Rufus was born in a small town. His parents were poor farmers breaking their backs to provide for their children. They always told Rufus to study hard so he would not have to poor like then. They gave everything they had to send Rufus to school. Rufus hated it. All the rules annoyed him. The course always seemed to go so slow. He was smarter than the other boys and learned things much faster. He would sit in class drawing planets and reading about the stars. Then one day a substitute teacher by the name of Mr. Lucas came in to class.

Rufus took a liking to him. He was very tall and thin with wild black hair and big goofy glasses. Like Rufus, Mr. Lucas loved the stars. They quickly became good friends. They would spend hours looking through telescopes and talking about the solar system. They would always argue about one question. Does the earth revolve around the sun? Mr. Lucas thought so, but would be killed for believing so. Rufus always protested this preposterous idea. Surely the sun revolves around the earth since the sun rises and sets, but the earth stays still. As Rufus was walking to Mr. Lucas’s house one day he saw cops all around. They were arresting Mr. Lucas. Rufus quickly ran up to one of the cops and asked why. The cop said it was because he was spreading radical ideas that went against the council's beliefs. No one was allowed to defy the council. Surely Mr. Lucas knew this and is why he kept his beliefs a secret. He ran up to Mr. Lucas and asked what was going to happen to him. Mr. Lucas said everything would be all right. He said he had a gift to give Rufus. It was his personal journal with all his studies and theories about the universe. Rufus didn't understand why he was given such a personal item as a gift. Only later in his life did he realize Mr. Lucas gave him an opportunity to do be a great astronomer.

Later that day Mr. Lucas was killed. Rufus was heartbroken. Mr. Lucas was the only person that truly understood him. He put the journal in a box and packed it away. The years went by fast. Before he knew it he was off to college. Then off to work as an astronomer. Not once did he stop to open up that journal until the expo. The expo is where scientist of all nations come to show their findings for that year. If you won you would get to be the first man in space. The only problem was that Rufus did not have a ground breaking study. He just looked at stars and recorded their color all day. Thats when he thought about the journal. He left work early and rushed home. He opened the journal and an envelope fell out. It was addressed to him. He quickly opened it. Mr. Lucas wrote it for him years ago when he was still alive. It said that he finally found out how to prove the the earth revolves around the sun. He explained to Rufus that he was going to be executed soon for his research, but that If Rufus could prove this theory it might bring respect to this long dishonored man. So Rufus went to work. Day and night he would read the journal and follow the step by step guide. He quit his job and focused all his time on this project. When it was finished he packed it up and went to the expo. It was three days before the judges got around to Rufus’s model. He stated that he could finally prove the earth revolves around the sun. The judges scoffed at him. How preposterous was this idea? He was ridiculed and looked down upon all the other scientist. Security was sent to get him, but he escaped with his model.


He ran from the cops for days. He found himself in a little rural town talking to a scrawny uneducated farmer named Jack. Jack knew right away that Rufus was running away from the cops. What other reason would someone have to come to this small town? Jack quickly took Rufus to his barn. Jack was curious as to what Rufus was carrying. Rufus explained that it was a satellite. To prove that the earth revolved around the sun. Rufus said it was a waste of time to make because it was a stupid theory. He told jack no one believed him so why should he prove it anyway. Jack was quiet for awhile and startled Rufus when he spoke. He told Rufus that people are afraid of the unknown. That if it is something that he truly believes then why give up? After all there are people with dummer ideas like pre-sliced bread. Rufus laughed, who would buy sliced bread? Jack told him that he doesn't have much, but will help Rufus launch the satellite. They worked for months building a small rocket to send into space. Rufus told Jack that once it was launched the cops would come for him. Jack said that no pig will come onto his land without a gunfight. Weeks later the rocket was ready for launch. It was a cool september morning when the rocket was launched. There was not a cloud in the sky. The launch was beautiful. Rufus and Jack cheered as it went up, but it was short lived. The cops were there in minutes. Rufus and Jack both grabbed their weapons and a gunfight ensued. The cops returned fire for hours until the firing stopped. Rufus and Jack were killed trying to spread new knowledge. Because they had killed 9 cops there were viewed as criminals. No memorial was held for them. Their bloody bodies were doused in gasoline and burned.

Forty-five years passed and they were long forgotten. The world was a different place though. The council was overthrown and a new society was created. One where knowledge could freely be shared. Scientist once again began to look at the heavens and wondered. They built giant satellite dishes to search for life. One night they got a signal back. It was Rufus’s satellite. It was old and outdated, but held information never before seen. it proved that the earth revolved around the sun. These three men once dishonored and looked down upon were right all along. They dared to go against normal beliefs and died for it. Statues were erected in their honor and they were regarded as heros of this new free society.