Chapter 5
Tom Lanegan had walked into many rooms determined to leave with a particular outcome. Developing policies could be a long drawn-out process that would begin with a promising concept and end with frustration and arguments. This was common, and accepted by most politicians as part of the system. What wasn't accepted was an idea that was seemingly plucked from a thin air and thrust upon the decision-makers of a nation. Lanegan knew this. He was prepared for embarrassment and ridicule, first by his own party, then the nation and finally the world. He also knew that without evidence the theory was simply an idea without an obvious course of action. Stephanie Jones was more important than Lanegan had deliberately let her know. He needed empirical evidence to present: she must not fail.
"Morning everyone," Lanegan began. "Let's not waste time; as I see it we have today to assess what we know and tomorrow to prepare the presentation, if we can agree on one.”
This last comment caused a ripple of uncertainty in the room. 'If we can agree on one,' meant a lot in the language of a politician. Those words would never be used in front of the public. The whole political vocabulary is designed to avoid showing doubt, uncertainty, ignorance or incompetence. Of course, Bukewitz pounced upon these words.
"So you have nothing after all. Either that, or you know your ideas are weak," he said.
"Weak? I hope not,” said Lanegan. “But we do have a theory that is not conventional. It takes a leap of faith to accept it’s possible, though we hope to have some supporting evidence soon. But first of all, does anyone here have any new information or, indeed, their own theory that they think we may not have considered?"
"I'm quite sure there is a common level of ignorance in the room. We are all eager to hear what you discussed yesterday," said Toby Fogarty, the Secretary of State for Culture and Media.
"I don't doubt it, Toby. And I would like to apologise for your late inclusion in this discussion, especially since we have a deadline. That's a decision of mine you will all have to accept and hopefully move on from quickly. Our meetings early on in this crisis established a plan of action which has changed as we have learnt more about the nature of the riots and the rioters’ behavioural patterns. I would like to think that we have been mostly unified in the decisions we have made up to this point and so far have made the correct decisions. At the beginning we had our people trying to find a cause and solution and they came up empty-handed, so something different had to be done. Now, I accept that bringing in outside people was an unusual move but I felt we needed to have fresh ideas that could produce more than what we have collectively achieved in the last few weeks. The panel of experts that I summoned produced their own diagnoses of the behaviour we are witnessing. But having a term for their behaviour hasn’t helped us to understand it any better. Ultimately, we can diagnose those who have turned with a psychology report a thousand pages long. But if we don’t know how or why it happened, we cannot stop it from continuing. That is the reality. So please, free your minds and listen to what Jacob has to say."
Lanegan wanted the final word as leader of the party before Jacob began. This was partly due to the sceptical atmosphere present in the room and to protect Jacob.
Jacob began to repeat his theory and immediately found himself tripping over his words. The day before he had spoken with passion; today he sounded like a robot struggling to find the right words he had used so well previously. The audience was different; it was now a roomful of men and women who could argue against the colour of grass and win. Men and women who made a career out of mixing truths and non-truths to deceive the opposition and occasionally the public.
As Jacob finished he stepped back behind Lanegan.
"I'm not entirely sure how to respond," said Toby. "Are you really considering this, Prime Minister?"
"Listen, it's a tough sell I know and there are probably many other factors. Hopefully, soon we will have a way to test whether it has merit.”
“I’m finding it hard to see why people would riot or protest over something that is hardly in existence anymore. It hasn’t been a public issue for a very long time,” Toby continued.
“I believe that’s Jacob’s point, Toby,” said Lanegan.
Toby was noticeably less relaxed after hearing Jacob as he was in control of all state media sources. His role centred on the premise of warning against these very things and not letting another crash happen.
Jacob studied the room. Their collective faces showed confusion and disbelief, and in the case of Bukewitz, open mockery.
He took a deep breath and walked forward again.
“It seems I didn’t explain myself very well,” he began. “We humans are naturally passionate creatures. We have the capacity to think beyond ourselves and enter a world that other animals can't. Those of us here are aware that in the past it was frequently claimed that people can reach a higher spiritual plane, that there are unexplainable feelings and emotions we are capable of that transcend our understanding of the physical world. People used to claim that various gods speak to them, causing a moment of clarity that changes their whole vision of the world they live in. We have all been raised to believe that these things are bad, that the emotions created are unhealthy. I have seen banned documents from the past that say music was used as an argument for the existence of God, because it takes us beyond a materialistic view of the world, it has that power. None of us know what these feelings are like to experience or what it is like to have them and then have them taken away. But it doesn't matter if any of what was written is true. The only thing that matters is that art and religion were forces that are capable of causing action and reaction. I think that it is possible people are reacting subconsciously through a lack of cultural variety and inspiration; and the results are ugly. Our past and present political policies towards these cultural elements may have been a great error. I am now convinced that human nature is incompatible with these restrictions on our freedom."
"Since this is my area, I’m starting to become a little offended, I have to be honest,” said Toby angrily.
“I apologise if it appears that I am attacking you personally. I mean only to blame the policies, not individual people,” Jacob added quickly.
“And how can this be proved?" asked Toby.
"I’m glad you asked, Toby,” said Lanegan. “We have considered the possibilities and think that initially we need to find out if there is a reaction to music from some of the rioters we have detained. As you know, Broadcasting House has a vast library that has many formats of music, much of which has been digitalised and is still accessible. We all know that there are still illegal broadcasters of music who have somehow managed to maintain the equipment needed, and this may be helping to stop more people turning. What we don’t know is how many of these old formats still exist and how many people still have the hardware to listen to music. Many of them will be unplayable because of damage and use and it is estimated that even the best quality compact discs only had a life of roughly a hundred years. This reduces the amount of playable music dramatically. We now know that there is a trend in the buildings that are being targeted. Ken and I asked the military to produce a report last night on whether there are heavier groupings of rioters in certain areas. It is possible that they are starting to target media based buildings, as Broadcasting House appears to have been hit with a more intense force than most other buildings. What we would like to know is whether other state media buildings are being hit and also whether the buildings that house illegal radio broadcasting have been targeted by the rioters. We have teams searching for these buildings now. All of this may help to build a case to take to the world conference, where I will ask the other world leaders to see if this information corresponds with what is happening in their nations.”
Lanegan was surprised that he had not been interrupted. It was either going well he thought, or they are so shocked that they are literally speechless, and that would be a first.
"I don't quite know what to say, Prime Minister,” sa
id Bukewitz. "Um - out of professional courtesy and respect for all that you have achieved, I would strongly suggest you attend the conference the day after tomorrow and stay quiet. It would be a mild embarrassment, but you would keep the dignity of this party, this nation and yourself intact. However, I will not stand in your way if you insist on pushing forward with this theory that was thought up not a day ago by an intern. You, I and everyone else knows that these comments are dangerous and are against everything that we believe in. I am very surprised and disappointed that you have considered it. I would also like to point out to everyone here that Jacob has very clearly admitted to illegal activities. He has certainly seen banned documents and who knows what else he has done. I think he should be considered a security risk and disregarded as a criminal."
Everybody turned to look at Lanegan.
“Jacob did do wrong. But he has also come up with a theory, unlike the rest of us. I see no point in any formal investigation or criminal charges while we are in this crisis.”
"You are clearly determined to see this through and you will be given all the rope you need to hang yourself as far as I am concerned," Bukewitz added.
"Firstly, thanks for the support Bob. We are at a loss for ideas and you can only find the energy to criticise. Secondly, if you can't think of anything better then you would be wise for you to remain quiet. Does anyone else have a better idea? Speak now, please. In three weeks we have come up with nothing, until now. At some point we have to take a chance and do something positive."
Adrenaline flowed through Lanegan, carried by blood that had risen to a pressure unknown to him. He was determined, angry and ready to fight. As ludicrous as the theory seemed at first hearing, Lanegan found himself defending it as though it was his own. His passion proved infectious, as Toby began to get caught up in Lanegan’s energy. One thing was troubling him, however:
"If we push forward with this, we still need to present something to the other nations,” he said. “It's one thing to ask every nation in the world to conduct tests and produce reports. But you will be asking them to reverse a policy that has been believed to be instrumental in the achievement of world peace. This is not something they will do easily. We may be outcasts after this.”
"You’re absolutely right, Toby, and I hope to provide some evidence to you before tomorrow that will be convincing enough for the other world leaders."
"I must be dreaming,” snarled Bukewitz. “You’re hopeful and that is the entirety of your argument.”
The fact of the matter was that Bukewitz was right. Lanegan, Jacob and Isabelle were all living in hope, and most of that hope fell on Stephanie Jones.