Essential as Air and Water



  Essential as Air and Water

  Matthew Bushen

  All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher

  First published in 2015

  Copyright © Text Matthew Bushen 2015

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  For Dad, annoyingly always right,

  for Mum, because of everything,

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapetr12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 1

  John Dylan walked along the road where he lived. The bright sunshine had persuaded him to leave his house and added a few inches to each of his steps. In front of him lay a brick that had fallen from a stack that stood on a drive-way and presented itself to him as an irresistible temptation. Without thought or consideration he picked it up and launched it at the house opposite. It spun and twisted in the air before crashing into the double glazed bay windows, causing a disappointingly small amount of damage. Unsatisfied, he picked up an iron bar - he would not return home for weeks.

  The world had been in a state of near peace for decades, its population content. The violent history that had plagued mankind and caused so much destruction and death was simply a matter of historical record kept secret by government officials. Generations had passed without war, with no one alive to bear witness to these historical tragedies; there were only stories that hardly resembled their first telling.

  The internet, which had made globalisation possible, had been abandoned, as competitive nations were unable and unwilling to agree on regulations and security. The ease with which information could be accessed made nations nervous and suspicious as an era of intense cyber espionage began. Known as ‘the crash’, the fall-out was severe. Chaos ensued as economic systems began to fail world-wide. Only a few areas of the world were untouched by the devastation as communication and co-operation between world markets broke down. Our dependence on a system without global regulations had been too great and caused a humanitarian crisis that engulfed the world with civil unrest on an unprecedented level.

  In an attempt to ensure a future, governments agreed to restrict the internet’s use and only allow the highest ranking personnel access. Eventually, the major economic powers of the world agreed on a new system, closely followed by reluctant nations who were coerced or forced to participate out of fear of political and economic isolation. In addition, governments began to suppress cultural activities, particularly the arts, religion and sport, which had been the cause of disagreements and conflict in the past - areas of society that were seen as obstacles to the rehabilitation and rebuilding of a sick world. Small groups resisted and fought for what they loved, but most were willing to accept a new way of life in the hope of achieving peace. The demise of these influential traditions was made possible with the death of the internet, as entire historical archives were brought under the control of national governments who restricted access to past cultural treasures and the sharing of new ones.

  So the events now occurring around the world were unprecedented. For three weeks, thousands of people had descended upon cities and towns in what appeared to be a spontaneous outburst of indiscriminate destruction. Governments did not know the origins of the troubles and were powerless to explain them. They became increasingly frustrated because none of the perpetrators could give a motive for their behaviour. Teachers, factory workers and doctors, people from every background and representing nearly every nation, were participating in the mindless destruction of public and private property, seemingly without a manifesto or higher command. The only exceptions were villages away from the larger towns and cities, remote communities in less developed areas of the world and young children, who were seemingly untouched by the uncontrollable urge that so many were powerless to resist.

  The magnitude and power of the riots caught all governments off-guard. Media outlets appealed for calm. Those who were not involved in the rioting were too confused to know how to react and waited for their governments to restore order.

  Government’s debated how to react. Some argued that wars and violence on a large scale used to be common, so they were rooted in human nature. This peaceful epoch was, therefore, unnatural for our species and was destined to come to an end. Historians were quoted who claimed that throughout our history, the human race had consistently resorted to violence and in extreme circumstances the slaughter of its own species to resolve conflict, using every means possible. However, as no national security agency could produce any evidence to show an organised, coordinated uprising and there was no evidence of violence being used against individuals, the idea that people were reverting to the older forms of behaviour were rejected; It appeared that the sole aim was the release of anger and nothing more.

  It quickly became apparent that a call for calm was futile, and since no evidence was available to connect the actions to a single government or its policies, the world's most powerful leaders declared a state of emergency.

  Agreements were made on how best to treat the rioters, with force being deemed an unrealistic option due to their numbers. A further conference was organised to give nations time to find a strategy to combat the rioters and conduct research and surveillance to establish the trends of their own citizens’ actions and shed some light on the motivation of the rioters: someone who knew more than the rioters themselves.

  The towns and cities of Britain were some of the hardest hit world-wide and had suffered significant destruction. In the earliest days of the riots the nation’s security agents had been able to contain the participants and hold them securely. But they were quickly overwhelmed and the military were deployed.

  Tom Lanegan, the British Prime Minister, had insisted that force was not to be used. It had been many years since a government had ordered an attack on its own citizens and he would maintain this as long as the rioters were only attacking property and not people. The three weeks since the riots had started had given Lanegan time to order the military to redirect their attention to the humanitarian issues that were increasingly becoming critical, and begin the evacuation of Britain’s citizens from the cities. Lanegan felt helpless, and could only watch as the nation’s cities burned around him.