Closed ... the dimming of the light... (part 32)

... the dimming of the light... (part 32)
… the dimming of the light… (Part 32)

Peter Hunter



… eventually we saw more and more of David Fisher… …. Perhaps the reason was my being his sister-in-law…
… and Sharon and Chris my friends…
… as I was his only living relative now that his brother Peter was dead…
Maybe he had few friends left after his ten years in jail… of one thing I was certain, he was not merely being sentimental…
… He undoubtedly had plenty of colleagues and employees but not true friends… just cronies and sycophants dependant on him for their good living… although his remaining close partner-in-crime Cathy Edows appeared alive and well…
… and presumably still involved… but living in the USA…
The five thousand men and women… the first shipment of the assorted ex-military, survivalists, adventurers…
… were now close - offshore, anchored near the south coast…
… waiting to land at Southampton… they, had a different motivation…
… part of their deal was in the form of a success fee…
… if all went well… if they and the subsequent ship-loads secured the earmarked five thousand square mile of southern England… colonising it and holding it against subsequent re-occupation by the tiny remaining indigenous population - they would be rewarded with an assignment of large slices of land…
… much like William the Conqueror's feudal lords benefited after the Norman invasion…
Strangely… Britain was the only place in the world, cursed… affected by this strange electricity blackout. Fisher obviously knew more about the situation than he could have without knowledge not available to most. I pressed him on this subject and he admitted to 'links with the USA authorities' - some access to satellite pictures that showed the extent of the devastation of Britain…
He was confident that by now only five percent of the countries former population remained… that there was no organisation in existence… that almost the entire population of cities and large towns were extinct…
… he had to be confident to have spent the vast sums on ships, vehicles, other equipment and personnel…
Above all, he had to have some official backing for his audacity… presumably the USA government who of course could not in any way be seen to back him officially…
… because of world opinion…
Fisher's strategy was one of first occupying, - then having met with little or no resistance… assuming ownership of the land and properties much like the laws of 'adverse possession' that had prevailed in 'pre-crisis' times.
If nobody could stop him… then he would take… the only morality would be if he had caused the problem in the first place…
… caused the electricity to fail that is…
And strangely I felt I was on the verge of finding that out… a possible explanation was forming in my mind… and with the prospect of regular visits by Fisher…
… It would not be long to finding out…

*

There remained many questions… despite Fisher's great wealth there was no way he could have assembled his force of twenty thousand hand-picked men and women - acquired two large ex-US navy ships, helicopters, vehicles - trained them - and organised what was effectively a medium sized private army - done all these things instantly…
… at the very least it must have taken several months… and that raised several other questions…
… Fisher explained the outlines to us supported by some documentation he seemed to have brought with him in anticipation of our likely questions; 'In mid 2013 this advert appeared on the Internet:'

'Wanted: for long-term, possibly permanent assignment
Several thousand English speaking, very fit and enthusiastic ex-military, with survivalist experience
Must be adventurous - if successful, remuneration will involve a pioneering share of a sizable resource comprising land and property
Together with participation in a new political process
Apply to the email address shown to receive more information'

… Fisher explained it took only a few months to recruit the twenty thousand men and women he was looking for… in 2013 there were literally millions, disillusioned with society, the world, their country… the over-population, the recession and the effect of quantative easing - the whole stinking mess our pigmy apologists for leaders had got us into…
… literally millions, particularly in the United States - who longed, indeed fantasised for new opportunities, perhaps some new starting line where everyone's success would be based on merit and not some social experiment in wealth redistribution…
… the survival of the fittest in fact…
and Fisher…
… David Fisher, convicted mass-murder… recently released after serving only ten years of a life sentence, under Britain's ridiculously lenient justice system - was planning to provide that opportunity.
But suspicion was growing in my mind - unless Fisher had some extraordinary quality that could foresee the future…
… how on earth did he know our electricity would dramatically fail across the whole of Britain?

*

… but things were… improving… although David Fisher had yet to bring his first tranche of five thousand men and women into Southampton - whether from his family ties with me, or some more obscure reason - he offered to give us substantial help…
… he offered to send a twin-rotor Chinook helicopter from one of his two ex-military assault ships currently moored in the Channel… with plenty of supplies including a large diesel-powered generator, clean fresh clothes…
… as we stank…
… a change of diet, soap… and many other things… including a battery powered satellite radio of military specification…
We would become almost human again…
The large helicopter also brought some of fisher's men and he asked my permission to 'garrison' ten of them on our land to protect us in case any of the remnants of the local population objected… to our newly acquired possessions…
… armed men of course…


(To be continued…)
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credits to respectful owner (Y)