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Readers Letters: The Fightback Begins

Readers Letter: The Fightback Begins

 
 

Indeed we live in truly interesting times: in a hitherto inconceivable intellectual coup we, former competitors, have rallied to clear the skies. Between our organisations we have simplified respirator manufacture, perfected exhaust filter technology and made promising progress in finding suitable replacements for "dirty fuels".

The Royal Society today reported that their own neutralisation and weather experiments have been yielding encouraging results and I have been permitted to share with you respected Sirs that a means of collecting The Fog itself is also in development. Interesting indeed that so much has been achieved, in such little time, funded by our own pockets and how little has made its way in to the public consciousness.

The Gazette, for example, prefers to court the sensationalist image of " Ranbir, The Saviour from Across the Atlantic". Forgive my sceptisim, his scientists have always been gifted, brilliant even, but this recent exercise of a surprise broadcast concerning an "air purification device" smacks of the Clockwork Pariah attempting to scrape back some public opinion before letting loose his automata in homes across the significantly less polluted Canadian nation.

Let us not forget that Mr Ranbir's so-called exile was more or less self imposed, possibly even at the suggestion of an embarrassed Lady Pilbeam Frobisher. It was as much an act of arrogance as it was one of survival.

He refused to subject himself to the scrutiny and questions posed not just by the workers whose livelihoods he possibly posed a threat to but also his peers; questions that he has yet to answer and, most likely, have yet to face from his Canadian benefactors.

I have witnessed the "lawlessness" in the capital: I was aboard the Princess Ann as it was marauded during its docking procedure; and since my arrival I have witnessed the staggering lack of provision or care for the people that populated our mils, factories, refineries and mines.

Yes I have seen what a man will turn his hand to in acts of desperation. We have all read the countless stories concerning rioting and looting carried out by, in real terms, a small fraction of our society. The Government and associated press revel in providing these tales as adequate motivation to impinge on their freedoms and our profits.

The truth is that the working men and women of this city are heroes. Poor, abandoned and honest these otherwise law abiding citizens clean up their streets and patrol after dark, keeping order in districts where the police now fear to tread. I have heard whispers of underground hospices staffed by off duty volunteer nurses caring for the elderly and sick who would otherwise be left to perish.

It was clear to me, on the occasions that I visited the East End after curfew, that the streets were brimming with life from

 

all quarters and businesses were more active that they had been in years.

Technically by flouting curfew the law is being broken but these communities are protecting each other from The Fog and challenging their boroughs' criminal elements. They are simply acting where the police will not and for that they are to be applauded, respected and encouraged. It is this resolve, this ingenuity and depth of character that cannot be replaced nor aped by automata. Such men and women are of value not only to their communities and country but also to industry and deserve adequate representation and protection.

We are coming to the end of an age where as leaders we can crack the whip and use fear as currency. There are only so many times a master can kick his dog before being mauled himself; the obstreperous Mr Ludd and his cronies may attest to that. When we at last drag this nation clear of the fog, the generally inactive government and notably silent and absent Crown will demand we set the wheels of industry spinning apace overnight. What use are the broken of body and spirit? What use are the curs, ready to turn? We will need the survivors, the lawbreakers and the protectors. We will need Heroes. We cannot abandon them now.

On behalf of Caledonian Bronze and Steam

E Stevenson

 

Govt Asks Public: Don't Take the Law Into Your Own Hands

Vigilanteism Isn't Helping

 
 

The government has appealed to the British public, not to interfere with police investigations and to let the authorities deal with acts of lawlessness, after officers came under attack by vigilante's trying to enforce the curfew in parts of East London.

A spokesperson for the police denounced recent spates of vigilanteism and warned that anyone caught would face full force of the law.

"They were people using the current state of unrest as an excuse to carry out active disorder and violence."

The government made the announcement after locals fought street battles through the night with supporters of an alleged criminal mastermind called Christopher Hargreaves.

An uneasy calm has returned to the streets of East London, as residents start to venture outside to witness a carnival of carnage left behind after a night of destruction.

The police are to meet community leaders later today, in a bid to find ways of preventing another night of violence, and to investigate the cause of the disturbance.

It is rumoured that a clockwork automata, similar to a device stolen from government offices several years ago, was seen by several people during the dispute.

This will be the first time that a clockwork device of this nature has been seen on British soil, since the government shelved the Clockwork Project, several years ago.

 

Curfew Flouted In London East End

Lawlessness Reigns In London's East End

 
 

Mayhems All,

Minutes from our Post-Curfew briefing have now been encrypted and will make their ways to your districts with the next Twilight Drop. You will also all be given updates on the Sifter Redelopment being researched in colaboration with Wentworth Holdings.

Following the open floor discussion we feel that the time and public mood is ideal to incite a little revolutionary thought; and to provide a suitable public distraction from the efforts of The Anatomist and The Chemist.

The curfew is being openly ignored in the East End, providing prime conditions for a 'counter-crime' operation/acquisition. Intelligence from JM and our sources in the black market indicate that the criminal linchpin is one Christopher Hargreaves who runs a successful, if somewhat short-sighted and simple, protection and smuggling racket.

Network sources are to make Shifter schematics widely available amough the agreed channels. It is our intention to enable the weak, the abandoned and the honest agitator. With official supervision lacking it should not prove too much of a challenge to encourage an unwitting army to challenge Hargreaves head on and reclaim the streets, and the night, for all. (Mayhems included).

Police interference should be minimal: it is highly unlikely anyone will recognise the difference between lawless rioting and the organised efforts of our collective.

Original plans have been amended to suggest the use of scavenged materials and carry the mark of Mayhem.

Ghosts in the night, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Ella

 

Govt Scientists Surface in Canada: Working on Secret Project

We Are Developing An Air Purification Device:
Exiled Govt Scientist Announces In Canada

 
 

The British Government is developing an air purifcation system, according to exiled scientist, Saccadeus Cartwright.

In a recorded address to a Canadian audience, he suggests that work on the Clockwork Project has continued with the Canadian government blessing. Seccadius and other scientists working at the Department for the Advancement of Sciences disappeared several years ago, following a row over the creation of Clockwork Servants and job security.

He also refers to an electronic telegraph survey, in which he's answers questions about precise design details of the domestic automata, and suggests these will soon be deployed in Canadian homes.

Saccadius, Head of Special Projects at the department, and his boss Indian Scientist Chan Ranbir were driven out of town by striking trade unionists, when it became apparent that the Clockwork Porject was a threat to labourer jobs across the country.

It is uncertain whether Saccadius is still working for the government, but he refers to the recent unrest, and weather conditions in the England, and alludes to be developing an air purification system, which he hopes will help reduce the fog that has brought life across the country to a standstill.

 

Readers Letter: Scraping The Bottom of the Barrel

Readers Letters:
Britain In Dark Ages / Wealthiest Have Abandoned Country

 
 

Dearest Sasha,

I hope this letter finds you well now that the fog seems to have engulfed the entirety of our little island. I had hoped Father would avoid the worst of it by staying with you but it seems it was not to be. Please give him and Aunty Marjory my love.

Business is slow and difficult. Not only does the fog mean most airships across the country are gorunded but it also means the wealthiest citizens have gone, first out of the capital and then even out of the country I suspect. Suffices to say we have had few orders from our usual customers.

The market for luxury goods is at a definite low. Not only that but the speed at which we can bring any goods in is now relegated to that of another era when we had to rely on ships crossing the oceans, we can keep up a supply of tea and coffee but many of the goods we previously stocked just will not survive the journey. It is amazing how we took for granted how airships reduce the distance between continents.

"Britain feels very isolated."

I'm sure it won't surprise you to hear I am going stir-crazy. Not only am I prevented from travelling by my duties to the business while Father is out of London but the wretched curfew keeps means I must get home in the early evening and stay in until the next morning. I had planned for a year travelling the globe, meeting new people, seeing new sights, finding some new and exciting product for our business. Instead here I am stuck in either the house or the office, seeing no one but our employees.

Or at least I would be. You must promise not to tell Papa but I have been breaking curfew. It started a week or so after He left. I was so wracked with boredom I thought I might go mad. It was half past five and I had just enough time to make my way home befor the curfew bells when for some reason instead of taking my usual route home I started to head for the docks. I don't know what I expected to find, perhaps I thought to enjoy the quiet I knew the curfew should bring to the normally bustling area. I certainly was not expecting to find it just as bustling as ever.

"Ladies of the night offer wares"

I spotted people meeting on the corners of streets and at the mouths of alleways, making surrpetitous exchanges and then parting again. I saw ladies of the night offering their wares discreetly with a gesture or a suggestive smile. There were even public houses, ostentatious signs outside declaring them closed but people entering and leaving nonetheless. It may shock you to know that I actually entered one of these bars.

I thought I would stand out like a sore thumb but the place was crowded with all sorts of people of all sorts of appearance, I even thought I saw a clock toward the back. This at last was something of the thrill of adventure and exploration that had been missing from my life. Needless to say I came back to the docks on more than one occaision and in my illicit explorations I have found other areas of the city equally nocturnal, all places I would have previously avoided by night. I've made a number of useful contacts too but I shan't bore you by talking about that.

One positive side to all this is that the sense of British camraderie has increased. There is no help coming from the other countries and little enough from our own government but we carry on. A number of people have been tinkering with designs for devices to purify a portion of the air and allow the wearer to breathe freely. I was fortunate enough to run into one such would-be inventor on one of my late night jaunts. He was kind enough to give me one of his prototypes for a small sum and I must say it seems to work quite well. It has made travel much more bearable.

"Amateur devices are only hope"

I am meeting him again next week, he knows enough about engineering and such but he has little knowledge of business so has no idea how to get his design out to people who need it. I am hoping he will agree to let me act on his behalf in selling these. Looking around at the way many londoners are struggling, especially the poor who are often malnourished and cold as it is and so I think more at risk from the fog, I would dearly like to be able to simply give the things away but the price of materials is increasing as a direct result of the fog. Perhaps if enough profit can be made from the selling of these purifiers we can think about such charitable acts.

That is about all. I hope you will find time to write me a reply.

All my love

Elizabeth Harcourt