#the alan and eric essay

[the-alan-price-combo]

A Somewhat Comprehensive Look at Alan Price and Eric Burdon’s Relationship

Please Read This!

The Encounter(s) (1958-59)

In The Beginning (1959-63)

Wild Animals (1963-65)

Animals Photos That Make Me Go “Hmm…” (1964-65)

Setting Out Alone (1965)

Supporting One Another (1965-68)

Rudely Interrupted (1970-83)

Miscellaneous Little Thoughts

Wow, That Was Long. And I’m Gay

Introduction Below Cut

Well, here it is.

To say that I’m excited to finally compile all of this information together into one place would be an understatement… I’ve superseded excitement and now I’m just sitting here with copious amounts of Dr Pepper and Alan’s Metropolitan Man blaring in my ears, surrounded by all of my wonderful Animals merch.

Anyway, what is this? Well, it’s exactly what it says on the tin: a somewhat comprehensive look at Alan Price and Eric Burdon’s relationship. They’re members of an English rock band that emerged from Newcastle in the 60’s -  the Animals - with Alan playing the keyboard for the group and Eric supplying the lead vocals. And their relationship… Well, it’s something alright.

And, in my humble opinion, it’s wildly misinterpreted.

Disappointingly, most information about the Animals shared nowadays are either think-pieces about their most well-known song, “House of the Rising Sun”, or about how much of an absolute fractured mess the group turned out to be. Poor management, several break-ups and reunions and iterations… and, of course, the well-known fact that Alan claimed all of the royalties for “House of the Rising Sun” and has allegedly never shared the money with any of his old bandmates, sowing even more tension between all of the members.

Amongst all of this tension are Alan and Eric themselves. Eric Burdon, the charismatic face of the group and its leader throughout each of its iterations, and Alan Price, the moody ex-keyboardist, who seemingly took the money and ran, forging his own path and solo career. Surely, these two must hate each other... shouldn’t they? After everything Alan did, the circumstances that forcefully bound them together as performers and songwriters for a time, and how diametrically opposed they seemed to be in personality; they were practically in their divorce arc before things even started… right?

…No. Not at all. 

Set aside Eric’s passive-aggressive, yet relatively tame, comments made over the past few years. Set aside Alan’s staunch refusal to talk about things in detail anymore. Set aside the other Animals’ odd takes on the nature of their relationship, usually colored in such a way to make Alan out to be a despicable person.

Because I’d like to talk about some of the things Alan and Eric have done with and for one another that you might not have known.

#animusings #the animals #eric burdon #alan price #hilton valentine #chas chandler #john steel #dave rowberry #classic rock #60s rock #british invasion #personal essay #the alan and eric essay

[hide-your-bugs-away]

The best day of my life, not gonna lie 🥹💙🎹✨️

#I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE THIS HAPPENED.... #i met him.... i met the Alan Price...... agGGgHghghhghhh #march 14th!!! 2024!!!!! a pi day like no other!!!!! #gosh.... HE WAS SO NICE TOO..... #the concert was off the charts aaaaa... even my mom was like 'wow he's still singing in the same key as the album releases?!!?' #YES HE WAS AND HE WAS PLAYING THAT KEYBOARD FANTASTICALLY #i promised not to cry but i started crying when he did the 'house of the rising sun' organ solo.... he did it exactly like he did in '64.... #not to mention my uncontrollable sobbing after the concert...... #he liked my art book and told me he'd treasure it..... 🥹 #AND HUGGED ME. AND TOOK A PHOTO WITH ME. AND SIGNED MY FAVORITE SINGLE. #alan you were soooooo nice to me aaaaa..... thank you 🥹 #my mom and emma said his eyes softened when he saw my art book... #THANK YOU TO MY MOM AND SIMON FOR THE PHOTOS TOO!!! #at some point this week i need to do my 'price to play' write up for my alan/eric essay because OH YEAH I SAW THEIR 'PRICE TO PLAY' EPISODE #EARLIER THAT DAY...... RAHHHHHHH IT WAS SOOO GOOD #so excited for the birthday drawing i have planned for alan.... aaaaa 🥹💙💙💙💙💙 #anyway my brain is a blissful mush at the moment... i will be thinking about this forever #things i said today #alan price #the animals #devil in her art #i guess this is somewhat of a face reveal lol i am a stereotypical mentally ill lesbian (also a nerd)

[wishingicouldfly]

Harry Styles is a Mermaid

Disclaimer: I am sure I’m not the first to report and share these links and images. I thought people would find this interesting, so I’m sharing my foray down this rabbit hole. I’d welcome any additional links or thoughts related to Mermaids and the LGBTQ community.

If you know anyone that should be credited for pictures here, let me know. None of them belong to me.

***

In November 2014, Harry Styles had the image of a mermaid tattooed on his left forearm. The bare-chested siren joined multitudes of other nautical themed tattoos that litter his body. 

A few days after the new tat appeared, he responded to a question at a meet and greet. 

“I am a Mermaid,” he said. 

I started the research on this post when I saw the gif with his quote about being a mermaid. Rest below the cut.

Harry Styles’ Mermaid Tattoo — The Real Reason Behind His New Ink – Hollywood Life 

I’m not going to tell you why he said he’s a mermaid. I don’t know what it means to him. I have no idea. Maybe he simply likes mermaids. Maybe he feels like it matches the themes of his and Louis’ other nautical tattoos. I can't pretend to know.

“Mermaid” as a theme, though, has a decades long association with the LGBTQ community. And I think that’s interesting in light of the imagery that Harry himself has shared and seems to connect to.

Like, that time he wore a shirt with a famous line from The Little Mermaid.

Or in 2019, when he dressed as Ariel for a Saturday Night Live photoshoot.

Did Harry Styles REALLY say 'I am a mermaid'? Truth behind viral photo and his Ariel look for 'SNL' | MEAWW 

Or his his whole video for Music for a Sushi Restaurant: 

I’ve seen the Little Mermaid probably dozens of times. My child and I watched it a lot when she was growing up. And while I always knew it was an allegory for being different, I didn’t think about the deeper meaning as it relates to the LGBTQ community until more recently.

According to this article from the Smithsonian, 

The central story of The Little Mermaid is, of course, 16-year-old Ariel’s identity crisis. She feels constrained by her patriarchal mer-society and senses she doesn’t belong. She yearns for another world, apart from her own, where she can be free from the limits of her rigid culture and conservative family. Her body is under the water, but her heart and mind are on land with people. She leads a double life. She is, essentially, “in the closet” (as symbolized by her “cavern”—or closet—of human artifacts, where the character-building song “Part of Your World” takes place).

Source: 'The Little Mermaid' Was Way More Subversive Than You Realized | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/little-mermaid-was-way-more-subversive-you-realized-180973464/

The Disney version was written by writer-producer-lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. 

The character of Ursula, though, is the real LGBTQ icon. “Conceived by Ashman, Ursula is based on the famous cross-dressing performer Divine, who was associated with the openly gay filmmaker John Waters. As scholar Laura Sells explained in a 1995 anthology of essays, Ursula’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls” song is essentially a drag show instructing the naive mermaid on how to attract Prince Eric (who is conspicuously uninterested in Ariel and most content at sea with his all-male crew and manservant Grimsby). “In Ursula’s drag scene,” Sells wrote, “Ariel learns that gender is performance; Ursula doesn’t simply symbolize woman, she performs woman.” (same source as above).

A gay man in 1980s America, Ashman had personal experience with the culture wars over “family values” and gay rights. The “Reagan Revolution” marked the arrival of the long-brewing marriage of the Republican Party with conservative Christians and included a platform that was unfriendly to gay rights, to say the least. President Reagan ignored the AIDS epidemic that swept the nation (refusing to appropriate any federal funds for research or treatment), and Republicans in general claimed the “gay plague” was God’s punishment for homosexuality. Ashman saw the film as an opportunity to advance a social message through the medium of “family entertainment.” The last thing Americans would expect from Disney was a critique of patriarchy, but sure enough, Ashman’s The Little Mermaid is a gutsy film about gender and identity—a far cry from the staid Disney catalog. (same source).

Anyone who was around in 2015 knows about RBB/SBB. But if you didn’t, the Rainbow Bears (RBB/SBB, largely assumed to be created and curated by Harry and Louis) mentioned Divine on December 1, 2015. Just after they posted about her, Harry tweeted a lyric that alluded to Divine. See below. 

Credit to @SkepticalLarrie

There’s a whole other rabbit hole you can go down about John Waters (openly gay film director) and Divine and Pink Flamingos (Pink Flamingos: A Queer Beginner’s Guide to Family, Style and Not Giving a Sh*t | by Joe Corr | Medium. https://mandysweats.medium.com/pink-flamingos-a-queer-beginners-guide-to-family-style-and-not-giving-a-sh-t-fa9aa3e6c96f

Here’s another article that talks about The Little Mermaid being important to the LGBT community.

How The Little Mermaid Found A Place In The Hearts Of LGBTQ Fans | HuffPost UK Entertainment (huffingtonpost.co.uk) 

There was a lot of speculation about Harry being potentially cast as Prince Eric in a live action version of the Little Mermaid. I’m not sure how serious those rumors were, but I can imagine based on all of this research, that he might have found the Prince wasn’t the character he related to most.

Harry Styles fans upset over 'Little Mermaid' reports | CNN https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/entertainment/harry-styles-little-mermaid-trnd/index.html

To go even further down the rabbit hole, go all the way back to the original story. The Hans Christian Anderson version has a tragic ending, that doesn’t end with the mermaid happily ever with the prince. There is some speculation that the story was an allegory for an unrequited love that Anderson had toward a straight acquaintance.

The Little Mermaid Is Really About Unrequited Gay Love | by Tamara Mitrofanova | Lessons from History | Medium 

I also want to point out that Mermaids is a UK based charity organization, that “supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and young people until their 20th birthday, as well as their families and professionals involved in their care.” About Mermaids - Mermaids (mermaidsuk.org.uk) https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/about-us/

All of this could be coincident to the true purpose behind what Harry’s tattoo means to him. We will likely never know its exact meaning to him. 

But as time passes, and we see Harry waving various LGBTQ flags and hinting at being in the community himself, I think it might bear remembering that he said he WAS a mermaid. And I think that’s beautiful, Harry.

#harry styles #mermaid #mermaid tattoo #harry is a mermaid #divine #RBB #Louis Tomlinson #The Little Mermaid #Youtube

[yen-stanning]

I usually am so skeptical about the Disney live-actions and end up loving all the nostalgia the first time I see it in the theater and then, after that has worn away, end up disliking them so much...

BUT... The Little Mermaid (2023) is not one of them!! For me, it comes close to Cinderella (2015), which is my favorite live-action to date.

BEWARE: slight spoilers under the cut!!!

The best thing about it was how true they stayed to the story of the 1989 film! No unnecessary new plot points that are there just for the sake of it, but new scenes to expand the motivations of the characters and could easily be scenes in the animated version. Like all the new Ariel & Eric bonding scenes... 10/10!!!! Especially when they are looking at the maps together, omg! What magical chemistry between Halle & Jonah!

Halle Bailey as Ariel was perfect, a powerhouse vocalist (but I never had any doubts about that!) but also she really embodied the character! And I think this was the best thing: she embodied Ariel's spirit! Her curiosity, sense of adventure, kindness, and loyalty... Which is why it comes so close to Cinderella (2015) because Lily James also really embodied Cinderella's character & spirit!

Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric... SLAY! So good, so much depth to this character, and his song is fantastic! Constantly stuck in my head 🤌🏼

Overall, cast was great! Most surprised by how good Melissa McCarthy was as Ursula, trailers had me worried but she did great!

Let's talk music for a second because TLM soundtrack is iconic. I loved most of the songs and the new arrangements! Alan Menken remains one of the most legendary people on this earth and can do no wrong!! I knew Lin would come through for this (although Scuttlebutt... why???). However, Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl were a little underwhelming for me personally. I was missing the choir in the background from the animated version. Maybe the VFX or budget was not enough to do all the fish with the instruments and background vocals, who knows, but that was missing for sure!

Last thing, I loved Jodi Benson's cameo, so heartwarming ❤️ and I loved how they dedicated the film to Howard Ashman 🥹 His lyrics and Alan Menken's music will really stand the test of time and it always makes me so sad that Howard is not here to see the impact he has had on so many people's lives 😔 (watch Howard & Waking Sleeping Beauty on Disney+!!!!!!!!!!!)

This was an essay sorry... I take anything related to the Disney Princesses very seriously, they are my childhood 😂 like I want them to be treated with respect! So, not 100% perfect but very very very good! Full of joy, love, and magic ❤️🥳✨️🐚🌊🧜🏾‍♀️ (kind of want to see it again)

#will anyone resd this? #probably not #but I like giving my very unprofessional movie reeviews that not a single soul asked for #and that's important to me 😂 #the little mermaid #the little mermaid 2023 #the little mermaid 2023 spoilers #tlm spoilers #ariel #eric #halle bailey #jonah hauer king #disney #disney live action #yen's thoughts #disney princesses

[stingchronicity]

if alan parsons & eric woolfson can make the sicilian defense in three days i can finish my essay in 10 hours lets goooo

#and it'll probably be just as good (insult) <3 #idk i mean the sicilian defense isnt BAD but i wouldn't waste 45 minutes of your time listening to it #psychobabble

[rickmoya]

the books I read in 2023

Welp, time to finally face this post and submit it. I'm kind of embarrassed because I am so bad at reading anymore. No explanation, no excuses. I used to read twice this many books as a matter of course, and now I ... like, don't. My TBR barely budged ... I cleared some stuff out thanks to summer camp, but then I got new stuff to fill it back up.

I don't know. Maybe one day I'll start reading again. Not today, though, probably. This year's list has two books on it so far, both of which I'm maybe a quarter into. Ugh.

Wired Style, Constance Hale & Jessie Scanlon

Once Upon Atari, Howard Scott Warshaw

Dragonwatch: Master of the Phantom Isle, Brandon Mull

The Illustrated Al, ed. Josh Bernstein

Fucking Apostrophes, Simon Griffin

Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, Wynton Marsalis and Carl Vigeland

The Kitchen Detective, Christopher Kimball

Decoding Boys, Cara Natterson

The Maxx (1-35, complete), Sam Kieth (1)

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s, Tiffany Midge

Barely Functional Adult, Meichi Ng

What If? 2, Randall Munroe

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, W. Bruce Cameron (2)

Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper

This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

The Rapture of the Nerds, Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross

The New Hacker’s Dictionary, ed. Eric S. Raymond (3)

All You Need is Kill, Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Wind/Pinball, Haruki Murakami

Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips

Where Nobody Knows Your Name, John Feinstein

We Should Hang Out Sometime, Josh Sundquist

Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The Philosophy of Modern Song, Bob Dylan

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Complete Collection, Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, et al.

The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper (4)

Banana Ball, Jesse Cole

A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album, Ashley Kahn

Free Lunch, Rex Ogle (5)

Greenwitch, Susan Cooper (6)

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog, Dave Barry

italics: read it before bold: read it to my kid in bed struck: unfinished

I’d read the first ten or so issues of this before, out of interest because I watched the animated series on MTV. This is the first time all the way through and I didn’t realize it was so dark and triggering.

I read this one when mine was a toddler, and remembered it being pretty patriarchal and victorian. Thought maybe it would hit different now that she’s actually teenaged, and ... like, it did! it’s even worse! Absolutely zero of this shit fits a kid who is not 100% straight and searching. I got through four essays and took it back to the library.

I got up through the Bs and then I LOST MY COPY.

The more I read of this, the more I realized I maybe only read the first couple chapters. Still keeping the italics (making up for claiming I never previously read The Maxx).

I subbed a middle school reading class where this was the text. Ended up reading the whole thing across the day.

This could be the last new book I ever read to my own children. We generally don't read to sleep during holiday breaks, instead allowing them to fall asleep in front of a TV. But when school restarted, my youngest (officially a teenager) didn't want me to read to him at bedtime anymore. The end of an era. I may have cried a little bit. I expect the Dave Barry on Christmas Eve tradition to continue at least another year (my oldest likes it and specifically requested it again), but maybe no more new ones.

#books i read

[goddessofthedawn]

at the end of january: what do my best/worst books of the year look like?

I did this a couple times last year, kind of randomly, and I think I want to keep a better updated version this year. Of course, this does include re-reads, and my final, Top 19 of 2024 will not, but... here we go. Current top ten, worst 5 books of the year.

I've read 32 books this year, for context.

10. Holly by Stephen King

This was not my favorite Stephen King book (I rated it four stars), but it's not a bad Stephen King book. I could appreciate what it was trying to do and it was definitely gross at times. I love gross!

9. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Re-read! I read this with one of my groups of fifth graders and By God there is a Reason This Man Is Still The King of Middle Grade. 

8. Can We All Be Feminists? by June Eric-Udorie

Nonfiction essay collection. I felt like it said a lot but was more of an introduction to intersectional feminism than anything. 

7. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

I've stated that this mostly made me want to re-read Gentleman's Guide, but it was also a decent story with characters that I cared about, so, you know. 

6. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Oh man this book. This one was intense. This one was a lot. Almost made me cry, a little, a couple of times.Very dark, very poignant, a good one.

5. Save the Date by Morgan Matson

My first five star read of this list! This is actually the book at the BOTTOM of my five star books from this year and last year, but it was very cute and I could appreciate it. 

4. Electric Idol by Katee Robert

Read Neon Gods last year. Was OK with it. Read this at the beginning of this year and holy FUCK was it everything I wanted and more. 

3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

This was my first full-length Shirley Jackson novel and goddam was it good. Of course it was good. It was Shirley Jackson. 

2. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

This book has been talked up since its inception and yeah, it is hyped up for a reason. One of those situations where if I hadn't been in front of a room of fifth graders, I would have been bawling my eyes out. 

1. Needful Things by Stephen King

A re-read takes my number one spot for the year, currently. What can I say--I love the town books.

And, just for some fun, my current five least favorites of the year, with the absolute worst at the end. 

5. Savage Delinquents by Alan Bennett

This wasn't a bad book. It just really wasn't very good. 

4. The Silent Blade by RA Salvatore

Same here. This also claims to be a first book in a series but I do feel like I shouldn't have jumped in, um, here. 

3. Memories by Francine Pascal

SAVE ME FROM SWEET VALLEY HIGH

2. 27 Hours by Tristina Wright

This book is barricaded behind controversy and at the end of the day it just isn't very good. Like, man, if you're going to be controversial and racist at least be good. Or interesting.

1. Art is the Lie by Courtney Cook Hopp

For the love of God. Twilight but worse. 

But at the end of the day, hey, none of these books are anywhere near as bad as LEFT BEHIND BY TIM LAHAYE

[spacenutspod]

This summer, experts in fields ranging from astronomy anSymposiumysics to astrobiology, astrogeology, and cosmology all convened at the University of McGill for the 8th Interstellar Symposium: In Light of Other Suns. In partnership with McGill, this event was hosted the Interstellar Research Group (IRG), the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and Breakthrough Initiatives. Between July 10th and 13th, students, press, and space enthusiasts attended presentations and outreach events that addressed the big questions on interstellar spaceflight exploration. To learn more, Universe Today sat down with NASA technologist, author, and engineer Les Johnson who attended the event and hosted many of its panel discussions. This included the public outreach event “Interstellar Travel: Are We Ready?” where he and a panel of experts (including Alan Stern, AJ Link, Prof. Philip Lubin, Erika Nesvold, Trevor Kjorlien) discussed the technological, social, and ethical dimensions of travelling nearby stars. He was also a featured guest for the Science Fiction Author Panel where he was joined by fellow SF authors Karl Schroeder, Eric Choi, and Sylvain Neuvel. We covered some interesting topics in a relatively short amount of time. Among them was the rently-released anthology of short stories and essays, The Ross 248 Project, published by Baen Books in May 2023. This volume was the latest in a series edited by Les Johnson and professional engineer Ken Roy (inventor of the Shell worlds concept), to which I had the honor of contributing the essay titled, “”. The following is the transcript of the interview between Mr. Johnson and myself Symposiumliams), hereafter denoted as LJ and M. The 8th Interstellar Symposium was held from July 10th to 13th at McGill University. Credit: Interstellar Research Group (IRG) Matt: Can you give us a sense of the structure of the Symposium? How did things kick-off? Les Johnson: A tradition of the Interstellar Research Group symposia is that we try to have classes before the meeting begins. These three-hour seminars taught by experts in their field are intended for the literate audience, but not necessarily a heavily-technical audience, because we offer continuing ed credits for teachers. So this year, we had three seminars, and they were a fairly good turnout. There was one provided by Laura Montgomery, who used to be a space law person with FAA regulating spaceflight launches. And now she teaches space law. And she did a class all about space law: overview, past, present, and future. And so everything about the Outer Space Treaty, the Moon Treaty, and the new recently passed legislation in the U.S. that lets companies profit from asteroid mining and all that was part of her discussion. And Alex Ellery, who is a professor of aerospace engineering, did a talk on self-replicating technology and how that might lead to space industrialization. So the whole idea of programmable von Neumann machines, though not as microscopic. And then, Brent Ziarnick, who is a teacher at the Air University, that thy have for up and coming air force officers and space force officers, he teaches at that. He’s in the DOD. And he gave a seminar called the “Role of National Space Forces, and Security, Safety, and Prosperity through Space Exploration.” Which was all about how we’re going to evolve the Coast Guard-like aspects of the Space Force to protect the space lanes. So anyway, we had those three seminars that people attended before the symposium actually began. “[I]n space, we run the very real risk that whoever gets there first, that they might set the rules of engagement that other people have to play.” M: Now, in terms of what Brent was talking about, what do you see as the likely threats and scenarios, the things that we need to be discussing today to be ready for tomorrow? LJ: I’ve had a lot of discussions with him about this. And he also wrote an essay for the anthology you and I are in. And he’s also writing a paper on this for a technical anthology that Ken and I are editing for Elsevier. So he’s given a lot of thought to this. And I think the big issue is, if you look at history on Earth, the nation states that are the first to do something set the rules for how the game will be played. So right now, there’s a big issue in the Taiwan Strait about freedom of navigation and what we consider to be international waters, whereas China doesn’t consider it to be international waters. The norm is what the rest of the world currently does, which assumes it’s a free passage in international waters because they were the first to get there. And in space, we run the very real risk that whoever gets there first – wherever there is, whether it be to a certain asteroid to a certain part of the Moon or otherwise – that they might set the rules of engagement that other people have to play by. And so I think one of the things we have to be careful of is making sure that the principles that we tend to hold dear – which are free travel, free expression, equal access to resources – that kind of thing is upheld by law. And part of how you do that is you set the precedent in space. So I think that’s what a lot of his talk probably was about who’s going to be the one to set the norms for how things are done. Artist’s impression of the orbital debris problem. Credit: UC3M M: Yeah, I can see a lot of overlap with what Montgomery was talking about there and from what I’ve learned about space law from the Space Court Foundation and Space Generation Advisory Council. We need to set the precedents and establish rules ahead of time so that we don’t end up trying to figure this out as we go along and having a “Wild West” -type scenario. LJ: Well, plus, from a national security point of view, right now, our Space Forces have a really good handle of what everybody in the world is doing in LEO, MEO, and GEO because we have spacecraft there that are watching everybody, and we have the capability from the ground to look up and watch everybody. And we know what everybody’s doing. Right now, in cislunar space, that capability doesn’t exist. And there is a Chinese lander on the lunar farside right now that we don’t have a clue what it’s doing. And I’m sure that’s causing great consternation somewhere, not that it’s necessarily anything more than just a science mission, and they’re just doing science. But that’s not the point. The point is, there’s no way to confirm that’s what’s happening. And nobody really knows that that’s what’s happening. So you have to ask the question, “Hmm, how are we going to fix that problem?” And I’m sure that’s something that’s high on the list for the Space Force people. M: Alex Ellery and I have actually talked when I did an article on his work, and I immediately tried to rope him into doing a podcast on Von Neumann Probes. And he agreed. It helps that he’s a professor at my alma mater, Carleton University. I saw that Frank Tipler was there too. LJ: Oh, that was great. I had a great time talking to him. I have some of his books that he autographed. I was a fanboy. His talk was a great way to start the symposium because he thinks big. Right. And his claim to fame, the whole Omega Point thing, and the fact that he believes that he has shown through the fundamental laws of nature that there will be a point in the future when we’ll be able to simulate the Universe and recreate everyone whose ever lived and ever will live and can live for eternity in that future. And the fact that we exist now, he has a mathematical way of showing that that’s proof that we’re going to be successful in the future. And I have to admit, I didn’t really fully understand all of it. But he is really big on basically not just anti-matter, but this whole notion of how we understand the Universe and what that tells us about how the future clock of the Universe is going to unfold. And it was a really upbeat, optimistic, but incredibly technically detailed presentation. So I can’t do it justice in explaining it because I think there’s only one Frank Tipler. It was really a nice optimistic way to kick things off. The next talk was given by another person you probably should talk to, Joseph Gottlieb, who gave a really nice humanities paper on the ethics and morality of, “Should we explore space?” And he really delved down into the questions of, “Do we as a species have a right to export our species elsewhere? What’s the basis by which we’re going to make the decisions regarding that? And what are the philosophical presuppositions that go into that whole discussion?” And his bottom line was “yes.” But he also made a point that there are other people out there that are of the belief “maybe” and some that are “no,” right? So there are different [opinions]. I’m not surprised there’s disagreement, but he makes a pretty compelling case in his presentation and in his paper that there is a good philosophical basis for space exploration and the expansion of the human species into space. So pretty cool stuff. It was very down to Earth after Tipler. (laughs) Artist’s impression of the proposed Solar Gravity Lens telescope. Credit: The Aerospace Corporation M: (laughs) Yeah, “let’s get back to things that are a little more… now!” LJ: Yeah. Well, even stuff that was far out [like Claudio Maccone]. I’ve known Claudio Maccone for 20 years now. He’s the one who really – he and Greg Matloff are the ones that really got me sucked into the interstellar community. And Claudio is a mathematical savant. I mean, he’s just amazing. But his whole thing now is this whole gravitational lensing for communications and for looking at exoplanets. Now, you may have heard of the work that Slava Turyshev is doing at JPL on the exoplanet imager at the Solar Gravity Lens. Do you know anything about that? M: Yeah. It was a little while ago, but I do remember that – basically, using the Sun as a gravitational lens to image exoplanets that would provide insane resolution? LJ: Right. Yeah, there were two people at the conference who talked about that. One was Claudio, and the other was Victor Toth, who is actually a part of Slava’s [research]. He gave a talk in the afternoon, “Look before you leap: using the solar gravitational lens to explore exoplanets.” That’s where he really delved into the whole exoplanet imaging kind of thing. Claudio actually talked about using it as a communication system, kind of the Galactic Internet. He says that what we need to do if we’re going to send a colony or a settlement ship to Alpha Centauri, and we want to have high-bandwidth communication from there to home, you can’t do anything about the speed of light with the lag time. But you can sure do something about getting the communication strength up. So you have high bandwidth because bandwidth is determined by the size of your antenna and the size of your receiver, and the power of your transmitter. And it turns out that not only does the Sun act as a gravity lens for light, but it also acts as a gravity lens for radio. We shouldn’t be surprised because both are photons, right? They’re just different energy. So if you take a spacecraft with an existing transmitter that’s not gigawatts but might be hundreds of watts, and you put it at the Sun’s gravity lens point that aligns with Alpha Centauri. And you put another one in the Alpha Centauri system so that it’s at the point where it looks back at Sol (our star). You have two nodes. And then you send whatever data at Alpha Centauri that you want to send back to Earth to the Solar Gravity Lens satellite that they have. And then they use this very modest transmitter to send it back or back to Earth, and the Solar Gravity Lens focuses all that energy back onto our receiver. So you no longer need a gigawatt transmitter to get high bandwidth. You can do it with just a conventional few 100-watt spacecraft transmitters. So it’s sort of the equivalent of imaging, but you’re doing it with radio, and you have a communications network. And Claudio postulates that, given the amount of time that the Universe has existed and how long it takes spacecraft to travel these distances, even if we have cultures that are spreading throughout the galaxy at some small fraction of the speed of light, they’ve had a long time to do it. The reason why we may not be picking anything up on SETI is because these different civilizations are all talking to each other from the gravity lens point. And there’s no leakage. And in order to join the network, you have to get one of them to recognize that you’re there and beam something to your surrogate Solar Gravity Lens region. So it’s potential that we could send a probe to the Solar Gravity Lens with a radio tuned to SETI frequencies and suddenly find out there’s somebody else out there. And Claudio really developed that mathematically and did a very, very nice job. Showing that it’s not only possible but how it could change our paradigm of doing SETI and how there might actually be a galactic internet that we just haven’t got a cell phone to tap into yet. So that was one of the more mind-expanding lectures of the morning. The 8th Interstellar Symposium was held from July 10th to 13th at McGill University. Credit: Interstellar Research Group (IRG) M: The event you were part of, “Interstellar travel, are we ready?” There was a lot of “who’s who” there. Right off the top, Alan Stern and Phillip Lubin were both there and bringing quite a bit to the table. And you yourself, you were hosting? LJ: Yeah, I introduced all the panelists: AJ, Allen, Phillip, and Erica. And then Trevor was like the MC. He’s apparently a popular host in Canada, and he does this kind of thing all the time. He’s witty and personable, so he interacted with the audience and had a list of questions. And we on the panel kind of batted around the answers. Some were specific to us, and some were general. And it all centered around this notion of – “How do we plan for something that’s far out?” “Why are we doing it?” “Can we really afford to do it?” And, “What’s the scale that it will be?” And there were differences of opinion. We had a few points of disagreement, notably between most of us and Philip Lubin. Phil had just done a recent cost analysis, just in energy costs, of how much it would cost to send an interstellar ship. And that caused quite a discussion. Because I personally, I think it’s an irrelevant number because by the time we do this, what is the energy price going to be? And what is money going to be? So there are some definite differences. Erica and AJ really brought the perspective of “Who’s going to go?” and “How do we decide who goes?” and “How do we make this community less ‘pale, male, and stale’?” which I thought was very valuable. Erica [is] a successful social media podcaster kind of person, and AJ is really big on working to get diversity into space, and the space thinking, and space workforce. So it was, it was really a nice interplay between technical, social, and political kinds of discussions, and it was the most well-attended public outreach event we’ve ever had. The audience had over 400 people in it. So it was really awesome. Yeah. M: Was there any consensus when it came to this event? Was there any sense of, “Yeah, we think we are,” or “We’re gonna have to wait and see,” or…? LJ: No, we’re not ready (laughs), and it’s technology that’s the prohibitor. We’re really not ready technologically. But we did conclude that being ready, at least for small robotic missions, is within reach. With the work that Breakthrough Starshot is doing and the spin-offs that might come from that, we all kind of envisioned that it might be possible to send a robotic probe within the next 100 years, give or take. So we’re not as far away from being able to do that as I thought we were when I began my career and looked at interstellar stuff like 20 years ago. I was thinking it was 200 to 300 years. We might actually be within 100 years of our first robotic probe, which is amazing. So the answer is, “Technically, we’re ready.” I think AJ and Erica might take issue with us being socioeconomically, sociologically, and psychologically ready. But that’s an important question, “Are we as a culture ready to do this?” And I think there’s some legitimate debate to be had here. Project Starshot, an initiative sponsored by the Breakthrough Foundation, is intended to be humanity’s first interstellar voyage. Credit: breakthroughinitiatives.org M: I was wondering about that very thing. I would assume the psychological and sociological impacts that such a mission would have had to have come up. So, did they [say] we’re ready that way, or they do they not believe [we are]? LJ: They believe we’re on a path to being ready and that we should try to do it. They were not negative. They were questioning our readiness today but not doubting that we will if that makes sense. M: Perfect sense. And so, the thing that we’re not ready for, I take it then, is we cannot foresee crewed interstellar missions within our lifetime. There’s like a lot to work out there? LJ: Well, here’s where you have to be real careful. There were a lot of students in the audience who are 40 years younger than me. So when we say our lifetime, whose lifetime are we talking about? In my lifetime? No way. Robotic missions in my lifetime? No way. Robotic missions in the lifetime of a baby born today? Maybe. I don’t think a 40-year-old is gonna see it. I think a two year old might. M: Well, that counts me out. LJ: Sorry (laughs) M: I should point out that they’re doing a lot of good work in longevity cures these days. So, I wanted to definitely get into the science fiction panel. And it was you, Karl Schroeder, Eric Choi, Sylvain Neuvel? LJ: They’re all Canadian science fiction writers except me. And Karl Schroeder has written quite a few. He’s written a lot more stuff than I knew about. And I saw it, I really, I’m going to read some of his stuff. Now. We had side discussions because he and I have a common interest in developing planetary sunshades to mitigate climate change, and he and I’ve been talking about that offline. But this panel is centered a lot in a direction that I kind of inadvertently, well, probably not inadvertently. I did steer it that way, a bit, maybe a bit too much. And that is how science fiction has changed. It used to be optimistic. And today, it’s very pessimistic and dystopian. And why? What does that mean? And is that a good thing or a bad thing? And or is it something we ought to try to change? And we had a lot of audience interaction with the younger people. And there are quite a few younger people at this meeting, more younger people than we’ve ever had, who were explaining why they think dystopian. And then me and Carl and the others telling them, “Well, your generation has challenges like every other did. Roll up your sleeves and get busy, right?” And we all agreed that the tone of the literature can set the tone of the culture and that it’s been negative for too long. The pendulum needs to swing back to people writing about futures where we can actually solve our problems. And so we had a lot of discussion about that, not a lot about the writing process or what it means to be a writer. We did talk about some of our works, but it was primarily the philosophy of directions of where we are in science fiction. The Ross 248 Project, by Les Johnson and Ken Roy (eds.) Credit: Baen Books M: Well, that certainly sounds interesting. So was that sort of the main subject, the tone of science fiction today versus [the past]? LJ: That’s how it ended up being. There were other questions asked, but most of them centered around that, and that’s what got the most audience interaction. M: During your panel and also the public outreach event, did The Ross 248 Project come up? LJ: Oh, yeah. I made sure it came up. It came up in the science fiction panel, and they had 10 copies of the book for sale in the room. And they sold out. I wish they’d had more. I think they could have sold twice that many. So yeah, I did. And a lot of people who said they couldn’t get it told me they were going to order it. So I think they will. Yeah, came up. Are you kidding? I had a copy up there with me! (laughs) M: I wish I could have been there. I’d have brought my copies too. LJ: Well, our next meeting will be in Houston. And June of 2025. M: I think my schedule is clear. (laughs) LJ: Believe it or not, I had to put it on mine to make sure it stays clear. M: Les Johnson, thank you so much for joining us, and best of luck with your future endeavors. The post Universe Today Interviews NASA’s Les Johnson About the 8th Interstellar Symposium appeared first on Universe Today.

#space #astronomy #news #science

[the-letter-horror-lover]

Another Horse, Fiery Red by Javanne

Anime » Kuroshitsuji Rated: T, English, Drama & Supernatural, [Alan H., Eric S.] [Grell S., William S.], Words: 134k+, Published: May 28, 2021 Updated: Oct 27

3Chapter 16: All on a Beautiful Morning

Demons on the left! Defenders attack! Push them back! Collectors, to the rear! Where are our angels?

London Dispatch

Grell, newly off the graveyard shift, swept into the office she shared with Knox and their Junior. She tossed her coat at the peg on the wall. "I need a drink. Several drinks. Anybody want to come along?"

Amalia Reyes, putting on her jacket, said, "It's breakfast time for me. I'm starting a split shift with Mitch. Sorry."

Ronald Knox looked up from his books and essays. "Homework. I hate it. I barely have time to sleep."

Grell snorted. "Your own fault for being competent in public. Slingby avoided promotion for decades by presenting himself as an insubordinate drunkard with an impenetrable accent. That started to slip when he met Alan. Now look at the poor sod. That's you in five years."

"Ah, no! Kill me now. Wait. Isn't there a rule? What about Hesseltine? Isn't he doing a five-year transfer here to qualify for a management promotion in his home branch? Can't I just refuse to leave?"

Grell sighed and shucked her jacket. She sat and rummaged in her desk for a bottle of nail lacquer. "Hesseltine's director is a traditionalist, from a Branch where traditions are observed. Will spent fifty years running a hellhole under an administrator who withheld all funding and discarded tradition as expensive nonsense. Remember? You were here. You were very new, but you were here for the end of it. Reapers died because of it. Will still pinches every penny till it screams and bites him. He always will."

Ronnie picked up a book. "It says right here that applicants for Assistant Director have to have served five years in another Branch. But Alan's been here since graduation."

"That's right, Ronnie. Which demonstrates that you're not going to be given that option, either. With the war, you'll only have to finish all your classes."

"Awww, man..."

Junior Reyes sat down and became very busy with the sheath holding her ankle knife. This sounded like an instructional discourse, not to be missed. She still had five minutes. Mitch could wait.

Grell continued, "Will did negotiate to send Alan to Carlisle. But they weren't willing to take the pair. Alan, yes, but not Eric. Eric's carefully constructed reputation bit him in the butt. That was before portals. Think about how a five-year separation would have ended for them."

Ronnie winced. "Secession. Six months tops."

"Two months, and that's the best possible scenario. But see? You understand that. Will doesn't. That's why he needs you to train for management. Will is a company man, blood, bone and breath. Without someone to counter him, he becomes a petty martinet."

Grell spread a bit of lacquer onto a spot on a nail where the previous coat was chipped. "Officially, Alan served his time at the Academy while already doing the job here. For four years Will gave him all the work without the title. He dumped the Budget on him, but 'forgot' to increase his pay until someone else shamed him into it. Madame promoted him a year early. And Alan didn't get the classes, either. Offer to lend him your books when you're done with them. I will bet you anything that he read them all years ago."

Grell waved her hand in the air to dry the new polish.

"Count your blessings, Mustard-seed. If Will did that to you, Alan would defend you. But if Alan is not here, you're on your own. Study the rules. Someday you'll have to pull Will up short. Watch how Alan does it. Dear Will always ends those sessions convinced that Alan's suggestions are his own ideas, and that their greatest benefit is to the Branch rather than its employees. He takes those ideas and builds upon them as only he can. He's not above renting Alan out to a minor Branch for a week or two if he wants to do something that he knows Alan would oppose. Watch for it. Don't let him shout you down when you know you're right."

"You'd be as good at this as I am. Why me?"

"Ronnie, I am completely unsuitable for this job. Not because I am scandalous, mad, defiant of the rules, or partnered with the boss; many Assistant Directors are all of that and more. I will not do it because I will not risk losing Will. I 've done it twice. Never again. Will needs people who will oppose him daily and don't care if they're fired or transferred to Patagonia."

"Has London ever had much turnover?" Reyes was taking notes. She only knew London as the most desirable posting in the country.

"Before Madame Administrator took over, oh yes. We had a terrible casualty rate. Seniors taught their trainees to leave as soon as they could. After she arrived, not as much, because conditions were rapidly improving. Since Alan was promoted, almost none. Since Eric moved into recruitment, we have a waiting list. Ask anyone who was here before Will and has watched the whole progression."

There was a rap on the doorframe. "Molly? You ready?"

"Yes, Mitch, I'm coming." She picked up her Death Book, still used by Reapers for civilian collections, and left the office.

"Molly's doing well, isn't she, now that she's free of Will's orders to guard Alan?"

"Yep. Catching up nicely. She'll be promoted on schedule."

"I will take her to buy her white uniform. We'll have Scheduling arrange her to be partnered with the strongest defenders. You see, Ronnie? Will is brilliant at business planning. But people? No. They are game pieces to be placed and sacrificed. He is going to rise high someday; but only if trusted aides rise with him, managing his treatment of people he does not understand."

"He has Alan."

"Sulking's not a good look for you, sweetie. Think, Ronnie. Alan might be transferred, if a smaller branch loses all its Seniors. If not, well, he has attracted the notice of angels. That's never good. Demons have orders to kill him on sight. His successes have caused some jealousy in other Branches. He's been assassinated once already, by a Reaper he tried to help. In short, he's just the sort of person who should have a string of backups ready to take over at any time. He's tried several Reapers as aides, all of whom have left for easier jobs. Start looking for another Reaper to join you, because it may become too big a job for one person. Eric's scheduling Ten Hagen as a part-time aide for Alan. He has exactly zero experience with Alan's office, which may be an advantage. Marisa Solway is learning; talk to her. She has the advantage of being a noncombatant and an Administrator, which has its own protections. She can teach you both if you let her, and explain why your positions cannot be held by Administrative personnel."

…Where's Burns? Fancher is off to hospital, but where's Burns? Is he taken? Has anyone seen…? Everyone! We're missing a man. Check back over the ground we've covered…Is that.. No, that was a demon. It's dead. I saw Burns over there earlier…There's someone over there. Hurry! Burns? Burns! Are you okay?...Stretcher! Stretcher!...Burns, did you finish your List? I've got it, pass your Collection to me. Stretcher bearers, over here now! Jonas, hold on…

Breakfast in the New Apartment

"I wish ye had called me to go with you. I've had long experience with angels, and they cannot be trusted. While they may not interfere with our work, there are no rules at all that protect us off-duty. Don't scare me like that, me Light."

"You were on the battlefield. Sorenson is, after all, a guard of your own choosing. If Sandriel had lost his temper at any point, we would have escaped. Not that he would make a scene on Academy grounds—"

"Too many witnesses, true."

"Or in the hospital—"

"Where Uriel's crew guards every corner and would tolerate no foolishness around their injured—"

"Also, he is not a member of the Forces Militant. He's not as haughty or warlike as Azrael's troops. Even when I asked my boon, he was not threatening. And this is important, love. He eased Werther's pain, even though it took both hands to do it. Could he be a different species?"

"When he helped you, 'twas but a fingertip's touch. But I didn't get the feeling he wanted to wash his hands afterwards. Injuries, though, are not the same as a curse. As for species, well, maybe there is something to the legends of loving, helpful guardian angels that the humans like to twitter about, but I certainly haven't seen any."

"Come, now, what about Frank Bourne?"

"One out of all the Heavenly Host? One? And if a superior demanded that the friendship end, would he find a more acceptable chum?"

"No, he wouldn't, and you know that."

"Mmph. I agree Sandriel has done you a favor or two when it furthered his own plans. Well, all right, me love, you were safe enough. But I will fret anyway. It's me duty as a partner. How did you track down poor Werther? Did Collins tell you where he was?"

"I didn't ask," said Alan. "I didn't want to get him in trouble. He'd been told to be silent. I have other ways. Thorns is a shameful condition in most countries. The cursed are kicked out when they can't hide it any more. Some starve. Some find work in support-sector jobs until they are too sick. Medical won't keep them for more than a day or two. The hospice takes in the abandoned ill of all branches, without the support of any branch. It's staffed by people who fled the Academy before taking their exams. They're an unfunded charity.

"I promised to try to get the place recognized as a Division responsibility, and at least apply for a grant for better food and nursing. Those suffering severe attacks are sent to Doctor Stafford, Tent Twelve at the Academy hospital. There are always one or two there. It's heartbreaking, Eric. But at least they do have a place to live. And to die; they would rather die at the hospice among their fellows, than at a medical facility which obviously resents their use of the bed."

"I can spare a quid or two."

"They can use it. But Eric – you're Personnel. How did you not know that one of ours was cursed?"

"What I am is Recruitment, Hiring and Firing. And that's only when I'm not Reaping or teaching. Only Avram is full-time. Admin counts the dead, and they missed this entirely. Might be a hole in the rules; Reaper missing, not our responsibility, we don't track secessions or desertions, sort of thing. I think I need to start a new desk for those missing and unaccounted for. As far as I know, that's never been done, and with our losses it will be hard to spare another person to a desk job. I'll speak with LIz Brodie. If she asks around and is brushed off, then we have one problem pinpointed. The other folks who should have noticed is Scheduling. If Admin reported Werther as lost instead of injured or missing, then that explains why Scheduling hasn't followed up on him, and we have another problem to investigate."

Alan waved a fork. "Admin is writing off and lying about Reapers who have the Thorns. I'm going to Will with what I've found. He may want to pursue this without too much fanfare. We're accusing another Division of screwing up, and possibly of screwing up intentionally, or even of screwing up because they have orders to screw up. This is going to go to Madame eventually. In the meantime, you can set Avram to look for other instances of Reapers declared missing and falling through the cracks. He only needs to find one. He'll then ask Will for a convalescent or two to help him, since Terry's Personnel hours are tied up with Bristol. I'll make sure the next year's budget will give us an increased head count and it'll be an official expansion of Personnel's duties."

"Aye. If Admin decries it as redundant, we can point out that it's a job they botched. They'll huff and screech. I'll offer to appeal to Auditing for arbitration. They will suddenly become very helpful if they know they'll lose. If they want arbitration, then that means the scunners think they are in the right. That means somebody Higher Up has issued a written order. That war will have to be fought at his level."

"But we can start it right here. I've got the lists from the hospice - those in residence, those waiting for openings. I'll give copies to Avram. As for me, today I am going to persuade Will to make a very public donation of some of the money which we won't use for the Gather. As long as Will sees it as a one-off which won't affect his future spending, he'll cooperate. He'll see this as a potential hiring opportunity if we can find a cure. I've started Sandriel thinking. If he doesn't get conflicting orders from a superior, I think he'll dedicate himself to the problem. But he did say that curses were more a Demonic specialty."

"Aye, they would be. But healing is his bailiwick."

"So it is, and I wish him joy of it. How are things going in Bristol?"

"Interesting times, me love. Interesting times. The death and resurrection of a branch. The original staff will slowly age off. They're being isolated by their own reputations and their inability to teach. Terry bribed a few notable fighters to provide training sessions – that's how I know what's going on over there; I've taken some of Bristol's folks into me Academy classes.

"The shirkers who've been forced out of deskwork onto battlefields are mostly useless at first. It takes them a few days to learn that they can't get reassigned to cushy jobs by sucking up or fucking up. There's been quite a few late bloomers among their oppressed, though. They'll do well enough.

"D'Acres is determined to create a model Branch over there. He has Madame's full support. She got rid of the three bullies who ruled the Branch. Their former victims worship the rug D'Acres walks on. He's deeply involved in reforming the Admin side, with Auditing running a torches-and-pitchforks campaign beside him. Director Ambrose could not have done his payroll fiddles without Administrative connivance. Housing and Supplies had to know too. Auditing wants to know who profited, and if anyone protested. If so, Auditing wants to know who hid those complaints. Sarah Goodfellow is having the time of her afterlife. Her team are all going to get promotions out of this.

"The office culture is changing. Some of 'em tried to treat the new transfers the way they had been treated. Some didn't know any better; some were just vicious by nature. Garraway stepped in at once, gave the aggressors the choice of learning new habits or leaving, sacked a couple of 'em outright. Now that the downtrodden are allowed to defend themselves, a certain amount of social balancing has begun. Garraway asks only that they sweep up afterwards and don't leave groaning bodies in the hallways where D'Acres can trip over them and complain about the cleaners getting slack.

"Quite a number are desperate to transfer out. The Branches, be they ever so short-handed, don't want 'em. Anybody attempting to flee after reform has begun is sure to be a sneaking snitch or a scheming bully. And, of course, they're forbidden to teach, or even to partner with a teaching Reaper. Maintenance has taken some for duty in remote locations. Supplies is trying a few on their assembly lines, very closely watched.

"Those forcibly transferred from other branches are determined that Bristol shall not become a stain on their records. They are overwriting Bristol's culture with their own. In a year or two the Academy will allow them a few interns. They will report on how they are treated. Soon afterwards the transfers will be allowed trainees. I'm quite proud of Garraway; he's doing good work. He'll build a fine Branch from his new people."

…We sent him here. His partner came here earlier, a shoulder injury. What do you mean, you can't find him? The tent isn't so big you can lose someone in it! No, not sure how badly he was hurt; I'm not qualified to examine a casualty. Let me ask Fancher if he knows what happened…already moved on to the triage site? Both of them? You're sure? We'll check there….

09:00, Director's Office

Alan gathered papers and a box of aspirin tablets. At the appointed time he presented himself to Mister Wójcik, Will's Administrative Assistant. Wójcik nodded, knocked on Will's door and announced, "Mr. Humphries, for your weekly meeting, sir."

Alan walked in. He laid his materials on the table, moved away the uncomfortable-chair-for-keeping-meetings-short and substituted the comfortable-chair-for-extended-planning-sessions. He moved the aspirin within Will's reach. He poured two cups of tea from Wójcik's tea set, gave the first cup to Will, and sat down.

Will looked at the aspirin, looked at the tea, and simply said, "How much?"

"Quite a bit, which we will recoup in the next Budget, for reasons both strategic and humanitarian."

Will glared perfunctorily. He drew the aspirin box nearer but did not open it. "Explain."

"Do you remember Werther? Very good Reaper, quiet, never any complaints, paperwork finished promptly, always willing to help the Juniors?"

"Reported missing but not lost. Last year. Would have been eligible to train this year. Glasses no longer tracked. Skullduggery?"

"Yes. He died two days ago, here in London, in a bare and unheated building which houses Reapers dying of Thorns. These Reapers have been declared dead or missing and their pay has been stopped."

Will went straight to the essentials. "How many?"

"Sixty-two at last count. Only half are British. The others have been expelled or declared lost by foreign branches and made their way here to the only place available to them. They are fed leftovers smuggled in by Cafeteria interns. They are attended by Academy undergraduates who have dropped out because they fear failing their exams. There is a long waiting list of invalids who are destitute and on the street. There is a longer list of Reapers who can still work and hide their conditions. Infirmaries will not keep them for more than two days because the beds are full of combat injuries. After all, there is very little they can do for them beyond painkillers and warm beds and food. A doctor at the Academy Hospital knows of fifty-three cases. He's been told that treatments are being investigated and are fully funded. He doesn't believe it. He's been ordered not to talk about it. He stated that Research has suggested terminating those affected."

"How did you find this place?"

"I dug around in our Administrative Stacks, in the name of budgetary research. It's part of my job, after all, and I find it most informative. Everything's cross-referenced to the other Divisions of this Branch. I traced Werther's Supplies history. Supplies reclaims all our equipment upon our termination. Their tracking is actually more reliable than Spectacles'. His duffel was listed as located on the second floor of an abandoned warehouse. That address was the hospice."

"Your suggestions, Humphries?" Will's voice was even and cool.

"First. A very public donation of some of the money which was originally set aside for the Gather, which cannot be held while the Hospital covers those grounds. Use it for beds, blankets, food and a doctor who can prescribe pain medicines. I want to embarrass other Branches into paying a share. We need to spend it or we'll lose it next year anyway. We'll reassign those funds to Personnel for the duration of the war.

"Second. For you, as the local Director, to make these requests: Admin to arrange steady funding at the Division level or above; Auditing to supply some qualified legal help for the hospice inmates. If Housing's been receiving rent on a room from a current resident as well as a 'missing' Thorns sufferer, I suggest the patient's money be refunded and a thumping great fine collected by Auditing to be used for the hospice.

"Third. For Madame to force Housing and Maintenance to register the hospice as an official medical ward. Beds and warm blankets, the entire building properly cleaned, staffed, supplied and heated. I want the Cafeteria to step up, too, with hot meals served on-site to both the ambulatory and the bedridden. One of their seniors is running a soup kitchen nearby for the destitute who aren't yet in the hospice; I want that made official, and he is not to be punished for setting it up. Medical can't spare many qualified nurses, but they can certainly train the escaped undergraduates working there. If we can get them certified, they'll be put back on the official rolls in official capacities with official pay. The Academy has students who aspire to medical careers. They should be sent on short shifts to help at the hospice."

Will thought for a moment. "Benefits to the Branch, short-term; the knowledge that we do not abandon our injured, which will improve morale and therefore performance and efficiency. We may be able to give them sedentary employment as well. We will be seen to be at the forefront of reform, and become an even more desirable employer. Benefits to the Division; It will destroy the secrecy. It will also transfer the expense upwards, a short-term problem but a long-term benefit. It will cause the Uppers to demand a cure, so that in the future the hospice can be closed or turned over to Medical as a training facility."

"You might ask Madame to have it used as a long-term care hostel where those on half-pay can recover fully."

"Impossible. However, it might well be accepted as an extended-care ward to allow the severely injured to recover enough to work a full shift at a desk; it's all in the wording. I will think about that. Let us return to the subject of the Thorns. The Uppers will press the Scientific department to accelerate their research; Auditing will demand transparency. Oversight might be a suitable project for the reformed Judicial Department as well.

"Benefits, long-term; If a cure is found, London will dispense it to all, thereby creating a pool of experienced, grateful, loyal Reapers available for hire at a time when staffing is a worldwide problem. We, of course, will recruit heavily."

"They won't want to go back to the branches which expelled them, that's certain. Fully trained. Battle-proven. Some, of course, may have partners; partners who would be willing to transfer to London if they knew their lost friends were alive and working here."

"Excellent. You do occasionally think like a manager. If a cure is not found, still we have done our best, given shelter to those in need, and annoyed the deserving. Now, Humphries. I am reliably informed that you visited the Academy Hospital with an angel. Why have I received no report?"

"I just finished it. Here it is. Sandriel was ordered to apologize for the uninvited entry and to grant me a boon. That's all. It's part of the weekly report."

"Who gave that order? What boon?"

"I asked him, as a seraph of Raphael, the Archangel of Healing, to find a cure for the Thorns. I took him to visit Werther so he could see exactly what was involved. Sandriel did not refuse my request, which means he'll try to fulfill it unless a superior steps in. As for the order itself, I'm not sure, but I think it was a joint command from high levels; Uriel or Azrael, and Raphael. It seems a bit of an overreaction, though, considering that Angels habitually walk all over Reapers. Did Sandriel think the least harmful way to achieve his aims was a simple breach of manners, protocol, tradition? Did all the guests spoil his plan? Did he see them as guests, or as potential witnesses? Or as too many to overcome? Did he only back off because the whole room forced them into indefensible positions and surrounded them? Could it be that Sandriel's aims have nothing to do with us, but with attitudes among his superiors?"

Will pushed the aspirin back towards Alan. "Insufficient data, Humphries. If the data was available, it might be beyond our understanding. Let us concentrate on the things we do understand all too well; our own Higher Ups. Madame is displeased with many, but not with us. Therefore, we shall let her work this out at her level while we pursue our own problems. Werther was an exemplary Reaper. I want to know the names of all London Reapers who are in desperate straits through no fault of their own."

Alan shuffled papers and drew out three pages. "The reapers currently in hospice, with their former Branches. The two waiting lists."

Will looked down the pages. "Bristol. Of course. D'Acres is in no position to help while the Auditors are there. Manchester, Liverpool, York, Hull, Leeds, yes, yes, all the major population centers. And many minor ones.

"Humphries, is the warehouse large enough to hold all homeless Reapers if beds can be provided? Good. There are several ways to obtain relief from a Branch for a war casualty, especially one they believe lost. We can use shame as a last resort. Far better to give them an opportunity to act honorably before Madame orders them to do it. Especially if they know the costs will be assumed by the Realm in the near future. The foreign reapers will benefit from the general improvements. In a month or so a public announcement that we are accepting Thorns patients, coming from Madame or from a step above her, should bring in those still in hiding. A good use of peacetime budget funds which otherwise might go unused. You will see that we reclaim those funds in the next Budget, Humphries.

"You will go to Senior DePoy at once. Tell her that a London Reaper was injured in the course of duty. Tell her that he was removed from the Rolls, that his glasses were disconnected from the Monitoring network, and that he was abandoned as one dead. Tell her that this was accomplished in a way that left our own Personnel officers unaware of his plight. Warn her that this may be a custom and procedure of very long standing. Even if so, this is to end immediately within the London Branch."

"Thanks, Will—"

"And tell her I issued this decree when you contracted the Thorns, Humphries, when they tried to take you away, and I want to know who overrode it!"

"Yes, sir. Request for someone's head on a plate acknowleged, sir. Eric has already begun some research into that. He'll see you today. He's going to bring Avram into it. This may evolve into a project that is perfect for Avram and Terry, and educational for Ronnie. Please think about encouraging it. I'll find you the money somewhere."

…Ma'am, we're looking for Seniors Charles Fancher and his partner Jonas Burns, both of London. They were sent from triage station number 12. Where are they? Well, can we talk to Fancher? Oh. That bad... I really need to ask him about his partner... The triage station insists they sent them on to you...Damn. You lost someone in a single step though a portal? Owen, go back to station 12 and check the beds...

What? No, sir, I will not leave. We are London. We do not abandon our missing. If I have to check every bed in every tent and every building, I will find the man you've lost...Sure I know who you are. You're the fellow who is going to stand aside while I search...

Owen, did you find him? No? They've doped Charley, he won't wake up for hours. They say there is no record of Jonas arriving at the Academy. I'm going to start a systematic bed check, until they tell an Angel to eject me. You go right now, roust out Personnel and tell 'em I've just been ordered to stop looking for a missing man.

17: Nothing New Under The Sun

The Angel towered above the two reapers. A raised eyebrow invited explanation.

First and loudest was an Admin official of great importance, as demonstrated by the clipboard he brandished. "This man insists upon invading our wards, disturbing our staff, disturbing our patients! Our records show that his teammate did not arrive here! Remove him at once!"

The second was a small, dark, furious Welshman. "I am Senior Collections Agent Rodhri Howell, once of Swansea and now of London. I am seeking an injured Reaper who is reported to have been sent here from Triage 12. If they can lose one of ours, they can lose one of yours."

The Angel saw the logic and agreed. "I assume, then, that you need to see those patients admitted within the last three hours?"

"Two hours would be enough. It is possible he went missing from the triage station. We're investigating there too, if it's any consolation. We just need to establish whether he's here."

"Very well then." The Angel looked down upon the Administrator. "I shall escort this Reaper, ensuring that he does not interfere with patient care, until we are satisfied that the missing man is found, or that he is indeed not here."

"That's good," said Rhodri. "Please lead on."

The Administrator huffed with indignation but scurried to keep up. He accompanied them through the beds in the intake ward, ticking off each patient on his register. There were nineteen patients there. None were Jonas Burns. One patient admitted seeing him at the Triage station; "Yes, Burns and Fancher were both there. Both unconscious. Fancher's hurt badly. I didn't see Burns carried through the portal. He was in no shape to walk, though."

Howell turned to the Administrator. "Is there any other place he might be?"

"Let me check the surgical suites; ah, only two are in use. Come look through these windows. Is your man here? No?" The Administrator was beginning to get into the game. "Let us try Ward Four, where today's injured are being sent after initial treatment. About fifty there. Please do not wake the sleeping."

The Angel was too large to fit between the rows of beds. He stood for a moment as Howell walked away down the aisles, then frowned, concentrated, and shrank to a mere six feet in height. He followed Howell until all the beds had been checked, occasionally murmuring reassurances to a nurse or a doctor. Fancher was in the third row, shoulder and right arm heavily wrapped, deeply asleep and healing. At the end of the room, they returned to the waiting Administrator.

"Senior Fancher is here, but not the man we're hunting. He should have been in the same group. He had a head injury. Looked pretty nasty but head wounds do bleed a lot. Could he have been moved to another ward?"

"There would be a paper trail. That's the thing, you see – I've double-checked; no paper. Even if he'd arrived unconscious without clothes or glasses, a paper trail would have begun at arrival. We don't have any unidentified patients at the moment."

"You're sure?"

"When you set aside the Angels and the medical staff, this Hospital is an Administrative operation. We live and die by paper. If your fellow's here, he's under an assumed name. It happens sometimes. One moment, please." He consulted with a formidable nurse, then returned. "If he came here, he'd be in this ward. None admitted through that door have left. None have died. We've had no one who was discharged immediately after treatment. For the sake of completeness, I suggest a quick look at the Cafeteria. Many discharged patients stop there for a cuppa before heading home. If we find him, I want to ask how he got there without signing out."

The Angel returned to his duty station. Howell and the Admin walked over to the Academy Cafeteria. Alas, the Cafeteria held only a few scattered students deep in study. Howell sighed. "My apologies for the disturbance, sir."

The Admin sipped at a cup of badly needed tea. "And my apologies for being officious. Senior Burns might have arrived here and left at once to avoid treatment. Some Reapers do that. I must say that I consider it unlikely in this case. All descriptions indicate he was not ambulatory. Please sit for just a moment while I review my records – they update automatically, rather like your Lists and Death Books. My name's Caldwell, by the way. My card, sir."

"Howell, at your service. Pleased to meet you, sir."

"LIkewise, sir. Ah. Intriguing. Intake states that Senior Fancher arrived here already heavily sedated. The triage stations use local anesthetics for all but the worst cases, but Intake agrees that in this case the dose was appropriate. Truly, I think your best bet is to look very carefully at Triage 12. War zone, confusion, divers alarums and excursions. A far greater opportunity for a patient to go missing."

Will stalked out of his office. "Slingby! Why is the Academy Hospital reporting a disturbance by our Reapers? Why is Howell searching the place, and should we send someone to help him?"

At that moment, Owen Hughes came through the War Room portal. "Eric! Jonas Burns has gone missing between a triage station and the Hospital. His glasses don't register – not broken, just gone. Fancher's hurt and they've doped him heavily. We can't talk to him. Triage swears that both were sent to the Hospital. Rhodri went there to check for them. He says Fancher's there but there's no record of Burns arriving. He's going to search the wards if the angels don't throw him out. Harmon's staying at Triage 12, asking questions, but they're very busy and we can't interfere with patient care. Everybody else is at Headquarters."

Alan dropped an armload of folders. "There's always the possibility that the Angels would help in the search. Any carelessness in transport could affect their own injured. Merrick, ask the Monitors about the glasses and why their tracking failure has not been reported to us. Burns is gone from our trackers too. Bradshaw, call Medical. Inform them that London is investigating a problem at triage station number 12, and that they may need to send additional staff to cover duties there."

Will turned to Duncan. "Go to the Hospital. You will guard Fancher. Notify me as soon as he wakes up. His inability to answer questions is far too convenient. Knox, Jacobs, to the aid station now. Take a few people for backup. On my authority, find the person who doped Fancher. Jacobs, you will question him. If he protests that he was under orders, then find the person who gave those orders. Knox, collect the person who swore that Burns was sent to the Hospital."

Eric turned to Brodie. "Liz, can ye ask Supplies to search on Jonas' belt or watch before somebody thinks to strip him?"

"Already done. A strong signal at Triage 12, their storage closet. A weak one at Lompret, near Lille. Supplies are homing in on the Lompret signal. Senior Richards is on her way with her backup team."

Alan called from his office, "Scythes is tracing his weapons… His scythe is in Lille and has been reclaimed. His angel blade is in Lompret. Scythes is going after it with a team of their own."

"Where's Lompret? Alan, give us yer map. There it is. It's a small Branch, but then, they wouldn't want a place with any traffic, would they?" Eric turned to Will. "Somebody grabbed him from the triage station right after his arrival. Call our people off the Hospital. He's not there."

"…Mister Humphries, Monitors say the glasses have probably just moved out of range..."

Supplies arrived in Lompret first. Their trace was weak but indicated a one-block area. Since that block contained the Lompret Branch, they were willing to assume their target was within that building. They entered the front door and found a large foyer containing a small desk. There were several closed doors behind it. At the desk was a man who appeared to be angered by such an invasion.

"I am Senior Richards of Supplies. We are following a trace. The source appears to be above us. Can you direct us to the stairs?"

"Ah, madame, no one is allowed above but the employees of this branch. What do you seek? Paper? Pens? Surely Supplies has all these in abundance."

"We seek a London Reaper."

"There is no such person here."

The front door opened again to admit several large individuals. One stepped forward. "Senior Richards? Johns, of Scythes. We have a strong signal from a stolen scythe. It's three floors above and a bit to the North. You, sir. Take us upstairs."

The Reaper at the desk repeated, "No one is allowed above but the employees! It is the rule!"

"He's stalling. We should hurry," said Richards. She turned to her group and ordered, "Try all the doors."

The Reaper backed away rapidly. Johns ran forward, seized him by the arm, and quickly divested him of an Angel blade before he could use it to port away. "The stairs, sir, or shall I apply a little torque to this limb?"

"Here," called a Supplies staffer. "Nice little elevator. Stairs next door if you don't trust the controls."

"Stairs," ordered Richards. "I've jimmied too many of those lifts myself. Senior Johns, as you have the stronger signal, will you lead?"

"Happily, Senior Richards. Gorman, take this fellow and sit on him. We have questions to ask him."

They pelted up the stairs. The second floor was the bullpen. There were a very few Reapers immersed in paperwork. They appeared determined to remain uninvolved. At the top of the next flight, the stairs ended in another door. This surrendered to a lockpick and disclosed a dim and dusty attic. "There's tracks here. Two men dragging a third. One returning. Shh. Stand by." Johns closed his eyes, concentrated on the trace, and ported directly into the lap of a man sitting guard over a still body. The guard quickly joined his prisoner in unconsciousness. Johns kicked out the false wall hiding them from the rest of the attic. "Got him. Lights!"

The Scythes men produced Ever Ready Flash Lights – a new item under review, which interested Supplies immensely. "Oh, my, how very useful!" exclaimed Senior Richards. "Might I hear your opinion of this device when we have a moment?"

"It would be my pleasure, Senior. Saunders, be a good lad and strip this scoundrel of all weapons. Block his scythes and tie his hands. The rest of you, find a stretcher and blankets. If anyone tries to stop you, take their names and numbers. If that doesn't make them back off, threaten them with permanent disarmament."

"Never mind, Mister Johns. We will provide for this Reaper. We can do it far better than this branch can. We came prepared. Woodwright, Simpson, lift that poor man out of that filthy hole. Ilson, put the stretcher here; gently now, and tuck him up. Strap him in. Very good. Now port him down to the foyer. We'll use their portal to carry him to London. It'll be that third door that looks a little newer."

In the foyer, Junior Gorman had tied his Reaper up with a curtain cord. As they examined the controls of the portal, two young Juniors arrived. They looked at the two prisoners, panicked, and summoned their scythes to port away. They were immediately thrown to the ground and disarmed by people who were not at all happy about the condition of the man on the stretcher. Johns ordered their hands tied with their own belts. Richards asked a few pertinent questions. Answers were forthcoming with only minimal persuasion.

"Senior Richards, Scythes does not have its own cells. Admittedly, this is a serious oversight, which we should address. Can Supplies lock up these despicable wretches until we have time to deal with them?"

"Of course, Senior Johns. We imprison thieves and black marketers routinely. It's simply a variation on long-term storage. It would be our pleasure to cache these men away for eons. Senior Ferris, please escort Senior John's people and their prisoners to London Supplies. Four solitaries, well separated, no contact, deep level 3B."

Through the portal, from France, in a blast of cold air, came Senior Richards and a Scythes manager. Behind them four Supplies officers carried a stretcher. "We've got Senior Burns. Nurse, come help! He's unconscious and has a head injury. Director Spears, four prisoners have been taken to Supplies' cells."

"Excellent. Nurse, he is to stay here on our premises. Do not send him on to the Academy. I wish a report on his condition in ten minutes. Hughes, go sit in the first-aid room. You are to reassure Senior Burns if he wakes up. Do not leave him unattended. Beware of unauthorized attempts to open its portal. The room should be perfectly secure, but I have had my quota of surprises for the day. Mr. Bradshaw, tea and biscuits in my office. Slingby, join us. Humphries, bring DePoy. Senior Richards, I am in your debt. May I offer you tea?"

Richards smiled. "How kind of you to offer! Yes, I should very much like to sit down. Let me just send my team back to their duties. Very well, my lads and ladies, fun time is over. Back to the salt mines with you." Her people grinned and exited.

Director Spears gestured towards his office, clearing the War Room for the change of shift. The office contained not only his desk and cabinets but a table with six chairs. Director Richards selected a well-cushioned seat as Junior Bradshaw laid out a Cafeteria tea set and a plate of biscuits. "The person you should thank is Senior Johns, here. We couldn't locate Burns with sufficient accuracy, and would have taken far too long to find him. His utility knives and more than half of his uniform were locked up at the waystation. I shall ask someone to consider enhancing the strength of our traces. Milk and two sugars, please, Mister Bradshaw."

Senior Johns of Scythes was a tall, spare, powerful man. It was a common body type among Scythes personnel. He, like Richards, spotted the Uncomfortable Chair and avoided it. Obviously the Chair was achieving multi-division notoriety. "They left him his trousers, though, and missed the angel blade strapped to his thigh under a false pocket. That gave us a very clear signal. We followed it to the Lompret branch. The Reapers there denied that they had him. We followed the trace to the attic. There was a well-hidden closet under the eaves. Shortly after we broke him out, two more Reapers arrived. They're from Rampont, a tiny Branch near Verdun."

"We have all four locked up and under guard," continued Richards. "Supplies will file charges jointly with Scythes. Black Market Activity and Theft of Scythes. You may wish to add abduction and Interference with Duty."

"Senior DePoy, do we want to bring charges, or should we step aside for Supplies and Scythes?"

"By all means, Director, let them do it." Senior DePoy chose a chair that would not rock like a toy boat in the surf. Humphries held it for her, then claimed the remaining comfortable chair. She accepted a cup of tea. "The abduction failed. We have our Reaper back alive, with no more damage than he might have sustained in a night on the town. Since he was defending rather than collecting, a charge of Interference might be dismissed. Supplies and Scythes can bring much more serious charges. Those people stole a scythe and an Angel blade. Supplies and Scythes both consider that a capital crime. The fact that the blade was attached to a Reaper at the time is immaterial. Besides, Sara Goodfellow is busy at Bristol. We should let someone else have some fun."

Rhodri Howell arrived from the Academy. He looked at Slingby. "I assume you found him?"

Slingby nodded. "Yes. Burns is in the first-aid room, alive. Owen's guarding him. We have four under arrest. Ye've done a fine deed today, Rhodri, but I need another from you. There's at least one more villain, the one who whacked Jonas on the battlefield. He'll be in the group that your lot were defending. Go back to Headquarters, check that group, get everyone's name, cross-check it with Scheduling to see if anyone left early. Bring yer team home. Give me that list and yer done for the day."

Howell grinned and strode back to the portal. Eric headed into Spears' office with resignation; all the comfortable chairs would be taken, but there was always the possibility that Bradshaw had stolen some of Brock's macaroons for the guests.

Spears addressed Richards with the formality appropriate for Managers plotting revenge; "Madame, will you question your prisoners now?"

Richards smiled evilly. "Not yet; we'll let them ripen a bit in confinement. I've ordered them separated so they can't collaborate on a story. The two from Rampont are very young and frightened. The other two are evil little weasels; the one who did the snatch, and the one who concealed Burns at Lompret. They were all very surprised by our arrival. As far as I can tell, they never considered that he might be missed so soon or sought so diligently."

"Please let me know what they have to say. Now then. Slingby. I know that expression. Whatever is this about?"

Eric was leaning against a wall rather than sit in the legendary Will-Is-Pissed-With-You chair. "Eh, Will, I think I know their scheme. There's a lot of little branches in the war zone who are undermanned. They're down to their newest Juniors, can't recruit or train, and the larger branches nearby are unable or unwilling to support them. They can barely manage their assignments. So, they steal an experienced Senior and deprive him of his scythe and glasses. They hold him for a day or two, until he's issued a local Death List. He's trapped. They'll provide a new untracked pair of glasses and whatever scythe they can scrape up. He's bound to the Branch by the Lists he receives. He can't go home without being accused of desertion. They'll use him to defend and train everyone else."

"This has happened before?"

"Och, aye, it has. Nothing new under the sun. Look ye, Burns was attacked from behind. One blow only, blunt object, no slicing or clawing. The attacker was a reaper who wanted him unconscious, not a demon who wanted him dead. They had somebody in Triage watching for that injury, somebody who doped him and ported him several jumps to Lompret. His glasses will be out in a field somewhere. They don't have the tradition of never leaving a man behind. Just their bad luck to choose a Londoner. The fellows from Rampont were the buyers. They came in through the branch portal and would have taken Burns back the same way. It will be interesting to know what price they paid. Question is, how long have they been doing this?"

Alan spoke thoughtfully. "With two of their reapers imprisoned here, Rampont may not be able to cover their Reaps. Neighboring branches will receive their Lists. Rampont will be folded into the nearest Branch and cease to exist as a separate station. If the combined Branch still cannot cover those Reaps, it too will fold. Senior Richards, you should warn Madame Administrator of a possible cascade of failures. If it happens, the area's Higher Ups may well demand that the Rampont reapers be returned immediately with all charges dropped. She'll want to think about that."

"Thank you, Alan. I had not considered how thinly staffed the battlefields branches are, or that those two Juniors might be an entire shift of their branch's Reapers. Senior Johns, shall we arrange a meeting with Madame and an Auditing representative? I would prefer to avoid Judicial for the moment; I know the Angels restructured their department, but I don't trust them. Better that they should be brought in by Madame and work directly under her eye and thumb."

"Another reason for Collections not to be involved in this case," said Alan. "France might demand that we replace their two Reapers with four or six of our own."

"Not a chance," said Eric. "For ten years we warned these little villes to hire and train. They kept saying 'The time is not ripe,' which is the local equivalent of 'Sod off.' The results of their decisions are France's problem, not London's."

"I agree," said Spears. "So will Madame."

"In the future, we may not have that choice," said Alan, but his words were overridden by Knox arriving with Jacobs and Randall Harmon. "We're back, Will. Thanks for calling Medical, Alan. They are interested in this too. They're missing an orderly. Did you find Burns?"

"Yes, we have him safe. What can you tell us?"

"Not much," said Harmon. "The fellow who said Burns was sent to the Academy now thinks he was mistaken. I think he's right. They're very busy. The humans and the demons and the angels are all in battle. Triage 12 is sending patients to the field hospital and the Academy nonstop."

Jacobs added, "There's a general impression that there might have been an extra orderly on duty earlier, but they can't locate him now. Ronnie persuaded one nurse to pause long enough to count their doses of knockout anesthetics. One appears to be missing. That's all anybody knows. We were very much underfoot, so we thanked everyone and left. Medical is hunting that missing dose. They'll be able to follow that up better than we can."

Senior Johns said, "We may have that orderly in custody. I'll call you when we know."

"Thank you. It might make Medical a little happier with us." The three left, Knox scoring a biscuit on the way out.

The nurse rapped on the door frame.

"Director, Senior Burns' only visible injury is a blow to the back of the head. Healing is well under way. However, the anesthetic given him is not recommended for anyone with a head injury. May I ask Medical to send a doctor here? He really should be seen by a doctor. Also, if his partner is in the Hospital, he should not be taken home and left there alone. We can keep him in the first-aid room tonight where he can be monitored."

Alan rose. "Director, shall I take care of this?" Spears nodded. "Nurse, I suggest we call Dr. Collins. He's, ah, used to us, and can be reasoned with. I can call his office directly from my desk and then pass the phone to you. That way we leave no evidence of you skirting any rules." Alan walked to the door, and Eric followed him. They escorted the nurse to Alan's office to make the call.

18: Cassandra's curse

Doctor Collins was never pleased to be called away, but could be lured by a good story. Alan, Eric and the nurse met him at the first-aid portal. He nodded to them and went straight to the patient. He and the nurse discussed Burns' condition while Alan and Eric sat on nearby cots.

"Alan, yer looking tired."

Alan rubbed his eyes. "I am tired. We're both wearing too many hats to do a good job on any one of them. Set one of your people to review Reaper numbers worldwide. Or see if you can borrow a minion from Solway. We need to know when we're about to run out, so we can begin field training for our Admins who passed their final exams. Watch for transfers of Seniors from countries not at war." He watched Collins open Burns' shirt to listen to his heart. "I hoped things would improve when the humans started vaccinating their troops for typhoid fever. And it has, a little. But that new disease they had at Étaples and Aldershot… Our best hope is still that the war will end before– before we do."

Eric looked at Alan's profile. "Yer not sleeping."

"Not well, no. So much to do. Wake up after a couple of hours, get over to the hospice, work four hours, come back to bed for an hour, start over with the teaching and reaping and Branch work. I try to warn everyone of what's coming, and nobody hears."

"What are ye doing at the hospice?"

"It's this huge drafty echoing space. We're walling it off into wards that are small enough to heat and light. Maintenance can always use extra hands. We're holding ladders, handing up tools, painting, while they run electrical and telephone wires. We assemble bedframes and tote mattresses. It frees up folks to run the plumbing for the new food service."

"Ye need rest. Can ye delegate some of yer desk work?"

"All my group are working at their limit. Nobody hears when I tell them what's coming."

"Collins can give ye some pills, can he not?"

"Nobody hears. Listen. We are running out of Reapers. I think I've been muted like Cassandra."

"I thought it was important to keep head injuries awake for a full day."

"Damn it. Eric, look at me. Concentrate. We. Are. Dying. Too. Fast. The system will implode. The Infernals and Celestials will invade our Realm and fight their battles here, destroying everything and everyone. Human souls will go unreaped. They will wander the human realm, going mad, being picked up randomly by the demons and angels. We are maybe a year away from the next disaster."

"Nae, laddie, we're fine. Don't worry. Burns will recover."

Collins came over and sat on a cot. "If you find the man who doped this patient, I want the first strike at him. We'll be checking his pulse every fifteen minutes for the next twelve hours. Rather than move him, I'll send a trainee or two to back up the nurses who are scheduled for the next two shifts. You look exhausted, Humphries. Here. One of these with the last meal of the day."

"I can't spare the time. They take too long to wear off."

"These are quite mild. You will take them or I will set you down for a week. You know about Burns."

"Yes. Since the day when Fancher was blinded. Burns had his first attack at the waystation and had to be helped back through the portal."

Eric looked sharply at Alan. "They kidnapped a man with Thorns? Good thing we found him before they realized they couldn't sell him."

"D'you think they wouldn't? Who's going to report them for substandard goods?"

Collins sighed. "A pity. When Burns wakes and is stable I will move him to the hospital. I'll talk to him and his partner when both are ready for discharge. Don't worry, I won't send them home before they are able to care for themselves. I will order Scheduling to leave them off the rolls for an extra day. Fancher will recover fully. Burns will be as well as he can be. He should be able to reap for some time yet. At the last, we can only offer pain management and rest."

Alan made one last desperate attempt. "We are losing more Reapers than we can train."

"I agree."

"What? You heard me? Because nobody here can hear me. Look!" Alan gestured towards Eric, who had wandered over to talk to the nurse.

"Mm. Interesting. First question. Is the compulsion laid on the person or the place? Can he hear you at home, at your local bar, in the human realm? Do I hear you because I know already? Slingby, come back here. You are losing Reapers at an unsustainable rate. You should know this, given your occupation. What are you doing about it?"

Eric blinked. "Ah, so we are. Other branches in the Realm are begging us for transfers of capable Seniors. We're telling them to draw from Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas. But we can't keep it up. Not with the Thorns spreading so widely and the next catastrophe so close. We're seeing the first Branch failures on the Continent. If Madame Administrator had not stepped in, Bristol would've folded by now. Not much we can do but protect our people as much as we're allowed, and train our Admins to fight. We've already fortified this place to withstand a siege."

"There you go, Alan. They can hear it from someone not of this branch, or possibly not of this Division. Slingby, go tell one of your minions. If that does not work, gather all your staff and I'll tell 'em. That might break the compulsion. Second question. Who did it and why? Is someone trying to avoid panic? Or are they hoping to keep you from acting? I'll file an observation with my Uppers. This is going to need some skilled investigation at a high level, and your request might not be heard."

"Please do. I've been wondering about all the students who are leaving the Academy before graduation. Before, they were hunted down and culled. Now somebody has decided that they are a necessary labor source. They are arriving daily to work at the Hospice and its attendant soup kitchen. They're on the payroll and doing essential work. Mention that, please?"

"I shall. Well, Eric? Were you heard?"

"I was not. I've told Will that you have an important announcement for all hands. He's calling them together as soon as he's done his customary grump. Give him a moment."

"Will Richards and Johns stay for it?"

"Oh, yes. Try and stop them." Eric turned to Collins. "Will ye come back and repeat it for the next two shifts?"

"If necessary. We'll see how this goes. In any case, you take this man, feed him and shove one of these pills down his stubborn neck. Let him sleep it out. Shut up, Humphries, you'll lose a day now or a week in bed later. Don't think I won't commit you to the Hospital if you continue noncompliant. Although you're looking better than I expected."

Eric took his partner and the bottle of pills to the Cafeteria. There was no point in going to a restaurant; Alan had no appetite. He accepted small portions of whatever seemed least unappealing, pushed it around his plate, then managed to get most of it down. They returned home. Alan got ready for bed and took his pill obediently. Eric observed his resignation and did not like it.

"Me Light, don't grieve. Whatever happens, I am with you."

"Eric, can you hear me? I love you beyond all things."

"I hear, and I love you. I always have and always will."

"That was terrifying. I told you the truth as we vowed to do, and you could not hear me. As though we were separated by thick panes of glass. As though I was trapped between Realms. As though I was an unseen ghost. Eric, come lie down beside me. Please stay until I'm asleep."

"Me love. Here I am, as long as you'll have me. Are ye drowsy now? Ye'll feel better in the morning. We'll teach, and then we shall buy you a fine luncheon in the human realm. Over that we shall think and plan. Snuggle up now. I'll keep ye warm and safe."

The man was sitting quite still. The hand of an angel was on his shoulder. Most uncharacteristically, the man was telling the truth. It fell from his lips and pooled around him and scorched whatever it touched.

"I have no names to give you. We don't use names.

"We watch for somebody who won't be missed right away. When that Reaper was injured enough to be in hospital for a day or three, his partner became a prime choice. Very senior, very good at his job, and nobody to come looking for him before we could pass him on to our buyers. How were we to know that London counts noses at the end of the day? And then raises a stink about the missing, instead of assuming they're off getting drunk or laid? Nobody else does that. Bastards.

"What? Oh, our payment is the scythes of lost Reapers. You'd be surprised how many Admins are dissatisfied with their student scythes. And how many are collectors. They'll arrange all sorts of perks in exchange for a professional model, guaranteed used in battle. Still bloody? Even better.

"They arrange favorable scheduling, to group us in places where we can find targets and arrange transfer. Promotions? Rarely. They are very firm on that. Somebody who's not up to the job raises eyebrows and eventually is investigated. If you've got a true mismanagement mess like Bristol or Prenzlau on your hands, you can believe they are in no way connected with our business.

"They do offer easy posts in pleasant climates. Transfers to rear-echelon or noncombatant positions. Posts in remote areas with minimal population, if you want to spend the years reading or pursuing a hobby. You just have to be willing to store contraband for a day or two as needed. Of course, postings to any country not involved in this war. We steal Reapers from them, too, as long as they've served during local wars. Available at a slight discount because they have to adjust to the modern battlefield. We make it clear that we are not responsible if our customers throw them out into the trenches without any training. That kind of stupidity is why they have to buy help to begin with.

"Bad records wiped clean. Good records tainted, if you're a malicious sort. That's frowned on, though. Too easy to disprove; it invites inquiry. If you want to secede? False identities are created in the Human Realm, properties bought, bank accounts established, disappearances arranged. Turnovers after a few years, when the locals start to comment that you haven't aged a day. Paychecks duplicated, for those who want things that can be bought. As long as you're not too drunk to function. We must never attract attention.

"And, of course, they can register the scythes as properly returned to storage and the metal melted down for recasting. That's getting harder, though, can't do it at all in London these last six years. One crazy inconsiderate bastard ruining it for the rest of us. Ever since that incident with the scythe-metal bullets, Scythes is paying more attention to record-keeping. They've assigned nosy Juniors to review those records regularly. There's a generous reward for any discovery of fiddling the books, which makes it impossible to fiddle with those Juniors.

"Why are you surprised? We are not angels or demons. We are humans. We are physically stronger than we once were, but no smarter, no more talented. We exist in eternal punishment, from which no one is ever freed. We come from the Academy full of hope. We reap or push paper or stack boxes in endless overtime. Most of us work in miserable conditions under vicious managers determined to make us as unhappy as they are. Fifty years of that, and guess what? Hell's not much of a threat anymore. Especially for those who spend a lot of time injured, or work on Supplies' assembly lines. Confinement? Blessed, blessed rest.

You put us in a dark, dirty hole. We clean it up, paint, and find some comfortable chairs. You walk in and take that all away, every damn time. 'Too nice for clerks. Move them out and put my section in here.' We do not love you for it. Does that surprise you?

"We wreak whatever revenge is possible for our unbearable existence. Strict but inefficient compliance with the rules. Sabotage in small secret ways. Living down to expectations. Sometimes we just want a something nice for ourselves. Like that gold locket you wear, lady, does it make you feel special? Or your flashy watch, sir, did you steal from your Reaps to pay for it? We too will find something to value. We will remember any who come to take it. Sell them into slavery someday. We can wait. We have time.

"We are what you have made us, and very often worse, for you have taught us to hate. We're good at it. If we are good at nothing else, we are very good at hate. It's a human thing, mister angel. Listen and learn."

The transcript of the interview was sent to Director Spears, who read it and was silent. He passed it to Slingby, who read it and passed it to Humphries, who read it and agreed with every word. "We're so fortunate to work in London, in this Branch."

"Aye, we are, and we had to die to make it so. I will not remind ye what this place was like in 1883. Perhaps other places can improve without paying so great a price. But London Operations has a remarkably contented Admin staff as well. Bristol's new Admin is being entirely staffed from our waiting list. Perhaps the improvements will spread as the advantages become known. Now, are you willing to have guests tonight for tea? Charlie and Jonas will be freed from the hospital at shift's end. I want to ask them some questions about the abduction. I think it will be more comfortable for them to talk about it in an unofficial setting."

"Let me just send an intern over to the bakery for some biscuits or a cake. I'll go home and get things ready while you retrieve them. Let's brew up from that gift tin Sandriel gave me. It's really excellent."

Fancher's left arm was still a bit stiff. He and Burns were both grim and serious. They'd known, of course, but it was now officially recorded that Burns was in the early stages of spinae mortis. Alan set them on the comfortable sofa and brought out a tray of sandwiches and biscuits. Eric carried in his Brown Betty teapot, charged with the tea from Alan's special tin. He poured, and the fragrance seemed to brighten the room.

Pleasantries were exchanged and food enjoyed. The tea was exclaimed over. Then they got down to business.

"It seems callous, I know, but it was just the usual horrible massacre," sighed Fancher. "The angels were around but interested in something else going on nearby. Their instinct is to flock to a disturbance. You know how hard it is for fledglings to split forces."

Eric nodded.

"While they were distracted, a group of demons came after us. If that is a new strategy, it's unfortunately quite effective against inexperienced angels. I got jumped by a couple of nasties, and was doing pretty well against them, when – you don't have to believe this – I'll swear somebody in our own group tripped me. Probably an accident. But down I went and woke up in hospital. That's all I've got, sorry."

"Jonas, did you see any of that?"

"A little. Could I have another cuppa? Thanks. This is very good. Relaxing. Ah, to the best of my recollection, I saw Charlie attacked. Was a little busy myself at the moment and had to deal with that. Then Charlie was down. There were several French and Belgian reapers in a general melee around him but I did not see him fall. I fought towards him and somebody or something hit me from behind. Woke up in London having missed quite the adventure, or so I'm told. Did the angels ever show up?"

"According to Owen and Rhodri, no. A complaint has been filed. It's possible that there were too few of them to respond to more than one emergency," said Alan. "They're undermanned in much the same way as we are. I suspect the demons are as well. We're losing too many. But the humans are, too. When there is nobody left to fight, the war will end. Don't think that will be much longer."

"Well, with the Germans thinking it jolly fun to torpedo neutral and hospital ships, they've gotten the Americans to join their foes. You should hear the Maritime Reapers on the subject. Glad I'm a dry-lander."

"Aye. And that Zimmerman idiocy. Charlie, you're looking worn. My apologies. You need to go to bed."

"Alan, Eric, thank you for the tea, very kind of you. That's really good tea. But you're right. Come on, Charlie. You need to lie down."

Once they had gone, Alan left a telephone message for Collins. "For your information; Burns and Fancher came from the hospital to our apartment today. I told them. They heard me. Perhaps you have broken the Cassandra curse, or maybe it is only effective within the workplace."

19: The Binge

Eric was unhappy.

Not irritated, which was common enough, or angry, but unhappy. Sad, in a 'needing a drink' and a 'wanting a fight' way, but not quite yet in a 'doing murder on the next superior who gives a stupid order' way. In the forgotten days of peace, Alan would have opened Eric's Death Book and figured out the problem. In these current days of horror, when the Books had been replaced by near-endless Lists which were turned over to the record-keepers of Admin upon completion, such research was no longer possible.

While it might have been individual cases— a poet or musician forever silenced; or a string of young men who had coaxed their sweethearts into farewell indiscretions, leaving them to rear illegitimate children in a society which would not ever forgive their choices— it was also possible that it was just the overwhelming numbers of shot and shattered dead.

Sadness was a common state of Reapers. Eric put it away, as an exemplary Reaper must, and presented himself to Alan as contented and at ease. He was not sleeping well, however, and seemed distracted. Sadness leaked through their bond.

Alan offered understanding, support and distraction. Sometimes it was not enough. Alan understood that Eric was going to erupt in a bender and a brawl soon. Hopefully they could keep it quiet. Eric was a quick-tempered drunk but usually not a mean one.

But Alan could not just take him out for a binge. Eric needed a companion to drink with, not a minder who stayed sober to get him home. Seven inches and five stone made a huge difference in their tolerances. Alan got sleepy before Eric loosened up. By the time Eric got reckless enough to talk, Alan was usually out cold; Eric would throw Alan over his shoulder and take him home. Moreover, Alan hated losing control.

The answer to that dilemma was simple enough. He'd enlist a guardian angel. Eric had a friend in the London Garrison, his equal in rank, age and capacity.

Alan asked Color-Sergeant Bourne to meet Eric at the Scythe and Skull on Thursday night. Alan would be on duty, managing a number of discussions and introductions. Eric and Frank usually shared drinks and stories there while Alan gathered information. Bourne's assignment was to get Eric well soused and talking.

"I'm a hopeless lightweight, Frank, and there is something bothering him badly. A whiskey lullabye won't do it. He needs companionable drinking over a few hours. If you can get him to unload while keeping him to ale, it will help enormously. After that I'll be able to help him recover."

Bourne understood and agreed. "I'll let him take me on a good old-fashioned pub crawl. To be honest, I can use one. If I can, I'll keep him out of trouble. May not be able to, of course, but I'll try."

"Thanks. If I let him out on a solitary prowl, Spears will know and come shouting when the fight starts. Eric will turn on him and clean his clock. You're saving lives here. Just call me when the fun begins. Spears will see that I'm joining him and let me deal with it."

Thursday Night at the Scythe and Skull was traditionally a social event where Reapers and Angels traded news and views. Alan attended every week to learn, listen and suggest. Occasionally he was able to solve or prevent problems as a result. Currently he was collecting opinions on demon behavior for a report he was writing for Will.

"Hey, Alan. Happy Thursday. Where's Eric?" asked Ronald Knox, coming in after a half-shift of management classes and looking for amusement.

"He and Frank Bourne are over there...Well, they were. They may have left."

"They went out a while ago, while you were busy talking to the Maritime crowd," said Kendall. "The barkeep cut him off."

"Thanks, Nick. Ronnie, they've probably decided to hit another bar or three." The Scythe and Skull was a fair riot on Thursday nights - reaping in wartime required a lot of alcohol - but the S&S knew better than to overserve Eric. Another two or three hours should do it. Alan returned to his networking.

Three and a half hours later, the call came.

"Alan!" shouted Ronnie over the din. "Phone message. Get down to the Waiting Grave, the Color-Sergeant needs you right now."

"Go," said Jacobs. "It's a bad crowd that hangs out there. We'll cover for you here. If we all show up in force, Spears will have to get involved."

Ronnie added, "Hurry! Eric's taken on the entire bar. The barkeep is unconscious, but if he recovers, he'll use a shotgun full of salt. If you can get the fight to move outside, the Sergeant says he will help you throw everybody into the river."

"Going," said Alan, and ran outside where he could summon his scythe to port away.

The Waiting Grave was a dark and dirty riverside dive. It was barely big enough to contain the battle going on inside; the walls fairly bulged with conflict. Fortunately, the no-scythes-in-bars geas was holding. Bourne was outside the door in a battered chair, leaning back comfortably against the wall, listening to the fray.

"Status, Frank?" asked Alan.

"A good fight," said Bourne, with the air of a connoisseur. "Pretty evenly matched, all needing the same release for the same reason. Barkeep said he didn't serve my kind. Eric went up like a rocket. He was already well-to-go, as were all the other patrons. The room was fully involved before I got out the door. Nice of them to throw a chair out for me. There's another over there if you'd like."

Alan inspected the chair, which seemed sound enough to hold his weight. He set it upright next to Bourne and sat down with a sigh. There was a cool breeze off the river. He looked up at the Milky Way spreading across the heavens. The moon was a dreaming oval near the horizon. Really, he should stop and look up more often.

"Thanks for calling me. D'you think it's time to intervene?"

"Almost. They've already done all the damage possible in such a dump. Don't even have the traditional light fixture suitable for swinging on; have they no pride? The barkeep started it, after all's said and sorted, so he won't be reporting this. He's out of the fight. Eric took his shotgun away and smacked him with it. Wait a bit longer. Wouldn't want you to get hit by flying furniture."

"Very kind of you. Did you find out what was bothering him?"

"It's been cooking for a while. He's worried about you. He's worried about Sandriel's interest in you, because he's had bad experiences with other angels. He's worried about your branch and his students. He's worried about this outbreak of Thorns. He gathered up most of a Pals unit a year ago. Wiped out by artillery. Quite a few of them had lied about their ages to enlist with their friends. Basically, every young man in their entire town. It brought on memories from the plague years. The battlefields continue in horror. He's been hiding nightmares; he couldn't see any way this might end well. He's better now. We talked it out in the last bar but one. I believe he was almost ready to return to you but decided to try the ale here."

"I'm glad," said Alan. "A good fight does wonders for him." The noise level appeared to be declining. "They are slowing down now. If I can bring him out, I'll be able to port him home and put him to bed."

"If I go in there the fight will restart. Will you be safe, bracing him alone?"

"I'll be fine. If you will just manage anyone who follows us out?"

"With pleasure."

Alan entered the bar, after checking for airborne infrastructure and glassware. Eric's fight was winding down, although two other altercations continued in the rear. Neither of Eric's remaining opponents were at their best. Alan waited until both were on the floor, then spoke softly. "Eric."

Eric looked round and started like a child caught with a hand in the shortbread tin.

"Come on out, Eric, Bourne wants to say good night before he goes on duty."

Eric looked around at the general devastation with deep personal satisfaction. "Aye, ah think ah'm done here."

"Feel better?"

"Aye. Ever so. Let me get me coat."

"You're wearing it. Most of it. It's your oldest and most mended anyway. Come on, do, we don't want Frank to be late."

Eric laid a hand on Alan's shoulder for balance. He stepped carefully around the bodies and upended furniture. "Are ye done at the Scythe and Skull? They've stopped serving me for the night, the prissies, but the Twa Corbies will still be open if ye'd like an ale. They serve Angels too, and demons, and anyone else who has the price of a drink."

"Frank is going on duty. Careful, that fellow's trying to get up. Outside now. Ah, Frank, the fight's done. Thanks for staying with Eric."

"Always happy to toast a friend, as many times as necessary." A last opponent staggered out of the bar, charged Bourne, and flew in a graceful arc over the guardrail into the river. "It's been an entertaining evening. My thanks. Good night, Eric, see you next Thursday if not sooner. 'Night, Alan." And Bourne was gone.

Alan summoned his scythe and laid a hand on Eric's arm. "It's late, I'm tired, and we have beer at home. Will you come? I can heat up some soup if you are peckish."

"I'm ready for home. Thanks for the transport, me love. We'll go to bed and I'll take you to breakfast in the morning. Ah, look at the stars. Such a beautiful night. Such a beautiful night."

Alan made Eric drink a tall glass of water disguised with lemon and sugar. It would minimize his hangover in the morning.

"So tell me. Demons drinking in Reaper bars? Give."

"Well now. Ye puir wee innocent. Ye know well those times when reviewing countless life records leaves yer brain sae crowded with memories that ye cannae tell which are yer own? When yer heart breaks for the sadness and cruelty of it all? Time and rest make it better. But for those who are given neither time nor rest, the answer is madness— or alcohol in wholesale lots.

"These bars are few but special. No entertainment, not the place ye go with yer mates for a jolly evening, ye see? Quiet conversation's the limit. It's where ye finish the night.

"Now ye mustn't assume that burnout is the exclusive lot of Reapers. Everybody can reach that point. Angels do not have dark bars. Demons do not have quiet bars.

"Demons and angels do not go into each other's Realms, too opposite, too poisonous, too dangerous. There are ancient taboos and political treaties and Orders from the Bosses and all that tosh. And they're obligated to fight if they meet in the human realm 'cause it's assumed they are only there to save or steal souls from each other. There's always a snitch who'll rat ye out if ye don't, in order to win special treatment. Ye've seen this at the Academy. It's universal.

"But here, in our shadowy and silent realm, the realm of the truly neutral reapers, down in the crossways where the dark alleys meet, any entity who is just sick unto death of it all can get quietly and anonymously sloshed. The best place is the Twa Corbies. That means the Two Crows and refers to a gruesome old folksong in which everybody dies.

"The Twa Corbies is a very old Reaper bar, dim and restful. No bloody musicians. No people failing to be amusing into microphones when ye want to be left in peace after months of double shifts plus overtime. It's a quiet place for all folks when they're at the end of their tether. The angels sit and commiserate with the demons and reapers. The ales and beers are always good because the angels bless the brewing, the water and the kegs and the mash. They bless the wines, too. The hard liquor is always better than it should be, because the demons use their human-tempting skills to improve the taste and alcohol content. The Reapers drink alongside them all, in comfortable peace. It's where I fill me flask. It helps me reaping. Also benefits anyone I offer it to. Remember Malpas, the demon I met in the field? He particularly dislikes us for escaping Hell; he feels our superiors' intervention was cheating. I offered him a sip or two. He settled right down and told me all about his current Contract. Avram says he's not entirely happy with it. The point being, I got away without a fight.

"Many just stay for a glass or two, then leave. That's fine, and a good way to end a night. But if yer in desperate need, ye go in, tell the barkeep what time ye have to leave, give him yer money and agree he'll cut you off when it's gone. If ye pass out ye'll be rolled to the wall, covered with a blanket, and protected from thieves. They bring you your choice of caffeine at the specified time. You, and all the other customers of whatever alignment and species, are safe while on the premises. All hostilities are dropped at the doorstep. In a way, it's a peace treaty, a nonaggression pact. Violating it can get the bar closed down, and then everyone's out of luck. Tattling on the people ye see there will get ye banned.

"Mostly we all get along, and if there's an argument others step in and cool it down. Demons have been coming here forever. The angels started at the Scythe and Skull, and most stay there. But for some it's too bright. Cheerful and popular. Noisy. When yer worn out, noise hurts. You know.

"I took Frank to the Corbies tonight. I'm sure he has known the place for ages. We sat and drank, and spoke until we both felt better. Poor fellow is distressed about the death rates among the newly-fledged, and a few talented youngsters who have Fallen under the weight of the war. On the way back we hit a couple of smaller places. The Doornail's host brews an exceptional malt stout. The Waiting Grave, though, seems to be under new management. Gone to seed, it has. I should hae backed out, but here's a whole roomful of people needing hitting. A sin to waste such a gift, truly. D'you think I should apologize to Frank for hogging the whole fight to myself?"

"I think he was perfectly happy to sit outside. A rest is as good as a vacation sometimes. Let's go to bed, it's very late. I'm so glad you're feeling better."

"The next time yer depressed, I will take you there and stand you a pint. The blessing on the brew will heal your heart."

"That sounds wonderful. May I have a sip from your flask?— Oh, my. I see."

"But we must be careful. The demons have put a price on yer sweet soul. The truce only applies within the walls, d'ye see. We'll take Frank with us, and Grell, and see ye safely home."

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20: Obsevations on Demonic Behavior

Conversations from the Scythe and Skull, collected by Alan Humphries, 27 April 1917

Adam Roberts: "The Ravenings are tapering off. They are much more careful about whom they attack. If they don't achieve an immediate advantage, they back off and regroup. If the second attack goes badly, or if we come after them first, they scatter and do not return."

Randall Harmon: "Sometimes they send an advance scout to see who's on defense. If they don't like their chances, they go bother someone else. If Slingby or Roberts is present, there's very rarely an attack. Or you, Grell, of course."

Nicholas Kendall: "Mountjoy and I ran off a group yesterday, here in London. One boss and five barely adult devils. Haven't seen adolescents in these attacks before. Incompetent, terrified. I killed the leader and let the kids go home to tell everybody that the raid was a really bad idea."

Chandra Gupta: "The battlefield demons are improving. Or possibly the less competent have died. The leaders are becoming cautious. When they do engage, they are well-organized and vicious. They are beginning to preplan their attacks."

Iris Quirke: "They aren't so hungry. We've killed so many. I wonder— could their population have dropped to a level they can easily feed? And to a level where they have to conserve their forces?"

Albert Forbes: "Not that it's any easier for us. The angels sent to guard us are proportionally fewer and less experienced. Here's a question, Alan. Are Reapers truly neutral between Heaven and Hell? Or do we just dislike both of them equally? Not that it matters, I suppose."

Diederik Ten Hagen: "The last demon I fought was fairly high-ranking but working alone. He should have led a group of subordinates. Could it be that they're all gone?"

Caroline Cortland: "French Admin has an arrangement with the demons. Paperwork… But how can they trust the demons to behave?"

Grell Sutcliff: "Well, dear, I can only surmise that the demons have been given orders. Something has obviously changed. It has to have come from sources which cannot be challenged. That means the very lowest circles."

Avram Jacobs: "Contracts, Miss Cortland. The Admins of both realms are bound by treaties, which are considered to be Contracts. By the way, Eric, I've done some research. Your demon on the battlefield is deliberately extending his current Contract beyond its agreed-upon expiration. Looks like he's avoiding whatever duty he'd be given once it's over; perhaps being put in charge of an attack group of bottom-of-the-barrel misfits. If he drags the Contract out to the war's end, he's more likely to be allowed to go his own way and seek another single victim."

Eric Slingby: "I'm pretty sure you're right. He despises his Contracted master but preserves him anyway. He's very much a loner."

Eric Slingby, speaking of Color-Sergeant Frank Bourne, London Garrison: "Poor fellow is distressed about the death rates among the newly-fledged, and a few talented youngsters who have Fallen under the weight of the war."

Director Spears laid down the report. "What am I to do with this, Humphries? You draw no conclusions."

"Not my place or my area of competence, sir. But these are observations from people actually working the battlefields. It shows that there is a definite change in the enemy's strategy, and in the strategy of our allies as well. Surely there is an expert in the higher echelons who needs this information to adjust our own strategies. I think it shows that the angels and demons are suffering the same losses we are, commensurate with human losses. Drawing conclusions is beyond me – too many unknowns. Still, if all realms are sustaining major losses, perhaps some treaty might be made to the benefit of all. Unless the rulers of the other two realms wish to continue the game until they have cleared the board. In that case we are all game pieces to be returned to the box."

"Heresy, Humphries!"

"Logic, Director. Simply stated, both Celestials and Infernals are fielding younger and fewer soldiers, often with incomplete training. The demonic population is no longer too large to feed. They are now not numerous enough to use their traditional strategies. We are seeing more individual attacks where we expect group strikes. The angels do know they should protect us, but they are doing an increasingly poor job of it, as the abduction of Jonas Burns shows. Their angelic escort was overburdened and unable to cope. The Branch which tried to buy Burns folded for lack of staff, as did the branch it folded into, and the branch above that. The fourth branch only held because Paris transferred six senior staffers there. The system is failing, Will. Not just for us but for all realms. I think that there will be negotiations, and perhaps a few treaties like the one that binds the Admins of Reaper and Infernal realms to cooperate on the record-keeping of the battlefields. Madame would know where to send this, I think."

"Our Garrison appears to be holding up quite well. Do you disagree?"

"London has a much better relationship with its Garrison than most. We are, or were, also very fortunate in its General. When Artois left for war, he deliberately left behind an excellent young Captain. Better, he left the Color-Sergeant to back him up and keep him from making too many mistakes. Eric says most Garrisons are now staffed by REMFs. I am afraid to ask him what the acronym stands for. Probably untalented individuals misusing their first taste of power."

"These conclusions are adequate. Add them to your report."

"They are arguments from ignorance. Insufficient data. Yes, I will add them. However, once I have done so, I would like to route this report to a man whose knowledge of demons is greater than mine, or anyone else's here; Avram Jacobs. With your permission and Eric's, of course. Let Avram add and amend before putting it into final form. He's done tracing our missing, is rather upset by his findings, and could use another assignment to distract him."

"Good. Do that. Tell Slingby that I say he approves. By the way, how hung over is he this morning?"

"Very little. Most of the bruising is gone. Fair warning; he's quite offensively cheerful. Thanks for letting me handle it."

"Thank you for warning me beforehand. Now, Humphries, I noticed in your medical file that Doctor Collins saw fit to medicate you two days ago. Why?"

"Difficulty sleeping. I've been helping out over at the Thorns hostel on nights when I can't fall asleep. I have already been scolded by my doctor and my partner, and will cease my midnight ramblings. Besides, Maintenance has stepped up and the work is mostly done. Please extend my thanks to Madame Administrator for getting the situation recognized and corrected."

"She enjoyed the opportunity of doing several colleagues in the eye. I am pleased to report that the hostel is fully funded at the Company level. It's now a Branch of Medical. They cannot fully staff it, so the Academy has defined it as a course of study available to those who will never Reap. All dropouts may claim employment as orderlies. Those who do not wish to join Medical will be able to apprentice themselves to the other Divisions working there. A general announcement of this facility has been made. Numbers of the cursed are coming in from all countries. It has been noted that this includes countries not at war, not just those specifically involved in the current unpleasantness."

"Is the Cassandra curse broken completely?"

"Yes. It was centered on you and dispelled by Doctor Collins. A failed experiment, I believe, far too easily countered."

"Were Seniors Johns and Richards still here when he broke it?"

"They were, and it cost me another pot of tea and all of Brock's macaroons. Brock has threatened to start storing them down in the Admin Stacks under lock and key. I suggested he stop keeping food items in the workplace. He asked where else Bradshaw was going to get them when visitors suddenly invade. He's willing to share in emergencies but is holding out for a regular weekly resupply, three additional adding machines and six interns to operate them. Negotiate with him, will you? Two machines and reparations for his biscuits. Tell Bradshaw I will approve his choice of a better quality tea for important visitors. A small tin, mind you. Important visitors only."

Alan did not smile, though the effort nearly broke his face. "Black or green?"

"One of Lapsang. One of Gunpowder. Out, Humphries. I want this report on my desk by 14:00."

Alan left Will's office and sought out Bradshaw. "He says please buy small tins of Lapsang Souchong and Gunpowder tea for visitors of note."

Bradshaw smiled. "I'll do better. I'll get Qimen Hongcha and Huangshan Maofeng. His personal preference is Assam boiled for three days in an old boot. Scrubbing that out of the teapot is an adventure in itself."

"Can you really change his habits, though?"

"Gradually. The key phrase here is 'for visitors.' I'll just infer that we can hardly serve visitors a tea which has lost its fragrance and flavor from sitting in a cabinet for a year. It is wasteful not to use it while it's at its best. We'd just have to throw it out otherwise. Using it up and replacing it regularly is the only way to assure its suitability for an unexpected guest. Besides, Senior Sutcliffe often joins him for a cup in his office. She'll certainly enjoy a better brew."

"About Brock's macaroons—"

"Not good enough for visitors; they've been sitting around in a box for up to a week. With your permission, we'll start a tab at the new pâtisserie next to Patel's Curry. The maître pâtissier is first-rate. He needs the business enough to be willing to make up an excellent tray on short notice. Brock will find the money. I'll talk to him."

"Brad, do you mind being Will's tea person? It's not really in your job description."

"Write it in, then. Wójcik doesn't want to do it because it leaves Spears' door unguarded. Your door is in the full sight of three perpetually manned desks. I like it. Beats reaping. Also beats filing. Breaks the monotony nicely. It allows me to rebrew the pot and offer a cup to Wójcik and the back office, who quite look forward to it. It gives everybody a short break and a nice chat. Who else here gets greeted as a hero just by showing up with a tray?"

"And sometimes there are leftover biscuits, too," commented Knox. "Everybody goes back to work refreshed. If Will complains I'll remind him that it improves productivity and the quality of the work. He knows that. He just has to get past his dislike of any change."

"Excellent, Ronnie. See what you can do to encourage Will to drink a better tea, and permit a daily order of baked goods to the office. Everyone benefits, of course, but the point really is trust. He'll be more likely to accept, or at least consider, other suggestions you make. Get him comfortable with that. Someday you'll need to offer him an important insight; we want him to be ready to hear it from you. You as in 'Knox The Knife,' not as 'Ronnie the adolescent skirt-chasing little brother.' Both personas are useful, but he only knows one. He hasn't seen you on the battlefield."

Ronnie straightened. For an instant, Alan caught a glimpse of the man he might have become had he not died so young. "I'll need to find something to campaign for that isn't related to my appetite, then. Any suggestions?"

Ronnie could still become that man. "Ask to join him on his sweep assignments," suggested Alan. "Show him Knox the Knife. You'll find something that needs to be improved. Start there."

21: Matthias Revisited

He had spent twenty years in the Human Realm. Hardly a moment, as the Angels judged time. Yet he had learned, and matured, and grown wise. He had raised three children, treasured his wife and valued his friends and neighbors. He had gone to war as a foot soldier and returned to Heaven from a battlefield. He had been examined, judged and promoted. Many responsibilities had been laid upon his broad shoulders. Possibly his return had not been soon enough. There was no denying that Matthias had gone native.

For one thing, he lived with his mortal wife when off-duty. Sandriel was learning the discomforts of real-world weather. A pelting rain rattled on the windows. A coal fire battled a freezing dampness. The house was modest, well-kept, welcoming and comparatively warm. Sandriel, a native of a realm which had mastered climate control in its second minute of existence, was doing his best to appreciate it. His feet were wet and cold.

An order had come down from on high; Sandriel was to meet with Matthias, who had been made privy to certain facts. Instructions would be given. Matthias would provide the conduit between Sandriel and Somebody who could not be crossed. Thus Sandriel was present in the wee hours of the night, in a humble human abode, while a spring rain mixed with sleet provided drafts and misery.

Matthias looked perfectly comfortable and perfectly human, sitting at the table with a cup of tea of Heavenly origin. Sandriel was out of practice at maintaining a human size for any length of time. Fitting onto the offered chair was difficult. Also, there was another entity in the room, similarly summoned. It too was angelic. It outranked Sandriel and was not at the moment particularly pleased with him. Matthias had politely offered tea and scones to both guests. Sandriel nervously remained standing, clasping a hot mug in his cold hands. He was deeply regretting that he had contacted Matthias earlier and sent him off on an errand. It appeared he had badly misread the fellow's current rank and position.

Matthias, having performed the duties of a host, reported.

"I sent a tin of this tea to his office, just as you asked. A good idea, should have thought of it myself. I owe him greatly for his diligence. While I was still a human at war, he kept a sharp eye on my home. My wife is known to be living alone here since my second son went into the Navy and my daughter into nurses' training. The house now has a reputation of being a very bad place to break into. Many say it's haunted by a flaming skeleton which throws thieves across the street and leaves them shaking with nightmares for weeks. Now, of course, there's a story that her husband's ghost visits the place as well. A house with two ghosts is quite out of the ordinary way; a source of community pride; her courage in staying here is much admired. Humphries also planted autumn damask roses of exceptional thorniness under all my windows. She's safe from peepers and burglars and slanderers, and loves the fragrance of the flowers."

"You offered this tea to him when he visited you here?" The second guest was evidently trying to decide if this was permissible.

"Oh, yes. It did him a visible amount of good. He looked underslept and underfed. After all, he had extended his protection to my family in direct disobedience of his superior officer. For years, you know. Or do you? Quite the history, there."

"I offered him a rebirth…" started Sandriel, hoping to get out of this interview as quickly as possible.

"Turned you down flat, too, I imagine. I offered him the same, once. It terrified and angered him."

"Why? Why should that—"

"You worked with him for some years, I believe? A good working relationship, respect and cooperation on both sides. Then you make a single blunder, and suddenly the association is embarrassing to you. You offer rebirth. If he accepts, he vanishes from the Reaper Realm, and presto! Your trouble goes away with him."

"That is not what I intended."

"That is exactly what his partner's been warning him about for the last thirty years. Bravo, sir. A fine betrayal. You've verified Slingby's suspicions and demonstrated that your friendship for Humphries was never more than toleration. It ended the moment it hit a snag. You err, he pays, all forgotten. Not what you intended, perhaps, but that's how it looks to him, and to me, and anybody else standing by. Especially all those guests who are sure they prevented the abduction and execution of an injured friend."

Sandriel spluttered in denial. The other guest looked at him sternly until he subsided. Matthias carried on, with the relish of one who has orders to speak the plain truth.

"Let me guess. He refused politely. He asked a boon for his people rather than himself. He and his partner moved to an obscure cranny in the London catacombs where you haven't an ant's chance of finding them. Right? Oh, do stop pacing. You'll wake up my wife. Sit down a moment and I'll explain.

"Reapers are not fallen angels or rising demons. They are human souls in modified human bodies. Have you ever lived in the human world as a human? Of course not. Listen. Humans fall deeply in love and promise to stay together forever. Forever, for them, might be as much as fifty years. The blink of an eye. Not all are reunited in death.

"Humphries and Slingby are a bonded couple. You sometimes get that when two Reapers inspire each other to perform at a level far above their individual talents. The only thing they have wanted since the day they met has been to stay together. Humphries is Slingby's stability. Slingby is Humphries' strength. You didn't offer Humphries a better life. You threatened to rip away everything he loves. A new life would mean the death and damnation of his partner, the loss of all his memories, and no chance whatsoever of reconnecting with Slingby ever again."

"Should I have offered rebirth to them both?"

"No. It's not in your power to do so. Wasn't in mine either. Only the True Judge can extend mercy to the damned. Don't care how high in the hierarchy you sit, it's not your decision. Slingby's only way out of the Reaper Realm is a direct drop into Hell. Not only has he to answer for his first suicide, although he may have served well enough for some leniency there—"

"First suicide?"

"First. He's been busy. He's a good Reaper with Humphries beside him, but a very bad man alone. Now, in 1888 our Mister Humphries contracted the Thorns. Evidently a fairly aggressive case. In six months, he was dying."

"But Alan's alive now."

"Mm-hmm. You noticed. Congratulations. As Alan became weaker, Slingby went mad. This was before their bond matured, so he would have survived the loss and gone on alone. He couldn't face it. At that point somebody sold him a load of horsefeathers about a possible cure. It was the only hope offered, and Slingby seized upon it in desperation. The cure was one thousand innocent souls, reaped untimely and off-List."

His guests gasped.

"He achieved it. His one-thousandth murder was Humphries, whom he scythed by accident. Humphries was trying to protect Slingby's intended victim, who was in the company of a demon. Slingby begged the demon to kill him; a second suicide.

"Forgiveness and rebirth are out of the question. Their only hope now is to stay together in the Reaper Realm as long as possible. When one dies, they both die—that bond again, a very mixed blessing—and Slingby will face judgement for those murders. Humphries will refuse all mercy to stay with him. Foolish, of course, for Hell will begin their torment by separating them, but there you are."

Sandriel was silent for a moment. Matthias poured more tea and waited for him to catch up. After two false starts, Sandriel managed a coherent question: "How were they returned to the Reaper Realm from Hell?"

"Never got that far. Their boss stored them unReaped in a time slip and petitioned for their reinstatement. He paid a heavy price for it, but it earned him their loyalty."

The second guest raised an eyebrow. "Price? What price did he pay?"

"His own enslavement in perpetuity, or until his superiors release him."

"Ah. I think I should look into that."

"It's intriguing, I agree. That price is not something our realm would impose. The Reapers already had permission to restore this pair. It suggests that Spears was inconveniently due for promotion or transfer. They tacked on an addendum to keep him in place."

The second guest cleared his throat. "Matthias, have you ever considered—"

"No. You, sir, need me outside your line of command, under no pressure to varnish the truth. Sirs, my superior wishes to speak through me. Will you hear what he has to say?"

"We will. Please begin."

Matthias closed his eyes. A slight glow bloomed around him. From that glow a baritone voice echoed.

"Uriel, my brother. Michael wants this assault upon his Reapers stopped. He is investigating the origin of this curse. It indicates a violation of the treaties between the Infernal and Celestial Realms. Azrael demands that we save every possible Reaper. Raphael agrees that a remedy must be found. We have many people seeking information. He asks you to aid Sandriel in any way needed.

"Sandriel, you owe Humphries another apology. Use the proper protocols and include everyone involved. He'll forgive, but not forget. You must work to regain his trust. I require you to exert yourself to fulfill his boon quickly and completely. Report to him and to Matthias on your progress. Also, endeavor to reassure Slingby that you mean no harm. I will be very displeased if you cause him to withdraw his trust from Color-Sergeant Bourne, the one angel he respects." The glow faded until only Matthias remained.

"Alan is alive with no Thorns or any Thorns damage," Sandriel said quickly. "How was that done?"

Matthias blinked. "Too late, he's gone, but I can tell you. A Divine Representative repaired Slingby's death wound and rebuilt Humphries' body from scratch. That's not the cure you're seeking. You need a widespread curse-breaking. You also need a treatment to slow the progress of the curse until you can figure out how to remove it, and one to help overcome damage already done. Something like this tea, perhaps, with a few powerful blessings added. Not my field of study, of course. I am merely a humble scrivener in Gabriel's service."

Uriel waved a hand in dismissal. Sandriel bowed and took his leave, just gracefully enough that it could not be said that he fled.

"What a mess. Usually he's quite competent, at least when he's around where we can see him. This was just an excess of enthusiasm, perhaps?"

"In response to the original crime, yes. He's in nothing like the trouble that has rained down on those who started all this. That fledgling who attacked Humphries has been shunted away into a position he'll never escape until he overcomes his character flaws. The ones responsible for the education he was denied are likewise re-employed.

"The Highest is working His will through those Reapers. Yes, even Slingby. Torn and tattered soul that he is, he serves skillfully to keep the balance. We're supposed to allow them to get on with it. This Thorns upsurge is a demonic attempt to counter their successes."

"Humble scrivener, my tailfeathers. May I ask where you learned all this background history?"

"Gabriel is the Recording Angel, after all. His minions write down every detail. I applied to Saint Jerome."

"Librarian?"

"Quite. He has everything at his fingertips. Wonderful old fellow. Just don't let him get started on filing systems."

Jonas Burns buttoned his shirt while Doctor Collins added notes to his record. "Thought I'd be sicker by now. Stoughton was cursed about the same time and has had more attacks."

Collins nodded and scribbled. To fill the cold silence, Burns reminisced. "I'm an old London hand. I remember Humphries' illness. He got thin and haggard pretty quickly. Of course, work conditions back then killed a lot of us who didn't have a curse on board to help things along."

Collins tapped his pen on his clipboard. "You state that your last attack was the day before you were abducted. In your office. You went home and recovered there, then returned for your next duty shift. Your Thorns marks spread during the attack. No change since."

"No, not at all." Burns tucked his shirttails into his trousers.

"No Thorns seizure before you were assaulted. No seizure after."

"Unless it occurred before I woke up, no. Was I doped so thoroughly that I slept through one? Might have been, I suppose. Ask the nurses. But if so, the marks did not spread."

"Discomfort?"

"No change. Except I'm not feeling as cold as I had been."

"From my observations, you should have experienced an attack within the next week, perhaps slightly delayed by the bed rest while the anesthetic wore off. Instead…very well. Mister Burns. Come with me."

"Is this going to involve needles?"

"No." Collins gestured Burns into an empty office, pointed to the desk and chair. "Sit. Paper is in the right-hand drawer, pens in the center drawer. Now, sir, write me a history of everything that you have done since reporting for that last shift. Include your abduction and your awakening. Everything you did, everything you saw or heard, everything you ate, drank, smelled, touched, washed in, tripped over or fell into, whatever you were hit with, your treatment at the Academy once you awakened. What happened after your discharge, up to this morning. Everything you can remember."

"Everything. Oh. I see. Yes. Everything. This will take a while. I don't want to leave anything out. And can Charlie come in here? He's out in the waiting room. He may remember parts I'm fuzzy on. He woke up first and wasn't nearly as groggy. Doctor, you can save us a severe scolding if you have somebody notify Spears that we'll be late for our next shift."

22: Challenges

The tin was decorated with golden scrollwork over a pale green background. On the front there was painted a dark oval, in which a ship built for speed cleaved the ocean waves; a tea clipper under full billowing sail. Alan offered it to Doctor Collins. "This is the tea I served to Jonas and Charlie. Shall I brew you a cup?"

Collins popped the lid open and sniffed. "That is nice." He resealed the tin. "I need to take this. You brewed it with water from the tap, correct? And in what teapot? That Brown Betty? Anything special about the pot? It's not Association issue."

"It's Eric's. We've had it for years. His old standard-issue pot was damaged when I first moved in. The spout was chipped, the glaze had crazed, and one morning the handle just fell off. Eric said it was trying to tell us something. That evening he brought home the Betty. If you want to take it, please ask Eric. It's not mine to give, and he's fond of it."

"May I see it? Human manufacture. I can't detect anything unusual about it. We'll get our own and come back to borrow this one for a comparative brew-up. Let's see. Kettle is standard issue. Anything special about the sugar, milk, lemon or the food you served with it?"

"No, not at all. Our cupboard was bare, so I sent an intern out to buy whatever was left at the store that afternoon. But why do you ask?"

"Please tell me how you came by this tea? Your experiences with it?"

"Do not get me in trouble with Will if you can avoid it, please. A couple of years ago I visited an angel. He was living as a human in the human realm, with a wife and three children. I wished to warn him of the coming war. Will had forbidden me any contact with the family."

Collins waited. Alan leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"It was late. I was tired. He offered me tea, this tea, and it was wonderfully refreshing. He mentioned that it came from his old home, which I assumed was in the Celestial Realm. I gave him my warning and left quickly. Eric had followed me. Angels worry him, and I didn't want a confrontation. That was the first and last time I encountered this tea, until a tin appeared on my desk at work. I think it was a gift from the angel Sandriel. I brought it home and brewed a pot when Fancher and Burns visited us. I hoped it would be as good as I remembered. It was, and everyone enjoyed it."

"According to Burns, you poured four cups, then refilled the six-cup pot. Everyone got a second cup of tea, and the remaining two cups were shared among the four of you."

"Yes. We didn't press them to stay, as they obviously needed rest. Charlie was still healing and Jonas looked dragged. The tea did perk us all up a bit. Did I poison Jonas or Charlie? Eric and I shared everything they had. We're both fine."

"No. I must be going."

Alan moved forward with unexpected speed and plucked the tin out of Collin's hands. "Ted. Either tell me what happened or go away. Do not give me 'Doctor is God' because I know better. Unquestioning obedience is not on the table, not ever again, not after Medical abandoned me in 1888."

Collins huffed and sat down at the table. "Sorry. This must remain confidential as long as possible. We don't want to raise false hopes, or cause a stampede. Alan, Burns has gone nearly three weeks with no growth of his Thorns."

"None? That's remarkable. D'you think this tea may have caused that?"

"It's not a cure, not at all, but it seems to have paused the progress. I won't say Burns is in a remission. Thorns are still very much present, but inactive. No attacks, no increasing discomfort, no growth. We have gone over everything he's done or been exposed to in that time. The only thing we haven't tested, the only thing out of the ordinary, is this tea. I suspect he may need another cup soon to keep the curse quiet. I would also like to try this on a patient who is further along, and one who is terminal. I will have to let Research have some of this, of course."

"Those utter bastards. Keep them away from Jonas, Ted."

"Don't worry. This is a Medical project with Medical staff, not that pack of sociopathic Scientific butchers who pursued you in the past. We have good people. Many of 'em were your students, y'know. They've studied your history. They treat patients like people, not specimens. You'd be proud. Will you let me take the tea? For Jonas, and for all the others if it works?"

Alan turned to the cabinet next to the window. He removed another tea tin, scratched and worn. The contents jingled. Collins recognized a savings tin. Alan emptied it out into a drawer, then shook some tea from the green tin into the old red one. "I'm keeping a little of this, because it cheers Eric up after particularly difficult battlefield shifts. Please let me know if it's actually helping Jonas. I could ask Matthias for more if you need it, although I don't know if I have anything to offer him in exchange. I'm afraid I have already exceeded Sandriel's goodwill. Perhaps a formal request from a ranking Medical officer might be better received."

Collins received the green tin gratefully. "We mustn't get our hopes up just yet. I promise not a leaf will be wasted, and I shall return the tin unless it's an active part of the process. It could be that the relief is a virtue of the tin rather than the tea itself, you know. Will you sniff the tea you just put in the red tin? Still the same? Maybe the tin doesn't matter. We have angelic doctors and nurses at the Academy Hospital, dealing with badly injured angelic patients. We'll speak to them as part of our investigation. They belong to Raphael's host, and healing is what they do. Whether they will extend their efforts to mere reapers, though—well; they don't, as far as we know; but we'll see."

"Sandriel helped me once. Perhaps that could be cited as a precedent. Please keep me informed about Jonas."

Meeting room B, 06:00. Coffee and biscuits. Present: Duncan, Mallory, ffoulkes and Sorenson; orientation for a new hire, Diederick 'Dutch' Ten Hagen, doing his best to seem worthy of working with these legends

Sorenson, usually taciturn, was expansive on this subject. "No, it's not that you're a bad Reaper, not at all. It does help that your partner is working for Slingby, or will be when he's done with Bristol. But that's not all of it. This is a difficult job, so don't think you're being demoted. You're being offered the chance to replace me. I'm leaving at the end of June."

"I thought you and Alan were permanent partners for local reaping," said Dutch. "What's happening in June?"

Sorenson rumbled happily. "Molly will be promoted to Senior status. I have her permission to begin a courtship. I've been waiting since the day she became Sutcliff's trainee. I had just assumed protection of Spears. I tried to keep her away when she had a message for him. She told me not to be an ass."

"Love at first sight," laughed ffoulkes.

"She is fierce. I admire that. In June, Grell will take Molly to be fitted for her battlefield whites. At the beginning of July I shall join her battlefield shift as a defender. Alan's given me his blessing. Oh, and it's always Alan once you're on first-name terms. Never Al, because there are too many Als. London is hip-deep in Alberts, all named after Victoria's Prince Consort, poor fellows. Also Alexes, Alfreds, Alistairs, Aldens, Alphonses, Alonzos, Alvins, Allens-with-an-e, and that one fellow who refuses to answer to Murgatroyd."

"I'll remember. Will I be sharing your reaping shift with him?"

"Yes. That's the easy part. It's mostly his desk shifts that drive us to distraction."

Mallory put down his coffee. "If you have questions, you ask any of us. We want you to get comfortable with the job quickly. Daily duty includes security of the War Room and Medical portals and the occasional escort of Spears, plus anyone else who has a meeting outside the Branch building. We all take Humphries' guard duty in turns. It is basically constant movement with the occasional spot of panic. There can be quiet stretches when he's working on reports or with Spears. Never begin or end a shift without getting or giving a handover report. If your replacement doesn't show, you don't budge until somebody else you trust steps up."

Ffoulkes added, "We have a deal. We try not to be a total pest, and he does not lock himself into his office and port away without warning."

"That's the rub," Mallory continued. "We have to defend him without interfering with his work or making him feel imprisoned. He may suddenly take you to damn sketchy places for unknown purposes. He rarely has time to explain. You have to accept that he has an excellent reason for whatever he does. Your duty is not to stop him, but to get him back undamaged. Spears would have you constrain him. So would Slingby. They are not your boss. Actually, the decree for his protection comes from a Higher Up. If you don't want to meet that lady, and believe me, you don't, you will learn everything about our group's responsibilities as quickly as possible.

"You will start by tagging along with us on our rounds. We'll drop out as you become comfortable with those assignments. They're not easy. First and most difficult, you'll be gaining Humphries' trust. Duncan, your input?"

"Alan will try to escape you if he thinks you'll interfere with whatever he's doing. He's good at it, too. He does a lot of things around the Realm, in all divisions, and you'll have to keep up and help out in all sorts of places and situations every day. He's as curious as a cat. If he asks you to research something, assign it to one of his Admins. Your job is to stay with him. On his rest shift he's technically Slingby's responsibility. Slingby doesn't know the half of what he gets up to, but we track his glasses and do not interfere unless he signals for help. On Thursday nights at the Scythe and Skull, he's everybody's responsibility. Recently he did duck out alone. We let him go because he was meeting someone we trust. Also because two of us were behind him. We left once we saw that Color-Sergeant Bourne of the London Garrison had him in sight. We'll make sure you're introduced to Bourne this week. You'll like him. He's what an angel ought to be."

Mallory resumed. "You can tell Alan was bullied in the past. He's explosive when attacked. He takes neither shit nor prisoners and fights like a rabid badger. Let him do it unless he's overmatched; then stand and wait for an opening. Otherwise, kill anyone who tries to help the opponent he's chopping into cutlets. We'll bring you into the sparring sessions. You'll learn what to expect and how to work with him. Remember he's using a long-handled scythe. Stay out of range."

Dutch nodded. "I saw him spar with Slingby when I was at the Academy. Scared me out of a week's growth, I swear. But oh, how it made me want to learn."

"He'll be tracking your glasses," said ffoulkes. "He will know where you are. You don't have to stay right on top of him. Get a feel for those times he wants you to be least in sight. Sometimes he wants you to be large and distracting so he can poke about unnoticed in the background. He's also very good at not being seen. He can fade away into a crowd to listen unobserved. Try not to lose him."

Mallory leaned back in his chair. "Beware if he goes all meek and harmless, I mean beyond polite manners. It usually means he's gathering information from a source who doesn't want to cooperate. But if he's still doing it by tea time, if he's distracted and not meeting your eyes, if he sits in his office and stares out the window, then he's thinking and plotting. Pay extra attention. If he slips away, come back and report. We'll use the Monitors' long-range screens to track his glasses and see what he's up to. There are several places in the human realm he visits regularly. He sometimes ports over to the Academy if a student is in trouble. Go wherever he is, but stay out of sight while he does whatever he needs to do, and join up with him when he's done."

"After he's used to you, one day he'll suddenly take you off on an unscheduled side trip. It's a test to see if you'll try to stop him or if you'll back him up. Convince him that you're his ally. Partner in crime, if you can achieve that lofty rank. He'll give you his trust, but only once. If you lose it, you're gone. Oh, and he's stubborn as two mules."

"So never argue?"

"Just have a really good reason and an alternative suggestion that will still achieve the result he wants. Be always on guard. The demons really hate him for the weapons he's given us. They've actually posted a reward for him. You know all about fighting them, no problem there. The angels, now. They are unpredictable. They'll help you one day and betray you the next. Let him lead if angels want to talk to him. If they attack, go for the gut and legs. If somebody's already doing that, get behind and strike at the wings. Get 'em to bend over so you can target face and neck. Tap your glasses for help, because it can take a group of us to drive one of those monsters off, depending on their experience and training. Fortunately, their contempt of us leads them to underestimate us."

"But never forget," said Sorenson, "that his worst injuries have been inflicted by other Reapers."

Duncan: "He's a good teacher. If you escort him to his classes, listen. You'll learn a lot about what's worrying him from the way he presents his lessons."

Ffoulkes: "Bradshaw keeps his daily schedule. He'll give you a copy when you are assigned to him. We also keep a record of all the tasks he does. You'll be expected to add your own observations. We're trying to write a reference manual for the group. Like if a shipment of blades comes in while he's off teaching; you have to escort it to Supplies, make sure all the papers get signed, and witness the exchange of finished knives. Or if a new set of maps comes in, or if that big screen in the War Room gets an update that doesn't work right. Or if he can't go to the Academy for some reason; we need to know who takes over which classes, and which office we have to notify so they don't complain to Spears."

Sorenson: "He forgets to eat. Bradshaw's in charge of tea and tiffin; doctor's orders. If he won't eat, Brad will pour you a cuppa so Alan'll have one to keep you company."

Mallory: "Give it a try. It's a hard job. If you can't do it, say so and some other poor soldier will be brought in. Now, today you and I are going to cover him while he does his in-realm rounds. Scythes, Supplies, Maintenance, and, ah, let's see; a meeting with Maritime, in Yarmouth this time; probably a side trip to the confectioner, as the candy dishes are getting low."

That night, Smitty came in from Scythes to find Ten Hagen stretched out on his bed. "How's the new assignment?"

"Oi."

"That good? I'm sorry."

"Got you some Raspberry Lances and Ginger Creams. On your bedside table. Blackberry-and-Apple drops for me. Dammit. The demons have the candy shop staked out. Mallory led in, ran 'round whacking them, and I defended the door while Humphries chatted with the proprietor. Nice old fellow, was Werther's source for sweets. He thinks Alan's an invalided soldier, or too tubercular to serve, buying candy for hospital wards in Werther's memory. The office keeps a list of personal requests, so tell me your favorites and pay me later."

"Obviously there's a reason that you're not using other candy shops in a random order? I'd like to hear it."

"Firstly, Alan likes the owner; secondly, their quality and selection is better than most; thirdly, because sugar's rationed and Alan leaves an occasional bag in his storeroom. Just enough to cover our needs and to keep him in business, not enough for his neighbors to notice and inform on him. The old fellow's sons fell in France. He's a little vague since they died, doesn't notice the deliveries. His daughter does. She and Alan have an agreement. She will keep the shop going when her father shows up on the Death List."

"She's been taking over production, then."

"Yes. And we escorted Alan all 'round the Realm. Supplies has cracked open the slavery ring that stole poor Burns. Judicial is in on that, with Auditing keeping an eye on them. They're all newly assigned and appear to be doing a good job without any of the arbitrary executions that got the previous staff fired. They're working on finding and returning abductees. There's a problem with replacing them. They don't want to stay, most of them, but if they go home the Branches fold. A lot of bad feeling, there. One of the abductees stated that if all of France's reapers were laid end to end it would be a good thing. Alan's very worried about that. Cooperation is the only thing we have that the demons don't. Scythes was present at that meeting, too – you know about that?"

"Oh, yes. We're very much involved. Among other things, we're helping Supplies improve their tracking."

"Then a big meeting with the Maritime Branches. They're having staffing problems like everyone else. They've released a large group of Thorns sufferers to the London Hospice. We went over there, and saw them all moved in, poor sods. Humphries was going to have us all painting some new walls, but Mallory gently reminded him that Senior Stornaway – he's Richards' replacement, she's in Supplies now – Stornaway expected him in Maintenance for a good gossip. The last big classes in India's Academies are achieving Senior status this year, as is also happening worldwide, and they need to consider offering the plans for the Academy Hospital to any country that's interested. Also how to get them interested if they're in stubborn denial that trouble's coming. And the angels, too. They are terrible at forward planning, being created loyal and obedient and all, so they tend to wait for orders rather than anticipate them. They need to uplift a bunch of snarky humans. General Artois is Uplifted, and is one of their best commanders. And Color-Sergeant Bourne, Eric's drinking buddy. I'm supposed to be formally introduced to him on Thursday."

"A busy day."

"A busy morning, actually, thank you. Stornaway fed us lunch. Then four hours Reaping. That would have been routine except that Alan was telling us about a new disease that popped up in barracks at Étaples and Aldershot this winter. It seems to resemble influenza except that it destroys the lungs. Having given me food for nightmares, he released me to go reap another shift with Sam, who updated me on the progress at Bristol. I'm supposed to brief Humphries on it in the morning. I've more information than my brain can hold."

"So? You're getting bored with being a Collections drone. Lie down till you feel better. You've been underutilized for years. Give the job a chance. You'll grow into it."

"And here I was hoping for sympathy. Some roomie you are."

"Huge opportunity to learn things, and you're sulking? You are barking up the wrong ankle if you want sympathy. You'll be fine."

23: Experimentation

The kettle boiled. Alan scoured the teapot, added the tea leaves and filled the pot. A refreshing fragrance filled the kitchen. Eric, leaning on the counter, breathed deeply. Doctor Theodore Collins, standing by the door, also inhaled and imperceptibly relaxed. The three men sitting at the table watched as Alan set down the teapot to steep. One man was a graying Academic in frayed tweeds; one a thin young fellow, perhaps a little pale, in spotless Reaper uniform; the third was Jonas Burns, with the somewhat scuffed appearance of one who has just come off defense duty on a Reaping shift.

On the table was a Thermos bottle of the latest design, amid a layout of the sort of refreshments that could be offered by a householder with a sparsely stocked pantry; as long as the householder could send an intern to see what the nearest shop had in stock. The cupboards contained only two teacups, so mugs were set out for the guests.

"Mister Humphries, pray rinse this bottle with boiling water? I want it to be free of possible contaminants, and the tea to remain hot as long as possible."

"Would you like a cup, Doctor?"

"No. None for you either. Don't want any objections that we tainted the sample with someone who has had the Thorns and might have some sort of immunity therefrom; or somebody who's had long exposure to a Thorns victim, ditto. I wish to duplicate as closely as possible the events of that evening when four men sat down to tea.

"Mister Stone,"—the grey man in tweed nodded a greeting— "is an Archivist from the Academy's Bursar's office. Hasn't seen the light of day for lo these many years, nor wanted to, no exposure to practicing Reapers at all. He has generously agreed to serve as our control subject. Junior Agent Haye was cursed five months ago. Senior Burns, of course, is paused at an earlier stage of the curse. The thermos tea will be taken to a terminal patient too ill to travel. Please, as much as possible, serve these men exactly as you served Mister Burns before. At the same time, serve the Thermos the same way you serve your guests."

"Then let me pack up a picnic to go with the Thermos," Eric suggested. "That way your man in hospital will have the same as these gentlemen. It might be that having something to eat affects what the tea does to you."

"Yes. Quite true. Alan, the hospice patient asks that the thermos tea should have milk and two sugars."

"Of course. Shouldn't you have someone with an active case in the middle stages?"

"Arguably. But that would change the amount that each man receives today. Also, I want to see what this second dose does for Senior Burns."

"So do I," said Burns with some humor. "I rather fancy not dying just yet. Now, our last meeting was much more relaxed. Shall we drop the formality, Doctor?"

"That would be appropriate, I think."

"Good. Hey, Alan, how's your new aide doing? Gossip has it you threw him off the bridge to see if he could swim."

"He swims quite well. I intend to corrupt him into a proper henchman."

"Ye should allow him the occasional rest, ye know. Remember how many of your aides have found easier work elsewhere."

Mister Stone looked up, myopically trying to focus on Eric. "Quite true. It's possible to overwhelm the most promising and eager of new hires. It can destroy them if one is not also supportive and understanding. A sad waste, for they will go and present their talents to another employer, but that first bright enthusiasm will be forever lost."

"Quite true!" said Alan. "My error. I will assign him a few of my more boring shifts until he gets his feet under him. The last thing I want to do is run him off. Now, the tea is ready. Mister Stone?"

"Lemon, if you will."

"Mister Haye?"

"Milk and one sugar, please."

"And Jonas, the same, and Mister Thermos. Please, everyone, help yourselves to whatever you would like."

Burns offered finger sandwiches to Stone, the eldest present. Burns then took one and handed the plate off to the silent Junior. Haye was holding his mug in both hands, eyes closed. Burns put the plate down in front of the boy. "Go ahead, Junior. It can't hurt you. It might help. In any case it's a free nosh."

Haye breathed deeply. "So good. It reminds me – it almost reminds me of something wonderful but forgotten."

"Fragrances can do that. Enjoy it. Don't push to remember. It just gives one a headache." Alan turned his attention to Burns, who was obviously enjoying his tea immensely. From Burns he looked over to Stone. The Academician Administrator sipped, paused, sipped again.

"Quite refreshing. May I ask if this delightful blend is available for purchase? I do believe I might be tempted to leave my dusty repositories to acquire a tin of this. And I assure you, Sir, that up to this moment, I would not have done so for all the tea in China. Although I have indeed left my lair to please a Doctor." A genuine spark of humor lit his eyes. He smiled at Collins. "I believe I must thank you, young man. Dear me, how very energizing."

Haye set down his empty mug. "I think—I think I'm hungry." He reached for the smallest sandwich. "This tastes good!"

#black butler fanfiction

[goldeneyedossier]

THE WORLD OF GOLDENEYE (Updated Edition) is now available for £17 on Amazon UK and at a reduced price on the Eurozone markets. Celebrate the silver anniversary of the 17th #JamesBond film and relive its great success. https://amzn.to/34nlgbO #GoldenEyeWorld #GoldenEyeAt25

#james bond #goldeneye #book #goldeneyeat25 #goldeneye007 #007goldeneye #essay #cold war #1990s movies #1990s films #1990s nostalgia #blockbuster #ian fleming #pierce brosnan #sean bean #izabella scorupco #famke janssen #alan cumming #martin campbell #eric serra #stay at home #reading

[grandhotelabyss]

—Marshall McLuhan, Letter to Eric Voeglin, July 1953

Placing this here for future reference; it’s in an open tag and I don’t remember where I clicked it from, probably some esoteric Twitter shitposter. 

McLuhan’s scholarship is superior to my own, as is his paranoia, but his sense of the big picture matches mine. I backed into it from trying to understand a range of contemporary writers rather than working forward from the classics themselves, the most familiar of which I am now having to reread in maturity with all this in mind. 

If we collate these observations with Harold Bloom’s narrative from the same rough period, we’ll get the sense that this conflict between gnosis and reason—in literary terms Romanticism vs. Classicism—is the hidden subtext of what’s often exoterically cast as a conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism in modern western aesthetics. (Dionysian vs. Apollonian also applies.) 

McLuhan wrote this letter before the explosion of the ‘60s, in which he himself participated, when this esoteric debate spilled into full public view even as its range of reference grew broader with postmodernism and multiculturalism. Speaking of the latter, Voeglin told him right away in the next letter that East vs. West wasn’t a good model. To collapse these concepts onto human groups is pogrom thinking, crusade thinking, which the intellectual and artist should be above.

Such dichotomies left as dichotomies may seem to work in political polemics and pulp fiction. In Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo, for example, it’s possible to have so much fun with gnostic vindication as black liberation that we almost don’t notice how all the negatives of the “Western” system gathering at the novel’s opposite pole of value are being subtly stigmatized as Jewish. Then there’s Dune—which, yes, I’ve finally read—where the noble Atreides, implicitly “Western” and Greek, confronts both the bad and good versions of “Eastern” irrationalism—the decadent appetitive Harkonnens, whom he must simply slaughter, and the visionary gnostic Fremen, whose insight he must absorb if he wants to triumph. Enjoyable books, but poison if you take them too seriously, which is to say without a certain irony. And to be fair to Reed and Herbert, each novel in its own way has an ironizing layer of metafiction that holds dogma at bay.

Writers who are themselves supremely serious and ironic see the fault line inside their own souls rather than out there in the world. Cynthia Ozick, for example, seems to be Reed’s direct opposite, and even makes the amusingly casual aside in one of her essays that Christianity and Gnosticism are the same thing. For her, the rational “West” is normative Judaism and the murky “East” the amoral aestheticism of all sects including secular Jewry, an adroit reversal of old stereotypes. Yet how can she get a story or a novel going at all if she doesn’t batten on magic? She can’t, and she knows it. Toni Morrison is the opposite case yet again, taking up Reed’s charge so that magic and gnosis are the other names of black liberation as opposed to the subtle ethical trap of the Hebrew Bible’s chosen people model—this is all worked out in Paradise, which will eventually be recognized as her best novel once people start to understand it better. But for all that, she knows she wouldn’t even be there to write the magical story without the Biblical model, which, not sorcery, broke the house of bondage. Similar inner divisions can be traced in other modern and contemporary writers as diverse as Iris Murdoch, Cormac McCarthy, and Alan Moore.

Finally, the more major a writer is, the more the reason-gnosis conflict can be read within his or her oeuvre. That’s just what being a major writer is. Dante and Joyce are perhaps the largest examples in the old canon, as each designs the most elaborate temple, the highest work of reason, in that shrine to place his gnostic goddess.

#marshall mcluhan #eric voeglin #gnosticism #literary criticism #literary theory

[the-alan-price-combo]

Before I get into the (Affectionate) Stuff:

A handful of “disclaimers” about this analysis, so you know what to expect.

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There will be citations for all of the general information I will be sharing, alongside some scans and images where I see them fit. While a handful of this information has been collected from biographies about the Animals and more recent interviews, most of the most affectionate content will be pulled from snippets of old music magazines. Funnily enough, most of those old articles are way less biased than the information circling around now.

While the cited-stuff will be pretty obvious, I’ll also be adding a lot of my personal thoughts to each “fun fact”. …Yes, quite a bit of this is going to be extrapolation, but anything additional I have to add will not extend beyond whatever is presented and the context preceding/following it. Relative to other homoerotic-songwriting-duos of this era of music, these two haven’t been nearly as well-documented… which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a shame there isn’t more out there and what information we do have doesn’t have much detail, but that just leaves room for speculation during any gaps in time.

I will do my very best to not let anything skew beyond the parameters of pure friendship. I… have my thoughts on the more intimate aspects of their relationship, and, if I’m being honest, a good amount of Alan’s behavior would make a lot of sense if he had some form of deep feelings for Eric - whatever that entails. A queer analysis of Alan’s behavior and especially his music might be something I do in the future... However, those theories are very speculatory and I won’t go into them here. I want to give a very objective, relatively platonic view of their relationship, though there will be some unavoidable hints of homoeroticism. Hashtag Not My Fault. 😔

If you know me at all, then you know that I have a massive amount of sympathy towards Alan. Yes, I think his alleged taking-of-the-royalties-without-sharing-a-cent is a bad look, and the way he left in May of ‘65 was very unceremonious - both of these decisions deserve all of the criticism they get. However, with just a bit of digging and careful listening to his more autobiographical songs, you’ll find out that Alan had and still has many issues. Many, many undiagnosed issues, revolving around depression and anxiety, in particular. Again, some of this is just speculation… but this is a guy who literally describes his mental state as “many times I feel like running through a brick wall. But it’s few and far between now, ‘cause I ain’t got the strength anymore.” So… yeah. I don’t see Alan as some sort of malicious aggressor who was constantly pushing Eric’s buttons on purpose. I see him as a very depressed and manipulated individual who never got to properly work through his issues and made some mistakes because of them.

I won’t be making any direct comparisons between this pair and any other homoerotic-songwriting-duos if I can help it, since these two can really stand on their own. Back when I was first researching them in September of 2020, even I fell into the trap of thinking “Oh, so they’re just a failed Lennon/McCartney or Jagger/Richards, and there was a lot of tension because they couldn’t be them? Hmm...” Honestly, the songwriting portion of their relationship is relatively miniscule to the musical partnership they shared - Alan’s keys combined with Eric’s voice - as well as their general friendship. The songwriting was very artificial, all things considered; rushed and coaxed out of them by an anxious record producer and manager. I’ll go more into detail about their songwriting later, but I just wanted to make it clear that I’m not trying to pit any duos against each other, in terms of how effective they were or how healthy their relationship was, or whatever. Alan and Eric’s relationship wasn’t perfect and I love them for that.

Please take breaks while you read this; drink a beverage of some sort, eat a cookie, fold some laundry, then come back to this. I don’t mean to be trite, I’m just being very honest. All of this information has been gathered over almost two years, and believe me, having gaps in time to process everything was appreciated. Or, who knows, maybe I was just overwhelmed by all of the (affection). In any case, prepare yourself for a long, homoerotic read ahead!

Also, additions will be made to this if I find new, relevant information about their relationship! I’ll be sure to add dates of when I found this information so it’s clear as to what was originally written here and what was a later discovery.

Asks are always welcome, if you’d like clarification, have any questions, or to see an article in print/any footage! I have basically all of the receipts for the quoted stuff, there’s just a handful of dates I need to iron out.

Lastly, I want to give a huge shout-out to my buddy @tealightwhimsy​. Legit, about half of what you are about to read was found thanks to her own digging. I’ve only been able to afford so many issues of imported, obscure UK music magazines, so her finding of some of these magazine scans and interviews was a lifesaver. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE HELP AND LETTING ME TALK YOU EAR OFF ABOUT THEM TO YOU!!

Alright, Burdon/Price time.

The Animal Squad (names that will come up a lot):

Eric Burdon - lead vocalist of the Animals, through all of its iterations that I’ll be mentioning here

Alan Price - keyboardist of the Animals until May of ‘65, as well as for their ‘77 reunion album and ‘83 reunion tour

Hilton Valentine - lead guitarist of the Animals until September of ‘66, as well as for their ‘77 reunion album and ‘83 reunion tour

Bryan “Chas” Chandler - bass guitarist of the Animals until September of ‘66, as well as for their ‘77 reunion album and ‘83 reunion tour

John Steel - drummer of the Animals until February of ‘66, as well as for their ‘77 reunion album and ‘83 reunion tour

Mickey Gallagher - replaced Alan Price on keyboard initially following his departure in early May of ‘65, for the Animals’ tour in Sweden

Dave Rowberry - replaced Alan Price on keyboard in late May of ‘65, stayed with the Animals until their break-up in September of ‘66

Barry Jenkins - replaced John Steel on drums in February of ‘66, stayed with the Animals through their September ‘66 break-up and reformation into Eric Burdon and Animals, until their break-up in December of ‘68

Mickie Most - the Animals’ record producer until late-‘65

Michael Jefferies - the Animals’ manager until their break-up in September of ‘66, and later the manager of Eric Burdon and the Animals until mid-‘68

“The Bob Squad” - what I affectionately call Bob Dylan and his entourage when they visited England in May of 1965

…It’s mostly going to be these five, though. Especially the first two. Also, same, John.

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#animusings #the alan and eric essay

[hide-your-bugs-away]

Happy 79th Birthday to the funky piano man, Alan Price 😌🎹🏳️‍🌈

#my gay-ass muse.... i love him 😔😔😔💕 #so happy to have learned about him over the past year... he's talented and a bitch and i cherish him 😔😔😔💕 #stream his cover of 'i put a spell on you' 😢😢😢 #alan price #alan price set #the animals #devil in her art #what did eric get him...? 👀👀 #aleric #pricedon #one day i will write a whole essay about why i love the gay and funky piano man so much 😔😔😔😔 #also i just learned today that alan price can't drive (at least circa 1967) 😐😐😐😐

[perennialessays]

Crisis and Critique

What is critical theory, and whence the notion of critique as a practical stance towards the world? Using these questions as a point of departure, this course takes critical theory as its field of inquiry. Part of the course will be devoted to investigating what critique is, starting with the etymological and conceptual affinity it shares with crisis: since the Enlightenment, so one line of argument goes, all grounds for knowledge are subject to criticism, which is understood to generate a sense of escalating historical crisis culminating in a radical renewal of the intellectual and social order. We will explore the efficacy of modern critical thought, and the concept of critique’s efficacy, by examining a series of attempts to narrate and amplify states of crisis – and correspondingly transform key concepts such as self, will, time, and world – in order to provoke a transformation of society. The other part of the course will be oriented towards understanding current critical movements as part of the Enlightenment legacy of critique, and therefore as studies in the practical implications of critical readings. Key positions in critical discourse will be discussed with reference to the socio-political conditions of their formation and in the context of their provenance in the history of philosophy, literature, and cultural theory. Required readings will include works by Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Husserl, Benjamin and others, with suggested readings and references drawn from a variety of source materials ranging from literary and philosophical texts to visual images, film, and architecture. You are invited to work on your individual interests with respect to the readings.

Week 1                                                                                              

Critique, krinein, crisis (Koselleck, Adorno)

 Required Reading

Reinhart Koselleck, “Crisis,” Journal of the History of Ideas 67.2 (2006), 357-400.

—, Chapters 7 and 8, Critique and Crisis: Enlightenment and the Pathogenesis of Modern Society. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1988 [German original, 1959].

Adorno and Horkheimer, "The Concept of Enlightenment," in Dialectic of Enlightenment, trans. John Cumming (New York: Continuum, 1989), pp. 3-42.

 Recommended Reading

Michel Foucault, “What is Enlightenment?” in The Foucault Reader. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984: 32-50.

—, The Politics of Truth. New York: Semiotext(e), 1997.

Friedrich Hölderlin, “Nature and Art or Saturn and Jupiter,” in Hyperion and Selected Poems. Ed. by Eric Santner. Translated by Michael Hamburger. New York: Continuum, 1990: 150-151.

  Week 2          

Judgment and Imagination (Kant)

 Required Reading

Immanuel Kant, “Preface [A and B],” in Critique of Pure Reason. Translated and edited by Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998: 99-124.  

—, “Preface” and “Introduction,” in Critique of Practical Reason, in Practical Philosophy, trans. Mary Gregor (Cambridge UP, 1996), pp. 139-149.

—, §§1-5, 59-60 of Critique of the Power of Judgment, trans. Paul Guyer and Eric Matthews (Cambridge UP, 2000), pp. 89-96, 225-230.

—, “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose,” in Kant: Political Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991 (2nd ed.): 41-53, 273.

—, “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? [1784],” in Practical Philosophy. Translated by Mary J. Gregor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999: 11-22.

 Recommended Reading

Immanuel Kant, "Analytic of the Sublime," in Critique of Judgment. Translated by James Creed Meredith; revised, edited, and introduced by Nicholas Walker. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007: 75-164.

Theodor Adorno, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (2001 [1959])

Henry Allison, Kant’s Transcendental Idealism (2004)

Hannah Arendt, Lectures on Kant’s Political Philosophy (1992)

Geoffrey Bennington, “Kant’s Open Secret”, Theory, Culture and Society 28.7-8(2011): 26-40.

J.M. Bernstein, The Fate of Art: Aesthetic Alienation from Kant to Derrida and Adorno (1992)

Graham Bird, The Revolutionary Kant (2006)

Andrew Bowie, Aesthetics and Subjectivity: from Kant to Nietzsche (1990, 2003)

Howard Caygill, The Kant Dictionary (2000)

Ernst Cassirer, Kant's Life and Thought (1981)

Gilles Deleuze, Kant's Critical Philosophy (1984)

Will Dudley and Kristina Engelhard (eds.) Immanuel Kant: Key Concepts (2010)

Paul Guyer, Kant’s Critique of the Power of Judgment: Critical Essays (2003)

Martin Heidegger, Phenomenological Interpretation of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1997)

Laura Hengehold, The BODY Problematic: Political Imagination in Kant and Foucault (2007)

Otfried Höffe, Immanuel Kant (1994)

Jean-François Lyotard, L’Enthousiasme: La critique kantienne de l’histoire. Paris: L’Éditions Galilée, 1986.

Rudolf Makkreel, Imagination and Interpretation in Kant: The Hermaneutic Import of the Critique of Judgment (1990)

Jean-Luc Nancy, A Finite Thinking (2003)

Andrea Rehberg and Rachel Jones (eds.), The Matter of Critique: Readings in Kant’s Philosophy (2000)

Philip Rothfield (ed.), Kant after Derrida (2003)

Rei Terada, Looking Away: Phenomenality and Dissatisfaction, Kant to Adorno (2009)

Yirmiahu Yovel, Kant and the Philosophy of History (1989)

  Week 3          

Recognition and the Other (Hegel)

 Required Reading

G.W.F. Hegel, “The Truth of Self-Certainty” and “Lordship and Bondage,” in The Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by Terry Pinkard. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2018: 102-116.

—, “The Art-Religion,” in The Phenomenology of Spirit. Translated by Terry Pinkard. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2018: 403-430.

 Recommended Reading

G.W.F. Hegel, Introduction [§§1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8], in Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art. Translated by T.M. Knox. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975: 1-14; 22-55; 69-90.

Stuart Barnett (ed.), Hegel after Derrida (2001)

Frederick Beiser (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hegel (1993)

Susan Buck-Morss, Hegel, Haiti, and Universal History (2009)

Rebecca Comay, Mourning Sickness: Hegel and the French Revolution (2011)

Rebecca Comay and John McCumber (eds.), Endings: Questions of Memory in Hegel and Heidegger (1999)

Eva Geulen, The End of Art: Readings in a Rumor after Hegel. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Werner Hamacher, “(The End of Art with the Mask),” in Stuart Barnett (ed.), Hegel after Derrida. London and New York: Routledge, 1998: 105-130.

Werner Hamacher, “The Reader’s Supper: A Piece of Hegel,” trans. Timothy Bahti, diacritics 11.2 (1981): 52-67.

H.S. Harris, Hegel: Phenomenology and System (1995)

Stephen Houlgate, An Introduction to Hegel: Freedom, Truth and History (2005)

Stephen Houlgate, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (2013)

Fredric Jameson, The Hegel Variations (2010)

Alexandre Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel. Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980.

Terry Pinkard, Hegel: A Biography (2001)

  Week 4          

Revolution … (Marx)

 Required Reading

Karl Marx, “I: Feuerbach,” The German Ideology, in Collected Works vol. 5. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1976: 27-93.

Karl Marx, "Theses on Feuerbach," available online (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/theses.htm)  

 Week 5

... and Repetition (Marx)

 Required Reading

Karl Marx, “Preface” to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy [1859], in Collected Works vol. 29. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1976: 261-165.

—, “Postface to the Second Edition” and “Chapter 1: The Commodity,” in Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Trans. by B. Fowkes. London: Penguin, 1990: 95-103 and 125-177.

 Recommended Reading

Louis Althusser, For Marx (1969)

Hannah Arendt, “Karl Marx and the Tradition of Western Political Thought”, Social Research 69.2 (2002): 273-319.

Étienne Balibar, The Philosophy of Marx (1995, 2007)

Ernst Bloch, On Karl Marx (1971)

Andrew Chitty and Martin McIvor (eds.), Karl Marx and Contemporary Philosophy (2009)

Simon Choat, Marx Through Post-Structuralism: Lyotard, Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze (2010)

Jacques Derrida, Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International. New York and London: Routledge, 1994.

Werner Hamacher, “Lingua Amissa: The Messianism of Commodity-Language and Derrida’s Specters of Marx” (1999)

Jean Hyppolite, Studies on Marx and Hegel (1969)

Sarah Kofman, Camera Obscura: Of Ideology (1998)

Peter Singer, Marx: A Very Short Introduction (1980)

Michael Sprinker (ed.), Ghostly Demarcations: A Symposium on Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx (1999, 2008)

Moishe Postone, History and Heteronomy: Critical Essays (2009)

Moishe Postone, Time, Labor, and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx’s Critical Theory (1993)

Jacques Rancière, “The Concept of ‘Critique’ and the ‘Critique of Political Economy’ (from the 1844 Manuscript to Capital)”, Economy and Society 5.3 (1976): 352-376.

Tom Rockmore, Marx After Marxism: The Philosophy of Karl Marx (2002)

Gareth Stedman-Jones, Karl Marx: Greatness and Illusion (2016)

  Week 6

Tutorial Week

  Week 7          

Will to Becoming Otherwise (Nietzsche)

 Required Reading

Friedrich Nietzsche, "Preface" and "First Treatise," in On the Genealogy of Morality. Trans. by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen. Indianopolis/Cambridge: Hackett, 1998: 1-33.

  Week 8                                                                                                                      

Ascetic Ideal and Eternal Return (Nietzsche)

 Required Reading

Friedrich Nietzsche, "Second Treatise" and "Third Treatise," in On the Genealogy of Morality. Trans. by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen. Indianopolis/Cambridge: Hackett, 1998: 35-118.

Recommended Reading

Friedrich Nietzsche, §§341-342 of The Gay Science

Friedrich Nietzsche, “On Vision and Riddle” and “The Convalescent,” in Thus Spake Zarathustra III

Friedrich Nietzsche, “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense,” in: The Birth of Tragedy and other writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Friedrich Nietzsche, “On the Uses and Abuses of History for Life,” in: Untimely Meditations. Trans. by R.J. Hollingdale. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Gilles Deleuze, Nietzsche and Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.

Jacques Derrida, Spurs: Nietzsche’s Styles. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Michel Foucault, "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History," in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews. Ed. by D. F. Bouchard. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1977: 139-164.

R. Kevin Hill, Nietzsche’s Critiques: The Kantian Foundations of his Thought (2003)

Luce Irigaray, Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche. Trans. by Gillian C. Gill. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991.

Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Trans. by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.

Gianni Vattimo, The End of Modernity: Nihilism and Hermeneutics in Postmodern Culture. Trans. by Jon R. Snyder. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.

Alenka Zupančič, The Shortest Shadow: Nietzsche’s Philosophy of the Two (2003)

  Week 9          

Repetition Compulsion (Freud)

 Required Reading

Sigmund Freud, “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” [excerpts], in Peter Gay (ed.), The Freud Reader. London: Vintage, 1995: 594-625.

Recommended Reading

Theodor Adorno, “Revisionist Psychoanalysis,” Philosophy and Social Criticism 40.3 (2014): 326-338.

Louis Althusser, Writings on Psychoanalysis: Freud and Lacan (1996)

Lauren Berlant, Desire/Love (2012)

Leo Bersani, The Freudian Body: Psychoanalysis and Art (1986)

Rebecca Comay, “Resistance and Repetition: Freud and Hegel,” Research in Phenomenology 45 (2015): 237-266.

Jacques Derrida, Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression (1995)

Jacques Derrida, The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond (1987)

Mladen Dolar, “Freud and the Political,” Unbound 4.15 (2008): 15-29.

Sarah Kofman, Freud and Fiction (1991)

Jacques Lacan, “The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious; or Reason after Freud”, in Écrits: A Selection. Trans. by A. Sheridan. New York: Norton, 1977: 146-175.

Catherine Malabou, “Plasticity and Elasticity in Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle.” Diacritics 37.4 (2007): 78-85.

Jean-Luc Nancy, "System of (Kantian) Pleasure (With a Freudian Postscript)," in Kant after Derrida. Ed. by Phil Rothfield. Manchester: Clinamen Press, 2003: 127-141.

Angus Nicholls and Martin Liebscher (eds.), Thinking the Unconscious: Nineteenth-Century German Thought (2010)

Charles Sheperdson, Vital Signs: Nature, Culture, Psychoanalysis (2000)

Samuel Weber, The Legend of Freud. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000.

Alenka Zupančič, Ethics of the Real: Kant and Lacan. London: Verso, 2012 [reprint].

  Week 10        

Crisis of European Humankind (Husserl)

 Required Reading

Edmund Husserl, §§1-7 and §§10-21, The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. Trans. by David Carr. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1970: 2-18; 60-84.

Recommended Reading

Edmund Husserl, “Philosophy and the Crisis of European Humanity [Vienna Lecture],” in The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. Trans. by David Carr. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1970: 269-299.

Jacques Derrida, The Other Heading: Reflections on Today’s Europe. Trans. by Pascale Anne Brault and Michael B. Naas. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992: 4-83.

Paul de Man, “Criticism and Crisis,” in Blindness and Insight: Essays in the Rhetoric of Contemporary Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971: 3-19.

James Dodd, Crisis and Reflection: An Essay on Husserl’s Crisis of the European Sciences (2004)

Burt C. Hopkins, The Philosophy of Husserl (2011)

David Hyder and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Science and the Life-World: Essays on Husserl’s Crisis of European Sciences (2010)

Leonard Lawlor, Derrida and Husserl: The Basic Problem of Phenomenology (2002)

Dermot Moran, The Husserl Dictionary (2012)

Paul Valéry, "Notes on the Greatness and Decline of Europe” and “The European,” in History and Politics. Trans. Denise Folliot and Jackson Matthews. New York: Bollingen, 1962: 228; 311-12.

David Woodruff Smith, Husserl (2007)

Barry Smith and David Woodruff Smith (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Husserl (1995)

  Week 11        

Crisis-Proof Experience (Benjamin)

 Required Reading

Walter Benjamin, “On Some Motifs in Baudelaire,” in Selected Writings vol. 4. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2003: 313-355.

 Recommended Reading

Walter Benjamin, "Experience and Poverty"

—, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproducibility”

—, “Theses on the Concept of History”

—, “Epistemo-Critical Prologue,” in The Origin of German Tragic Drama. Trans. by John Osborne. London and New York: Verso, 2003: 27-56.

—, “Convolute J,” The Arcades Project

—, The Writer of Modern Life: Essays on Charles Baudelaire (2006)

Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, “Exchange with Theodor W. Adorno on ‘The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire,” in Benjamin, Selected Writings vol. 4 (1999).

Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil; The Painter of Modern Life

Ian Balfour, “Reversal, Quotation (Benjamin’s History)”, Modern Language Notes 106.3 (1991): 622-647.

Eduardo Cadava, Words of Light: Theses on the Photography of History (1997)

Tom Gunning, “The Exterior as Intérieur: Benjamin’s Optical Detective,” boundary 2 30.1 (2003).

Werner Hamacher, “Now: Benjamin on Historical Time” (2001; 2005)

General Background

Julian Wolfreys (ed.), Modern European Criticism and Theory: A Critical Guide (2006) Simon Critchley, Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (2001) Terry Pinkard, German Philosophy 1760-1860: The Legacy of Idealism (2002)

Andrew Bowie, Introduction to German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas (2003)

Kai Hammermeister, The German Aesthetic Tradition (2002) Gary Gutting, French Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (2001)

Eric Matthews, Twentieth-Century French Philosophy (1996)

Jonathan Simons (ed.), From Kant to Lévi-Strauss: The Background to Contemporary Critical Theory (2002)

Learning Outcomes

-       You will have a grasp of the broad trends in the development of critical theory.

-       You will have a good understanding of how different modern philosophical traditions from German Idealism to Phenomenology inform the different strains of critical theory.

-       You will be able to expound and analyse the ways in which a range of different writers and tendencies in the history of modern thought conceive of the specificity of critique.

-       You will have a sound grasp of the primary and secondary literatures in critical theory, both on general issues and specific thinkers or schools.

-       You will be able to use the ideas and texts explored in the module to inform your readings in critical theoretical texts.

 Assessment Criteria

-       Students should show a clear command of how their chosen thinker(s) and texts relate to the broader trajectories of critical theory.

-       Students should show a detailed critical knowledge of at least two of the module’s key thinkers or theoretical tendencies.

-       Students should show a knowledge and capacity to use a good range of secondary literature on both general issues in the field and on the specific thinkers and texts they address.

-       Students should be able to read the relevant texts from both critical and genealogical perspectives.

-       Students should demonstrate their capacity to develop a distinctive and coherent interpretative and analytical perspective on their chosen subject.

#goldsmiths #crisis and critique

[therecordconnection]

“Music, when combined with a pleasurable idea...”: Edgar Allan Poe and The Alan Parsons Project’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”

What do you get when you take the prose of one of the most celebrated writers of 19th century American literature and have it be converted into music by a partnership comprised of a studio engineer and a songwriter-for-hire? 

You get one of the best ideas for a 70s progressive rock album: A album that transforms seven of Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poetry and prose into music.

Edgar Allan Poe. The name alone is almost enough introduction, but perhaps a brief summary is in order. A Boston boy, born in 1809, wrote a lot of poetry and short stories that essentially define early gothic horror literature, married his cousin Virginia, drank a lot, death is a complete mystery due to his medical records and death certificate being lost. I hear Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote a great biography about him that was full of facts that were definitely true and were definitely not a plot to try and sink his reputation...

The Alan Parsons Project––contrary to what Homer Simpson believes––is not a hovercraft. They were a band which formed in 1975, famous for the Top 20 hits “Games People Play,” “Time,” and most famously, “Eye in the Sky.”  I use the word “band,” but only in the loosest of terms here. The project was spearheaded by producer and engineer Alan Parsons, who made a name for himself in the early seventies as an engineer for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, as well as producing British rock bands such as Pilot, the Hollies. Accompanying Parsons was songwriting partner Eric Woolfson, with the rest of the “band” members being made up of several session musicians and musical connections Parsons had built up over the first half of the seventies. Parsons and Woolfson imagined a strictly studio musical project where the two would essentially be akin to film directors, creating a “band” that best served their needs, much like a casting director chooses the actors best suited for a production.

The Project released their first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, on May 1st, 1976. Named after the classic collection of Poe’s most famous works, the album featured progressive rock re-imaginings of the following Poe poems and stories: “A Dream Within a Dream,” “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “To One in Paradise.” The album saw an updated re-release in 1987 that featured narration from Orson Welles (reading Poe’s thoughts on dreams and music, respectively) at the beginning of both sides of the record. In particular, we will be focusing on “The Tell-Tale Heart,” one of the four Poe stories featured on the album, and examine how refashioning one of Poe’s stories into music beautifully takes what the man originally attempted to capture in his prose and turn it into something the popular music world had never seen before. Poe was a writer who paid very close attention to word choice and how the specific sound of the words chosen played one of many parts used to produce what he referred to as a “Single Effect” contained within a story.

So, with all of that established, there are two questions that have to be explored and answered. 1) What was this “Single Effect” that Poe tried to capture with his poetry and prose? 2) What does music and sound have to do with what he tried to achieve with his writing? 3) How do the Alan Parsons Project take what Poe wanted and transform his idea into something new?

Let’s begin by answering the first question and exploring the story elements of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Poe’s concept of a “Single Effect” is something that applies to the way he composed all of his short stories. Poe believed that every element of a story should contribute to one single emotional effect. In Poe’s essay, “The Importance of the Single Effect in a Prose Tale”, he writes about story length, arguing, 

“... in almost all classes of composition, the unity of effect or impression is a point of the greatest importance. It is clear, moreover, that this unity cannot be thoroughly preserved in productions whose perusal cannot be completed at one sitting.” 

To Poe, if the reader needs to take a break from reading the story, it takes them out of whatever the story is trying to do. Imagine watching The Witch and needing to pause the movie to use the restroom right before the horrifying scene of Thomasin’s abusive mother attacking her and Thomasin defending herself by axing her mother repeatedly. All of that build-up and anxiety that comes with the family being destroyed one by one... only to have to pause the movie and leave the room. Though it is only for a moment or two, the effect is lost because an interruption occurred. Poe elaborates on what he means by “Single Effect”:

“A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out, he then invents such incidents — he then combines such events as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect. If his very initial sentence tends not to the outbringing of this effect, then he has failed in his first step. In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design. And by such means, with such care and skill, a picture is at length painted which leaves in the mind of him who contemplates it with a kindred art, a sense of the fullest satisfaction. The idea of the tale has been presented unblemished, because undisturbed; and this is an end unattainable by the novel. Undue brevity is just as exceptionable here as in the poem; but undue length is yet more to be avoided.”

The Tell-Tale Heart’s “Single Effect” is the imminent death of the old man. Poe chooses his words very carefully throughout the story and brilliantly has the story told from the first person perspective of the murderer. Every sentence is used to build suspense until the reader reaches the point where he kills the old man. What adds to this suspense is the narrator’s protests that instead of “the disease” taking away his senses, it did the opposite in the form of “sharpen[ing] [his] senses—not destroyed—not dulled them.” Every sentence of the narration works to help build-up and lead to the center moment when he actually commits the dreaded act of killing the old man. The first sentence sets things up brilliantly: “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?”

We (the readers) know that the narrator is a madman before we even learn what he did. The last part of that sentence is defensive and accusatory, as if we’re the ones that are in the wrong for thinking of him this way. After this set-up, Poe continues the narration, constructing each sentence perfectly to show someone who is in denial about what they are, with such questions like, “would a madman have been so wise as this?” In addition to this denial, every sentence has him trying to justify why this killing shouldn’t be considered a crime, with his main defense being that “it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye.” The story reaches a crescendo in one single sentence: “The old man’s hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once—once only.” Everything before and after this line serves to produce the effect of the narrator killing that which vexes him: The “Evil Eye” and the beating of his heart!

One of the central senses of “The Tell-Tale Heart” is sound. Poe’s attention to both the sounds that the narrator hears internally and the sounds that are heard all around the area where the murder happens key elements that help in the producing of the single effect that is the old man’s imminent death. There are many references to what things sound like, which will be italicized here for emphasis. Some examples include: “Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.” “... now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man’s heart.“ “And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror.” The use of sound and the word choice used helps raise the level of suspense exponentially. The most important use of sound in the entire story is the beating of the old man’s heart. Besides the use of simile to describe the beating (“it increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.” Poe uses the word “louder” a total of thirteen times, each repetition used to great effect. The greatest example of this occurs near the very end of the story, when the narrator says “It grew louder—louder—louder!” and “I felt that I must scream or die!—and now—again!— hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!” The way Poe spaces out each use of “louder”, making the reader take a pause, imitates the sound of the beating heart, almost as if he’s attempting to drive the reader just as mad as the narrator. If any of these things were to be removed or changed in any way, the suspense would not culminate in the narrator finally snapping and admitting the deed; the effect would be lost.

With Poe’s close attention to detail in terms of sound, it makes perfect sense that Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson would become attracted to the idea of adapting his work into music, which, before 1976, had yet to really be done in terms of popular music. Prior to the Project’s idea, Poe was mostly relegated to being name-dropped in music, such as when the Beatles made “I Am the Walrus”. Queen had made the song “Nevermore” based on “The Raven” for their second album in 1974, but Tales of Mystery and Imagination had been the first to attempt an entire album inspired by Poe’s work. Poe himself had thoughts about the relationship between poetry, ideas, and music, writing them down in an 1831 letter (published under the name “Introduction to Poems, Letter to Mr. B.”):

“... poetry has indefinite sensations to which end, music is an essential, since the comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception. Music, when combined with a pleasurable idea, is poetry. Music without the idea, is simply music; the idea, without the music, is prose, from its very definitiveness.”

The third track on Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an adaptation of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a song which not only abides by Poe’s “single effect” theory, but also refashions his original tale into something brand new, something that was only just beginning to really blossom in the mid-seventies: Progressive Rock. With their version of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the Project takes Poe’s prose and refashions it into music with an idea, the idea being to take Poe’s words and give them the proper sounds and use that to produce the same single effect with music that Poe created with his words.

For starters, the Project follows Poe’s philosophy that a story must be able to be read within one sitting so as to preserve the effect, which they follow due to the song clocking in at a healthy four minutes and thirty-eight seconds. A normal length for songs of its era and much shorter than progressive rock epics such as Yes’ “Close to the Edge” (18:43) and Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” (23:35). The song tells the story without needing to embellish nor sacrifice any of the elements. Length is not the only faithfulness to Poe’s ideas, as the Project pays just as much attention to sound and the central moment to the story as Poe did when writing his story.

The beating of the old man’s heart and the way it drives the narrator mad is perfectly represented here in full force. When the song begins, the bassline provides the beating of the heart by repeated rhythmic thumping, like an anxious heart on a caffeine high. That, in combination with the drums adds to the effect of hearing a constantly beating heart. If it was just those two instruments on loop without anything else entering in, you’d likely go just as mad as the narrator! We’ll be touching upon the other elements at play within the song, but it’s important to note that there are very specific times where the drum and bass fade out or go away entirely, representing that the deed has been done... only for them to return during the second half of the song as we approach the part of the story where the narrator begins hearing the beating again and finally confessing to his crime. The repetitive thumping rhythm serves a very specific purpose and just as the sound of the beating of the heart is central in causing a degree of torment for the narrator, so is it central here for causing a degree of torment for the listener.

On top of the thumping rhythm that represents the dreaded beating of the heart, you have the main vocalist that was chosen to perform on this track, Arthur Brown, of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown fame. The narrator in Poe’s original story may have tried deflecting the fact that he’s clearly mad, but Brown sure doesn’t here. You barely get five seconds into the song before Brown starts delivering a shriek that sounds like he’s been tortured for a while and is finally at his breaking point. The re-telling of the story of the crime is told the same way, with the narrator not admitting to feeling any guilt until the end of the story, when the beating of the old man’s heart overtakes him and he can’t hide it anymore. Lyrically, a good chunk of the lines are ripped straight out of the story and refashioned here for the purposes of singing. A side by side comparison of the song’s verses and Poe’s original lines that they were most likely adapted from:

You should have seen him --> "You should have seen... how wisely I proceeded." 

Louder and louder --> "It grew louder – louder – louder!"

Till I could tell the sound was not within my ears --> "I found that the noise was not within my ears"

Heard all the things in Heaven and Earth --> "I heard all things in

the heaven and in the earth."

I've seen many things in Hell --> "I heard many things in hell."

But this vulture's eye of a cold pale blue --> "that of a vulture – a pale blue eye"

But let the silence drown the beating of this heart --> "the beating of his hideous heart!”

The song’s verses follow a very similar melodic structure. Brown sings every verse except for one. The third verse is sung by British vocalist John Miles. It is during this third verse that the song changes completely before eventually wrapping back around to its initial structure. After the line “No one with guilt to share, no secret soul to trust” and a few crashes at around 1:25, the song quiets down and orchestral instruments take over. The rock instruments cease playing except for bass and drums, both playing calmly to accompany the change. Sound-wise, we can interpret this as the pivotal moment where the narrator performs the deed and kills the old man. The music has gone from bombastic to somber, reflecting that a murder has occurred and we’re now leaving the apex of the killing and heading into the second half of the story. Miles’ vocals, which appear at the 2:00 mark, are much higher and much smoother than Brown’s insane and gravelly wails, providing excellent contrast. Listen to the way Miles delivers those three lines and say them slowly to yourself, particularly the ends of those three lines, which are bolded and italicized here for emphasis.

And he won't be found at all

Not a trace to mark his fall

Nor a stain upon the wall.

“All”, “fall”, and “wall”. When sung the way they are here, they are all held for a few seconds and those words drop from your mouth slowly like a waterfall. They reflect this point of the story where the old man is killed perfectly. The words just drop and fade away once sung, same as the old man’s life. He is killed, his body drops and his life fades away. The somberness of this section of the song continues until the 2:18 mark, then the drums kick back in with two beats, resembling the sound of a heartbeat. Hardly a coincidence.

Ten seconds go by. The song kicks back up and falls back down again into just a soft vocal harmony, a sonic representation of the brief moments of peace the narrator feels after performing the deed; the old man’s eye no longer bothering him, the sound of the heart beat retreating into slumber.

However, this peace, much like the peace the narrator finds in the story, is short lived. Before you know it, the drums begin to sneak back into the mix with full force; the sound of the heartbeat getting louder and louder. The roar of the guitar comes back into play and rejoins the drums, signaling the return to madness. The guitar and the drums get louder and louder until they’ve overtaken every other element of the song and explode back into the main riff where we started. Brown resumes vocal duties in the same fashion as before, telling the listener about the old man’s evil eye and the overwhelming sound of the heartbeat that is still driving him mad. The song comes to an explosive and abrupt end as Brown shouts “Please let me be free” and all sound ceases. A brilliant close.

Much like how Poe’s original composition paid close attention to the sound of things as a key element, the Project pays that same level of attention to their song. The Alan Parsons Project’s version of “The Tell-Tale Heart” takes Poe’s original story and these original ideas of sound and refashions them into the purpose of turning the story into song, something Poe never would’ve been able to do in his time. Poe deemed music as “an essential” and had Poe lived to the ripe old age of 127 (the age he would’ve needed to be in order to hear this) I don’t think he would’ve been disappointed with this re-fashioning of his work. The Project recreates his story by using every musical weapon at their disposal in order to keep true to Poe’s original vision, while at the same time presenting it as a completely new idea that the second half of the 1970s would run with: Rock music as something more theatrical, rock music as something that could turn ordinary prose into pure sound, elevating words on the page and re-fashioning them into something much more than originally imagined. The Project are one of a handful of bands that have taken inspiration and ideas from classic novels. For further listening, one may turn to songs done after the Project’s work in the seventies, such as Metallica’s 1984 song “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (based off the Ernest Hemingway novel), The Ramones’ 1989 song “Pet Sematary” (based off the Stephen King novel), and, oddly, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1985 song “Yertle the Turtle” (a Dr. Seuss story from 1950).

“[T]he comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception,” Poe once said. He couldn’t have been more right if he tried. To see the world is one thing, but to hear the sounds of the world around you, that is another thing entirely.

#original content #music essay #edgar allan poe #the alan parsons project #the tell tale heart #progressive rock #gothic horror

[filmmakerdreamst]

‘Boy Meets World’ Re-watch (as an Adult)

‘Girl Meets World’ doesn’t count as a sequel. Not because of the writing/tonal choices but because in the original show - despite continuity issues - the characters felt like real people e.g. the way they spoke/acted/dressed was the way people behaved in the 90s where as in the spin off, they were Disney characters e.g. hyper versions of themselves especially Cory and Eric. And the transition between both shows didn’t come naturally. It’s not an objectivity badly written show but it was pretty much a re-do of the old show with the same storylines/tropes without continuing the story. (I say the same thing about ‘The Incredibles’. vs ‘Incredibles 2’.) Also there were too many cooks in the kitchen pushing one way or another. You could see Micheal Jacobs style, all the aspects were there, but he was also creating a ‘DISNEY’ show at the same time. I don’t know about you but the one message I took from the original show was ‘finding out that life cannot be packenged into a lovely little present ’ which kind of contradicts everything that the new show is. If anything GMW is an AU universe (and it really felt like that, rewatching it right after BMW e.g. it felt flipped) almost like Disney’s version of ‘what happened next?’ The primal difference between both shows is BMW is portraying what is real and GMW is based on what is real.

Going off my point, I will however be always thankful that it exists because I probably wouldn’t of found out about ‘Boy Meets World’ otherwise. Although saying that, I never thought that the original show needed a continuation of any kind (a lot of things make sense about the spin off if you acknowledge that Disney requested it - I think it would of been much better off on its original platform) ‘Boy Meets World’ was very much a product of its time i.e. when tv shows were still relevetivley new and had no rules - like there is stuff in there that not even adult shows today have. Plus there was something about it that felt very personal (such as the characters and setting) as if the creator based it on his own childhood growing up and I think that was part of its charm and why it had such a big effect on pop culture - I’m not so sure you can repeat that.

BMW is big on meta I’ll tell you that. I love how it’s so aware of itself. The amount of depth that it has never ceases to amaze me. It’s whole universe is so dense and huge. Every quote/storyline is so unique it sticks in your brain forever. (I swear the humour got more and more deranged every season). The show was also incredibly queer and progressive.  It didn’t give a crap about sexuality. Much more than I remember. Proof to never use ‘but it was made in the 90s’ excuse.        

I loved how the show kept reinventing itself every season as Cory grew up so you really felt you were growing up with him and all the characters. The Character Development on this show was so natural/authentic. Every single character got a chance to shine. No one changed their look in one episode and no one had an intervention every time someone had an identity crisis (GMW) My favourite development was Shawn Hunter. He went from a cool kid to a ladies man to a poetic soul. It was so satisfying to watch.

I realised that Cory Matthews is actually my favourite character (before it was Eric or Shawn) I already have a special soft spot for ‘annoying’ characters because they tend to be the most memorable/real. For example, Karma Ashcroft from ‘Faking it’ was my babe while everyone was hating on her. I really related to his anxiety/self hatred about being average and I loved that he constantly made mistakes. It was very refreshing. He’s also incredibly queer-coded. I found that alot of his mannerisms make sense if you see him with extreme compulsory heterosexuality (because identity’s such as bisexual or gay couldn’t exist normally in the 90s) There are moments in the show where he literally mimics his best friend’s behaviour around girls e.g. when the class pretty much gets brainwashed by the sex ed video in ‘Boy Meets Girl’ Shawn gets asked out by a girl, making Cory jealous - which pushes him to ask out Topanga.

It’s funny how a few years of life experience can change perspectives completely because when I was sixteen (aka the same age as Cory and Topanga) watching BMW for the first time, I was mad at Amy for ‘not understanding that they were in love’ (in ‘A Walk to Pittsburg’) but now that I’m older I’m actually agreeing with her. Yeah, what do they know about love? Because all season long they were acting quite superficially.

Cory and Topanga became somewhat of a toxic couple in seasons 5 -7. Reminded me of my parents relationship because my mum gave up her chosen university to be closer to my dad and they aren’t together any more. Topanga’s love for Cory was very conditional and Cory cheated on her multiple times/openly begged for sex  (Again like my parents) And you should never be in a relationship with someone who makes you say “You make me think not so very much of myself” There are arguably much more signs of emotional abuse than love in their relationship especially from Topanga’s side. Plus their story was altered so many times to give it more basis (they retconned Shawn and Cory’s friendship to do this) I could write an essay on how Kevin and Winnie’s love story on ‘The Wonder Years’ is much more believable because it actually addresses how toxic it was and they grow apart in the end. If GMW was a realistic continuation, they would be divorced with a little girl - leave them in the 90s where they belong.

Alan and Amy were couple goals! Cory and Topanga wish that they could have what they have. Literally the definition of ‘a healthy relationship on tv that keeps thriving and over coming obstacles without big drama’. Best TV parents ever.

I loved the Matthews family; how they all had individual arcs and developments of their own. One of my favourite arcs was in season 5, when Eric and Cory were both jealous of what they ‘didn’t have’ with their dad, so Alan made an effort to give them both that they needed. Honestly, I had never seen so much healthy communication on TV before. Alan is the best father around. His whole personal arc of giving up managing a supermarket because he wasn’t passsionate about it anymore and buying a mountain store was so inspired. I found it funny that the family had more of a relationship with Shawn than Topanga.

Shawn Hunter never caught a break. It got a bit tiring. He was never allowed to be happy for five minutes. Every time he laughed or smiled, 5 years were added onto my lifespan. Why didn’t Johnathan Turner adopt him? I loved their dynamic. Why did he let him go back to his abusive father who just dumped him anyway?

Jack and Shawn’s complicated dynamic was possibly the most unique/interesting arc of the entire show and no one talks about it. I don’t care what y’all say - despite them being very different, Jack was the only one who fully took care of Shawn without second thoughts (Turner and the Matthews family had doubts)

I liked Shawn and Angela. I thought they were much better suited than Cory and Topanga. I honestly wouldn’t of minded if they ended up together even though I always had a feeling they wouldn’t. (Like I’m glad she went with her dad in the end) And considering how important they were as a interracial couple in the 90s, GMW handled that very poorly.

Shawn and Cory should of ended up together. And before you come at me with ‘it’s important to have m/m friendships without toxic masculinity’ (which is an important arguement to have) - yeah no shit there’s an entire Industry based around that/pitting women against each other. While it is important to have those friendships between men that are close and even intimate (take Chandler and Joey, Schmidt and Nick, Isak and Jonas and Jake and Charles for example) there was also another layer to their relationship which the narrative played off sometimes as them “going out” or “in love”.  I actually recently found out that a writer - who came into the show in season 3 - confirmed that she wrote gay undertones into their relationship on purpose ‘In my opinion as a writer, they thought they were “straight”, they both didn’t realise or understand their feelings for eachother’ but couldn’t deliever because the producers wanted to keep the show “kid friendly”. Kind of like Xena and Gabby. I know people prefer Jack & Eric (I love them as well) but everything got ruined for me as soon as they introduced the ‘love triangle’ and I always tend to prefer emotional tension over sexual. They were just so unconditional with each other/ their friendship was so good and healthy and now I’m so bitter that it never happened.

I never understood why Shawn and Cory had to stop being best friends after he got married. He’s not Topanga’s property. I always hated how Topanga tried to interrupt/interfere with their dynamic — although now I realise it was because the two of them purposely left her out. Looking back at it, If it really was just a intimate friendship then why would she get so easily jealous if she didn’t sense there was something else deeper going on? You should never marry someone who puts you second.

I didn’t like Topanga when she was with Cory (or vice versa) Especially after they got married. She was a great character on her own. Feminist before her time. Hermione Granger before her time. I always felt she deserved a lot better than him in a way e.g. if someone I considered a friend speard a rumour around high school that we slept together - I would never speak to that person again. SHE SHOULD OF GONE TO YALE GOD DAMN IT. And as someone pointed out the other day, if the roles were reversed some of the stuff she does or says to Cory would be considered domestic violence. ‘She’s always blaming Cory on shit that isn't even his fault or makes him feel bad or shuts down his emotions and turns it around so he's comforting her instead.’ There was even a moment in GMW (not that I consider that show a continuation) where she locks him out the house for a few days after he insulted her chicken, and his son Auggie had to bring him spaghetti. If Cory was a woman, that would not be played off as a joke - that would be considered abuse. They were however a better couple in GMW ironically.

Angela Moore is now one of my favourite characters on BMW. She was beautiful. Her friendship with Rachel (and Topanga) was the best. And I frickin’ loved her and Cory’s friendship development - when they could of easily not played into that. I hate that she got villiaized in GMW.

My favourite seasons are 4, 5 & 1. My least favourites are 3 & 2 & 7. And even then the show was still pretty darn good.

The back and fourth clash between Turner and Mr Feeny in season 2 was very entertaining.

Mr Feeny and Eric are my favourite relationship on ‘Boy Meets World’. I love how Eric was the only person that Feeny directly told that he loved him. Also, why didn’t Eric become the new Mr Feeny? He showed more traits of becoming a teacher in the show than Cory did.

Eric and Tommy was probably the most heartbreaking plot line in season 6. (That season was an emotional train wreck) I cried for a fourth time. The world doesn’t deserve him.

I loved the development of Shawn and Topanga’s friendship. Even though there was a silent competition over Cory, they eventually became good friends. I found out that the song ‘She will be loved’ was inspired by them which is awesome but it’s also proof that people ship for less if it’s an m/f dynamic - just sayin’. I however see a more convincing potiental romance with the two of them than Cory and Topanga sometimes.

On Cory and Topanga again - they weren’t a bad couple overall. I liked them in s1 - 3. They had some great moments. But upon my rewatch (getting out of that 90s idealised headspace) I found them to be too similar at times - chafing as another person put it - to the point where they cancel each other out. A lot of people pointed out that Riley and Maya paralleled them and I was thinking “That’s not nesserily a good thing.”

‘Dream. Try. Do good.’ is on my mantelpiece.

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