diff --git a/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.pdf b/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.pdf index bf3813c..47439c8 100644 Binary files a/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.pdf and b/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.pdf differ diff --git a/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.tex b/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.tex index 7c2bb9a..d000453 100644 --- a/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.tex +++ b/documents/book-minimal/book-minimal.tex @@ -29,17 +29,17 @@ \begin{document} \maketitle -\yinipar{\color{red}I}'ve always felt a little lost in life, like I never received complete instructions on who I'm supposed to be. Everyone else around me seemed to know exactly who they were. Their lives would fly right by me; their GPS’s locked on to destinations while I just sat idling in the street. In high school I never did any extracurricular activities because I couldn't figure out if I was a sports person or a music person. And it was no different in college. I wandered through four different majors, unable to decide who I wanted to be. I just felt like a blank slate.\\ -And if I was a blank slate, Micah York was The Starry Night - authentic, beautiful, perfect. He was my exact antithesis which is what attracted me to him in the first place. He was born knowing exactly who he was and what he was about. His confidence and certainty in himself was an all but tangible element of him.\\ +\yinipar{\color{black}I}'ve always felt a little lost in life, like I never received complete instructions on who I'm supposed to be. Everyone else around me seemed to know exactly who they were. Their lives would fly right by me; their GPS’s locked on to destinations while I just sat idling in the street. In high school I never did any extracurricular activities because I couldn't figure out if I was a sports person or a music person. And it was no different in college. I wandered through four different majors, unable to decide who I wanted to be. I just felt like a blank slate.\\ +And if I was a blank slate, Micah York was The Starry Night - authentic, beautiful, perfect. He was my exact antithesis which is what attracted me to him in the first place. He was born knowing \textit{exactly} who he was and what he was about. His confidence and certainty in himself was an all but tangible element of him.\\ We first met in our freshman year of college; he was a neuroscience student and I was majoring in History. We dated our sophomore year, after I changed my major to Nanotechnology. We broke up in our junior year, just before I decided I wanted a degree in Psychology, instead. And he asked me a favor our senior year, just after my guidance counselor told me it was too late to switch majors again.\\ Our last semester of college was beginning soon and Micah had been applying to grad schools. He wanted to get his Masters in Neurobiology and I helped him with the applications when I had time. I knew Micah was under a lot of stress to nail his senior thesis so I was surprised when he asked me over to his house for a “party” that January. I should have known something was up because Micah was a meticulous student and he didn’t throw parties – ever.\\ When I arrived at his off campus apartment, I considered not even getting out of the car. His flat was dark and quiet, there was definitely no party. Just what was he up to? I picked up my phone to call Micah and beg off but curiosity suddenly got the better of me and I hung up.\\ When I walked into the familiar TV-less living room I saw two familiar faces and two strange ones.\\ There was Micah, of course, and Micah’s friend Sean Nichols, an organic chemistry major. The other two people were introduced to me as Irina Bradley, another med student, and Holly Bish, a philosophy major.\\ Irina the med student scooted over and made room for me on the couch. I sat down hesitantly and waited for Micah to begin whatever it was he was doing. He rose and walked to the middle of the room.\\ -\enquote{Thank you all for coming. I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here. I’m sorry this isn’t a party, but I knew I had to get you here by any means necessary.}\\ +\enquote{Thank you all for coming. I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here. I’m sorry this isn’t a party, but I knew I \textit{had} to get you here by any means necessary.}\\ Micah paused, for effect I’m sure, took a deep breath and smiled.\\ -\enquote{I have selected each of you to take part in the greatest experiment of not only your lives but perhaps even the world. My doctoral thesis.}\\ +\enquote{I have selected each of you to take part in the greatest experiment of not only your lives but perhaps even the \textit{world}. My doctoral thesis.}\\ I rolled my eyes. Classic Micah. He may be many things, but humble wasn’t one of them. Jackass was.\\ \enquote{And what's your thesis?} I asked him nonchalantly, as if his previous statement hadn’t been utterly stupid.\\ \enquote{A conclusive essay detailing what happens after human death.}\\ @@ -56,12 +56,12 @@ The room fell quiet and Micah, mistaking the shocked horror for awed silence, st \enquote{Bridget, wait! At least hear all of it before you walk away. Please.}\\ I narrowed my eyes at him and considered. Micah was crazy, beyond crazy, but he was also brilliant. And he looked\dots sane, somehow, like he knew what he was doing. But still, I wanted no part in killing anyone.\\ \enquote{I'd like to hear how it works.} Holly the philosophy major said coolly from her spot on the couch.\\ -\enquote{Ah, actually, it's something I developed.} Sean said. \enquote{A cocktail of biological and non-biological chemicals. It's been tested and it's safe.}\\ -\enquote{Tested?} I asked in horror. \enquote{On whom?}\\ +\enquote{Ah, actually, it's something \textit{I} developed.} Sean said. \enquote{A cocktail of biological and non-biological chemicals. It's been tested and it's safe.}\\ +\enquote{\textit{Tested?}} I asked in horror. \enquote{On whom?}\\ \enquote{On local wildlife.}\\ \enquote{So never on a person.}\\ -\enquote{No, never on a person but it is safe.} Sean said quickly.\\ -\enquote{So then how does it work?} Irina asked. She took a step back toward the couch and that’s when I knew Micah had her. I took my hand off the door knob.\\ +\enquote{No, never on a person but it \textit{is} safe.} Sean said quickly.\\ +\enquote{So then how \textit{does} it work?} Irina asked. She took a step back toward the couch and that’s when I knew Micah had her. I took my hand off the door knob.\\ Micah gestured to Sean.\\ \enquote{I've developed a poison and a biologic. I call them the Romeo and Juliet serums. Juliet is a poison that kills the body. Romeo is a biologic, or antidote for lack of a better word, that restarts it.}\\ \enquote{Clinical death will only take place for 30 seconds.” Micah cut in. “No brain damage, no organ damage.}\\ @@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ Micah gestured to Sean.\\ \enquote{Flatliners, it's a movie. The characters kill themselves and bring themselves back. If I recall it didn't work out too well for them. But Micah knows that since he’s the one that made me watch it!}\\ \enquote{That's a Hollywood movie.} Micah said, dryly. \enquote{This is legitimate science.}\\ \enquote{No, you're Kevin Bacon,” I pointed at him, “he's Kiefer Sutherland,} I pointed at Sean, \enquote{and I'm Julia fucking Roberts!}\\ -\enquote{No,} Micah said hotly, \enquote{actually she's Julia fucking Roberts!} He pointed to Holly.\\ +\enquote{No,} Micah said hotly, \enquote{actually \enquote{she's} Julia fucking Roberts!} He pointed to Holly.\\ \enquote{So am I Oliver Platt, then?} asked Irina.\\ \enquote{No one is Oliver Platt!} Micah yelled.\\ \enquote{Well, if we get a choice I'd rather be Oliver Platt than Kevin Bacon.} Sean interrupted.\\ @@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Micah combed his hand through his dark brown hair. \enquote{Jesus, I've been try \enquote{And you think she's going to agree with that?}\\ \enquote{Actually,} Holly interrupted, rising from the couch. \enquote{I already have.}\\ \enquote{Why?} I gaped at her.\\ -\enquote{Because I want to know, I need to know why I'm here, why any of us are here. I want to know what the soul is and where it goes, I want to hold the keys to human existence, love and suffering, life and death. I want to understand our purpose. And I'm getting paid and it's perfect for my dissertation.}\\ +\enquote{Because I want to know, I \textit{need} to know why I'm here, why any of us are here. I want to know what the soul is and where it goes, I want to hold the keys to human existence, love and suffering, life and death. I want to understand our purpose. And I'm getting paid and it's perfect for my dissertation.}\\ \enquote{That's another thing,} Micah said quickly, \enquote{everyone will get paid.}\\ \enquote{How much?} Irina narrowed her eyes at him.\\ \enquote{\$500 each.}\\ @@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Micah handed me an expensive looking, heavy camera. \enquote{The camera in the c \enquote{Okay\dots Micah, are sure you want to do this?}\\ \enquote{Bridget, we've been testing this and as long as Romeo is injected in under a minute, which it will be, there is no risk.}\\ \enquote{There’s definitely risk, Micah. And near death experiences-}\\ -\enquote{This isn't a near death experience, it's a death experiment. Look, I know you’re worried, and that’s why I wanted you here, to make sure nothing goes wrong. And even if it does, I have stacks and stacks of notes and narratives proving that this was my experiment.}\\ +\enquote{This isn't a \textit{near} death experience, it's a death experiment. Look, I know you’re worried, and that’s why I wanted you here, to make sure nothing goes wrong. And even if it does, I have stacks and stacks of notes and narratives proving that this was my experiment.}\\ \enquote{Yeah, but\dots}\\ I couldn't think of anything else to say. Any objection I had, Micah would have an answer for. That's just the way he was. There was no stopping him now; I could either be here to see it or be somewhere else to hear about it. I chose to stay.\\ Micah walked over to stand in front of the static camera.\\