Elmwood High School - Inscripta Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 77 text:

“A Decisive Moment in Histnry” Silence falls. Even the seagulls seem frozen for an eternal moment, etched in sharp relief against the brilliant blue. Then like an explosion in the soundlessness, a greatly amplified voice announces to the tensely waiting world, “Five!” Again the dense silence falls, except in the distance, an acute ear can hear the sound of tons of water pouring over concrete. A plume of vapour stains the flawless tropical sky. A billion ears strain, as the voice con¬ tinues, “Four!” Now, in the press area, hundreds of movie cameras began to grind, and binoculars are trained on the drama enacting itself a scant mile away. “Three!” In the blockhouse a key is turned completing a circuit. “Two!” The clock creeps to¬ ward the vertical. “One!” High above the block¬ house, three men stiffen slightly. One closes his hand above the abort switch. “Zero!” “T-plus-one.” Through his periscope, one of the observers no¬ tices a squirt of flame beneath the poised tons of metal. “Ignition!” he cries in chorus with his coun¬ terpart across the blockhouse. “Two.” “Liftoff!” the two voices announce simultaneously. The monster stirs, lifts slightly, then leaps upwards accelerating towards the sky. “Go baby!’’ bursts from the fifty straining technicians as the Saturn- Appolo moonship dwindles to a spot in the sky. Finally the terrible sound of the take-off reaches the spectators on Cocoa Beach six miles from the Cape. It th rows itself at them like a tidal wave, engulfs them, and flows onward, undiminished. This sound, the mightiest ever unleashed by man, signals the launching of three men towards the moon, sometime within the next decade. During the succeeding moments hundreds of tons of hydrocar¬ bon fuel and liquid oxygen will unite within the free world’s largest combustion chambers, releasing enough energy to dwarf the first atom bomb. The mere technical achievement involved in hurling these three men a quarter of a million miles through space, keeping them alive for two weeks in an alien environment, and returning them safely to earth, is not however what makes this moment de¬ cisive, or momentous. This moment will signify the end of the era of world wars, since both the financing of further space research and survival will necessitate future co-operation between nations. It is even possible that there will be both American and Soviet astro¬ nauts on this first team. Such an achievement might herald the arrival of an age of peace and co-opera¬ tion among men. In addition to this, man will be taking his second great step along the road to the stars. He will have accepted what Wenher Von Braun has described as “Man’s last great challenge”—the exploration of the universe. The practical monetary returns of this voyage will undoubtedly more than justify its un¬ dertaking but the real value will not lie in these alone. A far greater importance will be the gains in knowledge, and understanding of the universe, and in the possibilities of new research into the un¬ known. The major repercussions, although their ef¬ fects will not be felt for generations, will ultimately change our civilization profoundly. The way will be open to man’s first meeting with other sentient be¬ ings. A meeting which may well be the most mo¬ mentous event since man rose out of the slime of his newly formed world. To my mind, the moment when man sets his foot upon the path to the planets and beyond, will rank with the most important moments in our history. Here will be a point where man will choose be¬ tween exploration or extinction. The choice is being made now, at conferences on Disarmament and the peaceful uses of outer space. Let this be a moment of triumph, not of terror. —George Durnin, 12-1.

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MUST WE EONFOHM The answer to this apparently complex query may be found at the very base of our social system. This is founded upon the belief that a number of individual intellects can direct their collective ac¬ tions as a coherent unit, while simultaneously in¬ suring that each individual shall have freedom of personal action. The problem of conformity resolves itself into two separate aspects. The first of these is conformity in a sense of adapting oneself or complying, in contradistinction to conformity in the sense of making oneself similar to others. In our society it is immediately apparent that, while maximum persnal liberty may be de¬ sirable, the destiny of the whole group must not be endangered by one of its components. In a practical sense this implies that at times of crisis such as wars, individual liberties must be sacrificed for the survival of the entire group. Thus, conformity in the form of conscription or drafting for armed ser¬ vice is justifiable, even within a society stressing freedom of the individual (or non-conformity). In this regard it is also clear that the individual must adapt himself to his society by accepting certain restrictions and responsibilities in order that the society as a whole may function efficiently. This concept of efficiency introduces an opposing conceptual train, that is, does conformity in the sense of making oneself similar to others, result in efficiency for the society as a whole? On the sur¬ face it would appear that having a society of au¬ tomatons would simplify government, since decisions could be speedily ratified if all thought alike. While this is true, it ignores the fact that our society only operates while it is refreshed by a stream of new ideas, and that, without these, it would stagnate and die as have so many in the past. Without non¬ conformists, our ancestors might never have dis¬ covered America, or, for that matter, the wheel. Sci¬ entific and technological progress, in great measure, depends upon originality of thought and action in scientists, politicians and especially in the populace as a whole. Only public interest and political open- mindedness have enabled scientists to break their ties with the earth, and to unleash the great flock of progress made possible by space research. This, however, is only one side of the story. It may be argued, for example, that total con¬ formity would result in the end of wars, mankind’s greatest scourge. While this may be true, and while wars may be tragic, they also provide an excellent means of bettering man. Conquerer and conquered alike are subjected to an inundation of new ideas, and research often makes its greatest discoveries at such times. Only cataclysmic events such as wars have saved mankind from a slower or surer fate— stagnation. Thus, it seems clear that while conformity as an end is undesirable in our society, it is necessary to indulge in conformity to assure that the society will continue to exist, supplying a suitable environment for individualism. The individual must sacrifice his indivduality to at least some extent, or he may lose it entirely. —George Durnin, 12-1. “EPICIDIUM” The Buildings wrecked askew, destroyed, and still Lay in shambles out of which steamed the stench of blood of sweat, of grime, dust, thick with moist ure hung low upon the bodies of those who had dared to venture near. The hush was broken only by the wailing monotone mine whistle which prayed unanswered to the sky for none remained to hear it. And far away show Poodles still sprawl at their masters’ feet; And tea is served at three. —Mildred Paige, 12-7. 74

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Our Neighbours Basement Our old neighbour, Mr. Peter Williams, had just died and Mrs. Williams was going to sell out. When she asked me to look for worthless junk (for the salvage) in her basement as her eyes “weren’t as good as they used to be”, I gladly obliged. After descending carefully down the dark stairs, I squint¬ ed and looked around me. I turn on a light. The first thing to present itself to my eye was an old- looking trunk. Opening it (being careful of a worn lock) I began to look through the contents. I found a pile of letters, all pre-1910, with post-marks like “Fort Malzakim, Bombay”, “Mossel Bay Fort, Cape Colony”, “Wragby Lines’’ and “Nairobi Club, Nai¬ robi, B.E.A.”. These were letters between the Wil¬ liams’ while Peter was a Captain in that globe-trot¬ ting regiment, the Sixth Norfolk Fusiliers. Glancing over some of the faded pages I could almost feel the eyes of a Boer sharpshooter, aiming carefully for me, or hear the eerie music of Indian snake charmers. The trunk was full of too many other papers to mention, and after looking at them I turn¬ ed around and saw a dark face hidden in another corner. Walking over to investigate, and moving a cardboard box, what should present itself before me but a full length portrait of His Gracious Majesty, the mighty King-Emperor, Edward VII, in all the gorgeous robes of imperial splendour. Crossing the room again, I found a phongraph, the kind that must have ground out many a jolly “Turkey Trot” in the old days. Of course, there was the usual fur¬ niture, washing machine and old clothes set aside for the salvage but never put out. When I had com¬ pleted my task, I pondered over what I had found —not death, not life, but latent life. How strange it was to think that all this had once had an ur¬ gency, a vital newness about it, and now it lay for¬ gotten in the dark of our neighbour’s basement. —Alan Alvare. The Gypsy Dancer The cheapness of peasant rags Dance About a gypsy fire as Golden earrings fling Their saucy rings into the Captive faces of the onlookers who She caught in the mystery Of the night and the charms Of the dancing delight And the leaping fire. —Leila Valancay. 76