Project AVATAR
Skyscraper Spirit, the Soul of New York

By C.L.F. / Rayden Tron

After tragedy, pain, and loss beyond comprehension, the task of rebuilding may seem insurmountable, even foolish, but that is just the timid prey-nature crying from a corner of our hearts. To listen to that would be to betray a deeper call in our blood, to create anew, that resonates with all that is good in our minds, everything that our star-crossed species fought to attain.

Do not confuse the mourning, the grief, the empty spaces in our lives, with an indictment of our works, or an excuse to walk away from accomplishment and progress. Those who were innocent victims will be remembered. Those who were heroes will be honored forever. And it is up to those of us still living to continue their lives’ work. While none can replace a husband, a mother, a sibling, a dear friend, or a mentor, rest assured that new heroes will step forward. No matter how long the odds, or how dangerous the circumstances, there will be those who answer the call. It is a miracle of our kind. Revel in it, and act each day to be worthy of the call.

We of New York have a special burden, but it is not too much for us to bear. Our city has a precious heritage, and stands as a beacon to the world. Other cities have deeper roots. Others are places where fortune-seekers go to reinvent themselves. New York City is a dynamic blend of both. It is time for us to embrace our pre-eminence in the world, and take it one step further.

New York brought the art of the skyscraper to the world. Forged of necessity, dovetailed with optimism and the romance of working in the clouds, it came to embody the very spirit of human progress. Defying far more than gravity, skyscrapers refuted the idea of limits themselves, standing in direct opposition to the fortress-cities and walled castles in Europe from which much of American culture originated.

The art of the skyscraper, and the spirit that went with it, was our gift to civilization. Despite the comparative rarity of suitable locations, the practice of this art has spread clean to the other side of the globe, inspiring cultures vastly different from our own. Ancient Asian cultures in particular were eager to learn, and have proudly symbolized their ascendancy to a seat of power in the modern world.

It is time for the art, and the spirit that goes with it, to come full circle, back to where it began, in New York, for the next stage in its evolution. The earliest skyscrapers, the Woolworth Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State, were for us, a statement of our confidence despite the ravages of a world war and economic collapse. New York prevailed, retained its strength through a second world war, and was chosen to formalize its role as "Capital of the World" by the new United Nations. A skyscraper was built for them, a place for the governments of the world to meet.

The World Trade Center contained the next great New York skyscrapers and marked the fruition of the City’s current stage of evolution. Ambitiously large for its time, it was for us, and for everybody else. Marked by no national government, dominated by no single corporation, it truly was a center of international business, of improving one’s own lot through trade with others. The Twin Towers themselves were icons of our oldest and newest values. There were two, symbolizing the sharing we learned in earliest childhood; one for you and one for me; and highlighting the fact that we no longer stand tall alone. It is perhaps no coincidence that the current tallest buildings in the world are also twins. The simple metallic faces of our Twin Towers reflected light that shone on them and when it was dark, they shone from within.

They did not deserve their fate, but the spirit that created them must remain unbowed. The strength of this spirit is the only assurance we have that we will continue to move forward and not slump back into feudalism. The soul of New York knows the island of Manhattan is no longer a place for graveyards. Fate has dealt our city a truly sickening blow. We should deal fate a true New York response, unbridled defiance.

Resurrect the World Trade Center, the Twin Towers bigger and better than ever, 1500 and 1506 feet, and 120 stories. Show the world the new way of life is still welcome here, that no matter how deep the hatred of our benighted, medieval enemies that we will continue to progress and leave their ways behind, that no matter what, New Yorkers will still control their own destiny.

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