Chapter 10
“Miss Jones, you have arrived at a very significant moment and I’m afraid you are too late,” said Bukewitz.
“In what way is it significant?” Stephanie asked.
“The Prime Minister has been voted out and we are about to take a new direction.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“The majority of us are convinced that it is a matter of public order being out of control. We need to begin locking people up and dealing with violent people in a manner that reflects the serious nature of this situation.”
“What does that mean: ‘In a manner that reflects the serious nature of this situation’?”
“Whatever it takes, Miss Jones.”
“Then you should watch this too.”
Morrison connected the camcorder to the projector and pressed play. The footage of the rioters outside Broadcasting House created an uneasy feeling within the room as they were reminded of what was happening in the streets above. Then the bodies hit the floor - gasps echoed around the room. Lanegan’s heart sank as he saw footage, potentially showing what he feared most.
Stephanie walked over to Lanegan.
“Keep watching,” she whispered.
The next few minutes of footage was a window into the conflicted minds of those on screen. Their compulsive, violent behaviour changed in an instant into uncertainty, guilt and compassion. Empathy was still present within them.
“Were they pushed?” asked Lanegan.
“No,” replied Stephanie. “We found their room untouched by the rioters with the windows open - they left a recording.”
“Do you have it?”
“Yes.”
Morrison stopped the video.
“This is a recording left by the deceased people you just witnessed,” he said.
The recording played. The desperate voice spoke; it was distressing to hear and cut deep into hearts of those present.
“What does any of this show us, really?” said Bukewitz.
“Lots,” said Stephanie. “It shows the rioters are still emotionally attached. They felt pain after witnessing those horrible deaths which made them flee the scene. It shows we still have zero evidence that people are being attacked. In fact, it is evidence of quite the opposite, they still care for others. It also shows that they are clearly concentrating on targeting particular buildings, probably because it was broadcasting. Unfortunately, it took the deaths of two men to provide us with a brief insight into the minds of the rioters.”
“This still doesn’t change anything,” said Bukewitz.
“No - but this will,” said Morrison.
As Morrison changed the video, Lanegan stood at the back of the room. He knew it was best to keep a low profile and let the footage do the talking. He waited with anticipation to see what Stephanie and Morrison had found. He could see the determination on Stephanie’s face, but was still reluctant to raise his hopes.
“We have been to the detention centre where the prisoners are being kept and briefly interrogated two men and one woman,” Stephanie began. “Using a compact disc player, we played them some different music that we retrieved from the archive room at Broadcasting House. I can appreciate that these tests are not in any way complete or conclusive, but they do show some interesting results.”
Morrison pressed play on the camcorder.
Stephanie turned to Jacob and Isabelle.
“It didn’t go too well then?” she asked.
“We had hoped for better,” replied Isabelle. “I hope you found something good or we’re dead here.”
“Just watch.”
The video began, at first showing a holding cell with a man sitting quietly on his own.
“This man was one of the first people to be held when it began three weeks ago,” said Morrison. “He has been used as a guinea pig for questioning and psychological tests.”
The video continued as Morrison and then Stephanie entered the room. Stephanie plugged in the compact disc player and sat down opposite the man. The man was agitated almost to the point of suffering a fit as well as being confused and obviously in considerable pain. He had been having episodes of angry behaviour and had damaged his wrists by struggling to release himself from his handcuffs. Clearly in agony, his arms were now braced to the table in front of him and he was strapped to his chair to avoid further damage to himself.
“Hello my name is Stephanie Jones and I work for the Metropolitan Police and this is special agent Kris Morrison. Can you tell me why you began vandalising the buildings before you were detained?” Stephanie asked.
“No,” the man replied desperately.
“Do you remember what you were doing the moments before you went to vandalise the buildings?”
“I was in my house, preparing dinner, what do you want?” he replied.
“Just to talk. Do you mind if I play a little music?”
“Music? What do you mean? How can you play music?” he answered.
The shock of the suggestion made him become intrigued and suspicious.
“Yes, music.”
“What is going on here? Who are you really?” he asked.
“I told you I work for the Metropolitan Police. Do you mind?” Stephanie asked, pointing to the compact disc player.
“What sort of music? I’ve never listened to any before.”
“Well, we believe that it might be of some help.”
Stephanie looked at the three albums she held in her hands for a moment. She had chosen them purely at random and chose one that had a calm looking front cover.
Everyone waited, not knowing what sound would appear from the machine. As the song began, Stephanie was stunned by the noises she witnessed. She watched the man as he listened intensely and grew calmer, unsure of what these new sounds were. He stared at the compact disc player for a minute and then to Stephanie and Morrsion, smiling the whole time. Stephanie was fascinated and couldn’t stop herself from letting the song play a little longer. It was new to all of them and they all instantly enjoyed it.
Stephanie looked at Morrison. He looked back and smiled before she pressed stop.
“What did you do that for?” the man shouted before lurching forward, causing him to recoil as the restraints on his wrists tightened. He began to scream in pain while still trying to get to the compact disc player.
Stephanie pressed pause on the camcorder.
“I think it’s clear what effect the music had on this man. I will skip the next interview because the results were similar, although the prisoner was in a much better mental state from the beginning. The next interviewee however, produced a much more curious response that has quite frankly confused me. Please watch.”
Stephanie skipped forward ten minutes of footage to reveal a female prisoner sitting in a holding cell alone. The prisoner had one foot up on the table and was clearly relaxed. Stephanie and Morrison entered the room.
“Hello, my name is Stephanie and this is Morrison. Is it okay if we talk to you?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve been dying for some company. It gets quite lonely in here,” replied the prisoner.
“Good,” said Stephanie. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine actually. I haven’t had an episode for a while. I’m actually quite glad to be in here, I didn’t like what I was doing out there.”
“So you fully understand why you’re being held?”
“Yes of course.”
“Do you mind if I play some music while we talk?”
“That’s a strange thing to ask. Do you know something about me? Am I in trouble?”
“No, you’re not in trouble. Why do you ask?”
“Well, since I’m already in here I don’t suppose it matters. I help run a pirate radio show. I broadcast here in London and I’m certainly a wanted person. Have you found my collection? I assume you’ll burn them or something. It’s a shame, they’re the only copies that I know of in existence.”
“That’s not why were here, so don’
t worry. Do you mind if I put a song on?”
“Of course not.”
Stephanie plugged in the player and pressed play on the same song as before. She felt it had produced good results in the previous prisoners, so there appeared no good reason to change it.
As soon as the song began, the prisoner jumped from her chair in an attempt to grab hold of the player. Stephanie instinctively thought the prisoner was trying to attack her and wrestled her to the floor. The prisoner was strong. She had the strength of a person in the midst of a seizure and easily fought Stephanie off. Morrison jumped in and forced her back to the floor, Stephanie quickly lying on her in an attempt to restrain her. The prisoner struggled and fought, never taking her eye off of the player. Stephanie noticed this but couldn’t let go. Two guards eventually entered the room and injected the prisoner with a sedative, which had an immediate effect.
The video stopped.
“Fuck me,” said Bob Bukewitz.
“Yes, my thoughts exactly,” said Lanegan. “What does this mean, Stephanie?”
“After the prisoner had calmed down we talked with her again. It seems that the song we played was one that she knew and had played many times. This triggered a memory of her first violent episode, that she believed happened recently after hearing this song.”
The room was stunned. Nobody knew what to say and instinctively they all looked towards Jacob, who turned to Isabelle for help. Unfortunately for Jacob, even Isabelle was of no assistance. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Lanegan saw Jacob beginning to feel pressured into an answer and immediately diverted the attention to himself.
“This is fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. This is new to all of us and we shouldn’t expect any one of us to have the answers.”
Lanegan looked to Jacob, who was expressing relief that the attention on him was gone.
“Does anyone have any thoughts?” Lanegan asked.
“I think …” began Bukewitz.
“With the greatest respect, Bob, please be quiet. This is enough to show that Jacob was at least partially right. Does anyone disagree with that?”
The entire room remained quiet.
“Okay, good,” continued Lanegan.
“You can’t be serious? This is a hoax, surely,” said Bukewitz.
“Very serious, Bob.”
Bukewitz looked at Lanegan to gauge how serious he was. Lanegan didn’t blink or lose eye contact. Bukewitz remained seated, leaning back and folding his arms.
“Again, does anyone have any thoughts?” asked Lanegan.
“Shall we state the obvious,” said Toby. “The music worked for the better on two of the people and negatively on one, but it clearly had an effect in all three cases. This, if nothing else gives us a starting point. And gives some merit to Jacob’s theory.”
“I would agree with that entirely,” said Lanegan.
Lanegan decided it would be beneficial for everyone to watch the whole tape again. It was harder the second time and created new questions that couldn’t be answered. Ken had noticed that Jacob had not said one word since the first viewing. He watched as Jacob looked down at the floor, fidgeting unable to stand still. Suddenly his head raised and caught eye contact with Ken.
“Are you okay?” mouthed Ken.
Jacob nodded back and then walked to the front of the room, causing everyone to stop.
“I’m as shocked as you all are by what we have just witnessed. I don’t know what I expected to happen if I was right. I was just thinking about the video and I am glad that the music had a positive effect on two of the prisoners. The female prisoner left me feeling quite numb. But then I had a thought; it is still logical to suspect the prisoner is reacting violently because of the same reasons the others do. The confusing part is why she reacted so violently to the same music that had such a positive effect previously. And then I thought about her small collection of songs that she has probably played over and over for possibly years. Maybe the songs are acting as the catalyst for her anger, because subconsciously it is reminding her that nothing ever changes, it is, and always will be the same small collection that she has to choose from. Perhaps it is not just the spiritual and creative elements we are missing; perhaps it is also a constant need for change and new forms of inspiration and entertainment that keeps us – human.”
Jacob stopped and looked at the people staring back at him. He had them transfixed.
“What does everyone think?” asked Lanegan.
“I think the video speaks for itself,” said Stephanie.
“I agree,” said Isabelle.
“Then we need to start work on fixing this mess. I have to ask before we proceed: Is everyone behind this?” asked Lanegan.
Almost everyone present said yes with a small number of Ministers remaining quiet. Lanegan didn’t pay any attention to those who sat quietly as he was now filled with adrenaline.
“Alright then. Just so you know there are no hard feelings about earlier. It is in the past and forgotten about. Let’s all move forward together. We shall meet here again in an hour. Bob I would like you to return to your office where you should remain until called for. There is still much for us to do.”
Lanegan walked out of the room with a new found optimism. There were no questions and no debating. Nobody needed to apologise for taking sides with Bukewitz, it didn’t need to be brought up. Lanegan knew he was taking a leap of faith in using Jacob’s theory in the first place and he had no right to expect his cabinet would join him instantly without evidence. They were rational, intelligent people and should have been sceptical. In the business of politics, thick skin was essential.
Bukewitz sat in disbelief. Undefeated, he slowly arose from his chair and walked towards his office to continue with his plans.