47 Random Fragments - Paul Cudenec
47 Random Fragments - Paul Cudenec
47 Random Fragments - Paul Cudenec
Fragments of
Unauthorised Hope and Despair
Paul Cudenec
winteroak.org.uk
i
herded into smart prisons under the false flag of
fighting climate change.
ii
dystopia and in discrediting dissidents.
iii
diktats, in testing the actual limits of its
apparent total control by just saying ‘no’.
iv
It lands in a nearby garden where a little girl
picks up it and puts it carefully away in a special
wooden box in case it “might somehow prove
useful one far-off future day”.
v
1
1
2
2
3
Jack took the third exit and it gave him the same
shit all over again, except now he was at least 30
minutes late.
3
Clouds billowed peacefully in the mesmerising
blue sky. Fields were emerging between the
housing estates as he drew away from the
motorway and onto the Downs. There were even
clusters of trees that were on their way to
looking like small woods.
4
illegal manoeuvre. Your manoeuvre is illegal,
repeat illegal. Return to the recognised highway
at once!”.
5
or the rumble of the helicopter that they would
be sending out to drag him away.
6
4
“Yes...?”
7
birthday tomorrow – is that correct Mrs
Godwin?”
8
guests, plus administration charges and a legal
assistance element – that’s this phone call, Mrs
Godwin – so the total would be an excess of
£1,630 per annum plus a one-off payment of
£199. You’ll find, Mrs Godwin, that this is a very
competitive rate.
9
president himself just in case I’m lying to you.
Thank you so much for your help. Goodnight!”
10
5
11
But a summer where nothing grew, where the
sun reigned in the midday sky, the temperature
soared and nature simply failed to respond,
declined to grow green and lush and ripe.
12
6
13
7
Yeah, exactly.
14
I... Well,...
And it’s been like that the whole time I’ve been
working on it. 80 percent to 90 percent the whole
time. On everything.
Yeah, exactly.
15
Don’t ask me why. I could’ve left it, no problem,
but I just fancied it, right? You’ve got to do
something a bit different or you just fall asleep,
right?
So I get the thick arm and roll the rock out of the
way.
Yeah!
What?
16
Oh sure, yeah, but that’s as good as. I mean, you
wouldn’t catch me going anywhere near the
sodding place in real life.
What?
Yeah, exactly.
17
8
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To start with, it seemed to make no difference at
all.
19
He leant forward gingerly and peered outside
into the darkness, not daring to step too close to
the threshold in case it was interpreted as an
attempt to leave the premises.
20
That’s why there were so many people outside, so
many that even he could find the courage to
break the law, just this once.
21
trying to swallow and digest every last second of
this encounter with truth.
22
9
23
The sun reflected off their helmets, their visors,
their machinery and seemed to send piercing
rays of pain directly into her head. It had been
building up all day, despite the medication, and
this was pushing it up to a new level.
24
Or maybe it was just the look in her eyes as
witnessed by a dozen or more police.
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10
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the words. Perhaps they were only meant for
him.
27
11
His stuff was long gone now, after all those self-
deceiving years of pretending to believe that
“missing in action” didn’t really mean “blown
into tiny pieces of mincemeat” and that one day
he might triumphantly disembark off the slow
boat from China and reclaim his territory and
belongings.
28
autograph was an inkless impression that Robbie
alone had seemed able to identify and appreciate
for many years afterwards – right up, in fact, to
the day that...
29
It was hard to argue against the laws on window-
opening. There obviously was a huge security
risk attached, with the cost to the community of
any resulting call-out.
But still...
30
He turned to go and there was Helen in the
doorway, eyebrows distorted into a frown of
comic-book proportions.
He certainly wasn’t.
31
The fresh air was soon exhaled from his lungs
and that unbearable feeling returned.
He couldn’t breathe.
32
12
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atmosphere that was perfect for the brain-dead
conditioned consumers who breathed it in – all of
this was poison to me.
34
There I sat in my nothingness-bliss, tucked up in
the corner of the stairwell for a length of time
that was as invaluable as it was inevitably short.
35
I told him it was the first one out of the door –
that was why I’d come up this way – save some
time – couldn’t remember its name.
36
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This time, however, he had not been fooled, had
not pulled the wool over his own eyes to protect
his sanity.
38
14
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Although the electric pulse, transmitted by
microwave, is not strong enough to cause any
proven lasting damage, it is sufficient to act as a
powerful deterrent to any undesirable action.
40
15
Jake had tried to get her off the hook. He’d told
the headmaster that she had in fact instructed
him to follow the directions they’d been sent by
the education company and it was purely his own
initiative to deviate from that.
41
They’d said no, it was against regulations and
not permitted by their insurance policies.
42
A green hillside in the sunshine was the state of
your mind after you bought your medication
here. Lush mountain forests plunging into a
spectacular ravine were where you might just
end up if you booked your holiday there.
43
It had brought back traumatic memories of the
first time it had happened, when his mum had
been dragging him around the shops looking for
Democracy Day presents.
44
Jake had to concentrate. He had to steer his path
just right now, to prevent the cameras spotting
anything unusual.
– here.
45
back round into the Yellow Zone and then out
towards his home.
46
On his left he found something new – a yawning
door to a blue-glowing room from which the
industrial noise levels were pounding.
47
more concentrated than ever now and all merged
together.
48
the refuse firm – a general stink of filth and
neglect and decay.
His eyes felt a lot better now and his head was
beginning to clear.
49
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The papers on the counter fluttered. A breeze
came through the permanently open doors.
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prouder of his own personal ability to identify
facial warning signs. After all, the computer’s
knowledge was only a rationalised version of his
own unerring instinct.
That one was fine, and her, and the whole lot of
them, laughing and giggling over their shopping.
And here, amongst all the smiling, was a stern
face, furrowed and focused as he weaved his way
past the dawdlers.
53
He wanted a bit of a challenge, somebody to test
his wits a little so he could demonstrate to
himself yet again how astute he remained, in
spite of his advancing years.
And yet...
54
And as she did so, he accompanied her step by
step, face pressed against the glass, scrutinising
her every blink and reflex.
Yep, there they were. The van had pulled up, the
security hood was on and she was whisked off out
of sight, bags of shopping and all.
55
But then he had rationalised that no matter how
frightening the moment of rescue, the long-term
benefits were undeniable.
56
only thing his system had really achieved was to
train millions of miserable people to perfect the
subtle art of pretending to look happy.
57
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cost to others of your irresponsible actions, not
least the admirable Klang Corporation, and the
distress that may have been caused to members
of the public by your blatant act of theft.”
59
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Faith just couldn’t believe him, she really
couldn’t.
61
Dennis pursed his lips, turned away for a second
and when he span back had switched from
anxiety to anger.
62
“But you just can’t see it, can you Pete?
63
20
64
Simon was working on his pronouns all the way
to his stop, the sight of which penetrated his
shield of total absorption to drag him out of his
seat and off the bus.
65
And then there were the relationships between
the words, the structures on which the meaning
would depend.
66
He couldn’t stop himself fantasising about the
day it was finished, when he would take it out for
a trial run.
Yes, sing.
67
And then, at last, he would find out what it was
that, for all these years, he’d been feeling.
68
21
We just laughed.
Stupid cow.
69
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shortly before the sad conclusion of her old lady’s
prolonged demise. Mumsie will never ever leave
you now, little darling!
71
Somehow, someone discovered that in some
circumstances the brain’s faith in what it’s sent
along the optic nerves is twice as strong as what
it experiences in any other way.
72
My wife was hooked on it and, put bluntly, this
meant she required my services in bed pretty
much constantly.
73
I had to keep the gear attached, of course,
otherwise she would have realised and it would
have spoilt it for her.
74
Eventually, though, the anticipation was
replaced with impatience and I just had to get on
with it.
“Mmmm...” I said.
I said nothing.
75
“Who then?” she said, leaning over and stroking
my chest. “You can tell me...”
“Come off it!” she said. “You know I would. It’s all
part of the deal. I might give her a go myself,
some time, if she’s any good! Who was it,
darling?”
76
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you have failed to prove was not in fact the
primary purpose of your expedition.”
78
24
“And Mummy?”
79
“Daddy?” began the boy again.
“Mmmmm..?”
“Daddy?”
80
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become a regular occurrence at the department
and that was for sure.
82
there wasn’t anything remotely... that goes
without saying...” But it was too late. The
damage had been done.
83
Less than an hour later, Jared was back at
Alan’s side, with a print-out.
84
repeated attempts to mail it to Jack, this
amounted to at least six counts of terrorist
communication.
85
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So that just left the fences and once he was out of
sight of the road up from town he had plenty of
time to dismantle them and walk through.
87
Every time the message was unambiguous and
firm. Suicide is wrong and harms us all.
88
Planting his feet firmly as far forward as he
dared, he stood up straight.
89
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For ten minutes every morning, another five or
ten in the afternoon, she’d sit and type loads of
lovely keystrokes – without thinking about or
even looking at what she was writing.
91
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He said it had been clear that, despite the
introduction of the licenses, large numbers of
offenders had flouted the law and evaded the
£5,000 annual registration fee.
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“If,” the nurse continued, standing at the foot of
one of the half dozen beds in the room, all of
which were occupied. “If,” she said, “you do come
across a problem, this is where to go. This little
box here. First you press the red button for help
– that’s before you do anything else at all, have
you got that?”
Louisa nodded.
95
“Oh,” said the nurse, who had left but had now
popped her head back round the door.
96
humanity that somehow made the rest of the job
bearable.
97
She’d been too young to have talked to her
mother properly and she’d never known any of
her grandparents.
98
And this had seemed the right place to look –
until you got inside and found what a sorry state
these women were in.
99
“Did you get there?” she carried on. “You didn’t
miss it, did you?”
100
the clock face saying – now what was it exactly?
Time to Stop! That’s it! Time to Stop!
101
been waiting for. In fact, I’m sure it’s going to be.
I’ve got a feeling in my bones...”
But the old lady’s eyes were closed and she was
breathing deeply – fast asleep again in a couple
of seconds.
102
unascertainable. Mental confusion. 19/06/03.
June the 19th. “Tomorrow...” whispered Louisa
to herself. She couldn’t wait.
103
In effect, Feronia was speaking to her direct from
the past. This was no jaded old party-piece
recollection dusted off once more and brought out
to entertain the youth of today, but an original,
immediate memory, suspended for decades and
released, as if new, by some convulsion of a
wrongly wired brain.
104
progressed round the room, hoping she would
wake from her mysterious slumber and speak to
her.
105
“Yes, I missed it again, I’m afraid,” said Louisa.
“What happened today?”
106
“What day?”
107
“Oh,” said Louisa. “I don’t really know to be
honest. Some old waffle, you know what they’re
like.”
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She had seen the old man in the cafe before, but
had never spoken to him.
111
“Traffic’s backed up for miles. Buses aren’t
running. Trains are all cancelled. Nobody can get
anywhere.”
112
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m not really trouble.”
It had worked.
She shrugged.
113
buggered off again and that’s the last you hear of
it.
114
“Good,” said the old man. And then, after a
pause, added: “That’s something it’s very
important to learn as you go through life.”
That was it! She had him! She made the signal
and the snatch squads burst in simultaneously
from the front and back of the cafe.
115
Full admission of terrorist sympathies, plus
furthering the cause of terrorism by communicat-
ing those sympathies to a third party, namely
herself.
116
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It didn’t matter if people noticed. As far as they
were concerned, he was just happy to have
caught his train.
119
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120
“Yes, I know, thank you,” said Katrina somewhat
sharply. “We had one when I was at school.”
121
providers, who have already necessarily become
involved in this rather upsetting incident...”
122
“Life was hard for peepel in those Olden Days,”
said the sheet. “Everyday they were maid to dig
up all the feelds and they didnt have Tellyvissun
to enjoy and all they cood wach was the Hard
Mud and those ants that 8 there dinner.”
123
“Mrs Willoughby, I am sure you will in fact have
noticed that your daughter described a period of
time in which she claimed that members of the
public had, and I quote, ‘no chips’.”
124
She sat staring at the headmaster in a state of
shocked disbelief, unable for the moment to
expand on her objection.
“Mrs Willoughby...”
125
“Errrr... ha!” spluttered the headmaster. “This of
course revolves around the crucial issue of
whether the idea of being ‘right’, as you put it, is
devoid of all moral or ethical considerations and
in this...”
Katrina laughed.
126
“Mr Crowther,” she added, rising from her chair.
127
36
Unprecedented.
His mother was the same and had been so for the
last couple of days.
128
She could hardly wait for him to finish his
breakfast coffee.
129
about buying it – up until the exams had finished
three weeks ago, anyway.
“Mum?” he called.
130
“Yes, dear,” she replied, all wide-eyed in his
doorway.
131
Then he had second thoughts, took them out
again, ripped them in half and returned them to
the bin.
“Bye mum.”
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Total acceptance of the official line. Implicit
endorsement by the paper of everything that the
minister had said.
134
ladder of self-promotion, to be bothered by pangs
of either conscience or guilt.
135
site by the time news of the controversy reached
him.
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halt and onto the soil that was to be his
companion for a day.
138
As he sat on the trunk of a fallen tree high up on
a wooded ridge and surveyed the land, he felt
that the pleasure with which he had been
imbued had also reached a peak.
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Overegging the pudding, would be one way of
putting it.
142
representative here, left the event any more
aware of the issue than when they arrived at it.
143
According to Kate, it’s all about “Power running
out of Control” and “a Brutal System Crushing
Human Flesh Underfoot in its Quest for Profit
and Growth”.
144
Why exactly would our government want to blow
up thousands of its own citizens and carry out
attacks that are estimated to have cost our
economy in the region of £60 billion?
145
between what is right and wrong, moral and
immoral, about law enforcement and public
security in Britain today?”
146
not a bullet, such are the sensitivities of the
security sector in this time of unprecedented
terrorist threat (sorry Kate, I know that’s a
terribly Politically Incorrect thing to say).
147
As we waited in what was clearly some kind of
civilian staff recreation area for access to the
Horror of all Horrors, I found myself, for all my
usual hard-boiled cynicism, filled with a rather
unpleasant sensation that I guess must have
been trepidation.
148
the reply that would suggest that speaking to
anyone would not be entirely appropriate, or
which would, more subtly, steer me towards the
specific two or three so-called detainees that the
government wanted me to meet, rather than
random unreliables from the crowd.
149
fraud designed to hoodwink people, rather than
represent their views.
150
thinking behind it. As for the conditions here,
well...”
151
While they may try to frighten us with images of
poor souls locked away for no good reason, to no
good effect, the opposite is in fact the case.
152
through a £35 bottle of Claret at our local
brasserie.
He nodded.
153
For instance, after my brief conversation with
Trish, I did wander further into the centre,
unescorted, and discovered areas in a state of
filth that surely should not be tolerated in a
civilised society.
154
the Future!” bonanza in Hackney, and I know
that my judgement is sound.”
155
And most of the general public never read the
article, never saw the magazine.
156
Be that as it may, it had been Miller’s original
article, his own skill and subtlety, that had
allowed a crucial weakness to open up in the
opposition ranks.
157
Miller sighed. That was the trouble these days.
The war had been won long ago and well-
established security was simply not as thrilling.
158
And, before the word could fully form itself in his
mind, he grabbed a Blissax from the small table
at his side, downed it with a gulp of water and
turned his full attention to the e-crossword.
159
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160
42
161
He could still hear that she was talking. But he
couldn’t tell at all what she was saying and that
was all that mattered.
162
43
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“However, I do believe this is a one-off case,
regrettable though it is.
164
44
165
Was this the full extent of the freedom which I
had always cherished as my birthright – the
freedom to not be in prison?
166
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tests to identify any existent or latent kidney
problems.
168
“Financial incentives for wider participation
would be one way forward that we would ask the
government to consider.
169
46
170
The new man was dressed in a pin-striped suit
and had a softer expression on his face.
171
you to indicate your selection now. You have only
ten seconds remaining.”
172
For a second there was the slightest of
movements in her right hand, as if she was about
to key some buttons.
173
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photographs that they had been able to unload
without fear of prosecution.
These...
175
Having cleared a patch of ground close to the
back wall, he moved one box into place and
pulled it even further to pieces, spreading the
contents around so they would all catch the
flames.
176
social and dangerous activity and restore peace
and order.
177
fragments. He did well. There was no disorder.
The situation was not out of control.
178
The small girl was playing with the snails in her
garden when the shred of paper came fluttering
down from the sky.
“Iberty”,
179
particularly precious and might somehow prove
useful one far-off future day.
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Also by Paul Cudenec
NON-FICTION
FICTION
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