8/13/2023 0 Comments Deity microphoneI offer a nervous grin in response to another wave of applause. "This is the woman who has inspired us all." Susan Heugel."Ī cheer goes up whistles and whoops echo round the space. Destiny walks over to the microphone and there are loud cheers. The crowd has surged round on three sides - behind me is a concrete wall. Each shot is captioned in large lettering: Tokio, Manchester, New York, Seattle, Berlin, Tehran. Then, thank god, this flickers off and is replaced by a series of images of crowded rooms, where people are waving and silently shouting at the camera. For a moment, I see a close-up of my own face, an anxious-looking woman approaching old age. In front of me is a professional-looking microphone on an adjustable stand.Ī young woman below shoulders a hefty camera connected to a video screen on the wall. I’m standing on a low stage made from rough wooden frames supporting a plywood platform. But I am beginning to see that they are both capable and determined: well-qualified and highly trained fruit-loops. "We’ve got people with all the smarts – hacktivists, covert ops. " How the hell did you get into my Uber account?" I’m so sorry - but we have to be careful."Īs with everyone else I’ve met here, Destiny wants to show kindness and goes out of her way to be respectful, even reverential. When I speak, I find that my voice sounds shrill, indignant. They’ve installed me in some cavernous underground space: a car park without the cars, all concrete, pipework and electrical ducting, and left me wondering whether I am now their guest or their hostage. They’ve hijacked my Uber ride and brought me to what they say is an important meeting. And they are not going to give that away just because its author is a little reticent in accepting the mantle of leadership. Thanks to my book, this legion of the lost and deluded have found a direction and a purpose, unity among its disparate tribes. It seems that my words have put a match to some highly flammable tinder. I feel a flicker of annoyance it won’t go away. So I, too, will soon be on some CIA Interpol watch list. We have one chance to save the world and we’re ready. "It’s like we’ve been chosen to put your ideas into action. You’re confusing the message with its sender. I recall a moment in the 60s, seeing the magazine pictures of his lifeless body with its rash of bullet wounds and make a mental note: that’s what happens if you don’t have a social media presence you cease to exist. All those things you said in your podcasts and Youtube videos - it is so inspiring." I’m a writer, not Che Guevara or Greta Thunberg." "Love of humanity, love between god and mortals. I am most definitely not one of them but try convincing this bunch of extremists and eco-radicals. The kids with their crazy haircuts and Doc Marten boots, the middle-aged dreamers and dissidents, a sprinkling of senior citizens who should know better: grans and grandads to save the planet.Īnd now, so Destiny has told me, I am one of them. This short story is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |