hard work,” Mark added. 

“ Let’s win quizbowl the right way, not the easy way!”  Jake finished. Now the earrings rest in a high-security vault in a famous museum in Athens.

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Ok before I end this post, just a couple of things!

1) I really wanted to expand this story, but there was a word limit, so you can expect a new expanded version! 

2) The title was really hard to come up with, even now I don't enjoy it. So check out our comment of the week section, to see what to do about this problem! 

3) Check it out on Medium too!  https://medium.com/@shivali.patra/athena-2-0-54a7689184a9

4) Comment of the Week: 

- Comment if you'd like a future blog post about Greek Mythology! 

- Write your thoughts or ideas in the comments!

- Feel free to share your own pieces of writing, and I'd be glad to provide some feedback for you! 

- Share your favorite part of the story! 

- Share any ideas on how to expand the story, or add on to it! 

- Comment any title ideas! 

There will be a winning comment for each question! Good Luck & enjoy your week!