Inquiso opening, rough draft

I've been following a lot of what has been going on in politics, etc. lately. There's a  lot angst that seems to be generated these days about various government programs and government in general. A rather disturbing scenario started coming together in my head and the bit you're about to read is part of what resulted. It really should freak people out. What would happen if someone, or better yet a small group, took it too far? 

Note: this is pure fiction and is part of a short story.

During the end of 2034 the United States came to an end as a country. The former Washington DC mall area had been largely destroyed by a group of terrorists who had stolen a nuclear warhead that they detonated. Congress happened to be in session at the time and the President was in the White House. Only four members of Congress survived and that was because they were at their respective home states starting their election campaigns early to become the next President.

Another small group travelled over to New York City and blew another one up which destroyed the center of banking, Wall Street. They even made sure to take care of the NSA facility at Ft. Meade, MD so that government communications could be curtailed. It also destroyed part of the nearby interstate highway.

All of the bombs were simple 500 kiloton devices that had been stolen from an Iranian by Islamic militants that shared the same objective. Of course the government of Iran wasn’t about to publicly announce the theft since they were always concerned with more air strikes from the Israeli’s and other countries. What was the most attractive feature of them is that one of the warheads would fit in the back seat of the average sedan which made it easy to take them where you wanted to. They were also easy to set up detonators for.

While all of the terrorists ended up dead, either in the vehicles they drove or by the hand of the government security forces, their aims were achieved. There was an end to what they seen as the US governments intrusion and overreach into people’s daily lives. There were other unforeseen and unwanted side effects though.

Anarchy reigned for a short time throughout the rest of the nation with law and order becoming a thing of the past. What had once been a single country had devolved into over 100 different fiefdoms and small countries over the next ten years. Since there no longer was a central authority roads had fallen into disrepair and weeds grew through the cracks in the unmaintained pavement. You couldn’t even get gasoline so any cars that were left were totally useless unless they became someone’s shelter.

Life in general began to resemble much of how it had been during medieval times. Horse drawn wagons and walking became primary methods of transportation. Even currency as people once understood it was gone so everyone had to barter to get the things they needed. One of the fiefdoms was located in what had once been southern Colorado, the new kingdom of upper Arkansas. 

New from Merita King

 Bygora Vandos ~ Sinclair V-Log LB734/A

Sam Sinclair didn’t usually play the role of detective.  His job was just to chase and catch a specific target and deliver them into the hands of the Inter Galactic Law Enforcement Agency, so when his boss offered him an undercover job, he was only too happy to accept.

Together with his new partner Ren, Sam begins the slow process of investigating the secluded and secretive Calmarin Research Station.  Although set up to apparently investigate the cause of dying trees in the locale, rumours run rife among the local people about what really goes on there.  What Sam and Ren discover after weeks of carefully working their way in, is one of the most terrible crimes against humanity that either of them have ever encountered and both vow to do their utmost to bring it to an end.

Sam finds many allies amongst the local people but with his cover blown and Ren taken prisoner, he no longer knows who can be trusted.  As the job reaches its explosive climax and the personal cost to Sam takes its toll, the shocking truth finally comes out.

Introduction to The Sinclair V-Logs

The Sinclair V-Logs is a series of personal video logs, made by Sam Sinclair, Freelance Law Enforcer with the Inter-Galactic Law Enforcement Agency.  In his own words, Sam recounts the more memorable of his experiences during his twenty years working for the Agency.  He shares his adventures with honesty and humour, and as he becomes comfortable telling his story, we learn more about the man himself.  Despite the dangers of his profession, Sam is sensitive and dedicated to maintaining his own code of standards.

This second volume in the Sinclair V-Logs series sees Sam journey to Deligon 2, far across the galaxy.  Sent on an undercover mission to investigate the Calmarin Research Station, he and his new partner soon discover something that endangers not only their own lives, but those of everyone on the planet.

Come, share the journey with Sam Sinclair.

Excerpt from Bygora Vandos – Sinclair V-Log LB734/A

Thirty minutes later I was kitted up and had received a huge welcome from Essy, involving lots of face licking and belly rubs and both of us were standing outside Spurrell’s office.  I raised my hand to knock but a thought raced through my mind and I looked at Essy.

“I need you to obey me without question tonight baby,” I sent her the thought and she looked up at me, her eyes focussed in that way I had come to recognise as understanding.  “I will ask you to do some things that are a little different from our normal work but I need you to trust me and obey.”  We locked eyes and I knew she understood and I breathed a sigh of relief as I knocked on Spurrell’s door.

“Come in Joss,” he said as he stepped aside.  “Thanks once again for coming in at such short notice.”

“No problem,” I replied.  “What’s the panic?  You said there was an accident?”

“Yes, one of our latest umm, patients went a bit crazy and injured a couple of our security guys.  It started a bit of a riot and we had to lock the place down to contain it.”

“Oh I see.  Are the guys okay?”

“Yeah, they’ll live.  They’re in the infirmary now.  It took several guys to hold the patient down so we could get some sedative into him.  He’s calm now.”

“Where would you like me to begin my patrol Sir?”

“If you go and relax for a while and maybe begin at eight?  Is that okay with you?”

“Of course Boss.”

“Thanks.  You’ll be starting with the patient’s cubicles tonight so report there for duty at eight okay?”

“Yes Sir,” I nodded and turned to leave, Essy at my heels as always.  I raced back to the staff accommodation and went into the same room I had used the week before.  First, I called Marlo and asked if Ren had got home okay.  His reply chilled me to the bone.

“He never arrived home Joss.  We’re worried sick.”

“Oh shit no,” I said as I remembered my conversation with Spurrell just minutes before.  “I think they have him prisoner here.  Oh fuck I have to get him out of here.”

“What can we do?”

“Get to the tunnels as quick as you can and wait for my call.  I’m going to call in the troops now, which will mean we have two hours until the shit hits the fan.”

“Okay, I’ll round everyone up and we’ll be there within the hour.  Be safe buddy.”

I then called the troops, gave them the details, and heard the siren going off in the background as I spoke with their commander.

“We’ll be with you in two hours Joss.  Just hold on.  We’ll have you both out of there, I promise.”

Another call to Kobey sent him into a panic, which did not surprise me knowing his obsession with schedules.  He rose to the occasion though and said he would do what he could with the guards he had on duty and promised the troops would not encounter any problems when they arrived.  The next two hours dragged by, the slowest two hours of my entire life and I spent every minute worrying for Ren.  Eventually I couldn’t stand it any longer and reported for duty fifteen minutes early.  Spurrell was in the patient cubicle when I arrived and smiled when he saw me enter.

“Hello there Joss, nice to see you eager for work tonight.  Come and meet the source of all our problems.”

I sent a thought to Essy as I walked to the end of the narrow corridor lined with patient cubicles.

“Be ready girl, watch my back.”  She slowed her pace a tiny bit and fell into line behind me.  I reached the cubicle at the end of the corridor and slowly turned to look through the glass partition wall.  He was hunched on the floor, one knee drawn up, his head resting in his hand.  Bloodied scraps of cloth dotted around the small cubicle explained why he was shirtless, the bruises already forming over his chest and shoulders telling me of a severe beating.

I leapt forward and banged on the glass.

“Ren, buddy.  What the fuck?  Why is he being held here?  He’s my friend, he works here.  I don’t understand.  What the fuck is going on?” I yelled at Spurrell, who took a step back from my angry onslaught.  I heard growls from behind me and turned to see Essy holding off an approaching lab guy who wielded a huge injector.  Instinct drove my hand to my tranquiliser pistol, hidden beneath my jacket and shot Spurrell at point blank range.  He was unconscious within twenty seconds and I turned back to see how Essy was doing.  The lab guy was retreating towards the door at the far end.  He didn’t make it; the sedative dart ensuring he was out cold before he was halfway there.  I turned back to Ren, who was almost unconscious in his prison.

“I’ll be back for you buddy, I promise.”  I called Essy and together, we raced out into the corridor.

About Merita King

Merita King has loved the science fiction and fantasy genre in both books and movies since she was a young child.  She has been greatly inspired by years of watching movies and reading books and has wanted to make a contribution to this genre for many years.  Her stories all contain a spiritual thread as she believes that spirituality is universal and crosses all boundaries.  She believes that the creative process is largely intuitive and can be very effectively blocked by too much pre-planning.  “Plot lines, characters and events all come to me intuitively,” she says, “and this makes the act of writing a constant pleasure.”  She is a psychic medium and lives alone in Hampshire, UK.

Links.

Where to purchase Bygora Vandos.

For paperbacks.

Amazon usa - http://amzn.to/19CRsGj

Amazon uk - http://amzn.to/GPyLDn

For E-books

Amazon usa - http://amzn.to/1cA2LAl

Amazon uk - http://amzn.to/GPyTCY

Contact Merita

Merita King’s website – http://www.meritaking.com

Merita King on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/MeritaKingNovelist

Merita King on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/MeritaKing

Beyond Realms

I'm doing the final brush ups on the book right now and don't have far to go. It won't be long until it's released which I'm thinking will be next week. It is a fantasy novel and it will be available through Amazon and most other e-book stores. Soon there will even be a print edition that will also be offered through Amazon.

Description:

Valaria is on the verge of war, instigated by the powerful witch Galadril. She only wants to become more powerful and control all. Through time and space, Princess Esmeralda was hidden away for her safety for years, but has been brought back to assume her rightful place. Galadril will do anything to keep that from happening, and her cousin Galadrar is a wizard who has vowed to make sure it does.

Step into another world, a place beyond the present, as you journey through Valaria in "Beyond Realms."

Creepy shit

I proudly admit I wrote one of these nightmares and I hope it helps keep everyone up at night. This book proves that creepy clowns aren't just in "IT" by Stephen King. There aren't any clowns in the story I wrote though. Anyway, I'm looking forward to holding a copy in my hot little hands.

Unemployment 2013

I'm looking over unemployment numbers this morning. Part of why is I'm wanting to see if the Affordable Care Act is having any effect on hiring. That's of course the new health care law that's also known as Obamacare. It's starting to be reasonable numbers and the rate is dropping considerably. Even better, it's continuing to drop which is telling me the new law is having little effect on hiring.

For Colorado it was 7.0% for this August. At the high point in Aug 2010 it was 9.1%.

For the US 7.4% for this August. At the high point in October 2009 it was 10.0%

Now what's probably going to happen as the rate continues to drop is there will be a pressure effect on wages. Basically, employers will have to compete for employees so the wages they're offering will have to go up. That I did get from reading through Adam Smith's economic tome which could be a good sleeping pill with the way it's written.

I believe the wage pressures should start happening when the unemployment rate hits around 6.0% though I could be mistaken though I did see a few more recent indications it's started. It's also getting easier to find a job. BTW, if unemployment hits in the 3.5% range like it did I hope you have savings built up, the bubble is getting ready to pop. I do mean the national unemployment number, not the state one. States that have an agriculture basis have lower unemployment rates naturally. So, what I will recommend when you get that raise, or that new job, start saving even if it isn't much.

Klarissa Dreams

This was to get in my email the other day. Apparently, from what I've been told the book is due out the middle of next month. You will be able to find it in many bookstores is my understanding though I'm sure you'll be able to find it on Amazon also. I'm kind of wanting to go see it on a shelf  in one the physical bookstores it will be stocked at and know that I contributed to the stories that are a part of it. My piece goes along with the sunflower image and it's one the most amazing bits of fantasy I think I've ever written. The book benefits a good cause, I don't get anything out of it other than the pride of knowing I helped others.

National Debt

One thing you'll be hearing about soon, if you haven't already, is debt the US government owes and the fact they want to increase the debt limit. It's a huge amount, $17 trillion and counting. Most of us could never spend that amount no matter how hard we tried, however, the US government has.

Now, that number isn't quite so large when you consider the debt to GDP ratio. That’s actually a little more in the reasonable range. GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. That number is 73%. It was higher. But since we've started coming out of the Great Recession the economy has grown which has reduced that ratio. Theoretically, the percentage should keep going down as the economy continues to improve.

Basically the smaller the ratio is the easier it should be to pay off the total debt. With a larger GDP there are more taxes collected and so on. Unfortunately we have Congress that's in charge of it and I doubt much will be done to actually decrease the total debt. It's kind of like a credit card that you've charged some things on. Instead of paying it off you allow the interest to keep accumulating which is what Congress has basically done. Now, you go buy more stuff on the same credit card. You can see where this is headed.

As a rule, you and I are limited to what our credit limit is. Congress however isn't. Could you imagine having the ability to set your own credit limit? It would never get paid by most of us. That's part of why the US governments debt is now $17 trillion.