tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9625223309605922572024-03-09T04:48:59.754-08:00Gill's Sample FictionExcerpts from my novels and stories. Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-26492414034941340312024-03-09T04:48:00.000-08:002024-03-09T04:48:22.720-08:00Build a Book Workshop Gill James <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-J6ENShqNZEyXdIylVOez91XPMvH7rvXT7nylFx9liLJ7BFGoWI0nu5IfCSFRUQ7o2fiB6xdpZwaUuXT2o8A6pB39dARiiInQjZUBBXHZsH-FzFpbNO1pclQjtkXiYgqcG3WGHS2slkRVFIHfg-B49dCWhi91e3vfrfduxzMhXJhjC4lndSPpzExzb3I/s500/BuildaBook%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-J6ENShqNZEyXdIylVOez91XPMvH7rvXT7nylFx9liLJ7BFGoWI0nu5IfCSFRUQ7o2fiB6xdpZwaUuXT2o8A6pB39dARiiInQjZUBBXHZsH-FzFpbNO1pclQjtkXiYgqcG3WGHS2slkRVFIHfg-B49dCWhi91e3vfrfduxzMhXJhjC4lndSPpzExzb3I/s320/BuildaBook%20.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><h1><a name="_Toc294597062">Chapter 1 Getting organized</a> <o:p></o:p></h1><p class="FirstParagraph">You probably already have some ideas about how and why
you want to run your workshop. However, it might be worth working through the
following questions, reading the rest of the manual and then coming back to
this chapter later. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597063">Who will take part?</a> <o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">Do you want to conduct the workshop with a whole class?
Several classes? A whole year group? Across
several year groups? Do you want to use an identified group – such as “the
gifted and talented” or “girls who lack confidence”? Will the participants be
obliged to take part or will they volunteer? How will you sell the idea to your
colleagues and to the potential participants? <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597064">Enlisting extra help</a><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">Even if you are working with your own class, you are doing
something a little unusual so some extra pairs of hands in the classroom are
welcome. Your own teaching assistants are obvious choices. Doubling up classes
can work well also – one teacher can lead and another can support. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">If you invite in outsiders you school may require them to be CRB checked. They should also have
public liability insurance. Many writers who conduct school visits do have both
of these. However, at the time of writing, the Government was beginning to state
that CRB checks are not necessary for occasional visitors such as writers or
artists. The Society of Authors has argued for a long time that they are not
necessary though the National Association of Writers in Education have advised
their members to get them and have also helped them with the this. The latter
also provides its professional members with £10,000,000 of public liability
insurances. A sensible question for your writer might be therefore “Are you a
professional member of NAWE?” Note that the public liability insurance is only
effective if members of your own staff are present during the visit. This would
be sensible anyway. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps an obvious choice is a local writer who does school
visits. Be warned, however, that the Society of Authors recommended fee for a
day’s visit by a writer is £350. Nevertheless, some writers are willing to do a
shorter visit for travelling expenses and the opportunity to sell their books
and talk about their work. New writers who are finding their feet with school
visits will often work for a reduced fee. The latter could be very useful to
support your workshop; you would basically lead the workshop and they could add
in valuable insights as you go along. You may find lists of writers who are
happy to conduct school visits in the following places: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->NAWE’s professional register, <a href="http://nawe.new.hciyork.co.uk/professional-directory.html">http://nawe.new.hciyork.co.uk/professional-directory.html</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Wordpool’s Contact An Author <a href="http://www.contactanauthor.co.uk/">http://www.contactanauthor.co.uk/</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Society of Authors’ Search for an Author <a href="http://www.societyofauthors.org/WritersAZ">http://www.societyofauthors.org/WritersAZ</a>
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You can always factor the writer’s fee into you expenses. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Obviously, one may also involve such bodies as the PTA or
other support groups associated with your school. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Other good workshop supporters are creative writing students
and graduates who are eager to get on PGCE courses. They are only too willing
to offer free assistance in order to complete their school experience. As with
the inexperienced writer, using them in this situation is ideal. They can learn
from you. You retain the control. They have some expertise that you don’t have.
Your school may want to get a CRB check
done, despite recent pronouncements by the Government and you must factor that
into your expenses. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In all cases, you need to allow time to acquaint these
helpers with their role and to conduct any checks. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597065">Organizing your book</a> <o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">You may want to involve your students in any decision
about this, but it is probably also worth having a few ideas yourself as well. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">What will you include? Do you just want to include one type
of writing e.g. non-fiction or poetry? Do you want to include some work by
everyone in the group? Or will you only include the very best work – even if
that means that only a few students will be “published”? Will the contributions
to the group be grouped by theme, type or person? Or all of these, within
groups? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think what else you might want to include. Do you want to
write an introduction? Do you want get someone else to write a foreword?
Perhaps a senior person at your school or someone from the charity you are
supporting or maybe your invited writer? Could you include all of these people
in some way? If supporting a charity, do you want to include some information
about it in the book? Could that be a project for one of your students? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Do you want to include a contents page and / or an index? I
actually advise against including an index of authors or mentioning them in the
Contents; readers are likely to look only at the work of a person they know
- and could miss out on a real
treat. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597066">Your theme</a><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">It’s actually a good idea to discuss any theme for your
book with your students. Get them on board. The theme is a centralizing and
motivating factor. It also allows each student to work according to their
strengths and despite their weaknesses; each can make a contribution as long as
what they produce fits the theme. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="FirstParagraph">There are various ways of finding a theme and you can
explore this with your students. Your theme may be to do with: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 57.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->the curriculum<o:p></o:p></p><p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 57.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->a charity you wish to support <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 57.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->something of local interest <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 57.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->what is on the students’ mind <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Linked with the theme is the idea of the perceived reader.
You might also like to discuss with your students who will read the book: interested
adults, children the same age as the students, younger children, people who
might benefit from the charity supported. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You might also like to ascertain the purpose of the book. Is
it to make money for your chosen charity, raise awareness about that charity or
to showcase excellent writing? Possibly it is a combination of these things.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Left to their own devices, students will conclude that they
are producing the book merely to please their teachers. By providing a theme, a
purpose and a perceived reader, you are providing your students with a
quasi-commercial perspective on the book and replicating that balance that
exists between art and commerce in the world of publishing. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597067">Time scale</a><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">You need to decide how much time you are going to
devote to the <i>Build a Book Workshop</i>
and how much of what needs to be done can actually be completed outside of
“core” time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For example, you might complete the whole workshop in a single
day, over two days or a week off timetable. You might use it as an
extracurricular activity conducted during lunch-times or a part of an
after-school club. You might make it a part of normal lessons – perhaps as a
joint activity between English, IT, Citizenship Art. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Incidentally, it may be easier to find funding if this is
conducted as an extracurricular activity. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You need to accommodate the following tasks:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Negotiating theme, purpose and reader<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Setting up writing tasks<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Writing and word-processing work <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Editing <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Designing<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Illustrating<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Marketing <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Launching and selling book <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It may be possible to complete core tasks – e.g. setting up
writing tasks, writing, editing, designing and illustrating during a designated
time – for example on a day off timetable, and to complete the other tasks
before and after the event. In this case, the setting up writing, writing and
editing would take up about half of the time available. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Whatever you do, there will be some delay between when final
version of the work is ready and when the book comes out. You or someone with
technical expertise needs to get the book uploaded to a printer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In any case, you will probably want to launch the book at a
suitable time in the school year which may be at some distance in time from
when your book is camera ready. You can factor that into your time plan. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It may also be possible to have a day off timetable to
kick-start the project. The project could then carry on in further curriculum
or extracurricular time. <o:p></o:p></p><h2> <a name="_Toc294597068">Word-processing,
collecting and collating work</a><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">Logistics are so important here. There will come a
point when you need all of the work in two places – on a memory stick or
similar and backed up somewhere else. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You might achieve this by rushing around at the end of the
session and collecting everything onto the stick or by getting the students to
save to a shared area. The first method is stressful and the second is safer
but requires some effort on your part later. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And there are some unfortunate certainties:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Some students will fail to save their work or
will save it to somewhere so obscure that neither you nor they will ever find it
again. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Some students will fail to finish. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->You will have to do the final edit, no matter how
well students have edited before. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Getting all of the work in and ready to become a book can be
quite a challenge. Whilst it is reasonable to say that many students will
prefer to write straight to a computer, and that asking them to do this or
word-process their work later offers them the opportunity to enhance their IT
skills, there is no certainty that they will actually finish the work no matter
how much time you allow. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You cannot possibly take on this work yourself and getting
paid help with it would make your book’s price prohibitively high. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You have to think of a way of getting this word-processing
completed. You might enlist the help of parents, or of students and graduates
who are anxious to get some school experience or you might appoint a group of
IT or design experts from amongst your students. The latter may work
particularly well if you are conducting the workshop over several weeks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">If you do not give this matter enough attention, you risk
losing your book. Factor your decision about how to get the word-processing
completed into your planning. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597069">Finance</a><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">If you make your <i>Build
a Book Workshop</i> an extracurricular activity, you may be able to obtain some
funding e.g. Arts Council Small Grant. However, application processes are
time-consuming and applications are not always successful. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">You may be able to tap into some funds at your own school –
for instance, is there a special fund for the Gifted and Talented, for Special
Needs or for Activities Week? Or is this workshop so much part of what you
normally do that you can use part of your normal budget to fund it? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It may not be possible to get any help. But the good news is
that the book can be self-funding – more or less. For example, if you use a
Print On Demand company, such as Lightning Source, at the time of writing, each
book costs 70p plus 1p per page to print. It costs about £48 to upload your
book and cover. You will probably want a proof copy at about £21.00. Each print
run costs £1.39, and you do have to pay shipping. The latter starts at about
£5.00 for five books but rapidly becomes a lot cheaper the more you order.
Discounts are usually given on print runs over 50. It would probably be easy to
sell a hundred books if you worked with a whole year group. So, if you retail
your book at £4.00, and sell 100 you cover print costs, set-up costs and
shipping and have quite a bit left over for your designated charity. If your
marketing campaign flops completely and you don’t sell a single book, you’ll
have a nice book for the school library and you’ll have spent about £70 on a
worthwhile workshop. But actually, you’re likely to sell at least as many books
as there are participants in the workshop. If you put your price up to £5.00,
you are some way to covering the cost of a visiting writer even if they charge
full price. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We actually offer a package where we provide a visiting
writer, set up the title for you, and guarantee £1.00 profit per hard copy book
sold and 50% of profit on the e-book that comes automatically in the package.
We do ask, though, that you pay the writer’s travel expenses.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Of course, if your budget runs to it, you might consider
providing each student with a free copy of the book.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And if all of that still remains unaffordable, consider
creating a web site instead. This can be done without spending a penny. You can
still link to a charity. You might, however, want to consider purchasing a
domain name – at about £10.99 for two years. How to do this is explained in
Setting up a Web Book. <o:p></o:p></p><h2><a name="_Toc294597070">Some post-workshop tasks</a> <o:p></o:p></h2><p class="FirstParagraph">Whichever way you time your workshop there will be some
rather tedious tasks to complete afterwards. The excitement will be over, and a
book can fail at this point because a busy teacher cannot find the time or
motivation to complete the tasks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Delegation, diarising and critical time planning are
important here. The next chapter deals with critical time-planning. Here is a
list of what needs to be completed after the workshop: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Word-processing of students’ work <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->All work to be given a final edit <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Camera ready Word document to be produced<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Book to be prepared for uploading to the printer
(See The Technical Stuff) <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Market book<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Order copies<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Have a book launch <o:p></o:p></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Allow about ten hours for each of these
activities. Remember, it doesn’t need to be you that does the work and it
needn’t be done at one sitting. Your book launch, for instance, will probably
last about two hours but may need up to eight hours preparation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2021/07/build-book-workshop.html">Find the book here. </a></b></span></span></p>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-25913255056208425352024-03-04T02:21:00.000-08:002024-03-04T02:23:45.331-08:00Clara's Story <p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXEJ8c9jpWJyWFZLtmNQ16SuhG0toWD0YXrfMm9_LZ7IrH0aVdM2vrxUCWor3z6fNmGYs2cH4PkFasaWMg-jia7Qqwk7m5c9V996t7LJIqGUsS76Lx1KgMMG9s27-zaC6XAvi3SzqoZHFLpiLdhd1eWyyYsux2Rr6ewsedND6mqkS5mhETbutwxtcptE/s600/Clara's_Story_Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXEJ8c9jpWJyWFZLtmNQ16SuhG0toWD0YXrfMm9_LZ7IrH0aVdM2vrxUCWor3z6fNmGYs2cH4PkFasaWMg-jia7Qqwk7m5c9V996t7LJIqGUsS76Lx1KgMMG9s27-zaC6XAvi3SzqoZHFLpiLdhd1eWyyYsux2Rr6ewsedND6mqkS5mhETbutwxtcptE/s320/Clara's_Story_Medium.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p></p><h4 class="NovelChapter" style="text-align: left;"><a name="_Toc391058742">8 October 1918, Berlin: The end
of a phase</a> </h4>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph">Clara shuddered. It was one of those strange
uncontrollable little movements. Her mother used to say it meant someone was
walking over your grave. What did that mean, actually though? They were walking
over where you were going to be buried? How would you know now? It was nonsense
really but she had no better or even any other explanation for it. It wasn’t as
if it was cold in the kitchen: the Kackelofen was lit and the sun was streaming
through the window. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">She put the rest of yesterday’s birthday cake away. Ernst
had insisted she should celebrate her birthday despite his illness. She’d baked
one of her special cheesecakes but nobody had had much appetite for it. It
would keep a few days, she guessed. Perhaps when he was feeling better they
would all appreciate it more. </p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked at the
clock. He should have called for his tea by now. It was half an hour past the
normal time. She’d looked in on him earlier. He’d been sound asleep. Doctor
Friedrich had said it was good to let him sleep. Perhaps she should go and look
in on him again. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">The doctor hadn’t really given a clear diagnosis. “It’s a combination
of things, Frau Lehrs,” he’d said. “His worry about this war has weakened him.
The rickets has got worse. And now this chest infection…” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“That shouldn’t kill a man, though, should it, Herr Doctor?
He will recover won’t he?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I’m afraid I can’t say. He’s still quite young but you know
this terrible war has taken its toll. It’s made men even younger than him want
to give up. I’m sorry I can’t give you any better news.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">Damn men and their wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clara made her way towards her husband’s room. So many men killed on
both sides and so many left with half-lives. And now they were all so poor. It
wasn’t so bad for them as for some of the people who worked in Ernst’s factory.
But they had had to cut Imelda’s hours in order to pay for the nurse.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The door to Ernst’s room was flung open. Schwester Adelberg
rushed out. “Frau Lehrs, you must come quickly,” she cried. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">Clara hurried into the bedroom. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">Ernst’s breathing was laboured. His chest was rattling. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Should we send for the doctor?” said Clara. But she could
tell from the look on the nurse’s face that it was too late. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“You must say your goodbyes,” Schwester Adelberg whispered
guiding her gently towards the bed. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">Clara knelt down beside her husband and put her face next to
his. She took his hand. He was trying to speak but she couldn’t make out what
he was saying. Yellow bile streamed from his nose and seeped from the corners
of his mouth and his eyes. He tried to push the sheets and blankets away. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Does he have a fever?” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“It’s the blood rushing to his vital organs, trying to save
them. His lungs are filling. That sound you hear is them working to expel the
fluid but it has gone too far now.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Is – is he in pain?” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“He’s probably not comfortable and he’s very likely afraid
and lonely. Talk to him.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Ernst – Ernst, my love. Don’t leave me yet. It’s too soon.”
</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Schwester Adelberg touched her shoulder. “There’s nothing
more we can do,” she whispered. “Try to comfort him.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">Clara stroked his arm. “I’m here my darling. It will be all
right. Sleep gently. You’ll soon have no more pain.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">He looked at once like a child and a man forty years older.
Her father had not looked this frail when he’d died. Ernst’s poor body was a
twisted wreck. But it had been like that all of his life and he’d done so much
despite his disability. She stroked his hair. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">He relaxed a little. He took one final breath and the rattle
in his chest stopped. His faced changed and he looked peaceful. Yet at the same
time he looked like a piece of paper. His lips and cheeks were grey. Yes, the
life had gone out of him. That wasn’t her Ernst anymore. Even so she leant over
and kissed his forehead. “Goodbye, sweetheart,” she whispered. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">She knelt for a few more minutes holding his hand and then she
stood up. “We’d better get the doctor here to sign a death certificate,” she
said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I’m happy to stay and lay him out properly after the
doctor’s visit,” said Schwester Adelberg. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Thank you.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“And would you like me to help with the arrangements?” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">“That would be very kind. Now, I’d better go and let the children
know.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">As Clara made her way down the stairs she realised that another
phase of her life had ended. </p><p class="NovelBody"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/search/label/Clara%27s%20Story">Find your copy here. </a></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-81929819933722633242024-02-16T07:51:00.000-08:002024-02-16T07:52:25.644-08:00Build a Book Workshop <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUKk9HWgtCBCkvftJT77zcqSNyxO-eed73RMg4sNvQ1r-2qM-ui9GRvHFTvgqHvz3W6wfjEbnZlyJ4UFNsQgIoI3dL3q2LS3u92T_YusJcM0pqnUArE4zROAGYOjNEkZlOgXNxwcuI2eZoWkiYXc-2bKSsIrCn0hyGmED2SppuEzySM-gTa2vdFuW6_Y/s500/BuildaBook%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUKk9HWgtCBCkvftJT77zcqSNyxO-eed73RMg4sNvQ1r-2qM-ui9GRvHFTvgqHvz3W6wfjEbnZlyJ4UFNsQgIoI3dL3q2LS3u92T_YusJcM0pqnUArE4zROAGYOjNEkZlOgXNxwcuI2eZoWkiYXc-2bKSsIrCn0hyGmED2SppuEzySM-gTa2vdFuW6_Y/s320/BuildaBook%20.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><h1><a name="_Toc294597061"></a><a name="_Toc294597060"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc294597061;">Introduction</span></a> </h1>
<p class="FirstParagraph">The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Build a Book Workshop
</i>is about getting your students to create a book in a limited amount of
time. They look at the whole process of how a book is made: writing, editing,
selecting, designing, illustrating and marketing. This workshop enables
students to see what is involved in producing a book and motivates them to
start and to complete a piece of writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They actually produce a book. It becomes a tangible object
that sits on a shelf. You may also opt to have the book as an e-book and a web
site if you wish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This process is very adaptable and can easily be used to
build a book in a day, two days, a week, a month, a term or a year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some work needs to be carried out behind the scenes, some of
which is quite technical, and this guide shows you how. If the technical work
is too much, we also show you ways of getting help with that as effectively as
possible. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everything described in this manual for teachers is based on
the experience of producing anthologies of children’s writers with schools. All
of the books have supported a charity – in two cases this was the schools own
library - and in all cases students’ confidence in their writing has
increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book Workshop
</i>can be extremely cross-curricular and offers your students opportunities
to: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>improve their writing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand the world of publishing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>work collaboratively </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand the wider community</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>support the wider community</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand how businesses work </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>improve their IT skills</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>take part in an enterprise activity</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This manual contains a step-by-step guide to setting up a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book Workshop</i> and making sure
that a book is produced at the end of it. There are several choices at each
stage of the process. It is probably a good idea to read it from cover to cover
to start with and then work through it section by section when you have a
clearer idea of your workshop shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You may also order a book containing photocopiable resources
from our web site. You may purchase this as a hard copy or as a PDF file. Also
a template for formatting your book is available from our web site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2021/07/build-book-workshop.html">Find your copy here</a> <br /></b></span></p>
Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-12168369179283673942024-01-30T04:10:00.000-08:002024-01-30T04:10:29.106-08:00The Tower, Landquake<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSermJK80iv6RJ1nNanpJJMeWLm79G46k_TzpeV6LBwGwK3ZUb5nIv48ChoAkzoVvtUnVWwI72nDZq3Ke5z85-NJI8dIfzuHmN0DzoI6FcfgV8DKvvOFU7pYBJ9LsVRq-vCkE3QcNydDSqkpFi9Rv0t2gdsddC3h_xL9lZrmwH74PU_K2H5oFw37H49Ks/s250/The%20Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSermJK80iv6RJ1nNanpJJMeWLm79G46k_TzpeV6LBwGwK3ZUb5nIv48ChoAkzoVvtUnVWwI72nDZq3Ke5z85-NJI8dIfzuHmN0DzoI6FcfgV8DKvvOFU7pYBJ9LsVRq-vCkE3QcNydDSqkpFi9Rv0t2gdsddC3h_xL9lZrmwH74PU_K2H5oFw37H49Ks/s1600/The%20Tower.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p></p><h1 align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc297471835"></a><a name="_Toc288719047"></a></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">“It’s a landquake!” shouted Nazaret. “We have to get into the safebox!
It’s a landquake.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“What?” asked Kaleem. What was a safebox? What was a
landquake for that matter? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“This way, quick,” called Nazaret. He was passing a
laser key over what Kaleem had never even realised was a door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“It’s not working. Come on, come on!” He kept passing
the key over the panel. “We’ve only got a few seconds.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The whole building shook again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Stand in the doorway, at least,” called Nazaret. “Quick.
The big one will happen in a minute.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem did as he was asked. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Nazaret continued to fiddle with the laser key. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The building carried on shaking and rumbling. Kaleem had
heard about earthquakes on Terrestra but although they used to do a lot of
damage, they wouldn’t do now because the buildings were made so well. And there
had not been one for over a thousand years. Since all of that activity in the early
twenty-first century it had been relatively quiet. Even then, though, the
quakes had only lasted a few seconds. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Thank goodness,” called Nazaret as a door sprang open.
“Come on. Get in. Quick.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">As soon as they were in the box and Nazaret had sealed
the door the shaking and juddering stopped. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“What’s going on?” asked Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“It’s a landquake,” said Nazaret. “It hasn’t happened
for nearly two thousand years.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“So, what is a landquake?” asked Kaleem. “Is it like an
earthquake on Terrestra?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Same effect, different cause,” said Nazaret. “It isn’t
something happening underneath the planet’s crust, like on Terrestra. It just
happens up on the surface. It’s sort of rippling caused by sudden changes in
temperature.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“What causes that?” asked Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Sun spot activity, massive storms….,” Nazaret went pale.
“By Zandra, I hope it’s not all the new plantations that have done it.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“It wouldn’t be, would it?” said Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Who knows?” said Nazaret with a shrug. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The safebox suddenly started to vibrate. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“What’s happening?” asked Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“We’re almost down,” said Nazaret. “The box is preparing
to land.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“How does this work, then?” said Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“The box has very strong shields, sensors and
stabilisers,” replied Nazaret. “It finds its way through the falling debris and
finds a place to land where no building can fall on it.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“So do all buildings have safe quake boxes?” asked
Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yes, they have to, by law,” said Nazaret. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Nobody ever told me,” said Kaleem. Huh! Look well if
he’d been in the house on his own. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Well it’s more of a superstition now really,” said
Nazaret. “We’d begun to think it was never going to happen again.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Box landed,” said an electronic voice. “Doors opening
in twenty seconds”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Oh well, here goes,” said Nazaret. “Let’s hope your
mother got out okay.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem and Nazaret stepped outside the safebox. Their
building looked quite damaged but not destroyed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I suppose they must build everything to resist landquakes, </i>thought
Kaleem. There were several other safeboxes on the ground. Already builder
droids were clearing the rubble. People were milling around looking dazed but
not hurt. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem suddenly remembered Edmundson’s panic. Had he
known about the landquake coming? Was that why he’d told him to get home
quickly? What would have happened if it had started on the way home?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Nazaret’s personal communicator buzzed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Darling, thank goodness you’re okay,” Kaleem heard
Nazaret say. There was a pause while Marijam said something. “Yes, yes, he’s
fine. He was in the apartment and came down in the safebox with me.” Another
pause. “Yes, yes, you’re right. And I need to find out how the plantations
are.” He turned to Kaleem. “Let’s go and find a public dataserve centre.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">They didn’t have to go far. They found a centre with
only a small queue. Kaleem held his breath as his father called up the plantation
centre. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Nazaret went pale again. “No!” he gasped. He slumped in
his comfisessel. His hands were shaking. Kaleem thought he was going to pass
out. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem looked over his father’s shoulder at the screen.
Two thirds of the plantations had been destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2021/07/the-tower.html">Find your copy here</a> </b></span> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-50076875505310199162024-01-19T00:56:00.000-08:002024-01-19T00:56:23.403-08:00The Tower, Contacting Terrestra<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><h1 align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc297471834"></a><a name="_Toc288719046"></a></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB22MdqbOUT2qH8L9lTeJ1JV8FF-nKNyHVoGPKZUFA-dWXnUc4q7uQ_GgzI2mmAPIK0sRgSbIJ0vflmTi7bagyLwSud136hTu8lI2xqWXMWX46o6uWBWGNWOhbZgkyeL0rJa991okgbsWfq2PMicW_ufWLHwkfV06oPObKPmPFuK4Ff2jjeNYMma3sQc/s250/The%20Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB22MdqbOUT2qH8L9lTeJ1JV8FF-nKNyHVoGPKZUFA-dWXnUc4q7uQ_GgzI2mmAPIK0sRgSbIJ0vflmTi7bagyLwSud136hTu8lI2xqWXMWX46o6uWBWGNWOhbZgkyeL0rJa991okgbsWfq2PMicW_ufWLHwkfV06oPObKPmPFuK4Ff2jjeNYMma3sQc/s1600/The%20Tower.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Kaleem’s journey home was entirely uneventful. He could not understand
why Edmundson had got so agitated … unless it was something to do with that
strange droid. He dreaded to think what that might be. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Marijam was out when Kaleem got back. Nazaret, however,
was not. He could do without this, he really could. Yes, it was totally
illogical but it was there: he was uncomfortable around his father, even though
he actually liked the man and this was the very same father he wondered about
for years before he eventually met him, seventeen years after he’d been born. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Nazaret was working at the communal dataserve in the
lounge. Why did he have to be there? Why wasn’t he working in his office
downstairs? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Mum gone out?” asked Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yes, she had a meet,” replied Nazaret. “We may have
something to celebrate later. Looks as if they have the credits for the
artificial photosynthesis project. If that goes ahead, we’ll have this planet
looking like Terrestra in no time.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Oh, good,” mumbled Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Just give me a couple of secs – ah here it is,” Nazaret
looked up from the dataserve and grinned at Kaleem. “This is all in Wordtext
and I’m so slow at it. I need the expert help of my one and only son.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem cringed. He looked at the screen. Oh, it was easy
to read, and not all that important. It was just about the expected success
rate of farmed acorns’ ability to germinate and produce oak trees. Well, they
knew that already and Nazaret had taken it much further. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Thanks,” said Nazaret, after Kaleem had finished. “And
how was your meet?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now we’re getting
to it,</i> thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You’re just
being nosey. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">He told Nazaret all that Edmundson had said and all
about Emmerline. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Ah yes,” said Nazaret. “The famous Emmerline. Now I
really would like to meet that droid one day.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No you wouldn’t, </i>thought
Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She’s a tart and you’re a married
man. Married to my mum, in fact. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“But you already knew that, didn’t you?” Nazaret
continued. “Don’t you think it would be better to get some new people here?
That bunch is already committed enough, don’t you think? It’s other Terrestrans
who need to be educated.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“It’s not what Edmundson said,” replied Kaleem. “Look
I’d better get on.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Don’t work too hard,” Nazaret called as Kaleem made his
way to his room. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I wish he wouldn’t
interfere,</i> thought Kaleem. Yet he knew Nazaret was right. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">As soon as he walked through the doorway into his room
the dataserve switched itself on. The machine was loading up before Kaleem
could even think what he wanted to do. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Communicate with Terrestra?” asked his own younger
voice. He really must get that voice changed. And he really must find out a bit
more about how these machines did it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yes,” replied Kaleem. “Razjosh Elder, please.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Within seconds Razjosh’s face was filling the screen. Just
two years ago that would never have happened. Zandra would not have been able
to communicate with Terrestra that easily. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We
must be doing something right after all, </i>thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Ah, Kaleem,” said Razjosh. “Good to hear from you. Can
I be of any help?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem explained about the meet with Don Edmundson,
about Emmerline’s suggestions and about Nazaret’s reaction. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“So, I think he might be right,” said Kaleem. “Shouldn’t
it be Terrestrans who’ve never been here before who come here? And ones that
need educating. Those friends of mine don’t so much.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Or would you consider that it might be too much in one
go for most people? It may even be quite a lot for these friends of yours,
despite their openness,” said Razjosh. Then he smiled. “Though I expect Mz
Sandi Depra will cope admirably. As actually, I suspect, will Saratina.”
Razjosh suddenly looked serious. “But Rozia. Rozia Laurence. How will that be
for you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem wished the elder hadn’t mentioned that. He
couldn’t bring himself to think too much about it. It would be just too painful
having her here if they couldn’t be together. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Is she well enough to travel? How is she? Have you
heard from her?” Razjosh continued. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yes, yes, she’s fine now,” replied Kaleem. “Fully
recovered.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The elder’s eyes lit up. “You’re in touch?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If only</i>,
thought Kaleem. “Not really,” he mumbled. “I’ve been watching her, though.”
That sounded terrible. He felt himself blush. He tried to work out what Razjosh
made of that but the elder’s face was like stone. He was completely
unreadable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Take care with her,” he said. “And take care of
yourself.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“So you think I should ask that delegation to come
then?” asked Kaleem, changing the subject. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“I do. I do indeed,” replied Razjosh. “There is one
thing, though.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Oh?” said Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“You really shouldn’t be relying on me for advice,” said
Razjosh. “I shouldn’t be here now and goodness knows what might happen at any
time. I can’t imagine I’ve got that much time left.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem’s mouth went dry and his heart began to pound.
“There’s nothing wrong is there?” he asked. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“No, no, no. Nothing specific.” said Razjosh. “But I am
getting on bit.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">That was a relief. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“You do have your father there. You can talk to him. And
there is also your grandfather. But,” Razjosh sighed, “a Peace Child really
does need to be able to keep his own counsel.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem couldn’t think what to say. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Come,” said Razjosh. “Not so glum. I’ll always be delighted
to hear your news. And I won’t be beyond offering a snippet or two of my
collected wisdom, now and then, for what it’s worth. But you can do it, you
know. On your own. So, take care, Kaleem. Good bye.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Good bye,” whispered Kaleem as the screen went
blank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well, I’d better
get on with it,</i> he thought. The easiest would be Sandi Depra. Definitely.
Sandi’s face appeared on the screen within seconds of Kaleem calling her up. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Hey, Funny Head,” she called. “How’s it going?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Good,” said Kaleem. What was she calling him funny head
for? Her own today was frizzy and blond with thin pink strips of straight hair
that had been wired to stand upright. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“So how may I help?” she asked. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem told her about Edmundson’s suggestion. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“You mean I get a second chance to come to Zandra?” she
said. “After I missed out the first time. Mind you, the Supercraft trip was
good. Even the scary bits.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“You did get to Zandra eventually,” said Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yeah, after all the fun was over,” replied Sandi. “You’d
done it all by then. And we were only there for such a short time. This time
we’d really matter. Count me in!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was good to
see Sandi so enthusiastic about the project. Mind you, she always was
enthusiastic. About everything. She never seemed all that serious really. It
was difficult to work out how she had become head of health. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Well that’s good,” said Kaleem. “One down, five to go.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yeah, Rozia,” said Sandi. “That’s a tough one. Do you
think she’ll come.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Oh yes!” said Kaleem. Rozia would always do what was
right – no matter how much pain it caused her. He didn’t think he could bear it
though, the pain of being so near to her and not being able to be with her,
knowing that she now belonged to someone else. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Hey, come on Funny Head, cheer up,” said Sandi. “You’ll
do it. You know you can.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“If you say so, said Kaleem. He just didn’t know how and
he wished somebody could tell him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Way to go! We’re off to Zandra!” cried Sandi.
“Woo-ooh!” She twirled round on the spot and then turned back to grin at
Kaleem. “Keep me informed, Peace Child babe! Tata for now.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem wished she had stayed a bit longer. She did
always manage to cheer him up. In fact, he was having some difficulty stopping
himself from laughing. He would have to calm down before he moved on to the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The others were remarkably easy to talk to as well in
the end. None of them hesitated. Saratina was really excited though it was
impossible to tell what she was saying. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">“Om zanna?
Eelee? M iarateena? </span>On oopooraf? Es! Es!”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem guessed by the way she was clapping her hands and
jumping up and down that the answer was yes. The vigorous nodding of the head
was a further clue. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“I take it that means “yes”?” he asked</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The jumping, clapping and nodding became even more
vigorous.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Ank oo aleey!” she said. Then the screen went blank.
Ah! So the Z Zone wasn’t quite up to speed yet. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Pierre LaFontaine was at a meet so his communicator was
on standby. Kaleem had to talk to his partner Stuart Davidson instead. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“I’m sure Pierre
would love to come to Zandra,” he said. “He often talks about how envious he
was of you when he knew you were leaving Terrestra. And of how he envies you
being involved in all of this diplomatic work.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He’s envious? </i>thought
Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’d swap him any day. Well apart
from having Stuart Davidson as a partner. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Well, what about you?” asked Pierre. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yeah,” replied Stuart. “Yeah, I’d like to come.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“You have changed!” said Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A bit different from your dad,</i> he thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yeah, well, you know, my dad had got it wrong,” said
Stuart Davidson. “He really thought it was right and it was better for
everybody on Terrestra if we didn’t mix with other people.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess he did, </i>thought Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Do you know the funny thing is,” Stuart continued, “it
was actually reading Wordtext and some of the stuff I then read that made me
start thinking a bit differently?” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem laughed. “Well I’m glad I thought of that
punishment up for you,” he said. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Oh, yes, it was a punishment all right,” replied
Stuart. “Bloomin’ hard work. But I’m glad I can do it now.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Stuart confirmed that he and Pierre would come and they
would get in touch again soon. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Ben Alki Mazrouth was also enthusiastic. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“About time I did something useful,” he said. “I haven’t
really up until now.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Well what about when you helped to stop Razjosh’s
switch-off?” said Kaleem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Well, that was me and a few others,” said Ben Alki. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“Yes, but we couldn’t have done it without you,” said
Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Ben Alki shrugged. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’d really like to do this,” he said. “Not
just because it would be exciting, going to another planet. I’d like to work
with you – for you, if you like, all the time. The projects I’ve done so far
have been pretty meaningless.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Somebody
actually wanted to work with him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">So, everybody was in agreement then. They would all come
on this mission and perhaps more importantly would happily receive visitors
from Zandra. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">There was just one more communication he needed to make
now. Rozia. That one he was dreading. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">How could he ask her to come here? How could he even
talk to her? He couldn’t be comfortable around her, that he knew. What would it
be like for her? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">He was suddenly hit by a wave of memories. How he’d
first met her. How they went into the Z Zone together. How good she’d been with
the Adulkis. Then the terrible scene when she’d fallen unconscious. All those
weeks when she’d been in that coma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
finally when he’d had to leave her. He didn’t want to. Of course he didn’t. But
it had been the right thing to do. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">He’d followed her Glog all those months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew how it was for her now. She was with
Julien now. She loved this new man as much as she had once loved him. In a
different way but just as much. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Kaleem could not imagine himself being with anybody
else. That at least was something he had in common with Nazaert. Now that he
had found the one, there could be no other woman for him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Obviously different for her. But that’s what he’d
wanted, wasn’t it? That she should be happy with someone else. Well, it was one
thing knowing that this was right. It was another entirely feeling okay about
it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">Whatever the rights and wrongs about it all, how was he
going to face her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How was he going to
do it? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">But do it he must. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">He called up her sign. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">The dataserve screen flickered. Then it went black. In
fact all the lights went out in the apartment. An alarm started sounding. The
whole building started to shake. The doors on cupboards flew open and objects
on shelves fell to the ground. There was a low rumble all the time. Kaleem
found it hard to keep his balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">“We have to get out,” shouted Nazaret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2021/07/the-tower.html">Get your copy here! </a></b></span></p>
Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-90493893061313381592023-12-18T11:55:00.000-08:002024-01-19T00:59:09.711-08:00The Tower, Imagining a Tower, by Gill James <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB22MdqbOUT2qH8L9lTeJ1JV8FF-nKNyHVoGPKZUFA-dWXnUc4q7uQ_GgzI2mmAPIK0sRgSbIJ0vflmTi7bagyLwSud136hTu8lI2xqWXMWX46o6uWBWGNWOhbZgkyeL0rJa991okgbsWfq2PMicW_ufWLHwkfV06oPObKPmPFuK4Ff2jjeNYMma3sQc/s250/The%20Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="167" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB22MdqbOUT2qH8L9lTeJ1JV8FF-nKNyHVoGPKZUFA-dWXnUc4q7uQ_GgzI2mmAPIK0sRgSbIJ0vflmTi7bagyLwSud136hTu8lI2xqWXMWX46o6uWBWGNWOhbZgkyeL0rJa991okgbsWfq2PMicW_ufWLHwkfV06oPObKPmPFuK4Ff2jjeNYMma3sQc/s1600/The%20Tower.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B00C79UGAQ" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1 align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc297471833"></a><a name="_Toc288719045"></a> </h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Enmerkar looked steadily at the stranger. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“What did the King say he wanted?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“He says he wants to discuss a plan for a new building,
something very big. Perhaps the biggest he has ever planned,” the messenger
replied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The man’s clothes were covered in dust. He had obviously
been riding a long time. In this heat as well. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“You must be tired and thirsty,” said Enmerkar. “May I
offer you some refreshment?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The messenger nodded and bowed slightly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Mariam,” called Enmerkar. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">His sister arrived. Her eyes met his, she smiled briefly,
bowed to the messenger and then lowered her eyes. Even with her head covered
and even though her diamond-like eyes were no longer showing, she was more beautiful
than any woman Enmerkar had ever met. No, he didn’t have any improper thoughts
about her. She was his sister and you just did not think that way about your
sister. But it did make it difficult for him to take a wife himself. His sister
was setting a high standard. Besides, he had to look after her until he had
found a husband for her and she was married. That was proving difficult. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar smiled to himself, though, as he watched the
man’s eyes grew round. His sister always had this effect. No man between here and
Babylon was
able to resist her. Despite his tiredness, this man, Enmerkar could see, was
aroused. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Fetch some wine, some olives and some of our best
cheese,” commanded Enmerkar. “And wear a full veil when you return,” he
whispered. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“She is betrothed?” asked the stranger after Mariam had
left them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar sighed. “No, she is far too fussy. Much too
grand to elect a mere messenger from the king.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The man blushed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar regretted what he had said straight away. He
was not superior to this man. Yes, he was a master builder, like their father
had been. They were a well-respected family and were quite wealthy now but they
were after all just workers, servants almost. Someone from the king’s court
would actually be a very good match indeed for Mariam. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Do you have any idea what he actually wants?” asked
Enmerkar as he watched the man eat and drink. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“No, just that it is a big project,” replied the man. “A
little crazy perhaps.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“And there is no other builder who can do it?” asked
Enmerkar. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The man shook his head. “He asked for you.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar sighed. “Well, I guess we should set off at
sunrise tomorrow. But I warn you, I shall have to bring my sister.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">King Nimrod slowly paced up and down as he talked. He waved his long arms
every time he spoke. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“It will have to be the grandest building ever made. It
must be glorious. It must speak to God!” He turned to look at Enmerkar. “You
will have your chance, my friend,” he said, “to show off your fine building
skills. To use your little baked bricks. It will be your moment of glory.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar shuddered inside. The type of building project
Nimrod seemed to be talking about would take years. He only had a few skilled
men who knew how to make the bricks and how to slime them together. Even
training up others would take months. And he daren’t use unskilled workers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">And Nimrod was being so vague about exactly what he did
want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Is there really no other builder you can use?” asked Enmerkar.
But he already knew the answer. He was, after all, the master builder. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Nimrod stopped pacing. “I will even accept your sister
as a wife for my youngest son,” he said. “Without a dowry.” Then he laughed.
“Though with what I propose to pay you for this project you could give a
handsome dowry for a dozen sisters.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">That would be something, Enmerkar supposed. Get Mariam
off his hands. Surely she would not object to marrying a prince? Even if it was
not one of the heirs to the royal title. In fact, Nimrod’s youngest son, Joshua
was far pleasanter than the twins, Hunor and Magor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d even seen Mariam talking to him and
laughing – without her face veil, the hussy – so perhaps already something was
there. Perhaps this young man could make her happy. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">He would have to accept this challenge. The building was
going to be difficult. At least his sister would be settled and maybe he too
would have time to seek out a wife. Maybe a fine one, here at the court. And
with the sum Nimrod was prepared to pay, he would never have to think about
money again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Very well,” he said. “But only if I have full control
over the design, the choice of materials, the choice of workers and the pace at
which the work is completed.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Indeed, my friend,” replied Nimrod and embraced
Enmerkar. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The king was a tall, muscular man and immensely strong.
Enmerkar could barely breathe as Nimrod squeezed him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Now let us send for our young relatives and let them
know the good news,” said the king, finally letting Enmerkar go. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">It was even hotter here at the palace than at home. Enmerkar was finding
it difficult to think straight. He dreaded baking the bricks for such a
project. Would it be easier to have them made at home and transported here? It
would be cooler there. A little at least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Home. Ah! This would be his home now. For years. Yes,
years, not months.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">There was one consolation. Mariam had accepted Joshua as
a husband with only a little protest. “Oh, but why not Magor or Hunor? Think,
brother, your sister as a queen!” In the end, though, she’d settled for Joshua.
And he’d been right; they were falling in love. He’d even caught them lying
together and had had to play the angry brother – though not too much so, because
he was dealing with the king’s son. Secretly, though, he was pleased. So, a
wedding had to be planned too. The sooner the better perhaps, if that couple
were to carry on being so promiscuous. A prince’s bride should not be with
child when she marries. Planning a wedding anyway was a welcome distraction
from planning this impossible tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
there was something further that was also occupying his mind: the friendship he
was enjoying with Naomi, the king’s niece. Could it be… would she be the one?
She didn’t excite him, hardly aroused him even, but she was certainly pretty
enough. Good company, in fact. He presumed love would grow … </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">But now he must get back to the tower. If he made it
5433 cubits, if he made it taper… then surely the bricks at the bottom wouldn’t
collapse. He wanted it to be a sort of Ziggurat, Nimrod had said, but much
bigger than normal. Just how many bricks would that need? How much clay would
he have to find and how many men would he need to fetch the clay, shape the
bricks and then put them together? He had some calculations to do now. He must
not be distracted by the thoughts of weddings and of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Soon he was absorbed again in his mathematics. The base
was going to have to be huge so that the tower could taper and still be useful
at the top. No one had been able to tell him - not even the sages Nimrod had
asked in for advice – just how high he would have to make the tower so that it
would touch the sky. But if Nimrod really wanted a true Ziggurat… well the
spiral pathway up the tower would be so wide that he would be able to place
small lodgings at the sides… maybe even small fields for the animals. And of
course, people walking to the top or travelling by ass would need places to
rest and take some refreshment. It wouldn’t just be a tower. It would be a
whole city. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The noise of someone clearing their throat broke his
concentration. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“And so how is it going, my fine friend?” asked Baltuus.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar recognized the man he had dined with the night
before. He was one of the sages who knew a lot about mathematics </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Enmerkar sighed. “It is going to take a lot of clay, a
lot of fire to bake the bricks and a lot of men. And no end of time.” He looked
down at the notes he had made. “Seventeen years. And only then if I can find enough
good men to train and if their training works.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Baltuus shook his head. “Why must he build the tower so
high? What does he hope to gain by it?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“He wants to show what man can achieve,” replied
Enmerkar. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“But why not just build a fine city?” asked Baltuus.
“Won’t that do just as well, be more useful, and in fact much easier to build?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“He wants to stretch it to Heaven, so that even Yahweh
will have to admire how great man is,” replied Enmerkar.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Baltuus shook his head, as he examined Enmerkar’s
calculations. “That will never work, my friend.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“The bricks won’t hold, you mean?” asked Enmerkar. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“No, no, no, not that,” replied Baltuus. “Your
calculations are correct. I’m talking about trying to impress Yahweh. Look
around you. Look at the mountains and the seas. And the trees and the beasts.
Now that is an impressive creation. Your tower is nothing in comparison. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Now if you said that you were building the tower so that
you could talk more easily with Yahweh, that might be a different matter,” said
Baltuus. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“It would make him angry,” answered Enmerkar. He could
just picture Nimrod’s answer to that. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Baltuus nodded his head and tapped Enmerkar’s shoulder.
“Take care, my friend,” he said. “You are right. This tower will cause
anger.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p> <b><a href="https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2021/07/the-tower.html">Get your copy here.</a></b>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-55406405477257330902023-12-07T03:15:00.000-08:002023-12-07T03:15:45.708-08:00The Tower, Zandra<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tower-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B00C79UGAQ?crid=3VPKVOR1SN0PP&keywords=The+Tower+Gill+james&qid=1701947685&sprefix=the+tower+gill+james%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=264892327b2f919c424f5d7b61193e8c&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00C79UGAQ&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B00C79UGAQ" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1 align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc297471832"></a><a name="_Toc288719044"></a> </h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Gengis Hall 231 was just like any other meet venue that Kaleem had been
in – either here on Zandra or on Terrestra. Boring, but particularly so when
your meet partner was running late. Kaleem stared at the holoscene which showed
through the window. At least it was convincing. You really felt as if you were
looking at a view through a window, just like you might on Terrestra. It was
storied from a real place: one of the infant forests, complete with bluebells,
ice-bells and all the rest, one of the very forests that his father was working
on. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He gets everywhere,
</i>thought Kaleem. He wished Edmundson would hurry up. He needed to find out
what he wanted. He was beginning to imagine all sorts. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The dataserve whirred into life. Edmundson’s face
appeared on the screen. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Listen Kennedy,” he said. “I’m going to be another
fifteen minutes at least. Load the stuff about acorn and vaccine exchange. You
tell me what those statistics mean.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Of course,” said Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Edmundson was still not giving anything away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The screen blanked over before Edmundson said goodbye.
In fact, Kaleem, supposed, he probably hadn’t said goodbye. Edmundson never
wasted time on superfluous words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before
he even thought about what he’d been asked to do, the screen suddenly started
showing the Supercraft at London
Harbour and Zandra Dock 1.
He was now watching similar scenes to the ones he’d seen yesterday. He didn’t
bother, though, this time asking for the Figurescript version of the
statistics. He was fairly certain that Edmundson couldn’t read Figurescript. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">It was quite mesmerising listening to the robotic
voiceover. “Day 116 3520, acorns imported 7500, vaccine exported 5679.
Viability in package from day 116 3519 96%. Vaccine to date 97% effective.
Forecast for new needs, Day 118 3520, 17,000 acorns, 18,644 doses of vaccine.
Forecast for reciprocal needs met Day 220 3527…” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodness, if I
ever can’t sleep, </i>thought Kaleem, <i>I’ll</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> load some of this stuff up. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">It struck him as he watched the split screen picture of
London Harbour and Zandra Dock 1 that although Zandrian droids and Supercraft were
not quite the same, there was more the same about them than different. The Supercraft
were more or less the same shape and had the entrances in exactly the same
places, the droids were the same height and walked in the normal slightly stiff
manner and the metal containers being loaded at either end were exactly the
same size, colour and shape, but the Zandrian ones had a green cross on them to
show that they held medication and the Terrestrans had green hexagons to show
that they contained plant life. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Do you see what’s missing?” a voice behind him asked. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem jumped. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">He turned to face Don Edmundson. The
man was even scarier in the flesh than he was usually on screen. There was
absolutely no expression on his face at all. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem shook his head. He just couldn’t
think with Edmundson staring at him like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Doesn’t it strike you as odd that
there are no people around?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem looked back at the screen. Well
there were people, but only a very few. Most of the work was being done by the
droids. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I mean, getting on and off the Supercraft,”
said Edmundson. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Forecast daily rate for this lunar
period,” the robotic voiceover droned on. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Fine, we know,” said Edmundson,
looking pointedly at the dataserve screen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The screen went blank immediately and the
serve itself gave a final bleep. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Edmundson nodded to Kaleem that he
should sit down and took one of the not-so comfisessels himself. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Everything is going according to
plan,” said Edmundson, “as far as acorns and vaccine are concerned. But another
part of the bargain was a greater connection between the people of Zandra and
Terrestra. I don’t see it happening.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“What do you mean exactly?” asked
Kaleem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I mean that we need people,
Terrestrans, to come to Zandra now. And we need to get Zandrians on Terrestra.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Yes. Of course. Kaleem had known that
all along. In fact that had even been his excuse for coming here. Or that was
what he had told everyone including his parents and his grandparents: he was
here on a Peace Child mission. He had to oversee the first visits to Zandra
from Terrestrans and then increase the number of visitors from Terrestra to
Zandra. There had been just a few – himself, his mother and the small team that
had come across on the first mission to Zandra in search of the vaccine against
the Starlight Racer disease. If he was honest, though, he had really come here
to get away from Rozia and everything associated with her. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Well? said Edmundson. “Do you have any
concrete plans yet?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“No,” said Kaleem. “You can imagine how
carefully we have to tread with Terrestrans.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I don’t have to imagine,” replied
Edmundson quickly. “It’s all too obvious. It was part of the original agreement
that an exchange of persons as well as materials would actually take place. You
and your mother are hardly enough. And besides, that is not an exchange: there
are no Zandrians on Terrestra.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem knew he was absolutely right. He
would have to do something and soon. He would probably have to ask Razjosh for
ideas. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I suggest,” Edmundson continued, “a
person exchange. Six people go from here to Terrestra, and meet with six
Terrestran delegates. They travel back to Zandra with our people. Not too much
to ask is it, just for a start?”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">No, it wasn’t. But Kaleem knew he would
be pushed to find six. Maybe Pierre and Stuart. Razjosh was too old really and
probably wouldn’t count as he’d been before. Rozia, he knew, would come like a
shot. He daren’t ask her, though. He wouldn’t be able to cope with her being
there. Not now that she was with Julien. Abel and Kevik – but they were too
busy in the Z Zone. Saratina maybe? But how would they react to her here? No,
he shouldn’t think like that. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Well?” asked Edmundson. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“It sounds reasonable,” said Kaleem.
Reasonable but almost impossible. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Good,” said Edmundson. “I’ll get
Emmerline to show you the ideas we’d had.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem shuddered. Edmundson’s secretary
droid was famous. It was always difficult to remember that she wasn’t a real
woman. She was so life-like and always carried so much authority. But of
course, not being human she never tired. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The door swished open and in she came. Only
the slightest jerkiness in her movements and the data that started streaming
across the screen as she moved into the room gave away that she was a droid and
not a sexy young woman. She moved her hips as she walked and her long straight
blond hair flowed behind her as she moved. She was connecting directly with the
dataserve, though. Soon images flickered and flashed making Kaleem blink. So,
she was a droid after all. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Data download is now complete,” said
Emmerline. The voice was astoundingly human. No way was she a droid. Why was
Edmundson the only one to have something as sophisticated as this? She tossed
her sleek hair back and smiled at Kaleem and Edmundson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Talk him through it,” said Edmundson. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Yes, certainly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A delegation of about six persons should go to
Terrestra. Kaleem should help decide who. They should have a diplomatic tour,
stay in a good hotel but also have direct contact with Normal Zoners and of at
least one in the newly integrating Z Zone. They should have ample opportunity
to sample Terrestran food…”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“What would you know about that?”
whispered Kaleem. Droids didn’t need food – well at least not the same sort
that humans needed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“It’s a most important part of human
life,” said Emmerline, staring at him. The pupils on her artificial eyes
widened as if she was trying to take more of him in. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Great elders, she was scary. The
scariest female that Kaleem had ever met… not that she was really female, he
reminded himself. She was just a machine. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Essential, in fact,” continued
Emmerline. “Fundamental. And also extremely puzzling why food is so much better
here on Zandra than on Terrestra where you have better raw materials.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem had to concede that one. And he
had no idea how they did it either.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Naturally, we would also like to learn
more about your diastics systems,” continued Emmerline. “My searches reveal the
following academics may be able to give advice.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Movie clips of Terrestran scientists
showed for a few seconds each on the screen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And
to think all you need is microchips and some good programming, </i>thought
Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“We would also like to arrange a
discussion between the delegates and a committee made up of heads of service
and elders. And yourself of course.” She flashed Kaleem another smile. She
flicked her hair out of her eyes and her pupils grew even larger as if she were
flirting with him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">For a few seconds Kaleem was almost
convinced that she really was human and that it was just some trick of
Edmundson’s and a female friend of his. Edmundson seemed to be finding it all
extremely amusing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Show him the timetable,” he said to
the droid. It was clear he could hardly keep his face straight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">A chart immediately appeared on the
data screen. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“These show the timings,” said
Emmerline. “Red is for food discussion, blue for investigation of scientific
matters, yellow for social activities and purple for further negotiation of the
peace.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Now Kaleem wanted to giggle. This was
just too much. It was much too precise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Edmundson suddenly looked stern. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Stand-by,” he ordered Emmerline. “You
see, she really is a droid.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“No, no,” said Kaleem. “I just found it
all too neat and tidy. You can’t do things that quickly.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Hmm,” said Edmundson. “But it ought to
be a lot more focussed than you’re making it.” He turned back to the droid.
“Continue,” he commanded. “Show Terrestrans on Zandra.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">A movie clip loaded on to the screen. Kaleem
gasped. There were Pierre, Stuart, Saratina, Rozia, Sandi Depra and Ben Alki. They
were here, on Zandra, looking at one of the oak plantations. Of course, why
hadn’t he thought of those two?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“It‘s all right,” said Edmundson. “She
can read your mind.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 12.6pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“But I never thought of Ben Alki or
Sandi Depra,” Kaleem murmured.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Good, isn’t she?” continued Edmundson. “She can even
read your subconscious mind.” He was grinning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Here we go, </i>thought Kaleem. <i>Another mission
impossible. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">The droid whispered something to Edmundson. The
executive’s face went pale.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Really? He said. He turned to Kaleem. “I’d get home as soon
as possible if I were you. You don’t want to be caught here with me with what
might be about to happen.” What was he talking about? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Go on, I mean it,” said Edmundson, his face now red. “Skedaddle.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem could see that he meant business. He set off
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
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Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-37045689008187772392023-10-28T11:44:00.005-07:002023-10-28T11:50:11.103-07:00The Tower Chapter 1 Forgetting Rozia
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tower-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B00C79UGAQ?crid=2QOLZE5MM0SN0&keywords=The+Tower+Gill+james&qid=1698518562&sprefix=the+tower+gill+james%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=3592c79be21c026657d4702a23e08f9f&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00C79UGAQ&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B00C79UGAQ" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><a name="_Toc276106824"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc288719043;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc297471831;">Day 170 Louish’s News</span></span></a></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well that was fascinating! </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Louish was as
dramatic as ever. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">First off, she
greets me in a bright royal blue tunic covered in glittery sequins. It was an
incredible outfit. It was all sort of ruched up with great pleats in the body
of it and the sleeves as well. Mind you, it really suited her. And her make-up!
I mean, I’m wearing make-up all the time now, but I try to do it so that it
doesn’t show. But Louish! Long curly eyelashes. Thick eye-liner. Bright blue
eye shadow that matched her tunic. A huge beauty spot. And lipstick so red it
almost looked as if her lips were bleeding. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then there was all
her prodding and poking – trying to get things out of me. So much so that I
ended up telling as much about Julien as I dared.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Well, my dear,”
she said. “You’re looking well. Any sign of any new romance?” </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At that point, I felt
my cheeks burning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ah, I see there
is,” she said. “Well, do not fear anything from me, sweetie. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that nutcase of a grandson of mine can’t
appreciate what is right in front of him, what’s offered to him on a plate,
well then he’s even more of a fool that I thought.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She stroked my
hair and then gave me a huge hug. I don’t know why exactly, but that set me
off. I couldn’t hold back the tears. Was I still sad about Kaleem? Was I
pleased she accepted the idea of Julien?</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maybe she defined
it herself in the end. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She sighed. “I’m
sure he’s a fine young man, whoever he is,” she said. “But he’ll take you away
from our family I expect.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The lunch was
superb, of course. Louish is always so cheerful and she tells such funny
stories. But as we had coffee afterwards she became deadly serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I want to arrange
a meeting,” she said. “A secret meeting. Between you and Razjosh.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I couldn’t begin
to imagine what Razjosh might want with me. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Oh?” I said. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Yes, he wants to
discuss the whole switch-off thing with you. Making sure it becomes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>permanent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ah,” I replied. I
couldn’t think that that was going to be easy. He had just had such a narrow
escape from switch-off himself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What
does Elder Frazier think?” </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“He’s all for it,
my dear. In fact he’ll be at the meeting too,” she replied. “You will agree to
it won’t you?”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How could I not?
Louish is such a well-meaning person. I nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Great!” she said,
and beamed. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The rest of the
afternoon was lovely. We went for a walk together. She told me all about what
she and the other elders’ attachments get up to. Despite this rather heavy task
she’s landed me with, it always does me good being with her. I really can’t
believe she’s a grandmother with an adult grandson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“End and delete,” said Kaleem. That was definitely the
last time he would read Rozia’s glog. Now that his grandmother knew about the
new man in her life. At least perhaps now Louish would stop nagging him about
getting back together with Rozia. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Rozia. She was obviously happy with Julien. That had
been the plan. Leave her. Allow her to find someone else. There was no place
for romance in the life of a Peace Child. He’d even told her that he approved,
even made it sound as if he didn’t care. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Yet still she was producing her glog in Wordtext. She
was doing that for him, he knew. He doubted whether Julien could read Wordtext.
And every time now that he read her glog, he just hoped that she still wanted
to be with him. But she was with Julien now. Just as he had planned. No point
hoping it was otherwise. What was the point then, of her writing this glog in
Wordtext? Was she trying to torment him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was certainly no point in him reading it anymore. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">He sighed. What was there to look forward to now,
though? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">The door to the apartment swished open. Kaleem tensed,
hoping there would be just one set of footsteps and no voices. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I’ll get some coffee on the go,” he heard Marijam say.
“Then I’ll go and get Kaleem.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Nazaret reply. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">He could do without this. The sooner he got his own
apartment, the better. It had been good at first, finding out that he had a
father who was still alive. He actually liked Nazaret, for goodness sake, but
he just couldn’t feel comfortable when he and Marijam were together. He wasn’t
sure why. Perhaps it was because he’d lived for all those years with just his
mother. Perhaps it was because Nazaret had abandoned him and Marijam. Or did it
come down to Rozia again? After all, Nazaret hadn’t had any choice in being
taken from Terrestra. He hadn’t known that Marijam was pregnant. Perhaps you could
you say that what he’d done to Rozia was worse? Leaving her when she was so
ill?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or was he jealous because Nazaret
and Marijam had carried on being in love over all those years of separation;
neither of them had found another partner. And Rozia had found Julien. In just
a few weeks. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Then, even if he could argue himself out of all of those
points, he and Nazaret were always awkward around each other. He longed to have
the same easy relationship with his father as he had with his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Hey, sweetie,” called Marijam, bouncing into Kaleem’s
room. “Your father’s got something really exciting to tell you. Will you come
and join us?” Her eyes were shining and her cheeks were glowing pink. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">It was so good to see her so happy and full of fun these
days. She had always been so serious when they lived on Terrestra in the cave
apartment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I’ll be in in a minute,” said Kaleem. It was so stupid
how he always had to brace himself to be in the same room as Nazaret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I’ll call you when the coffee’s ready,” said Marijam,
beaming. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">That was why he kept on staying with them. His mother
was so happy having both of her men under the same roof. And it wouldn’t after
all, be forever. At some point he would have to go off on another Peace Child
mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">He supposed he ought to check again on how Project Acorn
was going. The dataserve whirred into life before he as much as made a voice
command. He ought to be used to how the dataserves here seemed to read your
mind. He’s spent enough time on Zandra, but it was still disturbing, not least
of all because he couldn’t work out how they did it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Movie clips of the Supercraft in London Harbour
and Zandra Dock 1 started loading and a voiceover began reading off numbers. Kaleem
frowned. He would prefer this in Figurescript as he could read it. It would be
quicker and he could just look up what he needed to know. He opened his mouth
ready to give the command. The screen flickered and suddenly rows and rows of
figures appeared. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I wish it
wouldn’t, </i>thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But this is
better. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">He’d hardly had time to think than when the screen
changed again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Receive message from Don Edmundson?” asked the machine.
A static picture of Edmundson, the coordinator of Project Acorn, appeared on
the screen. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What now? </i>thought
Kaleem. He sighed. He’d better speak to him he supposed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Edmundson immediately went live. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Good morning, Kaleem,” said Edmundson. He was frowning
as usual. “I need to arrange a meet with you. I take it you have no objections?”
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He doesn’t give
anything away, </i>thought Kaleem, looking carefully at Edmundson’s face for
any clue about what he might be thinking or feeling. It was expressionless
apart from the frown. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Always the same neutral face. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“There isn’t a problem, is there?” asked Kaleem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Hope not,” said Edmundson. “Three tomorrow afternoon,
Gengis Hall 231?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Yes, of course,” said Kaleem. There was no point
prodding Edmundson. If it was something he could have said by a dataserve link
he would have said it. There must be a really good reason why he wanted them to
meet in person. Kaleem dreaded what that might be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Good,” said Edmundson and the screen snapped back to
the Figurescript pages. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Coffee’s ready,” shouted Marijam from the lounge. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It just gets
worse, </i>thought Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Marijam was pouring the coffee herself as he walked into
the lounge. Even though she and Nazaret had every modern convenience including
the state of the art house droid, Marijam often preferred to do her own
catering. She beamed at Kaleem. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Hi, Kaleem,” said Nazaret, a little stiffly “would you
like to come and see this?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">What did he want now, Kaleem wondered. He sat on the
comfisessel next to Nazaret, who was looking at a small portable dataserve on
the coffee table in front of them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">A movie clip started up. It showed some woodland with
trees and all sorts of grasses and flowers growing under them. Kaleem supposed
it was from Terrestra, but did notice that most of the trees were very
young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“These are young oak trees on one of the new Zandrian
plantations,” said a voiceover. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“And those flowers are all native to Terrestra except
that little one there,” said Nazaret, pointing at the screen. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">The screen zoomed in at once to a small flower Kaleem
had never seen before. It had papery ivory petals with delicate thread-like
streaks of very pale pink and blue woven through them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“The Zandrian ice-bell,” explained Nazaret. “And those
there-” He pointed to what Kaleem recognised as bluebells. “Are native to
Terrestra, but only one variety is appearing. This is the one which has white
pollen. The stronger one, the one which grows so viciously that it tends to
take over, is not appearing at all. Then there are all the usual fungi and mosses
– everything that you would expect to find in Terrestran woodland.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“How?” asked Kaleem. He did not feel quite so
uncomfortable with Nazaret when they were talking about things like this. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“A bit of a mystery,” replied Nazaret. “We would expect
a few spores and seeds to get mixed up with acorns. But why the type one
bluebell exclusively? It would be more understandable if it were the type two,
the hardier one. And the ice-bell is a real mystery. It is not one of those
plants whose seeds lie dormant until the soil is turned. There were plenty of
those around before the deforestation disaster. Why is it precisely this one
that has come back and not the others?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Nazaret was beaming now. Kaleem wished he could feel as
enthusiastic about his father’s work. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Even more exciting,” Nazaret continued. “All of the
plant life has adapted extremely well to the Zandrian clock and season
rotation. At any one time plants at all stages of their cycle are present.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Come on you two,” said Marijam. “Drink up your coffee
before it gets cold. And you should tell him your most exciting news.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Aha!” said Nazaret, taking a sip of his coffee. “Guess
who is going to head up the research into all of this?” The man’s eyes were
positively shining. He looked like a child with a new toy. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">For a moment Kaleem felt content. He could be proud of
his father taking on such an important job. He could be happy that he was so
happy. He did like the man for goodness sake. That was never the problem. He
wasn’t really sure exactly what was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“That’s great,” he said. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Isn’t it?” said Marijam. She got up out of her seat and
made her way over to Nazaret. She put her arms round his shoulders and planted
a brief kiss on his cheek. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">But Nazaret pulled her face back to his and kissed her
full on the lips. He lingered a little too long for Kaleem’s liking. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Oh for goodness sake. Why shouldn’t a man kiss his attachment?
Even if it was your father kissing your mother? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Get a grip, Kennedy-Bagarin, </i>thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s not as if they’re about to have sex.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">He gulped his coffee down. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“I’d better get on,” he mumbled, getting up to leave the
room. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Don’t work too hard,” called Marijam, pulling herself away
from Nazaret, who seemed reluctant to let her go. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kaleem sighed to himself as he made his way out of the
room. He wished he didn’t have to be like this. </p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /></span></span>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B00C79UGAQ&asins=B00C79UGAQ&linkId=67ce8e751e622ef39a081cd3717bd687&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-22309371105495892682023-10-15T07:34:00.004-07:002023-10-15T07:34:40.499-07:00Babel: Razjosh<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babel-Peace-Child-Book-2-ebook/dp/B004ZSYN4W?crid=2T0LCA54VG4VA&keywords=Babel+Gill+james&qid=1697380399&sprefix=babel+gill+james%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=9e9e9e4f1a985e7562b16de895602579&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004ZSYN4W&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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</p><p class="NovelChapter" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem looked at his bed. It must have been a bad
night. It didn’t usually look like that in the morning. Normally, he would just
have to straighten out the duvet. Today he would have to tell the house robot
to change the sheets. Preferably before Louish Kennedy, his grandmother, saw
it.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The room felt stuffy. He was covered in sweat. He needed to
shower quickly and change into fresh clothes. It was almost as if the air
control had not worked. The bed-clothes, too, were drenched in sweat.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He pressed the button which would summon the robot.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The machine trundled in.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Refresh bedding, sir?” it asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Elders alive, its sensors were good. Rather different from
the one he and his mother used to have in their cave apartment.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“At once,” mumbled Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">What had caused him to sleep so untidily? He couldn’t think.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Then he started to remember the events of the previous evening.
And Rozia.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Rozia! Oh, great elders, he fancied her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He remembered how he had behaved. How careful he’d been, and
how he’d wanted to be anything but careful.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I bet she thinks I’m a
virgin,</i> he thought. But he wasn’t. No way! Not that he was any sort of stud
either, and neither had he ever had any great romantic affair. But there had been
a couple of times on Zandra, after just the right amount of frega and the right
sort of girl, and the convenience of a suitably placed love-niche. All of that
had been part of behaving normally, more than anything else. Not that he hadn’t
enjoyed the experience – and Zandrian girls were, on the whole, uncomplicated.
Well, maybe there’d been about six times, which was about twenty too few.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">But it would have been wrong with Rozia. He’d known her too
long and respected her too much. She was worth more than a quick fumble in a
dark doorway.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The robot finished putting on the clean sheets.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Would sir care for a bath?” it asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem considered that for a minute. No, a shower would be
fine. He dismissed the robot with a flick of his wrist and made his way into
his bathroom.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">As he stepped into his shower it reminded him of the
entrance to the tower. He remembered he’d had the dream again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The children had greeted him as usual. He was no longer
shocked by the wrinkled faces which turned to face him, and they no longer
seemed to be excepting so much from him. And as he came towards the end of the
dream, their faces changed into the ones which belonged to the children they
should have been as he began to tell them stories. When he woke up, as always, he’d
forgotten stories he’d told, but he remembered that the children seemed to
enjoy them.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He turned on the shower.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">As the water cascaded over him, he remembered the tower
falling. It, too, had felt like water rather than the bricks it had been made
of. As it crashed down, the children began to chant.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He dried himself and touched the spot where Rozia had laid
her bare hand on his skin the evening before. He realized with a shock, that
the girl known as Panandra – or some such, because her name changed a little
each time – had looked exactly like Rozia this time. The almond eyes were
Rozia’s.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">That explained his dishevelled night then. He’d been dreaming
about the tower and he’d been dreaming about Rozia.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Rozia! He must call her up later today. Elders, she’d really
meant it about the Black Tulpen then. Oh, that had been tempting. But he wanted
to take this one slowly. He wanted this one to mean something.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">As he dressed he began to feel uneasy. That was the first
time he’d had the dream that clearly since he got back from Zandra. They’d all
spoken Terrestran English this time. And still that idea of the Babel Prophecy
was nagging away at him. It was nonsense, surely? But then, why did he keep
having that dream and that whole story which Marijam had told him about his
conception and birth was bizarre. If it was true. There was still a strong
possibility that she had imagined it all. Yet he was convinced that Nazaret was
really his father.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Louish and Frazier Kennedy were already half way through
breakfast when he joined them in the dining-room. This apartment was everything
that the old cave apartment he used to share with Marijam was not. It had an
impressive view across the Thames
Harbour. All the
materials were from the old world – real wood, real steel and real wool
carpets. There was a linen tablecloth on the table. Every day there was a
superb spread for breakfast. Louish Kennedy had never lost any of her glamour,
and though her hair showed her age, it was long and shiny and its ash white
colour suited her more than the normal Terrestran black. Frazier looked younger
than he had two years ago when Kaleem had first met him and not known that he
was his grandfather. Kaleem guessed it was because he had now been reconciled
with Marijam. He had found his daughter again after she had been missing for
nearly eighteen years. Frazier Kennedy was an energetic sort of man anyway. He
did not stand still for long.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Kaleem!” cried Louish. “My, you do look serious. Come and
sit down, and get stuck in.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Good night, was it?” asked Frazier, grinning. “You were
quite late getting back.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“I’m sorry,” mumbled Kaleem. “I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
He’d generally got used to this sophisticated Head of Education being his
grandfather and this really elegant but fun-loving woman being his grandmother.
They were an odd match. Every now and then though he remembered how important
his grandfather was. He didn’t dare annoy them. Despite everything he’s managed
to do he dreaded being sent to live underground again. He desperately wanted to
fit in.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“No, you didn’t disturb us,” said Louish. “We’d only just
got in ourselves.” A slight shadow passed across her face. “Only you will let
us know next time if you’re going to be late, won’t you?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Yes, of course” said Kaleem. He really should have thought.
They’d already lost one child. They didn’t want to go through that again. Only
he’d been so free to come and go as he pleased when he’d lived on Zandra. Until
he’d been put in prison, that was.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“It’s fine,” said Frazier. “A young man like you, with
plenty of energy and not much work at the moment, you should be out enjoying
yourself a bit.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“How was the wake?” Kaleem remembered to ask.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Good,” replied Frazier. “We gave him a good send off.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“No better than he deserved,” said Louish. Tears were forming
in her eyes. “He was a lovely man.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“We’ll be putting in the nominations for the next Elder of Culture
and Education next week. Then the vote will take place in another five weeks,
after the period of mourning finishes.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Oh, it’s nonsense,” cried Louish suddenly. “How can we be
without an Elder for so long? It’s not as if he just dies suddenly. We always
know when they’re going to depart.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“No worries!” exclaimed Frazier. “They have such a brilliant
Head of Education, they’ll manage.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Louish suddenly laughed. “Oh just listen to your
grandfather, Kaleem. What shall we do with him? Now come, on, tuck in, we need
to feed you up.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She passed him the bowl of fruit salad and the jar of
enriched yoghurt, while Frazier poured him some coffee.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Louish chattered on while Kaleem finished his breakfast. The
sun was streaming in through the wide veriglass windows. It was putting them
all in a good mood. Kaleem almost forgot to feel nervous about the visit he was
expecting later that morning. Razjosh, the elder who had been his mentor throughout
his training as Peace Child, was going to come and see him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">In fact, a few moments later he even forgot that Razjosh was
coming at all. His grandmother was giving such an amusing account of some of
the other visitors to the wake the evening before.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Honestly,” she said. “He had some of the most peculiar
friends.” She suddenly put her hand in front of her mouth and giggled. “I
suppose that means we must be peculiar as well.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The communicator buzzed.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Razjosh Elder wishes to be admitted,” chuntered the house
robot.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Go on,” Frazier said to
Kaleem, “go and meet him in the drawing room. We’ll send in some more coffee
and some pastries.”</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem actually met Razjosh in the entrance hall. He was
shocked by the elder’s appearance and how slowly he walked into the room.
Kaleem had not seen him for a few weeks. Not, in fact, since they’d both come
back to Terrestra. Razjosh had not even been to see him in a hologram. There
had been no need. All the urgency had gone. Kaleem was just refreshing his
knowledge of one or two of the more obscure languages. Even he wasn’t sure how
much they were needed, but he actually now quite liked dabbling around with
words and grammatical forms. And Razjosh had been busy, along with the other
elders, getting ready for Joshran Elder’s switch-off.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“I just thought it was time we touched base,” said Razjosh
as they made themselves comfortable in the luxuriously furnished room. The
comfisessels there actually had a form recognition function and made their way
over to them. “See how you’re getting on.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“I don’t feel as if I’m doing anything very important,” said
Kaleem. “I’m just pottering about.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“That’s fine,” said Razjosh. “You need some relaxation now.
Another couple of months and there’ll probably be another challenge coming up.
Everything is running smoothly now between Zandra and Terrestra, vis-à-vis
acorns and vaccine. The trees are beginning to grow again on Zandra. You should
go and see them…” Razjosh paused. “Aren’t you going to see Nazaret and Marijam
again soon?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem shrugged. He supposed he ought to. But the truth was
he felt a bit in the way. His mother and father were behaving like teenagers.
He was the one who was being serious. And he couldn’t quite feel comfortable
around his father yet. No, he was happy enough getting to know his
grandparents. Besides, there was Rozia now.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Mm,” said the Elder. “I see not. Maybe the next step is to
get Terrestra to trade with Zandra for other items. Or even with another
planet. But perhaps we don’t need a full blown Peace Child for that. Another
type of negotiator might do. Now that you’ve got us this far.” He looked
thoughtfully at Kaleem. “The next problem could be closer to home.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem had no idea what he was talking about. “What do you
mean?” he asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“I’ll leave you to work that out for yourself,” replied
Razjosh. “Only when you realize will you be ready to do what is needed. And
also we ought to try to get down to what that prophecy is all about.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Do you think there’s something in it, then?” asked Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Not so much that,” replied Razjosh, “as how your mother
became mixed up in an interpretation of it. Whether everything she told us did
happen, or whether she imagined it all while she was asleep.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">That again, then! This was just not going to go away. It was
impossible – and yet… His whole birth had been odd. Conceived despite the
Stopes programme and pushed out into the world the same way some wild animals
were born. If you believed Marijam. No, that was not fair. He didn’t think
she’d made it up. She really did think that had happened. But maybe it was just
what she had imagined while she was in that coma. And if it wasn’t true, he was
almost back to square one. He knew who is father was, that was for sure, but he
had no idea what had happened after his conception.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Also, there was that strange movie clip he had seen that
time, all about the Babel prophecy.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Well, I’ll leave you to think about that,” said Razjosh, getting
up from the comfisessel with some difficulty. He winced as if in pain. “Let me
know when you understand what I’m talking about.” He moved himself a little
nearer to Kaleem and put his hand on Kaleem’s shoulder.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Only don’t leave it too long,” he said. “My switch-off is
scheduled for six months from now.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The shock jerked through Kaleem. The blood seemed to rush to
his head and he could hear his heart thudding in his ears.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Don’t look so alarmed,” said Razjosh. “It comes to us all.
It’s the price we pay for the exceedingly pleasant life we have on this
planet.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem was so stunned he could not even say good-bye to
Razjosh. He sat in the drawing room, trying to get his thoughts together. In
six months’ time there would be no more Razjosh. Yet that man was strong and
healthy and still had so much to show others. Ben Alki – or someone like him – would
have to perform that terrible ceremony. Well, it wouldn’t be Ben Alki who
actually murdered Razjosh – yes that was the word for it – murder. A medic
would give him the reposant, the fatal injections which would send him into a
sleep from which he would not wake. Someone else would press the button that would
make the lasers sanitise the lifeless remains and the mulchers would reduce them
to a nutritious pulp. Then Ben Alki would have to say words of reassurance to
the people left behind before someone else came in and took the stage and told
the whole world what a great man Razjosh had been. No doubt he would be
involved in the celebration of Razjosh’s life in the after-ceremony. Would
Razjosh pull as many crowds as Joshran Elder had? Perhaps because of his involvement
in Kaleem’s mission to Zandra they’d do something grand. But he wasn’t as
popular as Joshran, though Kaleem knew he was just as great.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Only six months, then, to get ready for that awful ceremony.
He would definitely be invited to the actual switch-off. Razjosh had already
told him that. It would be terrible watching the life go out of the old man. It
would be bad watching that happen to anyone, even a stranger. And it would
bring memories back of his mother lying in a coma for all those months.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">But Razjosh! What would he do without Razjosh? Who could he
ask when there was something he did not understand about a new culture he was
getting to know? Or who would advise him when he had to go on another mission,
do some delicate negotiating on behalf of Terrestra? Besides, he actually liked
the old man.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">There would be no-one. Kaleem would take Razjosh’s place.
Oh, he wouldn’t be an elder yet and all that that entailed. Not for another
forty years or more. The Peace Child Elder was selected ages before he could
become an elder. But one day, sure enough, he would have to leave behind his
friends and family, again, and go and live with the other elders in the
Citadel.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Kaleem clutched the edge
of his comfisessel. His fingers ached with the effort and his forehead was
covered in sweat. The nausea he had felt in the park the day before came back.
There was a weight that was almost a pain in his chest. Perhaps it would be a
relief to throw up, but he wouldn’t dare, not all over his grandmother’s
elegant furnishings. Louish Kennedy was as fond of her home as she was of her
clothes. He considered whether he should ask the dataserve to arrange a drink
for him of plain water perhaps – or whether he could make it in time to a
bathroom or a diastic monitor. He wanted to spit this weight out of himself,
but perhaps the work with the pressure points was the surest option.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Within seconds of pushing on his right wrist with the
fingers from his left hand the weight began to ease. He took a deep breath and
began to feel calmer. The physical symptoms were subsiding gradually. Something
else was taking over now. A really deep sadness he had never felt before.
Deeper than what he had felt when he heard of Tulla’s and Petro’s attachment.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He was just changing wrists and taking another deep breath
when the door to the drawing-room swished open.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Razjosh gone already?” asked Louish. “I was going to ask
him to stay to dinner.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Well, I expect he’d like to,” answered Kaleem. He was surprised
at how normal his voice sounded. “If not tonight, some other time.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">It all made sense now, the way Razjosh had not contacted him
and didn’t seem to have any plans. He had certainly been taking it a bit easier
since they’d got back to Terrestra. He would never have accepted social
invitations before. He was always much too busy. But now it looked as if he was
taking every opportunity to make the most of what life he had left. In a way,
it was almost as if he’d given up, that he was just waiting to die.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Hey,” said Louish, sitting herself down in the comfisessel
which Razjosh had left a few minutes before. “What’s the matter? You look as
pale as a proper Terrestran.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“He was talking about his switch-off,” Kaleem managed to
whisper. This time his voice was high and hoarse. The heaviness had come back,
but he knew he was not going to be sick. Something equally humiliating was
about to happen. He could not help himself. A loud sob escaped him though he
did his best to keep it back. Neither could he stop the two tears which rolled
down his cheeks.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Louish was on her feet in
seconds and pulling Kaleem and his comfisessel towards her until his head was
level with he shoulders.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Sweetie, oh sweetie,” she said, pushing his head down on to
her shoulder. “I know. I know. It is so hard. The first time you have to face a
switch-off. And Razjosh must have been so good to you, especially when Nazaret
and Frazier weren’t there for you.” She ruffled his hair.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">It was as if he’d been floating away, out of control, and
somehow she had reattached him to the ground. Her perfume was strong and
comforting, filling his head and pushing away the tears. The urge to sob slowly
faded. She just let him stay there for a few minutes, her soft, strong arms
stopping him from falling.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“But listen,” she said after a while. She pushed him back
and held him by the shoulders. “It’s all right to grieve and it’s all right to
start now,” she continued. She wagged her finger at him. “Don’t you be ashamed
of those tears. It’s also all right for a man to cry. But also remember that
one day the sadness will go and you will know that it was just a great thing
that you knew him so well.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem took another deep breath. He knew that his grandmother
was right.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Life goes on,” she said. A suggestion of a smile came into
her eyes. “I’d actually come to tell you some more news. You’ve got another
visitor, you see.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Kaleem frowned. Who else on Terrestra would be visiting him
at this time of day?</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“But maybe I’d better tell her to go away and come again
another day. When you’re a bit more robust.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She… Could it be… really, could it be Rozia?</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Very nice young lady, if you ask me,” Louish was now grinning
properly. “Does the name Rozia Laurence mean anything to you?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Another feeling replaced the heaviness in his chest. His
heart was beginning to beat quite fast. He could feel the colour coming back
into his cheeks.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Look, I can send her away,” said his grandmother, suddenly
becoming serious again. “Tell her you’re not feeling too good.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“No,” Kaleem said. He sighed. “I want to see her. I’d better
see her. Now.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He thought he may have come across as not interested last
night. He daren’t send her away. But he did have to get this right, exactly
right. She was too precious. He just could not make a mess of it this time. No
way.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“You’re sure?” asked his grandmother.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Kaleem nodded. He
followed Louish out of the drawing room.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She was there, waiting for him in the entrance hall. Louish
nodded to them both and went into the main sitting room. She winked at Kaleem
as she left and closed the door behind her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Hi, Rozia,” Kaleem managed to say. He leant forward and
took her hand. A tingle of excitement shot up his arm.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. A little pink came
into her pale cheeks. She smiled without showing her teeth. The features on her
face were so tiny and perfect. Her fine black hair shone. He so wanted to
protect her and pull her to him and love her to bits.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He must be so careful. He must take this slowly. He must not
spoil things.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Rozia squeezed his hand.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">“Hi Kaleem,” she said, giggling prettily as the two pink spots
became larger and redder.</p>
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Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-17915066208346060942023-09-18T03:36:00.006-07:002023-09-18T03:38:27.348-07:00Babel: Rozia’s Log<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babel-Peace-Child-Book-2-ebook/dp/B004ZSYN4W?crid=5R8BZG0DL9L6&keywords=babel+Gill+James&qid=1695033441&sprefix=babel+gill+james%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=41304b2d9e13c6e2fc97479e2f73b177&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004ZSYN4W&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
<p> </p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph">I can’t believe what I did this evening. Perhaps it
was the nectar that made me do it. Or, it’s just been such a draining day, what
with Joshran Kemnat’s departure and everything. Perhaps I was jealous of
Sophia. Finally, she and Ben Alki have got together. The months I’ve been
trying to get her to make a move. We’re not so old-fashioned that we can’t let
a guy know we fancy him, are we? She’d been torturing herself for weeks. He was
the same. Well, not quite, exactly. Blokes just aren’t. But I’d heard him often
enough. Telling the others just how much he fancied her. He was a bit crude, I
suppose, but I’m sure half the time they just do that, I mean talk like that,
because they’re shy really. They just talk about all the physical things. Bit
silly really. Because if it was in fact that simple, why not just go for it,
like the animals do?</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then, of course, we had been drinking nectar. I’m sure the
nectar was stronger than normal, this time. The controllers do that sometimes,
alter the strength. Maybe it was a sort of celebration, or compensation for
Elder Joshran. He was such a nice man, and we’re all sad now.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">No, but when I saw Sophia leave with Ben Alki, I’m pretty
sure they must have gone back to his place, and they would have had sex. Why
not? After that horrible thing he had to do today… I hope they won’t be like
Marijam and Nazaret, though – Kaleem’s parents – failing Stopes. Since we heard
about that, we all get worried. I wonder if only girls worry like that?</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then there was me, and there was Kaleem and we were alone in
the bar. We were being almost as bad as Ben Alki and Sophia. He obviously
didn’t know what to say to me and I had no intention of going until he did say
something. So there we sat. And then I come out with it. “Where can you get
Black Tulpen on Terrestra?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">You can’t. You just can’t. They’re only grown on Zandra.
Sure, you can get black tulips here, but only the ordinary-sized ones, and they
don’t mean anything. Nor are they anywhere near as expensive here as the big
ones are there.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Really, though. Black Tulpen. Kaleem played it down when he
said a Zandrian girl can show a guy that she fancies him. It’s much more than
that. The Black Tulpen mean that the girl wants to go to bed with the boy.
What’s more, she’ll probably have him round to her place, dress beautifully for
him, drown herself in perfume, cook him a great meal or get the Autochef to do
something good. She may even pay for a little holoholiday for the two of them.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He probably thinks I’m a complete slapper.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">It is all right coming from Zandrian girls, I suppose.
They’re all a bit more outgoing on that planet anyway. We’re just too
old-fashioned and shy on Terrestra.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">But I’ve always liked Kaleem. Even before he went off and
became the Peace Child, I thought he was quite nice. He was always very
serious, and quiet as well. I wonder why he used to live down in the old cave
system like that? He didn’t go out much – you never saw him in any of the
junior bars or the mixed sports clubs. He wasn’t shy though. He used to say
what he thought. And he was intelligent. Really intelligent.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I’ll never forget that awful day when Stuart Davidson and
Erik Svenson had a go at him about the way he looked. They really were cruel,
and poor Miz Johnstone got into trouble for trying to explain why he looked the
way he did and was then suspended from teaching because she’d given us some
Hidden Information.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I suppose he is a bit odd-looking. He looks so much more
normal though, now that he’s dyed his hair black, but his skin’s still much
darker than everybody else’s. I think that was partly why I used to like him.
Because he was different. I think I was fascinated by him but I didn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fancy</i> him back then. I suppose I wasn’t
all that much into boys then, though I did go out with Erik for a short while –
elders know why! What a mistake that was!</p>
<p class="NovelBody">No, I just liked Kaleem. He was mysterious – because of his
looks and where he lived – and straight forward at the same time. He wasn’t
devious like some of the other boys. I mean, I just know they were thinking
about sex all the time, not that they really knew all that much about it then.
You could work out what they were going to get up to, or what they were
thinking. You could trust Kaleem, somehow.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">And when he went and disappeared. Even Pierre Lafontaine
didn’t really know much and what he did know he had to keep secret.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">Then Frazier Kennedy of
all people – his grandfather, for goodness’ sake – called us to a meet and said
he wanted to find someone to help him greet Kaleem – the Peace Child – when he
came back from Zandra, I volunteered. Lots of the girls in our group did, and
some of the boys. Frazier Kennedy interviewed us all himself and he chose me. I
never did understand why, but I felt really honoured.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">And to think how much I worried about not knowing what to
say. I needn’t have. They worked out a speech for me. I was so nervous.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">But Kaleem was as nice as ever. He did seem different,
though, even through a communicator screen. He seemed more confident, somehow. And
he’d lost that worried look he always used to have. I didn’t actually fancy him,
not even then. I didn’t even think about anything like that. I’m sure, though,
that was when I really started to respect him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Tonight was different. Perhaps it was the nectar talking. I
meant every single bit of what a gift of Black Tulpen means on Zandra. After
Sophia went off with Ben Alki and I started to think about what they might be
up to, I wanted Kaleem all right. I’d been watching him most of the evening,
after I’d got those two sorted out. I love the way he moves – like an athlete
or a dancer. He seems so strong, too. Mentally as well as physically, I mean. I
wanted to do something to please him. </p>
<p class="NovelBody">And so I blurted out that stupid question. I can tell you,
the second I had, I wished we could have had a terrestraquake or something and
that I could disappear forever.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He looked surprised. Then a bit awkward, as if he didn’t
know what to say. Then he smiled.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I don’t think you can,” he said. “They don’t grow here and
they can’t be imported. Yet.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Only joking,” I managed to say. I had to look away from
him, because I was so embarrassed.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Can I walk you home, anyway?” He lightly touched my elbow,
so that I had to face him again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>“Well, which transporter route do you
take?” I asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“No, I mean, walk,” he replied. “I’ll walk with you back to
where you live, and then I’ll call up a private transporter from there. Or send
for my grandfather’s.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I couldn’t speak. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
a lovely old-fashioned idea,</i> I remember thinking. For starters, people
don’t walk anywhere these days. Perhaps we are a bit mad, going absolutely
everywhere by transporter, then spending hours at home on the exerciser or in
the hologym to keep fit. And then if a boy and a girl want to do anything
remotely like what Black Tulpen imply, they usually just go and rent a temp
apartment for a few hours. It’s all so safe with the Stopes programme. </p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You don’t live far
away, do you?” he asked. “It’s about twenty minutes, isn’t it?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">How did he know that? Had he been looking at my profile? Did
that mean he’d been interested in me as well?</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">“It’s a lovely evening
for a walk,” he said. “It’ll be cooler now.”</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">My heart was thudding. Did that mean he was intending to
take me to the park, perhaps, and we were going to sleep together there in the
open? That’s frowned on, but people do do it. I suppose he’d get away with it…
or would he… wouldn’t the information channels go berserk? I could just hear
the robot reporter voices now. “Kaleem Kennedy. Our so called Peace Child,
caught with his pants down in the Peace
Park. Frazier Kennedy has
to disown a young relation once again. Like mother like son.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">No, I couldn’t let that happen.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather…?” I couldn’t get the
words out. Perhaps, after all, his wanting to “walk me home” was another form
of rejection. I couldn’t bring myself to suggest that we hired a temp apartment.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Come on,” he said, pulling me to my feet, and then steering
me from behind, his hand at the back of my waist.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The robot glided over towards us. Kaleem lined his eye up
with the sensor.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Both bills on my account,” he said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Seconds later we were in the lift, speeding up to the
surface. We were no longer touching and there was at least fifteen centimetres
between us. But it was as if this electric current was passing between us. I
was convinced that if we touched again there would be sparks. We didn’t speak
as we went up. Kaleem seemed to avoid looking at me. I was quite glad really.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He turned and smiled as the lift stopped. Something turned
over in my chest and there seemed to be a lump in my throat.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He operated the switches on the doors and stood aside as I
made my way through. Then we were out in the fresh air. It was much cooler than
it had been earlier in the day, but still warm enough to feel comfortable. The
night sky was clear and brightened by stars. The scent of honeysuckle and
night-scented stock was so strong and erotic. You have to admit that Terrestra
has recovered well after the poison cloud went.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Told you,” he said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Suddenly, I felt so comfortable with him. I found my voice.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“But it really must be fantastic, being up there, with the
stars,” I said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Oh, it is, it is,” he replied. “Especially when you look
down at Terrestra. Or Zandra for that matter. But it’s great looking up at the
stars as well.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Surely they’ll send you somewhere else, one day, won’t
they?” I asked. Goodness, it had been such a shock to find out that despite
everything people had regularly left this planet, and he as Peace Child would
surely have to go away again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He shrugged. “I expect so,” he said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">We were walking across the Peace Park
now, and without me telling him, we were walking in the direction of my home.
He <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must</i> have been looking up stuff
about me. So perhaps he did fancy me as well, after all. Even before tonight.
What a thought!</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“So,” I said. I felt bolder again now. Despite the stars,
the half moon and the soft lights from the lamps in the Peace Park,
he would not be able to see if I blushed. “Have you ever had an offer of Black
Tulpen before?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He suddenly stopped walking and looked at the ground. His
toe played with a piece of loose gravel.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yes,” he said. “There was an offer once. Just after I
arrived on Zandra. Didn’t dare take it up, then, though.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Would you have liked to?” I found myself asking. Honestly,
I must stop drinking nectar.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He laughed. “Of course,” he said. “Actually, she looked a
bit like you. But blond.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I suddenly felt hot. At that point, he took my hand.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I loved it, walking along with Kaleem. Yes, with Kaleem. I
suddenly didn’t care that he was the Peace Child. Sure, I liked the strong
person that being that had made him into, but he was still more Kaleem than
Peace Child – whatever that really meant.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Is it hard, being the Peace Child?” I asked him. Dumb question.
But I needed something to say.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Sure is,” he replied. He stopped walking. We were by what
looked like an old shut-up entrance to one of the cave networks.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Come over here,” he whispered, pulling me inside the shallow
opening which covered the doorway.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He quickly looked behind him to see if anyone was watching,
then I was leaning against the wall and he was pressed into me, kissing me hard
on the lips. So, he was accepting my offer after all. And I wanted him. Oh,
yes, I wanted him. It was obvious now as well that he did want to accept the
imaginary Tulpen. In fact, the poor lamb was trembling.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then suddenly, he stopped kissing me. He pulled away from
me, and pushed my hand away from under his tunic.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“No,” he said. “Not here. Not like this.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He straightened up his clothing.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I’ve made a mess of your hair,” he said, smiling. “Sorry.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then he helped me to straighten it and my tunic. “Come on,”
he said, “we’d better get home.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He didn’t hold my hand any more, and we walked almost in
complete silence.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He stopped right in front of my apartment block.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I’ll see you again soon,” he said. “I’ve got your call
sign. I’ll call you up.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then he gave me a little soft kiss on the cheek and he was
gone. He didn’t even give me time to ask for his call sign. I’d be able to
summon it up easily enough, and he had got mine – or so he said. I don’t know
how he knew it. But I would have felt better if he’d given me his.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">I didn’t know what to think. He’d seemed to fancy me. Oh,
yes, there was plenty of evidence of that in the cave entrance. In fact, I
don’t know how he managed to stop himself. And it really was clear that he’d
thoroughly researched me.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Oh, and it’s not just that I fancy him. I think I adore him.
In fact, in many ways tonight, he behaved like a perfect old-fashioned
gentleman, and you know, I like him all the more for that. But, it was just so
frustrating.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then, just as I reached my apartment, I suddenly had this
thought. Could it be that he’s a virgin? After all, he’d been offered Black
Tulpen, just the once, when he was on Zandra, and he’d turned them down. And I
guess he’d been too busy after and also while he was still on Terrestra. Doing
all that training to become a Peace Child… and before that he was a bit young
anyway, and he would have definitely found it hard to find somebody. I mean,
everybody found him odd then. I know I liked him, but there was no doubt about
it – he was very odd. So, I bet that’s it. He’s never done it before. That’s
why he was trembling. Oh the poor, poor lamb.</p>
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Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-48056026723542981592023-08-19T12:24:00.001-07:002023-08-19T12:24:08.953-07:00Babel: Girls <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babel-Peace-Child-Book-2-ebook/dp/B004ZSYN4W?crid=2QM2WYZGPU1J&keywords=babel+gill+james&qid=1692472962&sprefix=bable+gill+james%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=4b47949aa30e83f1bedefd61cf94cc5f&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"> <img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004ZSYN4W&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /> <br /></a></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: medium; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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</p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kaleem stared at his nectar. How could he get himself to
drink this revolting stuff?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He braced
himself and took a sip. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He was surprised. It wasn’t as bad as
he had expected it to be. He took another mouthful. Maybe it was okay. It was
beginning to do something anyway. Perhaps he would take Ben Alki up on his
offer. Perhaps he would go and see the inside of a switch-off ceremony and find
out what it was really like. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He took another big gulp of his drink.
He put the tumbler back down, and then saw that half of the liquid had gone. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Suddenly, there were voices outside
the entrance to the bar. Girls’ voices. A lot of giggling. Kaleem took another
sip of the nectar. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Seconds later, they were in the bar.
Kaleem tried to make himself look small. Despite the dyed hair, they would
recognize him, even if they didn’t know why they knew him. He took another
large swig of his nectar. It didn’t seem as sweet as it had before and he could
tell that it had quite a punch to it. Why had he thought this so bad? It was
really rather good. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The giggling and chattering stopped.
Kaleem could feel them staring at him. He looked up at the mirror behind the
bar. His heart missed a beat. Rozia Laurence was staring at his reflection. She
went deep red. Kaleem felt the back of his own neck and his cheeks go red. He
emptied his tumbler. Rozia turned back to the other girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Who is that? I know that face,” he
heard one girl say.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Kaleem Kennedy-Bagarin,” he heard
Rozia reply. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He looked up at the mirror again. Rozia
was going even redder. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“The Peace Child you mean?” hissed
one of the other girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yep,” replied Rozia. “I used to be
schooled with him.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“But I thought he was blond,”
muttered another voice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I guess he’s dyed his hair so that
people won’t recognize him so easily,” Rozia replied. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Didn’t work, did it?” whispered
another girl. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Come on, let’s leave him in peace,”
said Rozia, out loud. She looked up at Kaleem’s reflection and smiled. Her
cheeks were still pink. She signalled to the others that they should go and sit
in the corner on the far side of the bar. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The droid was pottering about behind
the counter. It glided over to Kaleem.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Would Sir care for another nectar?”
the electronic voice asked. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kaleem nodded. He was used to it now.
He was enjoying what it was doing to him. The droid poured the drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took the tumbler, got down from the high
hoverstool and made his way over to where the girls were sitting. He suddenly
felt very bold. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Hi Kaleem,” said Rozia, smiling at
him. Her eyes opened wide as she looked into his. “Let me introduce you to the
others. Della, Marina, Renate, Jayne, Margiet and Sophia.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The girls giggled and started to fuss
over him. Kaleem found it difficult to concentrate. He certainly wouldn’t be
able to remember who was who, even if he did remember the names. They all
looked the same. That was probably one of the big disadvantages of aiming at
perfect Terrestran looks. They all had the correct pale face, and dark, sleek
hair. They were even wearing very similar tunics tonight, all of them the pale purple
silk of mourning. Only Rozia was a bit different. Her face was so pretty with
its fine, delicate features. And the way she kept blushing. Did that perhaps
mean what he thought it meant? Hopefully. Maybe he had time for that sort of
thing now. Of course, she knew him from before he was chosen as the Peace
Child, before he went to live at the Citadel with the elders and before he’d
gone to Zandra. Everyone admired him now. Maybe she had liked him a little bit
even back then. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One name stuck out though, Sophia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Funny,” said Kaleem. “Do you know Ben
Alki Mazrouth? He was here, just now. He had been hoping a Sophia would come
in. You’re not her are you?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The girl called Sophia wailed. “Damn,
I’ve missed him,” she said. “We left it too late!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“We had a job getting out this
evening,” Rozia explained. “What with the departure and the wake and
everything.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Why have they all come out on mass like that? </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kaleem wondered. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What chance would the poor guy stand? </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh no,” said Sophia, biting her lip.
“I’ll never get to see him.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">No you won’t,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">
thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Not if you keep on
turning up too late and if you bring all your hangers-on <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>every time. </i>“Do you know where he lives?”
he asked.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes,” said Sophia slowly. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Well, why don’t you get over there?”
asked Kaleem.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“What?” said Sophia blushing. “I
couldn’t. What would he think?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’d say he’d be very pleased to see
you,” said Kaleem. “Poor bloke’s had a tough day.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You just don’t do that,” another
girl hissed. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Well call him up at least,” said
Kaleem. “Do you know his call sign?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Of course I do,” whined Sophia. “But
I just can’t. If he’d wanted to see me, he’d have waited.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Are you actually…?” Kaleem started. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“No they’re not, but they’d both like
to,” Rozia said. “They’re both just being incredibly stupid and not getting
down to it.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh for goodness’ sake,” said Kaleem.
He suddenly remembered a bunch of gigantic velvety black tulips, a blond
version of Rozia and a missed opportunity. “On Zandra, if a girl fancies a guy,
she just sends him a big bunch of Black Tulpen. He can either accept or
decline. Saves a lot of bother.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Well what if a guy fancies a girl?”
asked another girl. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Just asks her out, like here,” said
Kaleem. He took a mouthful of the wheat and rye. Oh, this was such a waste.
Poor old Ben Alki, wanting a bit of nice female company after the horrible
things he’d had to do, and here was the very one he’d wanted to be with, pining
away for him. The nectar was making Kaleem much bolder than normal. “Come on
then, call him,” he said. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Sophia hesitated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“All right then,” said Kaleem, “call
him on mine. Then he won’t know it’s you.” He stretched out his wrist so that
the minicompu was facing Sophia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Ben Alki Mazrouth 2751,” said Sophia
tentatively. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The minicompu buzzed several times
before Ben Alki answered, and the screen remained blank. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh dear,” said Kaleem. “Looks as if
he might have gone to bed. Or he’s taking a shower.” He went to log out. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Hello,” said Ben Alki’s voice suddenly.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Hey there,” said Kaleem, “sorry to wake
you. But I think there’s someone here who would like to see you.” He switched
his minicompu over to visual and held it so that its camera was pointing at
Sophia. Suddenly Ben Alki’s lean face was filling the small screen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Sophia?” asked Ben Alki, suddenly
grinning. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“That’s right,” said Kaleem. “Now,
shall we send her over to you or are you going to come here?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Send her over to me!” replied Ben
Alki.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Make him come here!” cried Sophia at
exactly the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“She can’t go over there,” said one
of the other girls. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“No, not the first time, on her own,”
said another. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You’d </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">to be successful. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Suddenly their corner better come
here, mate,” said Kaleem. “I don’t know. We Terrestrans, eh? Bit old-fashioned
or what?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He couldn’t believe he’d just done
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shy, different, awkwardly
unterrestran, unzandrian Kaleem Malkendy-Kennedy-Bagarin had just had a go at
match-making. And it looked as if it was going of the bar was buzzing. Everyone
seemed to be speaking at once. Well, not quite all of them. Rozia and Sophia
were in a huddle in the corner. Sophia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fiddled
with her tunic and kept on smoothing her hair. The other four girls – whose
names Kaleem still could not remember, were all over him. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Do they <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">really </b>do that on Zandra?” asked one. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes…,” he went to reply. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He barely had time to answer before
another chipped in with; “Well what are Zandrain girls like? Which do you
prefer, Kaleem, Terrestrans or Zandrians?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I don’t know. It depends …,”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“So just exactly what is it like,
going in a Supercraft? What does it look like out there?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Well. It’s sort of……it’s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Gosh, you’re really brave you are….I
bet it was scary when you were ill.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes, it was, it was , I erm …</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh, you lot, let him have a drink.
Can we get you another drink, Kaleem?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I, er<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>no thanks” Kaleem managed to mutter. He leant
forward and took another sip of the wheat and rye nectar. No, he didn’t want
another. It had started to taste too sickly sweet again and the room was
beginning to spin a little. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Really, though,” said one of the
girls. “What was it like going on a Supercraft? It must have been fantastic.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kaleem suddenly remembered looking
out of the veriglass windows of the Supercraft. Yes, it had been fascinating to
look at the planets and stars seeming to float by, once they had returned to
normal drive. Yet, it had not been as intriguing as it might have been. On the
way to Zandra, he was too nervous. On the way back, when he ought to have been
more relaxed, he had been so disturbed by the voice file his mother had left
him that he had still could not appreciate it. Besides all of that, he was
quite nervous about coming back to Terrestra, meeting his grandparents for the
first time, and being recognized as the Peace Child. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’d give anything to be able to do
that,” the girl continued. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Hi, guys, it’s me,” called a voice
from the doorway suddenly. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The chatter stopped. Rozia nudged
Sophia, who blushed deep red. Ben Alki walked into the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He smiled slowly at Sophia. Rozia whispered
something to her. Ben Alki made his way to the table where the girls and Kaleem
were sitting. Rozia indicated the table next to them with her head and pushed
Sophia over to one of the seats next to it. The others watched in silence. Ben
Alki and Sophia sat also in silence smiling awkwardly at each other. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Finally, Ben Alki leaned towards
Sophia. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Can I get you another drink?” he
said. His voice was hoarse and high-pitched, very different from the voice
which had asked the elder the serious questions. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Sophia nodded and blushed even deeper.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Then the chatter started again, the
barrage of questions. Just how many languages did he know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did he manage to learn them? What had the
prison been like? Was Charlek, the prison officer, really as friendly as they’d
heard? Was it true that the food on Zandra was so much better that what they
had on Terrestra? How did they manage to do that if they had no natural
plant-life? Would the acorn programme really succeed?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">They didn’t give him time to answer one
question before the next one came along. There was a lot of giggling. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One girl, though, didn’t giggle,
didn’t attack him with questions. She smiled gently now and then. Her eyes were
wide open, reminding him a bit of the eyes of the adult-children in the dream
he kept having. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben
Alki and Sophia walk hand in hand out of the door. He wished for a moment that
he could do that. Slip away with a beautiful girl. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">His throat became dry, but he could
not face the mesmerizing sweetness of the wheat and rye nectar. He suddenly
longed for cave water. He could not believe that he actually wanted cave water,
after he’d been so bored with it for so many years. He wanted something that
simple and now it wasn’t available. Not in a nectar bar, and not usually
anywhere up on the surface. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Gradually, the questions stopped. The
girls began to look tired-out by their own excitement. One by one, they started
to leave. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Rozia didn’t, though. She stayed. He
couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous. Was she thinking the same?
She kept avoiding his eyes. But then she would look up at him, smile shyly,
blush, then look away again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She made no
attempt to leave either. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The droid pottered around, clearing
glasses from their table. Soon, the New Laguna was as quiet as it had been when
he had first come in. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I suppose we ought to go as well,”
Kaleem said. He noticed that his voice had gone high and squeaky, just like Ben
Alki’s had. He was trying to pluck up the courage to ask her if he could see
her home. Stupid thing to say. It made it sound as if he didn’t want to be with
her any more. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Where can you get Black Tulpen on
Terrestra?” said Rozia quickly. This time she did not blush. If anything, she
looked paler than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kaleem’s heart missed a beat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-51881553275693437212023-07-31T09:05:00.003-07:002023-07-31T09:05:30.291-07:00Babel: Kaleem <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babel-Peace-Child-Book-2-ebook/dp/B004ZSYN4W?crid=4XNE79JIC3GB&keywords=Babel+Gill+James&qid=1690819446&sprefix=babel+gill+james%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=9ab211ddfb44a5ff7c95f8d04f1a30dd&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004ZSYN4W&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><p class="NovelChapter"><br /></p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph">The last scene from Elder Joshran Kemnat’s Life
Celebration presentation faded from the huge screen which had been erected in
the Peace Park. Kaleem Kennedy-Bagarin’s left leg
had gone to sleep. Because of the heat, they’d been advised to sit for this
part of the elder’s switch-off ceremony. Of course, they’d all had to stand
while the reposant was administered and while Elder Joshran’s friends and
relations said good-bye in private, and while the old man became unconscious and
died. The presentation though had been fascinating. That was why Kaleem’s leg
had gone to sleep. He had sat without moving for the two hours of interviews
and reminiscences. No wonder the man had been chosen as an elder. He had been
so clever and kind.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem tried to stand on his leg. It gave way, making him
tumble back down to the ground.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Pins and needles shot through as the blood gradually made
its way back to his toes.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Other people around him
were now making their way towards the transport decks. Kaleem started to hobble
along with them. He didn’t rate his chances of getting a transporter though.
Apart from which, he was not sure where he was going. There seemed little point
in going back to his grandparents’ apartment. They wouldn’t be back for ages.
He didn’t fancy doing any work. He’d been at a bit of a loss since he had come
back from his parents’ attachment ceremony on Zandra. He couldn’t settle to
anything. Terrestra and Zandra were trading steadily now. That was all running
smoothly. They didn’t really need him any more.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">His leg started working properly again. He kept up with the
rest of the crowd as they made their way towards the nearest exit from the
park.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He suddenly remembered that this was where he had first seen
Razjosh. Here in this very park. Razjosh had been an old man, even then. Now,
he was almost as old as Joshran Kemnat.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem stopped walking, suddenly feeling nauseous. That
meant that it would soon be Razjosh’s turn. Kaleem had never been to a switch-off
ceremony, so he’d never known what happened in the private part where the
departant was given the reposant and then drifted into a final sleep. Before
today, he’d never seen even the public part of the ceremony. It had always been
something he’d rather not think about. Of course, not every ceremony was as
well attended as Joshran Kemnat’s had been, not even for an elder. Kemnat had
just been so popular. But was this going to happen to Razjosh soon?</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Then he had another thought, even more awful. If Razjosh was
going to face switch-off soon, that would mean that he would become the only
Peace Child. One day, he would be an elder too. And he would have no-one to
show him the way any more. What if he pretended to be learning very slowly?
Then they would have to keep the elder around for a little longer. No, Razjosh
would see through that.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The nausea became even greater. Kaleem was sure he was going
to throw up any second now. The bile rose into his mouth and his stomach
retched. He felt hot and dizzy. He couldn’t stop the foul fluid coming up into
his mouth, burning his gut and his mouth on the way. He heaved and spat the evil-tasting
liquid all over the ground, making an ugly stain. Even getting rid of all that
unwanted material from his stomach didn’t relieve the uncomfortable physical
feeling, nor did it take away the horrible thought. Razjosh, to be switched
off? No more Razjosh. He retched again, but there was nothing left in his
stomach to come out.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He wiped his mouth and looked around. Good that no one had
seen him. This would not do. Not out in public. It would cause a panic. They’d
think he’d got Starlight again. That was ironic! He was probably the last
person on Terrestra who would get it. The antibodies in his system were really
strong. He was 100% immune to it now.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">There was a bench nearby. Kaleem staggered over towards it.
He was shaking now. He bent his head so that it was touching his knees. Then he
put the fingers of his left hand on the pressure point on his right wrist as
they’d shown him on Zandra. After five minutes, he changed his hand over so
that the fingers from his right hand were resting on his left wrist. The nausea
gradually went away. He sat upright. He had stopped shaking.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The crowd was thinning out. He would set off in a minute or
two. He was still not sure where. He did think for a moment of visiting the
cave apartment he used to share with his mother, but then realized that it
would still be locked up. Then he thought of Pierre LaFontaine. His apartment
was not too far from here either. But somehow he didn’t feel like being with
just one person. He preferred the idea of a crowd tonight. Somewhere where he
could just listen and only had to join in the conversation if he really wanted
to. Besides, there was no guarantee that Pierre
would be in.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He decided to go to the underground New Laguna Bar. “New”.
That was a funny name for it. It was over twenty years old. It still worked the
same way it always had. People of his age often came here. And it was where his
parents had first met.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">In just twenty minutes he managed to walk to the entrance of
the New Laguna. It then took the lift ten minutes to get down because it was so
deep within the old cave system.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">It was disappointingly empty when he got there. A single
barman was on duty and someone who looked just a little older than him propping
up the bar. At least the barman was a human being, though, not a droid. He also
seemed to be only a little older than Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Hi there,” said the barman. “What can I get you?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Wheat and rye, please,” said Kaleem. It was the nearest drink
in taste to the Zandrian frega which he now preferred to Terrestran nectar. He
found most of the juices here on Terrestra too sweet. This one was sort of
savoury.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Coming up sir,” said the barman. He was staring at Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He’s asking himself if
he knows me,</i> thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And he
can’t quite think where from. </i>He caught sight of his reflection in the
veriglass mirror behind the bar. That had been a real smart idea of his
grandmother’s, dying his hair black. Not only did it make him look more
Terrestran, it stopped people recognizing him straight away as the famous Peace
Child. The different coloured hair put people off the trail for a while, but
there might still be something recognizable.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Yes, his grandmother, Louish Kennedy, was pretty smart. Why
hadn’t he thought of that himself? It would have stopped him looking so
different from other Terrestrans back when he’d lived in the cave apartment.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The barman continued to stare as he poured the drink.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Not many people in tonight, then, are there?” said Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“No, it’s because of the switch-off, I guess,” said the
barman. “People don’t think they should enjoy a drink on the day somebody’s
switched off. A sort of sign of respect.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh, here I go again,</i>
thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doing it different from
everybody else. The one time I come to a bar is the one time everybody else
stays home.</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yeah,” said Kaleem, “but I wouldn’t have thought that people
our age would be so bothered about a switch-off.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The bar man shrugged his shoulders. “Probably not. Their
olds might be, though.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">That was it, then, Kaleem guessed.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">It was quite good, living with his grandparents. They
wouldn’t dare try and pin him down. Not after what he’d been through, and
anyway, they were just so glad to have him and Marijam, his mother, back in
their lives after she had gone and disappeared into the Z Zone all those years
ago.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Anyway, everybody liked him,” the barman continued. “Even
our lot. Wonder who’ll they pick for the next one?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Of course, that was where Louish and Frazier Kennedy were
tonight. As Frazier was still Head of Education, they had been invited to the
wake for the Elder of Education and Culture. The process of choosing the next elder
would start at the same party.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The barman disappeared into the room at the back of the bar.
Kaleem took a sip of his wheat and rye nectar. It was still too sweet really,
but it was helping to quench his thirst.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“You must be as bad as me. We must be as hard-hearted as
each other,” said a voice behind him. “Drinking when there’s just been a
switch-off. Not the done thing.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem turned to see who was speaking.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">There was something familiar about this young man’s distinctively
long face. Kaleem could not quite work out where he knew him from though.
Before he had time to dwell on that, the stranger started speaking.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” he asked Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem hesitated.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The stranger shook his head. “Mmm?” he said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Oh, what the heck. It was not exactly going to cause a riot.
People were really more interested in what he had done than in him, anyway. Most
people still found him a bit freakish, despite the new hair colour.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Imagine it blond?” he said pointing to his head.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The thin-faced man
frowned even deeper now. “Yeah, definitely. Just can’t quite place you though,”
he said shaking his head.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Zandra, acorns, vaccine, Starlight Racers…” Kaleem continued.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yes! Peace Child… Kal… er?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Kaleem Kennedy-Bagarin or Malkendy, take your pick,” said
Kaleem offering the stranger a Zandrian handshake.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The other man laughed.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“How do you…?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“You just slot your hand into my fingers like that,” he
said, guiding the man’s hand into his open fingers.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“That’s interesting,” he said. “Much friendlier than ours.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yeah,” said Kaleem. Then he frowned. “But look, I know you
as well, from somewhere.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Did you watch the ceremony today?” asked the stranger.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem nodded.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Imagine ceremonial robes, then,” the stranger continued.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem nodded again. “You were the guy who…?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yeah, that was me. I’m Ben Alki Mazrouth, master of switch-off
ceremonies. Because I’ve got a long face and I’m generally so skinny, just like
a skeleton, I always do the dark bit. They say I look the part.” Ben Alki grimaced.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem laughed. Suddenly he wanted to know more. A lot more.
“What actually happens,” he asked, “in that bit we don’t watch. I mean, what’s
it like, when they actually, you know…?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Not pretty,” replied Ben Alki. “Not much to it though
really. They’ve usually been so heavily sedated – the departants – for days
really, and then a bit more so on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>day, so they don’t really notice much.
It’s a wonder they’re with-it enough to give out their gifts. No. It’s the
relatives and close friends you feel sorry for. They really get stressed. Even
those you’d think were pretty near to switch-off themselves and have seen it
all before.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Ben-Ali stopped speaking suddenly and stared at the wall
behind the bar. He took a sip of his nectar.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem looked down at his wheat and rye. No he couldn’t bear
to touch it. It was too sweet and he felt nauseous again. This was going to
happen to Razjosh soon. In several more years’ time, this would happen to
Marijam and Nazaret if they decided to live on Terrestra. He would still be
relatively young himself then. Eventually, it would happen to him. Oddly, that
did not bother him so much. He would not have to watch it, and as Ben Alki
said, he would hardly be conscious.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">He thought about the two other times when he had been
drugged. Both times, he had fallen asleep instantly – oh, and he’d had <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">that</b> dream of course. Then he’d woken
up several hours later and felt more or less all right.</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Switch-off would be
different. He wouldn’t wake up from that.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">Ben Alki suddenly tipped his beaker of nectar back and drank
it all in one go.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Can I get you another drink?” Ben Alki asked Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“No thanks,” said Kaleem. “I’m still okay.” He pointed to
the almost full glass of wheat and rye.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">The barman had not come back.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Any-one serving round here?” Ben Alki called.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Kaleem noticed the impatience in his voice. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Perhaps it’s his work,</i> he thought.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">A droid marched into the space behind the bar. Presumably,
the barman had gone off duty or else was still doing some work in the back
room.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“May I be of help, sir?” asked the electronic voice.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Yes please,” said Ben Alki. “Rose and orange water, and
make it a double.” </p>
<p class="NovelBody">The droid busied itself getting the drink. Kaleem winced.
Rose and orange water was the sickliest of all the nectars. A double, after the
single Ben Alki had already drunk so quickly was bound to have an effect –
probably not an altogether good one.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Ben Alki turned and grinned at him. “It’s okay,” he said. “I
can take it. I’m used to it. You need this with the job I’ve got.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Mmm,” murmured Kaleem. He wasn’t sure.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“I bet you wonder why I do it,” said Ben Alki.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Well, yes, actually…” replied Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“It’s easy,” said Ben Alki. “I can’t be bothered to study to
do anything else. The pay’s good here. Really good if you think about how gross
it is. It’s the best solution for me.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">That’s true,</span></i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> thought Kaleem. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He’s got a point
there. </i>In fact, it was the only unpleasant task a human might be expected
to do. Robots and droids did all the menial things – fixing broken machines,
cleaning out the sewers and dealing with the rubbish. But most humans would shy
away from conducting a switch-off ceremony because it was so horrible. Almost
as horrible as having to issue the reposant or having to laser and mulch the
corpse.</span></p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Actually,” Ben Alki continued, waving his tumbler at the droid,
“it’s quite good at the moment. Less to do. The Starlight disease has done some
of our work for us. They’re also allowing people another five years.” His words
were beginning to slur. A shadow passed across his face. “Ah, but it’ll all get
frantic again in a couple of years,” he said, “especially ’cos of your work.
Getting them acorns to Zandra, so’s we can have some vaccine in exchange.” He
hiccoughed. He grinned. “’Salright,” he said. “You’re a good egg.” He turned
towards the droid that was standing motionless in front of him. “More’n I can
say for you, sunshine.” He slammed his tumbler down on the counter.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Sir will not be permitted any more nectar,” said the droid.
Its automatic response had set in: Ben Alki Mazrouth would be receiving no more
nectar today. He was a little over the limit already.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Are you okay?” started Kaleem. “Would you like me…?”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">Ben Alki stopped him before he could finish.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“No, it’s fine,” he said, suddenly sounding quite sober
again. He looked directly at the droid. “Call me up a transporter.” He turned
to Kaleem. “Just a pity she<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>wasn’t
here.”</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Who’s she?” asked Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Sophia,” replied Ben Alki. He slid off the hoverstool and
walked towards the door in an absolutely straight line. Whatever effect the
nectar had had, it was wearing off rapidly. He turned in the doorway and
grinned at Kaleem.</p>
<p class="NovelBody">“Come and watch some time,” he said. “There’s an observation
room. They can’t see you.” He waved and then disappeared through the doorway.</p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B004ZSYN4W&asins=B004ZSYN4W&linkId=0aea01dbd5daa202f9ebd72d9c8a9a92&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-22327436380259380402023-05-22T03:49:00.005-07:002023-05-22T03:49:49.385-07:00Babel: Ben Alki, by Gill James <div class="separator"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babel-Peace-Child-Book-2-ebook/dp/B004ZSYN4W?crid=1FF562P6FA9AW&keywords=Babel+Gill+James&qid=1684752450&sprefix=babel+gill+james%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=7f647d295f7073cd6802de7e08799bcb&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004ZSYN4W&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li2&o=2&a=B004ZSYN4W" style="border: none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
<p> </p><h1 align="center" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">Ben Alki</h1><h1 align="center" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ceremonial</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place> was as silent as
ever, just like it always was before the switch-off ritual. Ben Alki Mazrouth
took a deep breath. He didn’t mind this moment so much. He found it magical in
a way, waiting for this most solemn of ceremonies to begin. Everything was as it
should be. All the metal and veriglass fittings had been polished so that they
reflected the bright lights from the chandeliers back up to the high ceiling.
He cast an eye along the rows of plush comfisessels. They were hovering gently,
waiting for the well-wishers to come and sit on them. He made his way over to
the big plastikholz doors, which looked so solid they could convince you they
were the really heavy wood like in the Citadel of Elders. He took another big
breath and then opened first the right hand door and then the left. The
mourners were waiting for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">They all filed in and sit down. He
was used to the sad faces. He had served as the celebrant for one hundred of
these rituals now. He knew just how impressive that was for someone as young as
him. It was probably time he stopped though it was easier just to carry on. At
least now he knew what to expect. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">They sat down in the comfisessels,
which swung and tipped to and fro a little, seeking a balancing point. One or
two of the well-wishers whispered to each other. Others just stared, looking at
nothing in particular. They all sat rigidly, some on the edge of their sessels,
others picking imaginary fluff off their ceremonial purple tunics. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki heard the tiny bleep which
meant that Kemnat had arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“All rise to greet the departant,” Ben
Alki called. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The family members were the first to get
up on to their feet. They were followed soon after by the good friends in the
outer rows. Those watching through the veriglass windows were already standing.
There had not been enough room to offer them floating comfisessels or even
old-fashioned hardsessels. The departant was one of the most popular elders
Terrestra had ever known. On the dataserve concealed beneath his lectern Ben
Alki could see the crowd outside. They were watching via the huge dataserve
screens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly they became quiet and
pulled themselves to attention as the soft notes of an eccolute began to play a
requiem-like melody. The curtains on the rear wall of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> silently glided open. The enormous
bed, covered in drapes made from silks and satins and other old-world
materials, and known as the Resting Place Entrance, slid into place. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki saw the look of sudden shock
in the eyes of the departant’s immediate family. That always happened, even if
they were old enough to have been to many departure ceremonies. Most of the
recent ceremonies had been for older departants. So, the people who had
attended were older too. They’d pushed the age back for compulsory switch-off.
After so many deaths from the Starlight Racer pandemic there was not so much
need. Oh, he’d listened to all<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>arguments
from those who thought that they should now let nature take its course but Ben
Alki didn’t quite see how it would work. Apart from those who had succumbed to
the Starlight disease, Terrestrans were a pretty healthy lot. Especially the
Elders, who were so well looked after. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The woman at the end of the front row
caught his eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d seen that look
before as well. They hated him for what he did. Everyone knew that switch-off was
inevitable, yet when it came to it, they didn’t want it to happen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The woman’s eyes were red-rimmed and
swollen as if she had been crying. Ben Alki guessed she must be the former
attachment of the departant Elder. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Just as well the ones who are going don’t look like that,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> thought Ben Alki. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Of course, they didn’t. They were
heavily sedated. Had been for days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The side door slid open. Ben Alki didn’t
like to think too much about what was actually about to happen at this point. This
was just a job, he told himself, a highly paid one at that. He let his thoughts
drift over to what he would be doing that evening. He might watch some sport on
the dataserve or he might go along to the recently refurbished New Laguna nectar
bar. Sophia Arkland might be there, if he was lucky.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The attendant guided the aged elder
in. The old man looked fine. You would not know he was drugged up to the
eyeballs. He looked with it and relaxed. The counsellor had obviously done his
job well, convinced him that this was the right thing to do and that he had
much to be proud of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben Alki wondered
what Kemnat Elder had selected for his life show. He’d have a lot to talk about
for sure. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The attendant had now parked the
hoversessel in the middle of the small platform. The elder was smiling at his
family and friends. He looked as if he was being kind, but Ben Alki knew it was
just the effect of the sedative drug he’d been given – even though it was true
that Joshran Elder was a kind man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Joshran Kemnat, Elder of Culture and
Education, inhabitant of Terrestra, do you agree to the termination of your
stewardship?” said Ben Alki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I do,” replied the elder. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“And do you account to that
stewardship every aspect of your life, including the physical, the intellectual
and the spiritual, and of all those aspects of which you have charge including
the personal?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I do,” replied the elder. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Then it is fitting that the ceremony
of departure may take place. Who is to bear witness?” The words came from Ben Alki’s
mouth without him having to think. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
am I really talking about? </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">he</span>
asked himself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“We are,” said a man and a woman
standing near the red-eyed woman. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki guessed they might be
Kemnat’s children. He passed them the small tablet dataserve and they pressed
their palms to it sensors. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Joshran Kemnat,” said Ben Alki
“please make your way to the Resting Place Entrance. The reposant will be
administered shortly.” Ben Alki turned to the dataserve. “Privacy settings,” he
commanded. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The thick black curtains slid across
the veriglass windows. The screen showing the crowds outside went dark, but
seconds before the sound was disconnected Ben Alki heard a loud scream,
followed by someone shouting “Don’t go, Johsran! We need you!” Hysterical sobs
began just before the sound from outside went dead. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Up until now, all the fuss about
Joshran Kemnat had seemed to Ben Alki just like some dramatic pageant, the
beginnings of a movie. But no, what he had just heard was grief – raw, genuine
and utter grief. His concentration slipped a little and the feelings he always
managed to ignore during these ceremonies now began to take over. That had
never happened before. He’d never known as much about the departants as he did
about Joshran Elder. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He pulled himself up sharply and
began to move closer to the family members, whilst the attendant who had helped
the old man on to the stage now helped him into the large bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“In a few moments my colleague will
inject the reposant,” Ben Alki said to the well-wishers. “You will then have
about forty minutes to say your goodbyes. He will suffer no pain. He will
gradually become sleepy and will drop into a short coma.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The medic was already standing in the
doorway. Ben Alki nodded to him. The man in the white tunic made his way over
to the over-sized bed where the attendant was now helping the old man from the comfisessel
into the Resting Place Entrance. Two other attendants were getting ready the
gifts which the Elder had chosen for his near ones. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki liked to keep well out of
the way at this point. This may be his hundredth ceremony, but this part really
spooked him. Besides, this was a really important last intimate moment for the
family and close friends. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He went into the little side-room
which had one-way veriglass. Malthus Smid, the annihilation operator was
already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Won’t be another one for ten days,”
said Malthus. “What are you going to do then?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki shrugged. That was definitely
one of the perks of this job – especially since the Starlight Fever had done
much of their work for them. You only had to work when you had to work. There
were lots of days off; it was a sort of compensation for having to do a job
that only a few were prepared to do. Most people would find it thoroughly
gruesome and it was never discussed in polite society. As they were so well
paid, Malthus and Ben Alki and the other employees of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ceremonial</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place>
could afford to do really interesting things in all that spare time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki found himself thinking about
Sophia again. Spending some more time with her would be a good idea. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Do you think they will stop this?”
asked Malthus. “Now that we’re not quite so crowded?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki did not know. Anyway, the
vaccines and antidotes being sent from Zandra were working so well that they would
soon be back to normal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I mean,” continued Malthus. “Now
that we’re trading with Zandra, we might start trading with others and then
we’d start catching all sorts of things and we’d start falling down like the Z
Zoners do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki shut his eyes – partly to
think better, and partly so that he did not have to watch what was going on
inside the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I really don’t know,” he said. “I
really don’t.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Part of him wanted this whole
business to stop; he’d decided some time ago it wasn’t actually right – he was
actually helping with a murder. Another part of him worried about what he might
do to earn a living if it did stop. At just nineteen, he was able to live a
very nice life, thank you very much. He had no qualifications. It was not that
he was not bright – no he prided himself on being pretty clever. But he enjoyed
being lazy. All he’d had to do was learn to keep his face nice and serious. That
had not been a problem. He really looked the part – tall, thin and with a
rather long face. He was such a cynic anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Mind you, next to Malthus, he was
quite a saint. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh sacred elders, look what he’s
giving her,” cried Malthus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki opened his eyes and looked through
the one-way veriglass. The youngest of the well-wishers, a girl who looked
about eighteen, was kneeling at the side of the old man. He was handing her
what looked like a permanent attachment robe. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You don’t think the old guy’s
offering to attach to her, do you? I mean, look well if they’re going to have
sex. It has been known you know.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Shut up,” said Ben Alki. “He’s
probably telling her he approves of her boyfriend.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One by one the mourners made their
way up to Elder Kemnat. Ben Alki was amazed every time at how calm the
departants seemed. Okay, he knew about the drugs, but even so. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh, come on, lulus,” shouted
Malthus. “Let him go to sleep. Then we can zap and compost and then we’re out
of here. Should I change the air?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The last of the well-wishers had made
their way up to the Resting Place Entrance. Soon the elder would become sleepy
and then he would slip into the coma. Reducing the oxygen in the air often
speeded that process up, though the well-wishers never noticed the difference. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki shook his head. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Let him go in his own time,” he
said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Boring,” said Malthus. Then he
settled down. Both of them stared through the window. They watched the old man
talking to his friends and family. It was clear he was getting tired. He closed
his eyes and seemed to fall asleep. The well-wishers gradually stopped talking.
A few minutes later, there was a tap on the door. Ben Alki opened it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“He’s in the coma now,” said the
medic. “I think we’ve got about ten minutes.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Some of the well-wishers were
weeping. Two sat on the bed with the Elder and stroked his hair. The rest just
stood solemnly around the Resting Place Entrance, looking a little awkward, not
knowing what to do. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Respiration slowing,” said the
medic, looking at his wrist dataserve. “Heart arrhythmic. Life signs weak.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">They say it’s peaceful,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> thought Ben Alki. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But
how do we really know what is going on? He could be still conscious, just
paralyzed.</i> Oh, he knew about all the research, how they’d measured the
brainwaves and how there’d been no evidence of any pain or fear. But where had
they got that idea from about going down a tunnel towards some light? Why on
Terrestra was he doing this job? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Death has occurred,” said the medic
suddenly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Let’s go!” cried Malthus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki now made his way out to the
people he must now think of as mourners. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Our loved one has now gone,” he
said, putting his solemn voice back on. “Please now say your last farewell. In
a few minutes, we shall complete the ceremony in full view of the public.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He turned to the man who had been
named as Chief Mourner. “Let me know as soon as you are ready,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">There was a mumbled conversation now
amongst the mourners. The man Ben Alki had spoken to nodded his head. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Ladies and Gentleman,” said Ben Alki.
“Will you now make your way to your places?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He turned to the dataserve. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Public settings.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The curtains behind the mourners drew
back so that those behind the veriglass could follow the final part of the
ceremony. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Friends, relations, fellow
Terrestrans,” said Ben Alki. “Our beloved Joshran Kemnat has now departed from
us. We ask you to salute his body as it now makes its final journey to its last
resting place. We invite you then to celebrate with us the life of this
extraordinary man.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He pressed the black key that only
the dataserve at the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>
had. The large bed with the body of the elder slid back towards the hidden
laser furnace and the curtains closed back around it. Even before the curtains
had shut the lasers would have sanitized the Elder’s body and the grinders
would be turning him into compost. He could imagine Malthus crying out with a
great ”Yeah! Zap and mulch him baby.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
could just make out the faint high-pitched sound which told him the lasers were
already working. Or maybe it was the mulchers he could hear. He hoped that none
of the mourners could hear it. He guessed not. In fact, he was fairly sure he
only imagined it himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It was time for him to go. The new
master of ceremonies, the one who was going to compeer the show to celebrate
Kemnat’s life was already walking on to the stage. Ben Alki had volunteered to
do this once or twice, to be the one who would celebrate the departant’s life.
They’d turned him down. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You have just the right type of face
for the first part of the ceremony,” they’d said. “And we never let the same
celebrant do both halves. We don’t want the celebrations to get mixed up with
the mourning.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ben Alki decided not to stay to watch
the movie clips and hear the speeches and testimonials of those who had known
the elder well. They’d been right. How could he celebrate the life he’d just
helped to end? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He made his way to a transporter
deck. He would go to the New Laguna bar. She just might be there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B004ZSYN4W&asins=B004ZSYN4W&linkId=b9c22bdaa50827efed45cbd3b23895f0&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-73052055909983931772023-04-08T03:11:00.000-07:002023-04-08T03:11:10.438-07:00The Prophecy Chapter 4 Gill James <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prophecy-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B0052092PW?crid=3LNPQ205T6ECH&keywords=The+prophecy+gill+James&qid=1680948550&sprefix=the+prophecy+gill+james%2Caps%2C62&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=47a1d017fffded23e03408f12affd9f4&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0052092PW&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" width="250" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li2&o=2&a=B0052092PW" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1 align="center" style="text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc194803995">Chapter Four</a></h1>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam stuffed four old ripon tunics into the overnight case.
She picked up the pretty pearl and gold jewellery box her aunt had given her. That,
with other bits and pieces her aunt and grandmother had given her might be more
useful as currency in the Z Zone than Terrestra credits, until she managed to
get a false credit account. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She had
briefly also thought about trying to make her way to the Citadel, where the
Elders lived. She had heard rumours that they could be kind, and they would
often help Normal Zoners who got in to some sort of trouble. But she had no
idea how to get there. That would have meant delving into even more of the
Hidden Information. At least she knew where the Z Zone was. Somehow, she
thought, that was just as well. She deserved the poverty of the Z Zone more
than the luxury of the Citadel. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She obstinately
refused to let Louish help her with the packing. She said she wanted to get her
thoughts straight about the Northern Lights Project, she'd said. Louish had been
taken in. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Neither of
her parents mentioned Gabrizan's disappearance again, nor how pale she looked.
Oddly enough, over the last day or two, the nausea had all but disappeared.
Just a hint of it now and then. Perhaps it was the shock.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Well, she
was dressed smartly enough for a science project interview. She was wearing
a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>newer, plain tunic. She washed her
hair carefully and some of the shine came back. She didn't look too bad in the
mirror, even though she still felt completely drained. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Better
keep up appearances</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">,
she told herself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The pearl
necklace her grandmother left her bought her some Hidden Information. If anyone
found out, she would probably have to go to prison for the rest of her life. She
shuddered when she thought of her meeting with the Ambassador, as he called
himself. She would have sworn he was actually a Z Zoner, but one who spent an
awful lot of time in the Normal Zones. He’d been so easy to find, too. Well,
she’d known all along that some of the other kids in her social group sometimes
accessed Hidden Information just for a bit of a laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">But it was
nothing to laugh about. What she found out sickened her. She was almost grateful
to the authorities for keeping that sort of information hidden. She had just
two choices. She could give birth to the baby. That would be painful and could
even kill her. Or she could get rid of it. That wouldn’t be all that pleasant
either and was just as risky. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Both meant
disappearing into the Z Zone. No-one in the Normal Zones would help with either.
She would go there to get the help of the Z Zoners in delivering her baby, not
in getting rid of it. It was Gabrizan’s baby. This would forever change her way
of life and there would be no going back.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
shivered as she thought of the Z Zone. She had found out more about it from the
Hidden Information. She had already known that people who could no longer live
in ordinary society were sent there. Until she'd got the Hidden Information,
though, she had not known that Z Zoners did not have enough food, light and
clothing. She had not realised that they had few dataserves and that any
technology they did have was years out of date. The only concession they had to
modern Terrestran life was a completely normal diastic system. . The population
there was getting thinner - maybe one day it would die out altogether. <i>Would
it though?</i> she asked herself. <i>Wouldn't there always be misfits who
needed hiding away?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She flinched as
she remembered what she had found out about birth control in the Z Zone. They
had a full Stopes programme going on there. Not even Z Zoners got pregnant
these days. But they also rarely made it to the hundred years and switch-off.
They didn't die of illness. They became tired, literally worn out, or they
starved. They did die, the old way, and the average age for death was
forty-five.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam bit
her lip when she remembered what it had been like getting that Hidden
Information. No wonder they kept all of this from normal people. It was
horrific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
looked around the room which had been hers for as long as she could remember.
She had just a little more space in her bag. What else should she take? Then
she saw it. Another gift from her grandmother. Oma had given it to her on her
switch-off day. It was a book, a children's picture book. Most stories were
told in super-four vision these days, but this antique was beautiful. She found
it hard to decipher the old-fashioned text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She knew the story off by heart, though, and she loved the pictures. She
quickly flicked through the finely detailed paintings of the tower leading up
to the sky. She loved the puzzled expressions of the people who found that they
could not understand each other after they had tried to reach God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
heard her parents in the entrance hall to the apartment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Are
you coming?" called Louish.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You go
ahead, I'll catch you up later," replied Marijam, trying not to let her
voice tremble. It was really scary to think that she would never see her
parents again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The vacuum
doors closed. Marijam stuffed the book into her bag. She took one last look
around her room.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I'm
sorry, Mum, Dad," she whispered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thought about what might happen to her
father after she had left. Would they allow him to carry on as a service head,
if he couldn’t even deal with his own daughter? Just as well that he didn’t
know why she had left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Then she too
walked out of the apartment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The lifts to
the surface had long queues to them. People chatted excitedly and jostled one
another to get to the front of the queue. <i>They won't half feel dizzy</i>,
thought Marijam, <i>when that real air hits them</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She decided
it would be easier to get to the Z Zone across the top. The tunnels were so
complicated underground. Many of them were blocked where roofs had caved in.
The authorities had decided not to repair them. They didn't particularly want Z
Zoners mixing with ordinary people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I hope
they're not going to spoil everything</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">, she thought. It wasn't going to be the same with everyone
else sharing the outdoors. Oh, it wasn't going to be the same without Gabrizan.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The lift
stopped. A door had been set into the tube which went across the surface.
People streamed out. Marijam enjoyed for a few seconds the thrill of breathing
real air. But she was used to it, unlike the people around her. They looked
dazed. Some clung on to pieces of rock. Others sat down on the ground. One or
two were taking great gulps of air. Some medical workers walked about. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Don't
breathe too fast," they advised. "Don't stay more than ten minutes.
You're not used to the changing temperatures or the natural mix of air."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Isn't
this something?" Marijam heard one woman say. "I'm so glad it's
happened in our life time."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"It's a
miracle," replied the man at her side. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam put
her hand to her tummy. <i>I suppose this is a miracle as well</i>, she thought.
<i>Only I think I'm off miracles.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Someone suddenly tapped her arm. She jumped.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” said a too familiar voice. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Marijam turned to see Ponty Davidson. “Yes,” she replied, “though it
makes you feel funny, doesn’t it?” <i>I hope he can’t see I’m already used to
it,</i> she thought.<i> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Will you walk a little way with me?” asked Ponty. His breathing became
shallow.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“I, er I think,” stammered Marijam. “I think I need to go back in. I’ve
already been out quite a while.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">She walked away from him, back towards the opening in the tube. She
stopped at the entrance and turned to see what he was doing. He staggered a
little and one of the medical workers came up to him. She watched him sit down
as two of the medics now spoke to him. Then, his head was down between his
knees. It was safe for her to go now. He would not see her. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">She set off again. She went behind Ponty and the two medical workers. He
was recovering. She must hurry. She quickened her step. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Marijam,” she heard Ponty call. “Where are you going?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">She pretended not to hear. She walked faster and faster until she was
almost running. The ground became rougher. She would have to be careful. But
she didn’t stop until she could no longer hear the crowds. She turned once more
to look. No one was following and most people seemed to be making their way
back to the open tube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She sat on a
rock at the side of what was left of the road. She took out the map she had got
from the Hidden Information. This was scary, oh so scary. <i>I need to go south</i>
she thought. She looked up at the sun. It was high in the sky and straight ahead.
One of the old twenty-third century roads could still just about be seen. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Well,
this is it,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she
thought. She lifted her bag on to her back. She couldn't walk too quickly
across Terrestra's broken surface. Yes, she was following the old E723 Super Highway.
There were bumps and cracks everywhere and places where there was no road left,
only a patch of mud. Sometimes the road had caved in completely and Marijam had
to climb in and out of a huge hole. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">You never
know,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she thought. <i>This
might hurt the baby and then there might not be a problem any more</i>. Then
she felt ashamed of thinking that. After all, this was Gabrizan's child who was
growing inside her. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A couple of
times she sat down to rest. She was able to use the mini compu to tell her the
direction. She knew, though, that soon she would be in the area which was not
mapped by Standard Information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Then one time she sat down and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">pressed the button on the mini compu. The screen was
completely blank. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">That's it
then,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she thought. <i>I'm
on my own now. </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The sun was
beginning to set. Marijam studied the map again. The Logan cave must be another couple of
kilometres from here. Then she would be in the Z Zone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam felt
as if her heart and her stomach were chasing each other as she trudged along
those last two kilometres. Once she went into that cave, there would be no
going back. She could still change her mind now and go home. Explain everything
to her parents. Surely her father would find a way out? No. It would ruin his
career as well. Better this way.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It was
completely dark by the time she arrived at the cave. A faint pink glow came
from the entrance. Marijam could hear a soft noise. Was it their old mechanical
machinery? Were they managing better now that the surface air was breathable
again? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam followed
the tunnel which led down underground. She could see where the pink glow came
from. The pathway was lit with strange burning lights. She supposed it was some
sort of gas. There had been nothing about that in the Hidden Information. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It was cold
in the caves. The ground was uneven, not like the solid floors of the normal
zones. It was mainly made of dirt, with some bits of natural rock here and
there. She suddenly remembered her first climb to the surface with Gabrizan.
The path to the exit had been just like this. A pain that was almost physical
shot through her as she thought of Gabrizan. Then something else happened. Her
womb seemed to contract. Then there was a real pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I'm going
to lose it,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she
thought. <i>I shouldn't have done this.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The pain
stopped almost immediately. There was a strange tickling sort of feeling, like
tummy butterflies, but a little lower down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You're
moving," Marijam whispered as she put her hand over her stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gabrizan's child was moving. So this had been
the right thing to do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The noise of the machinery grew louder.
Marijam could also hear people's voices. Her heart started crashing into her
ribs now. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Sorry,
baby," she muttered. "I don't want to scare you, but I'm
terrified."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
heard a sudden movement at the side of her. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Hey,
what's this then?" a gritty voice rasped. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A gloomy
figure stepped into Marijam's path. The smell was the worst. She found it hard
not to vomit again. This was what the unwashed must smell like, something she
had never experienced before. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"What
do you want, then, little rich girl?" snarled the man, wiping his hand on
the dirty torn tunic. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A second
figure came forward out of the shadows. This time it was a younger man. He was
just as dirty as the first, and his brown tunic was made of the same rough
looking material. But he didn't seem to smell quite so much. His face looked a
bit kinder too. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
could not move. She wanted to run, but she could not get her legs to do
what<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>she asked them. Even if they had
moved, she knew she would not be able to get far. She was too tired. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well?"
asked the first man, grabbing Marijam's arm so hard that she could already feel
the bruise forming. "Why have you come here? Running away from something
are you?" </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Look,
I've got some things you can have," stammered Marijam, pointing to her bag
which was beginning to slip from her shoulders, "if you'll let me
stay."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Go on
then, get it open!" shouted the first man, pulling the bag away from her
and gesturing to the younger man. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The younger
man took the bag and began to empty its contents on to the cave floor. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You
won't be needing those here," commented the older man, as the younger one
piled up the few tunics she had brought with her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"No,
you'll be much too cold," said the younger man more kindly. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"That'll
do!" cried the other man. He snatched the jewellery box.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Hey,
wait a minute, Franck!" cried the younger man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Take a look at this." He was
holding the picture book. His rough hands were thumbing through the pictures. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"My
God!" replied Franck. He also now started pawing at the book. "Does
this mean…?" </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The younger
man nodded. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
wanted to scream out to him to be careful. How dare such a brute touch her
precious book. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Franck’ face was white and there were now
beads of sweat on his forehead. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Do you
really think this can have happened to us?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>asked the younger man. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
didn't have time to think what this might all be about. The two men quickly
bundled her things back into her bag. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Ianus,
we'll have to get her to Narisja," hissed Franck.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
we'd better get a kartje," replied Ianus. "We can't risk<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>anything happening to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>her. She looks exhausted already. We can’t
expect her to walk any further."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Right,"
said Frank. "You sit down there, Miss. Ianus will be back soon."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The smell
was still quite disgusting, but Marijam felt a bit more comfortable now. They
seemed to think she was something special. Goodness knows what that was all
about, but it was helping. And she was tired. Oh, so very tired. She closed her
eyes. She could hear Franck breathing, but he didn't seem inclined to say
anything. When she opened her eyes again, he was staring at her and frowning
slightly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ianus came
back a few minutes later. Then Marijam realised what a kartje was. It was
something from the last century. A type of small cart which hovered a few
inches off the ground. She didn't think there were any of those left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she thought they had been called
carrrels. But then, this was the Z Zone. Anything could happen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ianus helped
her into the small vehicle.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You'll
still have to hold on," he warned. "It can only keep about twenty
centimetres off the ground, so it still goes up and down a bit" </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Franck
climbed in behind them with her bag. Ianus moved the controls, and soon they
were rushing forward a little above the ground. There were some uncomfortable
twists and turns and quite a few jolts where the ground suddenly dipped away or
rose up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Occasionally
they passed groups of people who were working with their hands or on old pieces
of machinery. They all wore the rough-looking tunics and had the same leathery
skin. Some of them stopped their work and stared at Marijam.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Watch
out! We have to get to Narisja," Franck would call. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Ianus
frowned at him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"We
ought to keep quiet about her really," he said. "Make out that she's
nothing special. See what Narisja says first."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam was
beginning to feel very sleepy. This place was cold and uncomfortable. The
people looked rough and it was clear that life was very hard for them. She
wouldn't have chosen to live here if she'd really had any choice. The thought
of giving birth actually terrified her. If only she could have told her parents
what had happened, or, better still, Gabrizan. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she was beginning to feel safe. These two
rough men seemed to accept her, seemed to have been waiting for her, almost.
She had no idea why they thought she was important. But whatever it was, was
just helping her to be accepted and she thought she ought to be grateful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The kartje
stopped in front of a doorway which seemed to lead into a natural cave.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Narisja!"
called Ianus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The door of
the cave opened slowly. A woman stood in the frame. Her silver hair hung
loosely over her tunic, almost reaching her waist. She peered at Marijam, a
slight frown on her forehead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Ah,"
she said. "So you’re here. The Mother. At last. Come, we have been
expecting you." </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The old
lady's eyes pierced into hers. Marijam wanted to run away. But she knew that
all she could do was follow the woman slowly towards the door. Ianus and Franck
went to follow her. Narisja put out her hand up to stop them and shook her
head. Ianus handed her Marijam's bag. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You
will not leave this cave, nor speak to anyone but me, until after the baby is
born," said Narisja.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
shivered. But this time it was excitement, not fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span><p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B0052092PW&asins=B0052092PW&linkId=20875f3373055d6e5921c1b11f9b9602&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-87404784637667348592023-03-09T12:43:00.008-08:002023-03-10T09:45:46.915-08:00The Prophecy Chapter 3 <p> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prophecy-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B0052092PW?crid=SH3X3H4SUFBQ&keywords=The+Prophecy+Gill+James&qid=1678394389&sprefix=the+prophecy+gill+james%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=40d6529afd4f862a3b9e24ded533b507&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0052092PW&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span></span>
<h1><a name="_Toc130448197"></a><a name="_Toc129837754"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc130448197;">Chapter 3</span></a></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">This just did not happen. Not in the thirty-fifth century.
There was no need for it. It was barbaric. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">No matter how she tugged, the tunic would not close at the
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her breasts were sore. She
couldn’t bear anything or anybody touching them. Not even herself. And this
horrid feeling every morning, and sometimes at other times of the day. This
feeling of fullness, of something wanting to get out, then her throat filling
with this foul-tasting liquid, which forced itself out of her mouth. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>Gross! </i>She thought as she looked at the contents of
the lavatory pan. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">That wasn't supposed to happen any more, either. It had been
done away with. The diastic monitor picked up any illness brewing - if any did
appear and they didn't very often at all - before it took hold, and
administered a treatment or antidote in the unit's drinking water. But it
hadn't worked this time and the alarm bell had rung.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">No alarm bell had sounded on Terrestra's diastic monitors
for over two hundred years. They had it all under control. As no one ever came
to Terrestra, no new diseases were ever brought to the planet. They knew how to
deal with the old ones. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam shuddered as she remembered the fear she had felt as
the alarm sounded on her monitor. Fortunately she was alone at the time in the
apartment and had managed to disconnect the machine before it had relayed its
information to central control. She knew she shouldn't have done that. But it
was pure panic. She hadn't known what was wrong just then, but she had known
somehow that it was something to worry about - and that it would be best to do
that worrying on her own. And she started to do her own research.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She had found out that this horrid forcing of liquid out of
the stomach over which she had no control<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>was called vomiting. It used to happen when there was something wrong
with the digestive system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody had
things wrong with their digestive systems any more. She had not known why this
was happening to her. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She'd found another answer just yesterday. The answer had
terrified and puzzled her. Vomiting also used to happen often in the first
stages of pregnancy in the old days when babies were gestated in a human womb,
not in artificial incubators as they were now.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Surely she had received the Stopes treatment as a child? She
rechecked her medical record. Certainly, it was there. And surely Gabrizan had
done the same? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how had this
happened? She must talk to him. And last night had been the one evening she
hadn't seen him since that first time at the Waterfall when he had kissed the
back of her neck, sending ripples of excitement through her … </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan had had his interview yesterday for the Northern
Lights Project. He had had to stay overnight at the Nuffield Centre. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Would she hear something soon? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">On cue, the dataserve kicked in. There was an important
message for her. She held her breath. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Her father's picture came on to the screen. He had his
official face on. It was probably a recording then, and not a live message. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam smiled to herself. She didn't know whether she liked
him most when he was just being Dad or when he sat there as now, looking wise
and dignified and seeming a whole ten centimetres taller. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Well Miss Kennedy," her father's official voice
spoke. "Good news. You are invited for interview to join the Northern
Lights Project as a research student. On successful completion of your Part 1,
you would be able to proceed to becoming a full research fellow." Frazier
Kennedy then grinned at his daughter. "Well done, sweetie," he
beamed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">He really looked happy for her. For a few seconds Marijam
felt pleased as well. Then it happened again. That uncontrollable wave of
nausea. She ran towards the bathroom.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Just in time, she managed to bend her head over the toilet.
The vile orange fluid came up again.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>This is really gross. But<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> really</b></i>, thought Marijam. <i>This can't be happening. It just
isn't done this way any more. Why hasn't the Stopes programme worked?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">What was she going to do? She must find Gabrizan. Perhaps he
would know how this had happened. Was it something to do with him? After all,
just how much did she know about him. That he was kind, and confident, and he
seemed to know the answer to everything, and that he was extremely
good-looking. But he never gave much away about himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>Pull yourself together, gal,</i> she said to herself as
she made her way back to her room. <i>You've got some important business to
sort out here. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The dataserve was whirring away. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Downloading joining instructions for the Northern
Lights Project interview," said the tinny metallic voice. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Relate," said Marijam. She really could not
resist finding out what the message said. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Your interview will take place on level 6, lab 10 at
the Nuffield Centre," she read. "Please report 15.30,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Day 79, 3500. A transporter pod will be sent
to collect you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at 14.00. Please bring
overnight bag. Interview procedures take 24 hours." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Lab 10! That was where Gabrizan had had to go yesterday.
Perhaps he would be going back there? Perhaps they would be able to work
together. If she was allowed to work at all, of course, now.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">What was she going to do? Was it her fault? She had really
trusted the Stopes programme. And assumed Gabrizan had too. Was she some sort
of freak that it wouldn't work on? Should she tell her parents? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She couldn't bring herself to do that. How could she let
them know that their daughter was a misfit, a quirk of nature?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">At least Gabrizan was due back this evening. How she was
going to tell him she couldn't begin to think. But it would be good to see him.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She didn't look too bad in the blue velvet tunic. It was the
best colour for the moment. The only one that didn't make her look even
greener. But it still wasn't a pretty sight that greeted her in the mirror. Her
hair seemed to have lost most of its shine. There were dark circles around her
eyes. She had not been able to sleep well for the last two nights. Her face was
white.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>What will he think</i>? she asked herself. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">He had said he would meet her at the Waterfall. Marijam felt
dizzy as she made her way up the rungs in the tube. She was used to the fresh
air now, but feeling so ill and being so worried seemed to make her unsteady.
Even so, it was still a thrill to breathe the natural atmosphere and taste the
delicious green smell. And it would be good to see him. Even if she did have to
give him this unbelievable news. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam was a little early arriving. At least that way,
though, she could sit and think what she should say to Gabrizan when he
arrived. The sound of the Waterfall was soothing somehow. She surprised herself
by beginning to feel quite cheerful. She was so looking forward to seeing him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She had been coming up on to the surface for eight weeks
now. Everything seemed so much more alive up there. The running water
fascinated her. It was moving on its own. Not like in the water channels in the
caves. It wasn't driven by motors. It smelt so different, too. She dangled her
hand into the pool that formed at the bottom of the fall. It felt silkier than
her finest tunic. A soft breeze moved one of the ferns. It looked as if it was
waving to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marijam was fascinated by
the shoots of green which were coming up through the now much browner earth. It
was incredible to think that it was only just eight weeks since the poison
cloud had lifted. Already the planet was beginning to get back to how it had
been.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was it going to
be like when the others came up to the surface in two days' time? She was going
to have to pretend she was surprised too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">It was beginning to get dark. Marijam shivered. Where was
Gabrizan? It wasn't like him to be late. She was beginning to get cold. It
hadn't been this cold before up on the surface. The sun was going down rapidly
now. There were some clouds forming on the horizon. The first ordinary rain
clouds since the poison cloud had disappeared. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam decided to walk a little way up the path which led
from the base of the waterfall to the cliff above. It must have been a natural
path, because it was still easy enough to walk along, even though no-one had
been along it for over 1200 years - apart from when she and Gabrizan had been
up there a few days ago. She just loved the view from up there. She could stare
for hours at the pink and grey rock which was getting a lace-like coating of
green.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">By the time she reached the top, though, the sun had gone
all together. The clouds were so thin and scanty it was still possible to see
the night sky. But she couldn't see land like she had the other time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam sat and stared at the stars. They were so clear and
bright compared with how they had looked from behind the plastiglass and
further dulled by the poison cloud. Time never seemed to matter to her and
Gabrizan when they were out there.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Only it wasn't "they" tonight. It was just
"she" now. Marijam shivered again. She pressed the controls on her
wristband. 20.30 already. He had never been this late. In fact, he had never
been late. Now it was more than an hour after the time he'd said he would come.
Why didn't he use the mini compu? Was he so far away that he was out of range?
Perhaps being outside made a difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam wasn't so sure she liked it out here so much now
that she was on her own. It was getting colder and colder. She touched the
button of her compu. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Gabrizan Taylor 0051," she said, after the tinny
voice had asked whom she wanted to contact. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Unavailable," squeaked the robotic voice. Not out
of range. Nor occupied. Just not available. It seemed as if his interview was
taking longer than they had expected. Oh she hoped he would get on the Northern
Lights Project. And that she would, too. It would be great to work together.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Except there was just this one little problem. Well, no it
was actually quite big really. Another wave of nausea passed through Marijam. Only
this time she knew it was not to do with that strange biological change that
had taken place in her body. Not directly, anyway. It was because she didn't
think she could face the other changes which were about to happen.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She shivered again. Well, it was obvious she wasn't going to
see Gabrizan tonight. He just must have got held up at his interview. It was
almost a relief not to have to give out this dreadful news tonight. Even though
she missed seeing him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam was quite glad to get back inside, in the end. It
was more frightening and less of an exciting adventure to go out there alone. She
was feeling tired as well. Perhaps she would sleep better tonight, now. She was
looking forward to her bed in any case.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The lights were on in the communal room of the Kennedy
apartment when she arrived back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
Frazier and Louish Kennedy were sitting there in silence. Their faces looked
grim.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Well, did you see him?" asked Frazier. Marijam
had never heard him sound so angry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"Did he turn up for you?" he demanded.
"Because he sure didn't turn up for his second interview!" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"We tried to get you on the mini compu," said
Louish. "Only we couldn’t get through." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam wondered whether it had been because she was
outside. But then her compu had communicated with the centre. Perhaps it could
get to the centre but no further…or perhaps they had called just as she was
trying to call Gabrizan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">"He's a waste of space," hissed Frazier.
"We'd set up a really expensive programme for him. No-one else could do
what we had in mind for him."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Then Marijam realised what her father had just told her. Not
only had Gabrizan not turned up to see her this evening, he had not turned up
for the second part of his interview. He had disappeared. He was gone. She was
on her own now. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The nausea came again. She managed to mumble something about
being tired, and hurried off to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>her
room.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She just made it to the bathroom in time again. Now it came
as a relief to throw up the heavy feeling out of her stomach. As if she was
giving way to all the tension that was inside her.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">She came back from the bathroom and collapsed on to the bed.
The tears started. She could hear her parents' muffled voices. She couldn't
hear what they were saying, but that her father had sounded angry and her
mother concerned. She heard the door open and her mother say, "Can’t you
see how pale she looked? That boy has hurt her." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Marijam closed her eyes. Then there was nothing. Just peace
and blackness. Marijam hoped she might never wake up. </p>
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<![endif]--></div>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-60989443386825824652023-02-13T01:33:00.000-08:002023-02-13T01:33:03.400-08:00The Prophecy Chapter 2 by Gill James <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prophecy-Peace-Child-Trilogy/dp/0955791081?crid=28J299PYQ6ZCG&keywords=The+Prophecy+Gill+James&qid=1676280681&sprefix=the+prophecy+gill+james+%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1&linkCode=li2&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=65a4c4f32de710d21fecaf4e1bf74bcf&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0955791081&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li2&o=2&a=0955791081" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><p class="NovelChapter" style="text-align: left;"><a name="_Toc194803993"></a><a name="_Toc149199652"></a><a name="_Toc149199651"></a><a name="_Toc130448196"></a><a name="_Toc130448195"></a><a name="_Toc129837753"></a><a name="_Toc129837752"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc129837753;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc130448195;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc130448196;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc149199651;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc149199652;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc194803993;">Chapter Two</span></span></span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph" style="text-align: left;">The stranger was walking over towards them.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Hi, you guys,’ he said. ‘Can I introduce myself? Gabrizan
Taylor. I’ve just come in with my folks. My old man’s involved with the Cloud
Project.’ He shook the hands of those people nearest to him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How cute,</i> thought
Marijam.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Where on Terrestra did he learn
that?</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan stretched his hand out towards her. Marijam was
annoyed to find herself trembling slightly. She felt as if her chest was going
to burst. Her cheeks flushed bright red. This time not because she was
embarrassed or felt uncomfortable. This was exciting. Even so, she was glad
that it was too dark for anyone else to see. Two deep blue eyes met hers and
she felt as if she was being drawn in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before she could take his hand, though, Rainer interrupted.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘How come you’re here, then?’ he asked. ‘I thought the Cloud
Project was based in Melbin.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan appeared thoughtful for a second or two.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Well’, he said suddenly, ‘you can hardly see the Northern
lights that far south. If that’s what they are. Both of my parents are here to
investigate them.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Will you be schooled through Project 57?’ asked Sadie.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I think so,’ said Gabrizan. ‘It’s similar to the Alexander
Project we did down there.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Oh, I hope they’ll put you in our Social Unit then,’ said
Sadie.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I guess they will,’ said Gabrizan, smiling warmly at Sadie.
‘They suggested I came here.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam’s fingers were pressed into her palms. <i>Hands off,
he’s mine</i>, she thought, trying to catch Sadie’s eye.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The excitement was growing in the Laguna. People were now
squashed up against the dark walls of the cave. Marijam sipped her nectar
slowly. As the sweet liquid smoothed the back of her throat, she began to feel like
she belonged.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan was deep in conversation with Rainer now. She could
not hear what he was saying, but they were both frowning. Every so often one of
them would shake his head or rub his chin thoughtfully, occasionally looking up
at the big screen and pointing to something.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>Probably trying to work out what has been happening,</i>
she thought. She wanted to join in but knew that if she tried she’d be
tongue-tied as usual. And anyway, it was actually quite nice just sitting there
watching him. His blond hair and his brown skin fascinated her. She couldn’t
help noticing how tall he was.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Hey,’ said Sadie, ‘what are you staring at?’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Oh, nothing,’ said Marijam, going red again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘You don’t fancy him do you?’ asked Sadie.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam turned away from Sadie. She was certainly not going
to answer a silly question like that.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She was facing the two boys directly now. Gabrizan waved and
smiled. She just about managed to smile back.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">I hope I don’t look stupid, she thought.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She saw Gabrizan mutter something to Rainer. Both of them
looked at her again. Rainer gestured with his hand towards her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>They’re talking about me now</i>, she thought and tried
to get away, but she was hemmed in. Gabrizan was walking straight towards her.
Rainer stayed behind, and Sadie rushed straight towards him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>Thanks, Sadie,</i> thought Marijam. She couldn’t cope
with this sort of thing. She wanted the comfort of her room with the skylight
and the dataserve.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">A hand was held out across the table. Marijam leant forward
to take the hand. She was trembling.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is ridiculous,</i>
she thought.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> I’m behaving like a complete
idiot.</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The handshake was firm. She wasn’t used to people her own
age shaking hands with her. And even an adult’s hand had often been limp and
damp.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I’m Marijam Kennedy,’ she managed to say surprisingly
calmly. ‘I’m on Project 57’.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Hello, Marijam Kennedy,’ said Gabrizan slowly. ‘I’m really
glad you’re on Project 57. That’s where I’ll be schooled. Let’s hope they have
a meet soon.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He’s flirting with me,</i>
thought Marijam.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> He’s flirting and I
actually think I like it. But I don’t know what to do.</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">He was smiling at her now, his eyebrows slightly raised.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Suddenly the News screen sprang into life, and filled with
her father’s face.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘This is a special announcement for all seniors,’ he was
saying. ‘What has happened tonight is of monumental importance and is going to
change dramatically our way of life on Terrestra.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frazier Kennedy paused. People gasped. Some reaffirmed
their opinion that what had happened tonight was something to do with the
poison cloud moving. Others also speculated what had caused that to happen.
When everyone had quietened down again, Frazier continued.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Obviously you will wonder what I mean by that remark and
you will no doubt have many theories about what actually happened tonight. What
has happened is much too important to discuss via a News screen. Therefore, all
seniors are to return to their homes immediately and be ready for a meet in
their normal Project Room at 9.00 a.m.
sharp tomorrow. And allow plenty of time for the journey. Everyone else has
also been called for a meet at their work centres. The transport systems will
be overloaded. But don’t worry, and sleep well. It is just good news.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">The screen went blank again. There was silence at first.
Then some students pushed towards the exits. Others got in their way as they
lingered behind, unwilling to be sent home when there was so much to talk
about. Gabrizan stood to one side as Marijam struggled out from behind the
table. He walked behind her as she turned towards the door. He kept close to
her most of the way towards the transporters. The crowds left them little other
choice. She didn’t want to turn and look at him. That would have seemed so
rude. But she knew he was at her side all the time. That made her feel proud,
as if she were royalty, and she was sure everyone was looking at her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">I am being ridiculous, she thought.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘This is where I leave you,’ said Gabrizan, as they arrived
at the A Transporters Deck. The grey platform was crowded. Already she could
hear the high-pitched whirring of one of the steel-nosed jet-trains. The usual
swish of air as the machine hovered near the platform told her she was going to
have to leave this fascinating person very soon.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Save me a place at the meet if you get there before me,’ he
added putting his hand gently on her back. ‘And if I’m there first I’ll save
you one.’ He smiled and winked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam felt a big lump in her throat.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘See you tomorrow then,’ she managed to just about whisper.</p>
<p class="NovelDivider" style="text-align: left;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*</p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph" style="text-align: left;">‘You look very smart today, sweetie,’ said Frazier
Kennedy.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam plucked nervously at the edge of the navy tunic.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Not that you need to dress up. You’ve inherited your mother’s
good looks,’ her father continued. Then he laughed, looking at himself in
plastiglass window as the private transporter pod they were using sped though
the dark tunnels. ‘You certainly didn’t get them from me.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>If only you knew,</i> thought Marijam.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She had had no trouble feeling wide awake this morning,
despite not getting to bed until well past midnight,
and then being too excited to sleep for most of the night. She had dressed
really carefully today, something a bit better than the grey ripon tunic, but
nothing too showy. She was fairly confident that the well-cut navy suede-effect
tunic was just right. And she knew exactly why she had made an effort with her
appearance.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">There was just one other person in the room when Marijam arrived
at the room designated for her group’s meet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her heart started pounding as she went through
the door and saw him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gabrizan signalled
with his head that she should sit next to him. She felt herself blush again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘It certainly seems clear out there,’ he said as she sat
down. ‘Have you had a look yet?’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She hadn’t actually. She realised she hadn’t bothered
looking through her skylight when she got back the night before. She had had
other things on her mind. She shook her head.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Anyway,’ said Gabrizan, leaning back into chair, his arms
jangling limply at his side and his legs stretched out in front of him. ‘I want
to know all about you.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">As the others arrived, Gabrizan punched questions at her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Do you have any brothers and sisters?’ he asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘No,’ she replied. ‘I’m an only child. What about you?’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Just one sister. Is it as good as they say, then, being the
only child?’ he asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I don’t know really… it’s a bit lonely sometimes…,’ she
answered.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Makes sense. There couldn’t be another as gorgeous as you.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam felt her cheeks start to burn. She tried to be
polite and ask him similar questions back, but his answers were dismissive. His
home was fairly ordinary. He wanted to know about her. And he seemed to find
her answers so interesting and delightful that she really began to feel
important. His eyes smiled at all of her answers.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Soon the room was full. The dataserve’s tinny voice
proclaimed that all students on Project 57 were present. Frazier walked into
the room.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Right, folks,’ he began, ‘you will be pleased to know that
the speculation was correct. The poison has indeed dispersed. Every single
trace of it has vanished and in one night of astounding electrical activity. We
are not quite sure how or why it happened yet, but the main idea we have so far
is that some strong force entered the cloud and seeded it, just like they used
to in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.’ He then showed them pictures
of rain clouds over the African mainland from the year 2005. Small primitive
aircraft had flown into them dispersing chemicals, which helped the clouds to
release their moisture. ‘The case is a little different here,’ he added. ‘Something
has set up electrical charges within the cloud. We believe it is from a type of
metal not found on Terrestra, as we have already tried this with every metal
known on Terrestra. This has discharged the poison from the cloud. That was
what produced some of those glorious colours you saw last night.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam noticed that Gabrizan was now sitting forwards on
his seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the sides. There was a slight frown
creasing his forehead. Marijam caught his eye and he relaxed, flashing her a
wide smile. His eyes danced again for a few seconds, but then the concentration
came back.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Frazier was now showing pictures from the night before.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘You are a very privileged group,’ he said finally ‘to have
witnessed something like this in your final year of schooling. There are five
research places now open to students of Project 57. Anyone interested can apply
through InterEducation as usual.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Everyone sat in silence for about ten seconds, then everyone
started talking at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Questions were
shouted out without the normal order and discipline in a school meet –
especially when the Head of Education was there. Frazier Kennedy did his best
to answer them, but even he was not his usual unflappable self.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">For a short while Marijam forgot who she was sitting next
to. Even Gabrizan seemed less important than the news they had just been given.
So the poison cloud was gone after all that time, and it had gone so quickly in
just one night of the most fantastic light display she had ever seen.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Are you going to give it a go?’ asked Gabrizan, now sitting
back in his chair again, and pulling her out of her day dream.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">A little thrill of excitement ran through her as she looked
at him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I think I’d like to,’ she managed to say. There was a
strange lump in her throat and she thought her voice came out a bit squeaky.
She was really interested in the project, but she was fascinated by him.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Well, I’m going to,’ said Gabrizan. ‘Hey, don’t you think
it would be good for the two of us to work together? Maybe we could take on a
joint research project. It would be a great Part II.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>Wouldn’t it just?</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
</i>thought Marijam.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Especially if I was
doing it with you.</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Will you meet me later?’ asked Gabrizan, as they were about
to leave the seminar room. ‘There is something I think you would really like to
see.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Oh, just one thing,’ called Frazier Kennedy as the students
started to make their way towards the exit. ‘No-one will be allowed up to the surface
for a while yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to carry out
further tests, then get it ready. We’re pretty sure it’s safe out there, but we
must be certain. We think the strange metal entered Terrestra’s atmosphere
randomly, but we have to be sure that it was not fired or planted there by
people from another planet. Also, it will take some getting used to the outside
air. Anyone caught going out before the all-clear is given will be dealt with
severely. Everybody needs to get used to the idea anyway. But,’ he paused.
There was a twinkle in his eye. ‘Some of the outer plastiglass comes off the
windows straight away.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Intersection Q5A. Seven
fifteen,’ Gabrizan whispered.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam turned to see Gabrizan walking away from her. He
waved and grinned.</p>
<p class="NovelDivider" style="text-align: left;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*</p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph" style="text-align: left;">‘Well all I can say is,’ said Louish Kennedy,
looking at her daughter in the silver silk, ‘he must be a pretty important guy.
I’ve never seen you look so well-groomed. It’s good to see you get away from
that dataserve a bit as well.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘It’s the new chap, isn’t it?’ said Frazier, grinning
hugely. ‘That’s okay by me. He’s quite a man. Got his application in for
Project Northern Lights already. And it’s looking good!’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i>Already?</i> thought Marijam. How on Terrestra had he
managed that? She would have to get cracking. But not tonight. She briefly
thought of the chaos she’d left in her bedroom. All of her tunics were strewn
across the bed. It had taken forever to decide what to wear, and even now she
wasn’t sure. But it was time to go. The silver silk would have to do.</p>
<p class="NovelDivider" style="text-align: left;">*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*</p>
<p class="Novel1stParagraph" style="text-align: left;">Marijam had never been to Q5A or even to this side
of town before. It was right where this cave network ended. A transporter
system could take you to the next network, but it would usually take a long
time for one to arrive.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">There was something dull and tarnished about the caves here.
They looked as if they had not been cared for in a long time. Marijam was so
nervous that when her arm brushed one of the sides, she sprang away, startled.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Leave me alone!’ she shouted. It had only been the bare
rock, though. She put her hand on its surface. It was cold and clammy.
Obviously, it had not been dehumidified and damp-proofed like the other cave
networks she knew.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘You look gorgeous,’ said a voice. Marijam jumped again. She
hadn’t seen him there, standing in the shadows.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Thank you,’ she managed to remember to say.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Come on,’ he said. ‘You’ll find this unbelievable.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Where are we going?’ she asked.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Don’t be frightened,’ he said. Could he see how much she
was shaking? ‘Nothing’s going to hurt you.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">She followed him along the cave path. It was really rough
just here. There were loose rocks, which you couldn’t actually see, all along
the pathway. Marijam tripped several times. Once, she fell to the floor,
grazing her hand.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Are you all right?’ asked Gabrizan, moving towards her. He
sounded concerned.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I’m fine,’ she said, quickly getting back up before he
could help her. She wasn’t really. Her hand was throbbing. But she felt too
embarrassed to admit that she was hurt. He might think she was clumsy.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">What a silly time to wear a silk tunic, she thought.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">It was really hard to walk. And it was so dark here. She
supposed it was because they were so close to the edge of the cave network.
Every so often, Gabrizan turned to see whether she was still coming.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Nearly there,’ he said, as they came to a real bit of cave
where it was even more difficult to keep going.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Here,’ he said a few minutes later as they arrived in front
of a steel door.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan took a strange looking object out of his pocket and
started to work at the door’s lock with it.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘What’s that?’ asked Marijam?</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Have you not seen one before?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gabrizan was not looking at her. ‘It’s a just
a little gadget I always carry with me. It’s especially good for opening
stubborn doors.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">In seconds the door was open. Marijam realised what was
happening. She remembered her father’s warning about how it might not be all
right outside and how people would be punished if they were caught.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan turned to face her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘It will be all right. Really, it will. Trust me.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam’s mouth went dry. The shaking became worse. Gabrizan
was still staring at her. His eyebrows were slightly raised as if he was asking
a question. He smiled slowly. Of course she could trust him!</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I’ll be behind you all the way,’ he said. ‘It’s only a few
metres up here. But you might feel funny when the air hits you.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Carefully, Marijam stepped on to the first rung of the metal
ladder. She made her way up slowly. She was afraid of what she was going to see
at the other end. Gabrizan didn’t say anything as they went up, but she knew he
was behind her and that reassured her.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘We’re half way there,’ he said suddenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Just another twenty rungs to go.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam could feel the air on her face now. It felt like the
way the water from the cooler tasted. Of nothing, but cool and fresh.
Everything seemed to be jumping around and she couldn’t focus her eyes on
anything.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Careful,’ said Gabrizan, gently. ‘Don’t breathe in too much
at once. You’re not ready for the natural mix yet. There’s actually more oxygen
out here than in what they pump through the caves.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How does he know? </i>thought
Marijam.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> How can he know it’s that safe?</i></p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam couldn’t help feeling excited, though, as she came
to the top of the shaft. She felt even dizzier as she let go of the rungs and
pushed herself onto the surface of Terrestra. There was something soft and
powdery beneath her hands. Pink dust.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘It’s been scorched,’ said Gabrizan, coming up behind her.
She was glad he was there. It made her feel safe. ‘It will soon be green again,
though,’ he added. ‘Now that the poison cloud’s gone, they can bring the plant
life back.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘How long do you think it will take to come back?’ she
asked. After all, the cloud had arrived gradually. No-one had realised at
first. But she remembered from her history lessons that the plants had started
to die and then people started to cough and choke on the bad air. The
authorities at the time had decided to get everything that lived underground.
Would it come back just as gradually?</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan shrugged.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I guess it’ll take a while,’ he said. ‘Oh, but just look at
that,’ he said, pointing towards the dark blue sky.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam stared at the stars. They seemed so near, and she
could see so far. A bright moon was shining. It seemed to Marijam brighter than
the sun usually was. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no
plastiglass or rim in the way. A breeze tickled her neck. There was the faint
scent of something a little familiar but which she could not name.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘What’s that?’ she said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘What?’ asked Gabrizan.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘That sort of green smell,’ she replied suddenly realising
it was what the greenhouses smelt like, only not so overpowering.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I wonder…’ He grabbed her hand.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Gabrizan walked rather quickly. Marijam found herself
slipping on the pink powder. It was so different from walking on the special
surfaces in the caves. Each step took longer as she kept on sliding back. Soon
she was out of breath.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘We’re nearly there,’ said Gabrizan.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam could hear water rushing. It sounded like a huge tap
running. The ground beneath them had stopped being soft and had now turned into
solid rock. It was hard and cold beneath her feet. Gabrizan stopped suddenly.
Marijam shivered. Gabrizan put his arm around the waist and held her closer.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Look,’ he said.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">In front of them a waterfall tumbled over the rocks.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Can you see it?’ asked Gabrizan.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam looked to where he was pointing. Nestled in the
rocks were a few strands of green.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘That’s what you could smell,’ he said, ‘ferns which have
lived despite the poison cloud.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam breathed in deeply. She could taste the air. There
was something sweet about its dampness, and underneath a taste of something
like fresh salad. The breeze danced around her cheeks again.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘How did you know it was here?’ she asked Gabrizan.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘I’d seen there used to be a waterfall on the map,’ he said.
‘And when we noticed the green smell, I guessed it was still there.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam bent down and touched the ground beneath her. Its
hardness and rough surface startled her. She drank the air, swallowing
mouthfuls at a time. She looked up at the sky again. She had never seen so much
sky. She <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had never seen its blueness
properly before. The poison cloud had always cast a grey shadow.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘It is so amazing,’ she said quietly. ‘So …. it’s hard to
describe… well, alive, I suppose..’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">But there was something else.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam turned to face Gabrizan. He was staring at her, his
eyes wide open.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘What I see is also fantastic,’ he murmured.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">Marijam suddenly felt uneasy. Yet tingles of excitement ran
up and down her body. Gabrizan touched her face gently.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘You’re so beautiful,’ he said. Then he laughed suddenly.</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We’d better get back. Being outside for
the first time is too much of a shock.’</p>
<p class="NovelBody" style="text-align: left;">But Marijam knew they would be back. Oh yes they would!
Outside was definitely good!</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=0955791081&asins=0955791081&linkId=7d91505f5ce0982ee267dca2f3713929&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-14177391261315984822023-01-27T00:46:00.001-08:002023-02-13T01:36:52.426-08:00The Prophecy Chapter 1 <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prophecy-Peace-Child-Trilogy/dp/0955791081?crid=28J299PYQ6ZCG&keywords=The+Prophecy+Gill+James&qid=1676280681&sprefix=the+prophecy+gill+james+%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=2fc3a4e1e277118bfa1d4a53d1b04129&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0955791081&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=0955791081" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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<p class="1stpara"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam looked
up at the skylight. The smoky plastiglass, which covered the ordinary plastic
window, was distorting her view of the stars. But it could not dull the
brightness of the strange lights, which were shooting across the sky tonight.
They were still changing colour. They were even more intense now than when they
started an hour ago. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Is it
working again?" her mother called up from the other chamber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
looked at the dataserve screen. Still frozen. She bit her lip and ran her
fingers through her hair. She wanted to finish the unit on the causes of
sunlight poisoning in the late twenty-third century. That would complete her
Part One, the first of her Specialist Study for her High School Graduation Certificate
and well before the summer holiday. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"No!"
she called back. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well
give it a rest, now, sweetheart," her father called. "You really should
watch this. It's the first time the Northern Lights have appeared for
centuries."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam's
mother, Louish Kennedy, came into the room. Dressed from head to toe in a besequined
pale blue satin, Louish stood out as usual from the damp greyness of the cave
walls. Marijam winced as she saw her. She preferred to blend in with her
surroundings. But even Mrs Kennedy couldn't compete tonight with the light show
out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Do you
think" she said to Marijam, "it might mean that the poison cloud's
beginning to lift at last? And it really is something, isn't it?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
watched as a sheet of light shot across the sky. Marbled streamers of pinks and
golds and greens flowed into one another. Marijam had never seen so many
colours in one go. It was so dull down here in the caves. And even when you
went up into the tubes and walked across the surface, you looked at everything
through grey glass. The colours were so bright tonight that the glass couldn't
dull them. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I
don't think it is actually the Northern Lights," said Marijam’s father,
appearing in the doorway. "I've seen video clips of them, and they weren't
this pretty. Even when you saw them direct, and not through plastiglass."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I
don't think you'll be able to get anything else done tonight," said
Marijam's mother. "There are too many problems with the network." She
shivered. "The other support systems will work, won’t they?" she
asked, looking at her husband.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam's
father, Frazier Kennedy, Head of Education, smiled.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"They'll
be fine," he said to Louish, combing his hand through his wiry black hair.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
recognised the gesture. He always did that when he was trying to convince himself
rather than the person he was speaking to. He cuddled his wife, resting his
dark brown cheek against her greyish pale one. Not for the first time Marijam
looked at her own arms and wished she had inherited her father’s skin colour instead
of her own. The cave-life was just washing white people out. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"They
always give the air top priority,” Frazier continued, the skin round his eyes
beginning to crinkle as his eyes smiled. “They’ll keep the seals in place as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"But
they've got to keep the life support systems going… on the farms and everything,"
Louish continued. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
suddenly noticed how anxious her mother looked. The pupils of her eyes were
bigger and her face was a shade whiter still than normal. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Frazier
shrugged his shoulders lightly and opened his arms, turning his palms upwards, and
admitting defeat. “The education networks will be the first to go down,” he
said. “They’ll keep the lights on in the plantation caves, and yes, they’ll let
us carry on breathing. Don’t worry so much.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A purple
light, edged with silver and blue streamed across the sky, catching Marijam’s
eye and making her look again through the skylight. She held her breath. Not
even the Midsummer Presidential Laser Show could match this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It wasn't
just the lights, though. There was something about the atmosphere tonight. It
was warm, even with the air conditioning, and she had this overwhelming feeling
that something tremendous was about to happen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
I guess nobody will be studying much tonight," said Marijam's mother.
"Everyone will be up in the tubes, getting a closer look at the sky."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You
should go and meet your friends," said Frazier. "You've just got to
enjoy an event like this with people of your own age."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
we're going anyway," said Mrs Kennedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It probably
was a good idea. There seemed to be little hope of completing her project
tonight. And goodness knows when anything as exciting as this would happen
again. Marijam felt a strange fluttering in her stomach. Her heart was racing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Go
on," said Louish Kennedy. "Put on your best tunic. Go and meet your
friends. I'll bet they're all out there."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">They left
her room. Marijam turned to her wardrobe. It was overflowing. She was the only
daughter of the Head of Education. All the Heads of Services – Education,
Transport, Agriculture, Life Support, Diastics and all the other services which
kept this isolated planet going - were rich and important. Marijam could have
anything she wanted apart from fresh air. Her parents had even let her have the
room with the skylight. She opened the door. Row upon row of tunics. Black and
grey ones. Some were made from expensive wool and cotton. Then there were the
ordinary ones out of ripon, the cheap comfortable cloth that everyone wore. And
some in blue, red, lilac, in fact every colour you could think of. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">How can I
possibly choose from all these?</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So much
for equality.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She always
felt guilty that her father’s position allowed her so much. Everyone was
supposed to be born with equal chances. She knew, though, that she had it
easier than many. That was why she normally preferred to just wear a
comfortable dull-coloured ripon tunic. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really didn't go out much, even though she
was allowed to use the cyber beaches and holoscenes as much as she liked. That
was yet another advantage of being the daughter of one of the Heads of
Services. There was never a question about the cost. On the whole, though, she
preferred the solitude of her room and her dataserve, and the sky above, which
she looked at through her skylight. She liked to dream of a time when all the people
– even those from the Z Zone - would be able to walk freely on the surface of
the planet. Would they ever be able to again? And would it be in her lifetime? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">No, that
won't do,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she
thought to herself as she took down her old grey tunic. <i>Not today. Today's
really special. </i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
found herself gently touching a purple silk tunic. It was so soft and smooth
beneath her fingers. She had not worn it before. It had been a present from her
aunt, her mother's sister. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"You
should get out more and enjoy yourself," Aunt Kayla said. She always told
Marijam off about spending too much time in front of a dataserve screen, of not
going out enough and mixing with other young people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Well,
Aunt</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">, thought
Marijam, <i>you would be astounded</i>. <i>Yes, this will do nicely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She felt the
soft fineness of the silk next to her skin. It added to her excitement. She
sprayed on some perfume, and even put on a little make up. She looked at
herself in the mirror.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Yes, she
would do nicely as well. Though for what, she was not quite sure. Another
streak of pink light rushed through the sky above. She heard the swish of the
vacuum doors closing in the entrance hall below. Her parents were already on
their way. Time to get going for her as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=0955791081" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The crowds
making their way through the cave networks were stifling. Marijam had never
seen so many people out at once. If you could really call it “out”. Even up in
the tubes wasn't really "out". She had often wondered what
"out" would really be like. Not even this many people were around for
the President's Laser Show or the Christmas Walks. The queues for the lifts
were really long. Marijam asked herself whether it would be better to just make
her way to one of the large skylights. But no! Looking up from a tube would be
a bit nearer to standing in a field and staring at the night sky.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Oh
come on, get a move on," she heard one man mumble under his breath. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Exactly,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> she thought. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I
expect we'll get there eventually," a woman's voice answered him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It was
amazing how calm people were staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Eventually
she was at the front of the queue and the lift came. In seconds they were up at
the surface, and she was joining the crowds now making their way along the
tubes. She desperately wanted to get to somewhere where they didn’t criss-cross
over each other so much, so that she could get an uninterrupted view of the
sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Odd that she
had not yet seen anybody she knew. She had to walk almost half a mile before
she came to somewhere she could stand and look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The lights
still rushed across the blackness. Occasionally two from different directions
would collide and then a shower of golden and lilac stars would sprinkle down
towards Terrestra's surface. But it was not accompanied by the "oohs"
and aahs" heard at the President's laser display. Everyone stood in
absolute silence. This was something really special. The excitement carried on
growing inside Marijam's stomach. She felt as if she were glowing. And it was
good watching the lights through the plastiglass tubes. She seemed as if she
was nearer to them than when she looked through the sky light. You didn't have
the long tube of rock and stone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gradually, though, the brightness of the
lights faded, and their path across the sky became slower, less urgent.
Suddenly, one last vibrant streak of red seemed to rush at the plastiglass tube
where they were standing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The silence
broke. There was a gasp of surprise, perhaps of fear. The light hovered, almost
threateningly. Then it vanished suddenly. There was nothing left but a clear
night sky. Clearer, Marijam thought, than she had ever seen it before. Was her
mother right? Was the poison cloud shifting at last?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The noise
that the people now made as they moved towards the lifts compensated for the
earlier silence. There was an excited chatter. And all sorts of ideas about
what might have caused the lights. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I bet
it's somebody from another planet," a young boy cried. "I bet they've
got some guards up there that they didn't tell us about. They've been
zapped."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"It
could just be some strange meteorite storm," the man with him replied. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I
wouldn't have thought they'd be that colourful, though," replied another
man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
didn't want to go back to the apartment. It would be too much of an anticlimax
to go back to work. And she was not far from the Laguna, the nectar bar where
people from her school level were encouraged to go to meet people of their own
generation. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">For once,
anyway, Marijam felt the need to be amongst people, and drink some of the
state-provided nectar with its mild mind-altering chemicals. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Laguna
was buzzing when she arrived. Marijam almost turned straight back. People she
wanted, yes, but not this many. But she had to pause a moment to admire the
granite walls. The Laguna, at least, was a real cave, unlike most of the
man-made ones that inhabitants of Terrestra used as their homes. The ceiling
was covered with a huge screen, which showed the picture taken from a camera up
on the surface. You could almost believe that you were outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
looked up at the sky. No, there was definitely no more sign of the lights. And
yes, she was sure the sky did look clearer than normal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Marijam!"
a voice suddenly called. "Over here!" </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
turned to see who had called her. A girl in a silver tunic and with purple hair
was waving frantically at her. A whole group from her school unit were sitting
in one of the alcoves. It was Sadie Rojens. They had once worked on a project
together, though mainly via the dataserve. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"So
what do you think caused those lights?" asked Sadie excitedly. "We're
just getting one or two ideas here."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"What
would you like to drink, Marijam?" said a male voice. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A tall boy
who was now standing up next to the table. It was Rainer Elbman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked quite elegant in his deep navy
tunic. It looked as if it was made of wool and so must have been expensive.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Oh, er
… a peach and melon, I think," said Marijam blushing slightly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Hands
off, he's mine," Sadie hissed in her ear. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The thought
had never occurred to Marijam. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
Marijam, what do you reckon?" asked another masculine voice. Ponty
Davidson. "What was all that about?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam felt
herself flush. Ponty made a point of talking to her at every school meet. She
always felt so awkward talking to boys, but with Ponty it was worse. He seemed
to stifle her. She couldn’t work out what he wanted of her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Do you
think it's the poison cloud going?" she managed to mumble eventually. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Maybe,” replied
Ponty. “Or maybe it’s because one of the most delicious girls in our social
group has decided to show off her assets at last.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">His pupils
were wide open and she could feels his eyes first on her legs, and then on her
breasts. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, nestling
his nose into her hair. “Oh, and you smell so gorgeous too,” he said. “have you
any idea, what you’re doing to me?” he asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Put
her down," said one of the other girls. "This is much more
interesting.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
managed to wriggle free. She was surprised, though to see something different
flash across Ponty’s face. There was something in his eyes. He looked almost as
if he was going to cry. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Sorry,” he
mumbled. “Won’t you go out with me, though? I promise I’ll behave well.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Oh look,”
said Marijam, as another bright flash chased across the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she turned back, Ponty had disappeared. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Well, I
guess we'll know soon enough, what’s been happening," said one of the
other boys. "I bet the scientists are on to it already."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"They'll
be putting it up on the news screens soon, then we'll know," said someone
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Rainer
placed her drink down in front of her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Who's
that over there?" he asked. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Marijam
looked over to where he was pointing. It was a boy she had never seen before.
His tunic was a little odd. Not really quite the usual shape. H was white but had
much darker skin than she had ever seen before and his hair was much lighter
than everybody else's. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I don't
know</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">, thought
Marijam, <i>but I wish I did</i>. That odd, exciting feeling was beginning all
over again. Her stomach was turning summersaults and her heart was racing. She
held her breath until she really needed to breathe again. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Now she
understood what Sadie was talking about. She took a sip of her peach and melon
nectar. </span></p>
<p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=0955791081&asins=0955791081&linkId=bb53764341b8235ff51fee46bf8e3f27&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-77649200592895445932023-01-12T00:38:00.001-08:002023-01-12T00:38:20.526-08:00The Prophecy: The Prologue <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prophecy-Peace-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B0052092PW?crid=VE0R839G31QM&keywords=The+Prophecy+Gill+James&qid=1673512631&sprefix=the+prophecy+gill+james%2Caps%2C63&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=f32f632ada320a2d52520cc1dec1e972&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0052092PW&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B0052092PW" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1 align="center" style="text-align: center;"><a name="_Toc194803990"></a><a name="_Toc149199648"></a><a name="_Toc130448192"></a></h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"It’s
quiet, isn’t it?" said the commander of the Scouting Vessel 2195, Western
Sector 3. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
that’s what you’d expect, isn’t it?” replied his young trainee, Kyle Thomas. “No
craft landing. Nor any coming from it," remarked Kyle. He looked down at
the milky blue planet. They were quite close to it now, and it filled almost
half of the screen. It seemed so still, as if it were surrounded by a pool of
quietness. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The rest of
its solar system was buzzing. Small scouting vessels like their own, and bigger
cargo ships were busily going backwards and forwards between the planets. It
made navigating this stretch of the Sector 3 rather tricky. He was glad the
autopilots were amongst the most sophisticated available.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Well,
it sure is still a fairly blue planet," Nielson continued. "Shame,
though. It used to be so much prettier than this. It was even bluer. And you
could see greens and brown as well, before the poison cloud.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Why do
they bother?” asked Kyle. "They have a poison cloud and they're still
living there? They could live anywhere.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"I suppose
they feel safe enough down there,“ replied Nielson. " What with all their
farms and things tucked up nice and safe in those caves of theirs. The rest of
us could learn a thing or two, if only they’d let us get a bit closer.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Not
much chance, though is there?” replied Kyle. "What with them wanting to
keep disease out. They won’t let anybody in.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yeah, well,"
said the Commander. "That’s something else it would be great to learn
about. It’s funny how they’ve gone so shy. Considering it all started there in
the first place.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“When was
the last time anyone moved from the planet?” asked Kyle. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“2309,”
replied Nielson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Just after
the first colonies formed?” asked Kyle. “So, over a millneium ago? It’s mad.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yep,”
replied Nielson, “and they’ve reported being disease-fee for just over two
hundred years now. So, it ain’t just that that’s keepin them there. I reckon
they’re just using that as an excuse.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were beginning to leave the blue planet behind. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Right,
we'll go on to manual now," said Nielson. "I want to see how well you
can steer this thing."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kyle felt
the power surge as the scout switched over.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"One
wide orbit around Terrestra and then out to the end of the solar system,"
said the Commander. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kyle turned
the craft. It wobbled and juddered a little. He fought hard with the controls
for a few seconds and then she began to glide gently back over Terrestra.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He began to get
the scout under control. He had the measure of her now. She was purring along.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It was then
that he noticed it. A flash of green lightening ripped through the soft blue
mist that surrounded the quiet planet. A cascade of sparks followed. Kyle opened
his mouth to say something.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Watch
it," said Nielson suddenly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A smaller
scout was nudging its way across their flight path. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Watch
the dataserve," said Nielson. "You must follow its coordinates."
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Kyle concentrated
on the controls again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B0052092PW&asins=B0052092PW&linkId=6a89ebe8ac98b3ca89890009283b225e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-49895349315357187532022-12-20T03:17:00.004-08:002022-12-20T03:17:48.259-08:00Build a Book Workshop Chapter 4 The shape of the workshop <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Book-Gill-James-ebook/dp/B005W3BQT4?crid=2DSORYIHGT6AR&keywords=B005W3BQT4&qid=1671535012&sprefix=b005w3bqt4%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=dbd31baec707e899f86efeec3ae14827&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005W3BQT4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B005W3BQT4" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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<h1><a name="_Toc294597085">Chapter 4 The shape of the workshop</a></h1>
<p class="FirstParagraph">The amount of time needed on each phase of the workshop
will vary according to how long you are allowing in total and whether you are
completing it all in one session or whether it is spread over several days,
weeks or months. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The notes below will help you to decide how long you need
for each activity. There is a suggested timetable at the end of this
chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597086">Establishing motivation</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">This may take a little less time if you have
established a charity beforehand. Nevertheless, this tends to be a fixed event
and takes about one hour. In this time you need to establish: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Which charity you will support, if you have not
already done so</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How the book will support the charity financially</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How the book will support the charity in its
theme </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Who is the target reader of the book </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might even like
to discuss, during this time, the desired book length. For example a book
containing 130 pages offers a good model, as the book will cost exactly £2.00
to print, if you use our printing suggestions. How will you arrive at that
length? Will every student have at least one piece of work in there? This
obviously relates to the size of your group. What will happen if the group
produces more or less work than is needed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You might like to forewarn the students about what might happen during
editing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597087">The creative writing element</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">This is perhaps the most crucial element and possibly
what motivated you in the first place to establish the workshop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the following chapter, there are several suggested
activities. Even in a workshop that is just one day long it is possible to
complete many of these, though you might rule out longer fiction and articles
unless you have an excellent strategy for post workshop completion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Generally, the writing should take just under half of the
time you have for the full workshop. Naturally, some students will finish in
this time, others won’t. It is possible to allow students to move on at their
own pace. As they complete one creative writing exercise, they may move on to
the next. Then they may start editing. Once they have polished pieces, they can
start illustrating. Some can move straight on to design. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The creative writing exercises work well if you present each
one and then allow half an hour or so – slightly less for the early exercise,
slightly more for the later ones – and provide a written guide. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An alternative, especially if you know your group well, is
to arrange tables for each activity, provide the written guide and you and your
helper(s) wander round and give help and advice as it’s needed. As students
complete one exercise, they move to another table. You can of course direct the
students where to work according to what you know about their strengths and
weaknesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can also stop the students every so often, and point out
some common mistakes and highlight some very good work. This actually provides
a welcome break for them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597088">Word processing</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Your students will at some point move from working on
paper to working on a computer. This will vary according to your preference and
that of your students. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One strategy is to allow part of the writing time for word
processing. In this case writing plus word processing takes just over half of
the time available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unless your group has worked straight on to the computer and
they also have very good IT skills, you will have to allow time for work to be
completed post-workshop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Remember also to create a strategy for saving work. Gather
it all on to one disc or memory stick or get it saved to a shared area.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whichever you do, someone, at some point – probably you – is
going to have to do some donkey work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597089">Editing</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">As students complete written work, they may move into
editing. First, they will edit their own work and then they will work in pairs
or small groups. This is all explained in the chapter on editing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also, there may be some editorial decisions to be made. If
you have far more work than is required for the book, you and your students may
need to exclude some work. Strategies for this are also explained in Chapter 7.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Editing time will bleed into writing and illustrating times.
One eighth of available time should be allowed for core editing activities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597090">Illustrating</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">This can be very relaxing and very enjoyable. Students
can move on to illustrating as they finish editing. Full details of how to
organise this are contained in Chapter 8. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Students will often work in silence at this point,
especially if you are conducting the workshop over one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By now, they are tired and want to keep their
thoughts to themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might be nice
to play some quiet music in the background at this point.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Allow one eighth of time available for this, though the
activity may bleed into editing and design times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Naturally, if your workshop is spread over several weeks and
if it is part of the students’ normal curriculum, you can involve the art
department in this in an exciting way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597091">Design</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">This is about how the book is put together. You need to
discuss this with your students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may
well be able to do this as a whole group, especially for workshops that last
just one or two days. You might allow half an hour for this. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Details of design strategies are given in the chapter on
design. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are working over a longer period of time and with
able students, you might consider creating a design team who will be
responsible for putting the book together as a Word document. See Chapter 13. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597092">Marketing</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Allow one eighth to one quarter of the time available
for this and consider making it an on-going activity. You will need to spend
some time discussing ideas and allow some time for students to work
individually, in pairs or in small groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More ideas are discussed in the Chapter 10. </p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597093">Alternative ways of managing illustration, design
and marketing</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You could decide on teams for these three activities
before the workshop or at the beginning of the workshop. Brief students on what
is involved in all three activities. You may find it helpful to provide crib
sheets describing each role. Sample crib sheets are provided in the
photocopiable resource.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alternatively, you can allow student to choose which team to
work with as they finish their editing and word-processing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Design will probably take less time than the other two.
Students just need to make a few decisions. Unless you have some very able
students and some time afterwards, you will probably have to manage the
technical aspects of design yourself or delegate to an expert. Once the design
team is finished, members can choose whether to move on to illustration or
marketing and publicity. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span><p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B005W3BQT4&asins=B005W3BQT4&linkId=79be974d8d7dcad354b70554c6165157&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-38146043752492133202022-11-28T01:08:00.004-08:002022-11-28T01:08:33.835-08:00Build a Book Workshop Chapter 3 Working with a charity<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005W3BQT4?&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=8a0fc2db95c6d5374afd2d406a437a60&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005W3BQT4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B005W3BQT4" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1></h1>
<h2> </h2><h2><a name="_Toc294597081">Some advantages</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Working with a charity can be extremely motivating for
your students, and indeed for you. It gives your anthology a purpose: you want
it to be good so that it will make money for the charity. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you can tie the theme of your students’ work in with the
charity, even better. This will actually provide some content for your
students’ writing. For example, if you support a wild animal charity you might
get your students to write about animals living in the wild. If you support a
charity that looks into drugs for children with cancer, your students might write
pieces that would amuse children. If you support a children’s hospital, you
might produce work that would cheer up hospital patients who have a long wait. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If your book is good enough, and you have a good
relationship with your charity, they may be willing to promote it for you. In
addition, you could arrange further events for the charity and continue to sell
the book. Your connection with this charity can become more than just about the
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="Heading2non-indexed"><a name="_Toc294597082">Choosing you charity</a> </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph">It may seem rather obvious to pick a charity that is
going to be popular. Our young students find charities to do with children or
animals easy to relate to. Sometimes it’s good to pick one that has a direct
contact with your school. It’s certainly good to pick one that has a local contact.
Perhaps ideal is one that has a local connection but is part of a bigger
organisation – a national or even international one. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You could, of course, also pick a school project – e.g.
raising money for a new stage or a new floor for the Sports Hall. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The charity commission provides a searchable database: <a href="http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/">http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/</a>.
There are even instructions here about how to start your own charity, which
might be appropriate is some cases. Oddly, this does not show some of the most
obvious charities. ‘Remember a Charity’ does, even though it’s primarily an
organisation for helping you to leave money to a charity in your will: <a href="http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk">http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply Googling the
word “charity” brings several lists you can use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597083">Etiquette</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">It is essential that you get your relationship with
your charity right. Remember, you are there to support your charity; the
charity is not there as a convenient hook for you and for your students’ work.
These organisations have a real concern and are doing a real job.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One always has to be careful anyway that helping a charity
is not just a way of making the helpers feel better about themselves. There is
a world of difference between this and inspiring genuine passion about the cause
in your students. However, it’s likely that the students will actually feel a
genuine care. This will be reflected in the writing the writing and will
motivate them to complete the book to a high standard. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as you do anything for a charity – even just taking
a collection at the end of a concert - you are in a relationship with that
charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They need to be consulted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever you do is now associated with that
charity. There must be nothing in what your students produce that is contrary
to the aims of the charitable organisation. The book has to be good. It becomes
a permanent link – it may turn up in any bookshop and sit on anyone’s bookshelf
– especially as you are likely to use a print on demand printer so that the
book will never go out of print. This means that you may never be seen to be
doing anything contrary to the ideals of your chosen charity. Ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You normally have to obtain a letter of engagement from your
chosen charity. This will often enable you to use the charity’s logo in your
book, mention that you are working with the charity and use the charity’s name
in the promotion of your book. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Great, of course, if they can endorse your book, and perhaps
provide a foreword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a name="_Toc294597084">Advance Planning</a>
</h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">It is great to have your students chose the charity.
However, if you wait for the start of the workshop, you miss all of the
opportunities for advance planning. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, it’s absolutely ideal if you can have access to your
students beforehand so that you can discuss what sort of charity they would
like to support. You could even get them involved in finding information. You
may want to plan a series of meetings. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you do this, you might even set up a small committee of
students who can keep their eye on how the finances will work and who would be
able to kick start the marketing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once you have decided on a charity, you need to get that all
important letter of engagement. This will involve establishing:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How the charity will benefit from the book (I
suggest offering £1.00 per copy and links to their JustGiving site) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How often they will be paid</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether they want to provide some copy for you
book – maybe a blurb about the charity or even an introduction to the book</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether they can be involved in any book launch</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether they can advertise your book at all </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How long
your agreement will last (though as mentioned above, your relationship will be
permanent as you have a permanent link to a book whose sales may dip but that
will never be out of print)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="FirstParagraph"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="FirstParagraph" style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B005W3BQT4&asins=B005W3BQT4&linkId=0b48a01fcaef43f3e5dde493de301d6c&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-10171970433598348312022-11-15T01:30:00.002-08:002022-11-15T01:30:15.597-08:00Build a Book Workshop Chapter 2 <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005W3BQT4?&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=933626bc3a72dd1d84b987084ed1c120&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005W3BQT4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B005W3BQT4" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><div class="WordSection1">
<h1></h1>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Hopefully, you will now have made some of the crucial
decisions we talked about in the previous chapters. You can’t really get down
to detailed planning until you know the following:</p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Who will take part in the workshop</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How you will time it</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether you will complete tasks outside the core
workshop time (and remember, some you will have to)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether you are going to get outside help</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Whether you have a predetermined theme for your
anthology or whether you are going to negotiate this with your students as part
of the workshop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How you will cope with post-workshop processing
e.g. getting the work finished and doing the technical tasks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>How you want to market the book – on top of what
the students are doing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 6.7pt; text-indent: 0cm;">The photocopiable
resource contains a template of this list to aid you. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 6.8pt;">You may also find it useful to
think about which charity to support. Even if you are going to invite students
to decide for themselves, it is useful to have a few suggestions. You can also
do some preliminary research on those that you choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597072">Your tasks</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 6.7pt; text-indent: 0cm;">You have a number
of tasks to perform:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Make the decisions posted above.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Engage and enthuse your colleagues, students,
their parents and the Board of Governors. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Contact all the support people, clarify their
tasks, and complete any checks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Get out information about the workshop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Plan the logistics of the day, including
organising space. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Plan the activities of the day. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Contact the support workers and thank them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Make sure that work is finished and edited. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Upload the book to a printer. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Market and sell the book.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Have a book launch</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Evaluate the whole workshop and decide whether
to do it again. Consider any changes you might make. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Extend the life of the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597073">Critical time-planning</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Many projects fall apart because critical time-planning
has been ignored. Basically, critical time-planning is recognising that you
can’t install the roller-blind in the bathroom before you have put down the
foundations of the house. Some tasks cannot be started until others have been completed.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The check-list at the end of this chapter suggests a
critical-time plan for your event. The timings assume you are working mainly on
your own and you are allowed no extra time for planning your workshop. How you
want to market the book – on top of what the students are doing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can shorten this: another element of critical-time
planning is that bringing in more labour can shorten the time taken for the
job. If you want a house fitted out in a week instead of a month, you employ
four carpenters instead of one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597074">Space for your workshop</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You might like to give some thought to where the
workshop might take place. It’s ideal to have easy access to the following: </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Space where the students can sit and listen to
you, a colleague or a visiting writer. Sitting in a circle allows for an
effective intimacy. </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Space where students can work on their own. </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Space where students can work in small groups. </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>A suite of computers, though a class set of lap
tops or iPads may also work. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The photocopiable resource contains a template of this list
to aid you. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Don’t forget also to arrange a logical way of getting the
students’ work in one place. It’s an idea to get the site-manager on board.
Move furniture if you have to. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you’re going to be working in several different rooms,
take care that you can easily monitor that the students stay in the rooms and
don’t spend too much time moving between rooms. </p>
<h2><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a name="_Toc294597075">Some points to
ponder</a> </h2>
<h3><a name="_Toc294597076">Enthusing others</a></h3>
<p class="FirstParagraph">This really will take time and persistence. Eventually,
if you manage to stay enthusiastic yourself, others will catch on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h3><a name="_Toc294597077">Contacting support workers</a> </h3>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You will need to communicate with these several times.
See checklist. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Note also that if you are working with professional writers
who are going to be paid, they will have their own terms and conditions. These
may be at odds with your school’s terms and conditions. Professional writers
are generally registered self-employed and pay their own National Insurance
contributions. It is extremely irksome to them if your school insists on
processing them through payroll as they then have to pay National Insurance
again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, many refuse downright to
work with schools that insist on this. I personally even find it a bit of an
affront to be asked to provide a company invoice. I have a clear individual
relationship with the Inland Revenue. And if you insist on a company invoice,
that “company” may be VAT registered so you may have to pay VAT on the
workshop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do also remember that if you insist on a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CRB check it will take a while to complete.
You might consider only working with people who already have a check or indeed
if it is actually necessary as the visitor will never be left alone with
students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And check out the situation with public liability insurance.
Make sure that you and relevant office staff are clear about all of these
arrangements.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is also courteous to pay your visitor promptly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before the workshop, make sure they have your contact
details and instructions about how to get into the school and where to park if
coming by car. It’s often an idea to have them arrive about half an hour after
school has started, so that they don’t get mixed up with parents arriving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the day, remember to allow comfort breaks and to feed and
water your guest. Allow a little time at the end of the day to get some
immediate feedback and make sure your guest knows how to get out of the
building. It’s also rather nice if you get a student to thank them at the end
of the day – even if they don’t really need thanks as they’re being paid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597078">Extending the life of your book</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You will probably sell the most number of copies of
your book at your book launch and to the friends and a family of the students
who appear in it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a good idea also to badger your colleagues, your board
of governors and your PTA – for a little while at least. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A good strategy is to make sure the Head is aware of the
whole process and is behind you. S/he will then want to show it off at open
evenings, parents’ evenings and to all visitors including the Ofsted inspector.
Of course, if you do another <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book</i>
workshop, the new book will have to take pride of place, but you can always
promote you backlist.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Look out for those occasions when you can wheel out your
books again – Summer Fetes, Christmas Bazaars etc. Could you get students to
read out some of what they have written in assemblies, or at the end-of-term
concert?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are working with a charity, they may be willing to
support the book – perhaps include it in a Christmas catalogue, at one of their
shops or on their web site. You could also arrange other events which support the
charity and at which you can sell further copies of the book. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More about all of this in Chapter 10. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<div class="WordSection2">
<h2><a name="_Toc294597079">Your check list</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">A template for this list is contained in the
photocopiable resource. </p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: medium none; margin-left: 42.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Task </b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 6.7pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Time </b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 6.7pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your date </b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Make the decisions posted above.</p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">At
least six months before workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Engage and enthuse your
colleagues, students, their parents and the Board of Governors. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">As
soon as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decisions above have been made
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Contact all the support people,
start checks<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">As
soon as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decisions above have been made
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">If you can choose a charity in
advance, start work on it now. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">As
soon as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decisions above have been made
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Contact
your charity and start negotiating how you might work with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">As
soon as you have chosen your charity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Get out information about the
workshop. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">As
soon as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decisions above have been made
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Clarify tasks for support
workers</p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Four
months before workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Plan the logistics of the day,
including organising space. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">One
month before workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Plan the activities of the
day. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Three to four weeks before
workshop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Arrange meals and drinks
breaks for support workers </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Three
weeks before workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Contact
support workers. Go over plans again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let them know car-parking arrangements etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Two
weeks before workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WORKSHOP</b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Get in early that day! </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Contact
the support workers and thank them. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">One week after workshop.</p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Make sure that work is
finished and edited. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Six weeks after workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Upload the book to a printer. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Seven weeks after workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Market and sell the book.</p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p align="left" class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: left;">Start
immediately after workshop </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Have a book launch</p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Ten weeks after workshop. (You
can often get the book delivered within ten days of uploading it, but this
allows for any mistakes that need rectifying)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Evaluate the whole workshop and
decide whether to do it again. Consider any changes you might make. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Eleven weeks after workshop. </p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 3cm;" valign="top" width="113">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 19; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 144.4pt;" valign="top" width="193">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Extend the life of the
book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-color: currentcolor windowtext windowtext currentcolor; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-style: none solid solid none; border-top: none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 186.85pt;" valign="top" width="249">
<p class="TableText" style="mso-pagination: none;">Ongoing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B005W3BQT4&asins=B005W3BQT4&linkId=2a5403f439fa4898dae1cdc9f851bca5&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-35141906159851382182022-10-30T13:57:00.005-07:002022-10-30T13:57:47.074-07:00Build a book Workshop Chapter 1 Getting organized<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Book-Gill-James-ebook/dp/B005W3BQT4?crid=CZTCQIBMJ9HR&keywords=Build+a+Book+Gill+James&qid=1667163361&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjM0IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=build+a+book+gill+james%2Caps%2C58&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=78077fce52376f9961f4361f19a9d5eb&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005W3BQT4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B005W3BQT4" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1> </h1>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You probably already have some ideas about how and why
you want to run your workshop. However, it might be worth working through the
following questions, reading the rest of the manual and then coming back to
this chapter later. </p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597063">Who will take part?</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Do you want to conduct the workshop with a whole class?
Several classes? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A whole year group? Across
several year groups? Do you want to use an identified group – such as “the
gifted and talented” or “girls who lack confidence”? Will the participants be
obliged to take part or will they volunteer? How will you sell the idea to your
colleagues and to the potential participants?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597064">Enlisting extra help</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Even if you are working with your own class, you are
doing something a little unusual, so some extra pairs of hands in the classroom
are welcome. Your own teaching assistants are obvious choices. Doubling up
classes can work well also – one teacher can lead and another can support. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you invite outsiders your school may require <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>them to be CRB checked. They should also have
public liability insurance. Many writers who conduct school visits do have both
of these. However, at the time of writing, the Government has said that CRB
checks are not always necessary for occasional visitors, such as writers or
artists. The Society of Authors has argued for a long time that they are not
necessary although the National Association of Writers in Education have
advised their members to have them and have assisted with this. The latter also
provides its professional members with £10,000,000 of public liability
insurances. A sensible question for your writer might be, therefore, “Are you a
professional member of NAWE?” Note that the public liability insurance is only
effective if members of your own staff are present during the visit. This would
be sensible anyway. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps an obvious choice is a local writer who does school
visits. Be warned, however, that the Society of Authors recommended fee for a
day’s visit by a writer is £350. Nevertheless, some writers are willing to do a
shorter visit for travelling expenses and the opportunity to sell their books
and talk about their work. New writers who are finding their feet with school
visits, will often work for a reduced fee. The latter could be very useful to
support your workshop; you would basically lead the workshop and they could add
in valuable insights as you go along. You may find lists of writers who are
happy to conduct school visits in the following places: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>NAWE’s professional register,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://nawe.new.hciyork.co.uk/professional-directory.html">http://nawe.new.hciyork.co.uk/professional-directory.html</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Wordpool’s Contact An Author <a href="http://www.contactanauthor.co.uk/">http://www.contactanauthor.co.uk/</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>The Society of Authors’ Search for an Author <a href="http://www.societyofauthors.org/WritersAZ">http://www.societyofauthors.org/WritersAZ</a>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can always factor the writer’s fee into you expenses. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Obviously, one may also involve such bodies as the PTA or
other support groups associated with your school. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other good workshop supporters are creative writing students
and graduates who are eager to get on PGCE courses. They are only too willing
to offer free assistance in order to complete their school experience. As with
the inexperienced writer, using them in this situation is ideal. They can learn
from you. You retain the control. They have some expertise that you don’t have.
Your school may want to get a CRB check done, despite recent pronouncements by
the Government, and you must factor that into your expenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In all cases, you need to allow time to acquaint these
helpers with their role and to conduct any checks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597065">Organizing your book</a> </h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You may want to involve your students in any decision
about this, but it is probably also worth having a few ideas yourself as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What will you include? Do you just want to include one type
of writing e.g. non-fiction or poetry? Do you want to include some work by
everyone in the group? Or will you only include the very best work – even if
that means that only a few students will be “published”? Will the contributions
to the group be grouped by theme, type or person? Or all of these, within
groups?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Think what else you might want to include. Do you want to
write an introduction? Do you want get someone else to write a foreword?
Perhaps a senior person at your school or someone from the charity you are
supporting or maybe your invited writer? Could you include all of these people
in some way? If supporting a charity, do you want to include some information
about it in the book? Could that be a project for one of your students?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do you want to include a contents page and / or an index? I
actually advise against including an index of authors or mentioning them in the
Contents; readers are likely to look only at the work of a person they know
-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and could miss out on a real
treat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597066">Your theme</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">It’s actually a good idea to discuss any theme for your
book with your students. Get them on board. The theme is a centralizing and
motivating factor. It also allows each student to work according to their
strengths and despite their weaknesses; each can make a contribution as long as
what they produce fits the theme. </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph">There are various ways of finding a theme and you can
explore this with your students. Your theme may be to do with: </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 57pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>the curriculum</p>
<p class="FirstParagraph" style="margin-left: 57pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>a charity you wish to support </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 57pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>something of local interest </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 57pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>what is on the students’ mind </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Linked with the theme is the idea of the perceived reader. You
might also like to discuss with your students who will read the book: interested
adults, children the same age as the students, younger children, people who
might benefit from the charity supported. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You might also like to ascertain the purpose of the book. Is
it to make money for your chosen charity, raise awareness about that charity or
to showcase excellent writing? Possibly it is a combination of these things.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Left to their own devices, students will conclude that they
are producing the book merely to please their teachers. By providing a theme, a
purpose and a perceived reader, you are providing your students with a
quasi-commercial perspective on the book and replicating that balance that
exists between art and commerce in the world of publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597067">Time scale</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">You need to decide how much time you are going to
devote to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book Workshop</i>
and how much of what needs to be done can actually be completed outside of
“core” time. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For example, you might complete the whole workshop in a single
day, over two days or a week off timetable. You might use it as an
extracurricular activity conducted during lunch-times or a part of an
after-school club. You might make it a part of normal lessons – perhaps as a
joint activity between English, IT, Citizenship Art. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Incidentally, it may be easier to find funding if this is
conducted as an extracurricular activity. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You need to accommodate the following tasks:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Negotiating theme, purpose and reader</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Setting up writing tasks</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Writing and word-processing work </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Editing </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Designing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Illustrating</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Marketing </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 101.3pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Launching and selling book </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It may be possible to complete core tasks – e.g. setting up
writing tasks, writing, editing, designing and illustrating during a designated
time – for example on a day off timetable, and to complete the other tasks
before and after the event. In this case, the setting up writing, writing and
editing would take up about half of the time available. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whatever you do, there will be some delay between when final
version of the work is ready and when the book comes out. You or someone with
technical expertise needs to get the book uploaded to a printer. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In any case, you will probably want to launch the book at a
suitable time in the school year which may be at some distance in time from
when your book is camera ready. You can factor that into your time plan. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It may also be possible to have a day off timetable to
kick-start the project. The project could then carry on in further curriculum
or extracurricular time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a name="_Toc294597068">Word-processing,
collecting and collating work</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Logistics are so important here. There will come a
point when you need all of the work in two places – on a memory stick or
similar and backed up somewhere else. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You might achieve this by rushing around at the end of the
session and collecting everything onto the stick or by getting the students to
save to a shared area. The first method is stressful and the second is safer
but requires some effort on your part later. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And there are some unfortunate certainties:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Some students will fail to save their work or
will save it to somewhere so obscure that neither you nor they will ever find it
again </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Some students will fail to finish<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>You will have to do the final edit, no matter
how well students have edited before<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Getting all of the work in and ready to become a book can be
quite a challenge. Whilst it is reasonable to say that many students will
prefer to write straight to a computer, and that asking them to do this or
word-process their work later offers them the opportunity to enhance their IT
skills, there is no certainty that they will actually finish the work- no
matter how much time you allow. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You cannot possibly take on this work yourself and getting
paid help with it would make your book’s price prohibitively high. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have to think of a way of getting this word-processing
completed. You might enlist the help of parents, or of students and graduates
who are anxious to get some school experience, or you might appoint a group of
IT or design experts from amongst your students. The latter may work
particularly well if you are conducting the workshop over several weeks. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you do not give this matter enough attention, you risk
losing your book. Factor your decision about how to get the word-processing
completed into your planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597069">Finance</a></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">If you make your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build
a Book Workshop</i> an extracurricular activity, you may be able to obtain some
funding e.g. Arts Council Small Grant. However, application processes are
time-consuming and applications are not always successful. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You may be able to tap into some funds at your own school –
for instance, is there a special fund for the Gifted and Talented, for Special
Needs or for Activities Week? Or is this workshop so much part of what you
normally do that you can use part of your normal budget to fund it? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It may not be possible to get any help. But the good news is
that the book can be self-funding – more or less. For example, if you use a
Print On Demand company, such as Lightning Source, at the time of writing, each
book costs 70p plus 1p per page to print. It costs about £48 to upload your
book and cover. You will probably want a proof copy at about £21.00. Each print
run costs £1.39, and you do have to pay shipping. The latter starts at about
£5.00 for five books but rapidly becomes a lot cheaper the more you order.
Discounts are usually given on print runs over 50. It would probably be easy to
sell a hundred books if you worked with a whole year group. So, if you retail
your book at £4.00, and sell 100 you cover print costs, set-up costs and
shipping and have quite a bit left over for your designated charity. If your
marketing campaign flops completely and you don’t sell a single book, you’ll
have a nice book for the school library and you’ll have spent about £70 on a
worthwhile workshop. But actually, you’re likely to sell at least as many books
as there are participants in the workshop. If you put your price up to £5.00,
you are some way to covering the cost of a visiting writer even if they charge
full price. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We actually offer a package where we provide a visiting
writer, set up the title for you, and guarantee £1.00 profit per hard copy book
sold and 50% of profit on the e-book that comes automatically in the package.
We do ask, though, that you pay the writer’s travel expenses.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, if your budget runs to it, you might consider
providing each student with a free copy of the book.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And if all of that still remains unaffordable, consider
creating a web site instead. This can be done without spending a penny. You can
still link to a charity. You might, however, want to consider purchasing a
domain name – at about £10.99 for two years. How to do this is explained in
Setting up a Web Book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<h2><a name="_Toc294597070">Some post-workshop tasks</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></h2>
<p class="FirstParagraph">Whichever way you time your workshop, there will be
some rather tedious tasks to complete afterwards. The excitement will be over,
and a book can fail at this point because a busy teacher cannot find the time
or motivation to complete the tasks. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Delegation, diarising and critical time planning are
important here. The next chapter deals with critical time-planning. Here is a
list of what needs to be completed after the workshop: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Word-processing of students’ work <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>All work to be given a final edit </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Camera ready Word document to be produced</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Book to be prepared for uploading to the printer
(See The technical stuff)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Market book</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Order copies</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Have a book launch </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Allow about ten hours for each of these activities.
Remember, it doesn’t need to be you that does the work and it needn’t be done
at one sitting. Your book launch, for instance, will probably last about two
hours but may need up to eight hours preparation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B005W3BQT4&asins=B005W3BQT4&linkId=98b41484c40f233f37c8bdd9a0093b95&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-71025476379629527192022-09-21T00:55:00.000-07:002022-09-21T00:55:06.565-07:00Build a Book Workshop Intro<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Book-Gill-James-ebook/dp/B005W3BQT4?crid=286XJ5OIKFP68&keywords=9780956868008&qid=1663746802&sprefix=9780956868008%2Caps%2C42&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=bridgehousela-21&linkId=554eecedc8a0adcc87c69d49d23d6007&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_il" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B005W3BQT4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&l=li3&o=2&a=B005W3BQT4" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></div>
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</p><h1><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></h1><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></span><a name="_Toc294597060"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Toc294597061;">Introduction</span></a></h3><p>
</p><p class="FirstParagraph">The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Build a Book Workshop
</i>is about getting your students to create a book in a limited amount of
time. They look at the whole process of how a book is made: writing, editing,
selecting, designing, illustrating and marketing. This workshop enables
students to see what is involved in producing a book and motivates them to
start and to complete a piece of writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They actually produce a book. It becomes a tangible object
that sits on a shelf. You may also opt to have the book as an e-book and a web
site if you wish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This process is very adaptable and can easily be used to
build a book in a day, two days, a week, a month, a term or a year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some work needs to be carried out behind the scenes, some of
which is quite technical, and this guide shows you how. If the technical work
is too much, we also show you ways of getting help with that as effectively as
possible. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everything described in this manual for teachers is based on
the experience of producing anthologies of children’s writers with schools. All
of the books have supported a charity – in two cases this was the schools own
library - and in all cases students’ confidence in their writing has
increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book Workshop
</i>can be extremely cross-curricular and offers your students opportunities
to: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>improve their writing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand the world of publishing</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>work collaboratively </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand the wider community</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>support the wider community</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>understand how businesses work </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>improve their IT skills</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 61.5pt; mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>take part in an enterprise activity</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This manual contains a step-by-step guide to setting up a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Build a Book Workshop</i> and making sure
that a book is produced at the end of it. There are several choices at each
stage of the process. It is probably a good idea to read it from cover to cover
to start with and then work through it section by section when you have a
clearer idea of your workshop shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You may also order a book containing photocopiable resources
from our web site. You may purchase this as a hard copy or as a PDF file. Also
a template for formatting your book is available from our web site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B005W3BQT4&asins=B005W3BQT4&linkId=a829f85b838de68da872e2b16994cf2a&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-53896282265048694672022-09-08T00:21:00.003-07:002022-09-08T00:21:22.684-07:00Other Ways of Being: The Lady Rose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzVx4o37xliCKpapVKCt0SgS81HduAXgAa9qOIrAz5zKZAivgYR4ABhtf_MOk328Jd94PRKVFCgSOdjWCwNOGm0exqaXD2DCcmM2kUbLnhp70GTpGvTsfaPfArHIpByWikVo7lBfs7ol5VcW8a-8T2gRxyonHBvwi6CDDwZf3V_rbsspfZo-HK17C/s600/Other%20Ways%20of%20Being%20Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="388" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzVx4o37xliCKpapVKCt0SgS81HduAXgAa9qOIrAz5zKZAivgYR4ABhtf_MOk328Jd94PRKVFCgSOdjWCwNOGm0exqaXD2DCcmM2kUbLnhp70GTpGvTsfaPfArHIpByWikVo7lBfs7ol5VcW8a-8T2gRxyonHBvwi6CDDwZf3V_rbsspfZo-HK17C/s320/Other%20Ways%20of%20Being%20Medium.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p class="FirstParagraph">“We won’t be too long. We should be back before it’s
dark.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“And don’t let any strangers in. Oh, I wish you’d come with
us. I don’t like leaving you on your own.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ll be all right, Mum.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“She will. Nobody’ll be able to get in anyway. The bank’s
too steep.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kerry wished they would just get going. She’d not had any
privacy to talk to Alex since they’d come on this stupid holiday and she was
dying to call him without her parents hearing. “Just go. I’m fourteen now. I
can look after myslef.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At last she heard the dinghy rowing away from the houseboat.
She took out her phone and found Alex’s number. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“So you haven’t forgotten me, then,” he said when he
answered. “I thought you must be having so much fun with your Mum and Dad going
up and down the Broads on the lady Rose.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Ha! Ha! Never been so bored in my life!” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Ooh. I wish you was here so that I could snog you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Me too,</i> thought
Kerry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I wish you was here and all. I’m
all alone on the boat. There’s two lovely cosy cabins.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t say that. That’s just too frustrating.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“What you been doing anyway?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh you know. Not much.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But she bet he had. They’d have all gone off to MacDonald’s
or the cinema. And Lucy would have been there. She didn’t trust Lucy. Lucy
fancied Alex and made no secret of it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her phone pipped twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Damn. It had lost the signal. So much for having a nice romantic talk
with Alex then. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Still, it was good having some time to herself. She did her
nails and washed her hair. She listened to her iPod for a bit, until the
battery ran flat. She plugged it in to recharge and then she made herself a
coffee. She flicked though the magazines she’d brought with her. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She tried her phone again. No signal. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She was getting hungry. Hopefully her parents would also
bring some food with them when they came back with someone to look at the
boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She went to her cabin and picked up her book. She couldn’t
settle to read it though. She even considered doing some of the homework she’d
brought with her. But no, that would be desperate. She wasn’t quite that bored.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She’d been sitting still for quite a long time and was
beginning to get cold. Perhaps she could go to sleep for a bit. That might make
the time go quicker. She went back to her cabin and snuggled down under the
duvet. She was soon warm and she drifted into a gentle doze. She didn’t think
she actually slept. Something must have happened though. Her legs suddenly
jerked and she sat upright in bed. It was dark now. But there was a red glow
coming from the main deck. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Hi, Mum, Dad,” she called. Had they got back and were they
doing something to the boat? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was no answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She flicked the light switch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, they had warned her about that. They’d
said the power wouldn’t last very long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But why weren’t they back yet? What was the time? She picked up her
phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darn! The battery had gone
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, great. Even if she could get
her signal back they wouldn’t be able to let her know anything. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She rummaged in her drawer for her torch and flicked it on,
so that she could see her wristwatch. Blimey! It was half past eight. Where were
they?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So what was that red light, anyway? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She edged her way on to the main deck. The light was in fact
bright enough for her to be able to see where she was going. It cast a really
strange glow over the small area. She could see now that it was coming from a
bulb on the dashboard. She switched her torch on so that she could read the
writing next to the bulb. “Pump-out required.” What the heck did that
mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she remembered half-heartedly
watching the man at the boatyard giving her dad instructions about looking
after the houseboat. “If that light comes on,” he’d said. “You’ll have to get
her to the nearest service depot and have the septic tank pumped out. Don’t let
anybody go to the lavatory until it’s done.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh gross! She wouldn’t even be allowed to go for a pee now.
She was convinced she could smell raw sewage. This really sucked. Where the
hell were they? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Could something have happened to them? It was getting really
worrying now. She shivered and her tummy rumbled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There were a few biscuits she thought, in the kitchen
cupboard. She felt for the door and found the biscuits and a half-full box of
cereal. That would keep her going a bit at least. Of course, she’d used up the
last of the milk in her coffee. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She felt her way back to her cabin and sat munching the
biscuits and the cereal with the duvet wrapped round her. When she’d had
enough, she snuggled back down into bed. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was annoying, this? Where the heck were they? Perhaps
they couldn’t get back up the river with help because of the tide. Perhaps they
couldn’t get under the bridges. Yes, that would be it. They’d be back in the
morning, she guessed. Anyway, once it was light she might be able to get help.
She might even be able to get off the boat and walk across the fields. The steep
bank would be a bit of a challenge but she was sure she’d manage it if she
could see what she was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best get
some sleep now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, that would be the
best idea. It got light early enough these days. Sleeping would make the
morning come more quickly. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When she woke with a start later she had the sense that a
couple of hours had gone by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she
needed a pee. Did she dare use the loo, though? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sickly smell of sewage warned that she shouldn’t. Best
use a bucket and throw it overboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gross. Bloody parents. Bugger them for bringing her on this holiday in
the first place, and for leaving her on her own and for letting the septic tank
get full. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She reached out for her torch. She couldn’t find it. Perhaps
she’d knocked it off the bedside table. She knelt down on the floor and felt
for it. It was no good. It just wasn’t there. She didn’t fancy trying to find
the bucket in the dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could she mange
to go over the side of the boat? What if she fell in? She’d have to do
something, though. She’d wet herself if she didn’t go soon. Oh why couldn’t she
have been born a bloke. They had it easier. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She fumbled her way on to the outer deck. There was a little
bit of moonlight and her eyes soon adjusted enough for her to be able to see
what she was doing. It was cool out there, despite it being the middle of
August. She managed to make her way over to the side that was away from the
bank. She undid her trousers and pulled them and her pants down. She took her
jumper off and tied it round her waist and then tied each arm though one of the
rings on the side of the boat. She just managed to position her bottom so that
it was over the side of the boat. Then for some reason, she couldn’t pee. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Come on, come on,” she muttered to herself. She was dying
to go and yet she couldn’t. It did come, eventually and then she couldn’t stop.
It must have been one of the most unsuccessful wees she’d ever had. Because she
wasn’t far enough over the side of the boat not much of it went into the water
but ran down her legs and then into her trousers. It was a relief, though all
the same and she guessed that in the grander scheme of things it didn’t matter
that much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She fumbled her way back to her cabin, stripped her trousers
and pants off and managed to find some clean ones. She was shivering now. She
guessed it was partly because she was scared. It wasn’t really all that cold.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She still didn’t want to get undressed and get into bed
properly. She thought she’d better be ready for anything. She lay on the bed
and pulled the duvet over her. She couldn’t sleep, though. Perhaps she should
change her mind about getting undressed? If she got into bed properly maybe she
would sleep? She dismissed that thought. She knew she’d got to be prepared for
all eventualities though she wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Surely it must get light soon? The days were still pretty
long. The night couldn’t last forever, could it? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The she heard the scrabbling noise. What could that be?
Rats, perhaps? They couldn’t have got into the toilet tank, could they? Surely
it was all sealed in? She held her breath. The noise stopped. What, so it had
been her own chest squeaking as she breathed? Maybe. She had to breathe again
eventually. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then she heard something else. A sort of creaking. Was the
tide changing? Would she need to go out and adjust the ropes? Surely she it had
been low tide when they moored here? At least that would mean that worse the
boat would float away from the bank a little. That wasn’t disastrous. If need
be tomorrow she could swim over to the other bank. She tried to look out of the
small cabin window. She couldn’t see a thing. It was as black as ever out
there. She pressed her ear against the class. Yes, she could hear water
running. The tide was surely changing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly the boat rocked. Her heart lurched. Had something
bumped into it? She held her breath. It creaked above her. It sounded like a
footstep. Then came another. Were they back? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She went to call out then just stopped herself in time. What
if it wasn’t them? It could be anybody. Could that sound of water running
before have been a boat arriving? Surely not. It had been the wrong sort of
sound. So, if there was someone out there, they’d come across the fields. Who
would be out in the fields at this time of night? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Had she remembered to lock the main door? She thought she
had. She moved as quietly as she could to her cabin door and slid the bolt
across. She’d only done that once before, right at the beginning of the
holiday. It had stuck and she’d had a real job to get it open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her dad had told her not to lock it again.
“It’s not as if you’ve got anything to hide, have you? You don’t lock yourself
in at home, do you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be a
problem getting it open again tomorrow. But she would face that in daylight. For
now, she just needed to keep whoever was up there out. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It had gone quiet above her. Had she imagined it? Could it
have perhaps been some sort of animal? She held her breath again and listened
carefully. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then the footsteps began again. They were definitely human.
She heard him rattle the door. Well, at least that proved that she’d locked it.
That was something. The footsteps went back again. She heard him jump from the
boat and land on the bank. So, it was possible to get on to the bank. Then
nothing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She lay still for what she thought was about ten minutes.
Tentatively then she stretched over towards the small window and raised the
small blind. A hideous face was looking in. A mouth opened into a wide grin and
she could see some rotten teeth and gaps where other teeth ought to have been. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She let the blind drop and flung herself back down on the
bed. This was a nightmare. This must be a nightmare and she would wake up any
moment now. Please let it be a nightmare. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She lay shivering on her bed for another ten minutes. Then
she lifted the blind again. No one there. What should she do? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She decided she was going to get away. If she went off
across the fields she’d get to civilisation eventually. She found a warm jumper
and pulled it on. She still couldn’t find the torch. But perhaps it would be
lighter outside and her eyes would get used to it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She managed to undo the bolt on her cabin door without any
trouble. Perhaps she’d loosened it the first time or perhaps she’d got stronger
because she was scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way, she
was out in seconds and could actually now see quite well to find her way to the
main door. The clouds had cleared completely now and the moon was shining
brightly. She opened the door and stepped onto the outer deck. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He was standing there. He was holding a drill. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Get out of my way, you pervert!” she cried as she pushed
past him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The man lost his footing and fell neatly into the water. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I hope you drown,” she muttered. She jumped for the bank.
She landed fine but her left foot turned as it hit the ground, making her slip
and hit her head on the mooring post. Stars twirled above her head and she had
a pleasant warm feeling as she felt herself slip into the water, feet first. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She was going to die. She was sure of it. She tried to
imagine what it would be like at her funeral and wondered whether Alex would
cry. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="FirstParagraph">When she came to she was back in her bed inside her
cabin. She was in her pyjamas. Light was streaming in thought the window. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Had she dreamt it all? Her head did hurt, though. And she
could hear someone knocking on the cabin door. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Police!” cried a female voice. “May we come in?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I don’t believe you,” said Kerry. “Go away.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, if we’d wanted to hurt you we would have come in by
now. Look out of your window. And here’s my ID card.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kerry raised the blind again. Sure enough she could see a
policeman standing on the bank. He waved and smiled. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She pulled herself out of bed and picked up the card that
the police officer had pushed under the door. It looked genuine enough but you
could never be too sure, could you? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“You might be pretending to be police officers. How do I
know you’re real?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“You’ll just have to believe us, Kerry, my love. We’ve come
to tell you about your parents. There’s been an accident. But don’t worry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re going to be all right.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She opened the door. The police woman smiled at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“There was a man here. I pushed him in the water.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kerry thought she was going to be sick. What
if she’d killed him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“We know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He came and
told us this morning. In fact, if it hadn’t have been for him we wouldn’t have
found your boat so quickly. He was able to tell us exactly where you were
moored. ” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“That’s right love. Tom Jenkins. He’s a bit simple, but
harmless enough. He didn’t do anything to you, did he? ”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kerry shook her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Good.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“So, would you like to get some clothes on and we’ll take
you to your parents.” The policewoman rubbed her arm and smiled. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sick feeling went away. She felt quite relaxed as she
had a quick wash in cold water and then got dressed. Until she noticed the two
large bruises on her thighs and remembered she had no idea how she had got out
of the water and into bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p></p>
<iframe sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=bridgehousela-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon®ion=GB&placement=B07VLSY7V5&asins=B07VLSY7V5&linkId=33aea2c1eb0ab15741d12da0f5667832&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>Gill Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962522330960592257.post-43825681770255178802022-08-23T00:43:00.001-07:002022-08-23T00:45:37.937-07:00Other Ways of being: The Gargoyle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5fEWynYjDt0UrBuEe1qZvXB89Z_OQKHH3YHjU8_hqA3FXesJ8F0N-aPLTLKRy4gXZtbTEZcs93Uh5-D9wVWPyfydXl9B__CgVYpmlGH7Sj6wbvbyB-ugVcwDeqFYVuH5ypuxIdSM7eG7KxnMU6xhD8PPW-nx2jxTmXSMfwEqxYKmCG85axd9Pgzb/s600/Other%20Ways%20of%20Being%20Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="388" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5fEWynYjDt0UrBuEe1qZvXB89Z_OQKHH3YHjU8_hqA3FXesJ8F0N-aPLTLKRy4gXZtbTEZcs93Uh5-D9wVWPyfydXl9B__CgVYpmlGH7Sj6wbvbyB-ugVcwDeqFYVuH5ypuxIdSM7eG7KxnMU6xhD8PPW-nx2jxTmXSMfwEqxYKmCG85axd9Pgzb/s320/Other%20Ways%20of%20Being%20Medium.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Wow!"
Zizzi muttered, "even better than it looks from the computer
pictures."
</p><p class="FirstParagraph"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He had never been so impressed by any other planet he had
visited. Blues, browns and green swirled around each other, tempered by white
puffs of mist. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He was pleased as well with his new Ranger X57 telescope. It
was so powerful, that he had been able to examine in detail this planet which
had always fascinated him. And he was even more pleased with his Scout 750
Traveller which had brought him into the Earth's orbit. He would be able to
take a good look now at these strange figures that adorned the grand buildings
he had found out were called cathedrals. His powerful Extender computer had
made a thorough analysis of the Earth language spoken in these parts and he
would be able to use its translator to understand anything he read or heard.
The Mentor would surely be pleased with his project. He was going to
investigate why the Earthlings had representations of Zogoids - Zizzi's own
race - on their churches. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The traveller was now entering the Earth's orbit. Zizzi
activated the vessel's visibility shields. He stared out through the scanner
screen. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">.Zizzi slowed the craft right down. He would have to be
careful about switching from visibility shields to the chameleon drives - even
the powerful Scout could not handle both at once. In the spilt second that the
750 became visible, he must make sure that no-one saw him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi smiled at the computer's choice of chameleon stance:
the Scout would look like one of the strange figures he was about to
investigate, and would wait on the wall of the big cathedral. He quickly
flicked the visibility shield off and the chameleon mode switch on. But something
was not right. He looked again<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the
computer screen. Oh no! Yes, the Scout looked like a gargoyle alright - the
only one on the West Face! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"But perhaps no-one will see," thought Zizzi.
"It is dark, after all." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dark was something Zizzi did not know on Zogo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When that planet turned away from the sun,
artificial daylight flooded the living areas. Not the soft yellow light he saw
now coming from the cathedral and the street lights. Zizzi decided he liked the
artificial light on earth better. It was more mysterious somehow. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He watched the people going in and out of the cathedral. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"That will do," he thought. He pointed on the
screen to the little girl with black curly hair. She wore a long orange
scarf-come-hat, a yellow jumper and yellow tartan trousers. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi found himself at the cathedral entrance, a yellow
scarf-come-hat on his head and white tartan trousers and top. "Not
bad," he thought. But then he saw the boy in the striped sweatshirt, black
chinos and blue deck shoes. Ooops! Then again, he had never been known for his
dress sense on Zogo either. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The boy scuffed his feet along the ground as he walked.
Zizzi followed him at a distance. The boy looked bored. Zizzi noticed that lots
of people were avoiding walking on some of the stones on the floor that had
writing on them. He caught sight of the little girl whose costume he had
imitated. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Words!" she said, pointing down at the
paving-stones.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Yes," said the tall man who was holding her hand.
"Those are people's graves. You should try not to walk on them."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Graves?" asked
the little girl.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Yes, where you put people who have died!"</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Oh!" The girl still looked puzzled.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi shuddered. How unhygenic! Fancy leaving dead bodies
around to rot! On Zogo, once you had stopped living, your body was annihilated.
Zapped! Broken up into particles which were recycled at once. Nobody wrote
messages about you on the floor! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The boy in the black chinos had his hands in his pockets.
The corners of his mouth turned down. His forehead creased in the middle and
two lines came up from his nose.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"He looks cross," thought Zizzi.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Look at this Gareth!" Gareth walked slowly over
to where his mother was looking at a box on stilts which came almost up to her
shoulders. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"St Swithun's monument. You know, if it rains on the
15th of July, it will rain for another forty days. They say it's because they
buried him inside and he wanted to be buried outside!" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"That's rubbish, Mum."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Funny way to forecast the weather," thought
Zizzi. "I wonder how they do it for the other 325 days?" Of course,
that was why they had to put all those bodies under the floor. They hadn't
learnt how to control the weather on Earth yet. So they had to know what it was
going to do! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi wandered what rain felt like. It hadn't rained on Zogo
for centuries. He didn't even know what water felt like. Zizzi's ancestors
hadn't liked the feel of water, so they had invented a way of cleaning
themselves with gentle laser guns. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi followed Mum and Gareth round the cathedral. They
stopped in front of a group of statues who looked as if they were in a barn.
Zizzi thought they were made of wood or stone. They looked like Earthlings, but
they were shorter, although if they had been as tall, they would have been much
thinner. They were a bit ugly too. But not as ugly as gargoyle or a Zogoid. And
their clothes were different from those of the people walking around the
cathedral. They all wore long robes which didn't look very practical. Three of
them were better dressed than the others, and they wore jewels on their head.
They were kneeling down looking at a baby in a primitive crib. There were
animals too, less intelligent Earthlings, also staring at the baby. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Gosh! We wouldn't let the unthinking Zogoids near our
newly hatched babies," thought Zizzi. "Not clean!" But he was
impressed that they used straw for the baby's bedding, just like what they put
the Zogoid eggs in.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Two thousand years on and nothing's changed
much!" said Mum. "Peace on Earth and good will to all men,
indeed!" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"It's rubbish, Mum," said Gareth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"He's not very impressed by anything," thought
Zizzi. "Perhaps he'd like it better on Zogo." Zizzi was fascinated by
the cathedral. That soft yellow light was everywhere. And those enormous
arrangements of bright red flowers with their pointed leaves. On Zogo, all the
plants were very pale, and you always had them to match your room exactly. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not that Zizzi was dissatisfied with Zogo. There was always
plenty to see and do, especially now that he had the new telescope and the
Scout. And the Extender computer always came up with good ideas. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Gareth and the Mum made their way towards the place
Zizzi read was called the “North Transept.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were soon walking over some highly patterned tiles. Zizzi saw a
notice which said that the tiles were from the thirteenth century and that
visitors should take care of how they walked on them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Better hover across," he thought. To his disgust
the Gareth and the Mum just walked across normally. Zizzi hoisted himself into
the air, and glided across. Something made the Gareth turn round. His mouth
dropped open when he saw Zizzi suspended in the air. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Mum!" he shouted. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"They're really beautiful, aren't they? said Mum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"No, but Mum..!" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It dawned on Zizzi then. Humans don't hover. He dropped to
the floor at once. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Come on," said Mum. "We'd better go and get
Grandpa's present. The shop will be shut soon." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi decided to keep his distance. He looked at some of the
decorations on the walls. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"I hope it's not raining. You didn't bring your coat,"
she continued. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rain! He would have to see that! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mum and Gareth were now hurrying towards the exit of the
cathedral. Every now and then Gareth looked back towards Zizzi. Zizzi would not
meet his eyes. He watched them from the big doorway, - the West Door, he read -
as they rushed across to the Cathedral Shop opposite. There was water falling
from the sky. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Rain! Great!" thought Zizzi. "I must try
this!" He stepped out into the cold. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The rain was blowing towards the West Face of the cathedral.
The droplets of water fell on Zizzi's hands and face. They stung. He had to
close his eyes.The scarf was no protection. It only took seconds for his top to
be wet through and Zizzi did not like that feeling. It was slimy, like when you
touched a Zogosnail, and it was like having lots of pins stuck into you. Like
grey dull metal. He felt cold and he shivered. No wonder his ancestors didn't
like water. He'd had enough of rain. Should he return straight back to the
Scout? But he hadn't found out any more about gargoyles yet. He looked up at
the cathedral. Just one ugly face looked down at him and he knew what that
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gust of wind pushed him towards
the open door of the cathedral shop.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes. He would go to the shop! Perhaps he could make Mums and
Gareths his project instead. And he would like to find more about that baby who
had been born two thousand years ago. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi watched the shoppers. They seemed to go to a counter
with the goods they wanted and then hand over some pieces of metal or a flat
rectangle. The Mentor
had told him about something like this on Zogo as part of a history lesson. Now
if you wanted to buy something, you got the shop on the computer screen and
paid for it by authorising credits with your voice. This shop was much more
interesting, even if it did take much longer. It was great to be able to see
the goods and even touch them. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He spotted the Gareth and the Mum by the counter. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"It's naff," said the Gareth. "But I suppose
he'll like it." He was holding one of those stringy things that Zizzi had seen
around the necks of some of the men in the cathedral. It was richly coloured
and had pictures of those people in that barn again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi carried on browsing. He was in the section with books.
Zizzi's grandfather used to talk about books. Now the only ones you could get
were those you charged up from the computer. Older people liked to read them
when they were in the sleeping cells. But most Zogoids preferred to read direct
form the computer. He had found some more information about the baby. It was a
boy called Jesus. And he had been born in a place called Bethlehem,
although his parents came from another place called Nazareth. But he couldn't find out much more
from the books, because they were written for Earthlings who knew the full
story. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then he saw it. "A History of Gargoyles". The one
on the cover looked just like him. And inside there were ones like the Mentor,
like his mother and his father, another just like his bother Tobo and even one
like his pet, Horendz, with its long double ears and scaly back. He would have
to buy this. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He felt in the pocket of his trousers! Yes, there were some
of the strange metal Earthling coins there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He pulled them out. There were four heavy gold-coloured ones, a strange,
large seven-sided silver coloured one, two smaller seven-sided silver ones and
an assortment of silver and copper coloured coins, both in two different sizes.
He looked at the numbers on the book. £4.99. He supposed he had enough. He
would have to watch everyone very carefully at the counter. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then the Gareth saw him. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Eh, Mum," he said. "It's that geek again.
The one who floated ...." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A loud ringing noise suddenly started coming from the back
of Zizzi's chameleon suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Zotto!" he thought. "I forgot to charge the
battery! I've got two minutes to get back to the ship!" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi was still clutching the book as he ran through the
door of the cathedral shop. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Hey, you haven't paid for that," shouted the man
behind the counter. Zizzi speed hovered over the square between the shop and
the cathedral. Fortunately, it was dark and the Earthlings couldn't see how he
was moving so fast. The Gareth and several others were following him, though. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Only the Gareth saw him jump up. As Zizzi landed on the West
Face of the cathedral, next to his Scout, the battery on the suit finally gave
up altogether. He now sat there in his Zogoid form. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Can you see him?" called the Mum. The Gareth
turned to face her. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"I.. er .." he started. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi hurried into the Scout and set her off through the
Earth's atmosphere. He would have to do two orbits to get her up to power. He
flicked on the Ranger's screen and zoomed on to the cathedral. The Gareth and
the Mum were talking to a man in a dark navy uniform. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"He just seemed to jump up," said the Gareth.
"But when I looked up there was nothing but a couple of those funny
statues. One was about six times as big as the other." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The man in uniform sighed and shut his note book. He looked
up. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Are you on something, Sonny?" he said.
"There are no gargoyles on the West Face." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The main screen of the Scout's communication system crackled
on. It was the Mentor.
Zizzi had been dreading this. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Well that didn't go too well, did it? You know you
will loose your Scout licence if you reveal yourself three times without
permission from Explorer Corps. You must be more careful Zizzi." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi hung his head. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, anyway, cheer up. Did you find out any more
about the gargoyles?" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, there aren't any on the West Face of Winchester
Cathedral." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Hm. Was that worth the risk?" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"And I have got a book." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"You stole a book, you mean." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Mmm. Yes." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, we'll have to find a way to compensate." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Actually, I was thinking." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Yes?" </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Maybe gargoyles aren't so interesting. I'd like to
find out more about the Gareth. And perhaps about that baby." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, perhaps. We'll discuss it when you get back to
Zogo. Peace to Zogoids." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Peace to Zogoids." </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Zizzi was now leaving the Earth's orbit. He took one last
look at the planet. It looked like a giant marble, all blue and white swirls.
It would be good to return to Zogo, where life was easy and pleasant and much
more modern than on Earth. But he would be back! Oh yes, he would be back! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p></p>
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