Nigel Hems's Blog
September 2, 2016
The Place
The Place
By
Nigel Hems
Nigel Hems© 2016
Chapter 1. The Arrow
Chapter 2. Over the Stile
Chapter 3. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 4. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 5. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M. “Missing”
Chapter 6. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 7. The Huts Revisited
The Elusive Third Hut
Chapter 8. The Spinning Arrow
Chapter 9. The Courier and the Girl
Chapter 10. The Multitude of Beehives
By
Nigel Hems
Nigel Hems© 2016
Chapter 1. The Arrow
Chapter 2. Over the Stile
Chapter 3. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 4. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 5. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M. “Missing”
Chapter 6. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 7. The Huts Revisited
The Elusive Third Hut
Chapter 8. The Spinning Arrow
Chapter 9. The Courier and the Girl
Chapter 10. The Multitude of Beehives
July 28, 2016
The Place
The Place
by Nigel Hems, coming soon.
Revised chapter outline:
Chapter 1. The Arrow
Chapter 2. Over the Stile
Chapter 3. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 4. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 5. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M. “Missing”
Chapter 6. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 7. The Huts Revisited
Chapter 8. The Spinning Stile
Chapter 9. The Courier and the Girl
Chapter 10. The Multitude of Beehives
by Nigel Hems, coming soon.
Revised chapter outline:
Chapter 1. The Arrow
Chapter 2. Over the Stile
Chapter 3. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 4. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 5. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M. “Missing”
Chapter 6. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 7. The Huts Revisited
Chapter 8. The Spinning Stile
Chapter 9. The Courier and the Girl
Chapter 10. The Multitude of Beehives
November 14, 2015
Exciting new science fiction title by Charles V. Banks. Gullerville. Coming soon.
In the future a new world exists where citizens live in isolated, cell-like worlds where they have every need and desire fully catered for in order to survive completely alone.
Immunised from notions of personal contact, and with no experience of 'being with others' , George Winstanley starts to question what the politicians, scientists and philosophers have long told Gullervillians is sacrosant - that to live with others is impossible, that people are bound by codes and rules of separation and privacy as of necessity.
Man is no longer thought of as the 'political animal' or as having to live in a state of co-existence in Gullerville. There is no religion in Gullrerville, only Duration and the laws of duration. In Gullerville, it is duration rather than time that truly exists. Total duration repeats itself. Moments of duration are experienced but there are no clocks, no watches, nor any other forms of time devices in Gullerville.
Gullervillians know nothing of our words like 'loneliness', 'boredom' , 'anxiety', nor do they know of past, present or future.
George Winstanley will come to question these values and find out that a world once existed that was very different, where the social rules, written in stone in Gullerville, did not seem to exist, where men lived and worked together in shared communities.
Winstanley will get a chance to run from Gullerville with Serle, his Duration Warden. Together they will journey through the 'whiteness' and towards 'the community' where catastrophe awaits.
Immunised from notions of personal contact, and with no experience of 'being with others' , George Winstanley starts to question what the politicians, scientists and philosophers have long told Gullervillians is sacrosant - that to live with others is impossible, that people are bound by codes and rules of separation and privacy as of necessity.
Man is no longer thought of as the 'political animal' or as having to live in a state of co-existence in Gullerville. There is no religion in Gullrerville, only Duration and the laws of duration. In Gullerville, it is duration rather than time that truly exists. Total duration repeats itself. Moments of duration are experienced but there are no clocks, no watches, nor any other forms of time devices in Gullerville.
Gullervillians know nothing of our words like 'loneliness', 'boredom' , 'anxiety', nor do they know of past, present or future.
George Winstanley will come to question these values and find out that a world once existed that was very different, where the social rules, written in stone in Gullerville, did not seem to exist, where men lived and worked together in shared communities.
Winstanley will get a chance to run from Gullerville with Serle, his Duration Warden. Together they will journey through the 'whiteness' and towards 'the community' where catastrophe awaits.
March 19, 2015
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
As Klein continued to traverse the walls of deep, bright green hedgerow, prodding and pawing as he fumbled his way along, looking outwards at intermittent intervals in the hope of catching sight of something to give him hope … somewhere to go … or even something to do … he came across a sign carved out into the hedge. The sign read:
Proceed to Station Marked M.
At first, Klein just stopped in his tracks and looked at the sign, trying to make sense of it. The sign had been carved out in black lettering, and was etched into a wooden board of about four feet wide and four feet long; it was tantalizingly placed at about head height to Klein, but no indication was given as to where or what the ‘station’ could be, or what it might be …
Out of a protracted period of silence, Klein heard a voice from behind him: ‘Mr Klein your hut is ready for you.’ The voice was a sort of grunting, almost inhuman voice, a voice that Klein could just about understand; but it had a powerful effect of making him divert his attention from the astonishing sign for a mere moment. As he turned around, he saw a disfigured man travelling at speed towards what looked like a small hut of some sort that had appeared maybe one hundred yards outwards from the edge of the hedgerow. The man had a pronounced hunched back and a distinctly dishevelled look; he was dressed in shabby clothes, and reeking so much that the wind which was blowing in Klein’s direction sent a foul-smelling odour towards him that only served to increase the total repugnance of the moving image that he could see scuttling off towards the hut. Klein noticed that the man was holding a basic-looking hammer (an unusual kind of flint hammer) and a bag of nails, and he was trying to conceal this fact by holding them close to his side.
As Klein looked in the direction of the hut, he could just about make out something radiating behind it, and, without having to think, he realised that it was the same arrangement of shapes and colours that he had beheld a moment ago. Klein looked to his left and then to his right, but he could not remember the specific location at the hedge where he had first caught sight of the collage; but, in any case, he thought he was sure in his mind that he had seen the collection of colours before … just now. The mish-mash of colours radiated glowingly from behind the hut; they were coming from a promontory that allowed the colours to travel quite a distance from their immediate proximity; the brightness and intensity contained something of an internal power source that was of a magnificence totally unbeknown to Klein; nevertheless, the colours registered as a drive – or a kind of pull on Klein – magnetically drawing him towards the hut. The colours were so bright and intense that the small hut now seemed merely something of an imitation in the foreground by comparison.
Proceed to Station Marked M.
At first, Klein just stopped in his tracks and looked at the sign, trying to make sense of it. The sign had been carved out in black lettering, and was etched into a wooden board of about four feet wide and four feet long; it was tantalizingly placed at about head height to Klein, but no indication was given as to where or what the ‘station’ could be, or what it might be …
Out of a protracted period of silence, Klein heard a voice from behind him: ‘Mr Klein your hut is ready for you.’ The voice was a sort of grunting, almost inhuman voice, a voice that Klein could just about understand; but it had a powerful effect of making him divert his attention from the astonishing sign for a mere moment. As he turned around, he saw a disfigured man travelling at speed towards what looked like a small hut of some sort that had appeared maybe one hundred yards outwards from the edge of the hedgerow. The man had a pronounced hunched back and a distinctly dishevelled look; he was dressed in shabby clothes, and reeking so much that the wind which was blowing in Klein’s direction sent a foul-smelling odour towards him that only served to increase the total repugnance of the moving image that he could see scuttling off towards the hut. Klein noticed that the man was holding a basic-looking hammer (an unusual kind of flint hammer) and a bag of nails, and he was trying to conceal this fact by holding them close to his side.
As Klein looked in the direction of the hut, he could just about make out something radiating behind it, and, without having to think, he realised that it was the same arrangement of shapes and colours that he had beheld a moment ago. Klein looked to his left and then to his right, but he could not remember the specific location at the hedge where he had first caught sight of the collage; but, in any case, he thought he was sure in his mind that he had seen the collection of colours before … just now. The mish-mash of colours radiated glowingly from behind the hut; they were coming from a promontory that allowed the colours to travel quite a distance from their immediate proximity; the brightness and intensity contained something of an internal power source that was of a magnificence totally unbeknown to Klein; nevertheless, the colours registered as a drive – or a kind of pull on Klein – magnetically drawing him towards the hut. The colours were so bright and intense that the small hut now seemed merely something of an imitation in the foreground by comparison.
November 22, 2014
The Place (revised chapter outline)
Chapter 1. The Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M.
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
Chapter 9. Return to the Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Vision of the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
Towards the Third Hut Marked M
The Third Hut Marked M.
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
Chapter 9. Return to the Landlord
November 15, 2014
Extract from forthcoming 'The Place'
The grotesque man said nothing else, but kept walking with Klein in his grip. The man walked with such a limp, and a contorted gait, that Klein could hardly keep his balance, as they both weaved from side to side as a result of the swaying movements of the grotesque man’s stumbling and hobbling walking style. It was as if Klein was forced to wobble along in the same manner as the man; but all the time one thing remained constant, and that was the grotesque man’s firm, pincer-like hold on Klein’s arm. For a few moments the walk seemed aimless, completely empty, until almost out of nowhere, a hut, slightly bigger than the previous one, came into sight.
‘We are here,’ the Grotesque man grunted, at the same time as he released his grip on Klein’s arm. 'You can go in on your own; I am not allowed in this hut; I must go away now.' Klein watched as the man ran off, as if he was frightened of something about this second hut.
‘We are here,’ the Grotesque man grunted, at the same time as he released his grip on Klein’s arm. 'You can go in on your own; I am not allowed in this hut; I must go away now.' Klein watched as the man ran off, as if he was frightened of something about this second hut.
May 26, 2014
The Clock
I glanced at the clock and noticed that my vision was becoming more and more blurred by the second. It was as if a little gust of wind had suddenly appeared, causing my eyes to squint, and draw small tears that trickled down the side of my face, the droplets weaving their way down my cheeks, hugging my skin, as they slipped their way down further and further - to eventually dissolve. The clock was undergoing a strange process of being stripped of all its normal features, slowly becoming a blank circle purged of its quantitative aspects, adding dramatically to this sense of absorption I was feeling, as I moved ever closer to losing sight of all the distinguishable features that made themselves visible. I couldn’t make out where this process started or ended, so densely connected was the whole architecture of my experience. All I really noticed was the deftness of the imaginary sequences, as they changed their shape and forced me to inquire ... but it was always too late to find anything. I flashed my eyes in another direction to clear my head; but when I returned to look at the clock face again, it had completely returned to its normal form replete with its repetitive motions involving the initial battery of digits on display.
March 30, 2014
The Place (revised chapter outline)
The Place
By Nigel Hems
Chapter 1. The Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
The Third Hut Marked M.
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
By Nigel Hems
Chapter 1. The Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
The First Hut Marked M.
The Second Hut Marked M.
The Third Hut Marked M.
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
March 20, 2014
Reflections on time and space
Time and space as forms of intuition must, as significant conscious contents, presuppose a synthesis. Otherwise, the only contents available to the mind would be pure intuitions given to the mind as 'pure wholes' and thus completely undifferentiated (perhaps given to the mind as just considered wholes, or as mere thought entities). Space must first be identified and differentiated by a synthesis - a synthesis that has an action that allows it to compare pure parts of space in a primitive fashion, prior to the mind being involved in comparing objects.
February 10, 2014
The Place (revised chapter outline)
By Nigel Hems
Chapter 1. The Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
Chapter 9. Return to the Landlord
Chapter 1. The Landlord
Chapter 2. The Arrow
Chapter 3. Over the Stile
Chapter 4. The Feasters
The Strange Case of the Stoves
The Selected Ones
Chapter 5. The Maze
The First Hedge-Cutter
The Second Hedge-Cutter
The First Hut and the Dazzling Illumination
Chapter 6. The Conversationalists
Chapter 7. The Amazing Beehive
Chapter 8. The Man with the Frozen Beard
Chapter 9. Return to the Landlord
