Please write a short story called “The Eternal Country” in the style of young adult fiction. The protagonist should be called John, and the setting is a steam punk city. John loves spicy hot burritos, and he owns a clockwork dog. Here is the story: “The Eternal Country“ There was once a vast city filled with tall towers, majestic churches, and bustling streets. It was also home to a boy named John. John was a young man, who lived with his father in a small apartment. His father was a clever engineer, who taught him everything he knew. John loved his father dearly, and he was very happy to have a father who loved him. One day, John woke up early in the morning and went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. He was surprised to see a tiny mechanical dog running around, no bigger than a tea cup. John's father was the only person in the apartment, so John wondered where the dog came from. “I made a new friend!” John's father said. The dog was made of steam and steel. It ticked when it moved. It was a beautiful creation. “Is that clockwork dog for me?” John asked. “Yes,” his father replied, “you need it because you will be going on a quest soon.” “A quest? Where will I go?” John asked. “You will find out shortly” his father replied. The windows of their house began to rattle, and the floor shook. Suddenly, John heard a loud voice outside. “City dweller,” called a voice belonging to a giant. “My name is Atlas, and I need you to come to me.” The giant reached out his hand towards John’s house. After seeing his father’s reassuring nod, John nervously clambered out of his window and climbed onto the giant’s outstretched palm. The giant raised John to be level with his eyes. ”I have a quest for you, John”, said Atlas. ”There is an evil doer who seeks to destroy a tower and crush the Eternal Country. If he succeeds, then the Eternal Country will fall apart, and it can never be rebuilt.” “I will do it,” John replied, “but I need my dog.” “Very well,” said Atlas, “but we must hurry!” The giant took a very long ladder from his tool belt, and placed it against the side of John’s house. John climbed down the ladder and paused at the window where his father was waiting. His father handed him the new clockwork dog, and a leather satchel in which his father had placed the tools and provisions that he knew his son would need. He gave his son a gentle kiss and wished him luck. ”You must get into the tower, which has been locked for an eon”, explained Atlas. “It has many defenses. And none who have tried to enter have ever returned. It is a long and perilous journey, but I hope you succeed. The fate our country rests in your hands now.” The giant carried him to the edge of the city, and handed him a map. “Good luck, John”, Atlas said. “I shall try to catch up with you soon”. The giant then turned back to the city where his strength and stature were needed in case the evil threatened the city’s wall. John looked at the map and saw that he could either follow the long road through the countryside or cross a dangerous forest. “I think I will take the road”, John said to his dog. “Come on, dog. Let’s go,” he said. They walked for a long time along a dusty road with tall trees on either side. They walked until it was dark, and they could see a glimmer of the city’s lights far in the distance behind them. This was the farthest from home that John had ever been, and it was only the beginning of his journey. “We will camp here”, John said. They found a little clearing between the trees, and John put up a small tent. He lit a fire, and roasted some sausages for supper. Suddenly, the dog began to bark. John looked into the night sky, and could see a bright star shining. He thought it was strange, because the sky was cloudy. The star fell, plummeting towards their camp with flames emanating behind it. “We have to move!” John screamed. They ran for their lives as the star crashed into their tent, destroying it and scattering their gear across the road. “We must go this way”, said the dog, leading them into the dark forest. They ran for a long time through the dark. The did not stop even though John’s legs ached and his lungs burned. He tripped on a tree root, and the dog nudged him to get up. “Just a little farther,” the dog said. They ran until they came to a clearing. It was still dark, but there was a full moon and John could see the tower in the distance looming above the treetops on one side and a mountain on the other. “I cannot go any farther” he gasped. He lied in the pine needles. Then another star fell. It crashed into the mountain obliterating its peak. John began to trembLe. ”what are those things?” John asked the dog aloud. In his mind he was envisioning what would happen if one fell on the tower or on the city he called home. He could feel the dog getting closer, and he could feel the dog’s warmth on his face. “Let us go to the mountain to investigate,” the dog said. “it is better to know what it is than to live in fear of what it could be.” The dog then transformed into a penny-farthing. John climbed atop the tall bicycle and pedaled through the trees towards the mountain. John and his bicycle dog arrived at the base of the mountain. He dismounted the bicycle, which folded itself back into the shape of his trusty clockwork dog. They started to climb up the mountain. When that arrived at the top John was astonished. “What is that?” John asked. “It looks like a huge… Spaceship.” the dog then scanned the spacecraft. “It smells like it is propelled by moose farts,” the dog said. “It is moving again”, said the dog. They ran as fast as they could down the mountain as the spaceship took off. The spaceship began to fly towards the tower. John and his dog ran to get as close as possible to the tower. the spaceship ran headlong into the tower crashing into it with a thunderous sound. The materials from the spaceship littered The ground below. The tower remained standing, seemingly unharmed. “This is a good sign,” said the dog. John said, “What now?” “We must find a way up to the tower. It is the only way to save the Eternal Country,” said the dog “clearly it is made from a substance too hard to break, but there must be an entrance somewhere nearby.” They discovered it at the peak of the mountain where the spaceship had crash landed. There was a hidden door concealing a long underground passage that lead towards the tower. John followed the dog into the dark passage. They walked for a long time. John began to wonder if they were going the right way. The passage was dark and narrow, and there were no decorations to mark the way. John began to worry that they would never find the tower. “Stay close,” said the dog. “What is in here?” John asked. “I do not know,” said the dog. “Look,” said the dog as his eyes switched into latern mode illuminating the vast cavern system that they were entering. “It looks like a maze”. They came to a fork. ”which way do we go?” Asked John. ”I do not know” said the dog. John decided to flip a coin to choose which passageway to explore. He tossed a halfpenny in the air, caught it, and a tiny bronze portrait of the young queen gazed up from his palm. She had mysteriously disappeared as a child. Would leaving this decision to chance cause him to suffer the same fate? The coin toss indicated that they should explore the left passageway. They walked for a long time until they came to a dark and ominous door. A gate ratcheted closed behind them. “There is no turning back now”, John said. “And I don’t like the look of that door.“ The surface of the door was carved with a series of symbols that John did not recognize. As he traced his finger over them they briefly glowed and then went dark again. As they faded the walls rumbled and the passageway narrowed by one inch. “It’s a trap” groaned John. “Perhaps it is a puzzle “ suggested the dog. “Well, let’s see if we can figure it out,” said John. John and the dog spent a long time studying the carvings on the door. They looked at every possible combination of the symbols, and then looked at them all together. “I think I see a pattern,” said John. “I think so too” said the dog. “What should we do?” “We should try touching them all” said the dog. They tried every combination of the symbols on the door. The walls continued to narrow by one inch every time they failed to find the correct combination. After a while the passageway was only a few inches wide and it was hard to even stand in it. “We will never get this right” John said. The dog began to cower and whine. His high pitched whine caused one of the symbols to light up. “Wait,” said John. “Maybe we don’t need to touch them, maybe they respond to sound! Maybe the symbols represent musical notes. Dog, change your pitch." The dog changed the pitch of its whine from a F to a G, and another symbol illuminate. "It’s working!" cried John. They worked out what note each of the symbols corresponded to, and then started humming them in the order that they appeared on the door. “I think I know this song ” said John. "It’s the hymn of the Eternal Country". He cleared his throat and then sang: There are no serpents in our fields There are no thieves in our land There are no mountains higher The world is ours to command There are no men of great ambition We have no need for them The eternal country Our reign shall never end Our leaders are wise and good Our banners will always fly Our enemies do not exist Once their children’s tears have dried There are no enemies in our sight There are no armies on the march There are no tribes with bloody axes Our light has filled the dark This is the land where peace lies In an hour glass’s sand The eternal country For millennia it shall stand John finished the song. The walls moved back apart, and the door opened. “That was a close one” said John. They walked through the door and found themselves in a room with a circular hole in the ceiling. “We must climb up there,” said the dog. “How?” Asked John. “There is nothing to climb on.” ”I see something” said the dog, pointing at the hole in the ceiling. John looked up, and saw that there was a woven gold rope extending from the ceiling partially down into the room. “I see it” said John. “but I cannot reach it”. “I will boost you up,” said the dog. The clockwork dog transformed into a ladder. John climbed it, stood on his tiptoes and grasped the golden filaments dangling from the hole above. Suddenly, the rope started vibrating in John’s hand. A giant spider with a golden abdomen rapidly wrapped John’s arms together with a golden web. It pulled him up through the hole leaving the poor bewildered dog behind. The dog transformed from a ladder to a dog and the into a flying contraption with hummingbird wings. It flew up through the hole in the ceiling after John. “John, are you alright?” The dog circled around John’s head. John said nothing. His limp body was suspended in the air above a vast chamber, with his hands bound together. “John?” Asked the dog. The dog flew to the web that was suspending John. He examined the thick web. “The spider must be huge!” said the dog. Just then the spider scuttled from behind the pillar and attached its web to another pillar, oblivious of the dog in its hummingbird form, despite the fact that it must look like a tasty fly to a giant spider. “John, can you hear me?” John was still silent, but began to stir. The dog flew into the air and transformed into a sword. He thrust the sword into the web. He cut through the thick strands of golden silk and freed John. John fell to the ground, and began to move again. The dog transformed back into the clockwork dog. “Can you stand?” John stood up unsteadily. “I am fine. I am fine” said John weakly. “Thank you for saving me.” They turned to look at the enormous spider, which was beginning to spin another web. The spider was about the size of a horse, and it had eight legs. “That is one big spider,” said John. “Yes,” said the dog. “It is too big. We cannot fight it” said John. “We should try to escape.” The spider was spinning its web which now completely covered the hole in the floor. It blocked their path to the exit. “We have to go another way,” said the dog. They found a door, which was locked shut, but the dog transformed into a lock pick and opened it. They went through the door and found themselves in a vast room that would have been dark if not for the smoking torches along the walls. “Is this a tomb?” asked John. “Look at the walls” said the dog, pointing at the vast carvings of images of spiders. “This is a tomb for spiders,” John said. “Perhaps this is where the spider queen lies.” They kept walking and came to a vast, empty chamber with a large coffin at the far end. The coffin was golden and ornate, covered with ancient designs. “This is the spider queen’s sarcophagus,” said the dog. “It must be. But where is the spider queen?” “Perhaps she is inside the coffin,” said John. “I will open it,” said the dog. He transformed into a crowbar, and tried to open the coffin. “It is stuck,” said the dog. “I cannot open it.” “We have to open it” said John. “I will transform into a fire pike,” said the dog. “Then I will be able to melt the hinges.” “That might work!” said John. The dog transformed into a pike with a burning tip, which he inserted into the coffin. The coffin began to melt, and then the lid fell off. John looked inside. He screamed. “What is it?” The dog transformed back into the clockwork dog and flew into the coffin. “what do you see?” The coffin was filled with a thick, black, sticky liquid. John’s eyes were fixed on the spider queen’s dead body, which was lying in the black goo. John was staring at the spider queen’s body. He clasped his hands over his mouth. The spider queen was a hideous thing. Her legs were withered, and her abdomen was bloated. Her body was coated in a thick layer of the black goo. It was as if she had been trying to drown herself in the goo. “Is she dead?” asked the dog. The spider queen’s eyes opened. Her eyes were black, and they were staring at him. “The spider queen is alive!” screamed John. He ran deeper into the chamber. He did not look back. The spider queen jumped out of the coffin and landed on the ground. The coffin lid clanged onto the ground beside her. The dog transformed into a sword. He ran towards the spider queen and stabbed her in the abdomen. The sword went in easily, but it could not penetrate the spider queen’s skin. The sword was pushed away by a mass of spider silk. The spider queen reared up and began to spin a web. She was spinning a web to catch her prey. John saw the spider queen begin to run towards him with a snare stretched between her legs. “Run!” he screamed. The spider queen was running across the floor and leaping through the air. Each time she landed she left a puddle of the black goo underneath her. John ran and the spider queen followed behind him. She was gaining on him. John ran to the door and pulled it open. He ran out into the chamber, with the spider queen on his heels. The spider queen was right behind him. John doubled back and ran to the sarcophagus and jumped in. The spider queen jumped after him, and landed on the rim of the coffin. The spider queen was about to grab him. John was trapped in the coffin, with the spider queen on the rim. She leaned in closer, and was about to grab him. The spider queen shrieked as suddenly turned to the side, as the dog jumped on her back and bit her in the neck. The spider queen tried to grab the dog, but the dog leapt off her back. “We have to get out of here!” said John. The spider queen was thrashing her legs and sending the black goo flying around the room. John could not see how to escape. The dog was running around the spider queen, dodging her thrashing legs. John jumped out of the coffin. The spider queen leapt at him, narrowly missing him, and crashed back into her own sarcophagus. He quickly slammed the lid shut, trapping her inside, and pressed the full weight of his body against it. The spider queen was pounding her legs against the lid. The lid was shaking, threatening to topple and release the spider queen again. "Dog, do something!" shouted John. "What do you want me to do?" asked the dog. "You have to help secure the lid of the sarcophagus!" said John. "I cannot hold it forever." John wished that he had not abandoned the satchel that his father had packed for him. Surely it would have contained a rope that he could use to secure the lid. The dog ran from the room. "What are you doing?" yelled John in terror. The lid kicked upward and nearly threw him off. The dog reappeared dragging a golden rope behind it. The dog leapt over the coffin onto the other side, then rapidly ran under it, and jumped back again. The sticky fibers of the golden spider web stuck together beginning to secure the coffin's lid. John felt the sarcophagus shake and move. The spider queen was still trying to escape. "Faster!" shouted John. "The spider queen is trying to escape!" "I am going as fast as I can!" said the dog, with its mouth full of the sticky spider silk. John was still pushing the lid down. The spider silk was beginning to bind the lid to the sarcophagus. "It is holding!" said John. Just then the golden spider bounded into the room, following its unwinding thread that the dog had pulled moments before. It jumped on top of the coffin, knocking John off. The dog leapt into the air, turning into the sword mid-parabola. John managed to grab its hilt and bring the blade down hard into the spider, piercing its golden abdomen. The creature shrieked, convulsed, and then was still. John and the dog pulled the remainder of the silk from its lifeless form and secured the spider queen in her grave. They sat on the ground, panting. The spider queen was trapped. The got up and started to leave the chamber when the noticed a smaller, human sized coffin at the far end of the room. The lid of the coffin was open. They cautiously approached the coffin, and looked inside. There was a copper funeral mask floating in the same black goo that the spider queen had been embalmed with. John though that the girlish face looked familiar. He reached in and pried off the mask. "John, don't!" cried the dog. But it was too late. John dropped the copper mask to the floor, revealing a face that was indeed familiar for he had seen it on every halfpenny in the kingdom. The lost child queen had now been found. "Is she dead?" asked the dog. The girl's eyes fluttered and opened revealing large black pupils beset in emerald irises. "She's alive!" gasped John. He pushed his arms into the thick black goo and pulled her body out and onto the stone floor. The young queen's mouth opened as if gasping for breath, but goo filled her mouth and blocked her airways. John began to panic. She was alive but she was now drowning in the inky muck. Thinking quickly with its clockwork brain, the dog hugged the queen and transformed into an iron lung. It compressed her chest and began to expel the ooze. The girl coughed violently spitting out goo. The queen's eyes blinked open and focused on John. "Thank you," she said. "You saved my life. I owe you a debt of gratitude.". "Who are you?" asked John. "I was once the queen of this land" said the girl confirming John's hunch. "And one day shall rule over the Eternal Country." "How do you know?" asked John, confused. "I am a seer," said the queen. "I can see the future. I have seen you too. You are a kind boy. I can see that from your eyes. I can also see that you have a great destiny ahead of you." "You can see what the future holds?" said John. "Yes," said the queen, "although it is not always clear. Some things can be changed." "Then what is going to happen to the Eternal Country?" asked John. "I cannot see all of the future," said the queen. "I can only see some of it. When I return to my palace, I will try to find out more. But I can tell you this, that the Eternal Country is in great peril. There are evil forces at work here. I can see them now, as I see you, but I cannot see what they will do. I will be able to see more when I return to the capitol, but for now I can only see that you will be involved in great things. You must be careful. The world will be watching you. Do you understand what I am saying?" "No," said John. "Then you will have to trust me," said the queen. "Alright," said John. "I trust you." The queen stood up, wiping the muck off her soiled golden garments as best she could. She looked around the spider queen's tomb, seeing the golden spider silk securing the lid of her arachnid counterpart's coffin with the body of the golden spider atop it. "The spider queen was trying to escape, wasn't she?" asked the queen. "Yes," said John. "She was." "Then we must leave this place," said the queen. "You have been here long enough. You must help me get to the surface." "What about the spider queen?" asked John, pointing to the coffin. "She will remain here," said the queen. "I am the only one who can touch her." "Why is that?" asked John. "I will explain later," said the queen. "If we do not go now, we will not be able to get out before the sun goes down." "Okay," said John. The queen walked over to the coffin of her arachnid counterpart and placed her hand against the lid. The spider queen's body began to melt. The black goo that had previously been holding her in her tomb was congealing into a blackish purple puddle. "What are you doing?" asked John. "I have got to get rid of her before we go," said the queen. "Otherwise she will follow us." "Okay," said John. "I trust you." The queen then closed her eyes and concentrated. The spider queen's body began to dissolve away. Her legs had turned to goo. She had become a black puddle of ooze. The queen brought the puddle to her face and inhaled through her nose. "What are you doing?" asked John. "I am catching her scent," said the queen. "If I can follow this odor, I can find her tomb again." "How is that possible?" asked John. "I will explain later," said the queen. "I am almost done. I can feel the presence of the spider queen in my mind. I know she is gone, but I also know her spirit is very powerful. Her spirit is still in this tomb." The queen closed her eyes again. She inhaled through her nose again. "I have her scent!" said the queen. She then opened her mouth and inhaled. The spider queen's purple ooze began to drip into her mouth. "That's disgusting," said John. "You have to trust me," said the queen. "I have to do this. If I can transfer the spider queen's spirit into my body, I can destroy her." "How?" asked John. "I will explain later," said the queen. "For now we must leave this place. Follow me. Do you trust me?" "Yes," said John. "I trust you." She looked around the chamber for a moment, then walked over to an armoire. "The spider queen wove clothes for me," she said. "Let me dress and then we shall leave." The queen opened the armoire and took out a pair of black silk pants and a black silk shirt. She then took off her shirt of golden spider silk and put on the black silk shirt. She then took off her pants of golden spider silk. John looked away, embarrassed. She put on the black silk pants. She then took off her boots of golden spider silk. She then put on the black silk boots. She then took off her crown of golden spider silk. She then put on the black silk crown. The queen picked up a cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Finally, she picked up the copper funeral mask, and put it into her pocket. "Now, let us go," she said. The dog and the boy followed behind her as she strode out of the chamber and into the maze, the putrid scent of the spider queen diminishing as they ventured farther from its tomb. The queen led John and the dog through the maze. "How did you know where to go?" asked John. "I can see the future," said the queen. "I can see the maze, and it is not the maze you see. I can see the future maze as it is now and as it will become. I can see it as a living thing that is always changing, always morphing into new forms. I can see where the spider queen has woven her web, and what traps she has laid." The queen held out her hand, bringing them to a halt. "There is one now," she said. John looked around and saw that it was true. There was a trap, a web silken trap with a large snare, and it was now in the path of the three wanderers. "The spider queen has set a trap," said the queen. "It is a common trap. I have seen this trap before. I have seen it many times." "What do we do?" asked John. "We must be very careful," said the queen. "Watch." She walked over to the web and walked around it. She then carefully placed her hand against the web. The queen then walked around the web. Then she walked around the web again. Then she walked around the web again, this time going in the opposite direction. The web did not move. The queen then walked around the web again, this time in the same direction as before. The web began to move and the snare began to tighten. "The spider queen is a clever spider," said the queen, "but I am a smarter spider. I know how to defeat her." "What do you mean you are a smarter spider?" asked John. "I was once a spider," said the queen. "I was a spider queen like she was. I know how she thinks. I know how she acts. I know how she fights. I know her strengths and weaknesses." "But if you are a spider, why are you not one anymore?" asked John. "Why are you a human?" "I can explain later," said the queen. "For now we must escape this maze. I have one more spider queen trap to avoid before we are safe." The queen led John and the dog out into the open. The sky was a dark blue, with only the faintest traces of light. "We must go," said the queen. "We must go now. We are almost out of time."