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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: The Importance of Being Earnest (not about the play) (08/04/11)
The Storm Burst Was Over
The storm burst was over. Claustrophobic humidity bathed the graduate students like a whirlpool bath. Raindrops, scintillating in the sun, dripped one by one into a rain barrel filled to overflowing under an open window. Max Long, PhD, a brilliant professor, stood ramrod straight behind a podium made of sturdy wood. He was wearing a white starched dress shirt and a navy blue and burgundy striped tie. He looked cool even though the air conditioners were off. A fuse had blown in them and the heat was stifling for this day’s class. No one spoke. The silence in the cavernous room echoed like a bat’s radar. No sounds. None. All was quiet. Then a shoe scuffed against the concrete floor. Someone in the back of the packed room cleared his throat. There were more than one hundred graduate level students waiting for Dr. Long to begin one of his riveting lectures on the theories behind intelligent design. Not everyone believed or even understood this man’s breadth of understanding of the subject. For a man who was under forty, Dr. Max Long supposedly knew more than anyone about an intelligently designed universe. He had written more than sixty scholarly articles for the most prestigious science quarterlies worldwide. His well known views were becoming acceptable in the most dubious minds in the world. He was an orator in the best sense of the word. “Students.” He spoke into the microphone attached to the podium. “I’m not a philosopher. I am a scientist.” And so began lecture number three. It was a little past two in the afternoon on a sweltering August day in Miami, Florida at the University of Miami. All in the lecture hall were held in rapt attention. This promised to be one of the best current treatises on the subject of intelligent design so far. “You are irreducibly complex. Your DNA alone is a biological miracle. I do not use the word miracle lightly or without pressuring you to define it in your own minds. I think after producing sixty different articles on intelligent design I do not use the word miracle subtly or without discrimination for you to ponder.” Lightning flashed a mere five miles away. And thunder rumbled over the campus. It thumped the roof. The sun had disappeared behind thunderheads. Rain pelted the wall of windows. “I am the sort of man who wants my students to think arduously; harder than you’ve ever thought before. Burn some cells in your brains with a new idea or two a day. There is JOY in beginning to allow this theory to grab your attention. JOY in learning. JOY in grasping the odyssey of venturing out of the primordial ooze into the grace of intelligent design. However, today students, I’m going beyond any theory I’ve ever stated before. There is a reporter in this room. I know I saw Fletcher Haas when I walked into the hall. He reports for the ‘Science Section’ for the Herald. Write this down Haas; in longhand. ‘Max Long, PhD, believes in more than intelligent design as of today.’ I believe there is a Creator in this universe. I don’t believe the design of this universe was the product of chance. I believe, and I’m staking my reputation, my career, my livelihood on the line today. Yes. God. G-O-D. I believe the Designer is God himself.” There were murmurs and whispers and giggles and shouts going between students and toward Dr. Long. “I cannot prove this! I cannot say anything to prove this; yet I have hope there is God. I have a newfound faith that God spoke ORB! And there was earth. God spoke LIGHT and there was light! God spoke CREATION and there was creation!” The room went wild! There were jeers of every kind. There was a smattering of applause. There was some slapping on each other’s backs. There were frowns and downright disgusting remarks being yelled from the floor of the large classroom. Dr. Max Long smiled. Thunder crashed outside and he smiled broader than he had smiled in his whole lifetime. He knew that he knew that he knew his statement would go around the world this night and he would be a laughingstock in some circles and a hero in other circles. He didn’t reprove himself. He simply threw back his head and roared his joy.
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This article has been read 882 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Rachael Severa
08/12/11
I enjoyed your story of conviction the Professor had while making his speech. The fact that he rattled more than a few people is almost like torment for non-believers.
I also liked your descriptions. It would have been a little easier to read if the paragraphs were broken up in smaller ones.
Thanks for the story.
Juliette Chamberlain-Bond
08/13/11
I like how you parallelled that actual storm and the storm caused by the professor's declaration concerning God.
His declaration that God did in fact create the universe is followed by the inevitable uproar.

The story is well told but as previously pointed out, you need to separate into paragraphs.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
08/14/11
This is a great story. It's a tad overwhelming without any white space. Before you hit submit, hit preview it'll show you what the article will look like to the reader. Nice ending too; it made me smile. Keep writing.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
08/20/11
Congratulations for ranking 9th in level one. (Check out the highest rankings on the message boards.)