Organizational Approaches to studying the human body Essay Example for Free

Organizational Approaches to studying the human body Essay There are seven organizational approaches to studying the human body. The first would be body planes and body directions. The body can be divided up into three sections, front and back, top to bottom, and left to right. The names of those three planes are the coronal, the transverse, and the sagittal planes. When you are studying organs or tissues you could use this approach to make sure the job gets done to the most accurate degree. Looking at the lungs, brains, and joints can be difficult sometimes so in that case you would use the body and planes approach. The body can be studied also according to the body cavity approach and by looking at the major internal organs. Most of the time that you see this approach being used the reasoning is to look deeper into the body and find disease. When conducting a physical exam on someone they may use an approach to identify where your internal organs are placed called the quadrants and regions approach. There are four quadrants, URQ, ULQ, LLQ, and LRQ. There are also nine regions. The nine regions are the right and left hypochondriac, the epigastric region, the right and left lumbar regions and the umbilical region; finally there is the right and left inguinal regions along with the hypogastric regions. This approach works the best when being given a physical exam for school sports or whatever. The next approach that may be used to study the human body would be the anatomy and physiology approach. This approach can be used for studying the structures in the body and how they react to certain things that you may or may not do on a daily basis. This approach is also good for examining and studying cells or the nervous system. Microscopic and macroscopic may sound similar but they are far different. This approach can be best exercised in looking to see how cells combine to make a larger cell. Next on the list is the body systems approach. In this approach you can easily study the circulatory system as well as the respiratory system. The last and final approach that you can study the human body with is the medical specialty approach. In this approach you are able to study the human body for medical use.

Truly Friends In High School Essay Example for Free

Truly Friends In High School Essay High school life is indeed one-of-a-kind experience. Students treasure their best memories throughout their rest life. Students’ emotions were complex when they recall memories of high school life. Memories that contained so many different things, which could let people think about the memories for countless times without any boring feelings. High school moment is the best chance to make friends for students, especially truly friends, which can talk with anything without any doubt. It is also the stage when students started to have new relations with age-mates of both sexes and begin to be mature in mind. Generally speaking, it is the stage where students fall in love for the first time. Love is always an attractive thing among human. Love is precious especially if the feeling is mutual. Love makes people feel enthusiastic, lively and inspired. When students fall in love, everything around them seem to be trivial, students are willing to do anything for the one they love. And most amazing is the first time to hand in hand, to hug, to kiss. Love is beautiful, fascinating, and also harmful. As the same, most students lost their first lover during high school life as well. Because of this, keeping a high school relationship takes a lot of energy and effort. The good thing about this is that we can use the high school love lessons later on in life. Losing lover is one of the reasons why students need truly friends, when split up with a girl or a boy, students need to talk out, truly friends will share the pain, help the upset one go through the hard time.

Globalization Barcelona Renovation

Globalization Barcelona Renovation Although many cities around the world witness the triumphs and failures of globalization in all aspects of life, Barcelona has truly been a success story. Although Barcelona is a dense city confined by the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, it has grown to be a commercial, industrial and tourism superpower in Europe. The benefits of globalization are apparent in the dynamic metropolitan area of Barcelona, a model used for urban design and renovation of cities throughout the world. Globalization has become an inevitable progression over time, and Barcelona has embraced its ongoing growth by constructively planning for the future. The metropolitan area of Barcelona has become a center for trade, industry, commerce and tourism, with almost four million residents. To prepare for the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, the city went through drastic transformations in urban development with hopes of becoming one of Europes economic superpowers. Now, Barcelona is becoming an exemplar city for its style and synthesis of urban design and innovation. Projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona, an efficient infrastructure organization, the refurbishment of city beaches and port areas, the construction of pleasing and practical public spaces, the melting pot of world cultures and other revitalization plans have helped globalize Barcelona and make it the â€Å"capital of the Mediterranean† (Rossi). One project helping Barcelona continue to globalize and expand its knowledge is the [emailprotected] Barcelona innovation district. In the area of Poblenou, a neighborhood that was once occupied entirely by industrial buildings and factories, a complete transformation is underway to recreate 115 blocks of â€Å"modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities† (â€Å"Presentation†). Two hundred hectares of land in Poblenou will be renovated in order to allow for more living, working and learning spaces. According to the [emailprotected] Barcelona website, 53% of the neighborhood has begun transformation and many new companies are relocating their businesses to the new knowledge hub of the city. â€Å"The [emailprotected] project has likewise been warmly received, according to a research carried out by the University of Barcelona in June 2007, by the business community: 925 firms have already established in the [emailprotected] district or are in the process of building their corporate HQs there. More than 50% of the companies that have moved to the [emailprotected] district since 2001 belong to one of the four strategic [emailprotected] sectors: media, ITC, MedTech or energy† (â€Å"Current State†). The area of Poblenou has a designated â‚ ¬180 million in public investment, which will give the neighborhood access to innovative technology still nonexistent in many other globalizing cities. Green spaces, digital districts and tight-knit communities of buildings are just some of the inventive concepts that are being developed in Poblenou. Once the urban, economic and social renovations have been completed, the neighborhood will be transformed into a modern, unique environment for all aspects of daily life (â€Å"Presentation†). Like the neighborhood of Poblenou, Barcelonas infrastructure is constantly being upgraded and expanded. For example, Plaà §a de les Glà ²ries Catalanes is being completely reconstructed to include an underground train station, which will rival Plaza Cataluà ±a as a popular transportation center in the city. The fundamental structure of Barcelona includes a group of efficient transportation elements, including metro systems, airport expansions, sewage improvements, bus routes, highways and railroads. Barcelona has such a well-organized, logical setup for its infrastructure throughout the city, making the city once again a prototype for urban design which other cities have proposed to duplicate. â€Å"One of Barcelonas more outstanding characteristics is that its port, airport, railroad terminal for goods, highway networks and huge logistics area are all activities set in the same geographical space. This makes Barcelona highly internationalised, occupying a strategic position in t he world-wide transport network, and a key hub for trade with Asia† (Alarcon). The infrastructure in Barcelona is an important benefit of globalization because it organizes transportation to save time and avoid congestion of persons. Unlike other cities, Barcelona has public transportation centers on almost every block, whether it includes buses, metros, ferrocarrils or tunnels. This accessibility is imperative for residents, visitors and all people traveling through Barcelona because the infrastructure is time efficient and uncomplicated. Many other cities around the world would benefit from examining Barcelonas infrastructure design, which is frequently being revamped to keep up with the changes brought about by globalization and the needs of the people. Of all the renovations completed in Barcelona, the restoration of city beaches and the enlargement of port areas have helped increase tourism and turn the eyes of the people back to the sea. Huge additions to the port have been made including: a new bridge to facilitate transportation of trucks carrying cargo, extending piers to allow for more cargo ships to dock, and the destruction of industrial buildings along the beach to once again make the sea an attraction. â€Å"The past 10 years have seen a huge transformation of both port and city, as the municipal government sought to develop Barcelonas holiday and pleasure sailing reputation in tandem with traditional commercial activities. The boom in Barcelonas commercial centres has both invigorated (and itself been further promoted) with the desire to revise the citys maritime traditions† (Alarcon). Port Olympic and the Maremagnum marina are new economic hotspots near the beach, which appeal to both residents and tourists with restaurants, bars, an aquarium and movie theaters. The port, one of Barcelonas most essential places for trade, is in the process of extending its piers to increase the frequency of trade and tourism by building more docking areas for cargo boats and cruise liners. The beaches are one of Barcelonas main attractions, which have been nearly restored to their original beauty without the deterring industrial buildings that once lined the shore. These transformations, which have been underway or completed since 1992, have increased tourism and productivity of trade in Barcelona. Both of these aspects of globalization are extremely important to the city so that it can grow and attract more investors. The innovative additions to the beach and port areas will benefit Barcelonas economy, tourism and their position in the world market. If improving the coastline will help attract more tourists to the beach, improving public spaces, park areas and dilapidated buildings will help attract more residents to the city. Globalization has led Barcelona to realize its confinement between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, leaving a highly dense population situated in-between that continues to grow. For that reason, the Barcelona model had planned for inevitable expansion of the city. Instead of spreading further out into the suburbs like most cities, Barcelona began the â€Å"layered multiple use† of land to build vertically opposed to horizontally (Rossi). â€Å"Across the city, parks spread out atop new highway tunnels. Parking lots hide under squares. Seventeenth-century convents are turned into libraries and cultural centers, palaces are transformed into hotels, museums sprout from former textile factories† (Rossi). Every inch of land in Barcelona has a purpose, and the city is praised for its abilit y to find the problems that exist in decaying buildings or empty spaces and repair them to make the area more eye-catching. For example, the area of El Raval was always known for its immigrant population, drug deals and prostitutes. After careful planning by the city to create a rambla in the center, add more squares throughout the neighborhood, and build the Centre de Cultura Contemporà  nia de Barcelona (CCCB), restaurants, businesses and people all want to buy space in El Raval. Besides making Barcelona more beautiful, these ongoing changes have also made the city more well-organized and useful. Cranes and angle cutters can be seen and heard throughout Barcelona, which is just a reminder that the city is working hard to keep Barcelona up-to-date with globalization needs and a constantly growing population. As the population in Barcelona increases, it is easy to see the mix of colors, races and languages that have become commonplace in this international city. For almost a century between 1850 and 1950, Spain was mainly an emigrating nation. Approximately 3.5 million people, especially temporary workers, emigrated to Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Brazil. However, in the late 1980s Spain became a country of immigration due to â€Å"the end of guest worker programs, the closing of the borders of traditional receiving countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, and France, the political evolution from authoritarian regimes, their proximity to the sending countries in the Maghreb, and the intense historical and economic bonds between both shores of the Mediterranean† (Ortega Pà ©rez). In 1999, the foreign-born population was 2.09% (89,744 people), but by 2005, the number of foreign inhabitants had increased to 11.13% with 531,040 people (Roca Cladera). Neighborhoods like El Raval are ho me to large numbers of immigrants, especially those from North Africa, Pakistan and Muslim communities. Projects such as the Universal Forum of Cultures, which promote human rights, cultural diversity and peace, have been established to accommodate the melting pot of cultures in the international community. â€Å"In order to promote a culturally diverse society, a series of policies have been deployed to fight the poverty and social exclusion that often go hand in hand with immigration, provide the resources required for the development of different communities in Catalonia, and, above all, encourage intercultural encounters† (Lachmann). Although Barcelona has struggled with racism and discrimination against immigrant communities, globalization has made Spain, and especially Catalonia, a desirable destination for immigrants from around the globe. The city boasts hundreds of restaurants with cuisines from every country, places for prayer for numerous religions, and cultural ce nters for the integration of immigrants. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected due to globalization and the ease of travel, immigration populations will continue to rise. Barcelona has dealt with the inevitable process of globalization by paying attention to details throughout the city, by maintaining what already exists and building what is needed for the future. From protecting the historical significance of a park bench to lining a lackluster street with palm trees, every corner in the city has been touched by globalization and yet still continues to function properly and look good. Barcelonas urban design has been used as a model for city development around the globe, due to its comprehensive planning and meticulous attention to every element of the city. According to architect Lord Richard Rogers, â€Å"Barcelona is the jewel of the crown of urban regeneration† (Rossi). Globalization has been an amazing benefit to Barcelona, because of its ability to keep up with the ever-changing, constantly growing needs of a metropolitan city. As a model for urban development and design, Barcelona has been praised for its ability to keep pace with the process of globalization, by revitalizing areas around the city and integrating them together into one functional community. The intensification of Barcelonas infrastructure development as well as the multi-layered use for expansion has helped the city to globalize, while affectively using every piece of available land for a planned residential development, park, square or office building. Without the benefit of globalization that has changed Barcelonas reputation from a run-down port town to a innovative model for designing and renovating cities, projects such as [emailprotected] Barcelona would be inconceivable and difficult to achieve. Barcelona has become a meeting place for cultures from around the world, as well as an immigration magnet for people from North Africa, South America and other emigrating nations. The new enticement created by port and beach renovations that were completed for the 1992 Olympic Games have increased tourism and turned the eyes of the city back to the Mediterranean Sea. Only time can tell how Barcelona will progress in the international spectrum of globalization, but the modern revitalization of the city has been an immense benefit for Barcelona, its visitors, and its people. Works Cited Alarcon, Jose. â€Å"Barcelonas port goes for massive growth.† International Market News. 01 Mar 2001. Trade Development Council. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Current State.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Lachmann, Joseph. â€Å"The Universal Forum of Cultures considers immigration as a source of social enrichment.† 09 Aug 2004. Herald Tribe. 7 Dec 2007 . Muenz, Rainer. â€Å"Europe: Population and Migration in 2005.† Feature Story. June 2006. Migration Policy Institute. 7 Dec 2007 . Ortega Pà ©rez, Nieves. â€Å"Spain: Forging an Immigration Policy.† Country Profiles. Feb 2003. Migration Policy Institute. 10 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Preamble.† Mobility pact. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . â€Å"Presentation.† [emailprotected] Barcelona. 2006. Ajuntament de Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 . Roca Cladera, Josep. â€Å"Residential mobility and foreign immigration settlement in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona.† Sixth European Urban and Regional Studies Conference. 7 Dec 2007 . Rossi, Melissa. â€Å"The Barcelona Model.† IES Barcelona. 02 Feb 2004. IES Barcelona. 6 Dec 2007 .

Comparing Two Advertisements :: Adverts, Compare and Contrast

Comparing Advertisements For this comparison I have chosen to compare two car adverts. The first advert I chose was from the car magazine "Autocar" and this is an advert for a Chrysler PT Cruiser. The second advert I chose was from the "Sunday Times" and this is for a Fiat Ulysse. I chose these two adverts because I feel that they will be good compare as they have similarities and differences so there are many things I can comment about. There is a big difference in the sale tactics of the 2 adverts. The Fiat is a soft sell advert because there is no reference to the price of the car or any statistics about the car where as the Chrysler advert displays the price in big numbers at the top of the advert and it also refers to the fuel consumption of the car. This shows that the 2 adverts use different tactics to advertise and sell the car. I think that the target audience for these cars are the same; both of these cars are family cars. Both of the cars are designed to be comfortable and safe, they are not advertised to be fast sports cars or stylish city cars; they are advertised as normal cars. In both of the adverts there is no real reference towards the performance of the car apart from in the Chrysler where there is a reference to the fuel consumption of the car but this backs up the point that the Chrysler is a car for a sensible family person because that is the kind of person who would show interest in the economics of the car. Both of the adverts have main points that they want you to focus on as soon as you look at them, on the Chrysler advert the first thing they want you to focus on is the name of the car and the price which are both in bold font at the top of the page, the Fiat wants you to focus on the name of the car which is written in huge letters diagonally

The pearl Essay -- essays research papers

The Pearl In the novel, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, we meet Kino, his wife, Juana and their baby, Coyotitio. Kino’s family lives in a grass hut in the poor, fishing village of La Paz, Mexico in the 1920’s. Their lives are disrupted when a vicious scorpion bites Coyotito. The only way that they can get help were they live is to have enough money to pay the local doctor. Kino goes pearl diving and discovers a pearl that is worth â€Å"millions.† It appears that Kino has gone from having nothing to being able to get whatever his dreams desire. But in literature, as in life, things are not always as they appear to be, and the pearl ends up bringing them things that they never expected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kino has lived a hard life. He works hard and gets very little out of it. His fa...

The Last Day :: essays papers

The Last Day Confusion raced through her mind. The other life was just an action away. She didn’t want to be here anymore and she was ready to leave. She was tired of always getting hurt; nothing could be worse than the life she was living. Sure, there were people who loved her, but she didn’t love herself enough to stay here. All of the pain would stop with just one or two strokes of the blade against her wrists. Tristyn picks up the phone and dials a number she has dialed everyday for the past two years. â€Å"Hey girl!† Wendy says as she answers the phone. â€Å"Hey.† replies Tristyn. â€Å"I’m gonna have to call you back; I’m on the other line.† â€Å"No, it’s alright. Just one question†¦how do you slit your wrists? Is it sideways or up and down?† â€Å"I did it sideways, but you are supposed to do it up and down on the main artery.† â€Å"Alright, bye.† She hangs up the phone and sits for a minute. Everything would be so much easier if I just weren’t here anymore. I wouldn’t have to see her everyday and know that I can’t have her. Will everyone understand that I had to do this? I hate to hurt people but I just can’t take this pain anymore. I just hope that everyone understands, but at least I won’t be here to hear everyone talking about how stupid I was to take my life. They just don’t understand. Emili walks into the room and looks at the girl she used to love. â€Å"You can’t do this Tristyn! I’ll call the cops right now!† says Emili. â€Å"The cops aren’t going to do *censored* to me! Just go pack your stuff and leave me alone!! You don’t care anyway!† Tristyn shouts. All Tristyn can do is lay on the couch and cry. She prays that her mom can understand why she had to do this. She doubts that she will. Tristyn lies on the tan nubuck leather couch her mom bought her and reflects on her life and all that has happened to lead her to this low point. Tristyn had always been given all the things she ever wanted or needed. Her mom had always made sure that she never did without. Tristyn hoped that her mom did not blame herself for any of this. There was no one to blame but herself, she knew that, for getting pulled in once again, only to be hurt for the final time.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifty-eight

Eddard The straw on the floor stank of urine. There was no window, no bed, not even a slop bucket. He remembered walls of pale red stone festooned with patches of nitre, a grey door of splintered wood, four inches thick and studded with iron. He had seen them, briefly, a quick glimpse as they shoved him inside. Once the door had slammed shut, he had seen no more. The dark was absolute. He had as well been blind. Or dead. Buried with his king. â€Å"Ah, Robert,† he murmured as his groping hand touched a cold stone wall, his leg throbbing with every motion. He remembered the jest the king had shared in the crypts of Winterfell, as the Kings of Winter looked on with cold stone eyes. The king eats, Robert had said, and the Hand takes the shit. How he had laughed. Yet he had gotten it wrong. The king dies, Ned Stark thought, and the Hand is buried. The dungeon was under the Red Keep, deeper than he dared imagine. He remembered the old stories about Maegor the Cruel, who murdered all the masons who labored on his castle, so they might never reveal its secrets. He damned them all: Littlefinger, Janos Slynt and his gold cloaks, the queen, the Kingslayer, Pycelle and Varys and Ser Barristan, even Lord Renly, Robert's own blood, who had run when he was needed most. Yet in the end he blamed himself. â€Å"Fool,† he cried to the darkness, â€Å"thrice-damned blind fool.† Cersei Lannister's face seemed to float before him in the darkness. Her hair was full of sunlight, but there was mockery in her smile. â€Å"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die,† she whispered. Ned had played and lost, and his men had paid the price of his folly with their life's blood. When he thought of his daughters, he would have wept gladly, but the tears would not come. Even now, he was a Stark of Winterfell, and his grief and his rage froze hard inside him. When he kept very still, his leg did not hurt so much, so he did his best to lie unmoving. For how long he could not say. There was no sun and no moon. He could not see to mark the walls. Ned closed his eyes and opened them; it made no difference. He slept and woke and slept again. He did not know which was more painful, the waking or the sleeping. When he slept, he dreamed: dark disturbing dreams of blood and broken promises. When he woke, there was nothing to do but think, and his waking thoughts were worse than nightmares. The thought of Cat was as painful as a bed of nettles. He wondered where she was, what she was doing. He wondered whether he would ever see her again. Hours turned to days, or so it seemed. He could feel a dull ache in his shattered leg, an itch beneath the plaster. When he touched his thigh, the flesh was hot to his fingers. The only sound was his breathing. After a time, he began to talk aloud, just to hear a voice. He made plans to keep himself sane, built castles of hope in the dark. Robert's brothers were out in the world, raising armies at Dragonstone and Storm's End. Alyn and Harwin would return to King's Landing with the rest of his household guard once they had dealt with Ser Gregor. Catelyn would raise the north when the word reached her, and the lords of river and mountain and Vale would join her. He found himself thinking of Robert more and more. He saw the king as he had been in the flower of his youth, tall and handsome, his great antlered helm on his head, his warhammer in hand, sitting his horse like a horned god. He heard his laughter in the dark, saw his eyes, blue and clear as mountain lakes. â€Å"Look at us, Ned,† Robert said. â€Å"Gods, how did we come to this? You here, and me killed by a pig. We won a throne together . . . â€Å" I failed you, Robert, Ned thought. He could not say the words. I lied to you, hid the truth. I let them kill you. The king heard him. â€Å"You stiff-necked fool,† he muttered, â€Å"too proud to listen. Can you eat pride, Stark? Will honor shield your children?† Cracks ran down his face, fissures opening in the flesh, and he reached up and ripped the mask away. It was not Robert at all; it was Littlefinger, grinning, mocking him. When he opened his mouth to speak, his lies turned to pale grey moths and took wing. Ned was half-asleep when the footsteps came down the hall. At first he thought he dreamt them; it had been so long since he had heard anything but the sound of his own voice. Ned was feverish by then, his leg a dull agony, his lips parched and cracked. When the heavy wooden door creaked open, the sudden light was painful to his eyes. A gaoler thrust a jug at him. The clay was cool and beaded with moisture. Ned grasped it with both hands and gulped eagerly. Water ran from his mouth and dripped down through his beard. He drank until he thought he would be sick. â€Å"How long . . . ?† he asked weakly when he could drink no more. The gaoler was a scarecrow of a man with a rat's face and frayed beard, clad in a mail shirt and a leather half cape. â€Å"No talking,† he said as he wrenched the jug from Ned's hands. â€Å"Please,† Ned said, â€Å"my daughters . . . † The door crashed shut. He blinked as the light vanished, lowered his head to his chest, and curled up on the straw. It no longer stank of urine and shit. It no longer smelled at all. He could no longer tell the difference between waking and sleeping. The memory came creeping upon him in the darkness, as vivid as a dream. It was the year of false spring, and he was eighteen again, down from the Eyrie to the tourney at Harrenhal. He could see the deep green of the grass, and smell the pollen on the wind. Warm days and cool nights and the sweet taste of wine. He remembered Brandon's laughter, and Robert's berserk valor in the melee, the way he laughed as he unhorsed men left and right. He remembered Jaime Lannister, a golden youth in scaled white armor, kneeling on the grass in front of the king's pavilion and making his vows to protect and defend King Aerys. Afterward, Ser Oswell Whent helped Jaime to his feet, and the White Bull himself, Lord Commander Ser Gerold Hightower, fastened the snowy cloak of the Kingsguard about his shoulders. All six White Swords were there to welcome their newest brother. Yet when the jousting began, the day belonged to Rhaegar Targaryen. The crown prince wore the armor he would die in: gleaming black plate with the three-headed dragon of his House wrought in rubies on the breast. A plume of scarlet silk streamed behind him when he rode, and it seemed no lance could touch him. Brandon fell to him, and Bronze Yohn Royce, and even the splendid Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Robert had been jesting with Jon and old Lord Hunter as the prince circled the field after unhorsing Ser Barristan in the final tilt to claim the champion's crown. Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost. Ned Stark reached out his hand to grasp the flowery crown, but beneath the pale blue petals the thorns lay hidden. He felt them clawing at his skin, sharp and cruel, saw the slow trickle of blood run down his fingers, and woke, trembling, in the dark. Promise me, Ned, his sister had whispered from her bed of blood. She had loved the scent of winter roses. â€Å"Gods save me,† Ned wept. â€Å"I am going mad.† The gods did not deign to answer. Each time the turnkey brought him water, he told himself another day had passed. At first he would beg the man for some word of his daughters and the world beyond his cell. Grunts and kicks were his only replies. Later, when the stomach cramps began, he begged for food instead. It made no matter; he was not fed. Perhaps the Lannisters meant for him to starve to death. â€Å"No,† he told himself. If Cersei had wanted him dead, he would have been cut down in the throne room with his men. She wanted him alive. Weak, desperate, yet alive. Catelyn held her brother; she dare not kill him or the Imp's life would be forfeit as well. From outside his cell came the rattle of iron chains. As the door creaked open, Ned put a hand to the damp wall and pushed himself toward the light. The glare of a torch made him squint. â€Å"Food,† he croaked. â€Å"Wine,† a voice answered. It was not the rat-faced man; this gaoler was stouter, shorter, though he wore the same leather half cape and spiked steel cap. â€Å"Drink, Lord Eddard.† He thrust a wineskin into Ned's hands. The voice was strangely familiar, yet it took Ned Stark a moment to place it. â€Å"Varys?† he said groggily when it came. He touched the man's face. â€Å"I'm not . . . not dreaming this. You're here.† The eunuch's plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the coarse hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. â€Å"How did you . . . what sort of magician are you?† â€Å"A thirsty one,† Varys said. â€Å"Drink, my lord.† Ned's hands fumbled at the skin. â€Å"Is this the same poison they gave Robert?† â€Å"You wrong me,† Varys said sadly. â€Å"Truly, no one loves a eunuch. Give me the skin.† He drank, a trickle of red leaking from the corner of his plump mouth. â€Å"Not the equal of the vintage you offered me the night of the tourney, but no more poisonous than most,† he concluded, wiping his lips. â€Å"Here.† Ned tried a swallow. â€Å"Dregs.† He felt as though he were about to bring the wine back up. â€Å"All men must swallow the sour with the sweet. High lords and eunuchs alike. Your hour has come, my lord.† â€Å"My daughters . . . â€Å" â€Å"The younger girl escaped Ser Meryn and fled,† Varys told him. â€Å"I have not been able to find her. Nor have the Lannisters. A kindness, there. Our new king loves her not. Your older girl is still betrothed to Joffrey. Cersei keeps her close. She came to court a few days ago to plead that you be spared. A pity you couldn't have been there, you would have been touched.† He leaned forward intently. â€Å"I trust you realize that you are a dead man, Lord Eddard?† â€Å"The queen will not kill me,† Ned said. His head swam; the wine was strong, and it had been too long since he'd eaten. â€Å"Cat . . . Cat holds her brother . . . â€Å" â€Å"The wrong brother,† Varys sighed. â€Å"And lost to her, in any case. She let the Imp slip through her fingers. I expect he is dead by now, somewhere in the Mountains of the Moon.† â€Å"If that is true, slit my throat and have done with it.† He was dizzy from the wine, tired and heartsick. â€Å"Your blood is the last thing I desire.† Ned frowned. â€Å"When they slaughtered my guard, you stood beside the queen and watched, and said not a word.† â€Å"And would again. I seem to recall that I was unarmed, unarmored, and surrounded by Lannister swords.† The eunuch looked at him curiously, tilting his head. â€Å"When I was a young boy, before I was cut, I traveled with a troupe of mummers through the Free Cities. They taught me that each man has a role to play, in life as well as mummery. So it is at court. The King's Justice must be fearsome, the master of coin must be frugal, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard must be valiant . . . and the master of whisperers must be sly and obsequious and without scruple. A courageous informer would be as useless as a cowardly knight.† He took the wineskin back and drank. Ned studied the eunuch's face, searching for truth beneath the mummer's scars and false stubble. He tried some more wine. This time it went down easier. â€Å"Can you free me from this pit?† â€Å"I could . . . but will I? No. Questions would be asked, and the answers would lead back to me.† Ned had expected no more. â€Å"You are blunt.† â€Å"A eunuch has no honor, and a spider does not enjoy the luxury of scruples, my lord.† â€Å"Would you at least consent to carry a message out for me?† â€Å"That would depend on the message. I will gladly provide you with paper and ink, if you like. And when you have written what you will, I will take the letter and read it, and deliver it or not, as best serves my own ends.† â€Å"Your own ends. What ends are those, Lord Varys?† â€Å"Peace,† Varys replied without hesitation. â€Å"If there was one soul in King's Landing who was truly desperate to keep Robert Baratheon alive, it was me.† He sighed. â€Å"For fifteen years I protected him from his enemies, but I could not protect him from his friends. What strange fit of madness led you to tell the queen that you had learned the truth of Joffrey's birth?† â€Å"The madness of mercy,† Ned admitted. â€Å"Ah,† said Varys. â€Å"To be sure. You are an honest and honorable man, Lord Eddard. Ofttimes I forget that. I have met so few of them in my life.† He glanced around the cell. â€Å"When I see what honesty and honor have won you, I understand why.† Ned Stark laid his head back against the damp stone wall and closed his eyes. His leg was throbbing. â€Å"The king's wine . . . did you question Lancel?† â€Å"Oh, indeed. Cersei gave him the wineskins, and told him it was Robert's favorite vintage.† The eunuch shrugged. â€Å"A hunter lives a perilous life. If the boar had not done for Robert, it would have been a fall from a horse, the bite of a wood adder, an arrow gone astray . . . the forest is the abbatoir of the gods. It was not wine that killed the king. It was your mercy.† Ned had feared as much. â€Å"Gods forgive me.† â€Å"If there are gods,† Varys said, â€Å"I expect they will. The queen would not have waited long in any case. Robert was becoming unruly, and she needed to be rid of him to free her hands to deal with his brothers. They are quite a pair, Stannis and Renly. The iron gauntlet and the silk glove.† He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. â€Å"You have been foolish, my lord. You ought to have heeded Littlefinger when he urged you to support Joffrey's succession.† â€Å"How . . . how could you know of that?† Varys smiled. â€Å"I know, that's all that need concern you. I also know that on the morrow the queen will pay you a visit.† Slowly Ned raised his eyes. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Cersei is frightened of you, my lord . . . but she has other enemies she fears even more. Her beloved Jaime is fighting the river lords even now. Lysa Arryn sits in the Eyrie, ringed in stone and steel, and there is no love lost between her and the queen. In Dorne, the Martells still brood on the murder of Princess Elia and her babes. And now your son marches down the Neck with a northern host at his back.† â€Å"Robb is only a boy,† Ned said, aghast. â€Å"A boy with an army,† Varys said. â€Å"Yet only a boy, as you say. The king's brothers are the ones giving Cersei sleepless nights . . . Lord Stannis in particular. His claim is the true one, he is known for his prowess as a battle commander, and he is utterly without mercy. There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man. No one knows what Stannis has been doing on Dragonstone, but I will wager you that he's gathered more swords than seashells. So here is Cersei's nightmare: while her father and brother spend their power battling Starks and Tullys, Lord Stannis will land, proclaim himself king, and lop off her son's curly blond head . . . and her own in the bargain, though I truly believe she cares more about the boy.† â€Å"Stannis Baratheon is Robert's true heir,† Ned said. â€Å"The throne is his by rights. I would welcome his ascent.† Varys tsked. â€Å"Cersei will not want to hear that, I promise you. Stannis may win the throne, but only your rotting head will remain to cheer unless you guard that tongue of yours. Sansa begged so sweetly, it would be a shame if you threw it all away. You are being given your life back, if you'll take it. Cersei is no fool. She knows a tame wolf is of more use than a dead one.† â€Å"You want me to serve the woman who murdered my king, butchered my men, and crippled my son?† Ned's voice was thick with disbelief. â€Å"I want you to serve the realm,† Varys said. â€Å"Tell the queen that you will confess your vile treason, command your son to lay down his sword, and proclaim Joffrey as the true heir. Offer to denounce Stannis and Renly as faithless usurpers. Our green-eyed lioness knows you are a man of honor. If you will give her the peace she needs and the time to deal with Stannis, and pledge to carry her secret to your grave, I believe she will allow you to take the black and live out the rest of your days on the Wall, with your brother and that baseborn son of yours.† The thought of Jon filled Ned with a sense of shame, and a sorrow too deep for words. If only he could see the boy again, sit and talk with him . . . pain shot through his broken leg, beneath the filthy grey plaster of his cast. He winced, his fingers opening and closing helplessly. â€Å"Is this your own scheme,† he gasped out at Varys, â€Å"or are you in league with Littlefinger?† That seemed to amuse the eunuch. â€Å"I would sooner wed the Black Goat of Qohor. Littlefinger is the second most devious man in the Seven Kingdoms. Oh, I feed him choice whispers, sufficient so that he thinks I am his . . . just as I allow Cersei to believe I am hers.† â€Å"And just as you let me believe that you were mine. Tell me, Lord Varys, who do you truly serve?† Varys smiled thinly. â€Å"Why, the realm, my good lord, how ever could you doubt that? I swear it by my lost manhood. I serve the realm, and the realm needs peace.† He finished the last swallow of wine, and tossed the empty skin aside. â€Å"So what is your answer, Lord Eddard? Give me your word that you'll tell the queen what she wants to hear when she comes calling.† â€Å"If I did, my word would be as hollow as an empty suit of armor. My life is not so precious to me as that.† â€Å"Pity.† The eunuch stood. â€Å"And your daughter's life, my lord? How precious is that?† A chill pierced Ned's heart. â€Å"My daughter . . . â€Å" â€Å"Surely you did not think I'd forgotten about your sweet innocent, my lord? The queen most certainly has not.† â€Å"No,† Ned pleaded, his voice cracking. â€Å"Varys, gods have mercy, do as you like with me, but leave my daughter out of your schemes. Sansa's no more than a child.† â€Å"Rhaenys was a child too. Prince Rhaegar's daughter. A precious little thing, younger than your girls. She had a small black kitten she called Balerion, did you know? I always wondered what happened to him. Rhaenys liked to pretend he was the true Balerion, the Black Dread of old, but I imagine the Lannisters taught her the difference between a kitten and a dragon quick enough, the day they broke down her door.† Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. â€Å"The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me . . . why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain . . . or he could bring you Sansa's head. â€Å"The choice, my dear lord Hand, is entirely yours.†