The Adventure of Brillo
Once upon a time there was a fish named Brillo – He lived in a lake called ‘Crown Hill’. He was of the Zebra fish species, and he liked to swim amongst the rocks and eat insects and phytoplankton. He also ate pieces of food that students from the nearby high school would throw in the water. His favorite food were ‘Fiery Hot Cheetos’ – They were very delicious, and they glowed like him.
Brillo wasn’t a normal fish. His name was Brillo (Brillo means ‘glow’) because he glowed. Yes, he glowed like a little light-bulb under the water. Brillo knew many fish and other creatures in his lake, but none that glowed like him.
The truth was the Brillo’s parents had been genetically modified. They were products of an experiment conducted by a group of evil scientists. In a secret laboratory, the scientists extracted the fluorescent green protein gene from a naturally bioluminescent jellyfish and inserted it into a Zebra fish genome, causing it to glow brightly under natural light. The details of their experiment can be found here.
Brillo didn’t know any of this – He thought that it was the Cheetos he ate that were causing him to glow! Sometimes Brillo felt lonely – He wanted to meet some other fish like himself. He only knew his little neighborhood among the plants in a corner of the lake, so one day he decided to go on a journey to the other side of the lake.
Brillo didn’t know how to navigate the lake, so he asked directions from another fish that passed through his neighborhood. The fish was brown and seemed very old.
“Excuse me sir” said Brillo (this conversation exemplifies approaching someone for help using the formal Ud. form in Spanish, something that’s good for travelers to know).
“Yes?” responded the old fish.
“Do you know how to get to the other side of the lake?”
“Of course” responded the old fish, and he took out his iPhone…
The old fish showed Brillo the iPhone screen, on which a map and directions appeared.
“First, go in that direction for thirty meters.” The old fish indicated the direction with his head.
“Thirty meters? I don’t know the metric system well. How many feet is that?”
“Poor guy… You didn’t learn anything at school? Thirty meters are more or less one hundred feet.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you. So next, where do I go?”
“Ok, listen closely. After going straight for thirty meters, turn right and continue thirty more meters. Then turn left and continue sixty meters.”
“Sixty meters are two-hundred feet?”
“Yes, more or less… technically they are one hundred ninety-five point eight feet.”
“You are a very wise fish.”
“Thank you, young glowing one. Next, turn left and go eighty more meters. Then turn right and continue one-hundred meters.”
“One hundred meters! That’s three hundred feet, right?”
“Yes young one, now you understand. But please, be silent, I don’t have a lot of time.”
“I’m sorry sir.”
“That’s ok. Next, turn left and go straight for two-hundred meters. Finally, turn right and continue straight for two-hundred more meters and you’ll arrive at your destination. When you see the giant tree trunk, you’ll know you have arrived.”
“Ok. Many thanks, sir. Be well.”
“Same to you, young glowing one.”
Brillo followed the directions, navigating through the rocks and plants, moving carefully so as not to attract attention to himself. He swam for what seemed like an eternity, but finally he arrived at the giant trunk.
“Where are the other fish?” Brillo wondered. But suddenly something caught his eye… he saw a small, bright light move within the trunk. At first he thought it was a hallucination. But then he saw another light, and then another. There were three colors: Green (like him), red, and orange.
“I can’t believe it” shouted Brillo. “Finally, I have a family!”
Once upon a time there was a fish named Brillo – He lived in a lake called ‘Crown Hill’. He was of the Zebra fish species, and he liked to swim amongst the rocks and eat insects and phytoplankton. He also ate pieces of food that students from the nearby high school would throw in the water. His favorite food were ‘Fiery Hot Cheetos’ – They were very delicious, and they glowed like him.
Brillo wasn’t a normal fish. His name was Brillo (Brillo means ‘glow’) because he glowed. Yes, he glowed like a little light-bulb under the water. Brillo knew many fish and other creatures in his lake, but none that glowed like him.
The truth was the Brillo’s parents had been genetically modified. They were products of an experiment conducted by a group of evil scientists. In a secret laboratory, the scientists extracted the fluorescent green protein gene from a naturally bioluminescent jellyfish and inserted it into a Zebra fish genome, causing it to glow brightly under natural light. The details of their experiment can be found here.
Brillo didn’t know any of this – He thought that it was the Cheetos he ate that were causing him to glow! Sometimes Brillo felt lonely – He wanted to meet some other fish like himself. He only knew his little neighborhood among the plants in a corner of the lake, so one day he decided to go on a journey to the other side of the lake.
Brillo didn’t know how to navigate the lake, so he asked directions from another fish that passed through his neighborhood. The fish was brown and seemed very old.
“Excuse me sir” said Brillo (this conversation exemplifies approaching someone for help using the formal Ud. form in Spanish, something that’s good for travelers to know).
“Yes?” responded the old fish.
“Do you know how to get to the other side of the lake?”
“Of course” responded the old fish, and he took out his iPhone…
The old fish showed Brillo the iPhone screen, on which a map and directions appeared.
“First, go in that direction for thirty meters.” The old fish indicated the direction with his head.
“Thirty meters? I don’t know the metric system well. How many feet is that?”
“Poor guy… You didn’t learn anything at school? Thirty meters are more or less one hundred feet.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you. So next, where do I go?”
“Ok, listen closely. After going straight for thirty meters, turn right and continue thirty more meters. Then turn left and continue sixty meters.”
“Sixty meters are two-hundred feet?”
“Yes, more or less… technically they are one hundred ninety-five point eight feet.”
“You are a very wise fish.”
“Thank you, young glowing one. Next, turn left and go eighty more meters. Then turn right and continue one-hundred meters.”
“One hundred meters! That’s three hundred feet, right?”
“Yes young one, now you understand. But please, be silent, I don’t have a lot of time.”
“I’m sorry sir.”
“That’s ok. Next, turn left and go straight for two-hundred meters. Finally, turn right and continue straight for two-hundred more meters and you’ll arrive at your destination. When you see the giant tree trunk, you’ll know you have arrived.”
“Ok. Many thanks, sir. Be well.”
“Same to you, young glowing one.”
Brillo followed the directions, navigating through the rocks and plants, moving carefully so as not to attract attention to himself. He swam for what seemed like an eternity, but finally he arrived at the giant trunk.
“Where are the other fish?” Brillo wondered. But suddenly something caught his eye… he saw a small, bright light move within the trunk. At first he thought it was a hallucination. But then he saw another light, and then another. There were three colors: Green (like him), red, and orange.
“I can’t believe it” shouted Brillo. “Finally, I have a family!”