This was written for Physical Science back when I was in 10th grade. The assignment was to write a short story about a famous scientist.
I chose Galileo.
Before I begin, I must say that ghosts, being dead, have nothing to hide. Therefore, I will tell you the whole and honest truth.
In life, my name was Galileo Galilei. I was born on February 15th, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, and died on January 8th, 1642. In my lifetime, I was many things, but ended up an astronomer due to a ground-breaking invention that I myself came up with: the telescope.
Historically, it's written that I only came up with the idea after the Dutch invented a lens that allowed one to see things that were very far away. The truth is that I had already built my telescope, but kept it secret. This was because, instead of a glass lens, I used dragons' eyes.
Dragons, being endangered, were already very rare in my lifetime. The reason for this was the value of their organs. Their fangs, if planted in the ground, produce fully-armed warriors. Their blood can be made into a potion that cures any ailment, and if applied to the skin, will protect against stab wounds. Consuming the heart grants the power to understand the language of any living creature, while the tongue will allow one to win any argument. And the list goes on.
The reason for using dragons' eyes was due to their more-than-exceptional eyesight. However, the eyes, being organic, kept rotting, so I could only use them sparingly. If word got out that I had had access to these things, only God knows what kind of chaos would have been unleashed.
Anyway, the dragons' eyes were capable of seeing faraways in detail as if they were up close. However, when I turned them to the skies, it looked like the stars were more than they seemed. Almost as if they were alive.
When the Dutch magnifying glass lens came into my possession, I was able to enhance it to see much, much farther-all the way into the starry abyss of space. That was when I made discoveries that shook science forever. The astrologists before me had been wrong. I was going to be famous.
And infamous. The Church got me and locked me up for the remainder of my life. Before the end, I even went blind.
Luckily, my life's work managed to escape to where my body could not. People who believed me snuck out my writings and published them elsewheres. I was sure to be remembered, even if I forgot myself.
My death was a happy one. It was peaceful. Quiet. And relieving. And the next thing I knew, I was floating. My body had expired, but my mind and spirit lived on.
I must take my leave now. It's time to move on.
Farewell... And may we meet again...
Someday...
Thank you for reading! I hope you all liked it.
* The part about using the eyes of dragons came from Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons.
* Sun Center is a reference to heliocentrism. The term stems from the Greek words helios ("sun") and kentron ("center"). Early astrologists believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, and everything else revolved around it. This was the geocentric theory, which is now known to be untrue.