The Custodian

The Custodian is a novel of speculative horror, one that proposes how archetypal monsters are not only real but have also adapted to the social dynamics of the present. Oscar Pryce, the story’s eponymous custodian, has worked for the last forty years cleaning up after ‘clients,’ vampire-like beings who have evolved from feeding on humans relentlessly to only once a generation. Reporting to a man known as the Employer, Pryce becomes complicit in the disposal of their victims, keeping the existence of clients hidden from the rest of the world. When he is diagnosed with brain cancer, Pryce’s perception of reality begins to change. Guilt hampers his work. Memories of a past life – and a past love – resurface. He soon suspects his partnership with the Employer was not of his own volition and with his health declining rapidly Pryce is forced to make a difficult decision: either expose the Employer and his kind to the world or join their ranks. The Custodian is an allegory on the relationship between essential workers and their employers, how the integrity of the former is often undermined by indifference in the latter. Pryce breaking away from his employer’s influence is also allegorical, in this case, a symbol of more recent events where essential workers are hailed as unexpected heroes. Similarly, Pryce’s quandary of giving up humanity for immortality is emblematic of the struggle faced by all working-class citizens, to do whatever is necessary in order to survive

Artificial Intelligence: Application Today and Implications Tomorrow

This paper analyzes the applications of artificial intelligence to the legal industry, specifically in the fields of legal research and contract drafting. First, it will look at the implications of artificial intelligence (A.I.) for the current practice of law. Second, it will delve into the future implications of A.I. on law firms and the possible regulatory challenges that come with A.I. The proliferation of A.I. in the legal sphere will give laymen (clients) access to the information and services traditionally provided exclusively by attorneys. With an increase in access to these services will come a change in the role that lawyers must play. A.I. is a tool that will increase access to cheaper and more efficient services, but non-lawyers lack the training to analyze and understand information it puts out. The role of lawyers will change to fill this role, namely utilizing these tools to create a better work product with greater efficiency for their clients

Comparison of high-latitude thermospheric meridionalwinds I: optical and radar experimental comparisons

Thermospheric neutral winds at Kiruna, Sweden (67.4°N, 20.4°E) are compared using both direct optical Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) measurements and those derived from European incoherent scatter radar (EISCAT) measurements. This combination of experimental data sets, both covering well over a solar cycle of data, allows for a unique comparison of the thermospheric meridional component of the neutral wind as observed by different experimental techniques. Uniquely in this study the EISCAT measurements are used to provide winds for comparison using two separate techniques: the most popular method based on the work of Salah and Holt (1974) and the Meridional Wind Model (MWM) (Miller et al., 1997) application of servo theory. The balance of forces at this location that produces the observed diurnal pattern are investigated using output from the Coupled Thermosphere and Ionosphere (CTIM) numerical model. Along with detailed comparisons from short periods the climatological behaviour of the winds have been investigated for seasonal and solar cycle dependence using the experimental techniques. While there are features which are consistent between the 3 techniques, such as the evidence of the equinoctial asymmetry, there are also significant differences between the techniques both in terms of trends and absolute values. It is clear from this and previous studies that the high-latitude representation of the thermospheric neutral winds from the empirical Horizontal Wind Model (HWM), though improved from earlier versions, lacks accuracy in many conditions. The relative merits of each technique are discussed and while none of the techniques provides the perfect data set to address model performance at high-latitude, one or more needs to be included in future HWM reformulations.<p> <b>Key words.</b> Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (thermospheric dynamics), Ionosphere (ionosphere-atmosphere interactions, auroral ionosphere

Photocurrent response from vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotube arrays

Vertically-aligned arrays of single walled carbon nanotubes were created on an optically transparent electrode (FTO glass) these arrays were found to exhibit a prompt current and voltage when exposed to light. These cells were then investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and found to exhibit a dampening of the recombination reaction over the first 24 hours. Symmetrical cell modeling was successful in simulating the behavior of normal cell architecture