Copyright © 2013 Elder Adok. First novel in the Buffalo Future series. First published in Great Britain in April 2013 by Hiss Farm Concepts www.hissfarmconcepts.co.uk office@hissfarmconcepts.co.uk Second edition September 2013. This blog chapter edition July 2015. The moral right of Elder Adok to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.
For a number of weeks Silvanus had been thinking carefully; for reasons of security he had never written or typed anything down, but had developed a systematic way of attacking the problem by using different rooms of a house. He turned off all links with sphinx because he was close to making sufficient decisions to put a plan into action. This was an opportunity to clear his mind without anything being detected.
From his cottage in Eriswell Silvanus could be at the Lakenheath Rider Servicing Complex in just seven minutes. But now he was going to pass by the massive site. He checked his eCar was fully charged through its carbon-enriched tyres positioned over the charging pads fitted outside his garage. The dogs wagged their tails crazily and jumped in the back.
As they headed along Brandon Road for Thetford Forest he noticed the beauty of winter from the warmth of the car; and the engineer in him also saw that the battery was charging through road contacts. After an unbelievably wet and stormy autumn, he was surprised and delighted by a bright crisp day. It was a relief after all the hectic activity of the previous weeks merely to have time to think.
Silvanus and fitness regimes were poles apart and yet in a way he was a disciplinarian; if he wanted his body to do something it had to respond. Usually it was over-fat and under-exercised but when he had something on his mind he could walk for mile after mile without apparently noticing. It was a long time since he had actually been in fresh air and uncharacteristically he thought that he ought to exercise a little more.
If Silvanus was frustrated the dogs would have commands shouted at them, but today they were virtually ignored and enjoyed ferreting about in the undergrowth while maintaining reasonable progress in order to keep up with him. They walked one of the circuits he knew well so he could lose himself planning; he made a point of being polite and relaxed with anyone he encountered. A gent in tweeds and meticulous beard told him off for not keeping his dogs on a lead but Silvanus didn't respond with his usual temper; not being noticed was the priority.
In his mind's eye Silvanus moved from room to room in the house that was his plan. The garage represented assembling the plan ready to drive it forward; he now knew what he was going to do, he would infiltrate the rider upgrade programme and insert a manned capsule. The bedroom, and unusually for him in this particular house he only had one, represented timing.
Silvanus and fitness regimes were poles apart and yet in a way he was a disciplinarian; if he wanted his body to do something it had to respond. Usually it was over-fat and under-exercised but when he had something on his mind he could walk for mile after mile without apparently noticing. It was a long time since he had actually been in fresh air and uncharacteristically he thought that he ought to exercise a little more.
If Silvanus was frustrated the dogs would have commands shouted at them, but today they were virtually ignored and enjoyed ferreting about in the undergrowth while maintaining reasonable progress in order to keep up with him. They walked one of the circuits he knew well so he could lose himself planning; he made a point of being polite and relaxed with anyone he encountered. A gent in tweeds and meticulous beard told him off for not keeping his dogs on a lead but Silvanus didn't respond with his usual temper; not being noticed was the priority.
In his mind's eye Silvanus moved from room to room in the house that was his plan. The garage represented assembling the plan ready to drive it forward; he now knew what he was going to do, he would infiltrate the rider upgrade programme and insert a manned capsule. The bedroom, and unusually for him in this particular house he only had one, represented timing.
Silvanus knew he might need to keep his plan sleeping for some time. The key to the whole design made the lounge the place where he had to relax so that everything appeared normal. If the psychological detection programme (run so effectively by Inflow) was to detect any significant change in his behaviour, suspicion and intelligence might lead authorities to his Cell and into the house of his mind. It was a dangerous game.
That night Silvanus slept well and so for that matter did his dogs. The plan crafted so carefully in his mind, room by imaginary room was nearing completion. He would call one full meeting of his Cell, and that would be followed by meetings with individuals. Only he would know the full house plans. The meetings with individuals might in some cases be quite complex, but would only include information required by that particular member. Nothing would be recorded and he would keep the whole atmosphere as relaxed and easy going as possible so that the behaviour of Cell members did not appear to change.
Silvanus knew that he had to be particularly careful with himself because his desire to control and manipulate was going to be satisfied by his plan. The excitement of that possibility surged through his veins. More relaxation was key, so there were more walks in Thetford Forest and Silvanus was surprised by how much he noticed as Nature prepared to paint spring. He pencilled in the idea of walking the cliffs at Cromer; he hadn't been there since childhood.
He got to taking his old binoculars with him and observing wild life; very convenient too because he could act as a twitcher if he did not want recognition. The walks were a help but he still felt the need to slow down further and so he investigated various alternatives including yoga, but all the groups seem to be composed of women; jogging, but that was a solitary exercise designed merely to use up energy; and finally cycling, which caught his imagination.
Silvanus invested in a new road bicycle which he found surprisingly comfortable to ride and came to enjoy conversations on the bronchs where people talked freely about everything you could imagine. He began to cycle regularly and always with some purpose in mind; that way he felt that it wasn't just using up his energy but harnessing it.
One evening, after a couple of months, as he lay in a bath having a good soaking he chuckled to himself because he realized his ruthlessness had made him physically fitter and slightly lighter.
That night Silvanus slept well and so for that matter did his dogs. The plan crafted so carefully in his mind, room by imaginary room was nearing completion. He would call one full meeting of his Cell, and that would be followed by meetings with individuals. Only he would know the full house plans. The meetings with individuals might in some cases be quite complex, but would only include information required by that particular member. Nothing would be recorded and he would keep the whole atmosphere as relaxed and easy going as possible so that the behaviour of Cell members did not appear to change.
Silvanus knew that he had to be particularly careful with himself because his desire to control and manipulate was going to be satisfied by his plan. The excitement of that possibility surged through his veins. More relaxation was key, so there were more walks in Thetford Forest and Silvanus was surprised by how much he noticed as Nature prepared to paint spring. He pencilled in the idea of walking the cliffs at Cromer; he hadn't been there since childhood.
He got to taking his old binoculars with him and observing wild life; very convenient too because he could act as a twitcher if he did not want recognition. The walks were a help but he still felt the need to slow down further and so he investigated various alternatives including yoga, but all the groups seem to be composed of women; jogging, but that was a solitary exercise designed merely to use up energy; and finally cycling, which caught his imagination.
Silvanus invested in a new road bicycle which he found surprisingly comfortable to ride and came to enjoy conversations on the bronchs where people talked freely about everything you could imagine. He began to cycle regularly and always with some purpose in mind; that way he felt that it wasn't just using up his energy but harnessing it.
One evening, after a couple of months, as he lay in a bath having a good soaking he chuckled to himself because he realized his ruthlessness had made him physically fitter and slightly lighter.
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