CyberFirst Competition

Earlier this term I persuaded a quartet of Year 8 girls to take part in this year’s CyberFirst competition. This competition is run by the National Cyber Security Centre and is designed to inspire girls in Year 8 to consider a career in cybersecurity. For a week in January, the girls spent most of their break times working together to solve a series of increasingly challenging puzzles in which they had to decipher coded messages. By the time we entered the competition, it had already been running for a week so we were very pleasantly surprised to find we had qualified for the semi-finals.

On Saturday the 8th February I accompanied the four girls travelled to Her Majesty’s Government Communication Centre at Hanslope Park near Milton Keynes – a very intimidating venue, surrounded in barbed wire. Once we negotiated the various security gates we found ourselves in the competition room along with four other teams. After an introduction to the role of the NCSC and HMGCC the competition began. The girls had three hours to solve as many of the challenges they could and I was not allowed to give them any assistance at all. After a nervous beginning, partially due to the nature of the venue and the fact that we didn’t know what to expect, the girls soon started to solve some of the easier challenges. A regularly updated leaderboard showed the ranking of the 22 teams in our region and for the first hour, we hovered around the 18th mark. But as lunch break neared they edged further up and by the break sat in 12th position.

As they had lunch the girls were worried that they had solved all the challenges they were going to be able to but the break obviously helped as when they returned they soon started gaining more points and at one point reached 6th on the leaderboard. By the final hour of the competiti0n, all the teams had reached the very challenging puzzles and so there were very few solutions found. Even though the challenges were incredibly hard (even the HMGCC staff found them difficult) the girls kept working and kept supporting each other, showing great determination, resilience and character. With about 20 minutes to go one of the other teams cracked a puzzle which jumped them up the leaderboard and as a result, we finished the day 8th out of 22 teams in our region.

This was an incredible achievement considering it was not a competition any of the girls would have chosen to do and we were by far the smallest school in the semi-final. STaff from the other competing schools could not believe I only had a cohort of 11 girls to select a team for and the team that won our semi-final had entered 18 teams of four girls in the qualifying round and so was able to pick their strongest four girls for the semi-final.

I was so proud of how the girls conducted themselves during the day. Their determination and teamwork was inspiring to watch and they should also be very proud of their accomplishments.

Well done girls and thank you

Creativity : The Art of the Remix

One of the criticisms that is often made about George Lucas and Star Wars is that he simply remixed existing ideas and stories – but then it can be argued that this is the very definition of creativity. It could be claimed that every film, every novel, every song and indeed, every creative endeavour is actually a remix of pre-existing ideas.

This idea can be uncomfortable for some who will cite copyright and intellectual property, however it can be liberating to accept and realise that even the most creative of individuals draw inspiration from what has gone before.

The challenge perhaps is then to understand the difference between being inspired by something and simply copying.

And is there anything wrong with copying?

In art lessons we ask children to create works of art in the style of Seurat or Mondrian not because we only want them to be able to recreate well-known pieces of work but because we want them to broaden their artistic horizons and have a range of artistic styles and techniques to draw upon in the future.

You have to imitate before you can innovate.

This leads back to the idea that in order to be creative you need to have a deep reservoir filled with knowledge and cultural inspirations.

Let’s explore the idea that a child wants to write a fantasy story in the style of Lord of the Rings – what knowledge would help them beyond the knowledge of grammar, spelling etc?

Historical knowledge would definitely help – an understanding of the politics of the Wars of the Roses or why Henry VIII had six wives could lead to the creation of believeable fictional royal families. An example of remixing history in modern pop culture can be found in George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones saga in which he draws inspiration from a range of historical sources. The infamous Red Wedding scene in which an entire family is betrayed and slaughtered by their hosts is inspired by two bloody events in Scottish history – The Black Dinner in which the Earl of Douglas and his brother were murdered after being invited to a banquet with King James II and the Glencoe Massacre of 1692 in which the Campbell family slaughtered over 30 members of the MacDonald after having hosted them peacefully for over a week.

If history lessons can help in the creation of fictional dynasties then geography can help with the creation of the worlds in which these royal families rule.

An understanding of geographical terms and processes not only allow a writer to describe the world in which their characters live but also develop the geographical history of that world.

Understanding how animals have adapted to their habitats will allow a writer to create believable fictional animals. Even when writing about magic and understanding of chemistry and physics can help make this magic seem “real”. The greatest science-fiction writers are successful because even though they write about distant worlds and aliens they root they fiction in science in order to make the unknown seem possible.

I immediately think of Iain M. Banks, the Scottish author of the Culture space operas, who described vast creatures inhabiting the clouds of gas giant planets such as Jupiter in such a way that made it completely plausible that these creatures exist even though there is not a shred of evidence to suggest they do.

Have things worked the other way? If science influences science-fiction what examples are there of science-fiction directly influencing science?

Medal or Discovery

Today I used the “CRAME” challenges from @BrillCreative as inspiration for a creative challenge for my Year 5 classes.

I gave them one of the challenges and asked them to answer it in exactly 100 words.

Here is Lila’s response to:

Would you rather win an Olympic medal or make a great discovery? Why?

I would prefer to be in the Olympics as it is more likely that I will become a famous horse woman. I have been dreaming of this since I was about 4 so i know i would do the olympics instead. At the olympics there is a way better atmosphere so i think my pony would like it a lot more. Also if i was to go on a great adventure my pony would quite likely not be able to bring Toffee if i did it would be very harsh on him so i would not risk it for him.

 

The Crimson Mask – Part 96

ALLIE

I was in the middle of explaining what had happened when we had returned to Raven’s Hill when there was a blinding flash of light in the middle of the room. A male voice called out Silas’ name and Cecelia rushed forwards. There, in the middle of the room, lay Silas and the Major-General.

“You found him,” cried Harriet as Silas sat up and hurriedly removed his mask.

The Major-General was lying on his side. We all stood and edged closer. I could see the dark stain spreading on the rug beneath him. Silas took him by the shoulder and rolled him onto his back. We all gasped in horror as we saw the arrow embedded in his chest, right through his heart.

The Major-General was dead.

 

EPILOGUE

Ruby

I stood facing the door with the book in my hand, still trembling from my journey through the dark, twisting tunnels. I had flicked through the pages as I travelled but trying to read while the carriage rattled and rocked on its rails made me feel sick. The book simply appeared to be a badly-written adventure story about a man in a Crimson Mask, creatively called The Crimson Mask. I had no idea why it had been posted through our front door in an envelope addressed to me with a note saying Return Me. I had followed the instructions given in the note and they had brought me to this door.

I knocked gently and then opened the door. As I stepped inside the Library a small group of men and women in the centre of the room turned to face me. I gasped as I saw the body lying in the middle of the floor.

“Umm, I’ve come to return a book.”

 

The Crimson Mask – Part 95

ALLIE

When the heat faded I opened my eyes. We were back in the Library; a tangled heap of bodies on the rug. Vincent rolled to one side in order to extinguish the flames that had taken hold of his jacket. Harriet and Edwin helped each other to their feet and then finally I was able to get up, revealing the bag of masks beneath me.

“Where’s Butler?” asked Russell as he knelt on the carpet. “Did anyone grab her?”

I looked around, the young airship pilot definitely wasn’t in the room with us.

“She didn’t make it,” I said, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

He held his head in his hands. “I shouldn’t have let her come with us, she was only a child.” He began to sob.

“My goodness, what has happened?” asked Cecelia who was just rising off of the couch.

One by one we pulled up a chair and sat in a circle around the still smouldering carpet. I began to tell the story of what had happened.
SILAS

I reached the bottom of the stairs and kicked open the door that led to the courtyard outside. I stepped out into the cold morning air and saw the Major-General stood in the centre of the yard, facing away from me.

“Silas,” called a voice from the shadows cast by the tall stone walls. “I didn’t intend this to be a public execution.”

The Admiral stepped out of the shadows. I felt the anger boil up inside me. 

“I almost feel sorry for you,” he continued. “You’ve already had to witness me kill your father.”

And with that, he raised his crossbow, aimed at the Major-General, and fired.

 

The instant I saw him raise the crossbow I started running across the courtyard as fast as the mask would allow me. As soon as I was close enough I leapt forward, grabbed the Major-General around the waist, closed my eyes and thought of the Library.

The Crimson Mask – Part 94

ALLIE

“Allie,” called Edwin from the other side of the cellar. “We need to get these back to the Library.”

I stood up and joined the others. It took a while for all five of us to travel on the lift platform as it could only take two at a time. Harriet went first, using her mask’s power to turn invisible so that she could scout for Shades. When she gave us the all-clear, Vincent and Russell rode up and then Edwin and myself followed behind with the masks. 

Once we had reached the attic I led the way back down to the ground floor. We didn’t encounter any more Shades, Harriet must have dealt with them all. Outside the sun was beginning to rise giving everything an orange glow. The Peregrine airship was still anchored in the neighbouring graveyard. I could see Butler waving from the carriage.

We ran through the overgrown grass of the orphanage’s garden and squeezed through the gap in the railings. Russell helped Vincent and Edwin climb up the rope ladder into the carriage and as Harriet and Edwin passed the masks up I turned to head back to the house.

“Where are you going?” asked Harriet.

“To find out what she knows about my daughter.”

Harriet looked up at the carriage and back at me.

“That thing only carried four people anyway,” I continued. “And aren’t you curious to find out who Keziah is?”

She sighed and jogged after me. Russell released the anchor chain and the Peregrine swiftly rose into the sky behind us. 

SILAS

I carried the cabinet through to Major-General’s cell but when I returned his bed was empty. I quickly used the mask’s powers to scan for body heat and was just able to pick up the warmth of two figures descending a spiral staircase at the end of the corridor. I ran after them.
ALLIE

I could almost touch the ivy covering the orphanage’s stone walls when the explosion sent us sprawling into the long grass. Broken glass rained down around us and within seconds flames licked at the first-floor windows. I jumped to my feet and helped a dazed Harriet to stand, blood pouring from a nasty cut across her cheek.

There was a shout from above and I looked up to see Russell throw the rope ladder out of the back of the Peregrine’s carriage. I could see Butler struggling to keep the airship under control as the heat from the burning building created swirling air currents which buffeted the ship.

I grabbed hold of one of the weighted lower rungs of the rope ladder and held tight as Harriet clambered up. I began to climb after Harriet as the Peregrine began to rise. As the ship ascended Butler couldn’t prevent it from veering towards the oak trees behind the house. The undercarriage just missed the trees but the rope ladder snagged on one of the branches.

The sudden jolt almost dislodged Harriet who had nearly made it to the top of the ladder. She hung on with one hand and managed to get her feet back on the rungs. I scrambled back down to the bottom of the ladder where it was caught up on the branch. Wishing I still had the sword to cut through the rope I tried to break the branch in order to free the ladder. As I struggled I looked towards the orphanage and there, stood in one of the upper floor windows was Amelia Crowe, silhouetted against the fire within.

I watched as she bent down to pick something up and then gasped in horror as I realised she was carrying Edwin’s crossbow. I called out a warning to those above as she fired. The first bolt sailed below the balloon but the second embedded itself in the carriage just next to the porthole by Butler’s seat. 

I quickly climbed up the ladder, knowing that she still had two bolts left. A gust of wind caught the ship and it twisted towards the house almost throwing me off of the ladder. I heard the sound of another bolt fly through the air followed by the unmistakable sound of gas escaping from the balloon. I looked up as Russell hauled Harriet into the carriage.

As the Etherium gas escaped from the balloon the airship began to descend. I climbed the last few rungs and looked over to the window; Amelia was stood with flames flickering around her. I watched in horror as she placed the final bolt in the crossbow. The bolt was alight. 

The sound of highly-flammable Etherium gas escaping from the balloon grew louder. I hauled myself into the carriage, shouted out “Hold hands!” and took out the Sphere from my belt bag. I almost dropped it as the flaming arrow penetrated the balloon and the world burst into flames around us.

The Crimson Mask – Part 93

ALLIE

I ran across to the other side of the cellar. The four empty cages all had similar name plaques. Mine was the first I looked at, then Silas’ and Cecelia’s. On the final cage I expected to discover the Major-General’s first name, but what I read brought me to my knees. I tear rolled down my cheek as I read aloud the name on the final plaque.

“Ruby.”

SILAS

I ran back to the neighbouring cell to gather up as many of the notebooks as possible. After several attempts at carrying all of the notebooks I gave up and, thanks to the strength my mask gave me, simply carried the cabinet through to the Major-General’s cell.

The Crimson Mask – Part 92

ALLIE

By the time we had woken Vincent, Edwin and Russell the Shades in Harriet’s cage had begun to come back from the dead. Harriet simply stood outside her cage and watched as the Shades came back to life. She stood just beyond their reach as they desperately tried to grab her. Those at the front were crushed against the iron bars as the Shades behind also tried to get to Harriet.

Russell and Vincent were both very weak and could barely stand so they rested while Edwin helped me collect the masks from the cages. There was a gasp from Harriet; I rushed over and stood beside her. She pointed at a small plaque beside the cage door. It had a name engraved on it, but it wasn’t the name I expected to see. I examined the other three cages on this side of the cellar. They all had name plaques that read Vincent, Edwin and Russell but the one on Harriet’s cage had a name I didn’t recognise. Who was Keziah?

SILAS

The Major-General explained that the notebook was written on board the Beagle during Darwin’s 1836 expedition. Apparently, it contained information about the Dark Water experiments that were carried out secretly aboard the ship. 

“What experiments?” I asked.

“We wanted to see how the Dark Water reacted to different biological organisms,” explained the Major-General. “When we first discovered the Dark Water Pool in Shardlow’s Cave we also found a huge collection of animal skeletons, not all of these animals were native to Britain, and when your father discovered that the Dark Water reacted with blood we came to the conclusion that these skeletons were the remains of experiments to see how different animals reacted to the Dark Water.”

“For years we have collected specimens from around the world; animals, plants, fossils – and as you know there have been some spectacular results.”

He gestured to the mask on my face.

“Your mask, for example, derives its powers from the combined effects of a lichen found in Antarctica, a North American tree frog, Dark Water and your blood.”

The Major-General went on to describe other Foundation-funded expeditions, covering all areas of the globe. He reeled off a long list of explorers, most of which I recognised from our discussions in the Library, names such as David Livingstone.

“All of their Dark Water discoveries are in those notebooks. Maybe along with the answers you need.”

The Crimson Mask – Part 91

SILAS

I felt the ground change underneath me from the cobblestones of the London street to the flagstones of the castle cell as I continued to roll sideways. I jumped to my feet waiting for the Golems to follow but thankfully my plan seemed to work. Without his mask, the Doctor was unable to control the Golems. I quickly removed the disks from the masks filters, dropped them to the floor and ground them under my heel.

“Silas?”

The Major-General sat up in his bed. He looked incredibly frail.

“Tell me it’s over,” he whispered.

“I fear it’s only just beginning,” I replied.

His head dropped.

“How do we stop them?” I asked.

“If they have the masks and have figured out how to harness their powers then there is no way of stopping them.”

I grabbed his hand and he looked up. “Let me get you out of here.”

He shrugged and shook his head.

“I am of no use, the only hope you have of undoing the damage I’ve caused is contained within the pages of my notebooks.”

“The Library?” 

“No, I think they have them in the cell next door.”

I ran to the door and using my heightened senses scanned the corridor outside.

“I haven’t heard anyone for hours.”

I tried the handle. The door was unlocked and I stepped out into the darkness of the castle corridor. My vision adjusted to allow me to see clearly in the gloom as I slowly approached the neighbouring cell. Looking through the door I could tell the cell was unoccupied and again the door was unlocked. The Doctor had obviously decided that a frail old man, strapped to a bed, did not warrant locked doors. 

The cell was furnished with a desk and a cabinet. There was a map of London on the wall behind the desk and I noticed that there was a red dot in Clerkenwell, right where my shop was located. On the opposite wall, there was a map of South America with the British colonies marked in blue. 

Something on top of the cabinet caught my eye; it was a clock, a very familiar clock. When I looked closer I realised that it was a Chronophone, identical to the one that sat on top of the mantelpiece in the Library. The only difference I could see was the device that was attached to it. There was a metal stand with two copper arms at either end. A black cylinder rested on these arms and a needle hovered above. As I looked closer I could see that the wax cylinder had grooves etched into it. I pressed the brass lever on the front of the stand and the needle dropped down. The cylinder began to revolve and a crackling, hissing noise emerged from the Chronophone. Gradually I was able to make out voices…

“…one of Wheatstone’s men,” said a voice I immediately recognised as Vincent’s. “Known as the Blackwing Angels because they are all branded with the same tattoo. My department has had several dealings with the Blackwings in the past. There’s a tavern in Whitechapel they frequent after work, the Flying Horse, I bet that’s where he has gone.”

“Can you get there tonight?” I heard myself ask before I pressed the lever, raising the needle off of the cylinder.

So that was how Edwin had been found; we had told them. How long had they been eavesdropping on our conversations in the Library?

I opened the cabinet hoping to find more wax cylinders but instead found it filled to the brim with piles of notebooks. I flicked through a couple; none of the writing made sense, it was all in code just like the letter Edwin had deciphered. As I flicked through the books I noticed that some of the pages contained illustrations of different animals and plants and some of the writing appeared to take the form of recipes; list of ingredients followed by sets of instructions. 

I grabbed a handful of notebooks and ran to the cell next door. 

“What does it all mean?” I asked.

“There’s decades of research contained within those pages.”

He gestured for me to hand him one of the books.

“Ah, this is one of Darwin’s,” he said, taking the notebook.

The Crimson Mask – Part 90

The Final Chapter

SILAS

I was surrounded; encircled by eight Golems, all motionless like the monoliths of Stonehenge. With their weaponised arms raised there was an array of steam rifles and fire guns pointing in my direction. I couldn’t help but wonder about the poor children trapped inside these metal machines; were they aware of what was happening, were they conscious, were they even still alive? 

The ebb and flow of the evening mist revealed countless Shades lurking in the background. 

The Doctor stepped closer, his mask glowing red. I tried to tell whether he was bluffing or not. Could the Golems follow me? I had to believe he was telling the truth, after all, the Golem had been unaffected when time was frozen.

“We have everything we need to complete our Army,” the Doctor continued. He pulled his mask down so that he could speak clearer. “We have the masks and now we have the Major-General’s “Foundation” under our control.”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something strange about the Golems. Their raised arms had slowly begun to lower and the glowing red rings on their chest plates began to fade.

“At this moment the rest of your golems are marching towards Westminster where this country’s pathetic excuse for a government will realise that they are no longer in control.”

My golems?

“There are six hundred more ready to be unleashed across the City and soon we will have combined their powers to make a truly invincible army.”

The golems’ arms were now all pointing to the ground and their chest plate rings had faded completely as if they had lost power. And then it clicked. The Golems were somehow controlled by the Doctor and now that he wasn’t wearing the mask that connection had been broken.

“It’s such a shame that Wilberforce won’t be around to see the results of his work,” the Doctor continued as he circled me. “Oh, I’m sorry, you only ever knew him as the Major-General. Dear old Wilberforce Horatio Starkweather. A weak, misguided fool. I’m tempted to let him live so he can see that we were right all along but he has served his purpose.”

He stopped in front of me and turned his head to look straight at me.

“In fact he might already be dead.”

I leapt forward, reaching out for the mask that hung around his neck. As we fell to the ground the Shades rushed forwards. The Doctor hit his head against one of the Golem’s feet as he fell. I rolled to one side, clutching the Doctor’s mask to my chest, and disappeared.