Nicholas Fisk and the Characters of 'One is One and All Alone'

Let us get to know who is the author of the short story, " One is One and All Alone".

Nicholas Fisk wrote this short story. Who is he? His real name is David Higginbottom. He is a science fiction writer, writing books for older children. He has written more than 40 booksincluding the popular series of novels called Starstormers.  Born in London in 1923, he has been a musician,actor, photographer,journalist,lecturer, editor and publisher of science fiction and horror stories for some 30 years.

Some of his best known books include Grinny, You Remember Me,Space Hostages and Trillions.

Let us now look at the characters in this short story.

Trish:

She is independent and can take care of herself on the 2-year space voyage.However, she feels lonely as she is the only child aboard the spaceship.

She is an active child, interacting with the Voice Printer which is also her tutor and  converses with it as if it is another human being.

She is smart and can even clone herself with the help of Voice Printer and the Space Lab.

She is single-minded and does thing on her own without the help of an adult. That she did not consult her father or thought through the ethical issues involved in cloning may show some immaturity and irresponsibility.

She is adventurous and sort of ' push the envelope' with the assistance and knowledge from the Voice Printer.

She thinks she is smart until she was outwitted by her clone.

The Father:

A minor character in this short story. He is always busy as he is the executive officer of the spaceship. He is a multi-tasker, talking to Trish as well as perusing computer printouts at the same time.

He is caring and looks in on Trish once in a while.

The Mother:

She is at somewhere in Planet Trion building up a space station. It takes 2 years to reach Trion from Earth.

Clo:

Has the same character traits as Trish as she is her clone. The name, Clo is a short form of Clone.

He outwits Trish the original genetic material that she is cloned from.

Voice Printer:


An informative machine, she provides all the information that Trish requires. In fact it is her reference source and tutor as well.

It is a versatile machine and can perform many functions.

The Voice Printer is a loyal machine and stays by the side of Trish at all times.

One is One and All Alone

Nicholas Fisk's short story," One is One and All Alone" is founded on dialogue and diary.

I wonder why are the short stories for the new Form One and Form Two this time around is inferring from diary entries particularly ' Flipping Fantastic". In this story there is dialogue thrown in between the protagonist and a machine called the Voice-Printer besides diary entries of the girl,Trish and the clone,Clo.

Premised on the process of cloning and inter-stellar travel, there is a better twist to this story as compared to the dour' Flipping Fantastic'.

 Let us go to the plot-line of this short story.

A  little girl on a two year journey to a space station bored out of her wits decided to use the space-ship lab to clone herself with the help from a machine called the Voice-Printer. Having a clone as a companion was fun at first but soon the clone wore the girl down. She was so fed up that she decided to get rid of the clone. However, there is a twist to the story.

As clones can think alike, it was Clo who actually got rid of Trish by dumping her outside the space-ship as space rubbish. She then took on the role of Trish for the rest of the journey.

Just like, 'Flipping Fantastic' there is little that is fascinating in this short story  to hold and sustain  the interests of the students, I am sure.

Punishment for Teasing the Boys

This is an interesting picture that speaks for itself. Enjoy.

A Mock Test for Form One English: Valerie Bloom's River is....

Well, I would assume you have read Valerie Bloom's lively poem called, "The River".

She has described the river from its source to its mouth in such colourful language.

So we shall have a small revision of what is the 'River' according to her.

Fill in the blanks.


1.In stanza 1, she describes the river as a thing in motion all the time. She compares it to a

 i. ..............................
ii................................
iii..............................

Why? Valerie explains that this is because it does not choose.................place to set up camp.

2. In stanza 2, the river is moving from one side to another. It curves as it bends. This is apparently obvious more at the lower contours where the river has less strength. So she calls it a ...................... as it moves in twists and turns  through the valley and hill.

3.In stanza 3, the river is now called a .................because it buries its treasure under its bed.

4. In stanza 4, Valerie starts describing the noises made by the river. She says the river gurgles and hums. What does she compare it to? Is it the sounds of a ................sucking his ..................?

5. In stanza 5, the poet says that apart from gurgling and humming in stanza 4, the river is also a ..............who likes to dance. His song can be heard in the nearby ...................................

6. In stanza 6, there is now a change in tone. The poet says that a river can be dangerous. She calls the river, a ........................ When the river is enraged, it gobbles up trees and anything in its path including ........................you!


Tick the correct spelling

7. Someone who like to keep things in big quantities is more than a mere collector. We call that person a

a.    horder
b.    hoarder
c.    .hoardder
d.    haorder

8  We need to bite and chew our food. We should avoid swallowing or ................it up.

a.    gobblering
b.    grobbling
c.     gobling
d.    gobbling

8. The poet says that the river is a monster when it is hungry and .................

a.   waxed
b.   vexed
c.    hexed
d.   wexed

9. The river cannot stay in one place. It moves around. One of the words the poet uses to describe this action is that of a

a.  wonder
b. wanderer
c.  wanderrer
d.  wanderler

10. As a winder, the river ...............and turns.

a.  twiz
b. twists
c. twissts
d  tuists

Bolehland and Chickens

It can only happen in Bolehland Malaysia.

Acting on a tip that the chickens sold in some supermarkets up north were not halal, JAKIM together with Domestic Trade officers and members of the press went to a chicken processing factory in Negeri Sembilan to find out about its slaughtering method.

A face-off with the factory owner caused him to shutter down the factory trapping JAKIM and the investigating entourage inside.

However, one of the reporters managed to escape and  a rescue police party from nearby Rembau quickly came by help defused the situation. The halal certification for the factory has been suspended.

What a way to go, Malaysia Boleh!

Excel: A Struggle to Remember

My, my it has been a year or more that I last did a performance report for an agency.

So, I am back at it again.

There are things that are advantageous this time around. For one, the template is accepted and all I need is to do a fresh analysis comparing the 2009 figures with the year before it.

After reviewing the first report, I suddenly realized that I needed a refresher in EXCEL to be able to do the charts and tables once more. This will take sometime for sure for an 'old goat' like me.

Anyway, persevere I must as the first draft must be completed soon. Moreover, I have to get back to my counterpart at the agency to request him to provide me some more  reports and fact sheets that are required.

The Passing of Peter Graves

Peter Graves is dead.

Renown for his role in 'Mission Impossible' TV series, he was a consummate actor and was a joy to watch when an episode starts to roll before the credits as he listens to a self-destructing tape-recorder.

We all loved Peter Graves. Yes, is was not impossible for him to leave us. He died yesterday at his home in Pacific Palisades.

Apart from the 'Mission Impossible' series, he starred also in  “Airplane!” and Billy Wilder’s “Stalag 17”

We say good-bye to another brilliant actor of the silver screen.