Urban Space

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 15

Chris's parents Andre and Marilyn arrived home separately but within a few minutes of each other. Forced to park on the street due to the barricades erected by the enforcers, they were also forced to provide ID. Once they had established their identities Andre demanded to see the officer in charge.
The detective was used to dealing with people in stressful situations and immediately he was introduced was able to provide calm and concise replies to the frantic parent's questions.
"Let me assure you that your son is fine. "I will take you to him in just a minute. One of his friends is also assisting us with our inquiries, and there are two more of his friends waiting for him." He waved a hand in the general direction of a communications van bristling with antennas.
"I need to ask some questions first to establish your alibis and then I can brief you on the situation here."
"First, can both please talk loudly and clearly into this device and answer a few simple questions."
He thrust a hand held recorder in front of them and began to ask questions.
After establishing that Andre and Marilyn both had alibis that could be verified, the officer agreed to allow them to see Chris.
As they were walking to the command vehicle its door opened and Chris and Simon came out with another officer. Marilyn ran to her son and hugged him. He briefly hugged her back before his adolescent embarrassment showed and he wriggled free. Andre clasped his hand and grabbed him for a brief hug also. Simon stood quietly nearby and as Marilyn pestered Chris with questions of the details of what happened Andre spoke to him.
They quickly learnt the situation from the boys' perspective and then Andre remembered that Chris's other two mates Barry and Philip were being held outside the perimeter. He turned and asked the officer who had remained standing there if they could be brought in, and he agreed there was no reason they couldn't come in. Simon went with him down the street to where the two boys were sitting on the curb.
The head detective came back to where Andre and Marilyn remained in conversation with Chris and asked them if they would like to have a tour inside now.
Marilyn responded "Tour? What do you mean? We can't go inside our own house?"
Her voice rose to s shriek as she finished causing some nearby technicians to look over. Fearful of her causing a scene, Andre took her arm and calmed her down. "This is a crime scene now, and the evidence will not be able to be disturbed. We will need to stay in a hotel tonight." Suddenly remembering his daughter Kat he turned to the officer. "Has anybody called my daughter?" The officer responded and told them that she was on her way home. She had been offered an escort but had declined and was driving herself. Andre looked relieved and commented back to Marilyn. "When she gets here we will book a hotel and stay away for a couple of days. We could all do with a break anyway."
The detective turned away to take some information over his comms unit. When he turned back he was serious again. "OK we can go in now, but family only please. We have had initial evidence from our field lab that there was definitely human remains in the burnt patch. DNA analysis from some of the burnt material should help us identify the victim but in the meantime we will put out an APB on your cleaner Amy. Chris said he identified the body as hers. There is no evidence now to suggest that, but that's as good a place as any to start the investigation. If she turns up before the DNA analysis gives us a positive ID then we will widen our search, but for now we will assume that she is the victim. More importantly we are looking for evidence of the perpetrators."
Marilyn looked puzzled. "Perpetrators?" she raised her voice on the last syllable. "Chris said there was only one."
"Chris only saw one. There may have been more and the evidence gathered so far indicates that."
Andre butted in. "The gardener was to be here today. He may be able to help you."
"We are already tracking him down. He is considered a suspect, in fact the prime suspect at this time."
By this stage the foursome had reached the front door. The detective indicated the damaged door, and said that his department's insurance would pay for that damage as it had been inflicted when the enforcers opened the door.
A strand of tape had been run across the entrance to the kitchen and here the detective stood by the tape and stopped them from proceeding.
"We have already analysed the kitchen area as this was where your son Chris was attacked as he called emergency. However the rest of the house will take some time. The attack appears to have been made in the laundry area and there is a lot of blood in there. I am not going to take you in there." They went back to the foyer and round the other way to the family room and out to the patio. Between the end of the patio and the lawn was more tape, but this time he did not lift the tape. He indicated the teams of technicians working on the lawn. Some were setting up a tarpaulin in case of rain and lights so they could work through the night. "We are hoping to get plenty of evidence from the grass." The black burned out circle looked out of place on the lawn. Technicians continued to measure, sample and analyse it while others used special vacuum type instruments to search the lawn for other evidence.
The detective led them back through the house, avoiding the kitchen again,
Marilyn asked, "Are we able to collect personal items to take with us?"
"Sorry ma'am. We will reimburse any expenses incurred as a result. I will introduce you to our crime victims' liaison officer shortly. She will coordinate your accommodation and other requirements while we conduct the investigation."
He went on. "An officer will accompany you at all times, and you will be guarded while you are in the hotel. At this stage we have to take the precaution that you were being targeted and the cleaner just got in the way. No one will care about the death of a tribesperson but the attempted murder or murder of one of the city's finest lawyers is not something I want on my record because I failed to provide adequate protection."
Andre murmured something conciliatory and took his wife's arm again. "It's OK dear, we will be fine. Once Kat gets here we will go. In fact she should be here by now - where was she when you called?" This last was directed to the officer.
He looked at his timepiece and then responded slowly. "She was at the surf club, and said she would leave immediately. She should be here by now. I will get a tech to locate her." He turned away, thumbed his comms unit and began to speak urgently into it.
He turned back to the family "I am sure she will be here soon. Come and meet Chris's friends and sit and relax til she gets here. She is not answering her communicator. We have officers now looking for her on all the possible routes from the surf club to here, including any fuel stations or shops she may have stopped. We know what sort of car she has, so she should be located shortly."
By now the party had come back out the gates onto the street. It was starting to get dark, but not so dark that Chris couldn't recognise his mates. He left his parents and went to join them and there was much back slapping and giving of high fives as the other 2 lads were regaled with Chris and Simon's exploits.
Andre and Marilyn stood alone in the deepening darkness, surrounded by busy technicians yet isolated and alone. Marilyn clung to Andre for support as the reality of a murder in her home finally impacted her.
They waited in silent comforting each other by their physical closeness.

Urban Space Chapter 14

Drenched in sunlight the afternoon slipped away for Kat and Robin. The sound of the crashing surf was lulling and the gentle breeze whistling in the dunes was intermittent. Occasionally the girls would roll over and reapply their lotion. Both were content to lie lazily around with out having to focus on their studies or other cares. At around quarter to four they rose, dusted errant grains of sand from their bronzed limbs, packed up their belongings and sauntered back to the surf club.
There were plenty of people now sitting around on the balcony under sun umbrellas drinking and watching the surfers and swimmers. As they stepped into the cool clubroom the girls had to pause to flip their sunnies up onto the top of their heads and let their eyes adjust to the light.
Greg was still behind the bar serving customers. There were now a good number of people sitting around and standing at the bar. Greg was kept busy serving for the next 5 minutes until he could sneak away, hang up his apron and come round the front of the bar.
"Whew" he gasped in mock distress and pretended to mop his brow. "That's busy today. Care to join me for a drink?" he asked.
Robin agreed instantly and Kat nodded also.
"What'll it be ladies, drinks are on me."
Robin and Kat made their requests and Greg ordered the drinks and then turned to the girls. "What's the plan for tonight?"
Robin answered first with a laugh, "Nothing planned, let's just take it as it comes. Are there any live bands on here tonight?"
"Not here," Greg replied. "But the tavern up the road does. Do you want to go there?" The surf club tended to attract regulars, while the tavern was more of a tourist trap and was unpredictable.
Kat opened her mouth to comment but in that instant her communicator beeped loudly using its most strident tone. Kat looked alarmed as she thumbed the head set in her sunglasses frames, and her friends watched in shock as the alarmed look on her face grew.
Kat turned away from the noisy bar and walked out into the foyer so she could hear better. Robin and Greg followed a pace behind, Robin clutching Greg's arm. "Something's obviously wrong" she said.
Greg nodded. "Look's that way. Let's just wait and find out. We may have to put those ideas for tonight on hold."
Robin was talking now, asking a couple of questions and then listening. Her friends saw the initial look of alarm had been replaced with a less serious worried look, but were still concerned for her.
As she disconnected the call Robin immediately took her friend by the arm.
"What's wrong?" she inquired with a concerned tone.
"Amy, our tribe cleaner is dead," Robin answered flatly. "Chris found her, he was attacked by the same person but escaped. Mum and Dad have been called home but haven't arrived yet. That was the detective. The enforcers have been there all afternoon, but he hasn't been able to call me before now. I am going to have to go home sorry guys."
"Hey nothing to be sorry for," Robin replied. "I will come with you if you'd like."
Greg chimed in. "Do you want me to drive you?"
"No, thanks for the offer though. No look, you two go and have fun tonight. It sounds like it is all under control. I will miss Amy though, she was fun."
Greg looked relieved but Robin still looked dubiously at her friend. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Kat made an attempt to brighten up her smile and look less worried, but it wasn't very convincing. "Yes I am fine. I can drive home by myself and my parents will be there by then. You two head on out and enjoy being on your own."
Robin still didn't look convinced. Greg downed the remainder of the drink he was holding and left it on a table in the foyer. "Someone else can pick that up. Lets go." He shouldered his bag and started walking to the door. Kat and Robin followed his lead and the trio stepped out into the carpark and the bright sunlight once more. Greg and Robin walked Kat to her car and watched as she put in her bag, lowered the top and drove off.
"It just goes to show you can't trust those tribies." Greg proclaimed.
"What makes you think it was a tribesperson?" asked Robin.
"Who else would want to kill one? Certainly none of our people would. They have nothing we want." Greg's understanding of human nature was shallow and at times Robin was frustrated with her boyfriends rather bigoted views. She tried to make light of it now as she didn't want to cause an argument. "I am sure the enforcers will work it out in due course."
"You watch and see, they will find the varmint quick enough. It's just a pity they won't execute them, but waste money locking them up."
Robin did not want to talk about it so she turned her pretty face up to Greg's as they walked to his car. "Let's not worry about it eh, we have all night to ourselves now."
"You're right." Greg was distracted from his line of thought as she had intended and instead bent down to kiss her full lips. Robin pressed her body into his and all thoughts of murdering tribesmen vanished from his mind as she returned the kiss with passion.
Eventually they broke the kiss, but remained embraced. They resumed walking arm in arm to the car.
"Let's give the tavern a miss. I feel like going out for a nice meal instead. Lets head back to our place for a shower and then I will take you out and treat you!"
"You’re on!" Robin acquiesced as the two lovers reached the vehicle. They separated briefly to enter from opposite sides and then as Greg started the car up, she resumed the contact with a hand resting on his leg.
"Let's have a great night and not worry about Kat. She will be fine."
"Agreed." and with that Greg slipped the car into gear and they headed off.

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 13

Jord waited in line. The whitefaces had lots of these feeding places, but unlike the tribes they wouldn't let you just turn up and eat. If Jord went to another tribe (although he never had) he knew he would be immediately welcome and could get a feed. However here the whitefaces wouldn't let the tribe cook their food on a fire in the meeting place ever since the big fight. Instead they gave food paper to the tribe and told them to come to the whiteface's feeding place. You gave them the paper and they fed you. Jord had worked out early on that no paper meant no food.
He was still amazed at what he could see. The bright colours and lights were completely strange to him. Usually he came to this place just outside the meeting place using sound and smell as his guides, or with someone to help him. Now he could see and the short walk was a totally immersive experience. Now he was experiencing the visual feast that accompanied the sounds and smells he usually was aware of. He came to the front of the line and requested his usual food. It was thrust across to him with a brief command, "Pay".
Jord handed over the wad and the whiteface behind the counter took it, peeled of a few notes and passed the rest back.
Jord savoured the food; relishing eating something he could see for the first time ever. He felt suddenly liberated and on a whim decided to go exploring rather than return to the meeting place. He wandered through the city aimlessly wondering at the sights. The people looked so different from how he imagined them, especially the women. Most people were dressed in business attire and were walking purposefully to unknown destinations. Most people also completely ignored Jord, except to curse if he was in their way as they walked quickly and he shuffled along. Old habits died hard.
Another thing that amazed him was the beasts. The growling and whirring noises they made were not animal as he had originally thought. He decided they were mechanical and made of the shiny metal stuff. People were getting in and out of the beasts. As he walked along a large beast came alongside him and stopped. People poured out and when the entrance way was clear another line of people started filing in. Jord decided to join them. As he got to the entrance way an enforcer stopped him. Taking his arm he guided Jord away from the door. Jord couldn't explain why but he was annoyed.
A sudden thought crossed his mind; he could try the invisibility function. Flipping the hood up he looked at the icon and waited for it to expand. The world flickered briefly and then came back with the glowing images visible in the edge of his vision. Stepping back up to the doorway he climbed in unobstructed. Walking down the narrow aisle between the seated people he found a niche where he could squat out of the way.
With a lurch and a growl the beast started moving and everything Jord had ever known began to fade away behind him. Completely unworried and relaxed Jord looked around at the view through the beast's multiple eyes.

Urban Space Chapter 12

The tinny voice sounded again, monotonously repeating the same mantra. Chris did not dare speak back, but the fact that someone was there was comforting. The sound of heavy boots tramping across the kitchen floor came as a sudden loud noise as the intruder, who must have been standing still all this time, suddenly started walking.
Chris quietly placed the phone on a shelf behind his back as he pressed himself against the shelves. He raised the bottle over his head and waited for the pantry door to swing open.
But the boots retreated back down the hallway towards the entrance. Chris let out a long breath and then realised he had been holding it. He picked the phone back up and pressed it to his ear. The voice was still repeating its message.
"Hullo," he whispered.
The voice stopped instantly. "Emergency Operator," she now spoke more animatedly.
Chris continued, "I need help, I may not be able to talk for long."
"That's ok," she responded. "Help is on the way. Can you tell me what happened?"
Chris bubbered out, "Amy is dead, they attacked me, tried to smash the phone, bashed me, I'm hiding…"
"Calm down, one thing at a time please," The Emergency Operator interrupted.
"My name is Claire and I will help you as much as possible, but I need good information."
"“OK" said Chris.
"Now, there is a dead body?"
“Yes.”
"An intruder?"
"Yes."
“How many?”
I don’t know I only saw one, there could be more, they made a mess…”
She interrupted again. "Are they still there?"
"Yes,"
Is there anybody else in the house with you?
Chris spoke urgently and in as low a voice as possible.
"No. There is only one intruder that I know of. They attacked me and knocked me out. Our cleaner has been killed and butchered." His voice cracked as he said this.
"OK, where are you in the house? I have blueprints here." The voice remained calm.
"I am in the pantry off the kitchen."
"OK, sit tight there. Help will be there in a few minutes."
Simon had watched the patio area and through the windows into the family room for over 2 minutes now and seen no sign of movement. He risked sneaking closer and slid open the sliding door. Stepping into the room he quickly moved across to the archway to the kitchen and risked a look around. No-one there.
Simon looked around the kitchen. All looked normal. There were a couple of unwashed bowls on the bench. He saw a odd shaped piece of plastic on the floor and walked over. Picking it up he realised it was a battery cover off something. He read the manufacturers label and realised it was from the phone. As he was looking at the plastic cover a voice speaking caught his attention. It was very quiet and he couldn't place its location. It almost sounded like a radio on very low volume.
He heard it again. This time as he strained to hear he caught the sound of a male voice whispering. "There's someone in the kitchen now." The voice was indistinct and muffled but it was definitely coming from the pantry. Simon stepped over to the pantry door and whispered "Chris?"
There was absolute silence for a few seconds then the pantry door cracked open. "Simon! Quickly, in here mate." Chris opened the door wide and dragged Simon in by his shirt sleeve.
As the door shut and the gloom enveloped them Simon whispered hastily, "What the heck is going on? And is that your cleaner outside all chopped up?"
"Shhhh" Chris warned. "There is someone in the house. They already attacked me once."
Simon asked "What are we going to do?"
"Wait for the enforcers. They are on their way."
"I know” Simon replied, “I talked to them too."
Suddenly a tinny voice broke through their conversation. “Chris are you there?”
Chris held the phone to his ear. Simon passed him the battery cover he was still holding. Chris took it as he listened carefully to the operator. Then he turned the phone over and slid the cover on as he relayed the message to Simon.
"They are outside now, they are going to come inside in the next 2-5 minutes. We are to keep our heads down and stay in the back of the cupboard. They may use gas and weapons if necessary.”
The two lads hunched down in the back of the cupboard and waited.
About 3 minutes later the door was opened and a burly enforcer in armour stood there. He gestured for the two boys to follow him and turned and left toward the front door. As they followed him they saw enforcers everywhere with weapons drawn standing beside doorways, or running in pairs. All of them were in constant communications with their team. The enforcer hurried the two boys out the now open wide front door that had been forced open.
Outside they were passed to some other technicians who took them straight to a van parked out in the street. It was black and had no windows apart from the front section where the driver sat. After the technician spoke on his comms unit a door opened from the inside and the boys were ushered inside.
The inside of the van was crammed with electronic gear. Several monitors displayed views of the house both inside and out, obviously from enforcers helmet cameras. 3 technicians sat watching the screens and issuing commands to the teams inside.
"Did you get him?" Chris asked excitedly.
"Not yet."
The room started to buzz with comms traffic and the technicians ignored Chris and Simon as they answered and directed the operation. Chris noticed that one screen had the floor plan of the house on it. He watched another screen curiously as the enforcer wearing the camera flung open the door to his bedroom. He could see the weapons muzzle being poked around the doorway. There was no-one there.
All clear responses started to come through on the comms units. Chris watched as one screen showed the patio area. As the camera wearer headed toward the end of the patio and around the hedge onto the lawn where he had seen Amy's body he held his breath.
In total surprise he exclaimed "Where is she?" and "What's that?" as he saw nothing where she had been but a round black mark. Small tendrils of smoke drifted upward and as the camera came lower to view the patch, Chris could see that the grass had been burned completely away. Even the dirt was scorched.
The van rocked as an enforcer entered. He looked commanding and he spoke first to the technicians. "Status?" he asked.
"All clear, zero hostile, zero hostage, zero bodies."
"Good job, start packing up."
"You two, come with me.: And he crooked his finger at Chris and Simon and beckoned them. Turning on his heel he strode from the van without a backward glance to see if they were coming. Simon followed immediately, but Chris turned back to the monitor, puzzled, and hoping to see more from the lawn. But the monitors had gone dead and the technicians were starting to shut systems down.
Chris hurried from the van and caught up to Simon who was walking behind the enforcer toward the house.
Walking back into the house was completely different. Now there were technicians with cameras and equipment everywhere. The big enforcer turned down the hallway toward the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen he stopped and turned back to Chris and Simon. "Which one of you is Chris?" he asked. Chris stepped forward. "Me."
"This is where you were attacked." It was a statement not a question. “Yes,” Chris volunteered though he felt his answer was unnecessary.
"You were thrown to the floor there", he pointed at the middle of the floor, "before hiding in the pantry right?"
"Yes" responded Chris. "What about Amy, and did you capture the intruder?"
"We have found no-one and in fact have found no evidence of any bodies."
"What happened to Amy? I saw a black circle on the grass on the monitor in the van."
"Who is Amy?:'
"She is our cleaner. I found her on the lawn all chopped up. There was blood everywhere. Now she’s gone.”
“Come and show me.” The enforcer stepped to the side to allow Chris to go first. Carefully stepping around the technicians who were checking for fingerprints and other forensic evidence Chris led the others to the patio. A technician opened the door for him with gloves. Chris walked around to the end of the patio and to the lawn beyond the hedge. There were a number of technicians around the black circle and now Chris could smell the acrid odour of burnt flesh and blood. There were still some tendrils of smoke coming off the blackened earth.
"She was here." Chris pointed to the circle. "But she wasn't all burnt up."
The enforcer spoke to a technician briefly.
Coming back to the boys he said "There is no evidence of blood or any other human material in the burnt area or around on the grass. Who was Amy?
"She's our cleaner" Chris responded testily. "I already told you."
"I will need to find out who she is," the enforcer responded. "We will do a database search on her and then try and locate her."
Chris was flummoxed. "I saw her body," he said. Simon piped in, "So did I."
The enforcer looked concerned for the first time.
"We have contacted your parents and your father is on his way here now. We will get details from him."

Friday, November 12, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 11

Kat and Robin arrived at the surf club not long before lunch. As they pulled into the carpark Robin checked to see her boyfriend's car was there. Kat parked and put the top up before looking the car. Shouldering their beach bags the two girls sauntered out of the heat and sunlight into the cool dark surf club.
Greg worked behind the bar most days and today was no exception.
"Hiya sexy" he called out to Robin as he saw the girls. Robin waved and the two girls walked down to where he was working and sat on bar stools in front of him.
"Hey gorgeous" Robin replied.
It was their standard form of greeting and Kat had never observed them break it. The two had been going out for over 3 years now having met while in school. Greg was a year older and had been around the beach all his life. The job at the surf club was a means of bankrolling his passion to be an iron man. He trained everyday at the beach, and then worked behind the bar for around 6 hours or so. He had already won a number of junior titles and last year had hit the big time. Here he was a small minnow in a big pond, but already he had gained a rising star award in his local club as well as getting increasingly improved results in the national events. Robin didn't share his athletic skills but was his most passionate supporter. Kat had come along several times to the local races, though had not attended any away events.
Greg poured the two girls a drink and took a pause from his labour of stacking glasses and refilling fridges. He leaned on the bar in front of them and Robin leaned over for a kiss.
Kat felt an instant pang of jealousy, not over Greg, but the fact that she was boyfriend less. She grudgingly admitted to herself that having had Mario as a boyfriend would have been something she would have enjoyed, but not now. Boys confused her. They either were coarse vile creatures who repulsed her or they were absolute spunks who made her weak kneed and blushing like Mario had. She envied the easy familiarity that Greg and Robin shared. Their camaraderie she mused was the attribute of the relationship that she desired the most. She had never experienced that with a boy. Robin told her frequently she was too intense and to loosen up.
"Kat" she heard.
She snapped out of her internal reverie to look up and find Greg and Robin watching her amusedly.
"She’s pining for Mario" Robin laughed good naturedly digging her friend in the ribs.
"I am so NOT pining" Kat responded indignantly.
Greg laughed out loud, his melodious voice echoing through the empty taproom.
"Robin told me," he said. "You looked a million miles away."
"I was," she admitted. "Hey lets get some lunch from the bistro Robin. We can leave this hunk to attract the ladies in here."
"Humph!" Greg snorted. "Lady cockroaches and blue rinses oldies are all we get in here this time of day. Not til the nippers arrive after school and all the mums come in here will it get busy. What are your plans for the day?"
Robin ticked off on her fingers, "Lets see, lunch, sunbathe, spy on gorgeous hunks on the beach, chat up sexy barmen and get them to take me home after they finish work, and the rest can't be mentioned in front of young ladies." She giggled as she reeled this off with a pointed finger at Kat as she said the last bit.
It was Kat’s turn to snort now. She followed on with her own list, "Lunch I agree, sunbathe yes, hunks on beach yes but not any old lowlife barmen for me. Diamond rings, Gucci dresses and fast sports cars are a must and they must have a penthouse overlooking the beach."
"You don't want much do you Princess Katarina," he mocked.
"Grrr," she responded and playfully swatted his cheek.
He caught her wrist and then held her hand up to his face pressing his lips to the back of her hand in a mocking imitation of chivalry.
He turned serious as he released her hand.
"It's not what’s in the bank account that you should be chasing Kat but what's in their heart. Don’t worry you will find the man of your dreams one day. Now get out of here you two, you are keeping me from other customers." He waved an expansive hand toward the rest of the empty room. The girls laughed and got up to go.
Robin asked "See you at four?"
"Count on it" replied Greg.
The two lasses grabbed a sandwich each from the bistro then headed down to the beach where they chose a spot to spread out their towels. Slipping off their mini skirts they sat down cross-legged on the towels next to each other to start spreading suntan lotion. As they massaged it in Kat looked over at Robin and asked suddenly, "You're going to marry him aren't you?"
Robin looked surprised by the question but answered immediately, "The second he asks me!"
Kat stopped rubbing lotion and looked down at her blanket glumly. "What am I doing wrong?" she asked. "Why can't I find a nice man?"
Robin looked concerned not hearing this sort of emotion from the normally sunny natured Kat.
"Your man will come Kat" she responded, gently laying a hand on her friend's arm. "Just hang in there and don't fall for any more smooth talking snakes."
Kat agreed and the two girls lay down, tipped their hats over their faces and basked in the sun.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 10

Jord pressed his back to the sacred stone. Its roughness was comforting. He pulled the hood over his head and almost cried out in shock as his newly lighted world went black.
Then there was a flicker and it came back, but this time there was blue symbols and lines over the sides of his vision. As he moved his head from side to side the view of the world changed but the lines and symbols stayed static.
Jord may have been blind, and he couldn't read, but he wasn't dumb. He almost instantly guessed that the hood contained a display that was superimposing over this vision, and then he realised that probably the coat was providing the vision too. Deciding to test the theory he slid the coat hood off and once again experienced the momentary disconcerting blackness and flicker as the image settled. Sitting forward he slid the coat down over his arms. As it came free his world went black and this time there was no flicker. He was still blind.
But as has slipped his arms back into the coat and his vision was restored, he knew that now he had a piece of technology that could counter his handicap.
Slipping the hood back up again he hunched back against the stone and looked down at the coat once more. He noticed as he moved his head around the superimposed images and lines seemed to change slightly. Looking down at the coat he noticed that it looked different from when he had observed it for the first time. Taking the hood off he looked down at the coat with 'normal' vision. It appeared like any other coat. Buttons, zips and piping along the seams. Coloured patches, breathable inserts under the arms and a couple of pockets. Nothing abnormal.
Putting the hood back on again Jord looked back at the coat. This time as he looked at the raised emblem over his left breast on the coat the display changed slightly. He noticed that a little circle of hieroglyph images on the right hand side rotated and one in particular stood out. Looking at the pocket over his heart he saw that the images rotated to a little picture that flashed slightly. As he watched it suddenly bloomed into an image filling all his vision. The background seemed to fade away. As he looked he felt the tingling in his arms again and then suddenly when he looked down the coat seemed have turned a shimmery blue colour.
From a distance he heard Arutha say "The Whitefaces have gone. You can come out now." Arutha stumped around the side of the stone and then looked at Jord in a puzzled way. "Where have you gone boy?" he said. You were right here; don't say the stone has swallowed you again?"
Jord went to say something, puzzled as he was as to why Arutha seemed to be looking right through him at the stone. But Arutha walked off before he could speak. He got to his feet and walked around the side of the stone. Arutha was standing there talking quietly to Lena and Marick. Neither of them even glanced at him as he walked up.
"You would think that you are the blind one Arutha," he said. "I was right where you left me."
The three adults completely ignored him; it was as if he was invisible and unable to be heard? The thought struck him, maybe he was, and maybe the coat was making him invisible the same way it made him see. He looked at the image over his heart again and it seemed to fade away
Arutha jumped with a start to see him standing there. "There you are boy; you gave me a fright sneaking up like that."
Lena and Marick just stared in awe and seemed to Jord as they were on the verge of dropping to their knees in front of him. He turned to Arutha and asked, "So what am I supposed to do? It's all very well having a prophecy made about you, if that's true, but how does that change things? We still live here in the meeting place surrounded by Whitefaces who only visit us when they want us to work for them. The rest of the time we may as well be invisible." As he spoke the word 'invisible' the small image flashed up on the right hand side of his vision, but not large. It was ready for him to activate, but he chose not to look at it surmising that this would activate the invisibility function. He didn't want to scare the adults any more.
"I am hungry" he said. "Do you have any food paper?"
Lena dug into her pocket and hauled out a wad of paper notes. "Take some of these," she said. "They will get you food from the Whitefaces."
Jord pocketed the paper and turned to walk off.
"Do you want to me to come with you boy?" Marick asked uncertainly. It sounded like he was almost in awe of Jord.
Jord shook his head and said "No. I shan’t be long."
He walked towards the entry way, went through and off out of sight from the 3 adults. They stood gazing after him for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
Finally Arutha broke the silence.
"We had better arrange from him to and see the elders."
"Yes" said Lena. Marick just nodded as if he was fearful of voicing his thoughts out loud.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 9

Simon waited as the sounds of the doorbell echoed away inside. He could have sworn he could hear voices and assumed that Chris was home. After a couple of minutes had passed he pressed the bell again. The peals of sound mimicking a grandfather clock echoed away again, but no one came to the door. Simon pulled his communicator out and spoke "Chris". The device dialled the number and gave an engaged signal. Simon pressed his ear to the glass inserts in the front door but could hear no ringing noise. Damn he thought. The TV is going too loud for Chris to hear the doorbell and he is on the phone. He looked around. The driveway led up from the street to the triple garage doors where it opened out into a turning circle. This had a path leading to the front door. The whole area was flanked by low hedges and these were backed by an 8 foot stucco wall with small embrasures containing potted figs. The wall was topped with a short iron railing with spikes. Simon looked around and then decided to head for the back yard. He jumped onto a pot, grabbed the fig’s trunk and walked his feet up the wall. Pushing back on the fig he was able to reach up with one hand and grab the railing at the top. Pulling himself up onto the top of the fence he was able to step carefully over the railing. Dropping his bag to the ground he swung down the wall and then jumped the remaining 3 feet to the ground.
Inside when the doorbell first sounded Chris was out cold. By the time Simon sounded the bell again he was groggily coming to. He had enough wits to lay still however and keep his eyes shut. Peeking through hooded lids he was able to check that he was not restrained and that he was lying in the middle of the room where he had been attacked. He could see the phone over the other side of the kitchen on the floor. Although the case had come open he could see the talk light was still on. He hoped the emergency services had heard the commotion and his cry for help and were despatching the police. Then the doorbell sounded again. Suddenly heavy footsteps sounded behind his head and then thudded down right in front of his face as the intruder stepped over him. They headed down the corridor toward the front entry way. Chris didn't dare move in case there was someone behind him still but he was able to get a fairly good look at the person heading down the hallway They were wearing a heavy leather jacket and faded jeans. Scruffy work boots on his feet. A balaclava covered his head so Chris couldn't see the colour of his hair. By the time he thought to look the intruder was out of sight so he didn't get a look at the colour of his hands. A thought crossed his mind that it was the gardener. There were no further sounds so Chris risked a look over his shoulder. It appeared clear and he rolled carefully into the middle of the kitchen before rising cautiously to his knees. There was no one in sight in the kitchen or family room. His head throbbed where he had been hit. He thought about getting a kitchen knife but didn't want to risk making a noise with the cutlery so instead he decided to grab the phone and hide somewhere. As he picked up the phone he heard the footsteps coming back. No time to talk he thought and quickly eased the pantry door open. Slipping inside he cautiously pulled the door behind him. The louvered panels on the door allowed him a view downward to the floor of the kitchen but effectively hid him from the view of anyone standing in the kitchen. He heard a curse as the intruder came into sight of where he had been lying and he could see their boots as they stopped. Hoping they wouldn't open the pantry door Chris looked around frantically in the darkened room to see if he could locate a weapon. A bottle of cooking sherry on the top shelf looked like the best choice. Grasping it by the neck he carefully turned it up without sloshing the contents. Looking out the door he could no longer see the boots. He hadn't heard them walk off but he was taking no chances. Crouching down he tried to get a better view through the louvered slats but could only see a few feet of kitchen floor tiles. Suddenly he heard a tinny voice. He remembered he was holding the phone and held it to his ear. A voice was talking.
"Is anybody there? We heard a cry for help. Help has been despatched." The voice repeated the message again. Chris didn't dare answer and covered the speaker with his hand.
Simon walked across the manicured lawn and through a shrubbery toward the back of the house. As he came round the side of the house he saw the pile of bloody meat lying with the head on top beside the hedge next to the patio. He stopped dead in his tracks. He immediately knew something was wrong and that Chris needed help. He snuck back into the shrubbery and tapped the talk button on his communicator. "Emergency" he whispered. Within seconds he had been connected and was talking to an emergency operator. After telling them the address he noticed a difference in the way they were talking.
"Has something already happened" he asked.
The operator said there was already a call out on that address. After getting the story from Simon the operator instructed him to either stay hidden in the shrubbery or if he could get back over the wall without being seen then to do that and wait down the street for the enforcers to arrive.
Simon agreed before terminating the call but there was no way he was leaving his mate. Cautiously looking back round the side of the house he could see no movement near the patio.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 8

Kat and Robin said their good byes to Lara and Kim and headed for the carpark. Halfway there they were walking toward a small quadrangle when from up ahead round the corner of the building they could hear male voices laughing. The next thing they heard was an Italian voice saying Princess Katarina in a mocking voice. Enough to stop them in their tracks just short of the building's corner. With bated breath they waited to hear what was next.
"Ice Princess Katarina I should call her" the voice grumbled. I don't know what it will take to break that barrier. Every advance I make is rebuffed. You would think she couldn't stand me, yet every now and again I will catch her unawares and she blushes so much you'd think she was sunburnt. Yet next minute she's aloof and wary as a caged eagle."
"You should give up mate. There are plenty more single women on this campus, and they are all eager to get the Italian stallion."
The two girls listened spellbound.
"Maybe, but I set the goal of the hard to get Princess. I get her and the rest of the campus is mine."
"Well let's make a bet then. I bet you won't bed her before the end of this semester."
"You're on buddy."
The sound of skin meeting skin as the two boys clapped hands together sealing their bargain broke the trance the two girls were in. "Quick" whispered Robin, "Come the other way in case they come towards us." The two girls quickly scampered round the other side of the building and into a little alcove in the side of the building just in time before the two boys came round walking back the way the girls had come from. They didn't see the two girls pressed against the side of the building and were soon out of sight.
"Oh the pig!" exclaimed Kat.
"How could they?" Robin inquired.
"I am so over him" Kat responded. "I thought he was too smooth to be true."
"Let's make his life hell in class then," Robin said. "He won’t know what hit him."
"Shall we tell the other girls?"
"It's a matter of national interest" Robin replied, "We should tell the campus radio reporters!"
"Come on lets go," Kat said heading off once more toward her car. "Beach here we come!"
The two friends got into the car and Kat let the top down. Her t-shirt was flung into her bag, her sunnies hooked down and a basketball cap placed on her head. Robin followed suit and in a short time the two girls were rolling toward the beach in bikini tops and denim minis with the breeze whipping their sun bleached blond hair around their ears.
"This is the life" Robin called over the wind as she thrust her arms up and out. "Roll on the end of study!"
Kat blipped the convertible’s accelerator as they waited for a traffic light.
The light turned green, she stepped on the gas and off the clutch and with the tyres howling in protest launched the car forward. Shrieking with delight the two girls grinned at each other and called out in unison "To freedom!"

Urban Space Chapter 7

Jord was on a high. His mind was absolutely reeling under the impact of his discovery that he could see. Suddenly the things he had imagined his entire life, his mother Lena, Marick, Arutha, Old Rab and the others were real, visible and all yelling excitedly. Even Old Rab was up of his bench and mumbling vigorously along with the rest.
Jord was not disappointed at the world he saw. Sure it was different from his imagination. The smooth rock was white and the sun glared off it and made his eyes smart. The sun was another thing - squinting he peered up at it and felt the familiar warmth on his face only this time he could see it.
Suddenly his concentration was brought back to the people around him as someone was fingering his jacket.
He looked to see Old Rab standing close to him and peering up at him with rheumy eyes. He opened his mouth to speak and Jord could see the rotten teeth and holes where teeth used to be. A foul odour came out as he talked but Jord was used to that.
"Where did you get this?" Old Rab asked.
Jord cast his mind back to the experience in the sacred stone. "From inside the stone" he replied. "There was a thing in there it talked to me and gave me this and said something."
Old Rab was joined by Arutha.
"What did he say boy?"
"Um I can't quite remember. Something about becoming and bringing peace. Oh yes he said "Go now and bring peace to your people." "
"What does that mean Arutha?” And what are you doing?"
Jord's voice rose up into a shriek for suddenly the tribes people had fallen silent as Arutha and Old Rab fell to their knees before him and placed their heads on the ground at Jord's feet. Suddenly the whole tribe was doing the same.
Jord was frightened by this sudden turn of events and called out, "Please stand up. Someone tell em why you are doing this?" Arutha lifted his torso up straight but remained on his knees. "You Boy are whom the prophets of old spake. You are the Great Leader."
"The Great Leader? You mean the one in the stories? But how can that be?"
Arutha answered him with a quote that Jord had heard many times before.

The dreamer will arise
The blind shall lead the tribe
The places of power will be restored
The people be multiplied

The coat of grand design
Will be worn with pride
Oppression will be lifted
By his sacrifice

By the time he had reached the second line his voice had been joined by 20 others as the whole tribe spoke in unison the words that each person knew by heart. Jord had learned them as a small boy also.
Jord's eyes could not stay still. They darted around the place as his mind frantically tried to take in the import of what Arutha was saying.
A movement from the main plaza caught his attention. Whitefaces were coming into the meeting area. There were several of them, dressed alike. They were large and as they came through the entrance way they fanned out in a menacing manner.
Jord cried out "Whitefaces!" As one the people turned and saw the Whitefaces, and suddenly confusion reigned. The ranks of kneeling people suddenly turned into a swarm of activity as they rushed hither and thither, gathering belongings and seeking hiding places.
Arutha grabbed Jord and hustled the boy off behind the sacred stone. "Sit here and keep still" he commanded. Then he stalked haughtily around to the front of the stone and called out to the Whitefaces.
"What do you want with my people?" he called out in their language
The leader of the Whitefaces approached. "Nothing to fear old man" he called back. "What were you doing before we arrived though?"
"None of your business" grunted Arutha. "Tribe business. Speak your piece and be gone then."
The leader of the Whitefaces said, "We were worried. There were reports of a bright light and an explosion coming from here. We have been sent to check it out."
"Nothing to see here" Arutha replied indicating with a sweep of his hand the nearly deserted corner of the plaza. The patches of green grass interspersed with small hedges, benches and a couple of water fountains were surrounded by several tall trees and a few clumps of smaller ones. A few tribes folk lingered in small groups talking animatedly together.
"Nothing to see," he repeated.
"We will need to see some of your people and ask them some questions" the leader continued.
Jord could hear the respect in his voice. After the big fight, Arutha was treated much more carefully by the Whitefaces. Apparently he had won a battle of words at the Whitefaces council and now they were required to direct all contact with the tribe through Arutha.
"They will say the same as I" Arutha responded, "Nothing to see here."
"“Nevertheless," the leader replied, "we must."
Arutha dismissed him with a wave of his hand and turned his back on him and walked over to the sacred stone. He called over his shoulder "Do what you must, but no-one goes with you without you first talking to me."
The leader nodded to his men and they began going from group of people to group of people asking them if they had seen the light or heard the explosion. Everywhere the tribesmen just looked down at the ground and shuffled their feet and shook their heads. If they spoke it was a simple "No."
Jord was not approached hidden out of sight as he was by the sacred stone.

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 6

Chris stumbled from his bed and headed for the shower. The dream was a vivid memory and he wanted to forget it. The water sluicing over his skin helped him fully awake. By the time he had finished his shower he had all but forgotten the dream.
He checked his alarm clock as he got dressed and saw it was nearly lunch time. Chris jumped on the computer and checked his emails and his contacts. Two of his mates were online and he checked in with them to confirm they were coming over after lunch. Both said yes and Barry said that the 4th mate who wasn't online was already on his way over to pick him up. Simon only lived 2 streets away and said he would be there in 20 minutes.
Chris logged off and headed for the kitchen for a feed. Yanking open the fridge door he swore when he saw it was nearly empty. "Bloody tribes people" he muttered. Why can't Amy stock the fridge when she's supposed to? He headed for the pantry and extracted some instant noodles and put them in the microwave to heat. Standing back he gazed idly out the panoramic kitchen window as he waited. The view was of the paved patio area, the hedged grassy area next to the tennis court and the pool. He saw something on the grass and looked more intently. It appeared to be something mowed into the grass, almost like a crop circle pattern. As he looked closer he realised that the grass was actually a different colour in the pattern, darker and glistening.
Forgetting the noodles he stepped out the sliding door onto the patio and then walked around the edge of the hedge to reach the grass. What he saw was enough to instantly bring him to a stop. There right in front of him was a pile of steaming meat, hidden from the kitchen window by the low hedge. It appeared to have been dragged from the centre of the lawn and the pattern now appeared to be a trampled circle with the darkness coming from the blood that gleamed wetly on the grass. Chris looked closer at the pile of meat and then dry retched as he realised it was actually the remains of a freshly killed person, skinned gutted and butchered into large chunks. Recognisable was a forearm with a hand and fingers still intact and centered in the mass was a face covered in hair. Black curly hair. Long black curly hair. "Amy" he hear himself shout, and then he was retching again only this time it was not dry but the remains of his last evening's meal.
A beeping noise intruded on his awareness and he recognised the sound of the microwave finishing. Frantically looking around he suddenly thought to himself that the attacker may still be here. The blood was still wet after all.
Chris turned and sprinted back into the house. He grabbed the phone from off the wall near the kitchen door and fumbled for the emergency number. It rang, once, twice and then answered. "Emergency Services" a polite voice answered. Before Chris could say anything a strong arm clamped itself around his face and another hand wrenched the phone from his grasp. Chris screamed "Help" and wriggled hard. His attacker thrust his arm into Chris's mouth in attempt to shut him up while trying to turn the phone off. Chris sunk his teeth into the arm and continued to struggle. His attacker screamed with the pain and gave up and threw the phone across the room where it struck the wall and smashed open.
The assailant used his now free arm to hit Chris on the head in a series of blows that caused the lad to slump to the floor unconscious.
In the middle of this the doorbell rang as Simon arrived.

Urban Space Chapter 5

Kat drove the route to the university on autopilot. She was only vaguely focussing on the road and the other traffic. Her mind was not clear right now. So many confusing thought crowded her brain. Try as she might she could not keep the image of Mario out of her mind. Her heart pulsed a little quicker the more she thought of him and with a start she realised her hands were clammy on the steering wheel.
"What is wrong with me?" she thought to her self.
She tried to focus on the road ahead of her but instead of clearing her mind she found that she was wondering if Mario was a good driver.
"Stop it now" she actually spoke out loud this time. "I will not fall in love. I do not need a boyfriend. I am going to finish my degree". She intoned this mantra for the next few kilometres before she had to focus on getting through an intersection and once again thoughts of Mario spilled unbidden into her mind.
"This is ridiculous", she told herself.
Finally pulling into the crowded student carpark she forgot about Mario as she located a park and reversed her car into it.
Kat was a good driver. Her father had ensured that she had had competent lessons and then before he helped her purchase her car he had arranged a series of advanced driving courses for her. Chris had been promised the same deal, but as he was refusing to cooperate and had not studied for his driving test, there were no driving lessons and no car. Chris appeared not to care, but Kat thought that secretly he might have been upset at the lack of independence that having a car would solve. On the surface his defiance of his parents was not rocked by the threat of losing the chance to be given a car, but Kat could see that that he envied her ability to come and go as she pleased. Sure he did the same, but it was on foot or skateboard with his mates, none of whom had cars.
Kat locked the car and headed to the lab where the tutorial was to be held. On the way she stopped at the small kiosk and purchased a packet of chewing gum. She didn't usually eat the stuff but she reasoned to her self that she wanted to have fresh breath for Mario.
"Arrghh! There I go again", she cried.
Arriving at the lab building Kat used her access card to gain entry and went to her lab slowly. She hoped Mario wasn't there and at the same time she hoped he was. She was confused. Opening the door she peered nervously in and then came all the way in as she saw her friend Robin. Mario wasn't in evidence and she was able to make small chat with Robin while they started getting ready for the experiment they were going to run today. Kat was studying human sciences and this experiment was to develop a test that they could run on campus to gauge reactions to hypothetical disaster scenarios. Today's session was about designing the audio visual presentation that they could use in a sealed booth while the participant was wired to various physical receptors designed to assess his or her level of stress as a result of being required to make choices between two bad scenarios.
Kat and Robin continued to chat for the few minutes it took the rest of the class to dribble in. Robin's partner arrived and they headed off to the audiovisual equipment to continue editing the sound score they were going to use. Kat and Mario had been assigned to the job of locating the receptors on the participant for the best possible analysis of physical responses to the scenarios and decisions. As she watched Robin head off a voice behind her with a cultured accent spoke.
"Good morning Princess Katarina".
She spun around awkwardly, losing her balance as she turned too quickly and saw Mario standing there. He reached out a hand to steady her and the touch of his hand on her skin sent electric shocks charging through her. Already embarrassed at being caught unawares by the honey tongued Italian, she felt a crimson blush rush through her fair ski toward her face, and his brief touch ignited that into full fledged embarrassment. Knowing that she was giving away her emotions so openly only served to further embarrass the girl. Jerking her arm away she brusquely replied in a haughty tone.
"Morning. Shall we get started then?"
Mario looked amused and a mocking grin swept over his classic Italian features. He emulated her haughtiness by lifting his chin a little and peering down his long roman nose.
"Your wish is my command Princess Katarina".
"I wish you wouldn’t call me that". She responded. The more she reacted to him the more annoyed with herself she got. She knew that this was his intention and she felt flustered to be the centre of his attention.
The remainder of the session was a blur. Mario’s constant touch as they attached, disconnected and reattached the sensors to each other and recorded the signal level strengths kept her body on fire and her brain was overwhelmed with the physical input. They finished recording the last set of data and put the equipment away in silence. All through the work Mario had kept the conversation to the barest minimum, but the looks he gave her were ravishing. She knew that he was watching her from under his long black eyelashes as she worked. This flustered her so much that her focussing on neat writing became her mechanism for controlling the emotions coursing through her.

Finally the session was over and she was able to say goodbye to Mario and rejoin Robin and 2 other girls, Lim and Lra. The 3 girls immediately crowded around her and their voices dropped to conspiratorial whispers.
"Did he ask you out?"
"I saw you touching him, what does his skin feel like?"
"I would love to get my hands on him, you lucky girl"
Kat dismissed the questions with a wave of her hand and tried to pass it off,
"Oh its nothing much, I don't really like him you know".
The other girls were having none of that.
"Come on lets go get some lunch and you can tell us all".
The 4 of them shouldered their bags and headed off to the cafeteria. Kat felt as if she was heading for the inquisition as her previous endorphin overload from being around Mario faded away.
As they walked Robin nudged Kat and they fell behind the others a pace or two.
"We still going to the beach today?" she asked quietly so the other three girls wouldn't hear.
Robin didn’t have a car but she did have a boyfriend. He was a lifeguard at the local beach. She wanted to go so she could see him. Kat didn't mind taking her because they got the use of the surf club facilities and that included an air-conditioned bar.
"Sure" she said, and lifted her t-shirt to show her bikini to her friend, "I am already dressed for it".
Wolf whistles from two passing lads made her blush with embarrassment as she quickly dropped the t-shirt back down and ignored them.
Robin laughed and as they turned into the cafeteria entrance the other two girls, Kim and Lara, who had turned at the sound of the whistles, said in unison, "Mario will be jealous" and all 4 girls burst out laughing!
Kat felt she was finally relaxing after the stressful morning of keeping her emotions in check.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 4

Strange harmonic sounds came faintly to Jord's ear, distant and close at the same time. The source was impossible to determine. His brain had not really processed what had happened, but now he had time to think he realised the smell was gone. So was the uneasiness he had experienced. By using his hands and legs he could tell that he was resting on a ledge of rock. He could feel nothing below him when sitting on the edge and dangling his legs over. The wall behind his back felt strangely smooth and the ledge itself was around half his body length in width. It seemed to go either side of where he was sitting in an arc that joined with the wall about one body length away. Standing up he felt that the smooth wall at his back was seamless and had no opening. Now he remembered what he had done, and realised that he had been in a dreamlike state when he had crawled through what felt like a small door in the sacred stone. Not being able to see his surroundings didn't scare him, he was used to that. What did scare him was the complete absence of the sounds of his home. The brutes' growls and screeches were gone. Gone too was the rustling of the trees, and the bird noises. Most disconcerting was the absence of sound from the tribe. No voices or familiar sounds, Old Rab snoring or Lena arguing with Marick.
He tried calling out now as panic began to set in. With no reply his voice became more frantic. Suddenly a voice sounded. It was an alien voice, with raspy intonation and sibilant tone.
"Jord".
It was a calming sound but Jord was too panicked to be calm. Flinging himself back against the wall he tried to face the source of the sound. It seemed to come from in front but its source was as equally hard to place as the faint harmonics. The voice spoke again.
"Jord".
This time it sounded more directly in front of him and was accompanied by a gentle touch on his forehead. Instantly Jord could see. He was unsure just what seeing was as he had always imagined things based on their feel and sound. But he knew instinctively that he was seeing the being that appeared in front of him. He knew because his mind was instantly calm and he felt a deep sense of peace flooding through him from the touch. The being was still touching him and Jord's view was partly obscured by its hand and arm. Not so obscured however that he could see straight through it. It appeared to be made of swirly flashing light, muted and dim, and apparently encased in a translucent shell. It was roughly humanoid, having limbs, approximately 6 Jord guessed, though as they kept shifting it was hard to tell. The being was not apparently standing on the ledge but seemed to be floating just off the edge. Jord's instinct not to step off was well founded. As he glanced over the edge he saw an apparent drop of hundreds of feet to a dark still lake. This initial rush of sensory input overloaded Jord's brain so much that he brought his hands up to his face and covered his eyes. In doing so he saw his hands for the first time and was momentarily amazed before closing his eyes and sinking to the ground in an almost faint. The touch on his forehead did not cease; the being simply extended its limb to maintain the contact. It spoke again.
"Jord".
Now Jord opened his eyes again and looked directly at the being. It didn't appear to have a head as such, but rather a central mass of light, swirling and sparking just above the section that the limbs joined to.
He responded weakly, "What do you want?"
"It's not what I want but what you must become". The voice intoned. Its alien sound was even more disconcerting this time not just because it spoke in an absolute monotone but also because Jord couldn't see how it was making the noise. No visible mouth appeared to move when it spoke. Jord's exceptional hearing skills told him that the sound didn't even appear to come from the being at all.
"Come", it said and it drew Jord to his feet as if he had no will of his own. The limb was still attached and Jord now realised that maybe that was how he was hearing and seeing. It floated away from the ledge and Jord felt the solid ground disappear. He screamed in anticipation of falling but he just floated alongside the being.
"Don’t be afraid" it intoned.
Jord looked now for the first time around the cavern as that was what he realised this must be. Roughly the size of the meeting place across it was several hundred feet high. A dark still lake covered the entire bottom while the walls were lightly lit with an orange glow. The roof arched over him. By the time he had taken all that in the being had drawn him over half way across. Jord looked back to the ledge that his had been on and saw it was high up near the roof. They were now quite a bit lower and he realised they were slowly descending as well as travelling across the cavern. Shortly he was able to determine that there were a series of ledges similar to the one he had entered on. They were headed directly towards one on the opposite side of the cavern and as they drew close Jord could see that these ledges were slightly different from the one he had entered on. Approximately twice the size for a start, and the walls, while still smooth were not featureless. What could only be described as control panels were sunk into the wall at regular intervals. Jord was not overly astounded. Being a tribesman as well as this being the first time he had seen anything in his life he had nothing to gauge normal against. This alien technology was no more abnormal to Jord then the Whiteface's healing station had been. The being drew him onto a platform that seemed larger than all the others and looking left and right Jord could see that this platform also had more controls than the others. Three separate panels were embedded into the wall. The being stopped moving once Jord's feet hit the ground. Another limb extended from it toward the central panel and began manipulating it. Short sparks of light of various colours flashed brightly in Jord’s eyes. Shortly the creature extended a second limb to the panel on the left. After a couple of seconds of flashes two things started to happen. Jord saw a recess open under the left panel. It contained a pile of folded cloth. The second thing he saw was a section of the wall above the central panel dissolved and turned liquid black. It flickered momentarily white and black and then resolved into a featureless grey colour. Suddenly as Jord watched in fascination the grey turned into colours. Moving vibrant colours. Jord had never experienced anything so amazing. Sound accompanied the colours and suddenly he realised that he was seeing the meeting place. Arutha loomed large immediately in front of him and then suddenly vanished. Now the picture showed Lena and Marick. They appeared to be praying in front of the sacred stone. For once Lena wasn’t arguing with Marick.
Jord watched in amazement as the creature continued to manipulate the controls. It reached with another limb into the recess and removed a square of folded cloth. As he shook it out Jord saw that it was a coat. It looked like one of the jackets that Old Rab wore, only a lot newer. The creature pulled it around Jord and he instinctively thrust his arms in. Suddenly he felt tingling in his arms that quickly extended itself over his entire body. The tingling feeling was gone as quickly as it came and now he realised that the creature had withdrawn the limb that had been attached to his forehead. The picture of the meeting place on the wall expanded to around 4 feet high. The creature spoke again in its flat drone.
"Go and bring peace to your people".
Suddenly Jord felt himself propelled forward into the screen. He thrust his hands forward to stop the impact and they disappeared straight into the screen offering no resistance at all. A split second later the rest of his body had flowed through the transparent portal and Jord was back in the meeting place, standing in front of Lena and Marick who were still praying kneeling in front of him. Arutha he saw was behind him to his left and Old Rab had gone back to snoring on the bench. There were other tribe members scattered around in small groups, some standing and some sitting. As one they turned to face him and their mouths dropped open in surprise. Jord wasn't sure who was more surprised, he or they. He could see!
"I can see!" he called out raising his arms victoriously.
This broke the spell and suddenly he was surrounded by the tribe. Lena hugged him close and Marick rubbed his head and shoulders. Arutha peered at his face and suddenly poked two fat fingers toward his eyes. Jord jerked back in surprise and Arutha's face burst into a grin as his voice rose above the babble of excited questions and exclamations. "It is true, he can see!"

Urban Space Chapter 3

The four lads were sitting back watching TV. It was a fairly quiet night. They had eaten dinner, and proceeded to get stoned. After they had cleaned up the equipment, they had played games on the TV for some time. Then they had passed a joint around as they sat back to watch TV. They didn't pick a channel, but rather just turned it on and watched whatever showed. For some reason, there was an old documentary on about the Moving Rocks, the biggest rock band 15 years ago. As they watched it Chris noticed that the leader of the band was staring right at him. The leader suddenly stared directly at the camera.
"I am Darzzlegough leader of the Krecht" he said.
"And I am Sryjan, second in command", said the drummer. The camera turned to the bass player, who just stared and in a guttural voice growled, "I am your worst nightmare".
Chris stared petrified. The other guys were all watching the TV blankly, but none of them had seemed to notice what was going on. As far as they were concerned, the documentary was simply showing a music clip of one of the band's live performances.
The keyboardist was on screen now, and he said, "If you don't join us we'll get you".
Suddenly, a news photographer was at the front of the band taking photos. His flash was mesmerising, and Chris just stared. His body was in stasis, but his mind was overloading. Suddenly, the photographer turned around, and pointed his camera right at Chris. There seemed an eternity before he pushed the button, and the flash exploded in Chris's face, and the nightmare began.

The huge reptilian figure was covered in scaly plates of hard bone. There were a number of squat double-jointed legs around the semicircular base of the body. The body was actually oval in shape. It rose to a peak in the middle where four eyes bulged under a hard crest of bone. It looked more like a short centipede then anything else, but Chris was not noticing things like that. He was screaming harder than he had ever screamed before, long gut wrenching screams as he saw the four eyes just staring at him. In his peripheral vision, he noticed that he was lying on a cold wet sandy beach that stretched as far as he could see either side of him in both directions. The sea was sucking hungrily 20 feet behind him, and there were only low featureless dunes covered in a scraggly sea grass on the inland side - except for the creature. The sky was grey and featureless, he couldn't tell if it was day or night or if there were clouds or any thing. He couldn't move any part of his body except his face. He suddenly realised that he couldn't hear his own screaming anymore, and then it occurred to him that no one else could either. The creature's eyes all blinked suddenly. It was as if a piece of the hooded bone had shut; then as suddenly as it had gone down, the eyes were staring at him again. Although it didn't move, Chris knew there was absolutely no way he could get away.
"Join us" boomed a voice. The creature hadn't opened any orifice, and Chris couldn't see any remotely resembling a mouth. It still hadn't moved, and then he knew that its voice was in his head. "Oh yes you are smart, but not for long". Suddenly, an arm like tentacle uncoiled out from the body of the creature. The end was rounded and about the size of a pool ball. "Come on, we won’t hurt you". The voice was seductively soft and sweet now, but Chris seemed immobile, unable to control even what his brain did. He screamed again, and realised that he wasn't even controlling that.
"You’re not hurting our pretty one are you?" came a new voice. Chris's eyes swivelled from side to side, but couldn't locate the speaker. Suddenly a shadow loomed over him from behind. Looking back, he gagged, and then vomited violently as he caught a whiff of the stench of the new creature.
Roughly man shaped, although twice as tall as an ordinary man, this creature was menacing. His eyes were focused on Chris, and there was only hate in them. Suddenly Chris noticed the drumsticks in the creature's hand, then realised that the clothing it was wearing, although ten sizes too small and ripped from stretching onto him was the same as the drummer from the Moving Rocks.
"Oh yes my pretty" it whined again, its honeyed tongue laced with menace. "Remember me? My name is Sryjan". It reached out with its mind and Chris knew a moment of agonizing terror, as the creatures mind probe struck him. He caught glimpses of boiling mud, vast armies of similar creatures, fiery explosions, and agonising screams and through it all in the background, a maniacal laughter that grated every nerve in his body. Chris had no screaming left. He tried but there was nothing. The tentacle from the first creature started to caress his body. It oozed a substance that seemed to be acidic. As it touched his clothes, they dissolved in a small cloud of steam. The tall creature moved closer and bent his face over Chris's, and this time its voice was all menace. "You have one choice, come willingly or we will make you". Chris wanted to come willingly, he would have done anything, ANYTHING the creature asked, only to get away, but he seemed to have no control over his body, and with absolute terror, he felt his body hawk a lump of spittle up and his eyes saw it flung into the creature's face. It never moved a muscle, but simply let the spit slide over its cheek muscles, and then it exhaled in a short sharp breath. Once again Chris smelt the fetid breath, and almost fainted as it passed over him. But his fainting would have been short-lived if he had fainted. Almost without moving the creature suddenly beckoned to the oval shaped one with the tentacle. The tentacle lifted up and the end morphed. From being a hard round ball, it suddenly turned into a pair of tongs, with crystalline knife-edges. They quivered poised above Chris's abdomen, then with a single motion sliced into his skin, grabbed his right kidney, and wrenched it out. Once again it hovered motionlessly, the kidney glistening and viscera dripping onto Chris's chest. There were no holes and no visible scar. Chris's back arched in agony, and he uncontrollably thrashed on the ground. He wept and screamed, but his throat was so hoarse no sound came out, and then he retched. Vomit spewed up from his mouth and landed back on his face and streamed to the ground. The tall creature laughed unpleasantly. It reached for the kidney and plucked it from the tongs, which morphed back into the hard round ball again. Standing upright, the tall creature howled with maniacal laughter again and throwing his head back thrust Chris's kidney into his mouth and started chewing. His every bite seemed to be agony for Chris; it seemed as if he was still connected to the kidney now rapidly becoming mince. "You are", said the ovoid creature, and fresh terror swept through Chris as he suddenly realised what these two creatures planned to do.
Mercifully he fainted and the creatures and the pain faded away. With a sharp jerk he awoke in terror throwing the sheets off the bed as he realised it was all a dream.

Urban Space Chapter 2

At the same time Jord was stirring from his sleep behind the dumpster in the alley, Kat was stirring from her sleep in her bed. She lived in a 5 bedroom brick house in a wooded suburb of the city, in a fairly affluential area. Her parents had 2 cars, plus her car garaged in the 4 car garage, her brother had a dirt bike and there were 2 jet skis on trailers in a shed. She had her own room with a wide screen TV, sound system and her own computer. Her parents employed a cleaner, a gardener and a pool man to help with the maintenance of the property. Dad was a lawyer and Mum worked on charity events as an organiser and fundraiser. They were not socialites, but were fairly well known around town.
Kat was in her second year of university and at 19 had pretty much had life handed to her on a plate. However she was far from the model student and daughter she appeared to be on the surface and in public.
As she came awake to the dappled sunlight filtering through the blinds she could hear the noise of the leaf blower and guessed that the gardener was here.
She rolled to her side and reached for her organiser on the bedside table. Thumbing through to the entry for the day she remembered that she had to be at Uni early today for a tutorial before her lecture. The upside was that she had an optional afternoon session and had decided to go to the beach with some friends. Rising she showered and dressed in her bikini before heading downstairs. She would get the rest of her clothes later but for now she was hungry.
Opening the stainless steel double door fridge to get some breakfast she had a sudden sense of being watched and quickly looked around. Maybe the gardener was peering in the window at her. He was a tribesman and as much as her mother complained to her father about them, nothing would sway his decision to employ the man. No one was there however and she turned back to the fridge a little uneasy. She had never liked the gardener but she did get on well with Amy the cleaner. She was a robust woman, loud and cheerful and her presence made the usually cheerless house seem full of sunshine and laughter. Today it appeared that Amy was not here, but as usual she had left the house spotless. Her parents had obviously eaten out last night as the only plates on the bench were hers from last night. Settling onto a barstool at the bench Kat spooned the yoghurt into her mouth morosely as she glumly considered the upcoming tutorial. She had not studied for it but that shouldn't matter too much. No the reason for her glumness stemmed from her dislike of a class mate who had been assigned to work with her on the tutorial by the lecturer. Reaching for a banana she peeled it and bit into the top. Rising from the chair she put her bowl on the sink edge and turned to leave the room. A wave of goose bumps swept over her as she once gain felt as if she was being watched. There was no noise from the garden and looking out the window she could see the gardener just disappearing out the side gate dragging his equipment with him. What was causing her to feel like this? Silly girl she told her self - there's nothing to be afraid of. Yet despite her forced courage, there was uneasiness at the back of her mind. Walking back upstairs she paused by her younger brother's room. Chris was sprawled on top of his bed fast asleep. He was younger than her by 18 months and as immature as a baby still in her opinion. He had dropped out of school in the last year and spent most of his time hanging out with his mates playing basketball, skating and surfing. He was growing his hair long and was turning into a right brat. Not that I am all that much of a goody two shoes she thought. While Chris was open in his defiance of his parents, refusing to attend school, look for or a job or stop bumming around as his Dad put it Kat was more secretive. Chris appeared to live to party with his mates and she was sure he was taking money from her room to augment his allowance. She could smell cigarette smoke, unwashed sweaty clothes and worse and wrinkled her nose as she headed back to her room. Slipping on a denim mini, fashion-t and low heeled slides she headed for the bathroom to complete her makeup routine.
Looking into the mirror she spent a moment contemplating herself before busying herself with the routine of skincare and cosmetics. Looking back at her in the large mirror was a thin face surrounded by straight sun bleached blond hair. Her eyes were the only pretty thing she decided and she spent a moment making sure that she used mascara to enhance her eyelashes. Pleased with the final look her mind switched back to the upcoming tutorial and her unease returned. Maybe that was why she had felt as if she was being watched. She was sure that Martin had a crush on her. The way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. She really disliked the smooth faced teen with the charming Italian looks. He had shoulder length black hair in bangs and deep brown eyes and a way of charming the ladies that made her feel sick. The other girls in the class thought he was wonderful and he was always surrounded by a bevy of them giggling and hanging on his every word. But he seemed to only have eyes for her and that disquieted her. She had never had a serious boyfriend and was not sure that this smooth Italian stallion was the type she wanted. She certainly was not going to fall in love with him she told herself sternly. Concentrating on the tutorial would be hard with him there but she just had to do it.
Completing her self analysis Kat grabbed her keys, her hand bag, her book bag and her personal communicator before heading downstairs. Passing the linen cupboard she grabbed a beach towel for the afternoon. Heading for the garage she once again had the uneasy feeling but this time convinced herself that it was nothing but the thought of today's tutorial. Her mood brightened momentarily by thoughts of the beach and her friends returned back to the gloom that the upcoming tutorial caused.
Once in the garage she opened her car door and hopped in as she thumbed the remote door opener for the garage.
As the sunlight flooded into the darkened garage, she flipped her sunglasses down and looked over her shoulder as she reversed out. Hitting the street she thumbed the remote again. Kat never saw the dim figure standing in the corner of the garage watching her leave.

Monday, November 01, 2004

Urban Space Chapter 1

Sunlight sparkling off the crystalline facets of distant spires was not what roused Jord from his sleep. It would have had difficulty piercing through the murk to reach him anyway. Besides Jord was blind from birth and knew the sun only as warmth on his face. No, something else had caused him to stir earlier than usual. He rolled to his side and lifted his face to the morning air. Sounds and smells were his way of navigating through life. He had gone to sleep behind the midden, as usual, and at first his nose could only pick up the smell of rotting food. He concentrated on the sounds, but the distant honks and constant growling of the brutes as he called them were no different from usual. His keen ear picked other sounds. Lena and Marick were arguing as always. Lena’s thin voice drifted to him on the wind, cutting through the other noises. Judging from the distance she was probably out in the gathering place. Marick's sonorous rumble could not be understood as words, it was more an attempt to placate the constant barrage of abuse that Lena fed his way. Jord realised that it was only Lena's lack of importance in the tribe that caused her to act this way. No one took her seriously, except Marick, but then no one took him seriously either. Their arguing hadn't woken Jord, but something unusual had and he felt uneasy. He cautiously felt his way around the side of the midden and out into the open. You never knew what the Whitefaces were going to have done to his place in the night. The tribe existed here but it wasn't their place. It used to be until the Whitefaces came and made unnatural stuff. The tribe existed right in the middle of the Whitefaces and were largely ignored. Occasionally one of their enforcers would come and take one of the tribe away and there would be wailing and fighting. They usually came back days later talking in wonder of the places they had been. The Whitefaces had made straight caves and had wonderful food. But their hearts were with the tribe. Jord ran his fingers over the smooth edge of the midden, then twisted his body to the right and walked the three paces with his hand outstretched til he reached the edge of the canyon. Even these canyons were made by the Whitefaces. Before they came, the elders told around the campfire, this area was bush. Many of the young had gone to the bush, now far away, but for Jord this was not a journey he could make without help, and so far he had no life partner to help him.
Away from the stench of the midden, Jord's nostrils started to pick up other smells. The excrement of the brutes was acrid but not too invasive. Another smell began to permeate and his uneasiness grew. It was a smell that was harsh and oppressive, like the smell before a thunderstorm, only this was much worse. Something ominous was going to happen. Trailing his hand along the edge of the canyon wall, as he had done almost every day of his life since he could walk, Jord walked the few paces to the meeting area. This was a large open place built by the whitefaces for their open-air meetings. The tribe used a corner of it to meet. There was a sacred rock there. Jord knew why it was sacred but he didn't care. It wasn't sacred to him, but the elders said it was so he just agreed to keep the peace. All that stuff washed over Jord. Being blind made him more aware of reality than the others in his tribe. At least this was his belief. They were all so worried about the way it used to be before the Whitefaces came, and what they were doing to the place. To Jord, who couldn't see, this was kind of irrelevant. He lived here now - not in the past and couldn't understand the fuss. As a result he had never had any trouble with the enforcers, though he had once been taken to one of their healing stations. It was after the big fight. The one that had been included in the annals of the elders and its story was solemnly intoned with the rest of the tribal history every year at the big feast. Jord hadn't been involved in the fight. That had been caused by the Whitefaces taking exception to the words of Arutha, one of the tribe's leaders. He had protested the removal of the sacred rock from the meeting place, even going to the extent of binding his body to it. In the end both he and the rock were removed. The meeting place was filled with the hard smooth rock and the sacred rock was embedded in it, so Jord couldn’t see what the fuss was about. After all the smooth rock was easier to keep clean then the grass and dirt that had been there before. The Whitefaces said that they didn't want to hurt the tribe, just clean up the meeting place. Anyway the fight had been long and glorious. Even Jord had gotten involved swinging a tree branch around is head and howling with delight at being involved. A Whiteface had dodged his wild swings and grabbed him pinning his arms to his side. He had been put inside a brute, and the animal had taken him to the healing station. Here he had been poked and prodded, made to lie down and stand up and had many Whitefaces talk to him. He didn't understand most of what they said, but was able to tell them his name and his tribes name and they seemed to understand that. He did hear the word blind several times and guessed that was about his eyes. Eventually they put him back in the brute and he was magically transported back to the meeting place. The tribe hadn't even noticed he had gone, but then they didn't usually notice what Jord did anyway.
None of the other tribe members seemed to notice the smell the way Jord did. It burned in his nostrils now - growing stronger by the minute. Lena and Marick were still arguing; they almost never stopped. Arutha he could hear shuffling around the sacred rock mumbling to himself. He almost never left its side now and considered himself its guardian. That wasn't true of course; the guardians were the whole tribe. They were left the task of guarding the sacred rock until the Owners returned from the sky. Some of the tribe had thought that the Whitefaces were the Owners but that had been sorted out at the big fight. The Whitefaces did come out of the sky occasionally, but they were mostly ground dwellers. No the real Owners were enshrined in the legends of the tribe as beings of light, able to move immense distances instantly and who communicated with you by voices in your head.
Old Rab said he talked to them, but no one listed to old Rab much. He drank too much of the Whitefaces poison and spent most of his day in a stupor. Jord could hear his snoring now as a rattle as he exhaled followed by a long shuddering intake of air.
The smell was now acrid like the smell that followed a lightning strike. Jord had never seen one but he had heard the thunder boom, and the exclamations of the other tribe members telling him what they saw as the earthlight leaped to the sky. It was a sign the elders said of the earth calling to its Owners. But none of the other signs of a thunderstorm could be felt. The wind was still and unnaturally quiet, there was no smell of rain, and there was no thunder. Jord was almost panicky now and called out to the tribe.

"What's happening? What can you see? What is the smell? Is it the Owners?"
"Don't be silly boy" mumbled Arutha. "There’s nothing – you must have had a bad dream."
Lena stopped her tirade at Marick to peer at the boy. Lena was short-sighted and her face was perpetually scrunched up as she needed to squint in order to see who was talking. "Jord?" she asked. "What's the matter boy?"
Before Jord could answer it happened. An immense wall of sound covering all the audible points of the spectrum accompanied by a sharp inrush of wind was felt rather than heard. Jord instinctively grasped for something solid to anchor himself against what he felt certain was impending doom. Not being able to see he did not turn his head toward the glow of light that materialised in the small meeting area. The remainder of the tribe members who were present, not so physically handicapped, did turn as one, and stood transfixed at the sight.
Jord felt only the screaming wail of sound fade away and be replaced by a gentle vibration, a nearly inaudible humming noise. He turned reflexively to the sacred stone, which appeared to be the source of the humming noise. What happened next was confusing for Jord as a large amount of it was visual and his normal aural and nasal senses were overloaded with strange sounds. What did go down in the tribal history was what Arutha saw. A ephemeral being, apparently constructed only of light materialised in the glow as it waxed to a brightness greater than the sun ever was. Suddenly the glowing light snapped out and the being flowed forward toward the stone. Arutha later described it as liquid light, as fluid as the tall grass rustling in the breeze.
The sacred stone increased its humming noise, until the being touched it, and seemed to manipulate it. The sound stopped. The sacred stone appeared to open and the view Lena had from her perspective was that of a large cavern dimly lit from an unseen light source. The disquieting thing was that the cavern seemed to be larger than the entire meeting area, when the sacred stone only stood 4 feet tall. The being flowed inside and disappeared. The doorway remained open. Jord had by this time felt his way across to the stone, unaware of the being or of the other tribe members who were still frozen in place. He had felt drawn irresistibly to the stone and simply followed that urge as if controlled by an external force. Upon feeling the opening, he also slid his way carefully inside and disappeared from the view of the other tribe members. The doorway instantly disappeared.
This action was enough to break the spell. Excitedly gathering around the stone they all started talking at once, yammering and gesticulating wildly to each other.
"Quiet" yelled Arutha. They fell to silence in front of the elder. Even Old Rab, who had woken when the being appeared could tell that this was an important event for the tribe. Arutha raised his hand over the stone and seemed about to talk when Lena burst into tears.
"Bloody women" he mumbled and turned away from the others.
"Where is my Jord? What's happened to him?" she moaned.
Marick put a comforting arm around her shoulder but she shrugged it off. Dropping to her knees in front of the stone she scrabbled frantically at the rough surface trying to pry open the doorway that had swallowed her son.
Old Rab sighed. Out came a loud and deep exhalation of breath that caused more than a few to turn away due to the stench. He opened his mouth and began to recite.

From the realm of the light
Came the owner of the stone
Appearing to all
To one he would call
The least would arise
And take the prize
Though receiving the gift
He turned from his own
Yet through that same gift
He would claim the throne

The rest of the tribe turned toward Old Rab. Even Lena was stunned into silence. Arutha came round to the front of the stone and looked over at Old Rab. No one had ever heard him speak like that before. No one had heard more than gibberish from Old Rabs toothless gums for many years.
Arutha grinned suddenly and stretched out his hands toward Old Rab in the traditional sign of the blessing.
"Old Rab tells the truth!" he cried. "For this is a tale from even before my memory. I remember now the elders told Old Rab and I stories as we sat around the council fire in our initiation ceremony. Stories of the Owners and how they used to appear to men. Stories too fantastical to be true, and in our long years we only dismissed them as fairy tales. But I have finally seen, and Old Rab has reminded me. We have seen a miracle!"

A Novel by Timothy Miller (c) 2004

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Welcome to my novel written as part of the NaNoWriMo challenge in 2004. Feel free to make comments under each chapter.

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