{"id":63,"date":"2016-08-31T05:26:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T09:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/?p=63"},"modified":"2021-03-24T01:43:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T05:43:24","slug":"ottos-cell-excerpt-from-the-sea-of-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/?p=63","title":{"rendered":"Otto’s Cell excerpt from ‘The Sea of Lightning’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“all pain is geological”<\/em><\/p>\n

In a future that seems very much like the present, the talents of convicted criminal masterminds are harnessed by NATO to develop new war and intelligence technologies. They are incarcerated in former monasteries where they may conduct their research in relative ease and peace. The former abbey of V\u00e9zelay is such an institution, and now with a mysterious problem on it’s hands: one of it’s inmates, Otto, is plagued by dark dreams, headaches and seizures\u2014a condition that extends beyond her psyche, bleeding out into the immediate environment. The Abbey of V\u00e9zelay is in disarray, Otto’s interior angst has shaped a climate of unease and unrest amongst her colleagues and jailers: insomnia, depression, excruciating migraine attacks are suffered due to her proximity. Earth tremors have been felt in a region of the world that should be otherwise exempt… Research is disrupted and Otto has become a very risky and expensive proposition to NATO: how to contain her, even disposing of her\u2014while keeping intact the vital nature of the technology that she has been developing…<\/em><\/p>\n

Enter Pauline Diallo, a child psychiatrist enlisted to unravel Otto’s interior landscape\u2014one she soons discovers to be a slippery slope. Pauline becomes privy to what it is that triggers Otto, and begins to glimpse the workings of modular blue\u2014the communications technology that Otto has been developing for NATO. Modular blue: a system with the potential to change not only the face of history, but also geography…<\/em><\/p>\n

OTTO’S CELL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Directrix announces there will be no bargaining. I ask to see Otto\u2019s cell. I am taken to her quarters and I realize I have taken the word \u2018cell\u2019 literally. The \u2018prisoners\u2019 of V\u00e9zelay, I keep forgetting, are actually VIP\u2019s, who live like monks or clergy depending on their taste for the mundane.\u00a0 The standard issue accommodation is two rooms: A simple bedroom and a study. Simple but luxurious, considering the heavy oak, mahogany, maroon drapes and brocade beddings. There are adjoining bathroom and toilet facilities. The study usually overlooks a scenic vista. Otto\u2019s is a view of a small enclosed garden\u2014a rather tangled and neglected one, I might add, with an ancient pool at the bottom. I hadn\u2019t been aware of that particular little closure, I make a mental note to investigate.<\/p>\n

Curiously, the more I look at the pool, the more I have the impression of perceiving its bottom. It is the a mosaic of a dragon with it\u2019s body vector separating day from night\u2014night being some gold and indigo flecked astronomical detail of planets and whizzing asteroids and day, a congenial vista depicting the citizens of the world, oblivious to the splendors of outerspace, rulers, bureaucrats, courtiers, peasant and maritime commerce\u2014<\/p>\n

A vista… I am imagining things.<\/p>\n

The pool is too far away to see what\u2019s at the bottom.
\nThe study wall is filled with sketches and notes neatly tacked on by push pins. On further inspection are Otto\u2019s rendition of the globe with it\u2019s latitudes and longitudes, the earth and charts of magnetic grids, magnetic force fields, points of convergence, reptile lines, ley lines; dragon tracks; dragon scales; a real python shedding; notes\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201dit\u2019s all saurian patterning underneath\u201d…<\/p>\n

On her desk, a neat stack of bible transcriptions, most of them apocalyptic from Old Testament prophets with names like Obadiah and Habbakuk\u2014she has underlined verses which make no sense to me. The room seems relatively clean, I ask the orderly about housekeeping, she replies that the room is routinely swept and dusted everyday. Once a week the floors are scrubbed. I look down at the gleaming hardwood floors, scrubbed and waxed no doubt. I peer into the next room where Otto lies sleeping\u2014hours of dreamy near dementia\u2014 what are you dreaming of Otto, over and over and over again? The sleep regulator crystal and a drip function blink discreetly. Elsewhere her neural activity is monitored on remote screens, prying for secrets\u2014the Next Big Thing in cutting edge technology.<\/p>\n

It is almost as if I have wandered into a crypt, she is a sleeping statue atop her own vault: hands clasped over her chest… or like King Arthur and the Knights of his Round Table, asleep in some enchanted cave in deepest darkest Wales, clasping their swords ready to spring into action at the moment of awakening\u2014<\/p>\n

a shepherd looking for his lost sheep stumbles into a large cavern\u2014he catches a sight of a dim distant light. Advancing, it grows brighter and brighter until he finds himself in a vast vaulted hall. Thousands of warriors fast asleep in a large circle, their weapons and shields laying besides them, ready to lay hold\u2014whenever the bell should ring. Their armor polished so brightly that they illuminate the entire cavern: flames beneath the earth\u2014
\nOne warrior, more distinguished than the rest, his golden crown inset with precious gems lying by his side. The shepherd summons up his courage and reaches for the crown. The king\u2019s eyes open even as his hands grasp the shepherd\u2019s wrist,
\n\u201cIs it day?\u201d the king inquires,
\nThe terror as those peacefully shut eyes as they start\u2014first slowly the whites flutter, then rapidly and then wide open\u2014<\/p>\n

A baleful stare.<\/p>\n

I find myself running down the hill, through the orchard, (why?) Ahead of me, through the trees, a young red fox slashes streaks of orange lightning\u2014I am chasing it. (Am I?)<\/p>\n

It blurs to nothingness, deep in the forest. I am completely out of breath. Lost: verdant oak shadows; paths of confusion slaking across the forest floor; flashing webs\u2014neurotic shimmers of fading sun: the rotating refractions of a memory and utter silence amplifying the boom of my heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“all pain is geological” In a future that seems very much like the present, the talents of convicted criminal masterminds are harnessed by NATO to develop new war and intelligence technologies. They are incarcerated in former monasteries where they may conduct their research in relative ease and peace. The former abbey of V\u00e9zelay is such an institution, and now with a mysterious problem on it’s hands: one of it’s inmates, Otto, is plagued by dark dreams, headaches and seizures\u2014a condition that extends beyond her psyche, bleeding out into the immediate environment. The Abbey of V\u00e9zelay is in disarray, Otto’s interior angst has shaped a climate of unease and unrest amongst her colleagues and jailers: insomnia, depression, excruciating migraine attacks are suffered due to her proximity. Earth tremors have been felt in a region of the world that should be otherwise exempt… Research is disrupted and Otto has become a very risky and expensive proposition to NATO: how to contain her, even disposing of her\u2014while keeping intact the vital nature of the technology that she has been developing… Enter Pauline Diallo, a child psychiatrist enlisted to unravel Otto’s interior landscape\u2014one she soons discovers to be a slippery slope. Pauline becomes privy to what it is that triggers Otto, and begins to glimpse the workings of modular blue\u2014the communications technology that Otto has been developing for NATO. Modular blue: a system with the potential to change not only the face of history, but also geography… OTTO’S CELL The Directrix announces there will be no bargaining. I ask to see Otto\u2019s cell. I am taken to her quarters and I realize I have taken the word \u2018cell\u2019 literally. The \u2018prisoners\u2019 of V\u00e9zelay, I keep forgetting, are actually VIP\u2019s, who live like monks or clergy depending on their taste for the mundane.\u00a0 The standard issue accommodation is two rooms: A simple bedroom and a study. Simple but luxurious, considering the heavy oak, mahogany, maroon drapes and brocade beddings. There are adjoining bathroom and toilet facilities. The study usually overlooks a scenic vista. Otto\u2019s is a view of a small enclosed garden\u2014a rather tangled and neglected one, I might add, with an ancient pool at the bottom. I hadn\u2019t been aware of that particular little closure, I make a mental note to investigate. Curiously, the more I look at the pool, the more I have the impression of perceiving its bottom. It is the a mosaic of a dragon with it\u2019s body vector separating day from night\u2014night being some gold and indigo flecked astronomical detail of planets and whizzing asteroids and day, a congenial vista depicting the citizens of the world, oblivious to the splendors of outerspace, rulers, bureaucrats, courtiers, peasant and maritime commerce\u2014 A vista… I am imagining things. The pool is too far away to see what\u2019s at the bottom. The study wall is filled with sketches and notes neatly tacked on by push pins. On further inspection are Otto\u2019s rendition of the globe with it\u2019s latitudes and longitudes, the earth and charts of magnetic grids, magnetic force fields, points of convergence, reptile lines, ley lines; dragon tracks; dragon scales; a real python shedding; notes\u2014 \u201dit\u2019s all saurian patterning underneath\u201d… On her desk, a neat stack of bible transcriptions, most of them apocalyptic from Old Testament prophets with names like Obadiah and Habbakuk\u2014she has underlined verses which make no sense to me. The room seems relatively clean, I ask the orderly about housekeeping, she replies that the room is routinely swept and dusted everyday. Once a week the floors are scrubbed. I look down at the gleaming hardwood floors, scrubbed and waxed no doubt. I peer into the next room where Otto lies sleeping\u2014hours of dreamy near dementia\u2014 what are you dreaming of Otto, over and over and over again? The sleep regulator crystal and a drip function blink discreetly. Elsewhere her neural activity is monitored on remote screens, prying for secrets\u2014the Next Big Thing in cutting edge technology. It is almost as if I have wandered into a crypt, she is a sleeping statue atop her own vault: hands clasped over her chest… or like King Arthur and the Knights of his Round Table, asleep in some enchanted cave in deepest darkest Wales, clasping their swords ready to spring into action at the moment of awakening\u2014 a shepherd looking for his lost sheep stumbles into a large cavern\u2014he catches a sight of a dim distant light. Advancing, it grows brighter and brighter until he finds himself in a vast vaulted hall. Thousands of warriors fast asleep in a large circle, their weapons and shields laying besides them, ready to lay hold\u2014whenever the bell should ring. Their armor polished so brightly that they illuminate the entire cavern: flames beneath the earth\u2014 One warrior, more distinguished than the rest, his golden crown inset with precious gems lying by his side. The shepherd summons up his courage and reaches for the crown. The king\u2019s eyes open even as his hands grasp the shepherd\u2019s wrist, \u201cIs it day?\u201d the king inquires, The terror as those peacefully shut eyes as they start\u2014first slowly the whites flutter, then rapidly and then wide open\u2014 A baleful stare. I find myself running down the hill, through the orchard, (why?) Ahead of me, through the trees, a young red fox slashes streaks of orange lightning\u2014I am chasing it. (Am I?) It blurs to nothingness, deep in the forest. I am completely out of breath. Lost: verdant oak shadows; paths of confusion slaking across the forest floor; flashing webs\u2014neurotic shimmers of fading sun: the rotating refractions of a memory and utter silence amplifying the boom of my heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5],"tags":[195,14],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-excerpt","category-fiction","tag-fiction","tag-sea-of-lightning"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3873,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/3873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}