6. You couldn’t watch TV.
You couldn’t use your phone or computer.
You couldn’t cook or keep food refrigerated.
You couldn’t get care at a hospital.
It would be cold. It would be dark.
People might even die.
7. To write about such a
catastrophe,
Martha needed to study.
She needed to learn about…
16. They worked hard when he was growing up.
He was on his own a lot
in a tough neighborhood.
Many of his friends got in trouble.
But Luis did well in school, went to college
and served in the Navy.
Today, he is an engineer, too.
17. Martha and Luis
run together
sometimes.
She asks him
questions about
his childhood.
He’s a nice guy.
He doesn’t mind
running slow so
she can keep up.
18. Luis grew up in Camden,
New Jersey.
So Martha
set the story there.
19. Camden is across
the Delaware River
from Philadelphia.
Martha visited and
asked questions.
20. ZAP is a work of fiction, a made-up story.
But it is based in fact.
21. Now that Martha knew
something about electricity,
something about Luis,
and something about Camden,
she was ready to invent her story.
She was ready to write.
