Status of the Blog

Dear reader,

This blog is currently going through some hard times, because of work and family issues. I am currently writing this during the Covid-19 pandemic, and as you might imagine, it is also not helping.

The main Objective is to continue advancing on the current project. However it is a long term project. 

I have a few side projects, some of which are much smaller than "Tales of Voyager". I have been working on one of them to improve my working efficiency and then feed the experience onto the main project. As such, I will be publishing this side project, based on weekly issues, a week from the publication of this post.

I will also work on the navigability  of the blog and I will not publish in Spanish until further notice.

I've also created a Patreon page. In times of pandemic I do not expect people pissing money, but If you feel like dropping a Euro my way, I'd be very grateful to have it. It will help me to be able to allocate more time and do proper research. It would be a little ironic, that a blog on the Apocalypse, is stopped by a pandemic. Anyway, if you are interested on what is coming and the blog, head over to Patreon and have a look

Chapter 5 XIII

 
London, Great Britain July 27th 2009

I jumped from the underground car to the Barbican platform with the last accords of My Sharona. As soon as I reached the surface, I took to the north through the sunny Sunday morning, According to the weatherman, it would not last long. Soon it was to start raining, but I was convinced not let it get me. I enjoyed the weather until I arrived to my destination. Gehry was working that weekend and we were meeting for lunch. I reached Clerckwell road and did my last checks to finally beeline for the target, a trendy and overcrowded restaurant.

I dropped my trusty Mp3 in my messenger bag and breathed deep, getting ready for scanning the crowd. Gehry was supposed to be there alredy. In all fairness the scanning did not last long. Probably because the sms Pornion sent me was rather helpful.

Ignoring Pornion, I took a seat opposite from Gehry and started on the pleasantries. Although he was Scottish, after finishing his degree in Sweden, he moved to England instead, to work as a slave  in an architecture office in the City. I was there for work, speaking of which I dropped the offer to collaborate a bit. We had some projects related with sustainability, maybe you're interested, mate? He would be crashing into it big time, lots of resposability, chair the architecture committee, with engineers, designed, architects... all of it in the beautiful Cologne, barely 5 hours away from the center of London. What do you say to 60 kiloeuros, yearly? what about you sleep on it and we talk in three weeks?



Gehry was a staunch socialist and I was sure he would be a good addition to the project, but he did not need to know everything... just yet

What he convinced me of, was to have some cacke with a surprisingly good coffee. with a short "we talk in three weeks" we parted ways into the rain.


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Chapter 5 XII

Madrid, Spain, July 09th 2009

It was finally the day to leave. I had been living in a hotel for a few days. Once I had found someone to live with Diego, there was no more space there for me. On the plus side, the hotel was paid by InGnio InGnieros, because it was their responsibility to get everything ready in Cologne. Everything encompassed the restructuring of the buildings, put up some nice signs and get equipment, like chairs and safes and safety doors in. At any rate, the hotel was fine. on calle Moscatelar, very close to the underground of Arturo Soria. My first night there was after the goodbye party with my soon to be ex-colleagues  and I had a little trouble finding my room. My terrenal possessions were there with me of course, Three suitcases and a backpack.

I had moved a little when I was a student and after my graduation too, this meant I had to get rid of some of my most beloved possessions: my books. And now again, I had that mixture of loss and anticipation on my stomach, as I was looking at my trip to the airport.

It was a familiar sensation though. I knew I'd be back to Madrid someday, but it all would be different. It was the last time I was there as a "local" and there were many familiar odors, colours and sounds that today I ignored, covered by the blanket of routine, which in the future would become seeds of memories. It was my last time to experience them fully. If Boone was right, it was not about leaving a city, it would be lost forever

The train gently rocked me until the airport, where I sat in the Iberia flight to Düsseldorf. After a couple of little detours, I arrived safely to the hotel where I was staying.

I had a few moments of relaxation and reflection as I sat within the cream coloured walls and grey forniture of the hotel. The following day I had to go and meet Silke and later on Jesús on a coffee close to  Eigelstein-Torburg

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Chapter 5 XI

Cudillero, Spain, June 26th 2009

The road startd to descend, surrounded by forest. It was odd that they were eucalyptus forests, but what can you do. Forestry policies where not all that well though back in the day. I knew I would have no chance to find a parking spot, so I did not even try. I knew that the best place to try find a spot was down by the harbour, so I went straight there. I shifted down into 4th gear, the transmission fighting with Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Fanfare For The Common Man and controlled the last meters with the brakes.

At the harbor, it was not hard to find a parking spot. After all, it was a weekday and, even though the air was warm and humid, it was windy and the sky was covered. Therefore, I took my rain jacket from the back before heading off. I did not expect it to rain, but since I left the Atlantic coast, I was no longer adapted to the ever present wind. Even in summer it made me feel cold.

I locked the car and headed to the start of the hill I had just drive down from, following the narrow sidewalk. Right before leaving the lot I could see the black Opel Corsa Jesús used.  Following on an impulse, I changed slightly my heading to go in front of the car and, without stopping, letting my hand feel in front of the cooling grill. The fan was off, but the heat was obvious.


Since Jesús had just arrived and had to get to his observation post, I decided to cut him some slack and buy him some time. I headed to the sea wall to breathe a little and have a look. 

Cudillero

After fucking about for what it looked like a sensible while, I took to the hill again and climbed the narrow staircase to a group of houses. On the ground floor of one of them, a sign over a door read: Diving school Xanas. It was hand painted with lively colours. The windows protected with thick bars, painted black. On the side a khaki  4 x 4 with a half ton trailer was parqued and the front wheels turned towards the wall. The rear had chocks applied.

I pushed the main door and found myself  on a small reception area. I could see one of the doors ajar, on which the old logo of the UEBEC was painted, an anchor under a crown and below the diver's fins.

I knocked slightly on the door, and the wooden door opened a little more. I saw Hector raising his gaze towards me from some nautical charts. I had made myself an idea of the distribution of the floor and I was convinced Héctor was alone..

Héctor fixed his gaze in me  and quietly asked
 -- what the hell are you doing here? --


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Chapter 5 IX

  Madrid, Spain, June 22, 2009

Sketch of the Building complex

The in between jobs time was approaching its end. My holidays were running out and I had to officially start  working again.  The news from Cologne were a little discouraging, as not everything was ready. Yet it was moving forward. 23rd was my first working day and I was somewhat nervous

That evening, while discussing the next recruiting action with Jesús, I realized I was getting used to all that. We poured over the maps of London. We used tons of pictures and maps and I felt my confidence grow.

The following day, at the new job, I took on the task of meeting people, introducing myself and find out where the bog was. The most exciting part was a telephone call with Silke, my person of contact in Cologne.

On the computer there was a load of documentation from Green Island on relation to contracts and processes, how what was done and by whom and when... Bureaucratic porn. There was also a sketch of the building on Cologne and it's layout.

It was a complex of two adjacent buildings, built on a relative wide lot. The first of the buildings was right next to the street, yet there were a couple of meters between the main entrance and the sidewalk. It was 3 stories high and contained the main entrance. From the entrance hall, the lift and staircase were accessible, the latter went up, to the upper floors or down to the basement. It was through the basement that the first building communicated with the second building. The second building was only accessible through the first, Although not specifically mentioned, I knew that the ground floor on the first building had a reception for Special Developments and a few meeting rooms. There was no direct connection between this part of the building and the second building proper.

The second building pproper was a rectangular plan, four stories high. It was attached to building #1 through the longest side of the rectangle and sported windows on the opposite side of the building to that which faced the street, that is on the back.

Conceptually, the idea was that each story would be accessible on an access base The first floor was for InGnio InGnieros and the tip for Green Island.

The complex was close to Frühlingsee, on the north part of the city of Cologne and north from the vast Ford complex, in a smaller industrial complex, where many small companies thrived under Ford's far reaching warmth.

Sunrise over the Frühlingsee

After a briefing regarding the status of the ongoing renovations, Silke and I spoke about my lodging and eventually a place for me. Housing in Cologne, and in Germany, was at the time not the easiest thing. Her suggestion, in order not to delay further my arrival, was to take a hotel for a few days or even a couple of weeks. She was not to know that Jesús and I had found a secure flat in an old un-renovated building  close to the train station in Mühlheim, on the east side of the city. It was somewhat too close to the tracks, but it was supposed to be a reserve place. I would not use it and blow the cover, so I really needed a place there. Silke suggested a small family-run hotel close to the central station, to which I had no complains. Regarding our safe flat, It was dark and not really a first floor, as it was too close to the street level. However there was no street but a small unkempt yard where no sun ever touched and just some lichen dared to grow between the cracks of the old cobblestones. The only sight of the century we lived in was the plastic rubbish bins. Inside, in the two rooms it was musty and dark, but also relatively quiet, when the train was not passing by or the neighbours were not throwing the porcelain at each other.  A small kitchenette and a tiny bathroom  .

So, once the hotel was sorted out, I felt a bit better. Silke will make reservations for me from July 10th and the company was going to pay half of it



Since Silke would kept working for InGnio InGnieros, I had to find a "secretary" for SD, but it was not about being an assistant and brew coffee. I needed someone that could elp me with logistics, but eventually someone who could deal with "a client"

I actually knew the perfect person. Susana was working for BOSCH in Madrid and we knew eachother since University through a common friend. I called her Su, because she had told me to. Su had studied manamgement and worked for the purchasing department. She had a two year contract, of which not much was left. Su was a solid candidate in my opnionon. She was a little hippie sometimes, but nontheless a very mater of fact person. Su was of German origin and she looked like it a little. Although not too tall, she was blonde and white as buttermilk with the typical hue on her cheeks and enormous blue eyes.


Jesús and I had talked about this mor than once, but he had some reservations. He was unsure whether she was emotionally sound, he said. Jesús said that from everyone anyway, but he promised to look into it.

It was also true that Su and I had had... a thing I guess, a romantic affair, if you wish, but it was years back and we kept a discrete friendship, We talked to each other a few times a month and a couple of times a year we sat together and talked about our lives.

Jesús would never get around telling me what the committee decided, but he went on to recruit her without me.


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Chapter 5 VIII

--When do we start then?-- he asked   

We agreed a time plan with reference milestones. He would take holidays and we will get started with the training. He would then leave his job and take a position in Cologne as soon as posible, increasing the training until the last steps of the project before going live.

 
It was late when I came back to the B&B, There was also some beer on my breath. Fortunately the owner had let me some orientation lights on the staircase, so it all went well there. All I wanted was to lay in bed but I could not indulge on that. I had to be ready, should things go bad.

 
I had a small reserve if potassium clorathe and sugar, that would allow me to make a decent smoke bomb. I used some cardboard to press in some big crackers and inserted a prepared cord. Then I checked that the door was locked and secured from the inside and I sat int he sofa with a view towards the street. On my lap I had a zip lock bag with a little money, passport and some survival items. I had used the days before to do some recce on the escape options. I hoped Diego was honest on his interest and not that he was going to knock on some police door and tell them a story. I had no reason to think so, but taking risks is stupid.

Should he have decided to talk to the police or something going south, I had a contact point with Jesús and three options: the ferry, go south and try to get to France from some of the ports I had researched or, perhaps the most desperate but perhaps the simplest, hitch-jack a boat in Grimsby and head for the Low Contries.

At 0500 I started to get ready. I had indeed dozed a little, but what can you do. I wanted to get going early as announced. I had done all the check out and payment already, because I was supposed to leave early, but I left a little earlier. I had a long train ride and I wanted to check that no one was on my tail.

I really felt like having a wider team, if just for having a little support for this kind of operations.

I pretended to be cool as a cucumber when I sat in the plane in Leeds. However, when the landing gear went up I felt quite a relief, if at all, because I could do nothing more now... I proceeded to fall soundly asleep. I woke up as the captain was announcing nice weather in Alicante. Well, I cared little about that because I went from the airport directly to the city center, from the bus station I walked a little and I went into a small cafe. A typical Spanish affair, no tourists, just locals. I got a Schweppes and asked the hostile looking fellow behind the counter about the newspaper.
 

I waited a little before downing the last bitter gulp of the tonic water, to give Jesús some leeway and then I stepped out and walked the 15 min to the train station, where I sat in the Alvia headed to Madrid.

 

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Chapter 5 VII

When he came out of the shower, with his jet black hair combed backwards and his t-shirt still on his hand, it was obvious he had shaved meticulously and a mixture of after shave and shower steam trailed along. Part of it was struggling to exit through the opened roof window. That was the crackling that had startled me a few seconds before.

He took a seat in front of me in the living room. I had avoided the worn off seat in front of the TV and gone around the coffee table and sat across it.

He looked at me and chuckled. He started, methodically, to go point by point of what I had told him, just taking pauses between points to take a swig from his beer bottle. As he reached the end, he left the empty bottle with a light cling on the coffee table.
 

-- So what now?--

--Now it's time for a proposal--
--Go ahead!--
 

-- Well, besides being my friend and me trusting you, you do have a few interesting skills. Obviously you know your way around logistics and construction sites... interesting times ahead, knowing how to fight is also an advantageous skill. And I don't mean it figuratively only.--

Diego sat upright, listening attentively.
 

-- The first step is to create a unit which it's first task is almost all logistic. To settle the basics and then to prepare the plans for moving out. There will be needs of materials, construction and defense. If the world as we know it is gong down the drain, the aftermath is going to look a little like Mad Max, but with a touch of evening news and less of action film,.--
 

-- You know I am not the first one to chicken out.--
 

-- I know, it's not about balls, it's about getting our shit together and have a proper organization --

I went on explaining the plan with the ships, as a ferry mission for personnel and materials, together with the basis of defence, light infantry units, naval units and support units.

-- What is with this light units? seems something I'd like--
 

- Well, it's not a job for life... especially for you because you have construction to organize, It is a sort of national service, but the number of tours is unclear... there are many factors to weigh in.---

He nodded and sprung up, headed for the kitchen, from where his voice came

-- Sure it is not forever, I'm taking my girl and it would not be nice-- I heard him rummaging in the fridge, then the characteristic clinging of beer bottles. He reappeared with two fresh bottles in his hands.

I explained what the status of the plan was. He was looking at me with shining eyes... I started to fear that perhaps he was too enthusiastic. He suggested to go on the land team. He wanted the gentleman adventure, Sitting atop a jeep with a bolt action rifle and fend off enemies. It took me a while to get him into what I needed. He to take part on the team that would do the transport of materials, resources and establish our New World.

Then, we let the far future aside, I needed to get him into the immediate future. I went on carefully to explain my proposal. He would leave his job and then he would work for Green Island through SD, like myself. He would focus on logistic and construction before doing anything gentlemanly. However he (and everyone else) would be also doing intensive training.


A lot of questions, answers, details and 3 beers after, he said:


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