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An Essay

Turtles are noble creatures, originally astute, resilient, strong and regal in nature. But they have been forcibly changed. Without their precious natural environment, they have been reduced to a small green reptile just trying to survive. A once proud race and rulers of their Orange Juice kingdom, they are now subject to the dangers that all mere mortals face. During the course of this essay, we will discuss the origins of turtles, what plagues them at present and the correlation between orange juice and turtles.

Precious little is known or understood of their former land or how they came to be here, though some theories abound. Foremost amongst them is that the oranges that we harvest so readily bare some tie to their home plane, and that with the genetic modifications necessary to grow enough produce to cater to the hungry homo-sapiens, somehow they became a conduit to the alternate world. How this led to the turtles eviction and subsequent relocation is still a mystery, however.

Turtles have always preferred to swim in orange juice. It’s their place of origin, and their stronghold. The orange juice empowers them, enhances their intellect and boosts their physical capabilities. This was not the first thing that noticeably changed once they were forced from their homes, however. When they first entered salt water, instantly their eyes were irritated to the point of near blindness. And thus, the turtles crystal clear vision was removed, replaced with blurry shapes in an endless muddy blue expanse. They also discovered, over a period of time, that they weren’t growing to their full size. They had been stunted, and their former majestic countenance and physique was now nothing more than the size of a domesticated house cat. More than just the inconveniences presented here though, there were far more dangerous effects for turtles once they began swimming in salt water.

Once surrounded by their new saline prison, after discovering a way to clear the sting from their eyes, they found that they could not breathe the liquid as they once did their precious orange juice. Much of the first generation drowned as they first entered the endless brine. Only when one made it back to report did they discover the tragic truth: if they were to breath as they had before, their bodies would fill with water and they would sink to the bottom. To make matters worse, many turtles started to develop allergies to the salt in the water. This would send them into sneezing fits, forcing them to open their mouths and take in water, sending them to a wet end. This was also occasionally caused by the constant irritation and stinging on their skin from the salt in the water.

They also quickly noticed a lack of vitamin C, the main source of their power. Without the ability to breathe the water, and indeed because the water is devoid of it so as to not even allow nutrition by osmosis, they were lacking in their most fundamental nutritional need. This in turn led to the development and exacerbation of the above-mentioned allergies and related problems. But it wasn’t just the salt water that the turtles now feared; the liquid death was unfortunately not the only aspect of this world that seemed to wish them irrevocable harm.

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When the turtles were forced out of their home, the first thing they noticed was the power of the light above their heads. Several turtles were horribly irradiated before they ever made it to the water. Leaving them horribly dishevelled and disfigured, in some cases so badly that they couldn’t move, the radioactive waves emanating from the sun were slowly killing all but the most stalwart reptiles.

Would that the environs were their only concern though. Entering the new world, they encountered new species, some beautiful and friendly, and others vicious and hungry. They discovered they were no longer respected and revered as they once had been. As such, they had to develop new ways to protect themselves. A couple of turtles, who at this point were entirely without shells, found items lying on the ground, which they slid inside and discovered that they could still move. This shielded them from the sun and all but the most determined predator attacks. And thus the first turtles had shells. Over time, they grew their own, which became stronger and wider, preventing further danger from radiation and predators. On top of this, because the shell was grown, they fitted perfectly to each turtle to encompass their bodies, helping to alleviate some of the irritation problems of the water. Though they still had problems with their eyes and sinking, which was now more dangerous due to the added weight of the shell, the irritation on the majority of their bodies was no longer a problem. A further unfortunate side effect of all of this, one that they didn’t immediately realise, was the shortening of their life span. Once living for centuries, they now only lived for an average of 100 years, a drastically shorter timeframe.

As they continued to evolve to fit their new environments, the turtles also developed their skin colour and texture over many years, better helping them to blend into their new habitat. When they were in their original home, the turtles were a vibrant orange in colour, allowing them to hide more easily should the need arise. It also granted them a powerful social status, having seemingly been deemed to gain the favour of the deities, sharing the colour of their greatest and largest creation. But when they were displaced, their bright orange skin was too easily noticeable to predators, and as a combined result of necessity and vitamin C deficiency, this changed to the lacklustre green we see today.

As we can see, turtles have suffered greatly since being removed from their world and thrust into ours. It is only since that time that they have become what we see them as now, a small green reptile cowering from everything. With the effects of the suns radiation, the harmful salt water of their new environment, stunted growth and life, new predators and overall physical weakening, it’s easy to see how the turtles fall from grace has affected them, and how our misconceptions are wrong about these once noble and magnificent creatures.

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