As We See Fit

Now the complexity of the situation was accreting, with the overlays and underlays flowing through the life form, the societies with their young and old, stable or not. As always, the surveillance created its own story, everything from "thank you for talking to us" to convenient dismissals, "he's a fabulist". None of it mattered. Once bitten twice shy. The gronks had gone. A new layer of silence hung over the suburb. He missed the ribald humour of invisible men. Of randy soldiers. Of past loves. Of a realm where everything happened at once, where history was present and the future already gone. 

So it was that we came to be here. Now. 

The surprising thing about it all was how easy it was to accommodate things which only shortly before would have seemed impossible. There was a past rushing into the future. 

A persistent headache over several days had blanked him into a state of unconcern. 

The vaulting sky vanished into an air which contained nothing but spirits. The fabric of things, of time and place, was already conquered. And yet, and yet. There was no divine messaging. There was an urgent warning. Time remained of essence but he did not understand why. 

The nation at large; it was as if it was happening at a very great distance; far, far away, the magic far away tree of his Enid Blyton youth. 

In the latest bit of micro-insanity from the Federal government, it was dealing out half priced fares to certain destinations, supposedly to help overcome the damage it itself had imposed on the country.    

He was in such a state of despair, or indifference, he didn't even bother to complain about an incompetent and dishonest government placing itself front and centre of everybody's life.

Merimbula? 

"Merimbula is a coastal town in southern New South Wales, Australia. Its beaches include Merimbula Main Beach, with surf breaks over a sandbank, and Short Point, a popular whale-watching spot. Merimbula Boardwalk hugs the shores of Merimbula Lake. Northwest of the centre, Potoroo Palace is a wildlife sanctuary with wombats, echidnas and kangaroos."

Surely the public had grown tired of all these endless multi-billion dollar announcements, squandering public money on everything from renovations for people who already owned their own home, which meant you were well-off by Australian standards, or people who could afford holidays, which also meant you were well off by Australian standards. 

His morning table of knowledge could see no point in Merimbula as a destination; because the south coast was already booming. 

The blizzard of garbage announcements never seemed to end. 

The sleek well fed appearances of the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his doppelganger Josh Frydenberg, twins in the destruction of the country, surrounded, as with every public appearance, by AFP officers and cameras and a bubble of self-importance, a bustle as if it meant anything. 

Tired, tired of it. 

Surely. 

As for Old Alex, his headache persisted. 

And he was tired of that, too, tired of it. Every day seemed like a century and life fled before him as if it was already over. 

We would die in the hills and be gone from this form. In three decades time. 

Nowhere to be seen. 

Be careful what you wish for. 

Be careful who you pray to.

Let the magic walk across the ashes, the smoking ruins these malfeasant bastards had created, had lived for. 

These people of wrong spirit and ill intent. 

Squandering, squandering billions. 

And pretending it all still worked, the nation still functioned, they were still in control, that they had saved the nation from "the virus".

It was all classic bullshit.

HEADLINES:

NSW and Queensland at odds over federal domestic tourism package

12/03/2021|3min

The federal government’s $1.2 billion tourism support package has sparked tensions between New South Wales and Queensland over which regions received support. NSW ministers and tourism and hospitality bosses were upset after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced 800,000 half-priced airline tickets would be made available to fly to about 13 regions across the country. Queensland picked up a third of the allocated destinations while NSW received just one – Merimbula. The prime minister stressed, however, it was about helping those regions most affected by international border closures. State Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said it was unfair NSW had done the lion’s share of the nation’s hotel quarantine and kept borders open, but the package was rewarding Queensland for closing out the other states.

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