Featured Products
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 - B2M-00012 USB Wired Keyboard. Retail Box
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 - B2M-00012 USB Wir...
Only $26.99

Black NZXT M59 Classic Series ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case M59-001BK, w/ Side Panel Window and 120mm LED Fans
Black NZXT M59 Classic Series ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case M59...
Only $48.49

Sabrent All in 1 Mini USB 2.0 External Flash Memory  Multi Card Reader & Writer, Ultra Slim,  w/ SDHC Support,  Model: CRW-MNAE
Sabrent All in 1 Mini USB 2.0 External Flash Memory Multi Ca...
Only $2.99

Antec Nine Hundred 900 Computer Case, with Window, Top 200mm and 120mm TriCool Fans, Top USB, and Firewire Access
Antec Nine Hundred 900 Computer Case, with Window, Top 200mm ...
Only $88.99

Black Microsoft MGC-00001 Wireless Mouse 5000, PC/Mac Compatible, BlueTrack, USB Interface, 2.4 GHz, 5-Button. OEM
Black Microsoft MGC-00001 Wireless Mouse 5000, PC/Mac Compati...
Only $22.99

*2-Year Warranty* Sapphire Blue Acer Aspire One AOD250-1958 Netbook LU.S680B.492, 10.1in WSVGA, Intel Atom N270, 1GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, 6-cell Battery
*2-Year Warranty* Sapphire Blue Acer Aspire One AOD250-1958 N...
Only $279.99

OCZ Vertex Series 2.5in 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Disk, P/N: OCZSSD2-1VTX60G
OCZ Vertex Series 2.5in 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State...
Only $214.99

Black SilverStone FT-01-BW Aluminum ATX Mid-Tower Uni-body Computer Case, w/ Window.
Black SilverStone FT-01-BW Aluminum ATX Mid-Tower Uni-body Co...
Only $199.99

Black Thermaltake V3 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case VL80001W2Z, with Blue LED 120mm Silent Fan
Black Thermaltake V3 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case VL80001W2Z, ...
Only $36.99

Acer AspireRevo AR1600 AR1600-U910H Desktop PC PT.SCL05.004, Intel Atom Processor 230, 1GB DDR2 800, 160GB SATA HD, Card Reader, NVIDIA ION LE Graphics
Acer AspireRevo AR1600 AR1600-U910H Desktop PC PT.SCL05.004, ...
Only $199.99

iMicro INTANAU6MR 3.5-inch All-in-One USB2.0 Internal Card Reader. Retail
iMicro INTANAU6MR 3.5-inch All-in-One USB2.0 Internal Card Re...
Only $4.99

ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 1080p HD Digital Media Player, eSATA and; Advanced LAN Support
ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 1080p HD Digital Media Player, eSATA and; ...
Only $95.99

Enter keyword(s):

Home >> Index Pages >> Informational Pages >> Discount Computer Systems >> News >> Collection of Essays from Scholarship 2006 >> 

Ross Solomon

The Castle
- By Ross Solomon



"I must kill Nazi's, mother!"
"No, my son. you are just not old enough."
"But mother, please!"
"NO! You are not old enough, Ross!"
"Very well..."

A child of poverty, living his entire life solving puzzles with his buddy Chip, Ross had wanted nothing more than to kill the Nazi scum that had invaded a nearby castle only weeks before. They had taken the mind of his older brother weeks before and Ross desired ever so much to avenge his loss. He knew he had what it took, the only obstacle was a terminal showing a black console on the screen at the entrance of the castle. The only people Ross knew of that had access to the castle through this terminal was his brother and mother.

For weeks at a time, Ross would pound commands he thought would grant him access to the Nazi stronghold into the terminal console.
Enter Castle
Access Nazi Fortress

These commands, along with dozens of others, were typed in, but the response was always the same:


Bad Command or File Name

Ross did not understand these words, but he knew that they were not getting him any closer to avenging the loss of his brother's mind...

One day, Ross noticed a window pane with the numbers '3' and '1' gleaming next to the black terminal. Moving in for a closer look, he realized that this window allowed free access to an empty room with thousands of doors lining its walls and a single sign in the middle that read "File Manager." Ross, being only seven at the time, did not understand at all what this meant, but it did not matter.

Opening each door one by one just a crack, Ross peered into each one, hoping that one would lead him to the heart of the evil Nazi stronghold. Unfortunately for him, more often than not the rooms he looked into contained nothing but papers that he was not even close enough to deciphering. "They must be in German," he thought as he would continue on, closing the last door he opened and peering around the shrouded corner of the next. He would do this for a few hours each day, returning home before his bed time so his mother would not become suspicious.

One day, on the morning of a cold winter day only five days before Christmas, Ross peered into a dimly lit room that contained only one sign in the middle that read "Wolf." He walked in and looked at it cautiously before deciding that it would not hurt him to tap the sign, just once.

It did nothing.

"Maybe two taps won't hurt," he thought. At first it appeared as if nothing happened, but then a low rumble began. It grew louder and more consistent until everything faded to red around him. All of the sudden he found himself somehow in a completely different room.

All of the sudden a small pistol appeared in front of him, and, more amazing than that, he knew how to use it! He peered around the nearest corner and saw an unsuspecting Nazi strolling toward his position. Ross darted around the corner and pumped several rounds into the Nazi, who subsequently fell to the ground with a fading German cry.

Worried about his mother being angry at him for missing his bedtime, Ross ran back to the red room he started in and tapped a button on the ground that faded out of the castle and back to the room next to the corridors. He ran out, making note of all of the steps it took him to arrive at the castle, climbed out the Window marked with a '3' and '1,' and arrived home just in time for the clock to strike 9, his strictly enforced bed-time.

"Mother, mother! Guess what!" Ross shouted excitedly to his mom.
"Its time for bed?" She replied. Ross rolled his eyes.
"No! I finally did it! I got into Castle Wolfenstein and there's nothing you can do about it!"

From then on, Ross's mother tried and tried to close off the window to the "File Manager" room, but Ross just kept finding new and creative ways around her blocks until she finally gave up and he was free to kill Nazi's anytime he pleased, as long as it was before bedtime. A few weeks later, Ross's older brother seemed to regain his mind, probably because he had gotten tired of invading the castle for 15 hours a day.


References: | Scholarship 2006 Winners and Participants |

Related Items: | Jason Kao | Ryan Dodge | Richard Evans | Alex Rosolowsky | Eryn Cangi | Andrew W. Leonard | Feleg Tsegaye | Maria Khan | Pierce Schiller | Hang Zhang | Manuel Sosa | Jay Xiao | Tomasz Zarebczan | Zaphod Beeblebrox | Brian Gruening | Ross Solomon | Kyle Romero | Eshcole Peets | Ruth Maynie | Michael Schatte |


Customer Feedback through Yahoo!
Join our Newsletter

Shipping Policy Customer Services Payment Policy
  • Est. Shipping Cost
  • Time-in-Transit Map
  • FAQ - Shipping
  • Top Reasons for Delays
  • UPS, FedEx, Postal Office
  • Walk-in Sales
  • APO/FPO Shipping
  • International
  • Tracking Orders
  • Return Rates
  • Store Statistics
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Account Applications
  • Frequent Errors
  • FAQ-Services
  • FAQ-Tech Support
  • Newsletter
  • Order Status
  • Credit Card via Phone
  • Purchase Order
  • Prepay, PayPal
  • Resellers
  • Corporate
  • Schools, Government
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Price & Tax
  • FAQ-Payment
  • Top Brands
    Asus, Acer, AMD, Antec, AOpen, ATI, Biostar, Buffalo, Cooler Master, Corsair, Creative, Western Digital, XFX, Dell, D-Link, Enermax, FSP, Gigabyte, Hauppauge, HP, Intel, InWin, Kingston, Lenovo, Lian-Li, Linksys, Lite-On, Logisys, Logitech, Maxtor, Microsoft, MSI, Mushkin, Netgear, OCZ, Seagate, Shuttle, Sony, SuperMicro, ThermalTake, Vantec, ViewSonic, Zalman.

    Have a question about our products, services or technical issues?
    Find the answer instantly! Type your question or key words in English:
                
                 (Recommended for finding a product in our web store or FAQ pages).
                
                (Recommended for sales, tech-support, & CS questions).
                 Advanced Search in HelpDesk
    95% email/ phone questions already have answers on our web site.
    Please check the answer online before calling or e-mailing.

    Directron.NET- Help Desk Directron.ORG - Resources Short Cuts
  • Sales Support
  • Tech Support
  • Knowledge Base
  • Customer Service
  • Open Forums
  • How to Choose?
  • FAQs, Glossary
  • BYO
  • Installation
  • How to Upgrade?
  • Troubleshooting
  • Drivers
  • Top Sellers
  • New Products
  • Future Products
  • Quiet Computers
  • Water Cooling
  • Overclocking
  • Case Painting
  • Copyright (c) 1997-2010 Directron.com, Inc., Houston, Texas
    Buy - Sell - Trade - Build - Repair - Upgrade - Help - Troubleshoot - Shopping
    Computers - Laptops - Servers - Hardware - Parts - Software - Peripherals - Services
    High Quality - Low Prices - Discount Shop - Large Selection - Free Products - Fast Shipping
    Affiliates: Dallas Computer Store - San Antonio Computer Store - K12 Education Computer Systems
       My Cart

    Enter Order #:
     

    Similar Items
    Kingston ValueRAM Series 1GB DDR400 (PC 3200) DIMM Memory, 18...
    Only $39.99

    AZiO AES408P 8 Ports 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch, Support...
    Only $11.99

    Azio/Airnet 54Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter, IEEE 802.11b/g, Mode...
    Only $13.99

    Black Thermaltake V3 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case VL80001W2Z, ...
    Only $36.99

    *Free Ground Shipping* AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz Socket AM3...
    Only $69.99

    Seagate Momentus 5400.3 2.5-inch SATA 1.5GB/s 40GB Internal H...
    Only $27.99

    Linkskey 802.11g 2.4GHz Wireless PCI Card, Up to 54Mbps, Mode...
    Only $16.99

    Transcend 4GB Micro SDHC Class 2 Flash Card with SD Adapter, ...
    Only $9.99

    Transcend 4GB MicroSDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card, Model: TS4...
    Only $10.99

    Maxell 638014 4.7GB 16X DVD-R Media 100 Packs Cake Box, Retai...
    Only $17.99

    *Recertified* Black OCZ / PC Power and; Cooloing Silencer 610...
    Only $49.99

    Link Depot 15-Foot Gold Plated HDMI to HDMI V1.3 Premium Cabl...
    Only $12.99

    Linkskey 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Over Copper PCI Network Adap...
    Only $11.99

    Linkskey 8-Port 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Switch, Sup...
    Only $36.99

    Sabrent TV Tuner / Video Capture / MPEG Recording PCI Card, w...
    Only $16.99

    Pixxo KA-75W1 Destroyer Series 2.4 GHZ Wireless Keyboard + La...
    Only $29.99

    Black Bytecc USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Single Bay SATA Docking Stati...
    Only $37.99

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 3.5-inch 160GB SATA 3Gb/s Internal ...
    Only $39.99

    *New Pull* Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 AMD 740G Socket AM2+ m-ATX M...
    Only $39.99

    Maxell 639016 4.7GB 16X DVD+R Media 100 Packs Spindle, Retail...
    Only $17.99

    Ineo Rally Storage LAN to USB 2.0 4-Port HUB, Model: I-NC04...
    Only $39.99

    Koolance CPU-S06 Xeon Adapter for Intel Socket 603 & 604 Xeon...
    Only $8.99

    Western Digital Scorpio Blue 2.5in 1 TB SATA 3Gb/s Internal H...
    Only $169.99

    OCZ Sabre OLED Gaming Keyboard, USB 2.0, 103-Keys, Model: OCZ...
    Only $84.99

    Link Depot 25 Feet Component Video Cable, 3 RCA Male to Male...
    Only $17.99

    Linkskey 15 FT 3-in-1 USB PS/2 KVM Combo Cable, Model: C-KVM-...
    Only $12.99