Introduction: The Epic Battle Begins
vs. 
Hipparchus Ptolemy
My name is Maple. I am a 22-year-old direct descendant of Ptolemy, the great mathematician, astronomer, and geographer from the 2nd century - and as such I have sworn an oath to protect Ptolemy's good name regardless of the cost. During his short life he wrote a book called Almagest which contained mathematical principles and detailed observations about the solar system, and identified 48 constellations. Since Ptolemy's death, there have been many people who claim my dear Ptolemy was a fraud; some scholars even go as far as to call him the greatest fraud in history. Indeed people claim he stole the work from a man named Hipparchus, a mathematician who lived long before Ptolemy.
For centuries my family has been fighting the descendants of Hipparchus to try and validate Ptolemy's work but today, in 2009, I face the biggest obstacle yet. A greedy, powerful scientist named Marx has been nominated to be the president’s chief science advisor. Right now he has many opponents trying to smear his name but he thinks if he can prove his great ancestor Hipparchus was the real genius behind Almagest, it will validate him as a scientist and give him enough spotlight in the media to win the nomination. Marx presented documents to a group of anti-Ptolemy scientists that, he claims, prove without a doubt Ptolemy was a fraud. It is now my job to prove those documents fake and validate Ptolemy's good name once and for all; for if Marx wins the nomination he will spend his time in office destroying Ptolemy's good name and hard work.
What I have always found most interesting about Ptolemy's 48 constellations, is that almost all of them have some form of a mythological story associated with them and lucky for me, those “mythological” characters appear to be on my side. You see, whenever I have a problem with seemingly no answer, I go to this enchanting place in the forest behind my house. I go and sit on a large boulder that is surrounded by lush green trees and bushes and overlooks a crystal clear creek that is flourishing with life. Yesterday while I was meditating, I heard a voice say “Open your eyes” - so I did. At first, I saw nothing unusual but as my eyes reached the northern edge of the creek bed, a glimmering sheen caught my eye. As I got closer I could see it was a majestic blue rock with the symbol IV inscribed on it. The voice spoke to me again, “You can use this rock to travel to any place in history. Beware, with each request the rock will crumble and by the fourth request, there will be nothing left.”
My great ancestor Ptolemy was always partial to the constellations Lyra, Andromeda, Corona Borealis, and Ursa Major. Until now, I never understood the significance of his affection for these magical four; however, I now know what I must do to save Ptolemy's good name and hard work.
* Image Information
Title: Ptolemy
Websource: Ptolemy
Title: Hipparchus
Websource: Hipparchus
