Author: admin (Page 28 of 51)

I can hardly believe we’re 12 days into November already.

So far I’ve managed a total of 30,154 words, comprising of over 13 chapters and 43 A4 pages of text. In the first week of Nano novelling I managed to write 21,742 words, about 2k more than I wrote in the first week last year. According to the stat calculator on the main Nano website I’m due to finish around November 19-20th at my current average per day.

The story is going well too. I actually feel like I’ve got some really good stuff written and some brilliant dialogue.

Writing a sequel has also been interesting. Until now I’d only ever written stand alone novels so to write something with characters I already know and respect has been great. I’ve found it’s made it really easy to just dive in and let them take the book where it needs to go.

I’m hoping to finish my second week of writing on about 37.5k or maybe a little more. My third week will probably be a little lower as I’ve got several interruptions but with any luck I’ll still get very close to finishing the 50k target sometime around the end of the third week and then keep chomping away at the rest of the books word count. With any luck I might even get so far in that I can finish this book this year.

This is the fourth film in the Bourne series although it doesn’t actually feature Bourne except for one instance where they show a photo of him taken from the passport in the first film and a couple of mentiones of his name.

The film follows on pretty much from where the third left off and follows the after affects of Bourne’s happenings in the third film, The Bourne Ultimatum, with a few scenes cut directly from there.

Aaron Cross is our new main character who is almost complete in his training in a not too different program to Bourne. He suddenly finds all the other trainess are dead around him and, just like the first three films, he then spends most of the film trying to survive while the US government use every resource they’ve got in an attempt to have him killed. So nothing particularly new from the plot, but that’s not entirely a bad thing. At least it’s equally well done same plot.

This film does focus a little more on the training side of things however, showing Bourne’s name scratched into a bunk where Aaron rests during training and it also goes into the science a good bit more behind how they get these super assassins.

Our damsel in distress turns out to be more interesting too. She’s got a brain and while not a killer manages to handle herself with much more dignity and sense than a lot of damsel’s do. I found myself liking her even more than I liked him and usually damsel in distress grates on me.

It’s not really as good as the first three but I was still entertained and I’m really interested in what might follow. They’ve left it open for a Bourne + Cross fifth film and I confess, that I would love to see.

The hostess encouraged people into their seats as Sherdan moved to the front of the train. He would need to change into a drivers uniform and alight with the driver. He didn’t want to raise suspicion too soon.

The driver was none other than the man who’d picked Sherdan up on his last train journey. He would come with them this time. His family were aboard the train and also joining them.

Sherdan had soon put on his new uniform and was standing with the chauffeur as the train pulled up. He couldn’t help but smile at what would happen over the next few minutes. So many people were going to be so surprised.

The train pulled to a stop in the station and Sherdan jumped down. He glanced around before hurrying towards the back entrance. He could hear other people beginning to disembark behind him. The hostesses on the train would also act as guards for everyone following him.

He pulled a radio out of his pocket as soon as he crossed the border of his land.

“I’m back. Proceed with the plan,” Sherdan commanded. He stepped out into the road as his usual car came sweeping up. It drove him straight to the command bunker where everything was being coordinated.

His men would already be overseeing the arrival of the new residents. He was eager to go head up the task before getting back to his home and Anya. He’d not seen her properly for several days and he found himself missing her even though it saddened him that she was so distant.

He snapped himself back from his thoughts of Anya as his car stopped and his chauffeur opened his door. There was work to be done and he had a responsibility to all those eager, happy people he had met today.

The smile on his face was broad as he walked into his command room. It remained fixed as Graham filled him in on what had happened during his journey. He could see everything that followed on the screens. Rows and rows of people walked into his country, while the army just stayed and watched. They could do nothing.

It only took half an hour for all the new residents to arrive. They were driven to their new homes where they were given the evening to settle in and explore their new country. He’d had welcome packs made up for each new home and the guards were out on the streets patrolling the new areas especially.

Sherdan stayed in the command room even though he wasn’t needed. He expected the army to attack again after what he’d done. There was no doubt that if taking the houses had made the Prime Minister angry, then sneaking in almost one thousand UK citizens would tip him over the edge.

If he had any sense then he wouldn’t attack Sherdan again as it would only lead to more of the same, but Sherdan didn’t expect him to think like that. They would attack again, he was sure of it.

While he was waiting, Sherdan went to see Hitchin. It was gone five in the afternoon but he knew Hitchin would still be working. The labs were his second home; perhaps even his first.

Hitchin was with the latest residents to take the enzyme when Sherdan arrived so he waited for his friend to finish. He didn’t have to wait long. Hitchin was not the kind of person to ever keep someone like Sherdan waiting.

“So, shall we go do those tests now?” Hitchin asked, before Sherdan could say anything.

“If it’s all right, I’d like to talk over something else first?” Hitchin raised his eyebrows but motioned for his friend to continue. “Will you go through your second vision with me again, the one concerning Anya?”

“Of course, if you wish.” Hitchin went to his desk and unlocked the top left drawer. He pulled out a small journal and came back to Sherdan with it. “I have it here, I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget anything important.”

“Tell me it again.” Sherdan smiled trying not to show his anxiety or doubts. He didn’t want Hitchin to realise he wasn’t sure of the whole thing. Although, he had no idea why he was so uncertain.

Hitchin repeated the whole vision again in pretty much the same way he’d told it the first time. Sherdan sat, listening and hoping it was true. He was more concerned about winning Anya than he was that his ability had gone, although Hitchin was evidently more worried about the tests and soon turned the conversation back to that subject.

“The good news is that you’re the only one who seems to be losing their ability. It doesn’t appear to be wearing off for me or anyone else from the earliest groups.”

“So I’m an anomaly?” Sherdan asked.

“There’s no way to know for sure yet. It’s possible that whatever gave Anya her power is having an affect on you. If it was something in your house, perhaps. Without a working sample of her blood it’s hard to say. It could just be that you’re overworked and tired.”

Sherdan smiled as he nodded his understanding. He felt relieved that at the least it only appeared to affect him. Everyone else was growing in their abilities. More tests would reveal what was wrong.

As Hitchin had requested last time, they went straight for an MRI. While he was lying, being scanned, he thought about all the things Hitchin had told him in the last hour. Anya had them both confused even if Hitchin didn’t want to admit it.

She kept claiming everything was her God. Whatever it was that had brought her to him and given her an ability, despite her not taking the enzyme, it seemed to want her to have the upper-hand and wasn’t going to allow him to control her.

He had only one option open to him. He’d have to win her over the old fashioned way, with romance.

Hitchin wanted to do further tests after the MRI, but before Sherdan could let Hitchin study his brain further they heard the sound of an explosion. They were being attacked again.

Sherdan leapt up and ran towards the command centre without even saying goodbye to the scientist. The assault he’d been expecting had finally come. The radio in his pocket called for him just before he pushed open the door and walked into the command room.

“Bombs and missiles, no paratroopers yet,” his commander said swiftly. Sherdan nodded and went to his station, awaiting further information.

The rest of the evening flew by in a haze of bombings. As usual, the army was completely ineffective. The only problem that arose was calming the new residents who got scared.

A few of them left their houses and refused to go back inside until Sherdan dispatched a security team to help calm them down and get them back to a safe place. The patrols had stopped only half an hour before the attack.

By the time Sherdan could leave his duty station and go back to his home and Anya it was almost midnight. He didn’t expect her to still be awake. As normal, his work was getting in the way of spending any time with her. He knew it had to be this way but his heart felt heavy nonetheless.

He went to pour himself a drink and take half an hour to unwind before he slept. He could sit and think of ways to endear Anya to him.

He had just got comfortable in his favourite chair when he heard the soft pad of familiar feet on the carpet. He looked up to see her in the doorway.

“Good evening. You’ve been very busy,” she said. He smiled.

“I’ve had a lot to do. I think the worst of it has only just begun, however.” Anya nodded. “I’m sorry. I’ve left you alone a lot.”

“That’s okay, I’ve been watching what you’ve been doing on the news.”

“Have they said much?” he asked. She laughed and nodded.

“Yes, I’ve found out more about your plans watching TV than you’ve ever told me.”

“I like to surprise people.”

“Maybe. I think that you’re not used to trusting people.”

“You’re probably right.”

“So what’s next?”

“More of the same. While they continue to attack we will continue to expand. I hope the UN will recognise us before it gets too out of hand. Our case is stronger now we have both extra ground and over fifteen percent more citizens,” Sherdan said, being truthful with her.

“Well, I best get some sleep and let you do the same.” Anya walked towards the door.

“Stay,” he called. She stopped and looked at him expectantly. “I’m not tired yet and I’d appreciate some company.”

After a brief pause she came to sit near him. There was a silence as she simply sat still and waited. He racked his brains for something to say to her.

“How is your art going? Do you still have everything you need?” he asked. She hesitated before nodding.

“It’s going well, thank you for asking.”

“Good. I know it’s hard for you to be here. If there is anything else you need or want to make things easier just let me know.” Sherdan smiled as she looked up at him.

He’d surprised her and he hoped it had a lasting impact.

“Can I see some of your work?” he asked. She nodded and went over to his desk. He hadn’t noticed before now that her sketch book was lying there. She passed it to him and sat back down.

He smiled at her as he opened the first page. On it was a relatively simple sketch of a vase of flowers. They were roses but the petals looked like they were melting and dripping onto the surface below. He flicked to the next page where there were just a few doodles of patterns and single items. He recognised one of them as being the pattern on the ceiling in his dining room.

The third page held his attention for some time. It was a winged man standing on the edge of a cliff. Sherdan wondered if it was deliberate that it looked like him from behind. He wanted to ask her who she’d intended it to be but couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Do you like them?” she asked. He looked at her to see her sitting forward. Her eyes darted to the pad and and back to his face. He smiled.

“I do. You’re very good,” he reassured her. She grinned. “Do you do portraits?”

“I… I’ve done some a long time ago as part of art school. People aren’t very easy though.”

“Would you consider drawing me?” he asked, suddenly.

“I’m not sure. I’ve not tried to do someone’s portrait in a professional capacity before.”

“Well it’s only a whim of mine. I doubt I’ll have the time to sit still and let you draw me for as long as you’d need.”

“You expect to continue being so busy?”

“Unfortunately yes. I’d like to try and spend more time with you, however.” Anya blushed a little. I enjoy getting away from work and talking to you.”

“All work and no play kind of thing?”

“Something like that, but I really do like being with you. I’d appreciate it if you’d consider helping out with the country while you’re here.”

“In the command room?” Anya asked.

“No, probably not. I only have my experts in there. It helps keep things simpler, and it would actually put you in more danger,” Sherdan lied. It wouldn’t put her in danger unless someone outside the country thought she knew things, but he didn’t want her in the command room. She was an artist and didn’t belong in that kind of place.

She nodded and the conversation ended. She didn’t ask where he had meant. He didn’t really know anyway. He only mentioned it because he wanted to give her a reason to stay and be happy here.

He handed the pad back to her and thanked her for the privilege of seeing inside. He made a mental note to look at her previous artwork on the internet. He felt sure he would find something online as she said she’d been making a living from it.

They talked about the news and the outside reaction to the recent things Sherdan had done for a few minutes before Anya yawned. He wanted to ask her questions but he realised it would be better to let her sleep. The nightmares he’d caused were making her tired.

“Will you tell me more about what’s in the news tomorrow evening?” he asked as she got up to sleep.

“Yes, if you wish.”

“Very much so. It helps a lot to know what people of influence are saying and I can only spare so much time to find out myself.”

“Then I’d be delighted to do so for you,” she replied. He got up and hugged her. She looked shocked but allowed it, although he wasn’t sure why he’d suddenly felt like doing so.

When he let her go, she stood in front of him with her eyes downcast. There was an awkward silence while he watched her fidget.

“Well… goodnight Sherdan.”

“Goodnight Anya. Wake me if you have another nightmare and need some company.”

She hesitated, then left. Sherdan went back to his seat and poured himself another brandy. He felt like he’d made a little progress but not very much. It would take a considerable amount of time to get her to trust him.

At least now he had a very good, work related reason to talk to her for a little while each day. He would do his job better knowing what was being said about Utopia and himself in the public sphere and get to show Anya he cared at the same time.

The important thing over the next two or three weeks would be to make himself special to Anya in someway. He didn’t entirely know how to do that but knew someone who would. Sherdan put down his empty glass and wandered through to see his security team.

“Nathan, have you got a few minutes to come to my study?”

“Of course sir.” Nathan leapt up and followed Sherdan back to the room he’d come from. Sherdan offered him a drink and a seat. He declined the first but took the latter.

“What can you tell me about Anya, Nathan?” Sherdan got straight to the point while pouring himself a third drink.

“Anya, sir?”

“Yes, I want to romance her, let her know I care about her, but I want her to think I’m genuine and none of my usual… methods, are working.”

“Do you genuinely care sir?” Nathan looked uncomfortable saying this but Sherdan was pleased he was so frank with him. He thought about the question for some time and sat down as well.

“I believe I do, at least I care for her more than I normally would care about a female. I’m not used to feeling particularly attached to anyone, however.”

“She’s a Christian. She’ll expect to be respected as such. You might start by listening to her about exactly why and what she believes. It will help her see you care for her as she is and that you’re not trying to change her into something else,” Nathan explained. He smiled.

Sherdan didn’t know whether to feel disgusted or agree. Nathan was right but that didn’t mean he liked the suggestion. So far he’d only told Anya he thought her beliefs were stupid and that wasn’t the most endearing of attitudes.

“I don’t have to believe in it too do I?” he asked.

“No, I wouldn’t expect anyone would believe that was genuine, but being a little more open couldn’t hurt. She’s an adult with a sensible mind. There’s got to be something important in her decision to believe in the Christian faith.”

“Well, open is something I can finally say I am. There have definitely been some things that even stump Hitchin, but I don’t think I believe in all this maker nonsense. Christians refute so much of the proven science we have.”

“Just ask her to explain some things about her faith. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

“Any other suggestions?” Sherdan waited as Nathan looked thoughtful.

“I think she’s bored and lonely. Your time and company would do a lot to help her. She also has a soft spot for animals, more so than a lot of people. I’d consider getting her a pet while she’s here. It would give her companionship. Maybe a cat, they’re lower maintenance and Anne likes them too.”

“Thank you Nathan. I think that’s a good start.”

“You’re welcome sir. If I think of anything else I’ll let you know.” Nathan got up before he finished speaking. Sherdan waited for him to leave and continued to think over what he’d been told. He didn’t like the idea of talking to her about God but he could spend a little more time with her and surprising her with a kitten would be easy.

He got up from his chair and went to his laptop straight away. He sent an email to the girl who could talk to animals and requested for her to find him a particularly affectionate kitten. He told her it was for a friend of his who was missing the family she’d left behind in Britain and he wanted to make her feel less lonely by giving her the cat.

With a much lighter heart, and a fresh plan, Sherdan headed upstairs. It was gone four again. He checked on Anya, who appeared to be sleeping better, before collapsing into his own bed.

I finally caved in to the amount of people telling me I should read this book and borrowed the trilogy from my mum. I already had some expectations from the few things people had told me. Mostly that although kids killed other kids it was about something deeper than that and much more character and humanity based than about killing. What can I say, I’m a sucker for character driven stories regardless of plot.

The book started off well. Katniss is a fairly loveable character and believable for her age, which is only sixteen. She has an older male friend and a younger sister and mother she looks after. She hunts, she’s confident and she’s my kind of main character.

The book doesn’t waste too much time getting to the point where she ends up knowing she’s going to be part of the next hunger games. Basically a massive gladatorial style games where the participants are teenagers but the viewers are typical roman elite style people, but in the future rather than thousands of years ago.

She then spends the next half of the book, getting to terms, training, being driven around the capitol (where the elite live) and generally trying to win over the hearts and minds of the people who are about to watch her kill or be killed.

As you’d expect, both her and the boy with her aren’t too happy about this. He isn’t as strong or as prepared as her so he thinks mostly of going out in a way that somehow shows the makers of the games that he wasn’t playing by their rules and mostly she can only think of surviving.

The games themselves are described well. You feel the pain and fear and although I expected some kind of display near the end that lets the game makers know they’ve not won I was actually taken by surprise by what happened right at the end.

The book felt very well thought through and I really liked where it went and what it focused on. Katniss was a brilliant character who’s emotional turmoil at what she had to go through was expertly told. My only slight complaint was her not being quite bright enough but to be fair for a sixteen year old in her circumstances it probably would have been less believable to have her as intelligent as I’d have liked. There would have been less supporting side characters then as well and I liked all those too.

Yes folks, it’s halloween today. The one major holiday in the UK I don’t really celibrate. Now don’t get me wrong, I like an excuse to eat chocolate but this celebration just doesn’t sit right with me.

The good

There are some good things that come from people celebrating Halloween so I thought I would start with those. Firstly, there’s the giving of chocolate and other sweets. I think this is pretty cool. It’s one of those times of year people are actually willing to open their doors to potential strangers and give them something nice.

Secondly, it encourages people to get to know their neighbours a bit. Kids go around, often accompanied by their parents, and knock on the doors down their streets. In a day and age where people keep more and more to themselves it’s quite nice to see people talking, even if only for a moment.

The Bad

This event is actually based on the All Hallow’s Eve celebration. Basically a night of the year when all the demons, ghosts and other nasty spiritual things are supposedly getting a last evening to get vengeance on anyone they wish before All Saints day when they get moved on from this earth to wherever they are actually meant to be. If that’s not something you believe in then I can see that not being a problem for you, but if you do have some belief in the more spiritual side of things, is it really wise to be celebrating this?

Also Halloween has moved on from this to other things. It’s become tradition to watch horror films, tell ghost stories and generally try and make people feel scared. I’m all for people understanding death and the consequences of it but I think horror movies and the like take that too far.

I also think the trick aspect of halloween can go too far, especially if teenagers are involved. People’s houses get egged and sometimes people themselves and that’s considered one of the more minor tricks. Admittedly this only seems to happen in certain places.

The Ugly

My final dislike of Halloween is the costumes. It’s normal for people to dress up as some pretty nasty things, from goblins, ghosts and other monsters plus things like witches and wizards, the uglier the better. Originally people wore masks on Halloween to hide themselves from the things lurking to possibly get vengeance on them, not to pretend to be the ones getting vengeance!

Essentially it’s an evening that appears to reward kids, with sweets, for pretending to be evil and I just don’t like that as a concept.

I much prefer the idea I heard of a few years ago of kids having a superhero party. Instead of dressing up as something unpleasant, all the kids dressed up as their favourite characters from films and books. The guys that keep us safe from evil. Not only does it fit better with the original idea of the evening, it’s a much lighter way for people to have fun.

 

Ice age 4: Continental drift is the next one in the series. Not that there is really that much ice left but science isn’t really the strong point of this series anyway.

The third one of the set was my favourite so far and unfortunately I didn’t think this one was quite as good. Now don’t get me wrong. I laughed my head off at various points, especially when those little creatures you see riding on manny’s back appeared. They were pure awesomeness.

I also really liked the cast. They had the actor who plays both Tyrion Lannister in game of thrones and Trumpkin in Prince Caspian as Captain Gut, Peter Dinklage, and he’s fast becoming a favourite actor of mine.

On top of that there is Wanda sykes, who also plays they skunk in over the hedge. She’s Sid’s granny in this and does a perfect job. And I can’t forget Nick Frost, J Lo and Seann William Scott.

The plot was frankly ridiculous and one more step far fetched than even ice age 3 was but it didn’t seem to matter. It was funny and funny was what they were aiming for.

I have absolutely no idea how they would follow it up with another film but I thought the same thing after the second and third so I’m not going to say it’s impossible. The film will definitely be added to my to buy list and if they do somehow make a fifth I’ll be going to see it at the cinema for sure.

This is one of those subjects I’ve debated several times in person and one that was struck up by some friends recently on twitter. I chose not to really get involved on twitter as I hate debating on such a limited social network but I am not great at leaving this topic of conversation alone.

From what I can gather the rough comment that sparked the debate was – Logical people can be creative, but it’s creativity within logic. Creatives can be creative outside this.

I mostly agree with this statement although the outside this is a little ambiguous and does imply a lesser creativity is harnessed by logic to the creativity harnessed by artistic means. That part I don’t agree with. Both are important and needed in life.

Let’s start with the fundamanetal of what a person does whether aristic or logical, making a song or writing code. Both types of people are taking a blank canvas of some kind and are filling it. They are taking nothing and turning it into something, therefore on the basic level something has definitely been created!

The biggest difference is why they are doing so. A logical person probably has some kind of job (or is studying for one) that involves taking a problem, like how to stop all the harmful gas in a mine being leaked into the air or how can we make a more efficient car that runs more cheaply for an average family. There is a problem and solving it provides some kind of gain to our way of life, preserving the planet, saving us money, saving lives etc.

An artistic person can create for a much wider set of reasons (not necessarily more or less important). They might feel hurt and wish to create something that comforts others in similar situations, they might feel it necessary to challenge a particular worldview or opinion to ensure humanity doesn’t go down a dark path. They might not even know why they are creating but feel the need to do so anyway and express what’s inside them in the hope to gain clarity.

Notice in the logical examples it is some kind of physical need, in the artisitc examples it is all centered around feelings, emotions and morals.  This is what is drawn on to create our new thing, whatever it is. An artist often draws on the emotional side of things to create, often creating their best work when they have freely explored that emotion, often in a very unlogical way (the brain often just dredges up all the associated experiences they’ve ever had that relate in no logical order).

A logical person sometimes has a brief of what their project has to do and they set about thinking through how that is going to be solved. Often the process going on in their brain is as subconscious as the process going on in an artistically creative’s brain. They are trying to come up with the best solution to the problem but often their emotions are unengaged. My husband frequently tells me that he can’t code and think about coding while angry or even happy. He has to focus on something that is neither of those and similar to the process of solving a sudoku he goes through a bunch of logical steps (drawing on previous knowledge and understanding often subconsciously) to solve the task.

Then comes the editing side of things, A coder checks for bugs and might tweak code to make it more simplistic – the aim is an elegant coding that solves every part of the initial problem. Again another rather logical process. It’s not a fun stage of things. It requires being critical and deliberately looking for flaws.

A songwriter tweaks odd words, and checks for jarring notes – the aim is a graceful piece of music and lyrics that conveys the message it’s meant to. It can seem more logical. It is when all the technique and knowledge is applied but it’s still done from an emotional position. If a word can be changed because the new word conveys more of the emotion intended it is. Words have meaning which goes beyond face value. They drudge up memories, thoughts and associations that the artistically creative draw upon. The same with colours, textures and visual effects. This can often be a painful process for the artistic. They are looking at the creation that has often come from a very vulnerable emotional part of them and they are examining it critically for flaws.

The wonderful part is both logical creativity and aristic creativity brings satisfaction to the creator once it is complete. Both have strived for beauty and elegance in what they have created and both get the same sense of achievement when they manage it, they have simply done so by drawing on different states of mind. One the logical need to solve a problem, the other the emotional need to solve what is also considered a problem of some sort. The problems are just set by different things physical needs or emotional/moral needs.

It also comes intuitively. Neither task requires the problem solver to tell their brain which method of creativity to use. I’ve never had to sit down with a sudoku and tell my brain to turn off it’s emotions and just apply the logical things it’s learnt. It knows to do that. Likewise I never have to sit down to write a poem and tell my brain to focus on the relevant emotion. It knows to do that.

Most of the time we find ourselves better at one of these processes than the other, either drawing on our emotions or the logical knowledge we’ve picked up during our life. They both come with their stereotypes. The mad scientist who forgets everything but the speed of light and spends hours studying light’s properties but ten seconds putting their clothes on and the artistic person who doesn’t care if they’ve eaten as long as they’ve made the world think about the importance of love.

Different but both important and, in their own ways, both beautiful.

Sherdan sat in his chair at the command centre. He thought everything was going well, if a little slower than he’d like. He watched the screens at the end of the room as he usually did. It didn’t give anyway near as much information as he wanted but for now it was the best they had.

As the guards were busy, Sherdan didn’t want to interrupt and slow them down. He tapped his fingers impatiently and let his thoughts drift to Anya. She’d repeatedly requested his company then hardly said more than a sentence to him at a time.

He drifted in and out of his thoughts while watching over the developments of the day. Several times Graham interrupted his daydreams just as they were drifting to his imaginings of getting Anya into his bed. She was an attractive young woman and occasionally he really could not help thinking of her like that.

His command room wasn’t the best place to be thinking those thoughts, however, so he made more of an effort to steer his mind back to his work when he had been interrupted for the third time. He thought of all the weird things that had happened since she arrived instead, and what it might mean.

The first time anything weird had happened in his life was back when he’d known Sandy and Professor Carmichael. Then he had put it down to science that was yet unexplained but now he found himself wondering if he had been too closed to possibilities. So many more weird things had happened since Anya had arrived that he wondered if he had to rethink his earlier interpretation of those two as well.

Graham soon interrupted his brain’s meanderings on that score too. There was work to monitor and, even though Sherdan was doing very little, his opinion was needed on most of the decisions.

The day was long but Sherdan went home satisfied. Everyone who needed to had left. The three students who hadn’t been in their house when the evacuation had started had turned up at about three in the afternoon.

Sherdan had managed to have them moved into the area as another family were leaving. Interestingly all three of them had requested to join the program rather than be kicked out. They were studying graphic design at Bristol’s second university: the University of the West of England.

It made Sherdan stop and think for a bit before he gave an answer. They reminded him of Anya, especially when they said they were studying something artistic. As the after-effect every thought of Anya had, he found himself feeling more compassionate and he eventually said yes to their request.

When he got home it was almost four in the morning. He was glad that none of the new residents were arriving until the following afternoon. He checked in on Anya on his way to his room. She didn’t look peaceful at all.

Her face poured with sweat and she was curled up on her side with her knees drawn up against her chest. She gritted her teeth, evidently in pain. Sherdan rushed over to her to wake her up.

“Anya, you’re having a nightmare.”

She sat up with a jump, disorientated. He perched on the edge of the bed as she started crying into her hands. She didn’t look at him or even acknowledge he was there. After a moment’s hesitation he sat beside her, put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

“It was just a bad dream, you’re safe now,” he whispered. She sobbed against his chest as he stroked her hair. He waited for her to stop and calm down while he enjoyed having her so close to him, although the reason behind it pained him greatly. He’d never felt anything so bitter-sweet.

As her crying ceased she pulled away. She seemed ashamed to be seen and neatened her hair with her hands.

“Is it more nightmares about what happened?” he asked. She nodded. “It won’t ever happen again, I promise. You really are safe now.”

Sherdan tried to look her in the eyes to reassure her but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He knew she didn’t really believe him.

“I wouldn’t have allowed it had I known you like I do now. Had I known how important you are.”

“I’m only important to you because of Hitchin and I don’t believe he’s right. I definitely don’t like the way he talks about me.” Sherdan looked away. He didn’t want yet another argument. “I’m sorry, I just don’t believe you, but thank you for waking me and checking I was okay.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t like to see you upset. I mean that.”

“I don’t hate you for what happened but I’m not sure I belong here.”

“I’ve told you that you’re free to go.”

“Would I be free to go if I wasn’t able to walk out without you stopping me?” she asked. He paused and looked away, seriously considering his answer.

“If I knew you weren’t happy here then, yes, I think you would, even if it made me sad doing so.” He looked deep into her eyes as he replied, hoping she would believe him. She smiled but looked away.

“There’s no way to know for sure now.”

“I’ll let you rest,” he replied and got up. The divide between them was so large sometimes he doubted even Hitchin could be right. He made a mental note to run the vision by Hitchin again and check that he had interpreted it right.

When Sherdan’s alarm went off at seven, he immediately turned it off and rolled over, falling fast asleep again. Less than three hours sleep was just not enough. Anya woke him at nine, her concerned face was the first thing to come into focus properly.

“You overslept,” she said as if it explained why she was in his bedroom with nothing but some flimsy pyjamas on. He smiled at her.

“I’m not sure I mind if you’re what I wake up to.” She blushed and went to leave. “How did you sleep after I left you?”

“Well… Thank you.” Anya left but before he could follow Graham called for his attention on the radio. He didn’t sound happy. Sherdan assumed he had called several times and it had woken Anya too.

“I’ll be right there. Give me a few more minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” came the relieved reply. Sherdan sighed. He had so much work and all he really wanted to do was spend time with Anya before it was too late and she left.

He said goodbye to his distant companion and walked out of his house. Breakfast would have to wait.

A few last minutes preparations were needed before he could go meet the new arrivals. The new recruits were joining today, despite government warnings to stay away, and threats of arrest for anyone seen with Sherdan. Therefore, he felt it necessary to go meet them all and escort them personally into their new country.

His commander fidgeted while Sherdan ran through some of the day’s plans. Sherdan was intending to leave him in charge of the country while he was gone and he had already expressed concern over it.

“Are you sure this is wise?” Graham asked half an hour later.

“Of course. It shall be fine.”

“Last time was a close thing sir. I’d hate for you to get caught.”

“I won’t. I’ll have a team with me.” Sherdan left the command room before Graham could say anything else.

He went straight back to his house and into his car. His chauffeur drove him through his usual tunnel and out into what was now a separate country. The driver travelled all the way to Bath and dropped Sherdan off at the Bath Pavilion.

On entering the building he was snuck behind the scenes before any of the people milling about noticed him. There weren’t many there yet but there would be. They’d all been invited elsewhere and were being brought here by his own people to make sure the British Government didn’t know anything about it.

Sherdan stood on the other side of the curtain, watching the people gather. It took almost half an hour and everyone was served drinks while they waited. There weren’t quite as many as had been invited but that was to be expected. The way things had gone the last few weeks he understood that the Prime Ministers ramblings would have put some of them off.

He had to wait for almost an hour until one of his team came up and said everyone who intended to come had arrived. Sherdan allowed everyone a few minutes longer to come through to find seats and drinks.

When he stepped through the curtain silence immediately fell and every eye fixed on him. He smiled and walked right to the centre. Every little fidget and awkward cough could be heard by Sherdan as well as every one of his deliberate footfalls.

“Good afternoon everyone. I sincerely thank you all for travelling here, many of you a very long way. It means a lot to me and my residents that you all wish to join us, despite the slander and lies being spread.” Sherdan smiled and paused as he looked around at all the eager faces. They trusted him to give them a better life than one the current government had given them. They wanted change; something different. His heart swelled. He could give it to them.

“As you are aware, it is currently not very easy to access your new home, Utopia. We’ll all be leaving here very shortly to head there. You will all need to move quickly and efficiently and go where you’re asked. Of course, for anyone still unsure about joining, now is the time to say so. It is quite possibly a one way trip.”

Sherdan smiled again and jumped down from the front of the stage as the first wave of applause broke out. People soon began to come up to talk to him but he simply encouraged them to follow.

He walked to the front door with a wave of people like he was a prophet leading his followers, and got into the stretch limo which pulled up outside. The few people right behind hesitated before the chauffeur waved them into the car. The first seven followed Sherdan and sat down around him.

The second the car started he struck up a conversation with his fellow passengers. First impressions were so important. He was treated as a celebrity at first. All of his companions were shy and nervous but he soon put them at ease.

They were understandingly apprehensive about the journey and what would happen to them, but Sherdan did everything he could to reassure them that they would be okay. There was safety in numbers and they were adding significant numbers that day. Over one thousand.

Sherdan put all their fears to rest in the hour journey that ensued. They had all been driven north to a small, private, disused railway station. Today, however, the station was very much active and used. A magnificent steam train stood puffing a great plume of smoke into the otherwise quiet air.

There were murmurings amongst the arrivals as they saw the train. Many long, luxurious carriages had been attached to the steamer. Each carriage had wine and nibbles aboard as well as very comfortable seats.

The passengers soon came flowing aboard and Sherdan alighted in no particular hurry. It would take a few moments for all the cars to arrive and everyone to be seated.

A hostess service was already on board, passing people drinks and encouraging them to be seated until the train started moving.

As each carriage filled up, Sherdan moved through, greeting people, shaking hands and making small talk. Many of them had relaxed, finally feeling safe and taken care of. Sherdan was thanked repeatedly for being there despite the risk of capture.

He smiled as the train started moving and their journey to Utopia began. There was a railway station in Bristol which had a back entrance leading into Utopia. The army checked each train carriage as well as the people exiting the front of the station but they couldn’t get past the platform to the rear entrance thanks to Sherdan’s emitters.

With the train being a privately owned vehicle, and only registered to pause there for a moment to let another train go past, no one would even expect people to be arriving on the train.

Sherdan had only moved a third of the way through the people when the train began to move. From that point people got out of their seats and started milling around. He soon found himself surrounded.

“What’s it like, running a country?” a bright-eyed young woman asked him.

“Difficult. There are lots of rules, and people to keep happy, but it’s rewarding. Every day I get to see my decisions making a positive difference to my citizens.” Sherdan smiled. It was just the kind of question he’d been hoping someone would ask.

“You actually think it makes a difference?” a man in his fifties piped up.

“Of course. I can see the difference in my residents already. They’re happier now they have a greater sense of purpose, coupled with the security I can provide.

“This security, you’ve obviously got some fancy new technology. What is it?”

“It’s true we do possess some equipment the rest of the world doesn’t own yet. I probably shouldn’t go into too many details right now as it will be covered in your information seminars tomorrow.”

Several looks of awe spread over the faces of the people listening at this latest answer. He thought he’d get a reaction from this but it was even better than he had hoped.

“Without giving too much away, it was developed right here in the heart of my little country by a man not too dissimilar from yourself, Mr Jameson. A man who thought the best of life had passed him by.”

Mr Jameson smiled and shook Sherdan’s hand. Everyone murmured amongst themselves as Sherdan moved on down the carriage to some fresh faces and new questions.

He could hardly wait until he was back in his country with all the new residents. They would have quite an impact on the United Nations in persuading them to recognise Utopia as a new country.

On top of all the immediate benefits, there were also all the new abilities the people would gain. The smiling, excited people around him would soon become eager workers and helpers, making his country stronger and taking them closer to the end target.

The train journey flew by as Sherdan talked with all the people around him. Many were similar ages to him. People who’d had jobs their whole lives and got no where in life. He’d given them so much hope and they were grateful for it.

This is the next book in the series by Traci Hilton and follows on from Foreclosed which I reviewed a while back.

It follows on pretty much where the previous left off and follows Mitzy in her life as a real estate agent and what happens to the house she had acquired at the end of the last one, as well as the man.

I really liked the first book and thought it couldn’t get much better but somehow it did and I like this one even more. Mitzy was perfect and her fella, Alonso was pretty awesome too. The chemistry between them was great and there were some really funny moments with spoons. Often it’s the simple things that are great.

Unfortunately there was no direct mention of the puppy from the first book and what had happened to it, although I know it was only borrowed. It was one of my favourite characters, however.

The plot was good and actually kept me guessing this time although I wanted to tell Mitzy off at a couple of points when she wasn’t paying attention to what I thought were obvious clues and issues.

All in all I really think people should check out this series and I’ve already picked up the third to review soon.

This has been brought up a lot recently in my life and it has made me think a lot about whether I am any good at getting this balance right.

Unfortunately I really don’t think I am. I often find myself saying that justice is important and we should all face the consequences of our actions but when it comes to situations where I have been wronged I’m actually most likely to say, ‘that’s okay, it happens, don’t worry about it’ etc. Sometimes though, it’s not okay and it shouldn’t happen. I am often far too merciful because I think it’s the nice thing to do.

I also think I get mercy and forgiveness confused sometimes. I think I’m being forgiving when I just let go of a screw up and don’t get angry or anything but actually, you can forgive someone yet still not trust them in the same area again and allow the lack of trust in that area to be noticed.

Nelson Mandella said the most merciful thing that happened to him was being put in prison, yet we often think that’s not merciful at all. Sometimes when I’ve screwed up it’s the consequences of that screw up, a lost friendship or a lost privelidge etc that helped me to realise how important it was that I didn’t do that thing again. If I hadn’t been made to live through the consequences I’m not sure I’d have learnt that lesson and I’d still be making those mistakes now. In short, if people had just been ‘nice’ and not sought some kind of justice then I’d never have received the mercy of learning and becoming a better person and getting second chances that I am much less likely to muck up.

Mercy and Justice don’t just stop there, however but I’d like to focus on Justice for now (I think we’re already fairly good at being merciful). Justice isn’t a passive word, just like mercy isn’t. Trying to fight for justice is an act. When we see unjust things happening around us, from small things like seeing someone shoplift to the huge things like modern day slavery we are meant to do something about it. If you see someone stealing, at the very least, you should tell a store worker. Doing nothing makes you just as bad as the thief.

All it takes for evil to triumpth, is for good men to do nothing – First film adaptation of ‘War and Peace’

Justice requires us to act when we see something unjust happen or know that it’s happening. We all have a voice in one form or another and should be using it even when we feel that there’s little we can do against such a large injustice we have to act. Changing the world starts with small acts just like I mentioned in my earlier blog here