Wednesday, October 19, 2011

NKOTB News for October 19

  • MusicAgent123 says dates for Germany, Belgium and Holland will be announced on Monday.

  • There are a few photos of Joey at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Sense-ation gala at their website.


  • Jordan wrote the first chapter to a fictional story and kids in grades 4-12 can write what they think should happen next.  Watch the video below: Update: video has been deleted, does anyone have it saved?

Update: Here is the first chapter of "The Dark Star Rises" written by Jordan Knight:


The shadow reached him. Karl looked up at the sky in disbelief as the Dark Star started to eclipse the sun. Only a week ago the news had broken, and since then anyone who could get off-planet had packed up and gone. The streets were in chaos. Sirens were sounding. There was only a small chance that the world could be saved, and Karl knew that it was his responsibility.

Earlier that morning when Karl awoke, the morning light was almost painful. It had been another long night working the LIV. After just three hours of sleep, Karl was starting to wonder how he could continue working both a night and day job. He knew it was not a choice though, and he had to be back at work in just half an hour. “There’s no time to be tired today,” Karl muttered to himself while pulling on his coat. “People need me.”

Thirty minutes later, Karl was sitting at his station on the 85th floor of Bell Towers, home of the LIV. The Light Interstellar Vehicle, or “LIV”, had left Karl with burns all over his hands. Ever since the announcement about the Dark Star, the LIV had been working around the clock, sending people off-planet to safety. All that was needed was a cool million dollars and a ticket was yours, leaving only the other nine billion humans on Earth to wait and learn what their fate would be.

Karl peered out the window at the view. Boston had become one of the largest cities in the world after the discovery of Cold Fusion, and as Karl gazed out, he thought to himself how the city now had the skyline to prove it. After Cold Fusion’s unveiling in 2059, everyone wanted to be a part of this new industry and its promise to change the world for the better, and many people got rich in the process. All of this led to Bell Labs becoming the largest company in the world over the course of just three months.

But that was just the beginning. In 2109, Bell Corp. discovered how to apply Cold Fusion technology to interstellar travel, and the LIV was born. Karl had seen old movies about a spaceship called “Enterprise” where people were beamed from one location to another. The LIV actually made that possible. In the last seven days alone, the LIV had “beamed” over 2 billion people to other planets. Unfortunately, these people had a good reason to leave: the Dark Star.

Called the “Dark Star” because of its dark black surface ringed with lava-spewing volcanoes, this threat was actually a large asteroid... and it was headed straight for Earth!

Karl was one of the scientists at Bell helping to coordinate the evacuation. He had been a child protégé and graduated from MIT with a degree in particle physics, but even though he was a genius, Karl’s young age meant he got no respect. This was never more apparent than the day Karl had a brilliant idea to save Earth from the Dark Star.

“What if...” Karl exclaimed, running up to his coworkers, “What if we used the LIV to DESTROY the Dark Star?”

The older scientists all laughed heartily. “How can we use the LIV for that?” snapped Dr. Hector Platus, the self-proclaimed leader of the group. “It’s too busy moving people off-planet to safety!”

But now Karl looked up to see the sky continue to darken. It was only midday, but it looked like dusk. Karl left his desk and took the elevator down, on the way bumping into Kali, the beautiful daughter of the President of Bell Corp.

Kali looked at Karl, worried. “It’s started, hasn’t it?” she asked in a whisper.

By the time Karl and Kali stepped out on the street, sirens were piercing the air and people were taking cover anywhere they could find shelter. Seven days of extreme weather had secretly been predicted by scientists, but to avoid further panic, government leaders were telling the public as little as possible.

Karl looked up as the shadow of Dark Star reached him, and in that moment he knew that he had just seven days to save the planet.

Karl sat up from his bed as he rubbed his eyes, welcoming a new morning. He walked over to his desk and saw a mess of papers on the ground. Some were previous ideas, and some were mere scribbles coming from his mind. He kicked a few crumpled papers as he sat down.

"What if..." Karl began writing. "...No that won't work." He crumpled the paper and tossed it into the trash. He picked up the remote and turned up the TV.

"Just a six more days until the Dark Star reaches Earth," the TV announcer was reporting calmly. "It has been said that if you have a secure shelter you should be fine." Karl shut the TV off and put his head into his hands.

"What lies!" Karl said in a whisper. Just then he heard the doorbell ring. "It's open!" Karl yelled toward the direction of the door. In walked in the beautiful daughter of the boss, Kali.

"Hey Karl!" Kali said. Karl watched as her eyes glanced over all the papers on the ground. "Looks like you've been working hard."

"Um, I guess you could say that," Karl said quietly.

"Anyways, Daddy told me to come by and give you this." In Kali's hand was a one-way ticket Off Planet. It was a ticket so Karl could use the LIV to beam off Earth.

"No thanks," Karl responded gruffly, "I don't want it." He pushed Kali's hand away. "I just can't leave here knowing all these people won't make it. "

Kali nodded and put the ticket away.

"Wow dude. You have a really good heart," Kali said in a cheerful voice. "All right then, just make a plan so that everyone can survive!" Karl chuckled.

"You make it sound so easy," he said. "How can I do that if no one listens to me? Everyone thinks I'm just some dumb kid who got lucky. It would be a miracle if anyone really believed in me in this city," Karl said, the sound of depression in his voice.

"Now you are acting dumb," Kali said as she playfully punched him in the arm. "Everybody knows you didn't just get lucky to get your job, and they all know you have great potential. You have a purpose, and I know you can save Boston if you really try. If anything helps..." Kali placed a hand on his shoulder, "... I believe in you." Karl looked into Kali's eyes and felt warmth throughout his body.

For that second, Karl felt like this challenge wasn't a challenge. He felt like he really could do this and just had to believe in himself.

"Bye, Karl!" Kali said as she leaned down and gave Karl a kiss on the cheek. Karl could feel himself get as red as a tomato. Kali smiled and walked out the door.

Karl touched his cheek and immediately got a cheesy grin on his face. He got his pen and a piece of paper. Karl was now determined.

He was going to be the one to save everyone, even if it was the last thing he did.

Karl slumped down in his chair, exhausted. After so many calculations, brainstorming sessions, rough sketches and a lot of slamming his head on the desk, the only achievement he'd made was to assemble a titanic pile of screwed-up paper on the floor by the paper bin. He knew he'd have to adapt the LIV, maybe make another from scratch, but it wouldn't be able to transport the Dark Star away without the final piece of laser generator. And there was only one person he knew who had the information on how to build that...

He gasped. Flicking a switch on his computer, the screen came to life with an unpleasant buzzing noise, and he opened a search window. Shaking with excitement, he nervously tapped in a name: Liberty West.

"Ok," he muttered, fervently scanning the scrolling page of data that appeared on the screen. "Not here... Where is it? Aha!" He slammed down the spacebar, silently wishing that the information wasn't what he had a nasty feeling it would be.

The sentence that appeared on the screen, however much Karl had expected it, was like a punch in the stomach.

"Liberty West, physicist. Current location: Transported off Earth by LIV."

The only person he knew could help him save the world was gone. And Karl was terribly aware that if he
couldn't track her down and get the information on how to build the laser generator, Earth was doomed.

"Are you all right, Karl? You look a little..." Kali didn't need to finish her sentence. Karl turned to her, his brow furrowed.

"Kali, I know how to make a new LIV, to move the Dark Star away from Earth. But I can't do it without Liberty."

Kali gasped. They all knew the story about Liberty West, the notorious rogue scientist who had stolen the plans for the LIV three years previously, then gone into hiding before anyone could recover them. The name was taboo, now, of course, and Karl knew that by mentioning the name to Kali, he'd run the risk of ruining their friendship. Nobody wanted to know about the woman who'd ruined years of scientific research for her own, selfish, purposes.

"But why would she help you? What would be in it for her?" Kali raised her eyebrows quizzically.

"Before she ran away, I found out a few little secrets about young Liberty. Secrets that I'm not sure she'd be to happy to be on the front page of the newspaper..." Karl grinned.

"Karl, you're a genius!" Kali danced forward, swiftly kissing him on the cheek before carrying on interrogating him. "Where is she now? We can track her down and make her tell us!"

"That's the problem; I looked her up on the database. She's gone, on the LIV. We'd have to go and find her on the spacestation they take everyone to, and I can't leave, I've got to carry on operating the LIV to get everyone off the planet, just in case my plan doesn't work." Karl frowned miserably, but Kali seemed to be inspired.

"Then let me go! I can do it, I've got my ticket and I can sweet-talk the people on the spacestation into letting me back down to give you the plans." Kali put her hands on her hips, her eyes burning defiantly.

Karl could see how much she wanted to go. But how could he risk putting her in so much danger? West had an infamous reputation, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive himself if something happened to Kali because of his crazy idea. Then again, she knew the dangers, and the world was at stake...

"Fine," he said at last. " I'll regret this when your dad hears about this, but there you go. If you really are sure..." Kali didn't need to tell him anything; her eyes were like flamethrowers. "Ok, ok! Now, if you're ready, then we'd better get planning. We've got a planet to save."

"Ready, Kali?" Karl asked.

"I'm ready!" Kali replied. "Just buckle me up and I'll be ready to go!"

"Be careful and try not to hurt yourself," said Karl. "We still haven't told your dad that you're going into a different world. He'll kill me for sure!"

"Oh, man up!" Kali retorted. "I'm ready."

"Ok then, here we go. Our mission starts here!" shouted Karl.

"Cling! Bong, bong. Zeep!!" went the machine.

"Ok, Kali, are you ready to be zapped into another world? To go on a quest to find Liberty West? To go through troubles to save Earth?"

"Yes, I am ready!"

"Ok, Kali, it's time for you to go," said Karl with a weird but hopeful sound to his voice. Bright lights flashed. The machine shook, tumbled, then roared. Zap!

"Huh? Where am I?" asked Kali stunned, as she walked into another universe.

Well you're safe, I guess," said a lady who Kali felt like she knew. "You are safe here. The Earth is going to be destroyed so these are all of the people who have come here to save their families," said the woman very nicely.

"Who are you?" Kali asked with very much interest.

"Oh, Kali dear you don't remember me?"

"No, I don't think so! How do you know my name?"

"I used to live down the street from you, but I moved almost five years ago. Don't you remember me?"

"Um... Mrs. Burns?"

"Yes, dear," replied Mrs. Burns, almost excited to see that Kali had remembered her. "Very good. Now I can show you around if you don't mind," said Mrs. Burns.

"Um... lead the way."

"Oh good. Shall we?"

"Sure."

Mrs. Burns showed Kali everywhere and everyone. A lot of people were there because of the LIV operation. Kali thought to herself, "You know, a lot of people want to save themselves and their families and are least worried about Earth. What if we could get everyone to... no. No, no that would never work!"

"Is something wrong?" asked Mrs. Burns.

"No. I was just wondering... do you know where Liberty West is?"

"Oh. Oh dear. Um, I don't think you should say her name."

"What, why? What happened? Why can't I say her name?" asked Kali in confusion.

"It's just not right to say it here," said Mrs. Burns.

Mrs. Burns pulled Kali into a little room and closed the door. Lots of questions were running through Kali's head at that very moment. Kali wondered: Why is she closing the door? What happened that she wasn't aware of? Why couldn't she say Liberty West's name? What was wrong?

"Ok, I know what you might be thinking right now."

"Not really thinking. Mostly wondering... questioning," Kali answered back without hesitation. "Why can't I say her name? Tell me, please!"

"Liberty West came here from the LIV operation. Most people don't even know how she got through after what she did to the LIV program. Some people thought that she went crazy because she said she wanted to go back down to Earth. No one wanted to go back because it was dangerous down there. She said there was a way to save the Earth. That it needed her. Security officers came and took her away because they thought she was crazy."

"Where'd they take her?" asked Kali with fear in her eyes, knowing she might lose this opportunity to save Earth." Is she still alive?"

"Of course. They took her to a dark place and put her in a small room. They thought that she would be better there."

"Where is that?" asked Kali eagerly.

"Keep going down this road and you will find a very dull building there. It's not guarded because there is no way for her to escape unless someone takes her out, and nobody goes there anyway."

"Ok then, bye! I'll see you later, Mrs. Burns!" Kali rushed down with her directions.

When she got in the building at last, Kali saw a small room. She entered.

"Liberty?" gasped Kali.

"Yes."

"I've come for your help to save the world."

"How can I?"

"You believe me?"

"Yes."

"Ok then, the Earth needs us!"

"Let's do this!"

Kali pulled Liberty by the arm and led her out of the building. Sunlight touched down softly onto Liberty and Kali.

"Mmmm, sunlight never felt so good," purred Liberty.

"I haven't seen sunlight ever since the Dark Star came," Kali said, savoring the sunlight.

"Oh yeah, about the Dark Star, we have to program a super interesting thing onto the Dark Star now. It's really complicated stuff, I'll explain it to you later," Liberty said, sounding somewhat unsure.

They walked over to a sewer-looking-thing on the ground. Kali looked at Liberty as if she was crazy. In order to save the world, they have to go through a sewer?! Kali looked at the ground in disbelief.

"Liberty, I don't think a sewer will help us save the world..." Kali said uncertainly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You'll be surprised by it," said Liberty confidently.

Liberty looked around. Satisfied that they were alone, she took a key out and unlocked it. Liberty gestured for Kali to go first. When Kali walked in, expecting a bad smell, she heard the soft whirring of computers and the smell of cooked ramen noodles instead!

"What is this place?" Kali asked with wonder.

"My headquarters for the Dark Star. I found out that I can control the Dark Star!!" exclaimed Liberty. "I launched a special machine onto it and now I can control it!"

"Wow! You can control a ball of gas? That sounds impossible!" Kali said with wonder.

"I now have to maneuver the Dark Star so far into the universe, it explodes really far away from us," explained Liberty.

Liberty sat down. She typed so fast, it was a total blur. Liberty had so many commands on the control box that Kali wondered if the computer would explode.

Meanwhile...

Karl paced around looking at the Dark Star. Tomorrow would be that very, very last day. Karl kept looking at the LIV, expecting Kali and Liberty to appear out of it. Karl was beginning to wonder if sending Kali was a bad idea. Karl kept checking the computer system for any incoming transports. None. The box was still blank. Karl began to lose hope.

***

The controls whirred loudly now. Kali stared at Liberty with uncertainty. They had just finished the commands. However, the LIV had to transport the Dark Star to the other end of the universe. Except there was a catch. They had to transport back to Earth and program all the commands into the LIV. But they didn't know how to transport back to Earth.

"We could try to contact Karl!" Kali said. They had spent two hours thinking of how to get back.

"Brilliant!” Liberty shouted. Liberty shot back to the computer and typed in an IM box to Karl.

LibertyforAll: Karl! We need your help!!
KarlMan: Liberty! We found you! What do you need help with?
LibertyforAll: We need to be able to transport back to Earth, but we don’t know how!
KarlMan: There should be a big tree, bigger than all of the other trees. You have to say, "Transport back to Earth," and it will transport you.

Liberty didn't type a reply, instead she told Kali and they both dashed outside of the headquarters and went to look for a huge tree. After half an hour of searching, they finally found it.

"Transport back to Earth!" Liberty shouted.

BOOM!!! Liberty and Kali landed with a crash in front of a very surprised looking Karl.

“You guys! You scared me! I thought you were lost!” Karl said.

“No time! We need the LIV!!!!” Kali shouted frantically.

Liberty went to the computer and did rapid-fire typing. They heard a gigantic, loud BANG! A bright flash came from outside. They rushed to the window. The Dark Star was gone. Blue skies and a cool breeze were the only thing that the Dark Star left behind.

"WE WANT TO AWARD AND HONOR THE THREE WHO SAVED US ALL!!"

Applause rose up and Karl, Kali and Liberty stood there proudly.

"Karl! I have a gift!" Kali shouted. She ran up to him and kissed him right in front of everyone.

Life was finally back to normal.

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