Refugees in Austrlaia are a political hot potato!

Call them what you wish--- but refugees, boat people, people smugglers and politicians are inextricably linked, and the reality is that no one has an answer to the issues.

Nearly every week we hear of another boatload of people being taken to Christmas Island. No doubt some of these people are fleeing from lives that few of us can imagine how bad it has been for them. There are also people simply trying to jump the immigration queue and these sometimes pay unscrupulous people smugglers, who don’t give a damn for anything other than the money they collect off their unfortunate customers.

Australia is placed in a geographically sensitive area, in that many refuges head their way, in a series of ‘hops’ until they arrive in Australian waters or nearby islands. It is a never ending struggle for Australia and its nearby neighbour (Indonesia) to stem the flow. I feel for Indonesia too, as they are not well placed economically (although there are signs that they are next emerging Tiger in Asia) to deal with this tide.

For those genuine refugees there has to be a better way; not one that is a political football for the two main parties in Australia. Claims and counter-claims are made as to what the solution may be. It is easier of course to make such policy statements when in opposition, but no one has so far come up with an effective and humane policy to handle the issue of refugees.

There will always be a line-up of people striving to circumvent Australia’s immigration policy and when desperation rules, there will also be creeps who will take advantage of these people.

I do not blame Australia for wishing to stop the illegal entry. It is becoming a huge drain on their resources and goodwill. New Zealand is fortunate (so far) in that we are a good deal more distant from the source of the human flow, and we have a dangerous ocean for them to negotiate. This may not always the case as the smugglers use boats that are capable of making the journey.

The nations of South East Asia, including Australia and New Zealand need to handle this difficult problem together. Yes we will all need to take some of these genuine people, but we must also stand firm and not allow our borders to be transgressed.

Mr Abbott, stop making claims that you have no way of bringing into fruition without totally distancing yourself from the opinions of the rest of the world. This is an issue that is beyond politicians and their silly squabbling. It needs an approach based on consensus between the nations of the area.

Teenage parties--- now and THEN!

There was a party in Rotorua last night. Well, at least I think there was. At the time of writing, I am not sure if it went ahead. We hear the cries of how stupid this was and that the young lady putting out the call for her ‘friends’ on Facebook to come and have a good time, is unrepentant at the prospect of young people once again placing themselves in an illegal act and potentially one of danger.

She wasn’t worried about the neighbours, although I don’t know if she invited them, and as for noise control concerns--- well obviously she had little concern for that too. One wonders at her thought processes—hell anyone can see how the whole party could have turned into a riot. I very much doubt t that her security guards could have averted any gang related ‘paybacks’ or how they would handle alcohol and drug associated distortions of normal behaviour. She wanted ‘people to have a good time and any decision to drink was there’s.’ Bit naive eh.

OK, enough on the negative side. How about I compare this trend to have these ‘Facebook’ and other social media type open invitation parties to what happened in the good/bad old days. Before we condemn this young, well-educated young lady to all sorts of labels, just think back my friends. Didn’t we attend parties we weren’t invited to? I remember as a young student, driving (OK—I was driven) around because there had been a rumour of a party happening at a certain address.

How did we find out? It was good old fashioned rumours and half-truths. Someone told their friends, who then rang a few mates and ‘Bobs your uncle;’ things quickly got out of hand and the police were called. Bottles were thrown and people were arrested. Fighting broke out and general mayhem resulted.

So what’s the difference? It’s one of scale. It is so much easier now to get the word out and the potential for real trouble is much more likely. However, the bottom line is consistent. Nothing much has changed, so before we all express our horror and disbelief, think back.

THE RIVER ALWAYS FLOWS---Chapters 7, 8 and 9--again.

7

     ‘I was only pulling your leg,’ I said. There was no way that I was going to believe in time travel and aliens---all in one day.

     Luden grinned. ‘Yes--- it must be overdrive as far as you are concerned. The two go together, but there is a story behind it. For now, I think you better just wait until I have shown you something, just beyond this path. Now---no more talking. These bastards won’t’ be welcoming us’

     What were a few more minutes? After what I had just heard I was getting close to either believing it all or assuming I was turning into a total nutter. Luden slowed his pace as we walked alongside a meandering stream. I did my best to ignore the wacky colour. We kept our heads low, even though the banks were hidden by a gentle rise, either side of the stream. The buzzy noise had gone for a while and the cloud cover seemed to almost kiss the ground. Luden suddenly stopped, motioning us to freeze. The he spoke, in a barely audible whisper.

     ‘Right--- this is where we leave the stream bed. Do not talk and try to avoid breaking any twigs. They used to have sensors, but like their bloody sky-birds, most of them are defunct now. Mind you--- we did help that along somewhat.’

     For the next twenty minutes, we travelled a landscape that I would have thought belonged to another planet. There were no green pastures like the ones surrounding our old house. However we noticed small trees again; some even showing signs of new growth. Luden noticed our glances.

     ‘Yes--- there are signs that things may be turning again, but it’s going to take many years before the forests of old regenerate. Look ‘Luden was pointing to a distant smoke trail. ‘That is what passes for a town now. There are only about fifteen hundred souls there and most of them wouldn’t take pride in belonging to their so-called city.’

     ‘What’s the name of that place?’ I asked.

     ‘Don’t you recognize those two Islands and the old power station chimney?’ Mick said. ‘That’s new Plymouth, but it ain’t what we knew. Where have all the houses gone?  It looks tiny compared to when we last saw it.’    

     ‘You’re right of course Mick. Since the wars and then the arrival of the Reclaimers, there’s been a systematic dismantling of many of the houses and industrial complexes. Word has it that they are recycling the materials and sending them offshore to reconstruct cities in Australia. There’s were virtually burnt to the ground and with the arrival of millions of refugees from Asia and elsewhere--- well, you can figure the rest,’ Luden said.  

     ‘How come they didn’t come to New Zealand? I asked.

     Luden’s face looked serious and a little fearful. ‘They tried, but the destruction and loss of larger ships was pretty complete during the last phases of the wars, and air travel soon became mode of transport for the very rich. The Reclaimers also played a part. They used their drones to keep an eye on the Tasman Ocean and the Pacific. Only a few intrepid travellers arrived safely and even they disappeared. It seems that the Reclaimers had everything organized years ahead of the wars, so that New Zealand would remain their little fiefdom when they finally took over.’

     We had crept closer to the town while Luden was whispering his explanation. He kept looking up as if he expected the heavens to open up upon us. About a kilometre away from the outer houses of the diminished New Plymouth, a broken down old milking shed provided cover to observe the comings and goings. A road that had not been repaired or many years led to a guard house. Two men were engaged in conversation, but other than keeping an eye on the road, they looked bored, even from the distance we were hiding.

     ‘Get down.’ Luden hissed. ‘Look, over there to the left on that track that joins the main road.’ A van that could easily have been one that Dad used to own came lumbering along the pot-holed track. Three people were visible from our hiding place, and one of them looked no more than a child. They sat low on the back of the truck, not attempting to run from the driver and a guard, who had a gun trained on them.

     ‘Who are those people--- what did they do?’ I asked.

     ‘The Reclaimers have been rounding up anyone who disagrees with them or show any signs of resisting,’ Luden replied. ‘There’ job’s been made more difficult since we took out most of their drones and a good deal of their heavy weaponry. Those guns you see aren’t like anything you would know about.’

     The truck disappeared into the town. I wasn’t finished with my questions.

     ‘Where are they taking them?’ I was sure that Luden grimaced. Whatever he knew, he seemed a little reticent about telling us. I persisted. ‘What are going to do with them then?’

     ‘Well that depends on what use they are. If it’s just empty mouths to feed or they are sick---I don’t think you want to know. Others who are more useful, like farmers or people with skills, they get to work for the Reclaimers, under the close watch of the New Police. See those large white structures nearer the centre of town--- that’s where they grow most of the food the town needs. As you can see, there’s not much good land around here that resembles anything like you know as a farm.’

     ‘So what are we going to do now then?’ Mick asked. He had been silent for a while. He had a troubled look on his face. ‘Actually---I don’t want to be here and I’m pretty damn sure my nephew and niece will agree with me. How do we get---ah--- home?’

     Luden signalled for us to follow him again, closer to the town. The light was beginning to fade and the first twinkle of lights flicking on in the town gave it a fairy-like appearance. We came to another partially destroyed building--- it looked like an old garage. The signs were faded and the pumps long gone along with any signs of use. We stayed as low to the ground as we could to avoid attention from the guards at the entrance to the town.

     Once inside, Luden pulled up a trapdoor, hidden underneath a plié of discarded tyres. It led to a small underground storage area that had been extended. Boxes were stacked from the floor to the roof, leaving almost no room for the four people.

     ‘What’s all this then, a contraband stash?’ Mick teased.

     Luden took the bait. ‘In a sense---yes. We have set-ups like this all over New Zealand. We are getting ready to take the Reclaimers and their allies head-on. Each week they get more and more unpopular and weaker as their technology breaks down. They made a basic mistake--- the alienated those they needed most--- people with techno knowledge. Those poor buggers you saw being taken into town is part of a last ditch attempt to try and subdue the people not under their influence or control-----and we are going in tonight to get them back. If the New Police get their hands on them, God knows what the torturing bastards will get out of them. We will need to get all this stuff in this cache moved in the next few days, so when we go into town after dark, I’ll organize our ‘friends’ to start immediately, before sun-up. It’s going to be a busy night.’

     ‘Shouldn’t I get back to that tree place to my sister,” I said.

     ‘No time for that now my friends. We need you two and don’t worry. I’m sure Rangi will keep her safe,’ Luden said as he started to pull a few of the boxes out from the others. One contained clothing, much like that worn by the guards in the town less than five hundred metres away. He also concealed several small weapons, unrecognizable to Mick and me. If they weren’t Alien, then MIck wasn’t my uncle.

     Luden chuckled in that deep-throated gurgle, I was becoming used to. ‘Yes you’re right if you’re thinking that these are a bit unusual, even for a plus thirty years time-jump. They’re energy pulse guns and the New Police would just love to get their hands on them. I won’t confuse you by trying to explain how thousand year old weapons look like they are from the future.’

    ‘Luden, absolutely nothing you show or tell us surprises me anymore,’ Mick said, shaking his head and at the same time, stroking the strangely hued gun in his hand.

     ‘Hey----take care there--- these pack a mean punch and I don’t have much time to show you the workings of the little beasties. Now---- let me put that on stun. I don’t want to spill any more blood than necessary. All you do is aim and shoot and the recipient will collapse and sleep for a few hours. That should be enough for our purposes tonight. The real test will come in the near future. Right--- follow me and try to act normally.’

     My mind buzzed with a thousand questions. Just who the hell were Luden--- and his ‘people?’ Cleary, they were not part of any history I had studied, but aliens----?  nah.

8

  

     I looked stupid in the guards’ uniform. I’m quite tall for my age, but the uniform made me look like a scarecrow with oversized floppy clothing. If anyone took a close look, I was stuffed.  Too late for that now, I thought as we headed out across the no man’s land between us and the town. By the time we skirted the guard-house, it was dark. Man--- this place must leak like a sieve when it comes to keeping unwanted people out.

     The lights from windows barely made an impact on the blackness of the town streets. Curtains were firmly closed and apart form the odd dog barking, the whole place seemed like a locked up tomb. This was not the New Plymouth I knew and loved. It was then that I realized that the ugly area outside town was nothing more than cleared housing and retail businesses, leaving a grey colourless landscape, devoid of life. We had yet to pass any shops.

     Luden led us through streets that were unrecognizable. Every second or third house was in the process of being demolished. Finally we approached what served as a town centre, but even here, the signs of devastation were obvious. Some buildings had all the character of a bomb site. Perhaps that was exactly what they were. Luden knocked cautiously on a door and a moment later a face appeared form an adjoining window. The door opened and a young man in his mid-twenties beckoned us in, looking furtively along the street before he shut the door.

     ‘Haven’t seen you for a few weeks, Luden,’ he said as he ushered us through to the back of the shop. He was not alone. Sitting around a table were two other men, both older than him. They didn’t get up but they made room for us all and dragged a few chairs to the table. One disappeared, muttering something about ‘unexpected guests.’

     ‘Don’t worry about Grumpy--- he gets his tits in a tangle at the drop of hat,’ our host said. ‘I’m Ted--- from Pukekohe--- been here since those bastards took over.’

     Luden laughed, not something we had heard too much of. Then he got straight to the point of our visit. Come to think of it, I wasn’t quite sure why we had come either. “How many of our people are locked up at the moment?’ he said.

     Ted stared at the wall. Fat lot of good that was going to do him I thought. ‘It’s not just our people, Luden, the sods have brought in farmers from the outlying regions near the mountain and further afield. From what we can tell there are no other reason than them trying to live away from the town. The Reclaimers want total control, and since we have hit their capabilities real hard lately, they’ve upped the ante.’

     ‘What’s this I’m hearing about screaming coming from the cells? Luden added seriously.

     Ted’s face took on an angry look. ‘It’s true. They’re trying to get information about who it is in town that has been helping the farmers and others trying to make a new life. The harder we hit them, the worse it becomes for anyone captured. We’ve got to get them out of there Luden.’

     Luden nodded and sat quietly observing something in the fire. As the flames flickered slightly in response to a breeze invading the chimney, he seemed to come to a conclusion. ‘Well we didn’t come here for a nice friendly chat around the fire. That can only happen when things change for the better and that means no prisoners and the Reclaimers leaving us alone and sharing this land with us---- that’s the least we can offer.’ Luden was on a roll and I was beginning to get a picture of New Zealand in the future---- now---- whatever. Damn, I just wanted to go home to another uncertain future.

     ‘How many of us can you muster in the next hour or so Ted,’ Luden asked.

     ‘That’s quite easy actually, Luden. We have a meeting planned in about thirty minutes and they all bring their weapons for training purposes. Do you know the old warehouse down by the port---well that’s where we are meeting. I know it’s close to the New Police station headquarters, but that’s why we meet there. We hope that they would never suspect that we would meet right under their bloody noses. All up, I reckon we should have about fifty there tonight.’

     ‘Right then--- we should leave two at a time. Tom, you go with Ted and I’ll follow on behind with Grumpy. Better have our food and cuppa first though. We don’t want to piss him off any further. Besides I’m hungry.

     We ate in silence as we watching an old television; one that had been old and past it’s used by date back in ‘my time.’ Ted explained that the Reclaimers had been forced to go back in time and use the old system of broadcasting. Trouble was, the signal only reached as far as the town and a few kilometres beyond. Satellite transmissions were a thing of the past, along with working satellites. The war had well and truly stuffed them up, according to Luden. The so-called news was nothing more than Reclaimers propaganda and New Police ‘public safety notices.’ It was enough to make me want to go to sleep. Luden must have noticed.

     ‘You better not let your brain go to sleep son. One false step and they’ll be onto us. We can never be sure where the remaining sensors are, so be careful eh?’ he said in a slightly softer tone.

     The food Grumpy brought back was simply bread and a spicy spread. ‘What’s this---?  It tastes pretty good.’

     ‘I wouldn’t ask if I was you, Luden replied, ‘Although you could say that it is something we introduced when we came.’

      That got me thinking again about some of the references I had heard to the alien thing. ‘Came from where?’ I said a bit snappily. I think I had put Luden on the spot.

     ‘Not from as far away as you would think, Tom. Perhaps it is more like when we are from.’ How about we save this for another time, excuse the pun, but we have more urgent matters to attend to.’  Luden opened the front door and led me out into the dark street. He checked to see if there was anyone about. ‘Right--- no speaking unless you absolutely have to and then, make sure it’s a whisper.’

     We headed for the old disused railway that ran to the port area and stayed in the shadows. At times, the vegetation forced us onto the tracks, adding to the danger of been observed in the open. I recognised some of the old houses we passed as ones I had visited with my Mum a few times. I also remembered staying at a cousins house and playing in the nearby sand hills. I would have been quite happy to carry on reminiscing as we trudged along, but Luden suddenly stopped, bringing me back or was it forward to our present. Damn--- My head was all over the place.

     ‘Be quiet--- there’s someone up ahead. We better watch form here for a while until we know who it is.’ Luden pushed me down into the long Kikuyu grass. It was cold and wet from the heavy due that had settled in the last few hours. ‘I think it’s Ted and Mick, but I want to be sure,’ Luden said as he peered into the gloom. After what felt like an eternity, he stood up and whistled. I thought it was as poor excuse for a call sign.

      An answering reply floated across the distance between us and the others. ‘Right—let’s go,’ Luden ordered and we crept closer to the shadows ahead of us. Mick gave me a nudge as we caught up with them.

     ‘The next few minutes are the most dangerous,’ Luden said as he searched for any sign of activity near the port. ‘I don’t want us to shoot anyone unless we are directly threatened. We don’t want to be knocking off our own guys either.’

     I had this crazy thought about running back to the tree where my sister was hiding and then finding a way back home. Trouble was, I had no idea about how I was going to achieve that, given our manner of our arrival.  What was I to do--- crash another truck and hope? Might as well go with the present, or past. Shit--- my head was a mess, not a pain, just a confused sorry bloody mess.

     I noticed other dark figures, dressed similarly to us, other than the better fit, crouching behind a low wall, shielding them from a large warehouse, almost next to the first wharf. One by one, they snaked across the gap between the wall and a side door, which opened intermittently to allow the men entry. Finally it was Luden and my turn to make a run for it. We arrived, panting and the door closed behind us. At the far end of the sprawling building I could see a gathering of people, all grouped around a large drum, flickering and casting ghostly reflections on the nearby walls. It only provided a rudimentary form of heating. Once they recognised Luden they stopped their quiet chatter and waited for him to speak. He was obviously the boss here.

9

     ‘Nice to see you all made it,’ Luden began in a hushed tone. ‘I hope you have the lookouts placed where we discussed they should be at the last meeting.’ He looked pointedly at a large man in the shadows.

     ‘We--- won’t be---- making the same mistake twice,’ the man said awkwardly. I wondered at his strange speech.

     Luden offered an explanation. ‘This is Tama. He arrived here form the back country about three months ago. Tama is in charge of security for our meetings, but last time we lost two of our people as we left. It’s them who we are planning to rescue tonight.’ Tama glanced at the ground, seeking to avoid the accusing eyes of the men and women gathered.

     ‘I don’t know how many times we have to remind you Tama, that no one’s blaming you for that night. It seems that we have a mole in our organization, just like we have infiltrated the Reclaimers and New Police.’ Luden turned to address the meeting as a whole. ‘That’s my point for tonight. I can’t stress the importance enough of getting the two men back. We think they are in that new facility they’ve converted from a bank in the old main street. It’s a solid structure, but we’ve been working towards a way in from the neighbouring building. We’ve been secretly tunnelling under the storage area at the back. That is where our men are imprisoned. We’ve heard from our sources that they won’t be able to put up with much more of the treatment they are receiving. One of them is sure to break soon.’

     Tama shuffled nervously, attracting the attention of those around him. ‘Look, Tama---maybe you shouldn’t be going on the raid tonight. We know that your brother is one of the men we’re after. Stand down man and just look after our backs.’

     ‘No way----I can’t—sit around while you’re-- risking your asses for one of my family. I’m--- going – whether you like it or not.’

     Tama’s words silenced the meeting. Luden nodded in Tama’s direction and continued. ‘Right--- we leave here in three groups of five. There’s no reason to make it more--- we’ll get in the way of one another and with the element of surprise on our side, we should be able to in and out in a matter of minutes. Everyone’s got their orders so let’s go. MIck and Tom--- I want you to stay here with the others and after we’ve been gone for about ten minutes, you’ll be taken to another safe house until we can work out our next move.’

     I doubted that anything Luden said was going to surprise me anymore. I resigned myself to a continuance of the day’s crazy events, not just one, but a series of ‘dreamable’ fantasies.

      The building slowly emptied as the three groups left. Soon I was alone with Mick and two ‘minders.’ Ted was one of them and neither he nor Grumpy  looked too happy. Both radiated resentment at being left to look after Mick and I. Grumpy soon made his feelings apparent. ‘Come on you two. If we must babysit you, then I’d rather get it over and done with so we can return to real work.’

     Mick reacted immediately. ‘Look asshole---!  We didn’t ask for any of this so how about you lose the bloody attitude. If you don’t, I’ll kick that sorry excuse for a butt you sit on and piss off back to where we came from.’ Mick must have realised pretty quickly the hopelessness of our situation because he switched tack. ‘OK---How about we start again eh? You take us to wherever it is then you can get back to the stuff you want to do. If I was any use, I’d be with you, but I think I better stay with the boy.’

     Ted took the opportunity to soothe Grumpy’s mood. ‘He’s right Grum--- I mean Peter. ‘

     Grumpy changed in an instant. ‘Stay with the Grumpy--- I know it suits me and actually, it sort of works for me in other ways too.’

     With the tension dissipating, we waited for a few minutes. We were alone after the remainder of the group had melted into the darkness. Outside, the rain started. At first it was a gentle whispering sound on the roof and then turning into a constant torrent. It was going to be a miserable night as neither of us had anything resembling crap weather gear. We slunk out not the tempest, and within seconds we were drenched. Thankfully it wasn’t cold. In fact the rain was warm. Just a few minutes ago, we were trying to get as close to the drum fire as possible, but here we were in a tropical downpour. Mick noticed too and he yelled out to Ted and Grumpy. ‘What’s with this Singapore weather? One minute it’s bloody cold and now--- this!’

     Ted laughed and motioned for us to shut up He signalled—‘later.’ We worked our way further from the port area and were soon at the edge of the older city, near some huge tanks. If anyone was about, they were keeping their heads down. Just as I was thinking that we were going to drown in the deluge or caught up in the ever increasing torrents of water sweeping past us down the steep street, the rain suddenly stopped. The silence was a total contrast to the sounds that had accompanied our journey so far.

     A flash of bright light pierced the darkening sky followed by a rumbling booming sound that put stop to the silence. Ted looked anxiously towards the town centre. ‘That would be our boys doing their thing. Some would have broken through in the tunnel. I helped dig some of that,’ he said proudly. He encouraged us to move on further away from the scene of the explosion. On this side of the town, there was no sign of guards, but we could hear a vehicle starting up from a nearby building. It coughed twice before struggling into life and then chugged past us as we hid behind a huge pile of rubbish. From the smell of the mess, it appeared to be an attempt to tidy up a rough area of the town.

     An alarm began blaring from the scene of the explosion and a few small arms weapons added to the noise, but a more unusual sound punctuated what was becoming a boisterous mêlée. My face must have shown my confusion.

     ‘I don’t think you have heard one like this fire before, have you?’ Grumpy offered as he pointed to his weapon. ‘It’s a version of what you used to call a stun-gun, but this one kills on the high setting and has a much bigger range---sort of sounds like those old Star War movies you used to watch.’ Grumpy almost sounded friendly.

     By now, hardly anything surprised me so I smiled and followed Ted as he called us forward to the last building before the town merged into an ugly no- man’s land again. He kept looking back over his shoulder as the sound of the distant battle grew louder. Even from our position we could hear the odd scream. ‘I don’t think that we are having it all our way somehow,’ Ted opined. ‘Best we get to our next safe house.’ Above us I was sure that I heard that sound I had noticed when we first left the tree place. Grumpy did too.

     ‘Damn--- they’ve got a ‘bird’ up again. The sooner we take them out of the picture, the better. Our life will be a lot safer.’ Grumpy aimed his weapon in the direction of the whistling sound and let loose a pulse of purple light. The ray searched the sky and a popping noise ended the intrusion. ‘Yes’, Grumpy whispered, looking around to see if the central control for the New Police had sent any of their men to find us. ‘I may have got it, but the message would have gone through as to our whereabouts. We better get out of here fast.’

     We had moved along another twenty metres before we heard the unmistakeable sound of the vehicle we had observed earlier returning, this time moving at speed. To make matters worse it sported a powerful spotlight that sent a probing beam across our pathway. ‘Down!’ Ted ordered.

     I fell to the ground and was swallowed up by the reeking mud. I wished for the warm rain to fall again, but for now I had to remain immobile, as the vehicle shuddered to a stop about ten metres from us. At least three figures climbed out of the vehicle and spread out while the light probed the now completely darkened landscape. A swish of purple light soon fixed that, but it also gave away the position of the weapon’s owner. Gunshot rang out. The New Police obviously had older weapons at their disposal.

     I heard Grumpy scream out as he was riddled with bullets. I lay, rooted in the revolting mud. ‘Run!’ Ted yelled. It was hopeless. I had no desire to meet Grumpy’s fate. What the hell was I to do---act like a hero? No, I shouted out.

     ‘Stop--- I’m only a kid!’ Stupid or cowardly--- it worked.

      ‘Stand up boy and you’ll be safe. Anyone with other ideas can kiss their asses’ goodbye.’ The voice belonged to a large man, almost on top of me. He leaned down and pulled me up. ‘Now who have we here then?’

     Ted and Mick surrendered. It was either that or sharing Grumpy’s fate. The will to resist had gone and in the beam of the searchlight, I could see that Ted was way beyond being scarred. Perhaps it was just as well I didn’t know what he knew. Not that I got much time to adjust to my new situation. I was bundled into the back to the vehicle. Mick and Ted were thrown in after me and two men with guns pointed at us, sat watching. It was definitely shut-the-stuff-up time. There was no escape, and anyway--- where to? Mick pressed his knee up against my leg as if to say--- I’m here.

     The jolting of the vehicle did nothing for our comfort level. We were soon back in the main street, heading down towards the far end of the area where the shops still existed, if you could call a couple of dozen untidy excuses for a shop that name. A truck rushed past us, heading towards the sound of the continuing melee not far from the main street. I had the feeling that it wasn’t going well for Luden and his band.

     Our journey came to an end when we pulled up in front of a large old building that was surrounded by barbed wire fencing and blocks of concrete. Several men barred our entrance to a roller door that was slowly opening, revealing yet more men holding guns aimed at us. More reason not to try anything stupid.

     Once again we were dragged out of the vehicle. I shouted at the men. ‘I’m coming--- don’t bloody pull!’ I received a vicious kick for my troubles. ‘You’ll talk when we say kid--- get the message?’ I did.

    Several men dressed in the New Police gear accompanied each of us. Grumpy’s body was taken to another part of the building while we were locked in a room with bars for windows, allowing a nasty wind to penetrate the space. The door slammed shut, with a small observation slot remaining open. A face appeared and even from my position, I could see a pair of eyes widen in shock. The door opened again and I started at the guy--- he was dressed in a uniform that cried out--- officer. He was also my dad.

Don't blame the police!-- another life at risk.

The news this morning from Kaitaia is sad----horrible and totally preventable. When young people (and not so young) get into a car, sometimes stolen, and alcohol is added to the mix, then the result is usually tragic.

The police were called because a citizen calls them after observing a minor accident caused by the ‘joy-riding’ young people or the police saw it for themselves. There is a strict policy around perusing such vehicles and their passengers and some of the deaths have happened after the police have abandoned the chase.

The sad fact remains that if a driver does not stop, then we will see the results similar to what happened in Kaitaia. A family was endangered this time when the car hit the side of the house. It is fortunate that no one was killed in the house.

Don’t blame the police! It is the stupid decision of young people to get in a car, sometimes drunk, with their friends and then drive dangerously. The police must do their duty. How many others would have been hurt if they didn’t? These kids aren’t all from ‘bad’ or ‘deprived’ families. Young people have always pushed the boundaries, and they have always sought challenges. They are simply choosing the wrong ones.

I feel for all involved in this latest event. Kaitaia is a place where everybody knows one another. The officers involved will be feeling as bad as the families of those in the car.

How can we stop these kids getting into cars and causing so much damage to themselves and their families? Is there a [pattern with the kids? The young driver is reported to be a good kid at school--- so what went wrong? Alcohol and driving just don’t mix, especially for young teenagers. God, I hope they get the message soon.

Where have my Russian readers gone?

I must have frightened off or bored my Russian friends/readers because I haven’t seen you all week. I have always been curious as to whom you are and I would have loved to have had messages from you.

I hope you know you can push a ‘languages button on my blog and that will translate it. I did that yesterday and tried Arabic to see what it looked like. Then I spent the next ten minutes trying to make it go back to English. For a while there I thought I was going to have to learn Arabic. I pushed every button I could and finally all was restored.

The lesson for today----don’t go pushing buttons you don’t understand. Hell-- that could start a war!

How Dumb can you be National?--bashing the police now

I know I have already intimated my disbelief at the National Government’s stupidity or is it just blind inability to think of anything but fiscal lameness?

Here they are again trying to use the blunt sword of performance pay, this time for the police. Why don’t they look back a bit to the late 90’s when they tried to use that policy--- it was dropped in 2003?

All of this posturing leads one to wonder who else they will try to paint with that brush. Perhaps it will be judges, or the armed forces---Ooops; they have already shot them in the foot. If you thought Labour was bad when they scrapped the Skyhawk jets, then perhaps our boys and girls will be back to bows and arrows soon.

I just had a thought---- the next target will be our hard working men and women at Border Control---- damn---- I forgot;  they have already cut them. Hello, Queensland Fruit Fly.

The silly buggers are addicted to cutting. One wonders if there are some ‘issues’ here, with all this political blood-letting. Is there an element of panic setting in? Are they so bereft of ideas that they can only see a big fat knife?

Watch out my friends on the Education and Health sectors. They ain’t finished yet and there is an anger building, fed by their inability to suck the public into their lies.

THE RIVER ALWAYS FLOWS--- Chapters 4, 5 and 6---again.

4

     The sun was just about to retire for the night and here we were in an off-road picnic area, with no idea what to do. Tania was in a grumpy mood and I wasn’t much better. I thought about walking back to the Carvers, and if Tania didn’t follow, then that was too bad. Come to think of it--- where the hell were those social workers or Mick? ---surely they would have followed us. I guess they were playing the ‘tough love game.’

     ‘Hey you two--- what you doin here?’ the guy from the truck asked. ‘You should be home with your parents.’

     Tania’s face did a flip. I thought she was going to have a real little hissy fit, but no--- sometimes I wonder at the bullshit she can spin.

     ‘That’s where we were heading Mister.  We didn’t know the bus stopped down the road in that town. We thought it went to New Plymouth.’

     ‘Tania--- that not---‘

     ‘This is my big brother Tom,’ she continued. ‘He’s supposed to be looking after me and he shouda known about the bus. He’s such a dumb ass sometimes. You wanna give us a lift?’

     The guy seemed to think for ages before he replied. ‘Can’t you see I’m going the other way?  I’m heading to Auckland with a load of furniture. Don’t you have a cell phone to ring your parents?’

     ‘Nah--- stupid ass here dropped it back at the bus stop somewhere and when we tried to find it, it had gone. Some bugger must have took it eh. ---Oh I meant to say we were going to Auckland--- I don’t know why I said new Plymouth--- that’s where we came from.’

     ‘Tania--- don’t you think you should----fuck--- that hurt you little bitch!’ She had kicked me. It had the desired affect I guess. I looked at her. What was her game? So many thoughts raced around my head. Should I just grab her and take her back to Waitara or should I go along with her crazy little game plan? Part of me wanted to head the hell out of the town and try Auckland. It was so far away and we didn’t know anyone there. What the hell was I going to do? --- I mean----me at fourteen and her just a kid--- we’d soon get picked up by the same lot who were trying to make us live somewhere down here. I don’t know what came over me--- but it certainly wasn’t common sense.

     The guy pulled a cell; phone from his jeans. They had seen better days---mind you that ripped look was supposed to be fashionable, but he didn’t quite make that grade somehow. His hair was a mousy, no colour look and his white T-shirt wasn’t. To top it all off, he stank of stale cigarettes and a hint of booze. I know that odour from my old man; not a nice combination.    

     ‘Do you want to use my phone then? I reckon you should let your parents know where you are.’

     Tania was having none of it. ‘Look mister—why don’t you give us a ride. The sooner we get to Auckland the better and Mum and Dad won’t worry. They let us hitch all the time.’

     I don’t think the guy believed her but he didn’t push any further. ‘Look, I’ll take you to Te Kuiti and you can stop at the police station there—they’ll help you--- looks like there’s no coverage here for my phone anyway--- that always pisses me off in this area--- sort of half way to nowhere.’

     Before I could stop her, Tania had climbed into the truck, sending me a withering look as she propped herself up next the driver’s seat. I followed her. The guy spat something he was chewing into the long grass and followed suit.

     ‘My names Ted--- who might you two be then?’

     ‘I’m Tom and this is my sister, Tania.’ I had a thought that I should have given false names but everything was happening so fast I wasn’t thinking straight. As we pulled out onto the road, a car sped past us--- I was sure it was the social workers, but I didn’t say anything.

     ‘Mad bastards,’ Ted said. ‘You wouldn’t believe the number of times I have seen that and then--- hey pronto--- up the road, they are in a ditch.’

     ‘Mum doesn’t let me swear,’ Tania said disapprovingly as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. I chose to ignore both her comment and my thoughts about the two social workers.

     A few minutes later, we saw the car heading back towards Waitara. Tania looked at me sideways as if to say---‘shut the f—up.’ I shrugged, hoping that Ted hadn’t seen the little interchange. We needn’t have worried.

     ‘You two hungry? ---- You seem to just have the clothes you’re standing up in.’

     ‘We’re sitting actually,’ Tania said with a smugness that sometimes drove nuts, but this wants the time to air family washing.

     Ted just chuckled like he had a dopey sister or two. ‘How about I stop at this place coming up--- there’s a take away that I know does some real mean fish and chips. I know I could do with a bit of a fill up.’

     For a moment or two I thought that ted would hear my stomach grumbling. It had been just over an hour since I had been stuffing my face at the Carvers, but, anytime was good enough for me, if it was free.’

     As if to back me up Tania said, ‘Yeah, we left all our stuff with Mum and Dad. I bet he’s gonna be in the sh’--- she stopped herself---‘anyway, thanks Ted.’

     ‘You’re a real swinger aren’t you luv,’ Ted said. He glanced at the side mirror and veered slightly to the left as a police car came screaming past, siren bellowing out for the benefit of no one but the cows munching away at their supper. Ted turned on his lights. ‘Don’t want a ticket now do we----OK---- here’s the place.’

     The sun was well and truly gone and the lighting in the little seaside village wasn’t the best, so he left his parkers on.

     ‘Right follow me then. Are you happy with a couple of pieces of fish and some chips each--- and a drink of course?’

     ‘That’s real nice of you Ted,’ Tania gushed.

     Sometimes Tania can be a real greaser. What the hell--- a feed is a feed. There were some seats outside on a grassy verge, so Tania and I sat there while Ted placed the order. I kept an eye out on the passing cars, thinking that things were happening too damn fast. Part of me like the adventure, but with most things on the shady, I expected a bite on the bum real soon.

     ‘Ah---- don’t ya love that smell? You can’t beat it I reckon---- nothing like the good old greasy fish and chips lark.’ Ted sat down and opened up the steaming package. It was getting a bot cold sitting outside and neither Tania nor I had real warm clothing on. Ted must have noticed.

     ‘Do you two want to eat tis in the truck--- you look a bit cold.’

     ‘It’s alright ted,’ I said. ‘We don’t want to go mucking up your truck. That was a bit rich because Ted’s truck looked like a rubbish dump just behind the driver’s seat.

     ‘OK then, we’ll eat this and we should be in Te Kuiti in a few hours. I don’t really like driving this rig over Mount messenger at night--- but I don’t have much choice. The owner of that stuff in the back says he needs it first thing in the morning.’

     Tania actually shut up for about ten minutes. I think she was hungry. I didn’t remember her eating much back at the Carvers. She was probably hatching out the plans for this latest escapade.  Finally Ted rolled up the rubbish and threw it in the bin. ‘Bring your drinks with you and we’ll be off then.’

     ‘Thanks ted--- that was cool. We haven’t had Fish and chips for ages. Mum didn’t have much money after Dad le---I mean, you know--- times are tough.’

     ‘I looked at Ted, wondering if he noticed Tania’s little give away. He didn’t show any sign so I nudged Tania under the table and she got the point. For someone so young she was getting a damn sight too wordy. Where the hell she got her ideas from, I don’t know.

     ‘If you two want to sleep, that’s fine with me. I don’t particularly like this part of the trip,’ Ted said, making me feel a little nervous. Was he a truck driver or not? Come to think of it, he looked a bit fazed when the police car shot past us too.

     Ted put the heater on once we were underway. The cabin soon became a tad stuffy, so Tania was the first to drop off. Ted prattled on about the trip north and I was soon bored with the conversation. I decided to pretend to sleep. He was going on about his sister been like Tania when I actually dropped off. I dreamed of police cars chasing us and being arrested for stealing money from the take away place. I even vividly saw a cell door crashing shut as we were shoved in. The crash was real, but not a cell door.

5

     I must have passed out and my head felt like I’d been bashing it against the proverbial brick wall. I could hear someone moaning nearby. What the hell had happened? The last thing I remember was being in a truck with Tania. Where was she--? We must have crashed, but where was the truck and that guy--- Ted? Tania was few metres away from me, close to a stream flowing through----WHAT!

     The trees were a funny colour. Jesus--- the crash really did bugger up my head. God---‘Tania--- are you OK?’ She was barely moving. I tried to stand--- it took a moment or two, but once I was on my feet, the pain in my head subsided a little. ‘Tania, answer me--- look at those trees. Have you seen anything like it?’

     Kabooom! ---a sound like I had never heard before interrupted my attempts to check out Tania. A flash of emerald green, only on a scale that I put down to some sort of brain damage accompanied the sound and then---Mick emerged from the green light. ‘Oh shit--- I’m in Lula land.’

     ‘Don’t think so son, but I’d rather you didn’t ask me too many questions right now.’ He had a look on his face that mirrored my thoughts. He seemed pretty stuffed up too. Not only were trees a funny colour, they also moved---well I thought they did. I could have sworn that the gnarly looking specimen nearest to me just got a little closer.

     ‘Come on Mick--- we should get Tania out of here. Hey where the--- the truck? Didn’t we just crash and where the crap did you come from? This is one mean dream.’

     ‘Didn’t I just say--- questions--- let me get my head right.’ Mick moved over to Tania and knelt down. ‘She’s a tad dazed, then—what’s that make us?’ Tania opened her eyes.

     ‘What happened Uncle---ah--- Mick?’  Tania sat up. She looked quite a bit better than I felt. ‘Oooh--- what a lovely colour and look at the water.’ The stream gurgles away like any other but the colour was from one of my old comic books--- a dark red--- blood red. ‘Oh my God--- is that blood—is it from the other guy--- Ted? --- where is he--- the truck!’ Tania searched desperately for Ted and his truck; they were nowhere to be seen.

     I slapped my face--- hard. It didn’t help and only brought a rude comment from Mick. ‘Don’t do that boy--- I can do a much better job, but it won’t make any difference and it won’t answer your questions. The last thing I remember was following you guys out of that rest area and then a mist came over the road--- now--- well you know as much as I do.’

     ‘Are we dead then, Mick?’ I asked. I felt stupid asking that, but how else could I explain these unworldly sights? Red rivers and evil looking trees--- come on. To make matters even more baffling, it started to rain, just a few drops at first, and then a torrential, sweeping downpour. What made that worse was that it itched when it hit my skin. The other two scrambled for cover under a large tree. It didn’t matter anymore if the damn thing was strange, even when it opened up and enveloped all three of us.

     ‘Now what?!’ shouted Mick. ‘This is getting crazier by the minute.’  That was outing it lightly. We were in a dark place, but gradually our eyes adapted to an eerie glow. I could see the faces of my sister and Mick. They were either scared shitless or the effects of the light made them look that way. I started banging on the inside of the tree--- what the hell were we doing in there? It wasn’t as small place; it was quite deceptive, given the dimension of the tree from outside.

     ‘Hey! --- bashing that won’t get you anywhere,’ a voice said from above us. ‘Shut up for a minute you lot and you’ll get some answers.’  A figure slowly emerged from a rope that dropped in front of us.

     ‘Perhaps you can tell us where the hell we are for a start,’ Mick replied. He was way past being surprized anymore--- or so he must have thought.

     ‘I think you better sit---over there on those logs. That serves as our reception area,’ the owner of the voice replied. He was young, about twenty- something and his clothing was like nothing any of us had ever seen before. Not only that, he also carried a weapon that could only have come from some film studio.

     ‘So you survived the ‘rift? I can tell you now that quite a lot come through a bit less intact than you. I won’t frighten you with the details’ He smiled—only he thought it was funny. ‘I guess I better let you down slowly.’

     ‘Actually, any information you give us might go down better than you think. Either I’m pissed or deluded, but please--- just get on with it,’ Mick implored. At that moment, we were joined by another person, this time an older woman. It was hard to tell in the weird light, but I thought she was Maori.

     ‘Stop teasing them Jed. I think they have been through enough without you making it worse. We better start with the rift.’ Her eyes took us all in, finally settling on Tania. ‘Poor girl--- come here.’ Without waiting for a reply the lady reached out and took Tania in her arms. Tania reacted by setting up a wail that would have awoke the dead--- us, in my view.

     ‘Let it out girl. Hell, I know that when I came through the rift, I was pretty miffed too, but somehow I think you brought sadness with you. Anyways, it’s from those further up the line you need to hear from now. By the way, I’m Rangi.’

     I was beginning to get weary of the mystery of our whereabouts. ‘Look where the bloody hell are we. Damn, a few minutes ago we were in a truck heading to Te Kuiti and now----well, spill it.’

     ‘Right, just hang in there and we’ll take you upstairs. Up the ladder---all of you; but try not to slip on the rungs. I think you have more enough tumbling for the day.’

     I shrugged. The lady was right. I encouraged Tania to put her left foot into the first rung. If she was out of sorts, that soon vanished as she concentrated on her task. After Tania had gone up about three metres, she almost got lost in the gloom. I followed her while the others waited on the floor of whatever the hell we had entered. Tania pulled herself through a trapdoor while I tried not to swing with the rope.  A few seconds later, I joined Tania I a room like none other I had ever seen. Something told me that I was going to be thinking along those lines for quite some time.

     ‘Welcome,’ a deep almost musical voice intoned.  ‘I am Luden, leader of this community.’ I couldn’t help noticing his dark green eyes, even in the poor light. He looked right through me. Damn--- can he read my thoughts? I was reaching that point where ‘surprise’ didn’t come with a capital ‘S.’   I take it you want some answers.’

     ‘Mate---- I don’t even know how to ask anymore,’ I replied, as Mick and the others followed us into the room. .How about you tell us how this room is bigger than the one below—you know the tree should get thinner as it goes up, not fatter----bigger--- whatever?’

     ‘Yes, you are correct. It must feel like your eyes are playing tricks on you. Suffice it to say that the word mutation should cover you question nicely.’

     ‘MIck chirped in. He had been quiet for the last few minutes as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. ‘Where the fuc---?  Oops sorry Tania----Where are we? I almost feel like I should have said---when?’

     Luden smiled, his face crinkling up like a frog’s butt.   ‘You got the second part right. No doubt this all seems strange to you all. Do you remember Rangi mentioning a ‘rift’ a little while ago? I’ll keep this simple and say two words--- time travel.’

     ‘Bullshit!’ I exploded. ‘What have you been smoking you old git? Damn--- you lot should be locked up.’ I was on a roll. ‘Somebody punch me will ya--- I want to wake up!’

     ‘Steady on young man,’ Rangi said kindly. ‘You are not the first to feel like that on arriving here. Tyr to keep our voices down--- we don’t want the ‘searchers’ discovering our hideaway.’ Luden nodded and indicated four wooden seats, all uneven as if carded in one piece by several different artisans.

     I sat down along with the others. Time travel my ass!

6

     ‘That’s the reaction we always get,’ Luden said. His expression backed that up. It reminded me of one of my teachers back in--- wherever the hell we had come from. ‘I think you need some proof then Tom---come with me--- I’ll take you all on a little escapade that will put you in the picture. Firstly some explanation about ‘when,’ rather than where you are. You have all jumped twenty years into the future.’

      He let us take that in. Tania didn’t react; she appeared to be nodding off, leaning against Rangi, who took her in her arms and laid her down on a couch.  Mick had this look that said—you’re crazy man. ‘So that makes the year---ah let me think--- 2033--- you gotta be on something mate.’

     ‘Come with me--- Rangi--- you and Jed better stay here and message me if you pick up any ‘searcher’ activity in the area. It’s been unerringly quite of late. They have to be up to something. Look after this young lady. I don’t think she will understand what I am about to show the others.’

     We scrambled back down the rickety rope ladder and waited behind Luden. He seemed to be waiting for a signal of some sort. He used the time to masker us even more confused.  ‘I’m afraid you have arrived in a very different world to the one you came from. New Zealand is not the place you left. We are part of the resistance movement, hiding all over the place--- anywhere but in the cities although we do have our contacts sending us information.’

     ‘So who the hell are you resisting then, even if I did believe the crap about time travel?’ I said. ‘And as for these trees that swallow us up--- this has to be a dream and I’m gonna wake up any minute.’

     ‘Patience my friend--- all will be revealed. Oh--- this isn’t a tree and the colours you saw out there--- well they are the result of the great ‘shrug’ the earth gave us a few years ago. If you think New Zealand is strange or crazy, I won’t even attempt to tell you what most of the remainder of the planet looks like,’ Luden said with a sad look on his face. ‘That made new Zealand a place that everyone wanted to come to. The ‘falling out’ was about three and a half years ago. Let’s just say that there are no super powers now--- they are all pretty equal and some sort of a balance has been reached.’

     My head was dizzy with images of burnt out, nuked landscapes. Luden must have read my thoughts. ‘Forget those old movies you lot used to watch on your funny old screens--- it was not like that. The world had long given up on nuking one another--- they had something much worse--- their own inability to come to terms with the fact that the earth’s resources were not a bottomless well. We ran out of raw materials and by then, the earth was one huge mess, apart from a few countries—us for instance and for a while, Australia.’

     By now we had left the ‘tree’ and were following a path through a vision from a science fiction movie. There were no sounds of birds, just a whistling high above us.

     ‘What’s that weird noise?’ I asked.

     Jed shrugged. ‘You’ll get used to it. After a while you don’t even notice it. Some reckon it is the fragments flying around high above the earth. There were massive fires after the wars and the smoke only recently started to break up. That is where the colours come from--- the water and the tress, reflecting off the Ionosphere-----.’

     ‘But you said there were no nukes,’ Mick interrupted.

     ‘Didn’t need them--- the weapons of mass destruction took on a whole new form, with all of those drones flying around. The ‘searchers still use them and that’s what we are trying to hide from now.’

     Alter a few minutes we emerged into a clearing and I could see that we were high up in a range of hills. That didn’t make sense. When the truck left the road we were not far from the town.  ‘Luden, why are we up here---?  You said we had time hopped or something. Shouldn’t we have arrived at the same place?’

     Luden just smiled. ‘You really have seen too many films. I don’t know how to why it works---it just does--- and before you ask--- how many of us came through---?  Well over the years there has been at least a thousand and then there are those who escaped when the invasion happened. There are many thousands of us hiding in all parts of New Zealand and we are connected by our sat phones. I can tell you that really pisses off the ‘searchers.’

     ‘Look, who are these ‘searchers’ and where do they come from?  You just mentioned an invasion. I’m bloody confused,’ Mick said.

     Luden motioned to a large trunk beside the pathway we were following. ‘Sit for a while. I don’t think I can tell you everything in few minutes, but I think you better understand a bit more, before we get to the look-out. ‘I’ll have to give you run down of ‘recent history.’ We settled a little uncomfortable on the trunk, our eyes continually looking upward as if there was an unseen threat. Luden noticed this too.

     ‘It is good that you stay vigilant, because that is where the main danger lies at these altitudes,’ Luden said soberly. ‘Luckily for us, the drones the ‘searchers’ use are becoming less of a threat as they gradually wear out or crash. They don’t seem to have the technology to replace them. I’ll go back in time for you.’

     ‘If you’re thinking that the invasion I referred to was one that consisted of armies and bombings, well you’d be wrong. It wasn’t one nation either as such that arrived on our shores. I’m sure you would have been aware of the debate about the ‘Global Economy’ and how it reached into every country on earth and how it threatened the very existence of many countries. Remember all of those protests against the move? They were correct, but not quite in the way they portrayed their opposition.’ Luden stopped, waiting for us to take it all in.     

     For me, that wasn’t so easy. I had spent a good deal of time watching the news and at school, my favourite subject had always been Social Studies and when the teacher talked about the ‘Global Economy, I was interested, quite unlike most of my mates. They teased me, calling me ‘teacher’s little boy.’ Well--- they did that only once---- a quick whack on the way home cured that pretty quickly.

     Luden continued. ‘The global connection was one of people--- rich people, those who controlled most of the earth’s resources and leaders of the big conglomerates. When you think about it, isn’t that the way it has always been? Well--- these individuals formalized their relationships, beyond the back corridors of political power. They secretly schemed and set about moving key players into positions of power. Some would say that the ‘Templars’ of old did something similar, but they lacked the technology to reach out and bring their plans into being.’

    ‘How did they get control of everything---I mean, did they do it everywhere?’ Mick asked. It was all getting too complicated for me, but I tried to stay tuned in to the discussion. Luden continued.

     ‘It didn’t happen overnight. They had been planning the Great Takeover for many years before anyone started noticing and by then it was too late. Most of the voices in opposition were painted as loony lefties or Green extremists. One thing for sure was that the environment played a part in the final days. To put it simply, the earth rebelled and by then, the wars had started. The USA tried to play the role of world police and the voice of reason. They convinced the Russians and Chinese to help knock out all the rogue states’ nuclear capabilities, including those of the Israelis and South Africa. Iran and North Korea virtually folded overnight once the worst of the environmental kickback started. Their people had suffered long enough.’

     ‘Didn’t China have something to say about all of this war going on around them? Mick asked. I hadn’t picked him for a Mr clever ass. I guess you can’t judge someone by their hippy looks.

     ‘Actually, China imploded a good ten years before the wars started. It broke up into about twenty different mini-states, none of which was strong enough to influence world opinion or economy like they had in the early part of the century. When the environment finally fought to right the wrongs it had suffered for so long, China and India suffered more than anyone. As for Europe; for a while they started to rebound, but once they couldn’t feed themselves, they joined the plunge to hell.’ Luden grimaced as if he was reliving some of the memories. Mick wasn’t finished but I kept my questions to myself. I didn’t want to prove my naivety.

     ‘So was New Zealand like an arc, sort of damaged but not completely stuffed?’

     ‘You could say that. Certainly, the group calling themselves the Reclaimers, set about gathering their resources and heading for New Zealand. Initially the Government of the day welcomed these friendly and ‘helpful’ newcomers. They’d been trying for years to attract capital and here they were being offered it on a plate. It wasn’t long before the Reclaimers used their influence to take over. Hell--- they even won an election as the war raged around the world. Then the worm turned. Harsh new laws were introduced and people started to disappear in the night. Riots broke out in Auckland and Wellington. The ‘New Police,’ who later became the ‘Searchers,’ hit back viscously and New Zealand became a ‘police state,’ almost overnight. To cut a long story short--- some of us literally headed for the hills and there you have it. We’re fighting to restore some sort of decency, but even we are now using methods we have only recently criticised the Reclaimers for.’

     ‘But what about that time rift or whatever you call it?’ I asked. Luden look at me strangely. Something about him was quite unnerving.

     ‘Well Tom, let’s just say that it came about after my people arrived here a hundred years ago.’

     ‘Oh no--- so you are claiming to be an alien then? I said incredulously. ‘You do look a bit funny though.’

     Mick laughed--- the first I had heard in a while. ‘Come on kid--- how about we try to keep some normality, eh?’

     ‘Actually,’ Luden offered, ‘He’s not totally wrong.’