Novels by Scott Rochester
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The ones who wouldn’t work for the common good somehow disappeared. How and when they died is not explained, but it’s not difficult to guess what happened.
Although complete peace of mind would be easier to attain if Worringfolk wasn’t on the doorstep!
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roads, and a new vitality established itself across the city. The ugliness of the street furniture and the road signs gave way to beautiful tree lined boulevards. No more tarmac and no more yellow lines. Just more people, more social interaction, and a greater sense of community. The old charm of the city of Lancaster returned.
With no television nor internet, the libraries and the cafés became a fundamental part of life. The Cricket Club, the Pétanque Club, and the Archery Club all have thriving memberships and attract young and old alike. Book clubs, amateur dramatic societies, sewing bees, and table top games have become popular. Everything is good natured. Even the Scrabble Club!
People earnestly engage in all sorts of leisure pursuits, because that’s what helps them connect.
The giant corporations all disappeared, because their distribution networks had relied on fleets of trucks and regional depots. Now, a symbiotic relationship between small shops, local traders and farmers is at the core of the economy. There’s just enough commerce around them, with banks, stables, couriers and artisans all contributing to a widespread decent standard of living and complete peace of mind.
It’s the same in Preston and Ulverston, towns which have seen a complete restoration of maritime trade. Smaller inland towns, places like Ormskirk and Skelmersdale have also adjusted well, with thriving centres perfectly adapted to an economy built around moving goods and moving people by horse.
Great wealth and riches are no longer the objects of desire. A decent standard of living means having access to a horse when it’s needed. And complete peace of mind means having a stable family with a comfortable home, supplied by a local economy which has adequate food and adequate drinking water.
Hunger is a great leveller. History lessons at school teach everybody about The Decimation and The Great Famine, and how the greedy and the corrupt were starved into submission.
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Today, NutJob is going to meet BarmyWaffle for the first time. They both want to explore improved ways of generating and harnessing electricity.
Wearing a loud, blue tie, and still wearing his white lab coat, an agitated BarmyWaffle arrives thirty minutes late.
“Stuff’s gone AWOL again!”
“Ah, you must be NutJob? Delighted to meet you! My name’s Emmett. But everybody calls me Barmy! Barmy as in proper noun, not as in adjective! Though some might disagree!”
“Likewise! I’m Dave. But everybody calls me NutJob!”
“I can’t stay unfortunately, I’ve just been round to the Constabulary, they’re sending an officer over to the Garrison now. I need to get back. Let’s get together next Wednesday for a proper chat.”
“OK,” says NutJob, “I must dash, I need to catch up with Faraday and find out how he’s been getting on with our side project.”
“Thanks for the tea,” he says to CandiCrush, then he smartly heads off towards the PrintWorks, walking at a preposterously rapid pace.
NutJob works part time at The Lancastrian, the main newspaper in Wolfland. In 2450AD there are no telecoms, no internet, and there’s scarcely any electricity. Hence, a traditional newspaper is the main way that people keep up with the news. Electricity is provided to the PrintWorks only on Fridays, so the company is keen to develop its own independent supply. That’s what NutJob is working on.
Like most youngsters with part time jobs, KristalClear and NutJob work on Friday evenings after school, and on Saturdays.
CandiCrush and KristalClear finish their tea, and set off on foot towards Broadland High Street, then down towards the river and the Garrison. They’re keen to find out what’s going on.
Soon after the cars vanished from Lancaster, everyday life changed. New homes and businesses replaced the superfluous
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Feeling slightly nervous about another episode of “she’s giving me that look again”, NutJob turns to CandiCrush instead.
“Why did you join the Garrison?” he asks.
“Horses,” says Commander Crush, “quite simply, horses! I was five years old when I first saw them, I learnt to ride when I was six, and I joined up when I was sixteen. I could have left school earlier and joined the ranks at fourteen, but I wanted to be an officer so I had to wait!”
“That meant waiting two more years?” asks KristalClear.
“Yes, I was less interested in being a marine, and more interested in horses. Riding horses, their welfare, and how things are organised,” she says, “and because I was doing well at school, I was encouraged to stay on right to the end, and then apply for officer training.”
“And BarmyWaffle?” asks NutJob, “why did he join the Garrison?”
“Barmy’s not a marine,” says CandiCrush, “he’s on the civilian staff, same as Kristal. He’s a scientist, the chief engineer.”
KristalClear has a part time job, working in the stables, whereas BarmyWaffle has been working in the Innovation Lab at the Garrison for many years. BarmyWaffle looks like a doctor, a doctor who’s about to tell somebody exactly what’s wrong with them. He’s one of the few people outside the medical field who has a Diplôme Supérieur which means that he must have done some further study after he left school.
A tall man, aged about sixty, BarmyWaffle even looks like a doctor! Habitually he wears a tie, though these days that’s a rarity. He has a slightly receding hairline with abundant dark wavy hair, streaked with ample traces of grey. Although at the back it’s a bit untidy and straggly. He says he keeps it that way deliberately so that nobody mistakes him for a marine.
His narrow, piercing, deep brown eyes are perched behind rimless glasses atop a bold, prominent nose. He invariably has a welcoming smile that makes people feel at ease, even if he is about to deliver an unwelcome diagnosis!
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The two of them have been in Mr Rafone’s tutor group for a year now and that’s continuing into the new school year. It’s mid September 2450AD, KristalClear has just turned sixteen, and within a few weeks NutJob will be sixteen too. In Wolfland, and everywhere else, there is no mainstream system of further education. Once people become adult, they finish school on the 30th of June following their sixteenth birthday.
“What I want to know is,” says NutJob, “are graceful cantilever springs, springs for graceful cantilevers, or cantilevers for graceful springs?”
NutJob is the sort of person who typically over analyses anything mechanical, and he often has a new exciting side project to talk about. His latest one involves electricity, and that’s why CandiCrush and KristalClear have suggested that he and BarmyWaffle should meet.
Wednesday afternoons in Lancaster are special.
In the market place on this particular Wednesday afternoon, NutJob, KristalClear and CandiCrush are all at the Find Thyme Café, seated around a wooden table on the terrace. Lancaster’s Market Square is now a tranquil place, and it’s perfect for watching the world go by. On this side of the square, and on the other side in front of Magnum Opus, many of the tables are occupied by small groups of people, all drinking Manx tea, and all discussing their side projects.
Trying carefully to navigate a path to maturity, NutJob is more focussed on job hunting than he is on connecting with girls. However, KristalClear is undeniably attractive. Her charming, dark chestnut brown eyes, complement her long, straight, deep brown hair with its stunning, silky shine.
Occasionally when he looks at her, he thinks there’s a captivating stillness about her beauty. Her character is thoughtful, her outlook compassionate, and her advice is always sincere. He tries not to stare, but sometimes each of them has caught the other doing exactly the same thing. A failed attempt at a nonchalant glance. As far as NutJob is concerned she’s not trying to be radiant, she simply is radiant. She’s confident, yet composed and she is picture perfect.
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Chapter 1
Connectedness
“When BarmyWaffle first mentioned Graceful Cantilever Springs,” says CandiCrush, “I thought he was talking about an idyllic oasis in the countryside. It turns out that graceful cantilever springs are some type of mechanical device that the boffins get excited about. It’s not some kind of yoga retreat at all!”
With a restrained smile, KristalClear is keeping her emotions firmly under control. She looks up to check the expression on NutJob’s face, nods reassuringly, and says, “I’m sure you’ll like him.”
Guiding her gorgeous, long, dark brown hair over her right ear, she continues, “BarmyWaffle sounds like a bigger geek than you!”
NutJob is a little cautious when making new friends for the first time. He’s known KristalClear for a while, and he’s met Commander Crush a few times, but he’s never met a scientist from the Garrison. Although he’s just heard a lot about him. BarmyWaffle should be retired by now, he’s four times older than the youngsters, and he’s twice the age of his boss, Commander Crush!
While waiting, NutJob is understandably nervous, and that’s allowed KristalClear and her friend CandiCrush, to dominate all the chat.
KristalClear and NutJob both attend Broadland Park High School. She likes him, but she’s not sure how much. She likes to say that once he’s had time to get to know you, and you’ve had time to get to know him, he’s fine.
Even if he is a bit shy and geeky, he’s generally a bright and cheerful young man, and his eyes are a delight. They are deep blue, happy eyes. Complemented by short, dark hair, a cute button nose and his soft, unblemished complexion, he has a slight baby face, which makes everybody think that he’s younger than he really is.
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Conning
Conning likes to think that she’s the smart one in The Space Girls, the one with a head for business. In Manx Conning is pronounced KonYing.
She works part time at her parents’ shipbrokers and that keeps her directly in touch with various Manx speakers, both back home and in Lancaster.
Conning likes to write poignant, thoughtful songs, whereas Kayt is more into “boy meets girl”. Which is a bit paradoxical really, because neither of them has ever found a steady boyfriend.
When they collaborate on songs, they can come up with some of the most ingenious lyrics.
However, unlike Kayt, Conning is not sure that a life as a singer is sustainable. Life in 2450AD is tough, and it’s wise to have a plan B.
FunFacts
| Favourite school subject: | Music |
| Hobby: | Karate |
| If you were an animal what animal would you be and why? | A bunny! Translate Conning from Manx into English! |
| Is most likely to say: | Don’t invade my personal space! |
| Is least likely to say: | Max is so clever. |
| Outlook on life: | I’m going to be a big success. Whether I’m a pop star or not! |
Profiles of the Supporting Characters can be found on page 375.
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Kayt
Kayt and her best friend Conning are both descended from Manx families. That aside, they are not directly related. In Manx Kayt is pronounced Cat.
Like all Manx people Kayt and Conning are particularly attractive, and that sometimes brings them unwanted attention from the boys at school. But the boys had better keep their distance! Kayt and Conning are both karate experts!
The taller of the two, Kayt is the lead singer in their duet The Space Girls, a name which is derived from their catch phrase “don’t invade my personal space!” Kayt is more into the choreography of their dance routines than Conning, and there is clearly a karate influence in the dance moves.
They are aged sixteen, in the same year group as NutJob and KristalClear, and they particularly like Mr Rafone. That ensures that they regularly feature in the line up for Saturday Night Fun Night at The Noble Coliseum.
Fun Facts
| Favourite school subject: | Music |
| Hobby: | Karate |
| If you were an animal what animal would you be and why? | A kitty! Translate Kayt from Manx into English! |
| Is most likely to say: | Don’t invade my personal space! |
| Is least likely to say: | Max is so handsome. |
| Outlook on life: | We’re going to be a big success. We’re going to be pop stars! |
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Benet
An itinerant but loveable rogue, Benet wanders the land, sleeping in the woods at night, and earning a trivial income from story telling during the day. He looks scary. A big hairy giant of a man. But once they get to know him and know his patterns the locals look forward to his visits and his almost true true stories. No matter the town, nor the real name of the market place, it is always renamed “Jackanory Square” when Benet calls. And his seat “The Stump” is always ready for him.
His background is a bit murky, but he claims to be from a long line of story tellers with a peculiar family tradition. The youngest boy is named Ben. The older man Benet, then Benedict, and finally Benedictine. When Benet’s grandfather Benedictine dies, the names all transition. For now he is Benet and his name will change to Benedict when he’s older. That means that when Benet visits town this time, people are never quite sure if it’s the same Benet as last time! All that facial hair, and all that shabby clothing, mean that they all look exactly the same.
Fun Facts
| Favourite school subject: | Cooking |
| Hobby: | Eating |
| If you were an animal what animal would you be and why? | A woolly mammoth.
You want me to explain? Seriously? Why even ask? Just look at me! |
| Is most likely to say: | This one is completely true! |
| Is least likely to say: | I can retire now. |
| Outlook on life: | One of these days I really am going to ride a horse into Jackanory Square! |
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