by Zac Funstein
“I know,” Jerry A. Sizer who was staying with him agreed. “This is going to make commuting very very difficult indeed. I wonder if the girl will jump.”
“There are support networks all round now if anything silly happens they will be there to prevent a disaster.There should be ‘clear consequences’ for youngsters who pull stunts like this, their parents should not be allowed to play down their responsibility.”
There was a sound of a buzzer-someone was waiting outside though from the inset security viewer they did not appear immediately recognisable. Jerry at Kauê’s behest let them in-something told him this wasn’t trouble especially.
“I’m sorry to disturb you Mr....?”
“Tomáš Hlavatý. I’ve come to bring the news that Kasper S. Berg is not able to be with you as per the appointment. I could give some glib communique about progress which you might swallow but have decided to come clean.”
Tomáš who was almost like a Chicano in beach print surfer shirt was reliving the last Kasper had been seen- looking up at the sky, his profile strong, his expression uncharacteristically vulnerable. There had been some suitcases plus a plane ticket on a nearby dresser.
Neither Jerry or Kauê could know that this appearance was deceptive- at his mansion there was the irreproachable conduct of servants who acknowledged him with great solemnity, which made him lack for zilch. Not only was there his everyday needs taken care of but his taste in literature too which seemed to be predicted. But even if this could be said to falter one thing that was sacrosanct was the absolute discretion of these attendants. In accordance with the usual custom they were discrete in the extreme. His old-fashioned Harold Robbins-style bonkbusters might be declasse but they were never mocked or reviled.
Jerry asked himself where Hlavatý had been seen before-it took a while to slot into position.
It had been on holiday in Havana with Jitka they had been on several field-trips- parasailing, hiking, go-carts etc. On their last day they had strolled down a sandy knoll. A Cuban artist had drawn a picture of them all which was fine until they got it home when they found that an extra person had appeared in the scene. Sure there was Veronika Rabasová, Zdeňka Navrátilová plus Roman Šedivý but someone else had crept into the reckoning. It seemed a little like Hlavatý though it was a while ago now.
After an exposé of why Kasper wasn’t there swiftly came until Sizer was forced to ask.
“If you could tell us what type of person Berg is.”
“Someone who liked to change the topic whatever it was you were going over-that is for sure. You might be arguing the toss about politics or military manoeuvres then you would find quite suddenly you’re talking about God or some theological nicety. Something I know very little about-which naturally put us at a disadvantage.”
“Almost Machiavellian from how you’ve put it.”
“Not really guilty on that score. I don’t believe that this was done deliberately that was just how it turned out-some are like that. A friendly pleasant kinda guy the only thing that made him arrogant was his bizarre fundamentalist creationist stance-that not even the strict interpreters could get around-that we were brought here by angels is fairly wacky.”
“The leader of this unspecified American puppet-state counts him as a personal-intimate-I find that incredible.”
“The president has refused to ‘abdicate’ in the wake of post election violence- said that any attempt to remove him will be met by force moreover Kasper’s talents are absolutely necessary for his survival. His son Zdeněk has been wounded uncharacteristically, so overcome with paternal sentiment, the leader has vowed to stay by his side until better.”
This would silence once and for all those pharisees commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity who had undertaken to criticise him for what they called his inhumanity in banishing this only son when the ruler was only trying to bring up that child as should be. Fortunately the invading generals enforced on their men the utmost forbearance towards the inhabitants, plus the fact that they were obeyed, in spite of the inhumanity the people showed to their sick /wounded countrymen, proves that discipline was by no means so far gone as has generally been believed. The president was to resume power-his son after surgery some of his health.
Swiss soldier of fortune, Colonel Henry Bouquet, was en route from his headquarters in Philadelphia to relieve Berg but until such the GPR know-it-all would be out of action.
Kauê moved closer, his expression growing uncharacteristically serious.
“If Kasper isn’t around then no one will help us with avaritia Tomáš.”
“That’s where you’re wrong- Mojmír Kováč-is your man. Mojmír has experienced within himself the inward call to seek the amelioration of mankind plus their deliverance from ruin, moreover regarding this inner impulse, (intensified as it was by much solitude) avaritia has come into his sphere of interest.”
In spite of the breath-catching vertical drop-offs, boulder-strewn tilting plus rolling Jeep roads with their impossible angles of ascent, the solitude of being able to stare in any directions with not a soul in sight- made any anxiety evaporate for Mojmír.
Later when asked of Mojmír Kováč, Nicolash Pereira Melo tall, athletic, shrewd, apt, plus intelligent, with a ‘little sprinkling’ of waggishness who had cause to be satisfied with his avaritia talent mentioned:
“Mojmír is a constant innovator a writer whose trademark is increasingly the ability to tread a delicate tightrope between humor/ despair, but something of a recluse- very modest/ retiring into the bargain.”
“Kováč is in residence in his retreat even now I believe.”
Though called stabilization, what is really taking shape is a restoration-that is Mojmír is not so much into finding the mid-point as recharging his batteries.
“There is something more I sense Melo.”
“Greeks suppose that aught begins or ceases to be; for nothing comes into being or is destroyed; but all is an aggregation or secretion of preexisting things; some claim Mojmír’s unique avaritia is just a replay of something that has gone before-only in better shape.”
Kauê Biniam wanted to cite Cicero as is the most striking illustration - his philosophical works consisting of an aggregation, with little or no blending, of doctrines borrowed from Stoicism, Peripateticism, plus the scepticism of the Middle Academy, but desisted.
Privately Melo was sure much of Kováč’s reclusiveness stemmed from his bitter childhood in the boreal regions of Canada. Refugees from Kosova they were taken by train to a ‘retraining center’ in the swamps of Dunnville Marshes. After a year, his father Tvrtko was given a questionnaire asking if they forswore their loyalty to their emperor. It was a trick question Tvrtko answered in the negative, proclaiming: ‘They took our master-keys (the Kováč were lock- makers) they took our land, they took our freedom. The one thing I’m not going to give them is my family’.
For that, the Kováč were labeled ‘anti-royalists’ then moved to a high-security camp in Northern Rondeau Bay. The camp director as well as the minister concerned were firmly pro-royal so subjected them to the worst treatment possible.
‘We started every school day with the Pledge of Loyalty to the Crown,’ Mojmír once declared. ‘I can see even now in my dotage the razor-wire fence plus the sentry tower outside my schoolhouse window as I recited the catechism ‘with allegiance to the crown’ each word stinging with the bitterest irony known to anyone alive. But I was just a child who was taught platitudes-I resolved there/then I would never support a royal family if I could possibly avoid it.’
It was while employed as a photo-booth clerk who becomes obsessed with a prosperous suburban family whose lives Mojmír witnessed through a succession of happy portraits that it was recognised that they were all prone to a particular kind of rash. It was Mojmír who first recognised ‘Matchedash Syndrome’ one of diseases deemed to be connected with globular recognition.
On the porch of Mojmír’s remote retreat after receiving a txt
to the effect that Kováč was now accepting visitors the strange icons that hung by a silver thread swung gently in the wind.The crucifixes with members of the Croatian royal-family impaled thereof were an unusual combination.
Elegant trellises in the fashionable Regency style are nearby seemingly incongruent-on them these crosses swing-smaller but of the same design. Pueblo Indians in the Southwest used adobe masonry to moderate weather extremes plus keep their homes comfortable-this was the same except they had these same distinct celtic crosses etched in.
The breathtaking scenery, which ranges from inhospitably barren to invitingly lush belied the fact this was a harsh, inhospitable land, governed by insufferable temperatures that defies easy civilization. The area has gold, coal, tin, oil, but making a living out of any of them is tough because of these inhospitably cold temperatures plus high winds.
“Forces of religion/nationalism can be rapidly mobilized, however unsavory, against even well-intended invaders Mr. Biniam.”
Kauê rotated to where this statement originated from. Mojmír was standing nearby. “Sir, please pardon my tardiness, however, it is rather late and I am actually not very anxious to see you at the moment or anyone for that matter.”
This was someone who always dressed in a suit, but more importantly always wore a tie with a beautiful trinity knot that had an almost startling effect to it- very sharp giving the shirt an elegant look. The silk only made the knot stand out more. Ironing his handkerchiefs/shirts was not a chore but a delight. This was someone who would send out his dress shirts to the cleaners-if there was one nearby that is-which there wasn’t in this god-forsaken wilderness! Mojmír always wore a hat too, a fedora usually.
Mojmír makes to go inside then stops.
“If you would I come on a matter of some urgency-the solution may lie within your grasp to not just one but a series of female-fatalities on an ill fated highway.”
“I’m pleased you like the dangling religious-icons-they are to ward off wicked influence-I tried to start up a company making them- major industry players are unconvinced, the Australian market is supposed to provide the best valuations but they are slow. As spring turns to summer, the mercury rises dramatically in this region, making the deserts that are likely to be almost theatre for war, they are so inhospitably hot-it is not good weather to make crosses in. It's like a workshop in Hades - you can almost sense the heat from barrels set over open coals-hear the piercing din of hammers on steel as hoops are pounded onto staves.”
“Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of natural paradises which lie all around us — if only we were worthy of it.”
This resonated well with Mojmír.
“The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the planet, the planet which bore us, sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise as you call it Kauê we ever need.”
“I have come about events in Prince Rupert you might have heard of the denim we found.”
“A little when you are into SALIGIA then you must live with such tragedy constantly.”
It took a while to connect SALIGIA-it was weird to see the first letters in Latin of the deadly sins like that. Flying high above, the sight of a light aircraft gives an impression of the human struggle for survival against the harshness of nature. Both are taken in momentarily by this unwitting companion.
“As it is you are in luck I have been attempting to use the free element sodium first produced by the English chemist Humphry Davy by electrolysis of molten sodium hydroxide with avaritia-it might be interesting to try to see if it fits. I am due to make a speech at a graduation ceremony in Ohio State University next month this might give some substance to the draft I have prepared.”
The fraternity brothers, law students at graduation parties those believed that gang assaults could be a transcendental experience never thrilled Kauê-it didn’t sound like this would be that sort of get together however. They weren't going to hear praise of excesses, shallowness, or engulfing vacuity that was for sure.
Words would not suffice to express the sensuality of the jewellery, be it cute little pendants, cuff links or tie pins.
Kauê was giving a rundown of events to ‘fence’ Rodrigo Costa Cardoso who in the comfort of his main storeroom was surrounded by various finds. Sarapes/huaraches, as well as other clothing symbolic of Mexican American culture, were worn with pride by Rodrigo no less now than before.They were close, even though Kauê annoyed Cardoso plus Metro (Cardoso’s partner) more than anything, but with the years, it changed from terrorization to teasing. A maximum penalty in prison on federal charges of reckless endangerment did nothing to alter this unity.
“This is one of those movies Biniam where the penultimate act is like the last act, because the shocker in the first act isn't shocking enough to be interesting without further exploration.”
The one this was intended for wasn’t listening but more concerned about immediate concerns.
“I am at a loss Cardoso. There must be machinery like an old drill press or maybe an old refrigerator plugged into the same circuit (not necessarily same outlet) as this computer.”
Kauê was sure that such had been seen when first entering the premises. Rodrigo always had a penchant for electrical gadgets. In addition to the belt-driven machines, there was an electric lathe plus an electric drill press essential for drilling the hole straight in glass invariably.There was an ancient slot machine too that used tokens in the operation of-dormant for not a little while. This was supposedly the beginning of a new gaming system until a couple said they got into trouble when a woman plus her Jamaican boyfriend gave them tokens for similar gambling machines in a casino during a holiday in Cyprus.
Everything that the human race has ever done or concerned itself with is the satisfaction of deeply sensed needs plus the assuagement of hardship no less this device with those who were proficient in luxuria stored upon- their address ready for easy access on the hard-drive of-maybe even up in the cloud. Flicking through the directory there was the photos of the middle-aged New Zealand couple originally from Glasgow appropriately called Scott, with nubile twin daughters Gaynor/Michaela, a half finished letter plus a youtube of the destruction of Pompeii, re-created in Lego ready to send via twitter that was now deleted. Kauê had liked this because the Centro Lago district reasonably close to Milan's airports, but beyond the immediate commuter belt had proved a positive experience. Some of these of these acts achieved a moderate degree of success most were assured at least of a career on the standup circuit but had been dropped from central interest.
“Are here we are Rodrigo I have found what I was searching for. Matheus Castro Dias is a SALIGIA bastion. I knew that I had seen his address before though it was not what I wanted then.”
“Matheus seems to get into trouble wherever his travels found himself but it was not his fault.We are told often how close to genius his work is, how unhappy Dias is, how remorseful.”
Cardoso’s marriage of his own parents were arranged through a matchmaker (they were married without even meeting each other first)-Dias was the same-a certain empathy was thus evinced. When you give someone a friendship bracelet or something symbolic of the way you like them, you're giving them a token of your affection. Cardoso had given Dias such though the latter had not appreciated why-maybe until now.
There were further similarities- an African writing in English (Rodrigo although Brazilian by birth lived in Capetown for some while) often has serious difficulties. The scribe often finds him herself describing situations or modes which have no direct equivalent in the Canadian way of life. Caught in that situation they can do one of several things- try to contain what was wanted to say within the conventional English or try to accommodate this. It was sensed that Matheus had similar trouble being as they were not of these shore.
People - often under the influence of Feng Shui or modern minimalism - have decid
ed that their lives are too cluttered. Matheus had been so dismissed by Kauê when generally routing his online diary as a resource. Disarmingly straightforward about his goofs / gaffes-no qualms was given about his clumsiness with technology.This however had proved a strength Matheus had been missed in this erasing process if by some divine intervention or not no one knew.
While the exterior décor of the Grosvenor Mansions, now a hotel, has been effaced by an insensitive renovation, inside had retained its charm. It was here that the Dias lived on account of this olde worlde ambiance.
Geraldine Dias was doing her home chores when the phone rang for her Evening Press interview. It was sensed immediately that something was amiss however by the sensitive Geraldine.
“Something seems to be the matter Leonardo.”
Leonardo Barbosa Araujo was a junior reporter for the Evening Press.
“It’s a Mr. Biniam to see your husband Mrs. Dias.”
For a terrible moment it is wondered which Mr. Biniam it is-people are frail/make stupid mistakes and one kiss in a bar is not the end of the world, especially when the person responsible is so bad about it when it is brought up. Especially since throughout his triumphs/ scandals, everything in between, Mr. Biniam came across as completely genuine human-someone easy to get to know intimately.
“I’m not sure who this is Leonardo.”
“Mr.Kauê Biniam is concerned to use Matheus’ talent.”
“The GPR I was sure that was too antiquated for anyone to bother with anymore.”
“They’ve found traces of Chromium on some torn trousers or something-they want to use him to determine just what type it is.”
“That terrible piece of road in BC-it’s awful how those girls keep disappearing there I can’t imagine why they ever go there.
Luxuria had fallen out of favour recently however Erin Guess-who was well respected had used it-with mixed results. Amid its weak performance/slender guidance, there was a silver lining in Guess’s results however this was beginning to be used once again.
