Storytelling for Week 2 - CEO Solomon's Fool-Hardy Son

Solomon was in charge of one of the greatest corporations ever to sit upon the Earth.  The daily routines at Solar Palacio, Inc. kept the world running.  The solar powered technology produced at this company was responsible for supplying half the world with unlimited sources of light, and from the sun.  Solomon was quite proud of his company and did everything in his power to keep it running smoothly.  He had hoped one day to pass the reins over to his son, but that was not to be. 

When Solomon’s son, Payton, turned 17 he came to his father with a request.  “Father, I’m 17-year-old now and I want to ask you a huge favor.  I want to prove to you that I am trustworthy and I want you to trust me.  I want to take out your Lamborghini Aventador onto the Autobahn tonight.”  To which Solomon replied, “Son, the horsepower in that car is too much for you.  If you give it too much gas, you could hit other motorists driving along the highway.  The others cannot go quite as fast as the Lamborghini can, and you will put others in danger.  If you are driving too fast to see what is flying past you, you could fly into the guardrails and possibly become impaled.  Son, I love you, but this car is too much for you to handle.  It is a great responsibility.  You may earn my trust in other, less foolhardy ways.”  Payton replied to his father that he was not a child anymore and was quite capable of handling himself as well as the car.  Solomon grew tired of this negotiation and begrudgingly handed over the keys to Payton.  “Please, be careful, son.”  To which Payton replied, “I’ve got this, dad.” 

As Payton started the car up and felt and heard the growl of the horsepower under the hood, the adrenaline began to race and his heart began to pound.  Payton turned the Aventador onto the Autobahn and pushed the pedal all the way to the floor.  In a flash, the car was plunging down the highway….90….100….120 miles per hour.  Just as Payton hit 160 miles per hour, a few seconds after beginning the joyride, something went horribly wrong.  He pulled too hard and too tight onto the steering wheel and the car, mechanical wonder that she is, immediately responded to her master’s commands.  The car quickly and sharply turned right, slamming directly into a fuel trucker.  His father’s words rung in his ears, “the car is too much for you to handle.”  As Payton desperately tried to regain control of the Aventador, he skidded into the cement piling on the right side of the freeway, just in time to see the fuel trucker burst into flames behind him.  The flames erupted from the truck like lava flowing from a volcano.  It oozed towards all the vehicles behind it and came lurching towards Payton.  As Payton over-corrected to the left, he side-swiped a car with a family inside, sending them spinning into the flames behind them.  As Payton redirected his eyes to the road ahead, cops had sprawled out on the Autobahn ahead of him and thrown out spike strips.  At the rate of speed he was still travelling, when Payton hit those spikes the Aventador rolled over multiple times, finally resting on her top, pinning Payton inside.  Just then, the car exploded from the fuel leaking out of the car and meeting with the impending fire from the fuel truck. 

Payton was still too young and too inexperienced to handle the great responsibility the Lamborghini Aventador required and in his obstinance, Payton lost his life and Solomon lost his son. 

Johann Liss' - Phaethon's Fall - early 17th century

Author's Note:
I read Ovid I for this week's reading and my favorite story was that of Phaethon and his father, The Sun (Phoebus).  Phaethon is told by his mother that he is the son of the Phoebus, but Phaethon wants proof, so he makes his way to the Palace of the Sun.  When he arrives, Phoebus confirms that Phaethon is in fact his son and to dispel any doubt that young Phaethon might have, he may ask of his father one request.  The boy asks to ride his father's golden chariot.  Phoebus knows this is far too dangerous for Phaethon, but Phaethon wants to hear none of it.  After much back-and-forth, between Phoebus and his son, the decision to ride is ultimately made for them with the rising of the dawn.  The horses are far too strong for young Phaethon to control and Phaethon is much lighter a load than what the horses are used to carrying.  They get completely off course, with the sun rising west and setting in the east, crashing through stars and constellations, and setting the Earth on fire, destroying entire nations.  Ultimately, it's Zeus' intervention that saves the Earth from burning, but sends Phaethon to his death from one of Zeus' famed lightning bolts.

I am not the most creative person in the world and I knew that trying to tell this story from the first person would be as disastrous as Phaethon's ride.  There would've been no way I could've done it justice.  Therefore, I decided to take this ancient Greco-Roman myth and set it in present day times with lightning fast vehicles on the Autobahn in Germany.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-phaethon-and-sun.html

Bibliography:
Book: Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Author: Publius Ovidius Naso.
Date Published: c. BC 43 - 17/18 AD
Translated to English By: Tony Kline
Web Source: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/03/ovids-metamorphoses-phaethon-and-sun.html

Phaethon.  (image) Web Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaethon